KARNA

KARNA.

Karna  originally known as Vasusena, is one of the central characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. The epic describes him as the king of Anga (present day Bhagalpur and Munger). As per the Mahabharata, he was one of the warriors in that era who conquered the entire world. Karna single-handedly and successfully conducted Digvijaya Yatra, a campaign in which he conquered all kings in every direction of the world, and was instrumental in establishing Duryodhana as the emperor of the world by conducting the Vaishnava sacrifice. Karna was equal to 2 Maharatha warriors.

Karna was the son of Surya and Kunti, born to Kunti before her marriage with Pandu. Karna was the closest friend of Duryodhana and fought on his behalf against the Pandavas (his brothers) in the Kurukshetra War. Karna fought against misfortune throughout his life and kept his word under all circumstances. It is believed that Karna founded the city of Karnal, in present Haryana.

Meeting Duryodhana.

To display the skills of the Kuru princes, their guru Dronacharya arranged a friendly tournament. His student Arjuna, third of the Pandava brothers, was a gifted archer. Karna arrived at this tournament, uninvited, and displaying Arjuna's feats, challenged him to a duel. Kripacharya refused Karna his duel, asking first for his clan and kingdom; for according to the rules of duelling, only a prince could challenge Arjuna to a duel. Due to his low standing, Karna was not allowed to fight Arjuna. He was further insulted by Bhima who compared him to a stray dog, for his mixed caste and lineage. This incident marks the beginning of a feud between Karna and the Pandavas  Duryodhana, the eldest of the one hundred sons of the king Dhritarashtra, was envious of the martial prowess of his cousins, the Pandavas. Seeing Karna as a chance to get on even terms with them he immediately offered Karna the throne of the kingdom of Anga, making him a king and hence eligible to fight a duel with Arjuna. Neither of them knows that Karna was in fact Kunti's eldest son, born to the Sun God Surya. When Karna asked him what he could do to repay him, Duryodhana told him that all he wanted was his friendship.

It is said that, Duryodhana never shed a single tear drop for any of his real brothers who were killed in the battlefield, but when his beloved friend Karna was slain, he was inconsolable

1. Karna was literally abandoned by his own mother

2. He was refused the knowledge of warfare, because he was a charioteer’s son

3. Undaunted with a thirst for learning, he disguised himself as a brahmin to learn

4. Parshuram cursed him even though he knew that Karna was a Kshatriya

5. He even outshone Arjun when they finished their training, but was shooed away like a dog by Dronacharya

6. He won Draupadi’s hand in marriage even before Arjuna by hitting the fish’s eye but again was rejected

7. He was cursed by a brahmin for accidentally killing a cow while practicing archery

8. He was not allowed to fight because Bhishma refused to fight alongside a warrior who was not Kshatriya

9. Karna gave his enchanted armor to a disguised Indra, even when he knew it was dirty trick

10. Kunti pleaded to Karna to not kill the Pandavas, even if that meant that Karna died.

11. Arjuna’s chariot wheel was stuck in their duel, and Karna paused the fight, respecting the rules

12. Only to be killed in the most wretched fashion

Then, Karna’s chariot wheel was stuck.

And all the curses followed.

He forgot the incantations to divine weapons.

And Arjuna killed him when he was the most vulnerable.

All his life, Karna was ridiculed, shamed and humiliated. At Every time. And not just by other characters. He was shamed by fate itself. But he never stopped learning, and never stopped fighting. And he never stopped being a loyal friend to Duryodhana.

Duryodhana told his wife Bhanumati “In a relation there is no scope for doubt, for when doubt settles in there will be no relation. Karna is my best friend and I trust him because I have faith that he will never break my trust”

Karna refused to join ranks with Pandavas, because of his friendship and loyalty towards Duryodhana. In true terms, Karna was the only one who followed dharma throughout his life. He knew what Duryodhana was doing was wrong, but he was an active participant who supported Duryodhan endlessly. Karna was all for loyalty and gratitude.  

Karna replied to Krishna "Kurukshetra is a sacrificial field. Arjuna is the Head Priest, you -Krishna are the presiding deity. Myself (Karna), Bhishma Dev, Dronacharya and Duryodhana are the sacrifice.’ Krishna ended their conversation by telling Karna, ‘You are the best of the Pandavas.’

Lord Krishna created Karna to show the world the true meaning of sacrifice, and how one should accept their fate. Despite bad luck or bad times, he continued to believe in spirituality, generosity, humility, dignity and self-respect, and remained respectful towards his loved ones. 

And he never refused to stand up for what he believed in – Dharma.

And the most important of all – he never stopped giving. He gave away his most valuable at a request, even though he knew how cruel fate was. So, if you think you have had a bad day, and life is not going as you want it to, take heart from the story of Karna and face it nonetheless, without fear of failure and without any interruption in learning. Because at the end of the day, and at the end of time, were you unflinching in the eye of a cruel fate and stayed your path? Because in real life fate does seem to be cruel and life is unfair.

Weather the storm and live your life in humility, generosity and dignity – just like Karna.