Karna information

Karna
Karna
	A 19th-century artist's imagination of Karna
Information
Aliases	Vasusena, Angaraja, Radheya
Gender	Male
Title	King of Anga
Weapon	Bow and arrows
Spouses	Unnamed Sūta women (varying in later adaptations)
Children	Vrishasena, Sushena, Vrishaketu and other sons
Relatives	Adhiratha (adoptive father); Radha (adoptive mother); Surya (father); Kunti (mother); Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva (half-brothers); Possibly some adoptive brothers;

Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: Karṇa), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya,^[2] is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata.^[3]^[4] He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the Pandavas), and thus a demigod of royal birth. Kunti was granted the boon to bear a child with desired divine qualities from the gods and without much knowledge, Kunti invoked the sun god to confirm it if it was true indeed. Karna was secretly born to an unmarried Kunti in her teenage years, and fearing outrage and backlash from society over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti had no choice but to abandon the newly born Karna adrift in a basket on the Ganges, in the hope that he finds foster parents.^[3]^[5] The basket is discovered, and Karna is adopted and raised by foster Sūta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana^[2] of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra.^[3]

Karna grows up to be an accomplished warrior of extraordinary abilities, a gifted speaker and becomes a loyal friend of Duryodhana.^[3]^[6] He was appointed the king of Anga (Bihar-Bengal)^[7] by Duryodhana.^[2] Karna joined Duryodhana's side in the Kurukshetra war. He was a key warrior who aimed to kill the third Pandava Arjuna but dies in a battle with him during the war.^[3]^[4]

He is a tragic hero in the Mahabharata, in a manner similar to Aristotle's literary category of "flawed good man".^[8] He meets his biological mother late in the epic, and then discovers that he is the older half-brother of those he is fighting against.^[6] Karna is a symbol of someone who is rejected by those who should love him but do not given the circumstances, yet becomes a man of exceptional abilities willing to give his love and life as a loyal friend. His character is developed in the epic to raise and discuss major emotional and dharma (duty, ethics, moral) dilemmas.^[9]^[10]^[11] His story has inspired many secondary works, poetry and dramatic plays in the Hindu arts tradition, both in India and in southeast Asia.^[9]^[12]^[13]

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

^ McGrath 2004, p. 132.
^ ^a ^b ^c Coulter & Turner 2013, pp. 262–263.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e McGrath 2004, pp. 1–3.
^ ^a ^b Lemming 2005.
^ Shulman 2014, pp. 381–382.
^ ^a ^b Johnson 2009.
^ Klostermaier 1998, pp. 95–96.
^ Hiltebeitel 2011, p. 457.
^ ^a ^b Shulman 2014, pp. 380–389.
^ Adarkar 2005, pp. 119–228, context: chapter 9.
^ Matilal 2002, pp. 90–118.
^ de Bruin & Brakel-Papenyzen 1992, pp. 38–39, 47–49, 53–54.
^ Terrence 1995, pp. 134–135.

[FOOTNOTEMcGrath2004132-2] McGrath 2004, p. 132.

[FOOTNOTECoulterTurner2013262–263-3] Coulter & Turner 2013, pp. 262–263.

[FOOTNOTEMcGrath20041–3-4] McGrath 2004, pp. 1–3.

[FOOTNOTELemming2005-5] Lemming 2005.

[FOOTNOTEShulman2014381–382-6] Shulman 2014, pp. 381–382.

[FOOTNOTEJohnson2009-7] Johnson 2009.

[FOOTNOTEKlostermaier199895–96-8] Klostermaier 1998, pp. 95–96.

[FOOTNOTEHiltebeitel2011457-9] Hiltebeitel 2011, p. 457.

[FOOTNOTEShulman2014380–389-10] Shulman 2014, pp. 380–389.

[FOOTNOTEAdarkar2005119–228,_context:_chapter_9-11] Adarkar 2005, pp. 119–228, context: chapter 9.

[FOOTNOTEMatilal200290–118-12] Matilal 2002, pp. 90–118.

[FOOTNOTEde_BruinBrakel-Papenyzen199238–39,_47–49,_53–54-13] Bruin & Brakel-Papenyzen 1992, pp. 38–39, 47–49, 53–54.

[FOOTNOTETerrence1995134–135-14] Terrence 1995, pp. 134–135.

Karna information

and 21 Related for: Karna information

Karna

Wives of Karna

Maharathi Karna

Karna Parva

John Karna

List of characters in the Mahabharata

Suryaputra Karn

Daana Veera Soora Karna

Karna Lake

Kunti

Duryodhana

Bhima

MARCOS

Vrishaketu

Kirik Party

Rav Karna

Karna Magna

Ghanta Karna

Karnaa

Aashim Gulati

Raju Gari Ammayi Naidu Gari Abbayi