Karna
( and The Modern Myth of Good and Evil)
Myths held sway for millennia as the representations of a clash between good and evil, culminating in the victory of good over evil, of dharma over adharma. The view that is ruling today, has completely reversed the roles. What was dharma once has now changed places with adharma. Representatations of good are now unabashedly representations of evil. ‘ Do as Rama did,not as Ravana and his ilk’ is now openly totally reversed. One who abducts another's wife and forces her to submit to his venal desires,under the threat of of being roasted live, is viewed as the man much wronged and reviled. One who kills thousands of men and holds their widows as his sex slaves is a god to be worshipped. One who is willing to marry and rehabilitate those sex slaves is a dallying devil, elevated by fanatics to the level of a deity! While it is hopeless to try to reverse this trend,we may try to see its academic merits. And we shall do so with reference to the Mahabharata,and in particular to Karna in it.
Kauravas are sticklers for the Vedic path in their worldly and other-worldly pursuits. They are all born out of accepted Vedic wedlock. They perform the Vedic rites enjoined on them very regularly and righteously. They have great respect for personal relationships, and respect for the elders.They have the utmost respect for the institution of marriage, and “paativratya” dharma.( The case of Gandhari blindfolding herself in deference to her eyeless husband is a glorious example of a devoted wife! )In every aspect the Kauravas stick to the scripturally sanctioned path. What about Karna, who is not a Kaurava by birth,but who has been adopted into their fold? Karna is the offspring of the Sun God,the very “ karmasakshi” , the witness to all the doings “ under the Sun.” Krishna,in his effort to win Karna over to the side of the Pandavas, appeals to his innate sense of dharma: ‘ you have attended on elderly Brahmins and thus you know the subtleties of Vedic dharma.’
(उपासितास्ते राधेय ब्राह्मणा वेदपारगा:।
तत्त्वार्थं परिपृष्टाश्च नियतेनानुसूयया।।
त्वमेव कर्ण जानासि वेदवादान् सनातनान्।
त्वमेव धर्मशास्त्रेषु सूक्ष्मेषु परिनिष्ठित:।।Udyoga.140.6-7.)
(‘నీవు వృద్ధజనోపసేవివి ధర్మసంవేదివి...’ఆం.మ.భా.)
So Karna’s awareness of and adherence to the Vedic dharma is acknowledged by no less than Krishna himself. And Karna returns this complement fittingly in a language that resounds in ritualistic language,referring to the impending battle as a great sacrificial ritual. ‘You,Krishna, are going to be the presiding priest ( upadrashta and adhvaryu) of this great sacrificial ritual;Arjuna’s bow would be the sacrificial ladle; the sounds made by the weapons of Arjuna would be the mantras; the war cries of Bhima would be the chanting of the priest(udgata);Yudhishthira would be the Brahma himself of this sacrifice performed by Duryodhana.’(Ibid.29-31.)Karna’s whole being is suffused with scriptural prescriptions.And he is a steadfast practitioner of the prescriptions. When Kunti decides to meet him and disclose the secret of his birth,she goes to meet him on the bank of the river Bhagirathi. There, she hears him , before she sees him. Karna is chanting the Vedic hymns.And it is a voice filled with compassion,(“ghrininah”) and truthfulness.Facing east, his hands are lifted up in salutation to the rising sun.Kunti waited for him to finish his rite.
आत्मजस्य ततस्तस्य घृणिन: सत्यसंगिन:।
गड़.गातीरे पृथाश्रौषीद् वेदाध्ययननिस्स्वनम्।।
प्राड.मुखस्योर्ध्वबाहो: सा पर्यतिष्ठत पृष्ठत:।(Ibid.144.27-28.)
Karna’s response to both Krishna and Kunti is that he cannot now claim to be a Kshatriya,as his birth “rites” were performed as for the son of a ‘suta’,a mixed caste.Such is his inviolable faith in the Vedic rituals. Brahmanas are the repositories of the Vedic dharma, and Karna holds them in high esteem. It is too well known that he would give away anything to a Brahmana. One need not be a Brahmana.A Brahmana disguise is as good for him. And it is too well known that Indra played on this sentiment to rob him of his precious protective sheath.
Compared with this, where do the Pandavas stand? Their births,their marriage,their truthfulness,(uttering untruths whenever it suits them), their meanness ( begging the enemy to reveal how he could be killed)—all these represent not only a violation of dharma, but a violation of the basic code of conduct.
