Shloka 8
Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity
Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27
अर्जुनेन जित: संख्ये वीरलक्षणलक्षित: । यं सूतपुत्र॑ मन्यध्वं राधेयमिति पाण्डवा:
arjunena jitaḥ saṅkhye vīralakṣaṇalakṣitaḥ | yaṃ sūtaputraṃ manyadhvaṃ rādheyam iti pāṇḍavāḥ ||
毗湿摩波耶那说：在战斗中，他——具备真英雄之征——被阿周那所败；正是你们般度族曾以为是车夫之子、名为罗陀耶（迦尔纳）的人。此句揭示：战争颠倒声名，凭出身而下的断语，在战场的道德清算中被彻底暴露。
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the fragility of social labels in the face of lived action: the one dismissed as ‘sūtaputra’ is still ‘vīralakṣaṇalakṣita’—truly heroic—yet is brought down by destiny and the harsh arithmetic of war. It cautions against reducing a person to birth-status and points to the tragic moral complexity of battlefield outcomes.
Vaiśampāyana recalls that Rādheya (Karna), whom the Pāṇḍavas had long regarded as a charioteer’s son, was defeated by Arjuna in combat. In the Stree Parva’s aftermath setting, such recollections intensify grief and ethical reflection on the war’s cost.