Shloka 17
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
कथं पुत्रो भवत्या: स देवगर्भ: पुराभवत् । माँ! जो बड़े-बड़े महारथियोंको डुबो देनेके लिये अत्यन्त गहरे जलाशयके समान थे बाण ही जिनकी लहर, ध्वजा भँवर, बड़ी-बड़ी भुजाएँ महान् ग्राह और हथेलीका शब्द ही गम्भीर गर्जन था, जिनके बाणोंके गिरनेकी सीमामें आकर अर्जुनके सिवा दूसरा कोई वीर नहीं टिक सकता था, वे सूर्यकुमार तेजस्वी कर्ण पूर्वकालमें आपके पुत्र कैसे हुए? ।। १५-१६$ ।। यस्य बाहुप्रतापेन तापिता: सर्वतो वयम्
vaiśampāyana uvāca | kathaṃ putro bhavatyāḥ sa devagarbhaḥ purābhavat | yasya bāhupratāpena tāpitāḥ sarvato vayam |
Vaiśampāyana said: “How did that one—born of a divine conception—come to be your son in former times? By the might of his arms we were scorched on every side.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how extraordinary power and fame (here, Karna’s martial prowess) do not erase the moral and emotional weight of origins and relationships; in the aftermath of war, questions of lineage and responsibility become ethically urgent.
Vaiśampāyana, narrating events of the Strī Parva, raises the question of how the divinely conceived Karṇa could have been born as her son in earlier times, while recalling how his arm-might tormented opponents on all sides—setting up the disclosure and reflection on Karṇa’s birth and identity.