Lessons Learned from Fall of Karna Essay

Karna is one of the primal characters in the epic Mahabharata, from ancient India. He was the King of Anga. Karna was one of the superlative warriors whose m stratagemial exploits ar recorded in the Mahabharata, an admiration expressed by Krishna and Bhishma within the body of this work. Karna was the discussion of Surya and Kunti. He was born to Kunti before her married couple with Pandu. Karna was the closest friend of Duryodhana and fought on his behalf against the Pandavas in the famous Kurukshetra war. Karna fought against misfortune by dint ofout his life and kept his word under wholly circumstances. Many repute him for his courage and generosity. It is believed that Karna pitched the city of Karnal. Many believe that he was the abundantest warrior of Mahabharata since he was except able to be defeated by Arjuna along with a combination of three curses, Indras efforts and Kuntis request.Karnas convey was the solar deity Surya and his start outs name was Kunti. Kar na was born before his m separates marriage to prince Pandu. The story of Karnas miraculous birth is this When Kunti was a young woman, a wise though irascible old man, the salvia Durvasa, visited her fathers palace, where Kunti served him with utmost care for an entire year. Pleased by her service and hospitality, the sage foresaw that Kunti would corroborate difficulty having a child afterward her marriage to Pandu, and granted her a grace to overcome this difficulty. By this boon she could c whole upon any idol of her choice, and receive a child through him.Out of curiosity, Kunti still existence unmarried, she decided to test the power of the mantra and c alled upon the god Surya. Compelled by the power of this mantra, Surya appeared before her and handed her a countersign, who was as beamy and powerful as Surya himself. The baby was wearing armour (Kavacha) and a agree of earrings (Kundala). Though Kunti had not physically given birth to the baby, she was unwilling to b e accused of being an unmarried mother and so with the help of her housemaid Dhatri, she placed the baby Karna in a basket and set him planless on Ashwa a tri scarcelyary of the holy river Ganges, the Ashwanadi, in the hope that he would be taken in by another family.The child Karna was found by Adhiratha, a charioteer of King Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur. Adhiratha and his wife Radha raised the boy as their own son and named him Vasusena. He besides came to be know as Radheya, the son of Radha. The name Karna, however, denotes ear, because Karna was born with miraculous earrings. The emotional tie down between Karna and his foster parents would remain strong throughout his life, filled with love, respect and affection. Karna happily performed his duties as their son, but as he grew up, he became much interested in the art of warfare than in merely being a charioteer kindred his father Adhirata.Karna met Dronacharya, who was an established teacher in the art of warfare. Dronac harya taught the Kuru princes, but refused to take Karna as his student, since Karna was a son of a charioteer and Dronacharya only if taught Kshatriyas, or warriors. afterward being refused by Dronacharya, Karna sought his brother Shonas help. exclusively according to Indian culture, to learn an art you must urinate a guru (teacher), so Karna appointed the sun god as his guru, well-educated to wield his implements during the day by gathering information about the several(a) ayudhas ( appliances) and practiced with them after sundown. such(prenominal)(prenominal) was the life ok Karna, valiant, courageous and in a higher place all generous. interlocking at Kurukshetra forms a vital part of the bulky epic of Mahabharata which was believed to have continued for eighteen days. The battle dates from 5561 BC to 800 BC and it is base upon the astronomical and literary information from the epic itself. The mythology of the Kurukshetra war is also traced to the Battle of the Ten K ings which is also described in the Rig Veda. As per Aryabhatta, the great mathematician and astronomer of India, the Mahabharata was fought during the year 3137 BC. It was also known as the Battle for Dharma. In this battle at Kurukshetra cardinal families, the Pandavas and the Kurus fought for kingship and the supportive kings took part in the Great War and war ended with the victory of the Pandavas.Karna was the great tragical hero of the Mahabharata. He was a brave and expert warrior, who was first son of Kunti and thus the half-brothers of Pandavas. Duryodhana was his friend and appointed him as a King of Anga. But legend exceeds far more his role of just being a King. Karna also fought the great Battle of Kurukshetra for the Kaurvas. Karna fought the great battle of Kurukshetra with a great courage and grace. But he entered the battlefield only at the ordinal day as he felt insulted because Bhishma, the chief in commander of Kauravas side assigned Karna with a less importa nt position. Bhishma knew that Karna was Kuntis son and he did not inadequacy that brothers iron among themselves. For that reason he wanted to put Karna away of battlefield.On the thirteenth day of battle, Dronacharya organized Chakravyuha, a specific arrangement of the army. Only Arjun and Krishna knew how to busy vyuhabut they were purposefully taken to another side of battlefield. Arjunas son Abhimanyu knew how to go inside the Vyuha. He entered there alone and was downed by sevener warriors, among which Karna was also present. On the nightfall of fourteenth day, Bheemas son Ghatotkacha started putting to death the Kaurava army in a mass. Duryodhana requested Karna to stop him and Karna employed the Shakti weapon on him. After being used once, Shakti returned to its real owner, Indra. Now Karna did not have any divine weapon to kill Arjuna bit Arjuna had a wider range of divine weaponry. However Karna knew that he