Karna
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण written Karṇa in IAST transliteration) is one of the central characters in the epic Mahābhārata from ancient India. Karna is considered to be the greatest warrior of Mahābhārata by authorities including Krishna and Bhishma, as stated in the original text by Maharishi Ved Vyasa [1][2][3][4]. He was the son of Surya (the Sun god) and Kunti born in a virgin birth.He was born to Kunti, much before her marriage with Pandu. He is described as the closest friend of Duryodhana. Karna fought on his behalf against the Pandavas - his brothers- at the Kurukshetra war. Karna fought against the continuous misfortunes throughout his life; He never gave up his efforts and always kept his words under all circumstances. Many adore him for this ideal character.
Virgin birth
Karna's birth occurred, as a result of the immaculate conception granted to his mother Kunti, by his father the solar deity Surya. Karna was born, before his mother's marriage to prince Pandu. When Kunti was young, the sage Durvasa visited her father's palace. She served the sage with utmost care for an entire year. Pleased by her service and hospitality, the sage foresaw her future difficulty after marriage of not having a child through Pandu, and hence granted her a boon to overcome this difficulty. By this boon she could call upon any god of her choice, and beget a child. Out of curiosity, Kunti still being unmarried, decided to test the power of the boon. She invoked the mantra and called Surya. Bounded by the power of the mantra, Surya appeared before her and granted her a son, who was as radiant and robust as Surya himself. This baby was born with an armour ('Kavacha') and a pair of earrings ('Kundala') attached to him. Though Kunti retained her virginity, unwilling to face the world as an unwed mother, she abandoned Karna by putting him in a box and setting him afloat on the holy river Ganga.
Upbringing
The child Karna was brought down by the river and picked up by Adhiratha-- a charioteer of king Dhritarashtra. He and his wife Radha raised Karna as their own son and named him as Vasusena. Karna also came to be known as Radheya - son of Radha (his foster mother) while his original name Karna meant 'ear', because according to legend, baby Karna came out of Kunti's ear. The bond between Karna and his foster parents was filled with pure love, respect and affection. Karna lovingly performed his duties as their son, despite his rise as a king of Anga and the eventual revelation of his true birth. Thus, Karna remained faithful and loyal to his foster parents till his death. His wife's name was Vrushali, Ponnuruvi.
As regards his sons, Karna had several sons and the names of nine of his sons are mentioned. Of the nine, only one survived the Kurukshetra war.Vrasasena; Sudhama; Shatrunjaya; Dvipata; Sushena; Satyasea; Chitrasena; Susharma(Banasena); and Vrishakethu.
Sudhama died in the melee that followed Draupadi’s swayamvara. Shatrunjaya and Dvipata died in the Kurukshetra war at the hands of Arjuna during the days when Drona commanded the Kaurava forces. Sushena was killed in the war by Bhima. Satyasena, Chitrasena and Susharma died in the hands of Nakula. Karna’s eldest son Vrasasena died during the last days of the war when Karna was the commanded the battle forces. Vrasasena was killed by Arjuna.
Vrishasena’s death is described in all its gruesome detail:
Vrishasena, angered at the death of Duhshasana and Chitrasena, rushed against Nakula, desiring to fight with his father's enemy. A fierce battle then ensued between those two heroes. Vrishasena managed to kill Nakula's horses and pierce him with many arrows. Descending from his chariot, Nakula took up his sword and shield, and making his way toward Vrishasena, he severed the heads of two thousand horsemen. Vrishasena, seeing Nakula coming towards him whirling that sword like a discus, shattered the sword and shield with four crescent shaped arrows. Nakula then quickly ascended Bhima's chariot. As Arjuna came near, Nakula requested him, "Please slay this sinful person." Arjuna then ordered Lord Krishna, "Proceed toward the son of Karna. I will kill him within his father's sight." Unsupported by anyone, Vrishasena challenged Arjuna releasing many different kinds of arrows. He pierced Arjuna's arm with ten arrows and Krishna also with ten. Arjuna became enraged, and exclaimed loudly to the Kaurava kings including Karna, "Today, O Karna, I will kill your son as you unfairly killed my son, Abhimanyu! Let all the warriors protect him if they can. I will kill him, and then, O fool, I will slay you; and Bhima will slay the wretched Duryodhana, whose evil policies have brought about the great battle." Having threatened Karna, Arjuna struck Vrishasena with ten arrows that weakened him. With four razor headed arrows, Arjuna cut off his bow, his two arms and his head that was adorned with beautiful earrings.Beholding Vrishasena killed, Karna wept bitter tears, and his eyes were red in rage. He then proceeded toward Arjuna challenging him to fight.
