When war composes glorious ballads of the winners, history is written and re-written several times. Winners deserve the fame, and all virtues are imposed on them. Their faults and fallacies are forgotten in the extreme spirits of victory. Who want to listen to the tragic stories of the defeated? We always appraise the voice of victory. We seldom bother whether truth is covered with something or whether righteousness is justified with a hidden mask of divinity. We are the helpless spectators; and we will be, always!

Mahabharata, the famous Indian epic, tells us about the story of a battle that happened thousands of years ago between Kauravas and Pandavas, the sons of two brothers, for kingdom and domination. When unrighteousness surrendered before righteousness, there were too many heroes; but there was only one anti-hero; nay, he was considered as the villain of this Indian epic. He was Duryodhana. He was a villain because he always tried to cheat and destroy Pandavas and he also tried to humiliate their wife Draupadi. When heroes failed in some occasions, this villain outshined most of the times. He was a good Kshatriya with excellent traits such as friendship, loyalty, honorable warfare, efficient rule, boldness, power, wealth and confidence that represent Kshatriya Dharma to the utmost.

The Background

There were two brothers, Dhritarashtra and Pandu, in the kingdom of Hastinapura. The elder one Dhritarashtra was blind and hence the younger brother Pandu became the king of Hastinapura. Due to a curse, Pandu renounced the throne and left for forest with his wives Kunti and Madri, to lead an ascetic life. Duryodhana was the eldest among the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari. After the death of Pandu, Kunti returned to Hastinapura with five children and claimed that they were Pandavas, the sons of different Gods. Pandavas and Kauravas grew up in Hastinapura, and when their education was finished, Yudhistira, the eldest son of Pandu, was named to sit on the throne of his father, thus denying the chance of Duryodhana.

Being the son of the elder brother, Duryodhana had the genuine right for the throne.  Moreover, Pandavas were not the sons of Pandu, because he was unable to become a father due to some curse. When Kunti claimed that the Pandavas were the sons of different gods, Duryodhana was the only person to question her. The so called Gods have no lineage connected to Hastinapura. He believed that Kunti was trying to seize the inheritance away from him, hiding the illegitimate birth of Pandavas. And, of course, that was the root cause of the great catastrophe and bloodshed that happened in the Indian soil.

Attempts to Destroy Pandavas

Due to losing his legal right as heir to the throne of Hastinapura, Duryodhana developed hatred and jealousy with the Pandavas and tried to destroy them by all means. Duryodhana’s maternal uncle Shakuni was the mastermind behind Duryodhana’s cruel actions against Pandavas. They built an inflammable house specially designed and built with wax, ghee, lac and other highly inflammable materials, accommodated Pandavas there during a festival celebration at Varnavata, and set it on fire. But, due to the timely warning of Vidura, the step brother of Dhritharashtra, Pandavas escaped from the plot. They lived in a forest as Brahmins and meanwhile possessed Draupadi as their common wife.

Kingdom Shared

To avoid further tensions, Dhritarashtra after consulting with other elders invited Pandavas back to home and gave them half the kingdom. Yudhishtira was made the king of Indraprastha. Duryodhana remained as the prince of Hastinapura, but was acting as an efficient ruler with full control of the administration, because his father, king Dhritarashtra was blind. Meanwhile Yudhishtira conducted Rajasuya Yaga, became authority of several kingdoms and was crowned as Emperor.

Draupadi’s Taunt

When Yudhishtira’s fame increased, Duryodhana’s hatred and jealousy also increased progressively. After Yudhishtira’s Rajasuya Yaga, Duryodhana was invited to the Indraprastha. The illusions of the palace befooled him several times and the Pandavas made fun of him. Duryodhana fell in a pool of water when he stepped in mistaking it as a floor. Draupadi laughed loudly and commented, “A blind man’s son is also blind”. Draupadi’s taunt insulted Duryodhana very badly and he vowed to take revenge on Draupadi.

