Kunti Speaks; Yudhishthira's Curse on Women

Verse 1 (12.6.1)

एतावदुक्त्वा देवर्षिर्विरराम स नारदः । युधिष्ठिरस्तु राजर्षिर्दध्यौ शोकपरिप्लुतः ॥

etāvaduktvā devarṣirvirarāma sa nāradaḥ | yudhiṣṭhirastu rājarṣirdadhyau śokapariplutaḥ

Vaishampayana said: Having said this much, the divine sage Narada fell silent, and Yudhishthira, the royal sage, sank into thought, drowned in grief.

Verse 2 (12.6.2)

तं दीनमनसं वीरमधोवदनमातुरम् । निःश्वसन्तं यथा नागं पर्यश्रुनयनं तथा ॥

taṃ dīnamanasaṃ vīramadhovadanamāturam | niḥśvasantaṃ yathā nāgaṃ paryaśrunayanaṃ tathā

He was downcast in mind, his face lowered, distressed, sighing like a serpent, his eyes full of tears.

Verse 3 (12.6.3)

कुन्ती शोकपरीताङ्गी दुःखोपहतचेतना । अब्रवीन्मधुराभाषा काले वचनमर्थवत् ॥

kuntī śokaparītāṅgī duḥkhopahatacetanā | abravīnmadhurābhāṣā kāle vacanamarthavat

Kunti, her limbs wasted with sorrow and her mind struck down by grief, spoke to him in a gentle voice, at the right moment, words full of meaning.

Verse 4 (12.6.4)

युधिष्ठिर महाबाहो नैनं शोचितुमर्हसि । जहि शोकं महाप्राज्ञ शृणु चेदं वचो मम ॥

yudhiṣṭhira mahābāho nainaṃ śocitumarhasi | jahi śokaṃ mahāprājña śṛṇu cedaṃ vaco mama

Kunti said: Yudhishthira, mighty-armed, you should not grieve for him. Put away your sorrow, O wise one, and listen to what I say.

Note on the text: Corrected श्रृणु → शृणु (misprint in Wikisource; श्रृ for शृ, CE śṛṇu). Speaker set to Kunti: verses 4-8 are her speech, begun in verse 3; Wikisource prints no heading (the input carried वैशंपायन).

Verse 5 (12.6.5)

याचितः स मया पूर्वं भ्राता ज्ञापयितुं तव । भास्करेण च देवेन पित्रा धर्मभृतां वरः ॥

yācitaḥ sa mayā pūrvaṃ bhrātā jñāpayituṃ tava | bhāskareṇa ca devena pitrā dharmabhṛtāṃ varaḥ

Long ago I entreated that brother of yours, that best of the upholders of dharma, and so did his father, the god Bhaskara, to make himself known to you as your brother.

Note on the text: याचितः is a recension variant, kept (CE yatitaḥ; the page's note cites यातितः). भ्राता against CE bhrātryaṃ is likewise a variant. Speaker Kunti (see verse 4).

Verse 6 (12.6.6)

यद्वाच्यं हितकामेन सुहृदां भूतिमिच्छता । तथा दिवाकरेणोक्तः स्वप्नान्ते मम चाग्रतः ॥

yadvācyaṃ hitakāmena suhṛdāṃ bhūtimicchatā | tathā divākareṇoktaḥ svapnānte mama cāgrataḥ

What a well-wisher, a friend who seeks the welfare of his friends, ought to say, that very thing Divakara told him at the end of a dream, in my presence.

Note on the text: Speaker Kunti (see verse 4).

Verse 7 (12.6.7)

न चैनमशकद्भानुरहं वा स्नेहकारणैः । पुरा प्रत्यनुनेतुं वा नेतुं वाऽप्येकतां त्वया ॥

na cainamaśakadbhānurahaṃ vā snehakāraṇaiḥ | purā pratyanunetuṃ vā netuṃ vā'pyekatāṃ tvayā

But neither Bhanu nor I, with all our pleas of affection, was able in the past to win him over or to bring him into union with you.