Vrishakethu was the only son of Karna that survived the horrific slaughter called Kurukshetra war. He later came under the patronage of the Pandavas. During the campaign that preceded the Ashvamedha –yaga, Vrishakethu accompanied Arjuna and participated in the battles with Sudhava and Babruvahana. During that campaign Vrishakethu married the daughter of king Yavanatha (perhaps a king of the western regions). It is said, Arjuna developed great affection for Vrishakethu, his nephew.
Training
As he grew up, Karna became more interested in the art of warfare than in being a charioteer like his father Adhirata. Karna met Dronacharya, who at that moment was an established teacher in the art of warfare. Dronacharya taught the Kuru princes, but refused to take Karna as his student, since Karna was a son of a charioteer and Drona only taught Kshatriyas.
After being refused by Drona, Karna decided to be self-taught with his brother Shona's help. But according to Indian culture when you have to learn an art, you must have a Guru(teacher),so Karna decided to make The Sun(God)his guru. Karna learnt all the arts without a Guru. During daytime, he gathered information about various ayudhas(Weapons) and then after sundown, he exercised them.
One day when Karna came to Hastinapur(capital of Kauravas)after a month of holiday, he heard from his friend Ashwathama(son of Drona) that last week Guru Dronacharya decided to test his students in their skill of archery. He hung a wooden bird from the branch of a tree and then summoned his students. He asked the first one to aim for the bird's eye but not shoot just yet. He then asked the student what he could see. The student replied that he could see the garden, the tree, flowers, etc. Drona asked him to step aside and not to shoot. He repeated the same process with a few other students. When it was Arjuna's turn, Arjuna told his Guru that the only thing he could see was the bird's eye. This satisfied the Guru and he allowed Arjuna to shoot the bird and Arjuna successfully hit the eye of that Parrot.
After listening to his brother's version of events, Karna told his brother that if Arjuna could hit the one eye of the parrot then he can hit both eyes of the parrot in a single shot. As they practiced in the night, Karna decided to shoot both eyes of the parrot the same night with the help of Palita(instrument used to lighten homes).As Karna instructed him ,Shona suspended the wooden parrot high above the tree and held the palita beneath. Karna strung the bow with two arrows (slightly changed their position one after the other) and as soon as he got signal from Shona, Karna successfully hit both eyes of the bird in a single shot. This was achieved within a short time's practice, this shows that Karna is the greatest archer in the world of all time.
In a very short period of time Karna was able to learn all the arts. Specially archery, but as he was self-taught, he could not learn the special weapons called Divya Astras. One needs to remember the incantations used for them. One of them was the Brahmastra,the deadliest weapon ever. As Arjuna learned that weapon from Guru Drona, Duryodhana insisted that Karna should learn it at any cost. But as Drona taught only to Kshatriyas, Karna decided to learn this art from Parashurama the Guru of Drona.
Karna eventually approached Parashurama, who was known to teach only Brahmins[5]. Karna appeared before him as a Brahmin and requested that he be taken as his student. Parashurama accepted him and trained him to such a point, that he declared Karna to be equal to himself in the art of warfare and archery. Thus, Karna became a diligent student of Parashurama.
