Shloka 7
Svargārohaṇa-parva Adhyāya 2 — Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry for His Kin and the Vision of a Punitive Realm
युद्धके बाद जब मैं अपने मृत सम्बन्धियोंको जलाञज्जलि दे रहा था उस समय मेरी माता कुन्तीने कहा था--“बेटा! कर्णको भी जलाञ्जलि देना।” माताकी यह बात सुनकर मुझे मालूम हुआ कि महात्मा कर्ण मेरे ही भाई थे। तबसे मुझे उनके लिये बड़ा दुःख होता है ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
yuddhake bāda jaba maiṃ apane mṛta sambandhiyoṃ ko jalāñjali de rahā thā usa samaya merī mātā kuntī ne kahā thā— “beṭā! karṇa ko bhī jalāñjali denā।” mātā kī yaha bāta sunkara mujhe mālūm huā ki mahātmā karṇa mere hī bhāī the। tabse mujhe unke liye baṛā duḥkha hotā hai॥
idaṃ ca paritapyāmi punaḥ punar ahaṃ surāḥ |
yan mātuḥ sadṛśau pādau tasyāham amitātmanaḥ |
devatāo! yaha socakara to maiṃ aura bhī paścāttāpa kartā rahtā hūṃ ki “mahāmanā karṇa ke donoṃ caraṇoṃ ko mātā kuntī ke caraṇoṃ ke samān dekhkar bhī maiṃ kyoṃ nahīṃ śatrudala-mardana karṇa kā anugāmī ho gayā?” yadi karṇa hamāre sātha hote to hameṃ indra bhī yuddha meṃ parāsta nahīṃ kara sakte।
玉提施提罗说道：战后，当我为阵亡的亲族行洒水祭奠之礼时，我的母亲昆蒂对我说：“孩子，也要为迦尔纳献上奠水。”听到这话，我才知道那位大心之士迦尔纳竟是我的亲兄弟。从那一刻起，为他而起的悲痛便沉沉压在我心上。 诸天啊，我一次又一次因这念头而悔恨如焚：我明明看见那位高贵、心量无边之人的双足，竟与母亲昆蒂的双足相似，为何我没有追随迦尔纳——那位摧破敌军之人？若迦尔纳与我们同阵，纵使因陀罗也不能在战场上击败我们。
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of hidden kinship and the lasting consequences of ignorance and delayed truth. Yudhiṣṭhira’s remorse shows how dharma is not only about victory or duty in war, but also about responsibility toward family, truthful disclosure, and the inner reckoning that follows violence.
After the Kurukṣetra war, Yudhiṣṭhira performs funerary water-offerings for the dead. Kuntī instructs him to offer for Karṇa too, revealing that Karṇa was his brother. Yudhiṣṭhira then laments repeatedly, wondering why he did not align with Karṇa, and asserts that with Karṇa on their side even Indra would not have been able to defeat them.