Karna The Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata

by Kotru, Umesh

  In the evening, when Arjuna learnt about the death of his son, he was overcome with grief. He was informed that it was Jayadratha who had sealed the opening created by Abhimanyu in the Chakra formation thereby preventing any help from reaching Abhimanyu. Arjuna became very angry and vowed that the very next day he would kill Jayadratha before sunset and in case he failed in this mission he would give up his life by entering into a pyre of fire. This vow taken by Arjuna was swiftly relayed to Duryodhana by his spies. When Jayadratha came to know about this he was seized with fear. He told Duryodhana, “Brother, I don’t think there is anyone who can stop Arjuna from fulfilling his resolve tomorrow. I do not want to die at the hands of Arjuna. Please let me escape to my kingdom.”

  On hearing these distressing words Karna said, “Maharaj, you need not be afraid. I along with Guru Dronacharya, your brother’s in law, Ashvatthama and other Kaurava generals, will protect you from all sides. Guru Dronacharya will personally supervise the formation tomorrow with the purpose of keeping Arjuna away from you.” Duryodhana also added, “Maharaj, Arjuna has only invited his own demise by taking such a vow. This is actually a blessing in disguise for us. We can surely keep him away from you for a day and will manage to kill him without actually having to fight him. Tomorrow this war is going to end with the death of Arjuna.” These words from Karna and Duryodhana filled Jayadratha with renewed hope and restored his lost confidence. In consultation with Guru Dronacharya, necessary preparations were made and instructions issued to the entire army to remain alert and prevent Arjuna from reaching anywhere near Jayadratha the following day.

  Next day Arjuna saw himself facing a huge Kaurava army arranged in such a manner that Jayadratha was protected from all sides and stationed deep inside the army. Huge forces of cavalry, elephant-mounted warriors and foot soldiers were stationed in front of Jayadratha for his protection. There was tremendous tension in the air on both sides. Arjuna proceeded to engage the huge Kaurava army right away. Karna was confronted by Bhima. Intense battle raged between Karna and Bhima. Bhima, recalling the events in the Kaurava Sabha, fumed in anger and started hitting hard at Karna with his weapons. Karna, on the other hand, stayed calm and neutralised every attack made by Bhima. However, soon Bhima started gaining an upper hand. He destroyed Karna’s chariot. Karna had to change his chariot to continue the fight. In this manner Bhima demolished eight different Chariots of Karna. Karna himself was badly injured in the process.

  Despite his injuries, Karna retaliated ferociously. He demolished Bhima’s chariot and destroyed most of his weapons. Bhima jumped from his chariot with a sword in hand and rushed towards Karna. Karna fired sharp arrows at Bhima and cut his sword into pieces. Finding himself subdued in this fashion and without any weapon in hand he picked up a dead elephant lying nearby and threw it at Karna. Karna cut the elephant also into pieces with his arrows before it could reach him. This was how Bhima was completely overpowered by Karna. Even though Karna was in a position to kill Bhima, remembering the promise made by him to Kunti he did not attack Bhima any further. He let Bhima go with a mouthful of insult, “O Vrikodara, you are no match to me. You are only fit to be a cook and enjoy tasty food. Your place is not in the battlefield but in a kitchen.” While Karna was speaking like this to Bhima, Arjuna arrived at the scene and took Bhima in his chariot, which Shri Krishna quickly drove away from the spot. Arjuna confronted Shri Krishna saying, “Keshava, why are you taking me away from Karna. I want to teach him a lesson for speaking to Bhimasena in such a disrespectful manner.” Shri Krishna replied, “Partha, don’t forget that Karna is in possession of the amogha Shakti obtained by him from Indra. He intends to use it against you. As long as Karna possesses the Shakti, I do not want you to face him in direct battle.”

  While being led away from Karna, Arjuna reminded Shri Krishna in panic that more than half the day was over and he was nowhere near Jayadratha. He requested Shri Krishna to swiftly carry him near Jayadratha, so that his mission could be accomplished before it was too late. After quickly contemplating the situation, Shri Krishna decided to first tend to his horses who were dead tired and in dire need of some refreshments. As such Arjuna engaged the enemy while on foot, till Shri Krishna tended to the horses by giving them water and fodder. Once this exercise was over Arjuna ascended his chariot and Krishna swiftly drove it in the direction where Jayadratha was hiding behind a wall of Kaurava commanders. Seeing them coming, Duryodhana ordered Karna, Ashvatthama, Kripacharya and Duhshasana to rush towards Arjuna and stop him from reaching Jayadratha.