Various curses imparted to Karna
Karna was cursed by his guru Bhagvan Parashurama, a Brahmin and the Earth goddess as described below:
As Karna's training came to completion, Parashurama learnt the truth about Karna's origin. The legend goes that one afternoon Parashurama requested Karna to bring a pillow for him to sleep on in a tree's shade. Karna instead offered his teacher his lap. While Parashurama was asleep, a scorpion stung Karna's thigh. Despite the excruciating pain, Karna did not move so as not to disturb his Guru's sleep. As the scorpion bored deeper into Karna's thigh, the wound began to bleed. Parashurama was woken up by the blood from Karna's thigh. He deduced at once that Karna was a Kshatriya and not a Brahmin, as only Kshatriyas were known for such valour. Thus, Parashurama, who had sworn vengeance against all Kshatriyas, concluded that Karna lied about being a Brahmin in order to learn from him. So, he cursed Karna that his martial skill including the use of Brahmastra would desert him when he needed them most. This in turn meant that Karna will forget all that he had learnt from Parashurama during his hour of crisis. Karna, who was unaware of his royal lineage, pleaded with his Guru that any student in his place would have acted the same way. While he regretted cursing Karna in a moment of anger, Parashurama's curse was irrevocable. He, gifted Karna with a celestial weapon called Bargavastra along with Parashurama's personal bow called Vijaya and blessed him that in the end, Karna would achieve what he wanted the most- everlasting glory and immortal fame. Some folklore also says that, it was Lord Indra who took the form of a scorpion to sting Karna's thigh in order to expose his intrinsic identity, a Kshatriya.
Departing from Parashurama's ashram, Karna wandered for some time. On his way, while practicing the Shabdavedi Vidya (the ability to hit a target by just observing the sound), he mistook a cow for a wild animal and shot an arrow at it and killed it. Incensed by this incident, the Brahmin who owned the cow cursed him, stating that as he had killed a helpless unattentive animal, Karna too would be killed in the same way when he was most helpless with his concentration being diverted away from his enemy at that crucial moment.
Andhra folklore further states that once Karna while riding his chariot in his kingdom of Anga, encountered a child who was crying over her pot of spilt ghee. On asking her the reason for her dismay, she stated that she feared her step mother who would be angry over her carelessness. Being generous enough Karna tells her that he will give her new ghee. But, the child insists that she wanted only the ghee that was mixed with the soil and refuses to take the new ghee. Taking pity on the girl, Karna takes the soil mixed with ghee in his fist and squeezes his hand with all his strength to extract the ghee and pours it back in to the pot. During this process, Karna hears a painful voice of a woman from his hand. When he opens his fist, he finds that it was Bhoomadevi- the Earth goddess. Angered with pain, she criticises Karna for inflicting enormous pain to Mother Earth just for the sake of a mere child. So, the Earth goddess curses him that in a very crucial battle of his life, she will hold his chariot wheel in the same way he held the fistful of soil thereby making him vulnerable to his enemy.
Thus, Karna is cursed on three separate and independent occasions. Unfortunately, each of these curses becomes operational at the same crucial moment in the Kurukshetra war later making him weaponless, without a chariot and helpless.
King of Anga and friendship with Duryodhana
Drona held a tournament at Hastinapura, to display the skills of the Kuru princes. Arjuna emerged in this tournament as a particularly gifted archer. Karna arrived at the tournament and after surpassing Arjuna's feats, challenged him to a duel. Kripacharya refused Karna his duel, asking first for his clan and kingdom - according to the rules of dueling, only a prince could challenge Arjuna who was a prince of the Kuru house. Duryodhana, the oldest of the Kauravas, who always knew that Pandavas were better than him and his brothers at warfare, saw Karna as his strongest chance against Pandavas and immediately offered him the throne of the kingdom Anga, making him a king and hence eligible to duel Arjuna. When Karna asks him what he can do to repay him, Duryodhana tells him all he wants is his friendship.
This event establishes key relationships in the Mahābhārata, namely, the strong bond between Duryodhana and Karna, the intense rivalry between Karna and Arjuna, and the enmity in general between the Pandavas as a whole and Karna.
