कथं सद्धर्मचारित्रवृत्तस्थितिविभूषितान् ॥
अक्षुद्रान् दृढभक्तांश् च दैवतेज्यापरान् सदा ॥
व्यसनं वः समभ्यागात् को ऽयं विधिविपर्ययः ॥
कस्यापध्यानजं चेदम् आगः पश्यामि वो धिया ॥
स्यात् तु मद्भाग्यदोषो ऽयं याहं युष्मान् अजीजनम् ॥
दुःखायासभुजो ऽत्यर्थं युक्तान् अप्य् उत्तमैर् गुणैः ॥
कथं वत्स्यथ दुर्गेषु वनेष्व् ऋद्धिविनाकृताः ॥
वीर्यसत्त्वबलोत्साहतेजोभिर् अकृशाः कृशाः ॥
kathaṃ saddharmacāritravṛttasthitivibhūṣitān ||
akṣudrān dṛḍhabhaktāṃś ca daivatejyāparān sadā ||
vyasanaṃ vaḥ samabhyāgāt ko 'yaṃ vidhiviparyayaḥ ||
kasyāpadhyānajaṃ cedam āgaḥ paśyāmi vo dhiyā ||
syāt tu madbhāgyadoṣo 'yaṃ yāhaṃ yuṣmān ajījanam ||
duḥkhāyāsabhujo 'tyarthaṃ yuktān apy uttamair guṇaiḥ ||
kathaṃ vatsyatha durgeṣu vaneṣv ṛddhivinākṛtāḥ ||
vīryasattvabalotsāhatejobhir akṛśāḥ kṛśāḥ ||
[Kunti:] "How has calamity come upon you -- adorned with good dharma, character, conduct, and steadfastness, not base, firm in devotion, ever devoted to the worship of the gods? What perversity of fate is this? Whose evil design, I wonder in my mind, has engendered this sin that has fallen upon you? Or perhaps this is the fault of my own wretched fortune -- I who gave birth to you, who now partake of grief and hardship beyond measure, though you are endowed with the highest virtues. How will you dwell in impassable forests, deprived of prosperity -- you who were never meager in valor, essence, strength, zeal, and splendor, but are now emaciated?"
cec882d43d68 · published Jul 16, 2026, 4:12:36 PM UTC
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The mother's lament is filled with an ancient, agonizing question: why does calamity befall the virtuous? Kunti finds no fault in her sons -- and in her confusion blames now "the perversity of fate", now her own unhappy lot, as a loving heart is apt to take another's misfortune upon itself. But her very perplexity already contains the answer: the sin is "born of an evil design" -- it is the fruit of another's wrongdoing, not retribution for the fault of the righteous. The verse teaches that the suffering of the virtuous is not a sign of their own sin but often evidence of another's wickedness, permitted for a time; that a loving soul tends to blame itself where the fault lies with others; and that the cry of "why?" before undeserved misfortune is an ancient pain, resolved only through faith in a higher hour of justice.