People behind death of Danveer Karna

Following seven incidents were the reason for demise of Karna. Though we remember him as Danveer Karna, but if we see the following incidents, we would realize that perhaps this was the reason of his not getting his due in Indian history.

1. Parshurama’s curse – Parshurama has cursed him so that he would not use the brahmastra weapon when he would need it most. So Karna would not be able to use this weapon at the most critical time. How would he expect to win the battle against Arjuna with this curse?

2. Brahmin’s curse – A Brahmin has cursed him that his wheels of chariot will be stuck in the ground. During Mahabharat war, when fighting with Arjuna, this thing happened. This caused him to step down from his chariot. Ramdhari Singh Dinkar has summarised this well in Rashmirathi.

“Jara si keech mein syandan phansa hai”

Above line and lines followed aptly describes the frustration. How a small mass of soft earth has held Karna’s chariot.

3. Indra’s manipulation – Confident of Karna’s charitable character, Indra approached him in the guise of a brahmin and asked for alms. Karna agreed to give him whatever he wanted. Indra asked for Kavach and Kundal to which Danveer Karna obliged. Ashamed of his activity Indra awarded him with Shakti. This weapon had the power to complete its task. The only caveat was that this could be used only once. Karna saved this for Arjuna. But Ghatotkacha, Bhima’s son, was creating havoc on Kaurava’s army. Upon the insistence of Duryodhana, karna has to use Shakti, thus saving Arjuna’s life.

4. Karna’s promise to Kunti – Kunti told Karna about his birth story before the Mahabharat war. She wanted him to fight the Mahabharat from Pandava’s side. Karna was the true friend of Duryodhana. He denied this request. Instead he gave a promise to Kunti. If there would be situation where I am able to kill any of the Pandavas, I would not do so except for Arjuna. In this way, Kunti will always have five sons.

5. Shalya’s reluctance towards Karna – Shalya, the charioteer of Karna never wanted to be on Kaurava’s side, but was forced to fight against Pandavas. He never supported Karna during the Mahabharat war. Imagine this, how it is difficult when your navigator is not your side. On the other side, Shri Krishna was there to guide Arjuna.

6. Shri Krishna asking Karna for his righteousness : All over his life, Karna followed the path of rihteousness. Despite all of the above reasons, Arjuna was not able to defeat him. Shri Krishna explained the reason to him. Goddess of Rigtheousness was protecting Karna. How to defeat him because weapons were turning into garlands. Shri Krishna went to him as a Brahmin and asked Karna to gift his rigtheousness. Karna again, readily agreed and obliged Arjuna charioteer. Pleased of this, Krishna shown him his vishwaroopa. Shri Krishna also granted him a boon. Because of this, he was cremated on Shri Krishna’s hand.

7. Arjuna killing when he was not on the chariot: On advise of Shri Krishna, against the rules of the war, Arjuna beheaded Karna with the weapon anjalika. This  happened when Karna was trying to take out the wheel of the chariot from the ground. This is how, the great archer, the great danveer, met his death.

Perhaps destiny has to do more here rather than the capability. unfortunately he was fighting the war from the wrong side. Nevertheless he has got the everlasting fame.