  Karna responded, “Friend, even though I am badly injured as a result of an intense fight with Bhima, I will use whatever strength is left in me to prevent Arjuna from reaching near Maharaj Jayadratha.” Along with Ashvatthama, Duhshasana and Kripacharya, he proceeded to confront Arjuna and engage with him. Bhima and Satyaki had joined Arjuna to assist him in his fight against the Kaurava warriors. A ferocious battle raged for a long time, with neither side being able to press the advantage. Seeing that precious time was being lost in this encounter and sunset was fast approaching, Shri Krishna told Arjuna, “Partha, it will not be possible for you to overcome these Kaurava generals and proceed towards Jayadratha within the little time left before sunset. I will use the power of my maya and create an illusory sunset. That should make the Kaurava heroes to drop their guard. Taking advantage of it, I will swiftly carry you near Jayadratha. You should cut off his head. But take care that the head should not fall on the ground. Jayadratha has earned a boon that whoever causes his head to fall on ground will end up with his own head getting shattered into pieces.”

  Shri Krishna through the power of maya made it appear as if the sun had gone down the horizon and sunset had taken place. The darkened sun, coupled with the tremendous amount of dust raised due to intense fighting, engulfed the entire battlefield in semi darkness. Beholding this spectacle and its implications on the war sparked off wild celebrations in the Kaurava army. All the generals who were confronting Arjuna paused and started rejoicing. They proceeded in the direction where Jayadratha was stationed with Duryodhana with the purpose of congratulating them. In the mean time Shri Krishna swiftly drove the chariot very close to the same spot and directed Arjuna to behead Jayadratha. Arjuna lost no time in taking an arrow from his quiver and shot it at Jayadratha while invoking special mantras. Under the influence of those mantras, the arrow cut off Jayadratha’s head and took it far away from the battle field. The head landed in the lap of Vriddhakshatra, Jayadratha’s father who was seated for his evening meditation. The startled king got up, which made the head fall on the ground leading to his own head getting shattered into pieces. Thus, thanks to Krishna’s guidance, Arjuna not only fulfilled his pledge to kill Jayadratha, but also avoided the dire consequences of causing Jayadratha’s head to fall on to the ground. Soon thereafter, Shri Krishna withdrew his spell of hypnotic illusion. The late afternoon sun reappeared in all its crimson glory and everyone in the Kaurava army realised what had actually happened. Seeing the beheaded body of his brother-in-law, Duryodhana was distraught with grief. He along with his brothers and other generals of the Kaurava army started mourning the death of Jayadratha. In the mean time sunset took place; but the war did not end at sunset on that day as was the practice. Fighting went late into the night with the Kauravas mounting their counter-attack on the Pandava army, in retaliation of the death of Jayadratha.

  Early next morning, Duryodhana went to the tent of Karna and said, “My Friend, despite the impregnable formation arranged by Guru Dronacharya and the protection provided by you, my brother-in-law was killed by Arjuna. This was possible only because of the power of maya used by Sri Krishna. Karna, the major part of my army has been destroyed in the last few days. I am beginning to feel that Guru Dronacharya is not making enough efforts to stop Arjuna. He seems to be inclined to protect the Pandavas like Pitamaha Bhishma used to do. His love for Arjuna is preventing him from acting strongly against the Pandavas.” Karna replied, “Friend, I don’t agree with y
ou. You should not doubt the integrity of your Commander-in-Chief. He has inflicted lot of damage on the Pandava army already. You should give due credit to Arjuna for his knowledge of divine weapons and the art of warfare. More importantly, don’t forget that his chariot is driven by none else but Shri Krishna. As long as Arjuna enjoys the protection of Lord Krishna he will be safe. Guru Dronacharya and the rest of your commanders including myself are putting in our best efforts. You should not have any doubts on that count. How can you also forget that despite all your earlier efforts, you could not cause any harm to the Pandavas. Surely there is some greater force working to protect them.”

