Shloka 144

Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma

Devanagari script

इति श्रीमहाभारते उद्योगपर्वणि भगवद्यानपर्वणि कुन्तीकर्णसमागमे चतुश्चत्वारिंशदाधिकशततमो< ध्याय:

Transliteration

iti śrīmahābhārate udyogaparvaṇi bhagavadyānaparvaṇi kuntīkarṇasamāgame catuścatvāriṃśad-adhikaśatatamo 'dhyāyaḥ |

Translation

かくして『シュリー・マハーバーラタ』「ウディヨーガ・パルヴァ」――とりわけ主の和平使節の段「バガヴァッド・ヤーナ・パルヴァ」――において、クンティとカルナの会見を描く第百四十四章はここに終わる。章末の詞は、母の務めと自己の由来、そして戦の要請が、破れた和平の影のもとで交錯する重い邂逅の幕引きを告げる。

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'iti', 'definition': 'thus

• an end-marker indicating conclusion'}, {'term': 'śrīmahābhārate', 'definition': 'in the Śrī Mahābhārata (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'udyogaparvaṇi', 'definition': 'in the Udyoga Parva

• the Book of Effort/Preparation (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'bhagavadyānaparvaṇi', 'definition': 'in the Bhagavad-yāna section

• the Lord’s journey/embassy for peace (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'kuntī', 'definition': 'Kuntī

• mother of the Pāṇḍavas'}, {'term': 'karṇa', 'definition': 'Karṇa

• son of Kuntī, ally of the Kauravas'}, {'term': 'samāgama', 'definition': 'meeting

• coming together'}, {'term': 'catuścatvāriṃśad-adhikaśatatamaḥ', 'definition': 'one hundred and forty-fourth (144th)'}, {'term': 'adhyāyaḥ', 'definition': 'chapter'}]

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Mahābhārata
• Udyoga Parva
• Bhagavad-yāna Parva
• Kuntī
• Karṇa

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a chapter-ending colophon points to the ethical center of the episode: kinship and truth confront political loyalty and impending war. The Kuntī–Karṇa meeting foregrounds dharma as a conflict of duties—maternal responsibility, personal honor, and allegiance—set against the broader attempt to avert catastrophe through peace-making.

What is happening in the narrative?

This is the closing colophon of the chapter that narrates Kuntī’s meeting with Karṇa during the Udyoga Parva, within the Bhagavad-yāna (peace-embassy) context. It signals the completion of the episode and situates it within the larger arc of negotiations failing as war approaches.