Dice Game

With jealousy and intensified anger against the Pandavas, Duryodhana discussed with his uncle Shakuni to find a way to defeat Pandavas and possess their complete wealth and kingdom. From the Shakuni’s cunning mind developed a master plot and that was the dice game. Duryodhana challenged king Yudhistira to play dice, and Shakuni, with his special dice, played an undefeatable game, on behalf of Duryodhana. Yudhistira lost everything – his kingdom, wealth, his four brothers and wife. The most shameful incident of Indian mythology delineated when Draupadi was disrobed by Dushasana as per the instruction of Duryodhana. Finally, the Pandavas began their thirteen years exile.

Vaishnava Sacrifice

While Pandavas were in exile, Duryodhana was captured by Gandharva king Chitrasena due to a conflict and it happened that Arjuna and Bhima rescued Duryodhana from the Gandharvas. To redeem the reputation, Duryodhana decided to conduct a Vaishnava yaga to become the Emperor of the World. Karna started the Digvijaya yatra alone and conquered all the kings who opposed Duryodhana, enforcing Duryodhana’s authority over them; and the Emperor’s fame spread everywhere.

The War

After the end of the thirteen years exile, Duryodhana refused to return even a needlepoint of land to Pandavas, which was against their agreement. Elders’ advice and Krishna’s interference could not change Duryodhana’s mind. Even the word ‘pandavas’ irritated him badly. There was only one decision to the Kshatriya blood in Duryodhana: War! Thus, war became inevitable.

The war witnessed so many unfair practices from both side. In spite of the great warriors Karna, Bhishma and Drona on his side, Duryodhana lost the war. It was said that dharma was on the other side!

The Final Moments

On the eighteenth day of the war, only four persons from the Kaurava’s side were alive – Duryodhana, Aswatthama, Kripacharya and Kritvarma. Yudhistira challenged Duryodhana to pick any of the Pandava brothers to fight and the winner shall be declared as the winner of the war. In spite of utilizing the advantage of this proposal, Duryodhana selected Bhima as his rival. At the end of the long and fierce mace fight, Bhima attacked Duryodhana by unfair means, smashing Duryodhana’s thighs. That night, waiting for death, Duryodhana ordered Aswatthama to take revenge on Pandavas. Aswatthama, along with Kripacharya and Kritvarma took revenge attacking the Pandavas camp at night and killed everyone except the Pandava brothers. They rushed to tell Duryodhana about the news, but Duryodhana was already dead by that time.

Good Qualities of Duryodhana

Friendship: One of the best qualities of Duryodhana was his sincere friendship. When Karna was humiliated in an archery competition against Arjuna in the name of low birth, Duryodhana saved him by offering him an entire kingdom, thus removing the stains of inferiority complex from his disturbed mind. Duryodhana’s friendship with Karna was deep and was the strongest in this great epic. Karna’s death crushed him very badly and affected him more than the death of his own brothers.

Good Warfare: Despite his negative traits on the field of life, Duryodhana was referred to as a Fair Warrior, who respected and followed the rules of war that was considered as the good qualities of a Kshatriya. Pandavas violated the rules of war several times, as per the guidance of Krishna, when they killed Bhishma, Drona and Karna. We would doubt whether the rules were not applicable to Krishna, the reason being he was Lord himself.

For his last fight, when Duryodhana was given a choice to select any of the Pandava brothers, he would have taken advantage of the situation. But he chose Bhima, the peer opponent, to make the fight fair and even. But, he was deceived.

Good Ruler: Dhritarashtra was the crowned king of Hastinapura, but since he was blind,  Duryodhana managed the administration, with a great influence over all people, and became a great ruler. On hearing the death of Duryodhana, people in Hastinapura wept with deep grief, because to them he was their favourite king and their protector.

Good Kshatriya: For a Kshatriya, power is a virtue. Duryodhana was attracted by power and wealth. At his last moment, he glorified himself the virtues he had achieved as Kshatriya and blamed Krishna for his trickery. On hearing his words, celestial beings from heaven blessed him by showering flowers and singing the glory of Duryodhana. When Yudhishtira reached heaven he saw Duryodhana seated on a throne, attended by angels and goddesses. When Yudhishtira could not believe it, Narada explained him that Duryodhana attained heaven due to his Kshatriya Dharma.

Negative Traits of Duryodhana

Disrobing of Draupadi: It was the most serious crime committed by Duryodhana. When Yudhistira lost everything in the dice game, Duryodhana encouraged his brother Dushasana to bring Draupadi in the court and disrobe her.

