Karna

Karna (Sanskrit: कर्णः, IAST: Karṇa), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the son of Surya (the solar deity) and princess Kunti (later the Pandava mother). His birth occurred after Kunti invoked a divine boon to test its power in her youth; fearing societal stigma over her premarital motherhood, she is forced to abandon the infant in a basket on the Ganges. He is discovered and fostered by Radha and Adhiratha Nandana, the sūta (charioteer) of King Dhritarashtra. Karna grows up to be an accomplished warrior of extraordinary abilities, and a gifted speaker. He becomes a loyal friend of Duryodhana, and is appointed the king of Anga (Bihar-Bengal) by the prince. Karna joins the Kaurava side of the Kurukshetra War, and is ultimately slain by Arjuna. He is a tragic hero in the Mahabharata, in a manner similar to Aristotle's literary category of "flawed good man". He meets his biological mother late in the epic then discovers that he is the older half-brother of those he is fighting against. 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. His story has inspired many secondary works, poetry and dramatic plays in the Hindu arts tradition, both in India and in southeast Asia. A regional tradition believes that Karna founded the city of Karnal, in contemporary Haryana.