Shloka 21

Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity

Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27

Devanagari script

अहो भवत्या मन्त्रस्य गूहनेन वयं हता:

Transliteration

aho bhavatyā mantrasya gūhanena vayaṁ hatāḥ

Translation

Aduhai! Kerana engkau menyembunyikan mantera—nasihat suci yang sepatutnya melindungi dan membimbing—maka kami telah binasa.

Word by Word

• अहो: alas! / oh!
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अहो

• भवत्या: by you (lady)
• भवत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भवत्
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• मन्त्रस्य: of the counsel/secret
• Type: Noun
• Root: मन्त्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• गूहनेन: by concealment/hiding
• गूहनेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गूहन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• वयम्: we
• वयम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Nominative, Plural

• हताः: killed/slain (are)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन (Vaiśampāyana) as narrator/speaker
• bhavatī (a respectfully addressed woman; unnamed in this pāda)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral burden of withholding vital counsel: secrecy can become culpable when it prevents protection, right action, or timely remedy, leading to collective harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the lament-filled context of the Strī Parva, the narrator reports a reproach: someone addresses a woman, blaming their destruction on her having concealed an important mantra or counsel.