Do we then conclude that the Mahabharata represents a clash between the dharma of Kauravas and the adharma of Pandavas? This would be a surface look at the reality of things. Rituals, the holiness of personal relationships, the sanctity of the institution of marriage,respect for elders honor,valor, and yes even truthfulness,--all these are indeed great virtues. Pandavas too realize and recognize them as such. But these virtues are subordinate and subservient to a higher law. These values are to be dispensed with when the issue is not one of fighting for personal gain or glory,but for a right social order. We shall come to this a little later.But let us return to Karna.
It is a widely held view that the Mahabharata would be insipid and meaningless without the character of Karna. How far is it true? Is Karna such a tall crucial figure in the epic? The truth is that much of this popular feeling is sustained by the pity his birth and its consequences evoke in the readers. It is quite commonplace to observe that no other character in the Mahabharata has suffered so badly at the hands of Fate. Fate no doubt has been cruel to him.He is the result of a rape of a young unmarried woman. A divine rape,no doubt by no less than the Sun God. But a rape is a rape,with all its stigma and trauma of a lifetime, not just for the woman but for the resulting child as well. Karna is a victim of this trauma.He is abandoned by his mother, even before he opened his eyes to the world.He is deprived of his rites, and rights, of birth. True. But does he suffer more than the other children of Kunti do? His suffering is indeed nothing compared to what the Pandavas suffer. As little children, Pandavas are orphaned, and abandoned on the distant hill jungles,left in the care of a helpless widowed mother . The hermits bring them to Hastina,and stand them in the royal court. The children are too young to know fear,but old enough to sense the unwelcome behind the welcome. They can feel their insecurity in a land once ruled by their father. They live under continued threats to their lives. As children still, they are exiled. They survive poisoning and arson. For fear of life,they live in disguise, and beg for their daily food.As to the stigma of their births, they are more ridiculous than the birth of Karna. Their marriage is preposterous, and the whole world keeps taunting them for it.The rightful owners of the kingdom are abegging on the streets. Their woman was disrobed in full public view under their very nose in a kingdom of which she was the empress a few minutes ago. What is it that the other children of Kunti do not suffer, and Karna has? Nothing. His life in comparison, is smooth,comfortable and he ought to be contented. But Karna is not contented.
Pandavas are never ashamed or apologetic about their illegitimate births,or about their absurd marriage. They couldn't care less for the opinion of the world. It is not shamelessness. It is total absence of ego. Karna is always attempting to escape from himself, from his low-caste image.And the more he tried to escape, the more cursed is his life. It is commonly observed that curses undid Karna. ( Curses turn boons for Pandavas. ) But the worst curse of Karna is what he gave to himself,his friendship with Duryodhana. The friendship is the result of his fierce desire to find an identity. The more fiercely he seeks his identity,the more hopelessly does he lose it. The million gifts he gives away depend on the one gift he bartered with,his loyalty to Duryodhana. The noblest gift he gives, the kavacha and the kundalas,of course is god-given. But the act of gifting it away betrays his vanity more than charity. Karna is a man with a burning shirt on him, and the more he tries to run away from himself, the worse the flame.
Karna defeated himself before anyone did. He sees his doom and does nothing to change it .His replies to Krishna and Kunti ,who tell him to cross sides,clearly betray a defeatist tone. ‘If Dussasana and Sakuni cross to the other side,then you may think of my doing so’,he said.That is where he belongs,not in others’ view,but in his own.
Now let us look at the misunderstanding of the role of Pandavas, and the modern popular antipathy towards them. It is strange,that the antipathy towards Pandavas is more from those who actually have reason to empathize with them.Kauravas are in power.( Let us bypass the question of the legality of their claim to the throne.) They are the government, the establishment. And like every establishment,it seeks to entrench itself in power, and would not concede the space of a ‘pin head’.Let it be conceded that Pandu had no legal claim,(which of course is not true.)But he ruled the kingdom for a good time, and made digvijaya,conquering many lands, and expanding the Kuru kingdom. Can he not claim a bit of it for himself or for his children? Strangely, the section that argues that Pandu or his children have no claim,are those who cry hoarse about the rights of the tiller of the land as against the legal landowner.
Actually, Kauravas are the oppressive,autocratic,and abusive government,denying people their basic rights to an honorable life. It degenerated into a kingdom of gamblers. Honest and truthful people are deprived of their wealth and driven into exile, and forced to live in cognito,as are those today who oppose the oppression of the governments are driven underground. The women are shamelessly openly disrobed and abused. Pandavas,patiently suffered and finally rose in rebellion against this oppressive abusive establishment.
And it cannot be forgotten that Karna is on the side of the unjust establishment,faithfully and fanatically fighting for its cause.
(Karna commands pity. And enough of space is given for it in the epic,more so in the AndhraMahabharatam. The two stanzas of Tikkana on Karna's fall are among the most moving in the epic.)