Murder Attempt: He tried to kill Pandavas accommodating them in a house built of wax, ghee, lac and other inflammable materials and setting it fire. He tried to kill Bhima by poisoning and drowning.

Cheating: After the exile of 13 years, Duryodhana did not agree to give even a needlepoint of land to Pandavas, which was against their agreement.

Killing of Abhimanyu: When Abhimanyu killed Duryodana’s son Lakshmana, he ordered all his maharathis to attack Abhimanyu. Thus Abhimanyu was killed by unfair means by seven unequal warriors.

Conclusion

There, in that battlefield, nobody was perfect. There was no perfect hero or perfect villain in Mahabharata. Mistake or unrighteousness was everywhere and nobody was free from that. As Narada said, Duryodhana entered into heaven because of fulfilling Kshatriya Dharma. The negative traits in Duryodhana were against Kshatriya Dharma, but his good qualities as a Kshatriya were far superior that made him distinct from a villainy nature. Rules of war are same for everyone. Nobody is beyond that. Pandavas tried to violate the rules under a divine protection, under the guidance of Krishna, the Lord himself. Duryodhana never accepted the divinity of Krishna, but always defied him, even at his death bed. No doubt, Duryodhana was a real Kshatriya!! ….And I can hear the Gandharvas playing musical instruments and the Apsaras in a chorus singing the glory of King Duryodhana!!

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duryodhana

During the terrific silence of that horrible night, they could not hear the footsteps of death. On the eighteenth night of a great war, they were sleeping in the camp, completely tired, and horrified by the nightmare of the dancing torsos in the battlefield. They did not know that the tragedy of a death-dance is going to be debuted in a short while. And when the death knell rang solemnly, there appeared the messenger of death, invoking Kal Bhairav in his soul and evoking him in his body, to destroy everything. He stepped in with vehemence of vengeance. He had lost the consciousness of reasoning. Through the layers of darkness his vindictive eyes, burning like fireballs, pierced in search of the assassins of his beloved father. The destructive sword of Kal Bhairav hunted for the unfortunate heads of the unrighteous warriors who always boasted about their virtues……. It was the immortal Aswatthama, who appeared as the embodiment of death in the Pandavas camp. He converted the camp into a crematorium by brutally killing several warriors including Dhrishtadyumna, the killer of Drona, Shikhandi, the assassin of Bhishma; and thousands of Pandava warriors while they were asleep and in semi-conscious state. His mind reached to the climax of vengeance when he killed the Upapandavas, the five sons of Draupadi, while they were asleep, mistaking them as the Pandava brothers, his ultimate target. Those who tried to run away from the helpless situation were killed by Kripacharya and Kritavarma at the entrance of the camp.

It was the story of Aswatthama,  the character that played a crucial role in shaping the end of Mahabharata war!…. It was the story of a ferocious revenge!!

Early Days of Aswatthama

Aswatthama was the son of Dronacharya and Kripi. Dronacharya was the son of Brahmin sage Bharadwaja, and hence Aswatthama was a Brahmin; not Kshatriya. When he was born, he neighed like a horse, hence the name Aswatthama. He was born with a gem on his forehead which was believed to be a protection from demons, ghosts, snake, animals and all beings other than humans.

Born in the lap of poverty Aswatthama could not even savour the taste of milk in his childhood. The neighbouring children used to befool him by giving flour water and convincing him that it was milk. Drona was upset about the fate of his dearest child. Drona remembered about his childhood friend Drupada, who was now a king, and approached him expecting some help. But Drupada humiliated Drona saying that they were not of the same status now to become friends; and did not help him. Later Drona was invited to Hastinapur by Kripacharya, and Bhishma appointed him as the Guru of the Pandavas and Kauravas in the Hastinapur. Along with the princes Pandavas and Kauravas, Aswatthama mastered the arts of Dhanurveda under Dronacharya, his father and Guru.

Aswatthama became a master of all weapons and was considered equal to Karna and Arjuna in Dhanurveda. With his physical strength, bravery and knowledge of martial arts, he became a prominent warrior whom nobody could kill. He mastered 64 forms of arts and 18 Vidyas and had become the master of all forms of knowledge.

