Recently, while watching an informative video on social media, I was reminded of the great hero of the Mahabharata, Karna. The video showed the place where Karna was killed by Arjun. A deep well was also shown wherein the wheel of Karna’s chariot is still believed to have been buried. Karna was no doubt a great archer and warrior. If not superior, he was in no way inferior to Arjun and could have defeated and killed him on the battlefield. But circumstances were against him, which allowed Arjun to have an edge over him. In the first place, Srikrishna was on the side of Arjun, though he had great admiration for Karna. Secondly, certain curses worked against him. Thirdly, he was too generous to give away certain important weapons that could have saved his life. Now let us try to peep into his life and activities.
Karna was the son of Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, and was thrown into the river as Kunti had given birth to him by a boon of the Sun God when she was not yet married. He had been a neglected son, and when Kunti approached him to side with the Pandavas, he refused and assured her that he would kill only Arjun and spare the other Pandavas so that she would continue to have five sons in any case. Karna was faithful to Duryodhan and did not want to ditch him at the last moment. How could he forget the very grant of the kingdom of Anga to him by Duryodhan? This quality of sincerity and faithfulness makes him special in the Mahabharata. He was a friend par excellence. He was granted an invincible weapon by Lord Indra, which, when hurled against a target, would finish it without fail. He was preserving the weapon to kill Arjun. But when Ghatotkacha, the son of Bhim, attacked Duryodhan, he used it to save his friend. Karna was a reliable friend who could even sacrifice his life for the sake of friendship.
Karna was also a great giver. Nobody returned from his home empty-handed. Lord Indra was the father of Arjun. Kunti had given birth to him by the grace of Lord Indra. Karna had received ‘Kavacha Kundala’ from his father, Suryadev, which he wore. Lord Indra knew that in the Mahabharata war, the fight would be between Karna and Arjun, and as long as he wore ‘Kavacha Kundala,’ nobody could defeat or kill him, and in the duel, the death of Arjun was inevitable. So he went to Karna in the guise of a Brahmin and begged for his ‘Kavacha Kundala.’ Despite a warning from Suryadev, Karna kept his promise and handed it over to the Brahmin. Indra was very much pleased with Karna and appeared in his true form. In turn, he handed over an invincible weapon to Karna, which, once sent, would finish the target. The weapon could be used only once. Karna had to use it against Ghatotkacha to save Duryodhan, thereby losing the chance of killing Arjun.
There is another story that tells about the greatness of Karna. Once, the Pandavas, with the help of Srikrishna, burnt the Khandava forest so that they could build Indraprastha on the recovered area. The forest was full of birds and animals. Takshak, a serpent, lived in the forest with its family. Aswasena was his son. Takshak and Aswasena could escape the fire. But his mother perished. Since then, he wanted to take revenge on Arjun at the slightest opportunity. When there was a fierce battle between Karna and Arjun during the Mahabharata war, Aswasena entered the ‘Tunir’ of Karna in the form of an arrow so that it could be used against Arjun. When Karna hurled the arrow, Srikrishna knew about it and lowered the chariot. The arrow touched the crown of Arjun without hurting him. Having failed in its mission, Aswasena returned to Karna and requested him to deploy him once again against Arjun. But Karna was not at all happy with Aswasena, who should have informed him before entering his ‘Tunir.’ He told the serpent that he used the arrow in ignorance and would not use it again as he had to follow the principle of war. He would fight with Arjun on his own and would not take the support of somebody who was on a revenge mission.
Karna had been an unfortunate child since his birth. First, his mother, Kunti, threw him into the river to save her face. Fortunately, he was destined to survive and grew up in a simple family and achieved what he did in life. His friend Duryodhan made him the king of Anga to save him from humiliation in a court where Draupadi had called him ‘Sutaputra.’
Karna was also a victim of circumstances. As a warrior, he wanted to learn the use of certain weapons from Parshuram, who did not accept Kshatriyas as his disciples. So Karna had to hide his identity and went to him as a Brahmin boy. Once, Parshuram was taking rest, keeping his head on the lap of Karna. At this time, a venomous insect bit Karna, who did not move or cry in pain so that his guru was not disturbed. When Parshuram got up, he was surprised to see Karna bleeding profusely. When he knew what had happened, he came to the conclusion that a Brahmin could never have such patience to bear the bite of a venomous insect and cursed Karna to forget about the use of the weapons that he had taught at the right moment. So he could not use the weapons against Arjun, which led to his end.
Another curse worked against Karna, and his chariot wheel entered the earth. He got down from the chariot and tried to pull out the wheel, at the same time requesting Arjun to wait for a while, which fell only on deaf ears. Arjun scolded him for his being unfair to Abhimanyu and Draupadi and killed him on the battlefield.
Karna had really been unfair to Draupadi in the Kurusabha and Abhimanyu on the battlefield. Like Bhishma and Drona, he remained silent when Dushashana tried to humiliate and disrobe Draupadi. He could have saved the situation had he interfered. He was also one of the seven warriors who pounced upon the young and weaponless Abhimanyu and killed him brutally. This had angered both Arjun and Srikrishna, who did not spare him at the right moment.
Karna is a prominent character in the whole of the Mahabharata. He was a great archer and warrior. Except for certain curses and circumstances going against him, he was in no way inferior to Arjun. Srikrishna had great respect for him for his generous nature and warfare skills. Unless and until he sided with Arjun, Karna would have killed him. Unlike Ashwatthama, who could deploy Brahmastra but could not recall it, Karna was well-versed in the use of whatever weapons he had with him. It was only because of circumstances that he could not use the weapons at the right time. He was a warrior of the new generation, and his ideology differed from that of Bhishma and Drona. He was sincere, honest, generous, and always kept his word. Despite having suffered in life, he could have mended himself. But his ego and friendship with Duryodhan always came in his way. He sided with Adharma, and Srikrishna was born to wipe it out from the world. How could he have been spared?
In the epics Ramayana and the Mahabharata, there are numerous characters like Ravan, Duryodhan, and Karna who were endowed with certain good qualities. But their dark side stood them nowhere. Ravan was a warrior, scholar, and musician. But his ego and the sin of abducting Sita brought about his end. Duryodhan was known for his enormous strength and skill in mace fighting. He could even rival the strength of Bhim. But his ego, short temper, and always nursing ill intentions brought about his downfall. Karna met with the same fate because of his ego and siding with evil due to circumstances.
Our epic writers have painted such ideal and semi-ideal characters, which have had a profound impact on the minds of people for ages. People have preferred either to emulate or shun characters as per their merits and demerits.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own)
Mr. Prafulla Kumar Majhi,
Retired Asst. Director, A. I. R, is an eminent Scholar and freelance writer in English & Odia. His areas of interests are sociocultural, economic, literary, historical and analytical studies and writings.
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