Originally posted by: AnkitaPurka66
He is my favourite character in Mahabharata.😳❤️
Reasons:
1. I proudly say that his story is the most compelling to me.
As someone in the thread pointed out before, he has the underdog story and climbing from rags to riches aspect. I have no shame to proclaim that I come under that apparent "general" audience who like these kind of stories and such inspiring characters.
2. His choices before the war when his resolve was tested prove him to be one of the very few characters who did not want riches or materialistic pleasures and only wanted respect.
The concept of "Dharma" and "Adharma" came later. At that time, the war was for a throne and a kingdom. Period. No one can say that the fighting parties did not wish to gain anything. Karna was an exception. He was fighting for respect.
@bold- He wanted only Arjun's death and to defeat him. He got enough respect (more than he deserved) and enough of materialistic pleasures too. Sorry, but someone whose aim in life is to kill another warrior just because he is celebrated and loved is sheer jealousy and narrow mindedness. So he was fighting for respect doesn't stand. You don't gain respect by undermining others or piting everything you have against him/her.
3. The "trade" - a very poor one, I might add. As by giving away his immortality/invincibility, he gained a one-time use weapon. Not a fair trade at all in my opinion. So yeah, he "donated" away his Kavach in charity.
Kavach or Kundal didn't make him invincible and definitely not immortal because there are several instances (I may quote) where he was defeated before this daan bit happened. Even Drupad, Dhristadyumna had defeated him. Arjun defeated him multiple times before this Daan occurred. So it was very much a trade. And he refuses to give away his Kavach Kundal and literally threatens Indra than without Shakti he wouldn't. And that weapon had the ability to kill Arjun. So it isn't just a one time use weapon. It was all Karna wanted in his life.
4. His loyalty to Duryodhana -
He willingly chose a losing side to fight, knowing it would cause certain death.
He chose to stand by Duryodhana despite knowing that the Pandavas are his blood brothers and he would be expected to kill them in battle. So, yes, he was a very good friend to Duryodhana
5. His stance on Dharma
Yes, he betrayed Duryodhana to a large extent by promising to spare four of the Pandavas. These four however includes Yudhisthir, the one whose killing would be most beneficial to the Kauravas. Hence, by chosing to spare Yudhisthir, he CHOSE Dharma to win.
The two parts in bold don't coincide. XD You need to decide what you think Karna chose, Dharma or Duryodhana because the two are diametrically opposite.
6. He WAS discriminated on basis of caste/low birth.
If he was a student of Drona in the Gurukul ( which I highly doubt - yes I know it is mentioned in KMG), then Drona not providing him knowledge of Divyastras IS discrimination to me.
It is equal to someone not getting a college degree because of reservation.
Reservation is a different concept altogether. Karna wasn't low caste to begin with. And Drona didn't give him the Brahmastra knowledge only because he would use it to kill Arjun for no reason. At this stage, Arjun hadn't done anything wrong to him so wanting to kill him for jealousy makes no sense. Also Brahmastra was a divine weapon and it's use is recommended only for the greater good. Of course in today's terms any weapon of mass destruction can't do much good. But back then war was glorified. So wanting its knowledge just for killing someone is like saying I want a nuclear weapon because I want to kill my college competitor. XD
During Draupadi Swayamvar, I do not fault Draupadi at all for rejecting him. Of course, it was her marriage and she had complete right to choose her suitor. However, why did she think that marrying a suitor of low birth would be detrimental to her status in society? Because birth did matter. So yes, it WAS discrimination because of existing social rules.
@bold- she didn't. Karna wasn't invited in her Swayamvar in the first place and that was because he was a King via Daan. Draupadi cannot be blamed for being a princess and wanting to marry a prince.
7. Just want to comment on the misogyny - do we think women enjoyed a high position in society generally?
@bold- let's talk history here. The status of women in Early Vedic Age was quite high because the advent of patriarchy came in the Later Vedic Age. This is backed by historical research, you might want to check. Mahabharata is an important source for the study of the Later Vedic Age, so it is in this age that position of women fall. And yes these men contributed to it. Also, it is basic respect. You cannot blame society for throwing such terribly disgusting comments about a woman in the middle of the court and enjoying her disrobing in open court. He only proves himself a jerk here.
The queen of Indraprastha was staked by her own husband in a game of dice, so what can we expect of the society?
Even though many people have many different perceptions on this offer, but Vyas mentions Lord Krishna did offer Draupadi as a wife to Karna even after everything had happened. Does not paint a pretty picture of the position of women in society.
Sex trafficking etc. - I have never heard and Vyas does tend to go to exaggerations a lot .
Lastly, I didn't comment on his archery skills as it is well established he was a formidable warrior, whether he was the best or not. And his death was by unfair means, everyone agrees on that.
@bold- Well he was not unarmed when he was killed. (i may quote). And please keep in mind Parashuram's curse which Karna got due to his own lies. Besides, if he was so good a warrior, he would not use unfair means himself to kill a young boy. Also, he was been defeated multiple times by Arjun and many others.
Those are my thoughts on Karna. 😳
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