Arjuna was always Drona’s favourite disciple. Because of this special favour and Arjuna’s exceptional skill in archery, Aswatthama was jealous of Arjuna. In addition to teaching the knowledge of all weapons, Drona had taught the knowledge of invoking Brahmastra to both Arjuna and Aswatthama, but Aswatthama was not taught how to withdraw Brahmastra, may be because he might have felt that for a Brahmin the invoking of Brahmastra would never be necessitated.  

Aswatthama’s Role

The role of Aswatthama was almost insignificant till the death of Drona in the battlefield. In the family issue of Pandavas and Kauravas, Aswatthama had no role to play and was actually a neutral character. But the war demanded participation of everyone, and being loyal to the royal family, Aswatthama joined the side of Kauravas, even though Pandavas were not his enemies. He did not bother to think on which side was the justice. But definitely he had some special attraction to Duryodhana, due to his broadmindedness and appreciation that nobody else possessed. Duryodhana was the son of the elder brother of the royal family and was more eligible for the throne; and that might be the other thought pattern that persuaded Aswatthama to stand on the side of Duryodhana.

Drona’s Death

When Bhishma fell and was lying on the bed of arrows, waiting for death, Drona became the leader of the Kaurava army. Nobody could beat Drona, and as usual Krishna played a trick. He wrote the script, selected the actors and became the Director himself. Bhima killed an elephant called Aswatthama and the warriors started shouting “Aswatthama is killed”. When Drona heard the noise he enquired Yudhishtira, the man of virtues, who would never tell lie, about the truth. Yudhishtira said, “Aswatthama  hataha” (Aswatthama is killed); and he whispered the word “kunjaraha” (elephant) slowly so that Drona could not hear the last portion! When dharma plays drama, fate will become fatal. The innocent paternity wept with woe. The desperate Drona dropped his arms and started meditating, and Dhristadyumna beheaded the weaponless master.

When Drona was killed by treachery, the furious Aswatthama lost his control. Anger burst out and with broken heart and disturbed mind, Aswatthama took vow to completely eradicate the Pandavas and their lineage. His unabated thirst for revenge started here. …He became another Parashurama vowed to exterminate the oppressive khsatriyas!

It was believed that Aswatthama was a part manifestation of Lord Shiva and it was impossible to kill him or fight him when he became angry. The tragic death of his father made him mad and furious. He released the most dangerous Narayanastra towards the Pandava army. But as per Krishna’s advice, in order to escape from this terrific weapon, the Pandava army dropped their weapons and completely surrendered before it. But the Narayanastra abolished a major portion of the Pandavas army. The fierce war continued and Pandavas suffered heavy loss by the fury of Aswatthama.

The Revenge

And in the last night of the war, after the entire Kaurava warriors were demolished and Duryodhana was waiting for his death after his last fight with Bhima, the three Kaurava survivors gathered under a Banyan tree. They were Aswatthama, Kripacharya and Kritavarma. Aswatthama noticed an owl attacking its enemy crows at night and killing them. He immediately got up and promised the half-dead Duryodhana that he was going to bring the heads of the Pandavas. Ignoring the dharmic advices of Kripacharya and Kritaverma he rushed towards the Pandavas camp. In that night of horror, his merciless sword took the lives of Dhrishtadyumna, his father’s assassin; Shikhandi; the five sons of Draupadi, and thousands of Pandava warriors, who were semi-conscious and helpless. The Pandava brothers were escaped because they were away from the camp during that night, along with Krishna, their savior.

The Greatest Sin 

After performing the death dance, Aswatthama returned to Duryodhana, but he was already dead by then. Aswatthama then took shelter in Vyasa’s Ashram. Knowing about the heart-breaking disaster in the next morning, the enraged Pandavas and Krishna chased Aswatthama. Aswatthama invoked Brahmastra in a grass blade and released it against Pandavas. Arjuna too invoked his Brahmastra, as instructed by Krishna. The two divine weapons received from the same Guru, were approaching each other; one from his dearest son and the other from his favourite disciple; aiming at the total destruction of the entire world! Vyasa and Narada, with their yogic powers, stopped the collision of the Brahmastras and asked the warriors to withdraw them. Arjuna could withdraw it, but Aswatthama could not because Drona had not taught him that mantra. The furious Aswatthama directed his Brahmastra towards the womb of Uttara, the pregnant wife of Abhimanyu, and burned down the fetus. Aswatthama’s aim was to end the lineage of Pandavas. It was the greatest sin Aswatthama had done.