Note on the text: Speaker Kunti (see verse 4).

Verse 8 (12.6.8)

ततः कालपरीतः स वैरस्योद्धरणे रतः । प्रतीपकारी युष्माकमिति चोपेक्षितो मया ॥

tataḥ kālaparītaḥ sa vairasyoddharaṇe rataḥ | pratīpakārī yuṣmākamiti copekṣito mayā

Then, seized by Time and bent on carrying out his enmity, he stood as an adversary to you; and so I gave him up.

Note on the text: वैरस्योद्धरणे is a recension variant, kept (CE vairasyoddhukṣaṇe). Speaker Kunti (see verse 4).

Verse 9 (12.6.9)

इत्युक्तो धर्मराजस्तु मात्रा बाष्पाकुलेक्षणः । उवाच वाक्यं धर्मात्मा शोकव्याकुललोचनः ॥

ityukto dharmarājastu mātrā bāṣpākulekṣaṇaḥ | uvāca vākyaṃ dharmātmā śokavyākulalocanaḥ

Addressed thus by his mother, Dharmaraja, his eyes brimming with tears and his heart troubled by sorrow, the righteous-souled one spoke.

Verse 10 (12.6.10)

भवत्या गूढमन्त्रत्वाद्वञ्चिताः स्म तदा भृशम् ॥

bhavatyā gūḍhamantratvādvañcitāḥ sma tadā bhṛśam

Yudhishthira said: Because you kept the counsel secret, we were then cruelly deceived.

Note on the text: Speaker set to Yudhishthira: this one-line verse is wholly his reply, introduced by verse 9; Wikisource prints no heading (the input carried वैशंपायन). The page prints it as a single line labelled 12-6-10a; with verse 11 (two lines) it makes up the three-line CE verse 12.6.10, whose first line (CE 10a bhavatyā gūḍhamantratvāt pīḍito 'smīty uvāca tām) is a different recension reading.

Verse 11 (12.6.11)

शशाप च महातेजाः सर्वलोकेषु योषितः । न गुह्यं धारयिष्यन्तीत्येवं दुःखसमन्वितः ॥

śaśāpa ca mahātejāḥ sarvalokeṣu yoṣitaḥ | na guhyaṃ dhārayiṣyantītyevaṃ duḥkhasamanvitaḥ

And, filled with grief, the greatly radiant one cursed all women in all the worlds: ‘They shall not be able to keep a secret.’

Note on the text: Lines 1-2 = CE 12.6.10c and 10e (śaśāpa ca mahātejāḥ sarvalokeṣu ca striyaḥ / na guhyaṃ dhārayiṣyantīty atiduḥkhasamanvitaḥ); एवं against CE ati is a recension variant. Together with verse 10 this fills the three-line CE verse 12.6.10; narration, so Vaishampayana.

Verse 12 (12.6.12)

स राजा पुत्रपौत्राणां संबन्धिसुहृदां तदा । स्मरन्नुद्विग्नहृदयो बभूवोद्विग्नचेतनः ॥

sa rājā putrapautrāṇāṃ saṃbandhisuhṛdāṃ tadā | smarannudvignahṛdayo babhūvodvignacetanaḥ

Then the king, remembering his sons and grandsons, his kinsmen and friends, became distressed at heart and unsettled in mind.

Note on the text: Recension variants, kept: तदा (CE tathā), बभूवोद्विग्नचेतनः (CE babhūvāsvasthacetanaḥ).

Verse 13 (12.6.13)

ततः शोकपरीतात्मा सधूम इव पावकः । निर्वेदमगमद्धीमान्राज्ये संतापपीडितः ॥

tataḥ śokaparītātmā sadhūma iva pāvakaḥ | nirvedamagamaddhīmānrājye saṃtāpapīḍitaḥ

Then, his soul wrapped in grief, like a fire wrapped in smoke, the wise king, tormented by anguish, grew weary of the kingdom.

Note on the text: Recension variant, kept: निर्वेदमगमद्धीमान्राज्ये (CE nirvedam akarod dhīmān rājā).