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I read Mahabharat for the first time when I was in class V. It was a Bengali, abridged , kiddish version of Mahabharat by Upendrakishore RayChaudhury, that was included in our Vernacular syllabus.
Believe it or not, while reading it, I instantly got attached to Draupadi, n for some reason, that I still cannot fathom even today, I somehow could relate to her, even at that tender age. Yes that's right. I became a fan of Draupadi since then.
However, there was one character, that I never really cared or bothered to care much about. And that was Karna. I don't know y but I didn't feel any attachment to Karna, then.
Well that was 2002. 11 years later, I came to know that Mahabharat is being remade by Star Plus in a grand scale.
After 11 years of gradual detachment from Mahabharat, this news actually brought out the old excitement in me, and 2-3 months before Mahabharat went on air, I started doing research on the important characters of Mahabharat, like Arjun, Draupadi, Karna,etc and even started taking interest in Bhagavad Gita.
It was at this time that I went through several articles on Karna, and gradually became a huge fan of his character. There was a time, when I didn't even bother about him, but at that time, I had become an ardent fan of Radheya. I felt bad for his struggles, his sacrifices and his insults. I often wondered "Why did Lord Krishna be so unfair to such an innocent soul?". It seemed as if God Himself, did not want Karna to be the hero, although he had all the raw materials of one. At this time, I was not aware of any K.M. Ganguly's translation, or about any other translation for that matter.
When blog-writers write on their favourite characters, they usually conveniently skip their misdeeds, and focus only on their good deeds, and sufferings.
That is what happened with Karna as well. I read those blogs that talk mostly about Karna's sacrifices and pain, and within a matter of few days, I became, what people on this forum call a "Karnali". I started hating Arjun for killing Karna like that, and began questioning the very ideals of the Pandavas.
After Mahabharat went on air, I became a member of this forum, and got to know about a certain KMG's Mahabharat, from where forum members gave citations every now and then. After being lazy for quite a few months, finally I decided to read it.
Yes, I felt like I am doing something historical, afterall how many people have the time and patience to read an authentic translation of "Mahabharat"!! 😆
Anyway, I started reading it. And then things took a U-turn.
I got to know about how Karna used to dislike Arjun right from childhood.
I read about the Ranbhoomi part, and was actually impressed with the speech given by Duryodhan to accept Karna.
AND THEN...
The Lakshagriha episode...I was shocked to see that Karna was also a part of it. Why? Bcoz Bhim had called him a Sutaputra?
I couldn't believe what I just read.
Then came the dice game episode. And I was completely shattered to read how Karna had been the main speaker in Draupadi's Vastraharan.
I knew that he had called her a prostitute, but he was the one who actually instigated the whole infamous Draupadi's Vastraharan, that is still remembered as one of the most shameful acts of Indian mythology? And people blame only Duryodhan and Dusshasen? Not Karna?
I was shattered to read this, and I stopped reading Mahabharat there itself.
I realized that Karna was not so innocent afterall, and once again my beliefs shifted, and from Karnali, I became a fan of Arjun.
It was around this time, that I started visiting the pages of Mahabharat on social networking sites and various blogs, and was shocked again to see the reactions of people to this Karna vs Arjun debate.
Probably the real Karna and Arjun did not hate each other as much as their fans do. 😡
What irritated me the most was the attitude of these people towards Draupadi. "She was characterless", "She did a great adharm by rejecting Karna", "She deserved to get disrobed for rejecting Karna for marriage", "She loved Karna secretly"...
These were the comments of some( NOT ALL) of these people...
I felt like screaming my lungs out to tell them, "Go read the actual epic. See for yourself, what kind of a person, Karna himself, actually was."
I wondered why so many people worship Karna like this. I understand that he was not as wicked as Duryodhan, and he sacrificed his Kavach, and got killed in an unfair manner, but why do people worship him so much? And these same people condemn Draupadi for one mistake she made in her life, that is, her "Sutaputra" comment, and yet overlook multiple misdeeds of Karna, of how he was involved in murder plot, molestation of a woman, killing of a 16 year old boy, etc.
Then after sometime, I started reading KMG again to find answers to my question, and it dawned upon me, as to y Karna is worshipped so much by so many people across the country.
I realized that there are 2 major reasons...
First is, many of these people haven't the epic.
Second reason, I too did not read the epic completely.
