Shloka 29
Kuntī–Karṇa Saṃvāda: Lineage Disclosure and Appeal to Fraternal Dharma
अतिष्ठत् सूर्यतापार्ता कर्णस्योत्तरवाससि । कौरव्यपत्नी वार्ष्णेयी पद्ममालेव शुष्यती
atiṣṭhat sūryatāpārtā karṇasyottaravāsasi | kauravyapatnī vārṣṇeyī padmamālevā śuṣyatī ||
ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。太陽の熱に責められたクンティ――パーンドゥの妃にして、ヴリシュニの血を引き、またクル家とも婚縁で結ばれた女――は、カルナの上衣の影に身を寄せ、蓮華の花鬘のようにしおれて立っていた。迫る戦の影の下、母としての情と義務がせめぎ合う重い瞬間が示される。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the human vulnerability beneath heroic destinies: even amid political and moral crisis, compassion and kinship persist. It subtly frames the ethical tension of dharma—how family bonds and personal duty strain under the approach of war.
Kuntī, distressed by the sun’s heat, stands in the shade cast by Karṇa’s upper garment, described as withering like a lotus garland. The imagery emphasizes her physical exhaustion and emotional burden in her encounter with Karṇa during the pre-war negotiations.