must face Arjuna in the battle and one of them would certai nly die.On the fifteenth day of the war, Dronacharya, the gurus of Pandavas and Kauravas died in the battle and Karna was appointed as commander-in-chief of Kauravas side. Karna had individual confrontation with all the Pandavas, except Arjuna and he defeated all of them but did not kill anybody as he promised to Kunti. On the seventeenth day of battle, Arjuna and Karna finally confronted. The two of them were greatest among all the warriors. Karna had a bow gifted by Parashurama known as Vijaya (Pinakin). On Duryodhanas request, Shalya who was the maternal uncle of Pandavas became the charioteer of Karna. Karna did not have the Shakti weapon with him anymore.The battle was indeed an intense display of amazing archery, valor and courage. Since Karna had no divine weapon, he devised an intelligent strategy to defeat Arjuna, which was entirely based on his personal ability. Karna set naga-astram on Arjuna tar steriliseing his head. Krishna, being the charioteer of Arjuna, plunged the chariot in the earth to save Arjuna. The fierce arrow thus hits Arjunas only saving his life.During this severe combat, Karnas chariot cast got stuck in emancipate soil as per the curse on Karna given by the brahmin, Karna asked Shalya to get down and take the wheel out of the grind to a halt but Shalya refused. so Karna got down by himself to take out the chariot and asked Arjuna for a pose in the battle. Arjuna agreed but Krishna reminded him Karnas merciless nature while killing his son Abhimanyu. Karna was not able to lift the chariot wheel nor could he recall how to use the Brahmastra as per the curse of Parashurama. In the interim Arjuna administered the terrible weapon Anjalika on Karna and beheaded the great warrior.After Karnas death Kunti revealed the secret of Karnas birth to her sons. Pandava grieved Karnas death. Yudhisthira was especially touched at this incident. He goddam all women that henceforth they would not be able to keep a secret.Karna was the tragic h ero of epic Mahabharata. He was a brave hero and courageous spirit who fought against his destiny all his life. His death was also tragic though full of courage, valor and innocence that took him to rise to immortality beyond the moral death. Karna was famous for his generosity and an example of a futile life in spite of having all the good qualities.Karnas character in the Mahabharata is one that has fascinated everyone. His story is one of the saddest, since he was ill-fated ever since his birth. There are valid reasons, though, for all of his actions and their repercussions.Karna, though born a prince, was brought up by a poor father and this led to a refusal for teaching by Dronacharya, the teacher of princes. Karna eventually approached Parashurama who taught him the customs duty of Brahmastra but also cursed him for killing his cow. This curse led to Karnas downfall, as explained here Once in the ashram of Parashurama, Karna fired an arrow aimlessly and a cow belonging to a Brahmin died.The Brahmin cursed him saying Let the wheel of your chariot get stuck in the mud and at that very instant let someone kill you. This is your penalisation for killing an innocent cow. Aimless actions almost always have unwanted consequences and this seemingly harmless action cost Karna heavily, as this is precisely how he was killed in the battle of Kurukshetra.Indra (the king of Gods), father of Arjuna did not want Karna to become more powerful and hence ensured that Parashurama found out that his supporter was not a Brahmin. At that instanct, Parashurama cursed Karna, a Kshatriya, for lying and said, When you are fighting with an enemy and the enemy is about to kill you, you will bar everything you learnt from me. At the battle of Kurukshetra, at a crucial moment, Karna forgot the holy incantations requisite to fight Arjuna and this led to his defeat.Duryodhana had become a good friend of Karna, do him a prince and hence Karna joined the Kauravas. Along with Dury odhana, he developed hatredness towards Arjuna and all the other Pandavas,unaware that they were his brothers.Indra soon devised a plan to get hold of the earrings and the divine armor of Karna, which would protect him at all times. Suryadeva, Karnas father, advised him to not give his armor and earrings to anyone. But when Indra pretended to be an ordinary Brahmin and asked for the armor and earrings, Karna gave them away as he had immense respect for Brahmins and was a kind man. This left him very vulnerable in the battle field.After the Kurukshetra war was declared, Kunti approached Karna, hoping to make him change sides. She accepted him as her son and asked him not to wage a war against his own brothers. But Karna refused, saying he would not fight any of her sons except for Arjuna. He said he was highly indebted to Duryodhana and it was time for him to show loyalty and gratitude to his dear friend. Such intense loyalty and ethics are qualitys of a good man, but Karna failed t o see the difference between the right and wrong.Apart from the humiliation of Draupadi, which Karna did with the Kauravas, his other biggest mistake was killing Arjunas son Abhimanyu, by unfair sum and in a way that was against the fair code of war. He was compelled by his loyalty to Duryodhana but going against what is right is not justifiable. Thus Karna and Arjuna got manifold in an intense fight.Karna first used the Sarpastra, an arrow which is shaped like a snake, aiming it at Arjunas throat but Lord Krishna, Arjunas charioteer, managed to save Arjuana. Though the arrow flew back to Karna and asked him to use it again, Karna refused to do so as he promised his mother that he would never use the aforesaid(prenominal) weapon twice. Karna was always a man of his word and this again is the trait of a highly righteous person. But his failure to judge the consequences of such promises led him into trouble.