Karna is spoken of as a loyal and true comrade to Duryodhana. While he was later party to the infamous game of dice to please Duryodhana, he was opposed to it to begin with. Karna disliked Shakuni, and advised Duryodhana continuously to use his prowess and skill to defeat his enemies, rather than deceit and trickery. When the attempt to kill the Pandavas in the house of lac fails, Karna chides Duryodhana in his despondence, telling him the ways of cowards are doomed to failure and exhorting him to be a warrior and obtain what he wants through valor. Karna aided Duryodhana in marrying the princess of Chitragandha. In her swayamvara, the princess rejected Duryodhana, who subsequently carried her away by force. The other kings present at the swayamvara pursued Duryodhana. However, Karna defeated them single-handedly. The defeated included Jarasandha, Shishupala, Dantavakra, Salya and Rukmi. As a token of his appreciation, Jarasandha gifted Karna a portion of Magadha. Bheema defeated Jarasandha with the help of Krishna but it was Karna who defeated Jarasandha earlier single-handedly. Karna was the first one to expose the weak point of Jarasandha about splitting him in two.
Generosity and character
Following his accession to Anga's throne, Karna took an oath that anyone who approached him with a request at midday, when he would worship the Sun, would not go away with his request unfulfilled. He would never let anyone leave empty-handed. This practice contributed to Karna's fame as well as to his downfall, as Indra and Kunti took advantage of it. Further, Karna gets cursed by Bhoomadevi when he tries to fulfill the request of a girl over a ghee that fell in the soil. In the case of Abhimanyu in Chakravyooh, Karna acts in a different way when Abhimanyu requests him to offer a weapon when Abhimanyu was weaponless.
The Swayamvara of Draupadi
Karna was a suitor for Draupadi at her swayamvara. Unlike most other contenders, he was easily able to wield and string the bow, but as he was ready to set aim, on Krishna's gesture, Draupadi restrained him from shooting the arrow by calling him a soot-putra (son of a charioteer). The Pandavas were also present in the swayamvara, disguised as brahmanas. Following the failure of the other princes, Arjuna stepped into the ring and successfully tackled the target, winning Draupadi's hand. When Arjuna's identity was later revealed, Karna's feelings of rivalry further intensified.
Game of dice
Karna was never happy with Shakuni's plan to defeat the Pandavas by trickery and deceit. He preferred the way of battle and repeatedly cajoled Duryodhana to choose that path. To please Duryodhana, however, he chose to be a part of the game, leading to the infamous "Vastra Haran" incident.
After Shakuni had won the game of dice by trickery, the Pandavas' queen Draupadi was dragged into the court by Dushasana who, incited by Karna, Duryodhana and his brothers, attempted to strip her. Karna insults Draupadi by saying that a woman with more than four husbands is nothing but a 'whore' and that the Pandavas were all like sesame seeds removed of the kernel and that she should now find some other husbands.
On the spot, Bhima vows that he will personally slaughter Duryodhana and his brothers in battle. Arjuna subsequently swears to kill Karna. ..
Military campaign
During the Pandavas' exile, Karna took upon himself the task of establishing Duryodhana as the Emperor of the World. Karna commanded an army to different parts of the country to subjugate kings and made them swear allegiance to Duryodhana, the king of Hastinapura or else die in battle. Karna succeeded in all the battles. In this military adventure, Karna is stated to have waged wars and reduced to submission numerous kingdoms including those of the Kambojas, the Shakas, the Kekayas, the Avantyas, the Gandharas, the Madarakas, the Trigartas, the Tanganas, the Panchalas, the Videhas, the Suhmas, the Angas, the Vangas, the Nishadas, the Kalingas, the Vatsa, the Ashmakas, the Rishikas and numerous others including mlecchas and the forest tribes. (MBH 8.8.18-20).
Krishna and Karna
Following the failed peace negotiations with Duryodhana, Krishna approaches Karna, who has come to be Duryodhana's finest warrior. He reveals to Karna his identity as the eldest Pandava and asks him to join their side. Krishna assures him that since he is the eldest Pandava, Yudhisthira would most certainly give the crown of Indraprastha to Karna who would become a great king.
Karna refuses the enormous offer because he swore fealty to Duryodhana, and as such, was compelled to stay by his side despite his genetic ties to the Pandavas. He said that Yudhisthira was a righteous man, and knowing that Karna was older than him, Yudhisthira would immediately give up his crown to him. However, to repay his debt to Duryodhana, Karna would have to put the crown of Indraprastha on Duryodhana, which Karna thought was against Dharma. He also remarks to Krishna that as long as he is with Pandavas on the side of Truth, defeat is certain for himself. Krishna is saddened, but appreciating Karna's sense of loyalty, accepts his decision, promising Karna that his lineage would remain a secret. Krishna yet again appreciated Karna for his righteousness, and bowed to him- the one place where divinity bowed down to humanity.