Curse by Krishna

Krishna asked Aswatthama to surrender the gem from his forehead and cursed him with agony and anger: “You are a coward and sinful wretch, the slayer of children! The wound caused by the removal of gem from your forehead will never heal and you will suffer from incurable diseases. Without getting any hospitality or accommodation, and completely isolated from mankind and society you will roam in the forest and diverse countries  for 3000 years, emanating pus and blood from your injuries, and even death would not show mercy on you.”

And from there began the endless journey of Aswatthama through the dark ages of Kaliyuga!

…….. Subsequently, Uttara delivered a dead child, and Krishna revived the child. The child was named Parikshit (the Tested One). After Yudhishtira’s rule for 36 years, Parikshit ruled Hastinapur for 27 years. Thus Aswatthama’s efforts to end the lineage of Pandavas did not succeed, whereas he determined his own fate, the fate of humanity!!

Conclusion

Aswatthama was a Maharathi (great warrior) capable of fighting 60,000 warriors at the same time. As per scriptures, Aswatthama is considered as one of the seven Chiranjivis (the long lived beings). He will also become one of the Saptarishis (seven sages) in the 8th Manvanthara. Aswatthama is a mysterious character that is difficult to understand.

Whenever I try to imagine the multifarious images of that strange warrior, my ears become filled with the reverberations of human voices; each voice declares, “I am Aswatthama”,…. “I am Aswatthama”…. Yes… Aswatthama is not dead,…he is still living; not in the scary forests or in lonely deserts or any soothing hospices. He is here everywhere, with his extreme revenge and with heartless cruelty; with the fury of Rudra and wisdom of sage; and with the fire of desires and fearless mind …… he is very much alive in every one of us, with his blessings of immortality converted into curse of humanity!!

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashwatthama

Here is a religion that never cared about God, but survived 2500 years and still practiced by about 500 million followers worldwide. It is the story of one enlightened man, his fearless journey in search of truth behind the misery of life; and the way of life he taught to the common people. He is none other than Buddha, the great master, the embodiment of love and compassion, and who was even ready to sacrifice his body for an innocent goat. Though he did not accept God in his noble path, Buddha is being worshipped as incarnation of God, by the people worldwide.

Buddha’s Life

About 2500 years ago on a full moon day Siddhartha Gautama was born in a royal family in Kapilavastu. King Suddhodana of Shakya clan was his father and Queen Maya Devi his mother. At the age of 16 he was married to Yasodhara and they had a son named Rahul. After living in the extreme luxuries of palace, at the age of 29 he had a desire to see the outside world. On his trips he saw real life with its different faces such as sickness, old age and death; and felt himself within the heart that he should not enjoy luxurious life in the palace when people were suffering in the outside world.

Abandoning the luxuries and lavishness of royal life, he stepped out of the kingdom, and started the life of a wandering monk. He wanted to help people and end their misery. He was determined to find truth. By eating almost nothing and facing harsh poverty, he practiced meditation expecting a solution for his deep rooted problem. But he could not get the answer. Experiencing the extreme positions of both luxury and poverty, he understood the vanity of those paths and finally decided to adopt the ‘Middle Way’ to seek the truth. After deep meditation, sitting under a pipal tree, known as Bodhi tree, in Bodh Gaya, on a full moon day, at the age of 35, he became enlightened and came to known as Buddha.

In the beginning there were Buddha and his five disciples and the journey continued for next forty five years through different parts of the country, spreading is teachings and helping all kinds of people, including beggars and kings. For 80 years he lived in this world with fearless thinking and unselfish service, with a brain filled with infinite knowledge and a heart filled with innocent love.  

