Week 9 Storytelling: Karna

"My love, I have heard terrible rumors," Surya said. "My eyes and ears have informed me that someone means to trick our son. They are going to use some sort of ritual to strip him of his invulnerability!"

Kunti gasped. While Karna was not her only son, nor her favorite for she had not even raised him, he was still her son. How could someone steal Karna's invulnerability which his father had bestowed upon him as an infant. It was as much a part of him as his head or his heart. She knew of spells that could perhaps achieve this, but it would require consent from the other party. They would need to repeat a phrase that would trigger the event, so the magic knew to whom it should attach itself.

She voiced her concerns, asking, "But, Surya, would not Karna have to consent to such a ritual? He could never knowingly allow someone to strip him of such an integral part of him!"

Surya shook his head. "That's what I believed as well, but my contacts say whoever is doing this has found a spell that only requires eye contact with the person. They must be very powerful to control magic in such a way!"

Upon hearing this, Kunti began formulating a plan. If her son was to survive, she had to make a difficult decision. She could do nothing about the assassin's vision, but she could prevent eye contact between the two.

****

"Karna, it is your mother," Kunti said through the doorway. "I must ask something of you and you are not to question me."

Karna came around the corner, smiling at his mother. Although he only just learned that she was his mother, he already felt very close to her. She obviously cared for him and only sent him away to give him a better life than the one she could provide at the time.

"Of course, mother," he said. "Whatever you need."

Kunti pulled the phial from behind her back, purple liquid sloshing, threatening to spill over. It almost seemed to smoke. "I need you to momentarily remove your invulnerability." She took a deep breath before continuing, "And I need you to drink this."

He blinked, momentarily confused, but he removed his invulnerability and drank without question. All of a sudden, his vision began to blur, streaks of black blocking out the light of the room. Slowly his vision disappeared completely and he was unable to see. 

****

Karna approached the sound of the battle. He heard the clash of steel on steel, felt the vibrations in the air, felt the heat of battle. But he could not see. And it was all his mothers fault. Over the ringing of swords striking armor, he heard the voices of his brothers, the Pandavas, his mother's prizes. 

He would strike them down one by one. There was nothing stopping him. One by one, he slew his brothers on the field of battle until only Arjuna was left. He could hear his mother's voice filtering through the sting of the sounds of men dying, begging for him to spare his last brother, his last enemy.

"Duryodhana took me in, he cared for me!" Karna was shouting, notching an arrow as he approached the sounds of his brothers breath. He could feel his aura seeping out of him. No one could hide from Karna's heightened senses. "Kunti took my sight and you did nothing but mock me!"

He released his arrow and it flew true, striking Arjuna in the heart. "I will stand by the side of those who loved me," he said, turning his back. "Not on those who abandoned me."

Image of Karna found on Wikimedia Commons

Author's Notes

This story is based on the story of Karna found in the comic by Anant Pai. In the story, Karna gives away the armor and earrings that grant him his power and invincibility in exchange for a weapon. In that story, Arjuna is able to kill him because of this. I wondered what would have happened if he were able to keep those things. In my version, he turned on his family because of what his mother did to protect him. His brothers mocked him and Duryodhana supported him through it, similar to when he supported him at the tournament with Arjuna in the original story. In my version, Karna is still invincible and never makes a pact with his mother. The Kauravas are victorious.  Also, instead of one long story, I decided to try a different tactic. It's a short story comprised a small snippets of time. The middle is left to interpretation. 

Reading Diary A Week 9: Karna

1. Kunti looked after Sage Durvasa (who was notoriously angry and hard to please) for a year without angering him. She was given a mantra that would give her the power to call uupon a god to give her a son as a reward for her service. She tested it out and Surya came to her. She was not married so she begged him to return, but the mantra was too powerful and he couldn't. He gave her a son with the Kavacha (armor) and the Kundalas (earrings).

2. Kunti could not raise him so she sent Karna down the river. Adhiratha, a charioteer, found him and brought him to his wife, Radha. 

3. Kunti married Pandu who could not have children. She used her mantra again and her and Madra had the Pandavas. Pandu diead and Madra threw herself on the pyre with him. Kunti took the Pandavas to be raised with the Kauravas. Karna would come and watch and he eventually became a student with them. He resented the Pandavas as the Kauravas did.

4. Karna deceived a sage so he could be taught the Krahmastra. When the sage learned this, he cursed Karna that his knowledge would fail him when he needed it most. Karna then killed a brahman's cow (unknowingly) and was cursed again that he would be killed when he was helpless and unable to defend himself.

5. Karna entered a competition with Arjuna and was able to complete all the same tasks as him. He asked to fight Arjuna as a reward and was asked to reveal his parentage. Duryodhana then crowned him as prince of Anga. They learned he was the son of a charioteer and he was humiliated and left with Duryodhana.

6. Karna blindly sided with the Kauravas in the feud because of his love for Duryodhana. 

7. Indra wanted to protect Arjuna from Karna and Surya wanted to protect Karna from Indra so Surya visited him in a dream to warn him. Indra dressed as a brahman and asked for help and Karna gave away his earrings and armor. Indra gave him his most powerful weapon in return, the Shakti. 

8. Krishna told Karna of his relation to the Pandavas and who his mother was. Karna said his love for Duryodhana was too important to him and that he would not tell anyone his secret until he died.

9. Kunti visited Karna to try to stop the war and he promised to only kill Arjuna.

10. Karna learned that Bheeshma would lead the troops and so he said he would not go on the field until he fell. The battle lasted 18 days and Bheeshma fell on the 10th day. On the 14th day he was fighting Bheema and could have killed him but he promised his mother he would not. Arjuna came to defend him, though. He used his Shakti on Ghatotkacha, though, and he could only use it once. 

11. Karna began leading the forces after Drona died. He died in battle against Arjuna and his mother finally told the Pandavas of their relation to Karna. I liked the line "the sun smiled".

The battle between Karna and Arjuna found on Wikimedia Commons

This story was taken from the comic Karna: Brave, Generous, Ill-Fated Prince by Anant Pai and the additional readings found on the previous link.