  While they were engaged in this conversation, a sudden loud noise created by the blowing of conches and beating of drums erupted from outside. This indicated the announcement of the resumption of battle for the day. Before preparing to proceed for the battle, Karna told Duryodhana, “Friend, today I will wage a fierce battle for you. I will decimate the Pandava army. I again reaffirm my resolve to kill Arjuna and will use my Shakti if he comes anywhere near me today. I will fight with the objective of achieving complete victory for you.” With these words of Karna, both of them proceeded to join the battle which was about to commence.

  Karna launched a full blooded attack on the Pandava army and killed thousands of soldiers. He wreaked havoc in the Pandava camp. In order to check Karna, Sahadeva confronted him. Karna overcame Sahadeva with ease and rendered him defenceless. Treating him like a kid Karna taunted Sahadeva and instructed him to engage someone equal to him in battle. Although Karna was in a position to kill Sahadeva, he let him go and take refuge in the Pandava camp.

  After making Sahadeva retreat, Karna in the presence of Kripacharya and Ashvatthama told Duryodhana, “Friend, today you will see the full impact of my power. I will demolish the Pandava army, including all of their commanders and kill Arjuna. Nobody including Shri Krishna can save Arjuna from my attack today.” Hearing these boastful words of Karna, Guru Kripacharya got irritated and retorted, “Karna, you only know how to boast. How do you think you can achieve what you are bragging about? Have you forgotten about the defeat at the hands of Arjuna in the battle of Virata? Where was your much-vaunted power when the Gandharvas took your friend as captive?” These words from Kripacharya infuriated Karna and he responded by saying, “Guruji, only a man who is confident about his capabilities can speak in the manner I have spoken. You have become old, which is the reason you have lost confidence in your capability. If you think you are not good enough to fight the Pandava army, don’t try to put doubt in the mind of others.” This disrespectful outburst of Karna towards his maternal uncle made Ashvatthama lose his cool. He drew his sword and rushed towards Karna. Ashvatthama shouted, “Karna, how can you speak like this to my Mamaji. He has no equal in the art of archery in this world. I will cut your tongue into pieces for speaking like that.”

  Seeing the situation turning ugly, Duryodhana quickly intervened and restrained Ashvatthama. He said, “Ashvatthama, I apologise on behalf of Karna. Please do not get angry. It is not time for us to fight among ourselves. We are facing a formidable enemy. We need to put together our resources and take on our opponents.” Guru Kripacharya also asked Ashvatthama to control his anger and forgive Karna for his misbehaviour. Ashvatthama calmed down a bit and threw away the sword. All of them then proceeded in different directions to continue the fight.

  In the mean time Satyaki and Dhrishtadyumna, along with other Panchala warriors confronted Karna. In the fierce battle that ensued, Karna was able to subdue all of them and force them into retreat. Seeing Karna decimating the Pandava army, Yudhishthira became worried and approached Shri Krishna for advice. Shri Krishna recommended that the Pandavas should send Ghatotkacha, the mighty asura son of Bhima, into the battlefield to face Karna. He said that like the previous day war that day would continue into the night. Considering that the asura powers get multiplied during night, it was appropriate to send Ghatotkacha into battle. Sri Krishna did not reveal his real intent, which was to neutralise the powerful weapon Shakti that Karna possessed.

  Yudhishthira and the other Pandavas agreed to the suggestion and immediately Ghatotkacha was dispatched to the battlefield.

  Evening was approaching when Ghatotkacha joined the fray. He started inflicting heavy damage on the Kaurava army. After sunset his powers grew manifold and together with his mayavi capabilities, Ghatotkacha’s attack soon became too much for the Kaurava forces to withstand. Nobody, not even Karna, was able to stop him. Large number of Kaurava soldiers got killed in the process, and the entire army panicked as a result. Duryodhana immediately went to Karna and said, “Friend, if Ghatotkacha is not stopped soon, our entire army is going to perish. I think you should use the Shakti and get rid of Ghatotkacha.” Karna replied, “Maharaj, I have preserved this weapon only for Arjuna. Without Shakti how can I kill Arjuna? Overcoming Arjuna is more important than any other task for you and me in this war.”