Buddha’s Teachings

It is believed that Buddhism is neither theistic nor atheistic, but is agnostic. It was said that when asked about the existence of God, Buddha used to keep silent without himself denying or accepting the existence of God. In other cases, it is also reported to have said that the Noble Eight-fold path of enlightenment did not require a belief in God; God was a superstition created by the priest class. As per Buddha all ceremonies, worships and prayer were pure nonsense. The concept of God makes people weak because they depend on God for everything.

Buddha understood why people suffered and how they could overcome suffering. With his boundless heart and great intellect he taught everyone how to live to attain peace of mind. He became one among the masses, knew their feelings and talked in their language so that everyone could understand. He advised them to stay away from blind faith and to accept his words only after they convinced themselves that his teachings were right.

The Three Universal Truths

The three universal truths applicable to everything, as per Buddhism, are given below. It may be noted that these are similar to the modern scientific laws.

1. In the universe everything is converted from one state to another, but never lost. Life is a cyclic process that repeats.Tree produces seed and seed creates tree; matter becomes energy and energy becomes matter. Everything in the universe consists of the same thing. Hence if we destroy something we are destroying ourselves.  
2. Change is the law of the nature. Everything is continuously changing. Life is compared to a river changing every moment, sometimes slow, sometimes swift, sometimes smooth, sometimes rocky, sometimes safe and sometimes dangerous.
3. The law of cause and effect governs our life. For every action, known as karma, we get the results either good or bad depending upon our action. We are the products of what we think and what we do and hence we should be careful about our thoughts and deeds for creating a bright future.

The Four Noble Truths

When Buddha was enlightened he became fully aware about the Truth he was searching for all those times – the cause of sufferings and the methods to eliminate them. These realizations are known as the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. By mastering these truths one can attain Nirvana, the ultimate goal, a state where mind is perfectly peaceful and completely free from ignorance, greed and all negative qualities, which everyone can attain in this very life itself.  Interference of a God is not required to attain Nirvana. The Four Noble Truths are as follows.

1. Life consists of suffering: Suffering is an unavoidable thing in life. Sickness, old age and death are the main things we suffer. Anything that destroys the happiness in our life makes us suffer.
2. Suffering has a cause: Ignorance about the law of cause and effect makes us suffer. Involved in luxury we become greedy and desire for extreme luxury and unnecessary pleasures that are harmful to us. Once we do not get what we want, we suffer. We are diverting from the middle path and are looking for the extreme and that leads to suffering.
3. Suffering can be brought to an end: We can lead a life without suffering if we decide to do so. If we can stay away from our desire for unwanted things and become conscious about our thoughts and deeds we can put an end to suffering.
4. The Path to End Suffering: The Noble Eight-fold Path otherwise called the Middle Way can be followed that will end all sufferings.

The Noble Eight-fold Path

1. Right View:  We should view the world through the right eyes, through righteousness and compassion.
2. Right Thought: We are the products of our thoughts and hence the right thoughts are necessary to develop good character.
3. Right Speech: Words are powerful and influence our life very significantly. We should speak kind words to everyone. The word already spoken cannot be taken back and hence it is very important to be careful about our speech.
4. Right Conduct: Our conduct reflects our culture and our real nature. The way behave determines our success and position in the society.
5. Right Livelihood: The job we select for our earning should be such that it should not harm others. Getting happiness by making others unhappy is not a good practice.
6. Right effort: Whatever efforts we do should do well to others. Harmful efforts will waste a valuable life.
7. Right Mindfulness: We should be the masters of our thoughts, words and deeds; but should never allow our mind to control us.
8. Right Concentration: Concentration is to be practiced which is the essential for success in life. Right concentration will help in deep meditation and result in quiet and peaceful state of mind.

Conclusions

In Hinduism God is everywhere; in Vedas, in epics, and in Gita; God is there in the sanctity of temples and in the outcry of the souls; God is there in the rumbles of thunders and flickering of lightning; God is there in the minute atoms and in the gigantic stars; and God is there in every heart-beat and in every breath of life. And, whatever may be the progress of science, whatever may be the reasoning power of human mind, God will rule over the heart of humans so long as the fear of death and miseries exist in the world.  Weakness of human mind is the strength of God. The forlorn cry rising from the bottom of the heart will never cease so long as there is weakness. May be that is one of the reasons why Buddhism, the religion that did not entertain God, diminished in India, the land of its origin.

