Shloka 7
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
युद्धके बाद जब मैं अपने मृत सम्बन्धियोंको जलाञज्जलि दे रहा था उस समय मेरी माता कुन्तीने कहा था--“बेटा! कर्णको भी जलाञ्जलि देना।” माताकी यह बात सुनकर मुझे मालूम हुआ कि महात्मा कर्ण मेरे ही भाई थे। तबसे मुझे उनके लिये बड़ा दुःख होता है ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
yuddhake bāda jaba maiṃ apane mṛta sambandhiyoṃ ko jalāñjali de rahā thā usa samaya merī mātā kuntī ne kahā thā— “beṭā! karṇa ko bhī jalāñjali denā।” mātā kī yaha bāta sunkara mujhe mālūm huā ki mahātmā karṇa mere hī bhāī the। tabse mujhe unke liye baṛā duḥkha hotā hai॥
idaṃ ca paritapyāmi punaḥ punar ahaṃ surāḥ |
yan mātuḥ sadṛśau pādau tasyāham amitātmanaḥ |
devatāo! yaha socakara to maiṃ aura bhī paścāttāpa kartā rahtā hūṃ ki “mahāmanā karṇa ke donoṃ caraṇoṃ ko mātā kuntī ke caraṇoṃ ke samān dekhkar bhī maiṃ kyoṃ nahīṃ śatrudala-mardana karṇa kā anugāmī ho gayā?” yadi karṇa hamāre sātha hote to hameṃ indra bhī yuddha meṃ parāsta nahīṃ kara sakte।
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : Après la guerre, tandis que j’offrais les libations d’eau aux parents morts, ma mère Kuntī me dit : « Mon fils, offre aussi la libation à Karṇa. » En l’entendant, je compris que Karṇa, à l’âme magnanime, était mon propre frère. Dès lors, un chagrin profond pour lui s’est abattu sur moi. Et, ô dieux, je brûle de remords encore et encore à cette pensée : bien que j’aie vu que les deux pieds de cet homme noble, à l’âme sans mesure, étaient semblables à ceux de ma mère Kuntī, pourquoi ne suis-je pas devenu le disciple de Karṇa, le broyeur des armées ennemies ? Si Karṇa avait été des nôtres, même Indra n’aurait pu nous vaincre au combat.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of hidden kinship and the lasting consequences of ignorance and delayed truth. Yudhiṣṭhira’s remorse shows how dharma is not only about victory or duty in war, but also about responsibility toward family, truthful disclosure, and the inner reckoning that follows violence.
After the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira performs funerary water-offerings for the dead. Kuntī instructs him to offer for Karṇa too, revealing that Karṇa was his brother. Yudhiṣṭhira then laments repeatedly, wondering why he did not align with Karṇa, and asserts that with Karṇa on their side even Indra would not have been able to defeat them.