Karna The Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata

by Kotru, Umesh

  On the eve of the war, commanders of both sides met to set the rules of war. The main decision taken was that the war will be fought between sunrise and sunset. After sunset, soldiers of both sides could interact with each other as friends. Unarmed men and non-combatants would not be attacked. Fights will be between warriors of equal stature. Chariots will confront chariots, horse riders will fight horse riders, elephant riders will fight elephant riders and foot soldiers will fight foot soldiers. After finalising the rules of the war, the commanders dispersed to their respective cantonments to fine-tune their last minute preparations for commencement of fighting the next day. In the meantime, Ulooka returned from the Pandava camp and delivered Shri Krishna’s message to Duryodhana. As a follow up to that he ordered Karna to convey to the field commanders that hostilities shall begin the following day at sunrise.

  Before retiring for the night Duryodhana asked Bhishma, “Pitamaha, How much time shall it take you to destroy the entire Pandava army? After pondering over the question for sometime Bhishma replied, “Son, as you are aware I am a very old man. But still there is enough left which will enable me to destroy the Pandava army in two months.” He put the same question to Guru Dronacharya who replied, “Son, like Bhishma I am also an old man but still my guess is that I will destroy the entire Pandava army in one month.” After Guru Dronacharya, Duryodhana turned towards his son Ashvatthama and asked the same question. In reply Ashvatthama promised to destroy the entire Pandava army in ten days. Last of all he put the same question to Karna who in his usual boastful way replied, “Friend, as you know I can go to any length to fulfill your any wish, even if that means sacrificing my life. I promise to destroy the entire Pandava army including Arjuna and his brothers in just five days.” This assertion of Karna angered Bhishma again. Without addressing anybody in particular he said, “Look at this Suta Putra who knows nothing except boasting about his prowess. He has already forgotten the recent drubbing he received at Viratanagara. It is because of him and Shakuni that Duryodhana will be instrumental in total destruction of the Puru race. It is lucky for him that he is not fighting alongside me. Otherwise I would have killed him myself before taking on the Pandavas.” Duryodhana sensed that things were getting out of hand. He quickly excused himself and left in the company of a fuming Karna to supervise last minute preparations of the coming war.

  Chapter-18

  Bhishma Finally Blesses Karna

  Finally the day for which the whole country was waiting with bated breath arrived when the armies of the Kauravas and Pandavas faced each other at Kurukshetra for the commencement of the great battle of Mahabharata. Dhrishtadyumna led the Pandava army while the Kauravas were under the overall command of Bhishma. Before the actual hostilities could begin, Arjuna, on seeing his elders, friends and relatives arrayed against him on the other side, was benumbed by despondency and refused to fight. It took Shri Krishna’s divinely persuasive recitation of what later became known as the Shrimad Bhagavadgita on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, which motivated him to fight. At this stage, a new development which delayed the start of fighting took place when Yudhishthira suddenly got down from his chariot and after divesting himself of his armour, walked towards the Kaurava lines with folded hands. Everybody including his brothers thought that he was going to surrender to the Kauravas. All his brothers and Shri Krishna followed him when he began to approach Bhishma’s chariot. By that time everybody realised that he was on a mission of seeking blessings and permission for commencement of war from the elders. Shri Krishna seized this opportunity to renew his earlier invitation of switching sides to Karna, which the latter again politely declined

  Finally the great war of the Mahabharata commenced with the blowing of conch shells. Bhishma, in keeping with his promise to Duryodhana, started decimating the Pandava army from the very onset of the war. The fighting reached a climactic point on the third day when Shri Krishna, realising that Arjuna was not showing full commitment in his fight against his grandfather, jumped from his chariot and rushed towards Bhishma with his deadly discus, the Sudarshana Chakra. Arjuna jumped after him and with difficulty managed to control him with the promise that he would put his whole heart in his fight against Bhishma. But Bhishma continued to scatter the Pandava army in all directions and killed thousands, including some prominent generals. On the ninth day, after continuing massacre of the Pandava army, Shri Krishna again jumped from his chariot to kill Bhishma and Arjuna again persuaded him to hold back.

