Shloka 13
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
कुण्डली कवची शूरो दिवाकरसमप्रभ: । 'पाण्डवो! जो महाधनुर्धर वीर रथ-यूथपतियोंका भी यूथपति तथा वीरोचित शुभ लक्षणोंसे सम्पन्न था, जिसे युद्धमें अर्जुनने परास्त किया है तथा जिसे तुमलोग सूतपुत्र एवं राधापुत्रके रूपमें मानते-जानते हो, जो सेनाके मध्यभागमें भगवान् सूर्यके समान प्रकाशित होता था, जिसने पहले सेवकोंसहित तुम सब लोगोंका अच्छी तरह सामना किया था, जो दुर्योधनकी सारी सेनाको अपने पीछे खींचता हुआ बड़ी शोभा पाता था, बल और पराक्रममें जिसकी समानता करनेवाला इस भूतलपर दूसरा कोई राजा नहीं है, जिस शूरवीरने अपने प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर भी भूमण्डलमें सदा यशका ही उपार्जन किया है, संग्राममें कभी पीठ न दिखानेवाले और अनायास ही महान् कर्म करनेवाले अपने उस सत्यप्रतिज्ञ भ्राता कर्णके लिये भी तुमलोग जल-दान करो। वह तुमलोगोंका बड़ा भाई था। भगवान् सूर्यके अंशसे वह वीर मेरे ही गर्भसे उत्पन्न हुआ था। जन्मके साथ ही उस शूरवीरके शरीरमें कवच-कुंडल शोभा पाते थे। वह सूर्यदेवके समान ही तेजस्वी था | ७-- १२३ || श्रुत्वा तु पाण्डवा: सर्वे मातुर्वचनमप्रियम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | kuṇḍalī kavacī śūro divākarasamaprabhaḥ | śrutvā tu pāṇḍavāḥ sarve mātur vacanam apriyam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “That hero—wearing earrings and natural armor, radiant like the sun—was the one you know as the Sūta’s son, as Rādhā’s son: Karṇa, your elder brother. He was a leader among chariot-warriors, marked by auspicious signs befitting a warrior, shining in the midst of the army like the Sun-god himself. He once faced you all, together with his attendants, and drew Duryodhana’s entire host after him, adding splendor to the battlefield. No other king on earth matched him in strength and valor. Even at the risk of his life, he sought only lasting fame; he never turned his back in combat and accomplished great deeds with ease. For that truth-bound brother Karṇa, you too should offer the water-oblation. He was born from my womb as a portion of the Sun, and from birth his body bore the shining armor and earrings.” Hearing their mother’s painful words, all the Pāṇḍavas…
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid enmity and war, dharma requires acknowledging truth and fulfilling obligations to kin and the dead. The passage urges the Pāṇḍavas to perform water-oblation for Karṇa once his true identity as their elder brother is revealed, emphasizing duty, compassion, and moral accountability beyond battlefield rivalries.
In Strī Parva, after the devastation of the war, Karṇa’s identity is disclosed: he was born from Kuntī through the Sun-god and had innate armor and earrings. The narrator reports the mother’s painful statement and the Pāṇḍavas’ reaction, framing Karṇa’s valor and urging the brothers to offer funerary water rites for him.