We begin the week with our final instalment in the story of Karna and how he met his end at the hands of Arjuna. Amma says, Krishna had a way of settling debts even if they were from generations and avatars ago. And the death of Karna was in some part a return on a debt to Indra. On finally releasing Karna, Krishna also made sure that he finally attained the salvation that was due to the great warrior who happened to be on the wrong side of justice.
After the end of Rama’s stay on earth, Vishnu returned to the heavens. He was met by a rather furious Indra who said, “Why did you shoot my blameless son Vali like that from behind a tree? You chose to befriend Surya’s son over mine for no reason at all. Gods cannot play favourites like that!”
Vishnu replied, “Indra, I know what I did was wrong but it was required of me to behave that way. No matter! I will make it up to you in my incarnation as Krishna. Your son will be born to the side that fights for justice and I will fight with him.”
Surya, then said, “Vishnu, I agree to what you have said. I only ask that just as Vali had the good fortune to meet his end at your hands, so should my son meet his end only at your hands.” Vishnu agreed to Surya’s request and partially mollified, Indra left, thinking, “Well even if you don’t do your best, I will definitely make sure my son is victorious over Surya’s!”
Indra’s son, Arjuna, and Surya’s son, Karna, were aligned on opposite sides in the Mahabharata and were mortal enemies. Krishna was fond of Arjuna and decided to fight on the side of the Pandavas when Duryodhana precipitated war against his cousins. The battle of the Mahabharata had begun in real earnest. The Kaurava army had suffered quite a few blows including the loss of their generals, Bhishma and Drona. A disheartened Duryodhana turned to his trusted friend Karna and said, “I place my faith in you. You are unrivalled as a warrior by all. I do not think even Arjuna can stand up to you. Will you lead my army now, to success?”
Karna said, “You are my friend. It is because of you the son of a charioteer can fight beside the greatest warrior of our times. I am forever in your debt. I will be more than happy to lead your army if it will show you my gratitude. “
Karna took over the army and inflicted a lot of losses on the Pandavas’ army. He faced Bhima’s son, Ghatotkacha, and using the Vajra astra given to him by Indra (see The last straw posting), killed him in battle. “Hmm, I have used up one of my most powerful astras that I wanted to save for my fight with Arjuna,” thought Karna. “But my army needed me to rescue them from the fearsome Ghatotkacha. No matter, I can still use the naga astra against Arjuna.”
As Karna began inflicting huge losses on the Pandavas, Yudhisthira summoned Arjuna and said, “It is time we defeated and got rid of Karna. Only you are his equal in prowess. I would like you to go forth and battle with him.” Agreeing, and rather relishing the prospect of finally meeting his rival in battle, Arjuna set off for his battle with Karna.
“Karna!” said Arjuna. “Your time has come. This battle between us can have only one winner and that will be me. I have justice on my side and Krishna as my inspiration. So come out and fight me if you dare!”
“Brave words!” said Karna. “Now let’s see if your actions can back them up!” Their fight was long and well-matched with neither giving an inch. It dragged on for days and the two warriors started growing tired with every passing day. Finally a frustrated Karna said to Salya, his charioteer, “Get a little closer to Arjuna. I am going to use the nagastram on him. This battle will end today.”
Salya, the uncle of the Pandavas, gave Karna some advice. He said, “Karna, the nagastram will have to meet its mark and must not miss. Aim for his heart and you will have him.”
Karna thought about Salya’s words and then said, “I respect your counsel, but Arjuna is a warrior and must be honoured as such. I cannot aim for the heart. I must aim for his head.”
Reciting the correct mantra so he could summon the nagastram, Karna took aim. Just as he released the arrow, Krishna pressed down on the earth and the chariot sank an inch down into the ground. The nagastram that would have taken off Arjuna’s head harmlessly took off his helmet and vanished into the heavens. “Phew!” said Arjuna, unaware of what Krishna had done to save his life.”That was a close call. But we have him now. He has lost his two most powerful astras.”
Smiling a little at his ward’s innocence, Krishna drove on into battle and it raged for long. Suddenly just as Karna wanted to race in at Arjuna, his chariot wheel got stuck in the mud. Cursing at the bad timing, Karna got down from his chariot and tried to get the wheel out (see Nails in the coffin posting). With Karna stuck in such a vulnerable position, Arjuna seized the chance and took aim. Karna shouted, “Arjuna, do not be such a coward as to shoot a man when he is unarmed. It is not right.”
As Arjuna faltered, Krishna said, “Karna, you are a fine person to talk. Where were all these principles when Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu, was helpless? Did you not join in then and kill an unarmed helpless warrior? A boy at that?”
Hearing Krishna’s words, Arjun’s anger and hatred of Karna boiled over and he let loose his arrow. Karna, in desperation, tried to summon a weapon that would deflect Arjuna’s arrow. Try as he might though, all his knowledge failed him. Not a single word of Parashurama’s teachings came to his mind when he most needed it (see A teacher’s wrath posting) and the helpless, defenseless Karna was shot down by Arjuna’s arrow.
As Karna lay there on the battlefield mortally wounded, his life would not leave him. Krishna transformed himself into a brahmin and approached Karna. He came beside the wounded warrior and said, “Karna, I have heard you are a person of great generosity. Will you not give this poor brahmin something?”
Karna looked at the brahmin and said, “What would you have me give you? I lie here wounded, waiting for my death. I have nothing to give you.”
The brahmin said, “Your life has been one of great generosity and goodness. I ask that you give me the effects of all that goodness (punya).” Karna signalled to the brahmin that he take out the arrow that pierced his heart. As Krishna did that, the blood flowed out of Karna and he breathed his last.
So finally, the great warrior met his end at the hands of Krishna and attained salvation. The son of Surya, known for his generosity and a bad run of luck, finally was victim to circumstance and destiny. Vishnu kept his promise to both Indra and Surya and balanced his books with them. And when people have a narrow escape from something calamitous, the saying goes, “Thalai ki vandadu, Thalaippa oda pochchu!” (What came for the head went with just the helmet instead!)
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gandherva said,
March 14, 2010 at 7:04 am
Nice post check this for more about karna http://thekarna.wordpress.com/