Loss of armour
Indra, king of the gods (Devas) and father of Arjuna, realized that Karna would be invincible and immortal in battle as long as he had the golden armour suit and earrings that he was born with. During the Pandavas' exile, when war was imminent, Indra took it upon himself to weaken Karna. He decided to approach Karna as a poor brahmin during his mid-day worship. . Surya warned Karna of Indra's intentions, exhorting him not to give away his armour and earrings. Karna thanks Surya but explains he is bound by his word and can not send anyone from his door empty handed even if it means his death. As Surya had predicted, a disguised Indra approached Karna and asked for his kavacha (body armour) and kundala (earrings) as alms. Karna readily gives them away, cutting the armor and earrings off his body. Indra, shamed into generosity by Karna's gesture, reciprocates by giving Karna the boon to use Indra's most powerful weapon, the Vasavi shakti, but only once. It is at this point that he earns the name Vaikartana, as he cut the armor off his body without flinching.
Kunti and Karna
As the war approached, Kunti met Karna to reveal his true identity. She told him that she was his mother and that he was her son. Then, both of them shared a touching moment together. She told him to call himself as 'Kaunteya' (son of Kunti) instead of 'Radheya', then Karna replies that he wanted the entire world to recognise him as a Radheya and not as a Kaunteya. Kunti asks Karna to join the Pandavas and become the king. Karna refuses and tells Kunti that had she been willing to call him as Kaunteya many years ago when he appeared at the tournament, then things would have been very different. But it was too late now for him to make this change. He further states that being a friend of Duryodhana, he cannot betray the trust of his friend. However, he promises Kunti that he will not kill any of the Pandavas except Arjuna. Both, Karna and Arjuna have sworn to kill each other, and thus one of them were bound to die. So, he tells Kunti that she can only dream of having five sons- the fifth one being either him or Arjuna. Karna requests his mother to keep their relationship and his royal birth a secret until his death.
Kunti also seeks another promise from Karna of not using an arrow / divine weapon more than once. Karna promises her this too. As a result, Karna could not use the Nagastra weapon more than once in the Kurukshetra war later.
The Great War: Kurukshetra
Before the war begins, Bhishma, the commander-in-chief of the Kauravas refuses Karna's participation in the Great war under his leadership as Karna is a son of a Charioteer. However Duryodana requests Bhishma to consider Karna under his leadership. But, Bhishma still denies Karna's participation in the war under his leadership. Consequently, Karna enters the battlefield only on the eleventh day after the fall of Bheeshma (on the tenth day).
The thirteenth day
On the thirteenth day of the battle, Dronacharya (Drona) organized a special formation called the Chakravyuha/Padmavyuha to challenge the Pandavas. Only Krishna and Arjuna on the Pandavas's side knew how to break the scheme. However, both were purposely drawn far away from the battle field by two kings (brothers) who ruled the Trigartha kingdom on Duryodhana's side. Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son had partial knowledge of the Chakrvyuha formation having heard it while he was in his mother's womb when Arjun was narrating the Chakravyuha arrangement to his mother Subhadra. Subhadra had paid attention to only for the first part of the narration and then had fallen asleep, so Abhimanyu only knew how to enter the formation, but not how to extract himself out of it. Thus, the four Pandava brothers decide that Abhimanyu will lead them to enter the Chakravyuha in the absence of Arjuna and Krishna.
But, as soon as Abhimanyu enters the Chakravyuha, Jayadratha-- the sindhu king from the Kaurava army blocks it and thereby preventing other pandavas from entering into the formation. Thus, Abhimanyu is left all alone in the middle of the enemy formation. Once inside, he fought valiantly and single-handedly defeated all the reputed generals of the Kauravas including Karna, Drona and Duryodhana. Duryodhana and Karna chose to assist in the elimination of Abhimanyu as per Drona's instructions. Karna shot arrows that broke Abhimanyu's bow and the reins of his chariot, while the Kauravas overwhelmed him. The battle ended with Abhimanyu's death. Arjuna on learning the death of Abhimanyu at the hands of Kauravas, pledges to kill Jayadratha before sunset the next day failing which he decides to self immolate himself in a pyre of fire.
