Was Karna killed unfairly?

Arjuna- Karna final battle- busting the myths

The major misconceptions are:

Misconception 1: Karna was unarmed (No, he was armed and fighting until the last)

Misconception 2: He had forgotten the divine astras (He forgot the Brahmastra temporarily but remembered it later)

Misconception 3: He was bending down to pull up the wheel and unaware when Arjuna shot and kill him (It is Karna who resumed battle from the ground while Arjuna was still holding back)

Imp point to note: Several warriors fought chariotless in the same battle- The Vinda prince, Dushasana, Drona many times, Abhimanyu when Karna and co killed him, Arjuna on day 14 when the entire kaurava army surrounded and attacked while his horses rested.  Every single day, numerous warriors lost chariots and:

·       either continued from a different chariot

·       or surrendered/ retreated

·       or (like Abhimanyu) fought on bravely on foot until death 

The final phase of the Arjuna- Karna battle- how it unfolded:

Battle has been raging for a while so fiercely that the others have moved safely back and are now watching from a distance. Later, Shalya rides Karna chariot back to Duryodhana, showing that the chariot is in usable shape and that he was available all through the final battle to handle the sunken chariot.

·       KMG version has an interesting bit inserted where Karna shoots an unarmed Krishna when he is raising Arjuna’s chariot post the snake Ashwasena’s attack. Krishna pushes the chariot down with his feet and the snake- arrow only manages to tear off the diadem from Arjuna’s head. As krishna gets off to lift the chariot: “After that snake had been cut off by Arjuna, the lord Keshava himself, O king, of massive arms, that foremost of beings, raised up with his arms that car from the earth. At that time, Karna, glancing obliquely at Dhananjaya, pierced that foremost of persons, Krishna, with ten shafts whetted on stone and equipped with peacock feathers.” (BORI does not mention this bit)

·       Let’s begin with Parashurama’s curse coming into effect. Karna is still on his chariot at this point: “Because of Rama’s curse, the weapons no longer manifested themselves. Unable to tolerate this, he (Karna) whirled his garments and his arms around and lamented, ‘Those who know about dharma have always held that that dharma protects those who place dharma at the forefront….’”

·       Karna is NOT unarmed since he is still shooting: “He repeatedly censured dharma. In the battle, having been struck by three fierce arrows in the arm, Karna then pierced Partha with seven.”

·       Brahmastra DOES come to Karna NOW, the curse no longer in effect: “Karna trembled. However, he exhibited great capacity. Using his strength, he invoked brahmastra. On seeing this, Arjuna invoked mantras and released aindrastra.”

·       Arjuna has Raudrastra locked and loaded but Karna’s chariot wheel sinks now. Obviously, Arjuna does NOT shoot, he waits for Karna to recover bcos we see Karna begin to give a rather long talk on Dharma now: “Dhananjaya invoked an arrow with divine mantras. It was like a fire and the poison of a serpent. It was made completely out of iron. Kiriti united this with roudrastra and wished to shoot it. But, in that great battle, the earth swallowed up one of the wheels of Radheya’s chariot.

·       Arjuna still doesn’t shoot or reply but Krishna berates Karna for suddenly remembering dharma now. When Krishna finishes, it is Karna who AGAIN uses Brahmastra. Neither has he forgotten divyastras nor is he unarmed evidently. Note that Arjuna stopped shooting as soon as Karna’s chariot sank.

·       It is KARNA who resumes attack now from the ground, not Arjuna: “When Vasudeva addressed Radheya in this way, Pandava Dhananjaya remembered all this and was overcome by great rage. Energetic flames of anger seemed to issue out from all the pores on his body and it was extraordinary. On seeing this, Karna again invoked brahmastra against Dhananjaya. He showered down arrows and tried to extricate his chariot.”

·       Karna shoots varunastra, so he’s not unarmed: “Karna pacified the fire through a varuna weapon. He covered all the directions with clouds and it was as dark as a rainy day.”

·       Now Arjuna shoots a warning shot at Karna’s flag: “Kiriti used a razor-sharp arrow that was gold-tufted and pointed. With that, he brought down the handsome and blazing standard of the great-souled maharatha, Adhiratha’s son.”

·       Finally, Arjuna shoots the crescent shaped anjalika arrow and it takes off Karna’s head: “To ensure Karna’s death, Pandava took out an anjalika arrow.”

Excerpts from BORI MB