Shloka 64
Kṛṣṇa at Duryodhana’s House: Refusal of Hospitality and Departure to Vidura (कृष्णस्य धार्तराष्ट्रनिवेशनगमनम्)
अदात् तु कुन्तिभोजाय सखा सख्ये महात्मने । “मैं अभी बालिका थी, हाथमें गेंद लेकर खेलती फिरती थी; उसी अवस्थामें तुम्हारे पितामहने मित्रधर्मका पालन करते हुए अपने सखा महात्मा कुन्तिभोजके हाथमें मुझे दे दिया ।।
adāt tu kuntibhojāya sakhā sakhye mahātmane | sāhaṁ pitrā ca nikṛtā śvaśuraiś ca parantapa | atyantaduḥkhitā kṛṣṇa kiṁ jīvitaphalaṁ mama ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana disse: “Meu pai, honrando as obrigações da amizade, entregou-me — ainda menina — ao seu nobre amigo Kuntibhoja. E agora, ó Parantapa, fui injustiçada por meu pai e também pela casa de meu sogro. Estou tomada de profunda tristeza, ó Kṛṣṇa — que proveito há em eu continuar a viver?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights the ethical tension between social duties—especially obligations of friendship and political alliance—and the personal cost borne by those treated as transferable dependents. It invites reflection on dharma: whether fulfilling a public duty (sakhya-dharma) can still be morally compromised when it results in deception or suffering for the vulnerable.
Within Vaiśampāyana’s narration, Kuntī’s words are reported: she recalls being given away to Kuntibhoja as part of her father’s friendship obligations, and she laments that both her natal family and her in-laws have dealt with her unfairly. In grief she turns to Kṛṣṇa, questioning the value of her continued life.