( and The Modern Myth of Good and Evil)
Myths held sway for millennia as the representations of a clash between good and evil, culminating in the victory of good over evil, of dharma over adharma. The view that is ruling today, has completely reversed the roles. What was dharma once has now changed places with adharma. Representatations of good are now unabashedly representations of evil. ‘ Do as Rama did,not as Ravana and his ilk’ is now openly totally reversed. One who abducts another's wife and forces her to submit to his venal desires,under the threat of of being roasted live, is viewed as the man much wronged and reviled. One who kills thousands of men and holds their widows as his sex slaves is a god to be worshipped. One who is willing to marry and rehabilitate those sex slaves is a dallying devil, elevated by fanatics to the level of a deity! While it is hopeless to try to reverse this trend,we may try to see its academic merits. And we shall do so with reference to the Mahabharata,and in particular to Karna in it.
Kauravas are sticklers for the Vedic path in their worldly and other-worldly pursuits. They are all born out of accepted Vedic wedlock. They perform the Vedic rites enjoined on them very regularly and righteously. They have great respect for personal relationships, and respect for the elders.They have the utmost respect for the institution of marriage, and “paativratya” dharma.( The case of Gandhari blindfolding herself in deference to her eyeless husband is a glorious example of a devoted wife! )In every aspect the Kauravas stick to the scripturally sanctioned path. What about Karna, who is not a Kaurava by birth,but who has been adopted into their fold? Karna is the offspring of the Sun God,the very “ karmasakshi” , the witness to all the doings “ under the Sun.” Krishna,in his effort to win Karna over to the side of the Pandavas, appeals to his innate sense of dharma: ‘ you have attended on elderly Brahmins and thus you know the subtleties of Vedic dharma.’
(उपासितास्ते राधेय ब्राह्मणा वेदपारगा:।
तत्त्वार्थं परिपृष्टाश्च नियतेनानुसूयया।।
त्वमेव कर्ण जानासि वेदवादान् सनातनान्।
त्वमेव धर्मशास्त्रेषु सूक्ष्मेषु परिनिष्ठित:।।Udyoga.140.6-7.)
(‘నీవు వృద్ధజనోపసేవివి ధర్మసంవేదివి...’ఆం.మ.భా.)
So Karna’s awareness of and adherence to the Vedic dharma is acknowledged by no less than Krishna himself. And Karna returns this complement fittingly in a language that resounds in ritualistic language,referring to the impending battle as a great sacrificial ritual. ‘You,Krishna, are going to be the presiding priest ( upadrashta and adhvaryu) of this great sacrificial ritual;Arjuna’s bow would be the sacrificial ladle; the sounds made by the weapons of Arjuna would be the mantras; the war cries of Bhima would be the chanting of the priest(udgata);Yudhishthira would be the Brahma himself of this sacrifice performed by Duryodhana.’(Ibid.29-31.)Karna’s whole being is suffused with scriptural prescriptions.And he is a steadfast practitioner of the prescriptions. When Kunti decides to meet him and disclose the secret of his birth,she goes to meet him on the bank of the river Bhagirathi. There, she hears him , before she sees him. Karna is chanting the Vedic hymns.And it is a voice filled with compassion,(“ghrininah”) and truthfulness.Facing east, his hands are lifted up in salutation to the rising sun.Kunti waited for him to finish his rite.
आत्मजस्य ततस्तस्य घृणिन: सत्यसंगिन:।
गड़.गातीरे पृथाश्रौषीद् वेदाध्ययननिस्स्वनम्।।
प्राड.मुखस्योर्ध्वबाहो: सा पर्यतिष्ठत पृष्ठत:।(Ibid.144.27-28.)
Karna’s response to both Krishna and Kunti is that he cannot now claim to be a Kshatriya,as his birth “rites” were performed as for the son of a ‘suta’,a mixed caste.Such is his inviolable faith in the Vedic rituals. Brahmanas are the repositories of the Vedic dharma, and Karna holds them in high esteem. It is too well known that he would give away anything to a Brahmana. One need not be a Brahmana.A Brahmana disguise is as good for him. And it is too well known that Indra played on this sentiment to rob him of his precious protective sheath.
Compared with this, where do the Pandavas stand? Their births,their marriage,their truthfulness,(uttering untruths whenever it suits them), their meanness ( begging the enemy to reveal how he could be killed)—all these represent not only a violation of dharma, but a violation of the basic code of conduct.
