Resumo de 11. Karna: Mahabharata

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Kripacharya, and later Drona, trained and refined the

Pandavas and the Kauravas in the use of arms. On a
certain

occasion, a grand competition of expertise in weaponry
was

organised at the royal palace in Hastinapura, to be

witnessed by one and all including the citizens.
Displaying

extraordinary skills, Arjuna emerged the clear
champion.

Duryodhana?s dismay was enveloped in ever deeper
hatred. At

the close of events, there appeared in the arena a
godlike

young man, resplendent as the sun itself, and haughtily

informed Arjuna that he could replicate each of the
skills

that Arjuna had performed; and this he did, much to the

happiness of Duryodhana. He was Karna. Kunti knew him
the

moment she saw him. Duryodhana lost no time in
welcoming

Karna, which Karna acknowledged while expressing his

gratitude. He also asked Duryodhana to offer him an

opportunity to fight Arjuna. Just as Duryodhana was

delighted to befriend a worthy ally, so was Arjuna
furious

at Karna?s confrontation. Arjuna held each brother to
his

chest and was ready for the showdown. As this was to be
a

fateful battle, the divine fathers of the combatants ?

Indra and Surya ? appeared in the heavens.

No wise person present foresaw any merit from what was
to

follow. To forestall the battle, Kripa interfered and
told

Karna to disclose his parentage since a prince like
Arjuna

was not expected to take on someone who was not of
noble

origin. At this, Karna bowed his head. But Duryodhana
was

not to be cowed down. He endowed nobility to Karna by

crowning him the king of Anga. For the time being,
however,

he took Karna away in his chariot.

Indra, Arjuna?s divine father, had the foreknowledge of
a

supreme struggle in the offing. He was aware that the

charitable Karna was known to give away anything asked
of

him. In a pre-emptive bid, he went to Karna in the
guise of

a brahmana and begged for Karna?s earrings and armour,
the

latter?s companions since birth. Surya, who had the
notion

that such a thing would happen, had warned Karna in his

dream. But the dream was ignored and Karna?s charitable

nature prevailed. He parted with his earrings and
armour.

Indra felt satisfied, but suffered from guilt and a
feeling

of shame. As a gesture of compensation, he presented to

Karna his dreaded weapon ? the Sakti ? but with one

proviso: Karna could use this weapon but once.

Later, Karna became the disciple of Parasurama on the
false

pretence of being a brahmana. Parasurama confided in
Karna

the mantra for using the master weapon, Brahmastra.

However, consequent to some events that unfolded,

Parasurama discovered that Karna was not a brahmana. He

forthwith warned Karna that Karna would fail to
remember

the Brahmastra spell at the most crucial moment of his
life.

Karna remained faithful to Duryodhana and became the
chief

of the Kaurava forces in the Battle of Kurukshetra. But
at

that fateful moment when he confronted Arjuna, he
failed to

recall the Brahmastra mantra. He was eventually killed
by

Arjuna as the wheels of his chariot got embedded in the

ground. Kunti could only shed her tears in secret.

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