गूहमानापचारं तं बन्धुपक्षभयात् तदा ॥
उत्ससर्ज जले कुन्ती तं कुमारं सलक्षणम् ॥
तम् उत्सृष्टं तदा गर्भं राधाभर्ता महायशाः ॥
पुत्रत्वे कल्पयाम् आस सभार्यः सूतनन्दनः ॥
नामधेयं च चक्राते तस्य बालस्य ताव् उभौ ॥
वसुना सह जातो ऽयं वसुषेणो भवत्व् इति ॥
gūhamānāpacāraṃ taṃ bandhupakṣabhayāt tadā ||
utsasarja jale kuntī taṃ kumāraṃ salakṣaṇam ||
tam utsṛṣṭaṃ tadā garbhaṃ rādhābhartā mahāyaśāḥ ||
putratve kalpayām āsa sabhāryaḥ sūtanandanaḥ ||
nāmadheyaṃ ca cakrāte tasya bālasya tāv ubhau ||
vasunā saha jāto 'yaṃ vasuṣeṇo bhavatv iti ||
"Concealing what had happened out of fear before her kin, Kunti then set that infant, marked with auspicious signs, adrift upon the water. That abandoned infant the far-famed husband of Radha, a charioteer, adopted together with his wife; and they both gave the child a name: 'Born together with wealth — let him be Vasushena.'"
4340229b220c · published Jul 12, 2026, 4:30:26 PM UTC
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Here is the bitterest page: a mother sets her own child adrift out of fear of disgrace. The contradiction in which a mother's heart is torn is telling: Kunti is not wicked, but young and defenseless before the judgment of her kin, and fear for her honor overcomes love. Here is the tragedy of a forced sin and its long-lasting fruit: the disowned Karna will be wounded all his life by his (as he thinks) lowly birth, and this wound will feed his enmity toward the Pandavas — his own brothers. Telling too is the mercy of providence: the abandoned child is saved by good foster parents, the charioteer Adhiratha and Radha, who adopt him with love. It is telling that even amid human downfall a preserving hand is at work: the god's child does not perish but finds shelter and a name. Telling is the name "Vasushena" — "possessed of wealth": he is born with a treasure (armor and earrings), but his true wealth will become his generosity. Thus the scripture weaves together the mother's sin, the foster parents' mercy, and the coming fate of a hero at once rejected and cherished.