Shloka 29
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
पापेनासौ मया श्रेष्ठो भ्राता ज्ञातिर्निपातित: । अतो मनसि यद् गुहां स्त्रीणां तन्न भविष्यति,तदनन्तर वे बोले--“मुझ पापीने इस रहस्यको न जाननेके कारण अपने बड़े भाईको मरवा दिया; अत: आजसे स्त्रियोंके मनमें कोई गुप्त रहस्य नहीं छिपा रह सकेगा”
pāpenāsau mayā śreṣṭho bhrātā jñātir nipātitaḥ | ato manasi yad guhyaṃ strīṇāṃ tan na bhaviṣyati ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—पापेन मया श्रेष्ठो भ्राता ज्ञातिर्निपातितः। अतः परं स्त्रीणां मनसि यद् गुह्यं तन्न भविष्यति॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames moral causality: a grievous act (seen as ‘sin’) leads to irreversible loss, and the speaker’s remorse turns into a sweeping pronouncement about social/psychological consequences—here, the loss of secrecy in women’s minds—highlighting how personal wrongdoing can be projected into broader norms.
In the grief-laden aftermath of the war (Strī-parvan context), a speaker laments that through his own fault he caused the fall/death of a noble elder brother/kinsman, and then utters a declaration that women will no longer be able to keep mental secrets hidden.