Do we then conclude that the Mahabharata represents a clash between the dharma of Kauravas and the adharma of Pandavas? This would be a surface look at the reality of things. Rituals, the holiness of personal relationships, the sanctity of the institution of marriage,respect for elders honor,valor, and yes even truthfulness,--all these are indeed great virtues. Pandavas too realize and recognize them as such. But these virtues are subordinate and subservient to a higher law. These values are to be dispensed with when the issue is not one of fighting for personal gain or glory,but for a right social order. We shall come to this a little later.But let us return to Karna.
It is a widely held view that the Mahabharata would be insipid and meaningless without the character of Karna. How far is it true? Is Karna such a tall crucial figure in the epic? The truth is that much of this popular feeling is sustained by the pity his birth and its consequences evoke in the readers. It is quite commonplace to observe that no other character in the Mahabharata has suffered so badly at the hands of Fate. Fate no doubt has been cruel to him.He is the result of a rape of a young unmarried woman. A divine rape,no doubt by no less than the Sun God. But a rape is a rape,with all its stigma and trauma of a lifetime, not just for the woman but for the resulting child as well. Karna is a victim of this trauma.He is abandoned by his mother, even before he opened his eyes to the world.He is deprived of his rites, and rights, of birth. True. But does he suffer more than the other children of Kunti do? His suffering is indeed nothing compared to what the Pandavas suffer. As little children, Pandavas are orphaned, and abandoned on the distant hill jungles,left in the care of a helpless widowed mother . The hermits bring them to Hastina,and stand them in the royal court. The children are too young to know fear,but old enough to sense the unwelcome behind the welcome. They can feel their insecurity in a land once ruled by their father. They live under continued threats to their lives. As children still, they are exiled. They survive poisoning and arson. For fear of life,they live in disguise, and beg for their daily food.As to the stigma of their births, they are more ridiculous than the birth of Karna. Their marriage is preposterous, and the whole world keeps taunting them for it.The rightful owners of the kingdom are abegging on the streets. Their woman was disrobed in full public view under their very nose in a kingdom of which she was the empress a few minutes ago. What is it that the other children of Kunti do not suffer, and Karna has? Nothing. His life in comparison, is smooth,comfortable and he ought to be contented. But Karna is not contented.
Pandavas are never ashamed or apologetic about their illegitimate births,or about their absurd marriage. They couldn't care less for the opinion of the world. It is not shamelessness. It is total absence of ego. Karna is always attempting to escape from himself, from his low-caste image.And the more he tried to escape, the more cursed is his life. It is commonly observed that curses undid Karna. ( Curses turn boons for Pandavas. ) But the worst curse of Karna is what he gave to himself,his friendship with Duryodhana. The friendship is the result of his fierce desire to find an identity. The more fiercely he seeks his identity,the more hopelessly does he lose it. The million gifts he gives away depend on the one gift he bartered with,his loyalty to Duryodhana. The noblest gift he gives, the kavacha and the kundalas,of course is god-given. But the act of gifting it away betrays his vanity more than charity. Karna is a man with a burning shirt on him, and the more he tries to run away from himself, the worse the flame.
Karna defeated himself before anyone did. He sees his doom and does nothing to change it .His replies to Krishna and Kunti ,who tell him to cross sides,clearly betray a defeatist tone. ‘If Dussasana and Sakuni cross to the other side,then you may think of my doing so’,he said.That is where he belongs,not in others’ view,but in his own.
Now let us look at the misunderstanding of the role of Pandavas, and the modern popular antipathy towards them. It is strange,that the antipathy towards Pandavas is more from those who actually have reason to empathize with them.Kauravas are in power.( Let us bypass the question of the legality of their claim to the throne.) They are the government, the establishment. And like every establishment,it seeks to entrench itself in power, and would not concede the space of a ‘pin head’.Let it be conceded that Pandu had no legal claim,(which of course is not true.)But he ruled the kingdom for a good time, and made digvijaya,conquering many lands, and expanding the Kuru kingdom. Can he not claim a bit of it for himself or for his children? Strangely, the section that argues that Pandu or his children have no claim,are those who cry hoarse about the rights of the tiller of the land as against the legal landowner.
Actually, Kauravas are the oppressive,autocratic,and abusive government,denying people their basic rights to an honorable life. It degenerated into a kingdom of gamblers. Honest and truthful people are deprived of their wealth and driven into exile, and forced to live in cognito,as are those today who oppose the oppression of the governments are driven underground. The women are shamelessly openly disrobed and abused. Pandavas,patiently suffered and finally rose in rebellion against this oppressive abusive establishment.
And it cannot be forgotten that Karna is on the side of the unjust establishment,faithfully and fanatically fighting for its cause.
(Karna commands pity. And enough of space is given for it in the epic,more so in the AndhraMahabharatam. The two stanzas of Tikkana on Karna's fall are among the most moving in the epic.)
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