Shloka 15
धृतराष्ट्रदर्शनाय पाण्डवानां प्रयाणम् | The Pāṇḍavas Prepare to Visit Dhṛtarāṣṭra
ततो5हमन्तर्भवने पितृर्वृत्तान्तरक्षिणी | गूढोत्पन्नं सुतं बाल॑ जले कर्णमवासृजम्
tato 'ham antarbhavane pitṝn vṛttāntarakṣiṇī | gūḍhotpannaṃ sutaṃ bālaṃ jale karṇam avāsṛjam |
ನಂತರ ಈ ವಿಷಯವನ್ನು ಹಿರಿಯರಿಂದ ಮರೆಮಾಡಲು ನಾನು ಅಂತಃಪುರದಲ್ಲೇ ಉಳಿದೆ. ಗುಪ್ತವಾಗಿ ಮಗು ಜನಿಸಿದಾಗ, ಆ ಶಿಶುವನ್ನು ನಾನು ನೀರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ತೇಲುವಂತೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟೆ. ಅವನೇ ನನ್ನ ಪುತ್ರ ಕರ್ಣನು.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral conflict: preserving family honor and avoiding social condemnation leads to concealment, yet that concealment entails grave ethical cost—abandoning a newborn. It points to how fear and secrecy can set in motion long-term suffering and tragic outcomes.
The speaker recounts that the woman stayed in the inner quarters to hide the incident from her elders; when a child was born in secret, she released the infant into the water. The child is identified as Karṇa.