Karna’s Death

Mahabharata has many stories and many heroes. Some of the stories have been narrated to us from ages and are imbibed into our beliefs. However, there are a few stories that have lost the attention even though they have carried enormous amount of knowledge and meaning for all of us.

One such story is of the greatest warrior Karna. Karna’s archery skills were as illustrious as his teacher Parashurama and other students of his teacher – Bhishma and Dronacharya. Having learnt the art of war from Parashurama himself, he was second to none. His skills were noted even by Bhishma and Sri Krishna. He was acknowledged as undefeatable and surpassed Arjuna on many counts except one – Sri Krishna’s closeness. Along with being a great warrior he was a great man of principles too. Devotion and principles were just as great assets to himself as his weapons.

It was his devotion to his friendship that made him stand in the court of Hastinapur when Draupadi was disrobed. An act, that Karna regretted throughout his life. It was his devotion that kept him on the side of Duryodhana, despite all his wrongdoings and knowing that Pandavas were his brothers. At his death, Kunti and Sri Krishna told Pandavas to pay respect to their elder brother Karna.

Arjuna cried asked for forgiveness from Karna’s wife Uruvi and requested to perform the list rites for his brother. Uruvi, then asked Arcjuna not to mourn or repent for killing Karna for he was killed at least 6 times before Arjuna. Let’s see how -

 

Guru Parashurama’s curse

Once Parashurama rested in the forest keeping his head in Karna’s lap. At that time a bee started to bite and probe into Karna’s thigh. He sat unnerved even when the bee kept drilling him so as not to disturb his teacher’s sleep. When Parashuram woke up and saw the lacerating wound on Karna’s thigh, he became angry for Karna having hidden his identity of being Kshatriya or the warrior class as others are incapable of bearing such pain. He cursed Karna that he would forget all his knowledge just at the time he needed it most.

 

Angry Brahmin’s curse on killing of his cow

Once Karna was practicing his archery skills and shooting upon the slightest of sounds. During his practice, he mistakenly killed a brahmin’s old wailing cow. The Brahmin cursed Karna that just as his cow was helpless when she died, he shall be helpless at the time of his death.

 

Mother Earth’s curse

Once Karna saw a young girl crying in the village market. Upon asking she told that she was to buy ghee or vegetable oil and take it home. However, the pot fell down and the ghee was impure now. Even when Karna offered to buy a new pot, she insisted on the same impure ghee to be taken home. Karna then took the ghee from the ground and squeezed it hard to remove the impurities. The girl was happy to get what she wanted. But then Karna heard another woman’s gurgled cry. Upon opening the palms of his hand, he saw the mother earth or Bhudevi being strangled through his squeeze. She then cursed Karna that she shall squeeze hold him and he would be stuck in the earth sometime.

 

Indra stripping Karna of his kavacha and kundala

It is well known that Karna was the son of the Sun or Surya. While Arjun was the son of Indra. Karna was born with an undefeatable armor and earrings as gift from Sun god which protected him from all evil. When it was inevitable that Krana and Arjuna would see each other in duel and there would only be one survivor, Indra plotted to strip Karna of his armor and earrings. A man of principles and generosity, Karna never allowed anyone to return empty-handed from his home in the morning. Indra disguised as a Brahmin visited him just then and asked for the gifts from the Sun god. Despite being warned by the sun, Karna did not deviate from his principles and gave what the Brahmin asked for. And thus he became vulnerable to Arjuna’s weapons.

 

Kunti’s love for her son

Kunti was Karna and the rest of Pandava’s mother. However she hid the fact of Karna’s birth all the time to save her own skin. When the Mahabharata war was inevitable and Karna was identified as an undefeatable warrior on the Kaurava side, she went upto Karna and told him the story of his birth. Karna always had a soft corner for his mother and always wanted her to accept as her child. He wanted to tell the world that he was indeed a warrior class and not a shudra. In his love for Kunti, he promised that Kunti shall always have 5 sons and he would not harm anyone but Arjuna. Thus at the end of the war either he or Arjuna shall be the survivors.

This was a great promise from Karna to Kunti. Apparently, this was not enough for Kunti. She also took another promise from Karna – possibly the most dreaded one. She asked him never to use the same weapon twice. Thus even when he was gaining an upper hand at Arjuna, he could not use his godly weapons as his promise to Kunti prevented him.

 

Shalya’s role

Shalya was a great charioteer. He was in fact a master of horses. He was also Nakul and Sahdev’s maternal uncle under whose supervision, Nakul became a great horseman. Shalya never wanted to be charioteer to Karna considering him to have born in the lower caste. Upon insistence from Duryodhana, he accepted the job half-heartedly. He was supposed to be equal to Krishna’s skills in guiding the chariot. Even though, Shalya admired Karna’s devotion to his friend, war principles and bravery he refused to help when Karna’s chariot was stuck in the earth during the final battle.

All the six anecdotal stories exemplify one super power above everything – destiny. We all try our best and do our best too. But, sometimes it is not enough. Call it “Karma” or “destiny” or “god’s will” there is something beyond which controls and overpowers everything. What is it?

I hate you because I do not know you

I was listening to the radio this morning and was stuck with a nice quote – “I hate you since I do not know you.” Quite true, isn’t it?

