Friday, July 15, 2011

Why is Karna a failed "hero"?

Character of Karna has always fascinated so many people. Karna is a very powerful character in mahabharat (abandoned by his mother Kunti and embraced by Duryodhan- the villain in mahabharat).
Karna had all the qualities to succeed - in fact he was much better than all the other pandavs.
But still he fails.. and the question is why..

I dont think it is destiny or his friendship with Duryodhan that led him to destruction.
I think it is his own nature that wreaked such a havoc on him.

Karna never learnt to go back.. take a detour..
Even when Krishna repeatedly advised him to join the pandavas.. tell them the truth about his birth.. he denied saying he has learnt only one thing in life.. never to go back.. always follow one path like the ray of sun..

And that my friend caused all the problem. Plus he had other issues too..

I think the reason why he failed was because no one ever dared to tell him the difference between right and wrong.
The day duryodhan offered kingship to him.. he accepted it..
He also took part in all of Duryodhan's evil plans like disrobing Draupadi (the daughter-in-law of royal family), chasing padavas to the forest etc. etc.

I think it is very important in life to have a guiding force... someone who can guide you to right direction.. someone who can save you from the agony of deep regrets..
And another thing that is more important than first one is the presence of mind to take a detour and correct your actions..

This blog truly summarizes why Karna is a failed warrior.. but not a true hero..
http://pushti-marg.net/bhagwat/karna.htm


More later!

4 comments:

  1. Think about the figures who were supposed to be his guiding force. His father was a charioteer who was subservient to royalty (As a warrior, there's no way that Karna could follow that path) and Parshuram who cursed him. Krishna told him about his origin, but take a look at the timing. He could have done so before the showcase and told everyone who Karna really was. Instead, he waited just a short time until the Kurukshetra was going to take place. Karna is a good person. Did you expect him to throw aside the friendship of the only person who respected him for people who insulted him (even though they were his brothers). The guy is a victim of circumstance. Krishna did everything for a reason. Even though Karna was a good person, he had to die in order to kill the villain, Duryodhan. Duryodhan would have never gone to war and resulted to the coward like tactics that Shakuni suggested if it wasn't for Karna.

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    1. He lied to Parasuram and got cursed, there is nothing wrong there.

      Duryodana did go to war without Karna

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  2. +1 for this perspective because until recently, I used to believe in the exact same thing and practice the same principle (always staying true to your decisions)

    such a big folly!!

    Its only when I hit rock bottom in my life.. I realized that I should have never let circumstances determine my path..
    I believe Karna always had a choice.. instead of brooding about why he is not treated like a khshtraiya.. he shud have ignored that and carried on with his sadhana (or passion) about dhanurvidya..


    I believe.. its never too late to take the U turn in life :)

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