Originally posted by: sweetangelpayal
Hey Amrita,
Probably I am super late in commenting here and from a look at the number of pages, the topic might have gone off track now. I haven't been an active member on IF since a year, although have always visited Mahabharat Forum, but I guess this is my first comment on this Forum😆 Just returned on IF after one year and this is my first comment after a year on IF as well, so I hope I do not blabber away much😛
First of all,, what a beautiful analysis. Now, I am a Huge Arjun fan, and my favourite characters in Mahabharat are Draupadi, Arjun, Abhimanyu and Krishna (Not necessarily in that order). But that in no way means I dislike Karna (I say dislike, not even hate, coz its a too strong term).
Karna is one of the very few characters (according to me, the only character) who wasn't classified as Good or Bad. And even though I never was a fan of Karna, the character always intrigued me. I mean look at the sides of Pandavas and Kauravas and pick a character, and very rarely will you find a person who supported bad, and was good at heart (Well, in my opinion he was.) So we had Duryodhon, Shakuni, Dushasan, etc, who we knew were bad (even though Duryodhan IS praised in many parts of India for his many good deed and generous nature, but that's another topic altogether), he was still put into the Bad Category.
The very fact that he denied the Throne, etc that Krishna said he would get if he switched sides, itself proves that he did not want riches, money, etc, fame(yes he did want to be known as the best archer but thats more for Respect than Fame). That made him Great
Now, Karna supported the wrong side, but he did so in his Dharma. Many even raise a question on why support your Dharma, when the Dharma you are supporting is Adharma. But think of it this way, if Karna had eventually switched sides after knowing the truth of his birth, he wouldn't have been respected this much.
Which brings us back to the very core of his character, The only thing he ever wanted was RESPECT. Nothing else. And that too, for his skills & talent. But he wanted that respect in the day and age where Bharata was living in the caste system(Which is still existent in many parts of India). Somehow, all his hatred towards people in the epic was because they had somehow insulted his up bringing and caste be it Draupadi or Bheem or the other Pandavas. Maybe he couldn't forget those insults and hence indulged in the bad deeds. Maybe he knew what he was doing was wrong but had to support Duryodhan anyway.
The only thing that marred his reputation (atleast for me) was the way they say he laughed when Abhimanyu was killed and the fact that he instigated the Vastra Haran. Perhaps it was the revengeful side of him that made him do all that.
Maybe the guilt of him plotting to kill the Pandavas, and his comments at the Vastra Haran made him do the noble deeds he did. That's the reason why he is respected perhaps.
Karna is a mystery and enigma, we know how Bhishma had been cursed as a Vasu and was re-born to suffer on earth, we know his story about Amba and his wait for the end of his life, we know how Draupadi in her previous birth had asked for a husband Five times to Lord Shiva and that's how she got the Pandavas, we know how and why Drona & Drupad were enemies. However, we just don't have any backdrop about Karna, or his previous birth which might have a connection with the happenings of his this birth (Karmic cycle). All we know is his need for respect, his noble deeds, his support for his friends, etc.
Somehow, somewhere, even I as a fan of Arjun and Draupadi and Abhimanyu (like I mentioned, his reputation was marred for me coz of the latter two), know that Karna does deserve some respect atleast, and yes I do respect him. Karna was a great warrior, knew he would be invincible, knew that the one person he hated the most (Arjun) would kill him, still gave up his Kavach & Kundal, even when he knew it wasn't a Bhramin asking for arms, but Lord Indra himself. Who will give up the one thing that would make them invincible only so that they don't break their word? Karna did, and that's why he deserves the respect and glory.
I hope this hasn't been a huge rant.
Love,
Payal😳
CID