  After the end of the ninth day, a long meeting was held in the Pandava camp presided over by Yudhishthira himself, where it was decided to go to Bhishma’s tent to ask him about ways to kill him. Bhishma, on his part, was not too surprised at this visit by his eldest grandson, as he had some premonitions about his approaching death which, due to Shantanu’s boon, would not come unless he himself chose it. Moreover, he had realised that his life’s mission of protecting the Puru dynasty had already collapsed around him and there was no point in surviving indefinitely. He addressed Yudhishthira by saying, “Son, Shikhandi, the brother of Draupadi was actually Princess Amba in his previous life. I still consider him as a woman and, as such, will not fight against him. Arjuna can shoot his deadly arrows at me from behind Shikhandi. That is the only way to subdue and kill me. I have also lost the will to live now. You take advantage of what I have said and defeat me tomorrow.” The Pandavas followed the new strategy as spelled out by Bhishma himself and succeeded in felling him before sunset the next day.

  After the fall of Bhishma from his chariot, he lay on a bed of arrows. He was still alive and conscious on account of the boon of having control over death bestowed on him by his father Shantanu. He waited for an auspicious time to allow life to leave his body. Leading commanders from both sides visited Bhishma to seek his blessings. One by one they came near him and paid their respects to the grandsire of the Puru family. All of them were duly blessed by Bhishma before they returned to their respective camps.

  Karna was the last one to arrive at the spot. At that time nobody other than a few soldiers were standing near Bhishma. The soldiers were stationed there to protect Bhishma from a possible attack from wild animals. Bhishma with his eyes closed was half asleep on his bed of arrows. Karna after dismounting from his chariot walked slowly towards Bhishma. He felt very sad upon looking at the great Puru hero, whom he respected a lot, lying there in such a condition.

  His pain was compounded by the recent revelation about his exact relationship with Bhishma. Holding his hands together and with tears in his eyes he spoke to Bhishma, “Pitamaha, I am Radhanandana Karna standing in front of you. I am the same Suta Putra whom you always used to rebuke in the Kaurava Sabha. I have come over to offer my deep respects to you and seek your blessings.”

  Bhishma slowly opened his eyes on hearing these words spoken by Karna. He tried to turn his head in the direction in which Karna was standing, but could not. He said in a feeble voice, “Karna, please come nearer and in front of me, so that I can see you. But before you do so, ask these guards to move out of earshot.” Karna did what he was told. With a wave of his hand he commanded the soldiers who were standing there to go away. After making sure that nobody was near them to listen to what they spoke, Bhishma started speaking to Karna. “Karna, don’t stand over there. Come nearer to me and hold my hands,” he said. Karna did as he was told. Bhishma continued, “Karna I am glad that you have come to see me. I was expecting you to come and was actually waiting for you. Please listen to what I have to say carefully.”

  After a brief pause Bhishma continued, “Son, I acknowledge that I have been harsh with you on several occasions. Today I want to inform you that you are not Radheya. Radha is not your real mother. You are not a Suta Putra as everyone believes you to be. You are the son of God Surya, and Kunti is your real mother. You were born to her when she was still a maiden. You are her eldest son. I came to know about your real identity from Devarishi Narada. I have also heard about the exact details related to your birth from Mah
arishi Vyasa.

  “Karna, I would like to clarify today that I do not hold any ill will towards you in my heart. In fact, my love for you is the same as that for the Pandavas and their cousins. My dear, on the contrary I am very pleased with your conduct barring some unworthy actions which, I am sure, were the result of the bad company you have been keeping. This world has never seen a greater Daanaveera than you before; neither will there be anyone who will be your equal in selfless service. This is my firm belief. Today let me reveal to you the real objective behind the harsh treatment you have always received from me. You have always remained faithful to Duryodhana on account of being duty bound by his friendship towards you. This has led you to be part of every evil action he undertook against the Pandavas. You became a bitter enemy of the Pandavas, who are your own brothers, on account of your friendship with Duryodhana. Unfortunately Duryodhana is following the path of adharma, which is bound to bring misfortune upon not only him but the entire race. On the other hand, the Pandavas, with Dharmaraj Yudhishthira leading them and with Shri Krishna guiding them, have always remained steadfast on the path of dharma. Even though your inherent nature is pure, you were always under the influence of evil, which sometimes made you act in unrighteous manner. I have, therefore, been trying to discourage you from following the path of evil. I wanted to undermine your belief in your own capability, which has the potential to cause great harm to the Pandavas.”