The night of the 14th day
On the fourteenth day, the battle uncharacteristically extends over the night and Ghatotkacha, the half-asura son of Bhima began to decimate the Kaurava forces. Generally, the asuras become extraordinarily powerful at night. Duryodhana and Karna bravely stood and fought him. Finally when it seemed that Ghatotkacha would decimate all the Kaurava forces that very night, Duryodhana requested Karna to salvage the situation. Karna was forced to use the Shakti weapon on Ghatotkacha. This had been granted to him by Indra as a mark of respect for his peerless generosity (while donating his armour and earring to Indra). However, this shakti weapon could be used only once after which it would return to Indra. Thus, on using the shakthi weapon on Ghatotkacha, Karna could not use the same on Arjuna later. When Karna spent the shakti weapon to slay Ghatotkacha, Krishna knew that victory theirs for certain, as Karna did not have any divine weapons to fight Arjuna now.
Karna Parva
The Mahabharat war fought on day 16 and day 17 is documented as Karna Parva where Karna is the commander of Kaurava army.
The sixteenth day
On sixteenth day Karna fought as commander in chief of kaurava army. There was no fight between Karna and Arjuna as Arjuna's chariot retreated seeing Karna's glorious form. This retreat by Arjuna is widely speculated by many as an ample evidence that Karna was a better warrior than Arjuna. Although, the TV series screened by B.R.Chopra depicts a war between Karna and Arjuna, there is no evidence of the same in original Vedavyasa's Mahabharat.
The seventeenth day
On the seventeenth day of the battle, the much awaited duel between Karna and Arjuna once again took place.
During the battle, when Arjuna's arrows struck Karna's chariot,it moved back by a few feet.However, when Karna's arrows struck Arjuna's chariot,it moved back only a few inces. Krishna praised Karna for this. But, Arjuna got astonished and asked him the reason for his praise, In response, Krishna told Arjuna that Karna's chariot bore only the weight of Karna and Shalya. On the other hand, Arjuna's chariot bore the weight of the entire universe since Krishna and Hanuman were on the chariot. Despite this, Karna was able to move it.
Similarly, Karna cuts the string of Arjuna's bow multiple times. But, at each instant he finds that Arjuna was able to tie back the bow string at a wink of an eye (in extremely short time). For this, Karna praises Arjuna and remarks to Shalya that now he understood as why people call him the greatest archer in the world. Though the duel was initially held at a stalemate, Karna is hampered when his chariot wheel sinks into the ground on a loose wet soil (The Bhooma Devi's curse thus came into effect). He also finds himself unable to remember the incantations for divine weapons, as his teacher Parashurama had foretold. Descending from his chariot to remove the wheel, he requests Arjuna to wait until it is set right as per the rules of battle. Krishna told Arjuna that Karna has no right to refer to the rules at this point, after having violated the same by himself while killing Abhimanyu. He urged Arjuna to shoot him while he is helpless (The Brahman's curse came into effect here). Lord Krishna told Arjuna that if he does not kill Karna at this critical juncture of the war, he may never be able to kill him and the Pandavas may never win the war. Thus, Arjuna fatally injures Karna using a divine arrow.
After Karna's death
Following the war, funeral rites were performed for all the fallen. Kunti then requests her sons to perform the rites for Karna as well. When they protest, saying he was a suta, she reveals the truth of his birth. The brothers are shocked to find they have committed fratricide. Yudhishtira in particular is furious with his mother, and curses all women to never be able to keep a secret from that point on.
Lord Krishna went to Ghandhari to tell Karna had died. He was oldest son of Kunti. Even though he knew who he was he still fought for Dhuryodhana. Ghandhari told Lord Krishna, "you know what was going to happen and you still could've prevented the war". Ghandhari curses Lord Krishna, "the way my family died, your family will die the same way".
