The Mahabharata is one of the most important scriptures of Hinduism. Karna is among the most popular and complex characters in the Mahabharata, showing both nobility and nastiness over the course of the story. If you could pick just one person from the story who personifies its ‘grey’ nature, you would do well to pick Karna. Mahabharata would have been incomplete without the commendable skills of Karna – the unsung hero. He is a great warrior who gave his life for friendship, even though it meant being on the opposite side of his brothers the Pandavas (who knew nothing of Karna’s existence till he was killed by one of them, namely Arjun).
Here, in this article, get to know more about Karna, who is the greatest ‘daanveer’ of all times and why he deserves more respect than other warriors in Mahabharata.
Birth of Karna with Shining Armour:
The story of karna cannot begin or end without ‘Kunti’ being the central character. Karna was born to the Sun god and Princess Kunti, who was given a boon from rishi Durvasa. This boon stated that Kunti could invoke any God she wished, to get an aoffspring from. Kunti summoned Suryadev to test the boon by chanting this mantra and was blessed with Karna.
Karna was born with armor called the ‘Kavach’ and earrings called ‘Kundal’ on his body. These were gifts from Suryadev and would make Karna invincible. Since, Karna was born to Kunti before her marriage; she abandoned him owing to social stigma. He was later adopted by the charioteer named Adhiratha and his wife Radha. Kunti later married King Pandu from Hastinapur and became the mother of the Pandavas.
Despite a royal lineage, Karna had to live his life as the son of a charioteer. He was looked down due to his “low-caste”, when he was both royal and divine. He was denied to participate in swayamvar of Draupathi, where she calls him a “suta-putra.” His mother who abandoned him revealed this secret to Karna only during the war when he was gearing up to fight the Pandavas, and took a promise from him of not killing her sons. Karna was such a generous but tragic character from Mahabharata.
The Generous king & his Curses:
Many tales are told about Karna’s generosity. Often, he commits acts of outrageous kindness at cost to himself. Throughout his life Karna got cursed which made him face defeat in the historic Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas.
One day, Karna was strolling through his territory of Anga, when he saw a small child weeping as her pot filled with ghee has fallen spilling the ghee out of it. Out of pity, Karna offers her new ghee, but she refuses saying she wants the same ghee. Then Karna squeezes oil out of the soil only to incur the wrath of Mother Earth who cursed that during a crucial moment his chariot will get stuck in mud.
In an another event, he was cursed by his guru ‘Parshuram’ when he holds his pose even while bleeding to the bite of a bug so that Parashurama’s sleep should not be disturbed (Karna was keen to acquire the Brahmastra mantra from the great teacher Parshuram. Karna went to Parasurama and became his disciple in disguise of a Brahmin, knowing that Parshuram would teach only to Brahmins. Parshuram accepted him as such and started teaching him. One day when Parshuram was resting in Karnas lap, it so happened that a bee stung Karna on the lower part of his thigh (It was Lord Indra who did that by taking the form of a bee). He started bleeding but did not move and continued to suffer, fearing that if he moved his legs, he would awaken Parshuram. When Parshuram woke up, he saw Karna bleeding and asked his identity as he believed that a Brahmin cannot suffer so much physical pain. Only a kshatriya can endure so much discomfort. Karna was obliged to disclose his identity. Parshuram was greatly annoyed and cursed Karna that as he had learnt through deceit, he shall forget the skill which Parshuram had taught him at the crucial juncture). It was because of this curse that at the crisis of his last fight with Arjuna, Karna was not able to recall the Brahmastra spell, though he had remembered it till then.
In another incident, Karna killed a cow that was rushing towards him by shooting an arrow. Incensed by this incident, the Brahmin who owned the cow cursed. He said as he has killed a helpless animal, he too would be killed in the same way i.e., when he was most helpless with his concentration being diverted away from his enemy at that crucial moment.
And finally, during the war, when Indra appears and begs for his armour, he gladly gives it, knowing full well that it would make him vulnerable in battle.
The loyal friend:
Karna’s friendship with Duryodhana is the stuff of legend. Duryodhana befriended Karna after seeing his war skills at a clash with the Pandavas, while Pandavas discriminated and offended him. He recognized the valor this warrior carried and made him a king to the kingdom of Anga. People might say that Duryodhana had his vested interest in befriending Karna, but he was the only one who not only made him a friend but also gave him the respect he deserved by making a kingdom for him. Hence, Karna too showed his loyalty and surrendered himself to his friend Duryodhana till his last breath.
The world may think anything it wishes of him, he says, but he would never forego his friendship. When Karna comes to know that he is the son of Kunti and eldest brother of Pandavas, he chooses to fight against them, to honor his friend Duryodhana. Vasudeva Krishna questions the integrity of Karna’s dharma, for which Karna gives back a staunch reply saying that Dharma defined by Krishna, never saved him from humiliation throughout his life whereas Duryodhana did and that defending Duryodhana in Kurukshetra was his dharma.
The Selfless and Real ‘Daanveer’:
During the Kurukshetra war, Lord Indra, the king of gods disguised himself as Brahmin and came to Karna, who was reputed for his charity. He then asked Karna to give his kavach and kundal, since he too was skeptical about Karna being defeated by his son Arjuna. Karna, on the other hand, knew that it is lord Indra, yet could not bring himself to refuse any gift that was asked of him. He tore off his armour and earrings with which he was born and handed them to Indra.
Lord Indra, after seeing his generosity, gave Karna a boon that he can use Indra’s weapon once in the war. If this wasn’t enough for Lord Indra to test his generosity that while Karna was on his death bed, he again disguised himself as a beggar and asked for his golden teeth. Karna took a stone, broke his teeth and handed them over to him.
The Great Warrior:
According to the Mahabharata, Karna was the sole warrior in that era who single handedly conquered the whole world in order to establish his dear friend Duryodhana as the ruler of the world. Karna, was such a glorious, skillful warrior who was highly underrated because he was considered “lowly”.
A scene from the MahaBharat war: Karna attaches an arrow to his bow, pulls back and releases – the arrow is aimed at Arjun’s heart. Krishna, Arjun’s Charioteer, drives by sheer force the chariot into the ground several feet. The arrow hits Arjun’s headgear and knocks it off. Missing its target – Arjuna’s heart. Krishna yells, “Wow! Nice shot, Karna.” Arjuna asks Krishna, ‘Why are you praising Karna?’ Krishna tells Arjun, ‘Look at you! You have Lord Hanuman on the flag of this chariot. You have me as your charioteer. You received the blessings of Ma Durga and your Guru, Dronacharya before the battle, have a loving Mother and an aristocratic heritage. This Karna has nobody, his own charioteer, Salya belittles him, his own Guru (Parusurama) cursed him, his Mother abandoned him when he was born and he has no known heritage. Yet, look at the battle he’s giving you. Without me and Lord Hanuman on this chariot, where would you be?’
After the fall of Bhishma and Drona in the war, Karna became the leader of the Kaurava army and fought brilliantly for two days. In the end, the wheel of his chariot stuck in the ground and he was not able to lift it free and drive the chariot along. While he was in this predicament, Arjuna killed him.
Karna – The Most Virtuous Warrior from Mahabharata:
Despite all his might, he had to face defeat and be a prime victim of hypocrisies that took place around his life. He fought this war for glory, so that the world understands that integral values of a human being is not based on caste, but by his own moral and values. Even during his death bed, he gives dhanam. He has never failed to keep up his dharma and that was why, his final rights were performed by god himself. Hence, Karna was never given the respect that he deserved and yet, he was a true, great, noble warrior who attained eternal glory!