Buddha;… I have deep respect to that great person for his compassion, courage and intelligence. Castes or customs, Gods or priests, nothing had the power to conquer him, nor was he willing to bow his head down in front of any superstitious shadows. And of course, he came to the world not to establish righteousness by destroying anybody, but to save people from their ignorance and selfishness, and help them reach the ultimate goal of life without the interference of a personal God. His glory will be praised forever and his teachings will always be remembered.

Listen to the following powerful and high spirited words of Buddha the Great:

“Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it.”

Image Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seokguram_Buddha.JPG

In spite of the live presence of so many mythological characters in the epic Mahabharata, why this character attracted me the most? This great warrior, in spite of his amazing heroic qualities, was abandoned from every fields of life in the name of caste discrimination and was never allowed to be a hero. Negligence was his fate; acquiescence was his nightmare. The whole world was against him, including his mother, brothers, teachers and even the boasted effigies of royal castes. Amidst the hubbub of life, he was sequestered in the solitude of bitterness. Even Gods appeared in disguise and tested him for his sacrifice and integrity. There was no surprise he captured our sympathy and conquered our hearts. It was said that all the five qualities of Pandavas – the righteousness of Yudhistira, strength of Bhima, archery skill of Arjuna, charm of Nakula and knowledge of Sahadeva – were embodied in this single person;  Karna was his name;  a warrior by birth, born with natural armour and earrings (kavach and kundal), that would make him unbeatable.

How was Karna Born?

His birth itself was a subject of controversy. Kunti in her younger age, before her marriage, had a chance to serve Sage Durvasa, who was pleased with her service and gave her a mantra. Whichever God she was thinking about while chanting that mantra he would appear and bless her with a son with the qualities of that God. Thus Karna was born as son of Sun God. But Kunti was concerned about her social reputation and put the child in a basket and abandoned it in the River Ganges. Adhiratha a charioteer (suta) saved him from the river and brought up him as his own child.

Thus the son of God, born in the womb of a royal princess, became suta putra (charioteer’s son) throughout his life; a Kshatriya with a royal blood became a shudra, the lower caste.

Early Life

Karna approached Drona, the master of the royal princes, to learn archery, but Drona rejected him saying that he was not a Kshatriya, and advised him to do only those duties deserved for a shudra.

Karna then became a disciple of Parshuram under the disguise of a Brahmin, because Parshuram only taught to Brahmins. But, it happened once when the Guru was resting on the lap of his Shishya, a bee stung Karna on his leg and he started bleeding. However, he suffered the pain and did not move his legs at all, lest Parshuram’s sleep would be disturbed. When Parshuram woke up and saw Karna bleeding and his immense ability to withstand pain, he resolved that Karna was a Kshatriya. He became angry with Karna for telling lie, and cursed him that he would forget the invocatory mantra and would not be able to use Brahmasthra when he needed it most at a crucial moment.

Suta Putra became the King

In a competition organized by Bhishma to exhibit the skills of his grandsons Kauravas and Pandavas, the warrior in Karna woke up and Karna challenged Arjuna in the archery tournament. But, Kripacharya denied Karna’s eligibility. He said Karna was not a prince and cannot challenge the prince Arjuna. Now, Duryodhana rose to the occasion and made a cunning decision. He immediately made Karna the King of Anga Desha, thus transforming the suta putra into a Kshatriya by merit;…. though he deserved it by birth! How can Karna forget this great gesture of Duryodhana, who saved him from the humiliation on the grounds of caste discrimination and inflamed his blood with royal spirit? Thus began the intimate friendship of Karna and Duryodhana.

Insult by Draupadi

Even though he was assigned with the title of a king, still he was treated as suta putra. King of Panchal, on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter Draupadi, organized an archery contest. Only Arjuna was there in the heart of Draupadi, but she was afraid if Karna would win the competition. So, she publicly announced the disqualification of Karna on account of his low caste and unknown origin. It was another blow to Karna and might be one of the reasons why he supported when Draupadi was publicly disrobed by Kauravas.