After the 18-day Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra ends, Lord Krishna asks Arjuna to step down from his chariot. When Arjuna does so, Krishna then takes Arjuna some distance away from the chariot. Then he signals to Lord Hanuman seated on the chariot to get up. The moment Lord Hanuman jumps off the chariot, Arjuna's horses are burnt alive and his chariot explodes into pieces. Seeing this, Arjuna is shocked. Krishna then tells him that the deadly astras of Bheeshma, Drona, Karna and Ashwattama had caused the destruction of Arjuna's horses and chariot. It was the divine presence of Lord Hanuman that maintained the chariot in a proper condition by postponing the effects of their divine weapons.
Karna as the adulated figure
Even though Karna devoted his services to evil Duryodhana, he remains an adulated figure for millions of Hindus and Indians. Karna is always considered as a formidable warrior perhaps the greatest warrior, a courageous spirit who braved impossible odds in his life, and died with unique courage, valor and honor. Karna is especially adored for his generosity. He is also considered as an example of how misjudgment renders all the fine qualities of an individual futile.
Many of Hindus consider Karna as a man who fought against his misfortunes throughout his life without a single pause. He never got his due, but never gave up his efforts. Many of his contemporaries including Bheeshma and Lord Krishna conceded Karna was a noble spirit who rarely appears in the human race. He is idealized as an inspiration for the struggling humanity to not lose heart.
There are many incidents and quotes which indicate the might and greatness of Karna. One of those incidents is during Karna's war with Arjuna. When Arjuna's chariot is shifted a few inches back by the impact of one of the arrows shot by Karna, Krishna being Arjuna's Saarthi praises Karna. On his comment, Arjuna exclaimed that "while I hit Karna's chariot it moved miles behind so there is nothing to praise Karna on this". Krishna then explains to Arjuna that “On your chariot I, Lord Vishnu am present. I own the weight of entire universe and in addition to it your chariot is chariot of Agni and it has blessings of Hanuman in the form of flag. If you remove these factors your chariot will go off flying, revolving around the Earth".
There are certain incidents that describes Karna's ethics in war as well like one of them is during his duel with Arjuna, by the blow of Karna's arrow Arjuna fainted and at the same moment naag Ashwasen who was sheltered by Karna along with his bows came out and requested Karna to use himself against Arjuna so that Ashwasen can revenge Arjuna of burning his home forest. Karna then refused to use any naag against any humane saying that it would be a treachery towards humanity.
Furthermore; at night on the day of his death as Karna lay dying on the Kurukshetra battlefield, in the Pandava camp Krishna lay saddened. When questioned by Arjun as to why he was upset; Krishna replied that he was mourning the passing if a great man like Karna. Angered by Krishna's affection to Karna, Arjun demands to know why. Thus Krishna takes Arjun towards Karna, who lies dying upon Kurukshetra, disguised as two Brahmins; one younger and one older. There Krishan, disguised as the older Brahmin, says to Karna
"Oh Karna, you are known to be extremely genenrous, hence I am here requesting something for my sons wedding, what can you give me?"
Karna replies saying "I do not have anything to give you as I lie here dying, but if there is anything you can see which I can gie you then please request that which you desire" Upon hearing this Krishna says, upon noting a golden tooth within Karna's mouth he request, "Oh Karna, I can see within your mouth a golden tooth, can you give me that" And so Karna, using a nearby rock knocked his tooth out. In order to test Karna even more and in order to demonstrate to Arjun Karna's generosity, Krishna scolds Karna for giving him something covered in blood which is not suitable for a brahmin to touch. Upon hearing this Karna began to cry and with his tears washed the tooth and gave it to Krishna. After this Krishna left and Arjun followed. Krishna then told Arjun that the passing of Karna from this world will mark the passing of generosity and other such qualities which Karna posseses; and hence he his sad and is mourning Karna's death.
Contrast with Arjuna
There are many parallels between Arjuna and Karna. Both were master archers, competed for Draupadi's hand, and had to fight their own brothers in the war. A deeper connection lies in the fact that the two felt strong ties to the Kaurava side both through friendship and through blood. Their decisions along with the their corresponding consequences to themselves and their families, are used to emphasize the importance of doing one's duty as explained in the Bhagavad Gita by Krishna.
