How righteous was Karna?

Mahabharata is considered to be the longest written poem in the world. The nucleus of it is “Bhagwat Gita” which provides deep reflections on how one should conduct his life. However, unlike millions of Hindus, I do not consider Mahabharata to be a work of history. For me it is a mythology. I don’t deny that the events described in this great epic never occurred but I do not accept the folklore surrounding it. Kurukshetra war might have happened and the characters might have existed too , but I do not buy the supernatural events encompassing it.

Whether Mahabharata is a work of history or mythology is a discussion for another time, but I have been inspired by many of its characters throughout my life. The “folk tale” contains several situations that one can relate to in their own lives. It is a saga of triumph, of loss, of malign, of love, of virtues and of frivolous decisions made by “great men” of those times.

One character that stands out and grabs my attention is that of Karna. People usually consider him as someone doomed by destiny who had to align with the “evil” Duryodhana. Was he righteous in his conduct? Did his actions earned him a place in the “Heaven” as the mythology states? I think he had his share of mistakes and “immoral” conduct, but before concluding that Karna had an “evil frame of mind”, one has to think in context of the circumstances in which those vices were committed.

Abandoned by Kunti, he was raised by his foster parents, Radheya and Adhiratha. He was rejected by Dronacharya who refused to take him as his disciple on the grounds that he was not a “Kshatriya” (or Warrior). He eventually got trained by Parshurama, who cursed him that all the learnings that he got from him would be rendered useless when he needs them the most. The reason behind this curse was that Parshurama thought that Karna had hidden his real identity from him and got the training in a clandestine manner.

Karna’s misfortune does not ends there. He was also cursed by a “Brahmin” that on the most decisive battle of his life, the wheel’s of his chariot would be submerged in the ground and the “demon of fear” will surround him from all sides. To add to his adversity, Indra, the God of rain visited him at a time when he granted people with anything they asked from him. Indra, disguised as a Brahmin, deceived him and took away his divine armor and his earrings. This armor had the power to protect Karna from any divine weapon and his earrings gave him strength of an elephant. Krishna, the Hindu deity, mentions it himself that had Indra not taken the armor and earrings from Karna, his defeat was impossible.

Despite of all these maledictions, he never left hope and is known as an epitome of valor. Many do argue that he insulted Draupadi during the infamous game of dice and that he also joined Duryodhana in slaying the young and armless warrior Abhimanyu. These make him as much a partner in crime as Duryodhana. I would argue that albeit these instances cannot be refuted and hold merit to some degree, one also has to understand the venomous slangs thrown by Draupadi on Karna.

During the “Swayamvar” of Draupadi, Karna contested for her hand along with other princely warriors including Arjuna. Karna was the first one to lift up the Bow and knot its string but was “brazenly” rejected by Draupadi on the grounds that he was a “Sootputra” (son of a Charioteer) and not eligible for her garland. On another occasion, the “arrogant” Draupadi insulted Duryodhana by calling her “Andhe ka Putra Andha”, which means blind son of a blind man. Despite this, he was thoughtful enough to question and object Duryodhana and his wicked uncle Shakuni for their treacherous means of killing Pandavas. It was his unwavering commitment to Duryodhana that made him offend Draupadi during the game of Dice. All these, along with Yudhishthira’s intoxication with the game of dice laid the foundations for the battle of Kurukshetra.

Karna was a dedicated friend, a wise ruler of the kingdom of Anga, and embodied all the great virtuous of Pandavas. Even Krishna himself appreciated and praised Karna on many occasions. He had a soft corner for karna and said at one point before the battle that if he wished, he would want karna to never fight the battle since it was only him who had the “astras” or the weapons to defeat Arjuna.

So was Karna righteous? I would say he was as righteous and as villainous as the Pandavas.