  Bhishma again paused for a moment and continued, “My son, let me confess to you now that I felt ashamed about the fact that I could not prevent the highly deplorable acts of disrespect towards Draupadi in the Kaurava Sabha during the game of dice. I could have stopped that madness. Let me tell you, much like the manner in which you feel duty-bound towards your friend, I am also bound by my vow of loyalty towards the throne of Hastinapura. Irrespective of who sits on the throne of Hastinapura, I am obliged to protect the King. Let me also tell you that according to the scriptures, every individual’s action is determined by the quality of company he keeps and the food he eats. I believe both of us have ended up on the side of adharma due to this reason. The source of our food and livelihood has been impure, which has affected our actions and we have to bear the fruits of our actions. I have, therefore, always tried to deter you from supporting evil. This is the real reason for my stern attitude towards you.”

  Bhishma further said, “Karna, I recognise your valour. You have remained firm on your vow and service of the Brahmins. You are a Daanaveera. You are equal to Arjuna and Shri Krishna himself in the art of using divine weapons. Your skills in archery are inferior to none. I witnessed your prowess when you defeated the mighty king of Kashi and Jarasandha, the powerful king of Maghadha. You also achieved victory over the rulers of all kingdoms in all directions for the sake of your friend, when he was feeling low and wanted to end his life. You are as brilliantly illustrious as your father Surya. Your personality was enhanced further by the natural armour and earrings which you gladly gave away to the Brahmin who asked for the same. For that one act of supreme sacrifice, this world is always going to remember you. To me you are no less than Dharmaraj Yudhishthira himself, when it comes to righteous behaviour. No less significant is the fact that you were always under the influence of evil, whereas Yudhishthira had the good fortune of being guided by the most learned Brahmins and Rishis. Not only that; the Pandavas have also enjoyed the graceful protection of the supreme Lord Sri Krishna himself. All this makes your behaviour even more praiseworthy.

  “My son, you are stuck in the wrong camp. Taking everything into consideration including preservation of the Puru dynasty, I suggest that you should join hands with your real brothers. They are on the side of dharma while Duryodhana is leading the forces of adharma. That way you can put an end to this war, which is otherwise going to lead to total destruction. Let this madness end with my death and let there be no more loss of precious lives. I am sure that after learning about your real identity, Yudhishthira will have no hesitation in proclaiming you as the King. This is my sincere advice to you.” After this spontaneous outpouring of his wise counsel, the tired Bhishma fell silent.

  Karna remained mum for a moment and broke his silence by saying, “Pitamaha, whatever you have told me just now is correct. I am already aware about who my biological parents are. I know that I am the eldest son of Maharani Kunti. This secret was revealed to me by Shri Krishna and Maharani Kunti herself just before the war started. Both of them also offered the same advice to me as you are doing now. They wanted me to join the Pandava forces and abandon Duryodhana. I will therefore give the same answer to you that I gave to both of them.”

  After a brief pause Karna continued, “Pitamaha, I was cast away by Princess Kunti soon after my birth. My mother Radha and Baba Adhiratha on the other hand rescued me from certain death and brought me up. I will always consider them as my real parents. Fate has always treated me cruelly. Throughout my life I have been facing humiliation at every step. Every night I feel like sleeping on a bed of thorns. Pitamaha, why should people see me through the prism of my lineage only? Whatever good you have spoken about me is only due to my dear mother Radha and the samskaras I have imbibed from her. There can be no one who is more unfortunate than me in this world. When everybody rejected me it was Duryodhana who stood by my side. He provided me with a new identity and helped me to live with dignity. He obliged me with his unconditional friendship, despite knowing that I was a Suta Putra. How can I desert him now? How can I betray my friend when he needs me the most? Duryodhana has taken up arms against the mighty Pandavas trusting my ability. How can I betray his trust at this eleventh hour? I cannot let him down at this crucial stage. Even the lure of the lordship of this entire universe is not going to deter me from my resolve. O, the greatest of Purus, in the same manner as you are bound by loyalty towards the throne of Hastinapura, I am also bound by my friendship towards Duryodhana.”

