Shloka 22
पाण्डोः तपः-प्रसङ्गः, ऋण-धर्मः, अपत्य-प्राप्ति-चिन्ता
Pāṇḍu’s Asceticism, the Doctrine of Debts, and Deliberations on Progeny
गूहमानापचारं सा बन्धुपक्षभयात् तदा । उत्ससर्ज कुमारं तं जले कुन्ती महाबलम्,उस समय कुट॒म्बीजनोंके भयसे अपने उस अनुचित कृत्यको छिपाती हुई कुन्तीने महाबली कुमार कर्णको जलमें छोड़ दिया
gūhamānāpacāraṃ sā bandhu-pakṣa-bhayāt tadā | utsasarja kumāraṃ taṃ jale kuntī mahābalam ||
Then Kuntī, concealing her transgression out of fear of her own kin and family circle, abandoned that mighty child by casting him into the water. The act is framed as a morally fraught concealment driven by social fear, setting up the later ethical tension between personal responsibility, reputation, and the child’s fate.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how fear of social and familial judgment can drive ethically troubling choices. It foregrounds the conflict between personal responsibility (especially parental duty) and the pressure to preserve honor and reputation, a recurring Mahābhārata theme where concealment and fear shape destiny.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that Kuntī, anxious about her relatives’ reaction and hiding what she considers a wrongdoing, abandons her powerful newborn son (Karna) by placing him into the water, initiating the chain of events that leads to Karna’s later life away from his birth family.