Karna serves as an excellent example of a gifted, generous, righteous and brave individual who was still doomed because of his loyalty towards Duryodhana. Karna had the five perfect qualities of a husband for Draupadi except for the part being with Duryodhana. Karna's affection for Duryodhana led him to, albeit unwillingly, assist his dear friend in all his actions against the Pandavas. Karna was aware of Duryodhana's malicious plans against the Pandavas. Karna was also aware of his own imminent downfall on assisting the evil against the good. While some maintain that he acquired a blemished image to his name by his treatment towards Draupadi at Dhritrashtra's court, others maintain that he was justified in this act, since it was Draupadi who first dishonored and humiliated him by unjustly denying him the opportunity to compete in her Swayamvara by insulting him with the sooth-putra epithet (referring to him as being of a lower class background) in order to disqualify him; however, his role in the killing of an unarmed and outnumbered Abhimanyu can be interpreted as an act that more directly damaged him as an honorable warrior and doomed him to a similar fate. According to some interpretations of the Mahabharata, it was this deed that solidified Karna's status as a warrior on the wrong side of the war and sealed his fate of being killed by Arjuna in the same way in spite being unarmed, chariotless and with his back turned away from Arjuna.
Factors that contributed towards Karna's death
1 The first and foremost contributor towards Karna's death was Sage Durvasa himself. While blessing Kunti with a mantra by which she could call upon any god of her choice, he did not tell her the consequence of this incantation. Thus, Kunti calls Surya without being aware of the consequence of the Mantra much before her marriage, panics and subsequently abandons the baby. His upbringing by the charioteer Adiratha denies Karna the recognition of a Kshatriya. It was Karna, not Yudhishtira or Duryodhana, who was the true heir to the throne of Hastinapur, but this was not realized as his birth was kept secret.
2 Lord Indra who in the form of a scorpion, stings Karna's thigh, angers guru Parasurama who in turn curses Karna for lying about his caste.
3 The curse of a Brahmin who owned a cow.
4 The curse of Bhoomadevi
5 The giving away of his Kavacha and Kundala as alms to Lord Indra, this time disguised as a beggar, because of his extremely generous nature
6 Invoking the Shakti weapon on Gatothkacha
7 His two promises to mother Kunti
8 Not using the "Nagastra" for the second time in accordance with his second promise to mother Kunti
9 Shalya, who tries to dampen Karna's confidence and moral spirit by stating many facts about the Pandavas strength on the seventeenth day of the battle.
10 When Karna comes to know that Pandavas were his brothers by Krishna just before the beginning of the Mahabharath war, then all his hatred towards all Pandavas vanishes. But, to be loyal to Duryodana, Karna decides to fight against Arjuna in the war. On the other hand, none of the Pandavas were aware that Karna was their brother until after Karna's demise.
11 Abhimanyu's death
12 Lord Krishna, by exhorting Arjun to kill Karna when he was trying to push his chariot out of the mud.
13 Arjuna's gaandeeva
14 Ghandhari did not give blessings on the seventeenth day
15 Drona had divine weapons but still tells Karna to kill ghatokacha with indra's shakti
References
- Mahābhārata: Karna, by Adam Bowles. Published by NYU Press, 2006. ISBN 0814799817.
- The Sanskrit Hero: Karna in Epic Mahābhārata, by Kevin McGrath. Published by BRILL, 2004. ISBN 9004137297.
- Rashmirathi; रश्मिरथी / रामधारी सिंह "दिनकर, (The Sun Charioteer) by Ramdhari Singh 'Dinkar' - A Poetic rendering of Karna's life, his dharma, his friendship and the tragedies (in Hindi)
- Shivaji Sawant(author), "Mrityunjaya"(Marathi). {English Version: "Mrityunjaya, the death conqueror: The story of Karna" - ISBN 81-7189-002-4}
- 'The Mahabharata' by Smt. Kamala Subramaniam, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Press.
External links
http://images.exoticindiaart.com/books/veer_karna_idg547.jpg
