Shloka 22

Devanagari script

एवं बहुविधं राजन्‌ विलप्य करुणं पृथा । अवासृजत मज्जूषामश्चनद्यास्तदा जले,राजन्‌! इस तरह बहुत-सी बातें कहकर करुण-विलाप करती हुई कुन्तीने उस समय अश्वनदीके जलमें वह पिटारी छोड़ दी

Transliteration

evaṁ bahuvidhaṁ rājan vilapya karuṇaṁ pṛthā | avāsṛjat majjūṣām aścanadyās tadā jale ||

Translation

After lamenting in many ways, O King, Pṛthā (Kuntī) poured forth a sorrowful cry; and then, at that time, she cast the casket into the waters of the Aścanadī. The scene underscores the moral weight of concealment and the painful choices made to protect honor and avert future turmoil, even when the heart is torn by compassion and regret.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

बहु-विधम्many kinds (of things)

राजन्O king

विलप्यhaving lamented

करुणम्pitiably, in a lamenting way

पृथाPritha (Kunti)

अवासृजत्she let go / cast down

मज्जूषाम्a box, casket

अश्व-नद्याःof the Ashvanadi (river)

तदाthen, at that time

जलेin the water

राजन्O king

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṁpāyana

Pṛthā (Kuntī)

King (listener addressed as rājan)

Aścanadī (river)

majjūṣā (casket/box)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension between personal truth and social duty: Kuntī’s sorrowful act of casting away the casket reflects a choice made under pressure to protect honor and prevent wider harm, showing how dharma can involve painful restraint and sacrifice.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṁpāyana narrates that Kuntī, after lamenting at length, throws a casket into the waters of the Aścanadī river—an action marking the concealment/abandonment of something significant amid grief.