Karna - the tragic character of Mahabharat

 Karna is such an intriguing character from our famous epic Mahabharat. He is an epitome of tragedy. Born unfortunate as an unwanted child out of wedlock, humiliated by all, cheated by Indra and cursed by his Guru Parsuram he never ever gave up on his duty and principles till end, fully aware about the inevitability of sticking to his malevolent friend Duryodhan. He stuck to his duty, ethics, principle and his friend till the end.

Apart from the only mistake he made by calling a hapless Draupadi a prostitute in front of everyone in packed Kuru Raj Sabha (Royal congregation), he did everything right. Karna repented later for this one time blunder in front of Lord Krishna when the God incarnate  approached him just before the Mahabharat war to consider switching sides. He said to Basudev - " At this point I simply can't ditch Duryodhan and go to the Pandav camp and even if I go there I can't show my face to Draupadi as I am so embarrassed for insulting her".

Shakuni, a sly character in Mahabharat who judge people by his guile and used them like pawns in game of dice in which he was an expert. One of them was Karna - the valiant, generous but the illegitimate son of SURYA (Sun God), a close friend and confidant of Duryodhan was seen as a person of utility by wily Shakuni as Karna was the only one who could match Arjun in Archery. In a scene from B R Chopra's famous television serial MAHABHARAT, Shakuni plots the death of the Pandavas with his plan to roast them alive inside the famous inflammable palace called LAKHYA GRIHA (The Jade House).

When Duryodhan was about the divulge the plans to his buddy Karna, Shakuni dissuaded him - "There is no question of Karna's dedication towards you, my dear nephew Duryodhan. But he is just a pawn, part of my larger game towards your goal of Kingship. It won't be wise to divulge all plans to him. But, keep your friendship alive, as he is our invaluable asset to take on Arjuna. Karna is a man of principle and it can be of dangerous proposition as a principled person can't compromise on his values. He can never be trusted to be part of such heinous conspiracy lest he puts a spanner in the wheels of my plan. It's prudent to tell him the stuff only as and when needed".

A righteous Karna stuck to his friend Duryodhan till his end. The scion of Kaurava clan treated him as a true friend and was sadder by the death of Karna than his brothers who perished before him. When the Pandavas after knowing the real identity of their slain elder brother came to light his funeral pyre, Duryodhan asked Arjun - "Did you shoot your killer arrow at your brother or your enemy". Lord Krishna broke the logjam in respect to their friendship - "More than all of you five brothers Duryodhan reserves the right to Karna's last rights". Sri Krishna was right.

There was no end to Karna's misfortunes throughout his life. Parasuram, Karna's Guru had high regards for his disciple and put him in the league of his other two famous disciples - Bhishma and Dronacharya. Yet he cursed Karna. Lord Krishna clearly favored Arjuna, his close friend and confidant. He was worried about the "Shakti" weapon granted as a boon by Indra to Karna. Indra, Arjuna's father granted that all powerful weapon in return for the "Kabacha - Kundala" the impregnable protective gear Karna was blessed to be born with. 

Karna, the great giver was forewarned by his father Lord Surya, the Sun God about the shrewd Indra engaging in his usual foul play. But still Karna had to give in to Indra's request as his magnanimous heart couldn't refuse someone asking him for anything. In return of his sacrifice Indra gave the indefensible, powerful weapon Shakti to Karna as a boon with the caviar that it can be used only once.

That always worried Lord Krishna. He deliberately kept Arjun away from Karna during the war as He knew that even He couldn't protect his buddy from Karna's powerful weapon. He strategized and brought in Ghatatkocha into the war. The demon son of Bhim humiliated Duryodhan by leaving him battered and tattered in the battle field. The crestfallen scion of Kuru dynasty prodded Karna to use his Shakti to kill Ghatatkocha.

When Bhim sobbed at the loss of his valiant son, Lord Krishna was seen standing besides him, smiling. Noticing this an irritated Bhim asked him - "Why are you smiling at the death of my brave son" ? Lord Krishna replied with his smirk, "Karna kept this ultimate weapon reserved for Arjun. Nobody could have saved him from this potent weapon. Not even Me". (Krishna wasn't shy of proclaiming himself as God).

After exhausting his one time use killer weapon on Ghatatkocha, Karna knew that his goose was cooked. He didn't last much longer in the war as he was shot by Arjun when he was helpless on the ground, trying to extricate his chariot stuck in the mud, yet another curse marking the end of an all time valliant hero of Hindu mythology. Karna will be remembered forever for not just as a great giver, also for his Valor, his loyalty, dedication and fulfillment of indebtedness.