Mahabharata Chapter 56 – WAR: Days 16-17 – Karna

In this series I outline the epic of the Mahabharata. The events that happened before and after the Bhagavad Gita.

For those that have not watched my Bhagavad Gita series you can find it on https://youtu.be/BbHCNUNGpRY

For this series I have drawn inspiration from the works of
Sudipta Bhawmik and Avi Ziv in their series “Stories of the Mahabharata” https://shows.acast.com/thestoriesofmahabharata as well as the illustrated “Mahabharata” by Manoj Publications www.manojpublications.com.

Many images are from the visually stunning Mahabharat by StarPlus available on Youtube

Music by ShidenBeatsMusic from Pixabay

Chapter 56 – WAR: Days 16-17 – Karna

On the 16th day Karna was appointed as Supreme Commander of the Kaurava forces. Karna’s life was one that was filled with tragedy and longing for greatness. Just before the war, Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas revealed to him that she was also his maternal mother. As a desperate teenager with a newborn child, she had set him afloat down the Ganges river, where he was found and adopted by a charioteer and his wife. Unknown to the Pandava brothers and even to his friend Duryodhan, Karna was the eldest brother of the Pandavas.

Karna resumed the war with fury. He had promised mother Kunti that he would not kill any of her sons aside from Arjuna, that way, she would still retain 5 sons at the end of the war. Karna kept to his word. There were times where he could have slain Yudishthir, Bheem, Sahadev and Nakul, but he spared their lives. Arjuna was his lifelong rival, the Prince that was revered by all. Karna had long envied the adulation that the Prince enjoyed, feeling in some way, that it should have been his.

During the day’s battle Bheem finally encountered Dushashan, the brother of Duryodhan. During the insidious Game of Dice, Yudishthir had lost their wife, Drupapadi in a gambling fever. Dushashan had gone to Druapadi’s chambers, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her down to the royal court.

Bheem had sworn an oath to break open the chest of Dushashan, drink his blood and collect the remainder to wash Draupadi’s hair. On the 16th day of the war, Bheem fulfilled his grisly vow, to the horror of soldiers on both sides.

On day 17, Karna felt uneasy. He was unaware of his royal heritage during his youth, but he always felt that he was destined for more than the humble life of a charioteer. He exhibited great fighting prowess as he grew and he sought out the greatest arms teacher there was, the immortal Lord Parusharama, known as an avatar of Lord Vishnu himself.
Lord Parusharama took an oath to never teach any of the Kshatriya - the warrior class. Karna deceived the teacher and presented himself as a Brahmin - A member of the Priest Class. Lord Parusharam agreed to train him, and Karna proved to be an exceptional student, soaking up knowledge like a sponge.

One day, as part of his dakshina - teacher payment, Karna offered his thigh as a headrest for Lord Parushararam, while the teacher slept. During Parusharam’s slumber an insect climbed Karnas leg and drilled into his thigh. The pain was excruciating but Karna refused to move and disturb his teacher’s sleep. When Lord Parusharam awoke, he saw the blood-soaked thigh of Karna. “No Brahmin could endure the pain of this insect. You have lied to me; you are a Kshatriya. I have taught you all that I know in the art of war and archery Karna, but this is my punishment to you. When you need these skills the most, you will forget all of them”

Karna, the son of the sun, found himself in his final stand with his hated enemy Arjuna. They exchanged volleys of celestial missiles between them, each one countering the other and they seemed to end in stalemate. But unfortunately for Karna, during the battle, his chariot wheel became lodged in a crevice. He jumped down to pry the wheel free, as Arjuna reloaded his Gandiva bow. At Lord Krishna’s instruction Arjuna released the arrow, and Karna who previously had the skill to counter the attack, felt Lord Parusharams curse take hold, he forgot all that he learnt.

Arjunas arrow struck, and he ended the life of his bitter rival, and unknowingly the life of his eldest brother.

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