Shloka 13
कुन्त्युवाच कथं सद्धर्मचारित्रान् वृत्तस्थितिविभूषितान् | अक्षुद्रान् दृ्भक्तांश्व दैवतेज्यापरान् सदा
kunty uvāca kathaṃ saddharmacāritrān vṛttasthitivibhūṣitān | akṣudrān dṛḍhabhaktāṃś ca daivatejyāparān sadā ||
Kuntī berkata: “Wahai putra-putraku! Kalian menjalankan dharma sejati, berhias oleh tata susila dan martabat perilaku yang benar serta watak yang teguh; kalian bebas dari kehinaan; kalian adalah bhakta yang kukuh kepada Yang Ilahi dan senantiasa tekun dalam pemujaan—namun bagaimana gunung malapetaka ini tetap menimpa kalian?”
वैशमग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical problem of undeserved suffering: even those established in dharma and devotion may face severe adversity. It invites reflection on fate (vidhātṛ), human agency, and the limits of moral causality in explaining misfortune.
Kuntī addresses her sons (implicitly the Pāṇḍavas), praising their righteous conduct and devotion, yet lamenting that a great calamity has fallen upon them. She wonders how such suffering could occur and cannot identify any specific ill-wisher whose malice would explain it.