  Duryodhana said, “Yes, I know, but if Ghatotkacha is not stopped, I will have no army by the morning. Without the army how shall we continue the war? In the prevailing conditions Ghatotkacha can even kill all of us, and then what purpose will your Shakti serve?” Despite several arguments used by Karna, Duryodhana prevailed upon him to use his Shakti and kill Ghatotkacha. Finally Karna had to relent. He invoked the powerful weapon of Indra and fired it upon Ghatotkacha. The weapon put an end to Ghatotkacha’s life and returned back to Indra. Before falling dead on the ground, Ghatotkacha inflated the size of his body and fell upon thousands of fleeing Kaurava soldiers, killing them in the process.

  The news of Ghatotkacha’s death at the hands of Karna was received with profound grief in the Pandava camp. His father Bhima along with the other Pandavas sank into deep remorse and mourning. But Shri Krishna, on the other hand, could not hide his feeling of relief. He seemed to be rejoicing and unabashedly expressing his pleasure in front of the mourning Pandavas. This confused all of them. Arjuna addressing Shri Krishna said, “Keshava, instead of mourning the death of our beloved son why are you celebrating like this?” Shri Krishna replied, “Partha, I am celebrating for your sake. Today a big threat to your life has been averted. You know I was keeping you away from Karna since he joined the battle, fearing his Shakti. Today he has used up that one-shot weapon. There, therefore, is no more reason to worry about that. Even then I will continue to advise you to remain alert while facing Karna since, with or without the Shakti, he is a formidable foe. Let me also tell you that besides keeping you away from Karna, I have also prevented him from pursuing you and mounting an attack on you by using the power of maya. I did not want a confrontation between you and Karna as long as he possessed the potent Shakti.” With these words from Shri Krishna, reality dawned on Arjuna. Meanwhile in the Kaurava camp Duryodhana became furious at the devastation wreaked by Ghatotkacha. He started using unpleasant words against Guru Dronacharya once again and blamed him for not being able to contain the Pandava army despite his knowledge of divine weapons. Guru Dronacharya rejected all arguments presented by Duryodhana and stated that in the battle that will follow he will destroy a leading contingent of the Pandava army.

  On the commencement of battle next day, the Pandava army came under heavy assault. Dronacharya, ably supported by Karna, completely annihilated the Panchalas who were a major ally of the Pandavas. King Drupada and King Virata were also killed by Guru Dronacharya in the process. The news of the death of his father angered Dhrishtadyumna, who resolved to take revenge. He mounted a fierce counter-attack on Guru Dronacharya and Karna. Despite his best efforts the Kaurava army held an upper hand. Frustrated with the situation, Dhrishtadyumna together with Yudhishthira approached Shri Krishna for advice. He made them remember that Dronacharya had himself informed Yudhishthira that it was impossible to kill him so long as he wielded a weapon in his hands. Shri Krishna, therefore, suggested that if they could somehow manage to get Dronacharya to lay down his arms he could be killed by Dhrishtadyumna. In order to achieve that
objective all of them hatched a plan. It was decided to have Bhima kill an elephant named Ashvatthama. After that Yudhishthira would go near Guru Dronacharya and pronounce loudly that Bhima had killed Ashvatthama without referring to the elephant. Considering the deep love Guru Dronacharya had for his son, he would lay down his arms on hearing this news. Since Yudhishthira was known for always speaking the truth, Dronacharya would not doubt the veracity of his word. The plan was immediately executed and as expected, Dronacharya laid down his arms thinking that there was no point for him to stay alive when his beloved son was killed. He sat in meditation in the middle of the battlefield. Dhrishtadyumna seized this opportunity and beheaded Guru Dronacharya with his sword.

  When Ashvatthama heard the news of the death of his father he became furious. He was particularly agitated upon learning about the falsity adopted by the Pandavas in killing Drona. Filled with rage, he invoked the Narayani Astra with the purpose of destroying the entire Pandava army and fired the weapon at them. This Astra was received by Guru Dronacharya from Lord Vishnu after undergoing intense penance. Guru Dronacharya had taught his son Ashvatthama the use of the Astra, which, once fired, was capable of annihilating the enemy. Nobody knew the actual destructive powers of the Astra. The Astra started having effect on the Pandava army and whoever lifted his weapon in defence against the Astra was immediately killed. Even Arjuna did not have any clue about how to counter the Narayani Astra. Shri Krishna quickly advised all the Pandavas and the entire army to lay their arms and surrender to the Astra which was the only way to neutralise the weapon. Everyone followed Shri Krishna’s instructions, as a result of which the Astra stopped inflicting any further damage and returned to Lord Vishnu.