  Karna continued, “Pitamaha, this war is not just about the Pandavas fighting for their rights. It is also a war of dharma wherein adharma is going to be annihilated. It is therefore, better for the Kshatriyas to achieve glory by sacrificing themselves in this war than to decay and die under the influence of evil. I believe that you are also aware of this fact. I acknowledge that the army which is led by the wielder of Gandiva and protected by Shri Krishna will emerge victorious in this war. In spite of knowing that I am going to fight on the losing side, I am duty-bound to participate in this war. I have, therefore, come over to you for seeking your approval and blessings for taking part in the war. Kindly give me your permission and please forgive me for any harsh words that I might have spoken against you in the past.” Saying so, Karna fell on the feet of Bhishma and a stream of tears started rolling down his cheeks.

  Bhishma responded, “Son, before I bless you and give the permission desired by you, let me first refer to your earlier observation of being the most unfortunate person alive. Well, I am going to share some personal facts with you. Everyone has only a sketchy knowledge about these facts. Since both of us are going to be free from this worldly bondage in a few days time, I am sharing this knowledge with you and trust your integrity to keep this conversation between us secret. Let me start from the beginning, when my mother Ganga vanished with her eighth newborn baby, because my father broke his vow. Although I was brought up by a single mother yet she gave me training in arms which turned me into a formidable warrior by the time Maharaj Shantanu discovered me practicing my art on the bank of Ganga. The rest of my training was handled by Guru Parashurama. During my childhood I missed my father very much, but when I eventually got him I lost my mother. In this world nobody has time to bother about your inner feelings and who will understand me more than Karna? Just like all other kids of my age, I began to dream about my future which from all angles was promising to be exceptionally bright. But destiny again intervened.” Bhishma looked tired and paused for a moment. In the semi-darkness Karna could see tears trickling down the face of Bhishma. He said, “Pitamah
a, please stop. You are tired.” Bhishma cut him short by saying, “Son, you will never get this opportunity again. As Yuvaraj, I subjugated many kingdoms to the throne of Hastinapura. Then, after a few years, I saw my father in a thoughtful mood. Initially I did not attach much importance to it, as the minds of kings are often burdened by affairs of state. When asked about the reason he would avoid direct answer.

  “One day my trusted men brought the news regarding the actual reason behind my father’s misery. I rushed to the fishermen’s colony on the banks of Yamuna and confronted the father of Satyavati (also called Matsyagandha), with whom my father was deeply in love. On hearing his preconditions for letting his daughter marry my father, I was initially rattled. But then, my attachment and sense of duty towards my father made me take the solemn vow that I would renounce my claim to the throne in favour of the progeny of the fisherman’s daughter and would never even marry to preclude my progeny from laying claim to the throne. That was how I got transformed from Devavrata to Bhishma. As a token of his gratitude, my father bestowed me with a boon which gave me control over my death. I wished I had not accepted the boon, as my misery in that case would have ended long back.”

  It was now Karna’s turn to shed a few tears as Bhishma’s narrative reopened some festering wounds inside him. Bhishma then resumed his narrative. “Rest of my story is too well known to have escaped your notice. But what nobody knows is how Shakuni happens to be in Hastinapura. Gandhari’s father was forced to give his beautiful daughter in marriage to the blind Dhritarashtra because nobody could say ‘no’ to Bhishma in the whole country. Shakuni could not take this insult lying down and decided to take revenge. So he accompanied his sister, whom he dearly loved, to this place and hatched his plots for revenge from day one and you too became an unwilling accomplice in that palace intrigue. Now tell me, who is more unfortunate between the two of us. In my zeal to protect the throne of Hastinapura, I even condoned evil on numerous occasions. I curse myself day and night for our treatment of Draupadi, for which I deserve all the punishment I am now suffering on this bed of arrows. I did my best to protect the throne of Hastinapura, but what have I got in return? All my efforts have gone waste and by the time this war ends there will be total desolation everywhere. Now, before I close my eyes I want to talk about you. I indeed feel very sorry for you. You don’t deserve to die. I also know your positives. How can the son of Surya and Kunti be the instrument of evil? I wish, like Arjuna, you had also played in my lap. Forgive me, my son, for my insulting you at every step and, in frustration, even pinning Duryodhana’s blame on you. Believe me, when Narada told me who you are, I couldn’t sleep for days and cried secretly. I continued to taunt you because of my love for Arjuna and hate for evil. Still I will repeatedly advise you to reveal your identity and become the Pandava king and save those who are still alive.”