In plain words
One who has no gratitude is lower than a wild beast
One day, the day before the war, Karṇa went to the river, bathed and was performing his sandhyā worship. Kuntī Devī had set her maids to find out where Karṇa went alone and to tell her. Seizing that moment, she too went quickly to the riverbank. There Karṇa was in meditation. Kuntī Devī, his mother, stood behind him so as not to disturb his meditation in the least. Seeing her son Karṇa after a very long time, she was overcome by grief she could not hold back. ‘A terrible war is about to happen; who will perish in it, who will die?’: with this anxiety, and with a mother's tenderness for her son, she sank deeper into grief. At last, unable to bear it, she wept aloud. Poor Karṇa, who was in meditation, started up. He looked, and it was Kuntī Devī. Karṇa did not know she was his mother. But he did know that Kuntī was the mother of the Pāṇḍavas. ‘Mother! Why are you grieving like this? I am Rādhā's son, Karṇa. I bow to you. What is the cause of your grief?’ he asked. Then Kuntī Devī: ‘My son! You are not Rādhā's son; you are my own son! You were born to me by the Sun's boon. To escape the world's blame, I left you in the Gaṅgā that day. I am a very wicked woman. You were a newborn babe, and I cast you away into the Gaṅgā, mercilessly and harshly. Only for my good name, for my own selfish sake, I abandoned you like this. You are my very first son. The Pāṇḍavas are your brothers. They are your own younger brothers! Even Dharmaja is your younger brother! My son! Give me your word on one thing. If all of you stand together as one, you can rule as sole sovereign under one umbrella. You yourself can be emperor. All the Pāṇḍavas will take your command upon their heads and walk in your footsteps. I give you my word on that. In this terrible war, do not take up enmity against the Pāṇḍavas in the least. Keep a brother's feeling for them in your heart! Think a little of this mother's grief!’ When she said this, his mind fell into great confusion. He was plunged into deep anguish.