Kunti’s Approach

Without Karna, Kauravas were nothing. To keep his loyalty Karna helped Duryodhana in all occasions, irrespective of whether it was for good or bad. Krishna was well aware about Karna’s strength. With Krishna’s advice, Kunti revealed Karna the secret of his birth and requested him to stand with Pandavas and to become the King, as he was her eldest son. The humiliation imprinted at the venue of archery competition was not faded from Karna’s heart. He asked his mother what prevented her from identifying him as her eldest son on that arena when pride and prestige scattered around and the whole world deafened him with fallacies and fouls. And he disagreed with Kunti’s suggestion, but promised that he would not kill any of the Pandavas except Arjuna, so that she would always have five sons.

The Man of Charity

Karna was such a great warrior that nobody could beat him as long he was having his natural armour. Indra wanted to save his son Arjuna, and he approached Karna in disguise of a Brahmin and asked for his kavach and kundal. Karna, famous for his sacrifice, gave that divine armour to Indra knowingly, being fully aware about the drama behind the scene. Delighted by Karna’s generosity, Indra, in return, gave him a most powerful weapon, but, which he could use only once. Even though Karna reserved this weapon to use against Arjuna, he had to use it against Ghatolkacha, the demon-son of Bhima, to save hundreds of Kauravas’ army from his devilish attack.

Death of Karna

At last, they came face to face, the two greatest warriors of the epic, the two sons of Gods, Arjuna and Karna. It was said that even Gods in Swarga watched the fight between these two amazing fighters with wordless astonishment and deep appreciation. When Karna fired a powerful Nagastra to kill Arjuna, Krishna plunged his chariot into the ground resulting in a narrow escape of Arjuna’s head; the arrow hit his crown. But in the crucial moment, due to the curse of Parshuram, Karna forgot the Brahmastra mantra and could not use Brahmasthra against Arjuna. His chariot’s wheel got stuck in the ground and while Karna got off from the chariot and was trying to remove the wheel from the ground, Arjuna, under the instruction of Krishna, attacked the weaponless Karna and killed him. And that was the tragic end of a legendary warrior.

Conclusions

In addition to the five gunas of righteousness, strength, archery skill, charm and knowledge, Karna, the bravest warrior of all times was also well known for his loyalty and charity. He was loyal to Duryodhana throughout his life like a best friend and it was the expression of his sincere gratitude. Duryodhana was the only person in his life who was kind to him without asking his caste and family background and was the main reason why he indebted his life to Duryodhana, without discriminating good and bad.  Filled with insults and humiliations, his entire life was a pursuit for recognition. Throughout his whole life he was struggling for his rights, but, unfortunately, he could never achieve it.

In the final encounter, Karna was killed by Arjuna, when he was trying to lift his chariot’s wheel that was stuck in the ground; and the most important thing was that he was weaponless. It was against the rules of war in that dharma-kshetra (field of righteousness) to attack a weaponless warrior. How the unfair war can be justified?...It can be…. just by a single statement:…end justifies the means! That means, if the goal is to eradicate evil and establish righteousness, doing an unfair thing for that purpose can be justified?!

When Karna reminded that it would not be righteous to attack a weaponless warrior, Krishna questioned him where he lost his thoughts of morality when Draupadi was brutalized. Yes; it was a right question. And, perhaps it was the only unrighteous thing Karna had done in his life; he called Draupadi a whore and fully supported the disrobing act. May be the reprehensible words “suta putra” exploded from the throats of Draupadi at the venue of her swayamvara was reverberating within his disturbed mind forever, waiting for an occasion to revenge!!

But, I think Karna was not the only person to blame in this shameful incident. Who else were courageous, except Vidura and Vikarna, to question the immoral act of Kauravas to disrobe a helpless woman publicly in the royal court? Nobody, who were present in that court, including the brave Pandava warriors, prevented that ridiculous act, that would have made those dark chapters remained unwritten in the epic of Mahabharata. But, why nobody dared to throw away the laws and justice from the framework of life into the immaculate void of the universe, to protect the sanctity of a woman??.... because,… kingdom, throne and domination were their most important concern,....  rather than a woman’s esteem??!!

Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categoty:Karna