Well, SOME of these people(NOT ALL) have probably not read the epic properly, and probably don't know about the whole picture. This is clear in their comments like "Draupadi said andha ka putra andha", "Draupadi was the only reason behind Kurukshetra war", etc, etc. These comments make it clear that these people are believing in rumours, that are quite popular about the Mahabharat characters.
Thus instead of the epic, they have read some well-written novels based on their favourite character and believed every word written in it.
Now, although these novels are quite well-written, and the authors have done considerable research on the specific character, it cannot be denied that these novels are partially based on facts from Mahabharat, and the rest on the perspectives of the author, which is obviously a little biased towards that character. And after reading these books, and acquiring half-knowledge, they have started abusing each other, or so I feel.
The second reason is, I too had not read the epic completely, then. I stopped at the Vastraharan, and assumed Karna to be one of the villains of the epic, and moved on.
But once I started reading again and I realized that I had been wrong.
It is true that Karna had made not one, but quite a few mistakes at the earlier part of his life.
However, towards the end of his life, he did some things, that somewhat(not completely) undid all his mistakes that he had committed previously.
First of those acts, was ofcourse his giving up of Kavach and Kundal.
Although Karna was a warrior par excellence, it cannot be denied that his Kavach and Kundal made him invincible and immortal. And these added to his already superior skills as a warrior.
Yet, when it came to his duty, he chose his duty over his immortality, and gave up his Kavach n Kundal, knowing fully well that it would weaken his defence forever.
Another incident, however, brings out the true greatness of Karna, that is, his conversation with Lord Krishna.
When Lord Krishna offered him the throne of Hastinapur, honour, acceptance, and everything he ever wanted, along with Draupadi, Karna refused this whole offer, and chose his friendship instead.
There he beautifully explains as to how much Duryodhan, Adhirath and Radha mean to him.
How could he abandon those parents who brought him up with care and affection, which his own mother couldn't?
How could he cheat his friend Duryodhan in the hour of need, who had once helped him, when he, himself was in need of acceptance and friendship?
On top of that, he said that if he accepted the throne, then later he would be obliged to give it to Duryodhan which would be unfair to the Pandavas.
And then, he also apologized for saying such hurtful words to the Pandavas. Although, he did not mention Draupadi explicitly, he did say that when Arjun would kill him, and Bhim would drink Dusshasen's blood, only then will the mission be accomplished, and the yagna be over.
So, maybe, he was indirectly expressing his guilt for behaving with his sister-in-law in that cruel manner.
And later on, when Kunti comes to plead again, he spares the 4 Pandavas, and instead agrees to fight with Arjun only.
Afterall, Karna was appointed to counter Arjun in the battle. How could he spare him, and betray his friend Duryodhan?
What really is heartwrenching is the fact that, Karna told Lord Krishna, that he knew very well that the Pandavas would win. The Kauravas had no chance of winning, and yet he decided to stick with the losing side, only to fulfil his duty of friendship.
After reading these lines, I realized why so many people respect Karna so much.
I am not saying that Karna was a saint. He was not any saint or angel, and had indeed made his own share of mistakes, some of which are unpardonable, atleast by today's standards.
I still don't like him for insulting Draupadi like that, to avenge his rejection at her Swamvar, or supporting Duryodhan's misdeeds. Karna even participated in Abhimanyu's killing and showed his excitement(If I'm not mistaken), after Abhimanyu's killing.
I, so wish, Karna had tried to correct his friend, instead of giving him confidence in his misdeeds.
However, I also believe in one sentence that I came across long time ago...
"A man who makes mistakes and repents, is better and granted more acceptance in the abode of God, than 99 other men, who never made any mistake at all"
This is where Karna triumphed, and this is why, despite all his mistakes Karna is so respected and loved by many.
Although I am only an ordinary being, who does not even qualify to give character certificates to Karna or Draupadi or any other character of Mahabharat for that matter, I would like to say this, that despite all his mistakes(which should not be overlooked), Karna indeed deserves every bit of the respect that he gets. And now I know why.
Amrita
(I have written this from my heart, expressing exactly what I felt and feel about Karna. I hope, I have been factually correct. I have tried my best not to hurt the sentiments of Karna fans, and I don't claim to have read and understood everything about this epic named Mahabharat. However, I have tried my best to put in words, what I have understood about it, and in the process if I have offended anyone, then I APOLOGIZE.)
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
Indian Mythology
Sampoorna