In the last few weeks, I read Rajiv Malhotra’s “Being Different” and listened to my all-time favorite Dr Devdutt Pattnaik. While their story telling is a little different, the central idea remains the same – “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder” and the measure of ugliness or beautifulness actually represents the mental state of the observer not the subject itself.

Love, Hope, Fear, Hate are all the different attributes of human emotions that come into play when different people come in contact. Different mixes of these emotions help one formulate their stand during the interaction. This is the same concept as commonly referred to as “Stereotyping” or “Forming Opinions”. The interesting point however is which emotion is stronger?

Like it or not the first default reaction of a human towards anything is of Fear. The fear of the unknown – possibly the largest and the most well-known emotion to mankind. Many a studies have suggested that the human mind is very capable of understanding and remembering ideas that stem from comparisons. It is easier to digest and assimilate the information when presented in a tabular format than a textual format. Images that exhibit comparative information are most liked in communication means. Note that all the different pieces of information utilized help one to understand. The more information available, the better comprehensible is the subject and thus infuses a comfort factor in the minds of the observer.

All humans are capable of the great powers of imagination. However to provide a structure to their imagination, one develops frameworks of ideas and beliefs. The framework keeps changing as well with levels of maturity and information. Everything that happens must fit inside the framework else it causes stress and grief to the one who houses them.

Applying the same understanding towards others, we can easily comprehend that anything unknown is fearsome and hence loathed. This also includes concepts that are a little difficult or are not easily fitted into the well-established frameworks in one’s mind.

Rajiv Malhotra goes to great lengths describing how different incomprehensible structures have often been discarded. But is that right? Being different is no wrong. Just because I do not conform to your framework, does not means that I am wrong. I may be complying with someone else’s framework or probably my own! How do I say what is right and what is wrong? In the story of Shabri, Rama explains his brother Lakshmana not to judge Shabri by their standards as she is neither exposed to their level of thinking or upbringing.

Recognizing differences and acceptance of diversity helps one expand their horizons.

Overcoming one’s primary reaction of fear or hatred towards the unknown makes one an entrepreneur in all aspects. One who is ready to embrace world with utmost zeal and excitement, and I ready to change all around him with all of their energy. Such a person pleases himself and everyone around him.

Maa

On the occassion of Mother's Day, I would like to share a few lines that I read long ago. These words are powerful and meaningful. so HANDLE WITH CARE

माओं को 

मखमल पे रखो 

झूला दो 

फूलों पे 

वे हैं आज 

मगर होंगी कल ना 

सोचो तब 

क्या क्या 

खो जाएगा 

जीवन से ?

सोचो ना !

फिर

सोचो 

What do you see?

Once Dronacharya sent Yudhisthira and Duryodhana to go in the city of Hastinapura and bring to him the most corrupt of all citizens. Yudhisthira returned empty handed, while Duryodhana returned with so many prisoners that it needed him almost an army to control.

Dronacharya was the teacher of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He had a difficult job! He had two competing factions of students – Pandavas, who were trying to gain their excellence and kingdom that they lost upon the demise of Pandu; and Kauravas, who were hell bent on roving themselves worthy of the throne that their father Dhritrashtra sat upon since Pandu’s demise. Dronacharya’s task was to impart the education impartially and then choose the better successor for the throne of Hastinapur.

So who should he choose – Yudhishthra, who found to corruptipn or Duryodhana, who basically ransacked the entire kingdom for the corrupt people?

The question is much deeper than the visible statements.

Yudhishthira found no evil as he had no evil in his heart. He looked every one with the same purity and empathy that he had held in himself. On the other hand, Duryodhana went by the laid out rules and captivated everyone who was not in compliance with even a miniscule rule. What does this show?

There is a saying in hindi – “Jaaki rahi bhaavna jaisi, Prabhu murat dekhi tin taisi”. Which means that you see the god in the same way as you hold his image in your heart.

The same spirit is reverberated when Arjuna is asked to aim at the eye of the wooden bird in a class or at the eye of moving fish by looking at the image in boiling oil. A clear vision leads you to the goal. 

The images in heart, are a reflection of one’s thoughts and the working of the mind. After all, the mind thinks, while the heart helps to live. Yudhishthira, though Dharmaputra, abides by the principles all through his life, is sympathetic to the needs of humans. Duryodhana, on the other hand complies by the rules and cares nothing for the empathies of others. He is a rule follower but does not believes in them. What does this tells us?

Rules or laws or principles are created with a purpose. The purpose is explained given the scenario. Once the scenario changes, they tend to lose their meaning. But what doesn’t changes is the principle or the philosophy behind them. While Yudhishthira is said to be a believer in principles, Duryodhana is a firm believer in rules.

Rules have a constrictive mindset as compared to principles that allow one to be creative. Rules bind while principles allow innovation. Who wins? I am not in a position to say so! Mahabharata was a war between the rules and the principles. And it was named as Jaya – Victory, without saying over whom? Cleverly, Veda Vyasa never named his epic – “Vijaya” – victory over others.

Have we understood the meanings on rules and principles well? What do we follow today? If principles then why do we uphold rituals? What are best practices? Do we understand them? Why do we say what once was correct, will always be so? Wasn’t Bhishma the cause of Mahabharata?

Too many questions, and not a clear answer. This is the meaning of Mahabharata or Jaya – the epic by Veda Vyasa. It means victory but over oneself!