From the previous thread 😳... Originally posted by: Moontide
@ green - Hmm, nice topic for discussion 😉. I LOVE Karnan (Karan) 😃. Though he was on the side of wrong, i.e., Dhuryodhana, I still feel he was the perfect man 😍! I loved the way he supported Dharmam. In all face-offs between Karan and Arjun, I have always felt like supporting Karan, as he seemed more righeous to me in individual face-offs. He was more of a self-made man. Arjun always had support in different forms, since the beginning...initially it was his guru Dronacharya who gave him the vardaan that he will always be the BEST, then came Krishna as his savior. But I loved the way Karnan stuck to Duryodhana till the end knowing he was wrong, because he couldnt forget the fact that when he was abandoned by everyone, it was Dhuryodhana who supported him, and built him. He never forgot that till the end, inspite of knowing Pandavas are his brothers. He was the REAL man, according to me.
YOU: green
ME: This is one topic that can be discussed till the moment I suddenly realise I,m getting carried to the burial ground!
Its a tale that I guess will remain current and topical in all ages. Its freshness untainted forever. I have not read the original (severely Sanscrit challenged) but read a very acclaimed translation and It mesmerises you because of the Human failings of every character involved, yes Krishna too.
Karan for me is also one of the true Heros of the Epic. Compared to the Pandavas he was a Giant. A man of principles who held on to them even at the face of self obliteration. That takes unthinkable courage. Arjun was the most spoilt brat of the entire lot, Talented yes, but established himself with the help of too many sugar daddies. Also too much of a roadside romeo...(all Six pack SHOULDERS and comparatively much less grey cells 😆😆) I would love to see what Arjun would have become had he not had Krishna by his side. Of the Pandavas I have always been partial to Bhim. He was a pure soul. And you may or may not agree, but Duryodhan, apart from having commited a couple of grave mistakes in life, was a man of substance. But there are a few things in life for which we can never expect redemption. We must pay.
Oh, sorry getting carried away.
Ok, time for my cents 😃 (dont know if it would just be 2 like the others 🤔)...
Totally agree with you! Arjun was "good" in what he was doing, but he cannot be called the BEST! Arjun dint win against Karan because of his calibre, but because of various other external reasons like...
1) Arjun was blessed by his
guru, whereas Karan was cursed by his. Arjun's
guru Dronacharya made sure that Arjun always remains the best (remember he had asked for Ekalavya's thumb, when he realised Ekalavya is better than Arjun?). Whereas Karan was cursed by his guru, that whenever he will require, he will not be able to use his skill to his benefit .
2) Arjun chose
karma over
dharma, whereas Karan chose
dharma over
karma.
3) He had a
sarathi like Krishna, what else do you need to succeed 😉.
- So basically...opportunity, blessings, luck and God were with Arjun, whereas the opposite was the case with Karan .
If you keep all these external factors aside, ANYDAY, Karan will easily emerge as the winner against Arjun.
Even Krishna knew Karan was more mighty, powerful and high calibered than Arjun, so he knew it wouldnt be easy for Arjun to defeat him. So going by fair means, Krishna knew Arjun dint stand a chance, thats why he advices Arjun to attack Karan unfairly. So Karan was killed through deception . His chariot sunk into the mud, and he even requested Arjun to wait and give him some time to fix it, but thats when Krishna provokes Arjun saying "now is the time...attack!!" I dont think it was a fair fight between Arjun and Karan . When the opposite person falls weak because of circumstance, it is very easy to attack and defeat.
Ismein koi bahaduri nahi hain. Like look at Dutta, he always gives his opponent an equal and fair chance to fight and defeat him. If they dont have a
hathyar and are weaponless, even Dutta drops his weapons to be fair. But its his opponent who in many cases plays against the rules!
As far as Krishna was concerned, he wasnt looking at individual rights or wrongs, he was more concerned with collective goodness, whereby overall good prevails. So for the welfare of an entire community/society, even he had to adopt certain unfair means. Like they say, "everything is fair in love and war", the part "everything is fair in war" originated from our Mahabharata 😉.
But still, I always feel bad thinking of Karan . Life was never fair to him. While Arjun enjoyed all kinds of blessings, luck and love, Karan had none of it. Just think about it...
1) He was born illigitimate, so has never experienced parental love and care.
2) He was really keen on learning all the skills, but it was difficult for him to find a
guru, that ultimately he had to lie that he is a "Brahmin" and learn his skills from a
guru who later cursed him when found out his truth.
3) Even he liked Draupathy, and had arrived to participate in her
Swayamwara, but even before he could display his skills, she flatly refused to marry a
"sooth putra". What an unlucky woman 😆! If Karan would have been given a chance before Arjun, Arjun wouldnt have stood a chance to marry Draupathy 😆! If she would have married Karan, her life would have been so different.
4) Then eventually he was killed off unfairly .
@ blue - If Krishna was not there, forget about fighting and losing the war, Arjun would have run off from the war ground even before that 😆! Remember, like Karan even Arjun was contemplating of chosing
dharma over
karma, thats when Krishna gives him the
Geeta Upadesh, and makes him see sense. Arjun was more sensitive and less confident, whereas Karan knew what he was doing and was more confident of his decisions and deeds (even though his deeds might have seemed wrong to many, he believed in his convictions). He just wanted an opportunity to pay back for whatever Dhuryodhan did for him.
So I find Karan more relatable than Arjun, even though he might not have been totally right from
karma point of view. I'm sure in a real world, given a similar situation, majority of us would go for
dharma than
karma. So if we overlook this one aspect of Karan, he was the REAL man 👍🏼!
Edited by *dewdrop~pearl* - 14 years ago
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