Birth of Karna

Kunti bears Karna before Marriage


We shall soon come across one central character in Mahabharatha, Krishna. He was the son of king Vasudeva of the Sura tribe, but, was brought up by a Yadava chief by name Nandagopa. Surasena, Krishna’s grand father, had a daughter named Pritha. He had given her over to his dear friend, Kunti Bhoja, because of an earlier pledge. She came to be known as Kunti thenceforth.

Once Kunti Bhoja had the sage Durvasa, famous for his short temper, as guest . Kunti was given the charge of the sage to make sure that he left the palace well pleased. Indeed, Kunti did take care of Durvasa so well that the sage offered one boon to the princess before parting. The boon was by way of a Mantra to invoke any deity of her choice. This would work five times, no more. The Maharshi could foresee that such a boon would come handy for Kunti in the future.

Kunti was still a young girl and was naturally curious to know how the Mantra worked. When she saw the rising sun next morning Kunti invoked the Mantra on the Sun God. Within no time the God appeared before her with his radiant and handsome figure. He came to receive her as that was what the power of the mantra was meant to be. Kunti was totally confused and even afraid. She pleaded with the God that what she did was out of ignorance and childish curiosity and He should leave her alone. But, the God explained that the power of the Mantra given by such an eminent Muni could not go waste. He assured her that by her receiving him no harm would come to her.

Thus, Kunti got into a relationship with the Sun God resulting in her conceiving a child. An extremely handsome boy was born to her, and as is the case with such extraordinary births, within no time. The child was born with full armour protecting his body (Kavacham) and even ears (Kundalam).

But, a new born baby with an unwed mother would ruin her life altogether. So, Kunti made secret arrangements to leave the child floating on the nearby river. That was how the situation used to be handled in those days.

A charioteer of the palace found the baby afloat and gave him as gift to his childless wife. They named him Vasushena who came to be known as Karna later. He was one of the heroes, famous for many fierce battles in the great Mahabharata war .

It is said that Indra, the Lord of heaven, came to Vasushena one night disguised as a Brahmin and requested him for his armour. He had a vested interest in removing the armour from Karna’s body as we shall see later. Such was the generosity of Vasushena, especially with Brahmins, that he tore off his armour and gave it to the God. Indra was pleased with this act and gifted him a weapon in return. It was called Sakthi (power) and would be unfailing on any enemy , but, would work only once.

We shall see later how crucial a role Karna played in battles, especially, with this powerful weapon of his, but at the same time, how his generosity cost him dearly .