Shloka 15
धृतराष्ट्रदर्शनाय पाण्डवानां प्रयाणम् | The Pāṇḍavas Prepare to Visit Dhṛtarāṣṭra
ततो5हमन्तर्भवने पितृर्वृत्तान्तरक्षिणी | गूढोत्पन्नं सुतं बाल॑ जले कर्णमवासृजम्,तबसे मैं इस वृत्तान्तको पिताजीसे छिपाये रखनेके लिये महलके भीतर ही रहने लगी और जब गुप्तरूपसे बालक उत्पन्न हुआ तो उसे मैंने पानीमें बहा दिया। वही मेरा पुत्र कर्ण था
tato 'ham antarbhavane pitṝn vṛttāntarakṣiṇī | gūḍhotpannaṃ sutaṃ bālaṃ jale karṇam avāsṛjam |
ततोऽहमन्तःपुरे पितॄन् वृत्तान्तं गोपयन्ती स्थितवती। गूढोत्पन्नं च बालं सुतं जलेऽवासृजम्; स एव मे पुत्रः कर्णोऽभवत्।
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.