Curse or the Karna

Hello everyone

This task is a response to the task assigned by Yesha Bhatt Ma'am as part of thinking activity. 

Who is T.P. Kailasm:-

Tyagraj Paramasiva Iyer Kailasam was a playwright and prominent writer of Kannada literature. His contribution to Kannada theatrical comedy earned him the title Prahasana Prapitamaha, "the father of humorous plays" and later he was also called "Kannadakke Obbane Kailasam" meaning "One and Only Kailasam for Kannada.

1) Interpret the 'end' of all Acts and scenes. 

The play begins with karna's completion of education at parshurama's Ashram. At the last moment of his departure from the ashram he loses all he has earned during his stay there.

 Parshurama comes to know that such a youth cannot be brahmins, as he has pretended to be, he must be no other than a kshatriya. Gets angry to the extent of cursing this sincere disciple thus: And for thy dastard of lie, listen to a Brahmins curse.

If EVER YOU SHOULD HENCEFORTH SORELY NEED THE USE OF ARMS YOU'VE LEARNT OF ME THE BAREST TALK, THE MEREST THOUGHT OF THY SUPPOSED SOOTHA BIRTH CROSSING THY MIND...WILL SWELL THY HEART TO SENSE OF SHAME, WILL DULL THINE EYES AND MIND, NUMB AND PARALYSE THY LIMBS BEYOND THEIR POW'R TO HELP THEE MAKE THE SLIGHTEST, SMALLEST USE OF KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU'VE LEARNT OF MEI AVAUNTI AVAUNTI, EREI INFLICT A FURTHER CURSE ON THEE.

In Act 2, Scene I, Karna is distinguished as a matchless hero and Arjuna is about to lose his position of the best archer in the world, but the Brahmins curse again appears before him for his credentials.

 None is there to recognize karna's merit irrespective of his birth and parentage. Without any shade of doubt he is a matchless warrior, but he repeatedly

discouraged by the pandits and the Pandavas.

In Act 3 again the Brahmins victimises karna, who is badly humiliated by Draupadi in her Swayamvara.As soon as he rises to try his chance, she boldly declares that even if the sutures son fulfils the condition of marriage she will not accept him.

 Here we can see the caste system and how the lower class was insulted by upper class people.

Act 4 presents the greatest moment of Karna's chivalry and nobility. With certain bold digressions kailasam presents the episode of Draupadi's humiliation in presence of the elders of kuru family.

In the original Mahabharata Draupadi is humiliated, dragged by hair to the assembly hall and an attempt is made to disrobe her by Dussaasana. Karna also passes certain insulting comments on Draupadi. But kailasam's karna instead of passing remarks, comes forward for his rescue and defies. The kauravas prince with boldness and courage of a true warrior. He warms Dushasana, "move but a step and you die".

In Act 5 Kuntee, the virgin mother of Karna appears before him to request him not to use the serpent shaft against the Pandavas.

He unhesitatingly sides with Duryodhana and fights against the Pandavas who are protected by Lord Krishna.

 Throughout his life Karna cannot make any use of the knowledge of arms that he has received from Parashurama because of his curse. Brahmins curse him that Karna's chariot wheel will be swallowed by the earth when he will be fiercely competing on the battlefield to kill his enemy.

The same happens when he engaged in a fierce fight with his enemy Arjuna.  In the end, at the instance of Krishna, Arjuna kills karna. The curse of Karna is tragedy thematic materials collectively contribute to the artistic excellence of the play.

Q-2- Is 'moral conflict' and 'Hamartia' there in Karna's character?

It is indisputable that Karna is one of the most fascinating characters in Mahabharata. He had sterling character and was a victim of circumstances. His fighting skills were unmatched and loyalty to his friend unflinching. But a combination of fate, personal traits and shrewd battle strategy of Krishna ensured that he would not deliver the result which his best friend Duryodhana was hoping for.

He faced injustice when he was born and that too from his own mother (who abandoned him when he was just born). He died because of injustice and that also from his own brother who killed him when he was weaponless.

He had a life full of wrong turns. He was always unlucky yet fought against luck bravely till his very end and proved to the world that talent, will power and hard work can even beat bad luck.

Karna was extremely gifted, kind-hearted, brave, giving, generous to a fault and righteous, all of his good qualities have always been misused and taken advantage of.

He fought for his friend, who somehow exploited him in the sense that made him involved in adharma which Karna inherently would not have wanted to do.

He spared the lives of his brothers, who were under the impression that Karna was merely an enemy and left no stones unturned to harm him. He was killed in the hands of his own brother. 

He fulfilled the wish of that mother, who abandoned him at birth and never acknowledged him as a son even when he was always in front of her eyes. Even though fulfilling her wish meant the cost of his own life.

He was known for being a great philanthropist , yet it was being used against him by Indra to ask for his Kavach and Kundal and by Kunti to ask for not killing her sons. These two turned out to be major reasons for his death.

He lied to God Parshurama about his caste, out of fear of being rejected as a student. As a disciple under Parshurama, he was very much dedicated to him, he learned quickly,he practised very hard and finally managed to impress God Parshurama, who is known for his anger, but it all went to vain when his preceptor came to know about his real caste and cursed him for the lie.

He was always alone in his struggles, no one to share pain, no one to guide, yet he stayed strong. Let’s say in the case of Arjuna, he had his brothers to support him emotionally and physically, Lord Krishna was there to boost and guide him.

In the war he always fought righteously yet got killed in an unrighteous way.

He was a Kshatriya by birth but lived the life of a suta and struggled all life and got insulted/ridiculed by people and was forced to be deprived of his rights unnecessarily.

He was well versed in Vedas and other scriptures, was noble by heart and inherently a very righteous person but the company he kept compelled him to become part of unrighteous things at times. He often suffered inner turmoil because of this which he had finally confessed to Krishna once.

Karna is the only character in Mahabharata who has been betrayed by so many people :-

Kunti : Abandonment at birth.

Parshurama & a Brahman : Cursed for his caste & unknowingly killing a cow.

Kunti & Krishna : He was emotionally weakened just before the war.

Indra : Disguised as Brahman to take his divine armour.

Shalya : His charioteer conspired against him too .

Krishna : The Shakti weapon that he had acquired from Indra to kill Arjuna, had to be used on someone else because of Krishna’s tactics.

Arjuna : Killed him unfairly. Yeah after all the above, still he could only be killed through deceit.

Q-3)Karna The voice of Subaltern

Meaning of subaltern

          

 It refers to the populations that are socially, politically and geographically outside of the hegemonic power structure of the colony and of the colonial homeland. As intellectual discourse the concept of the subaltern is problematic because it originated as a Eurocentric method of historical enquiry for Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The term “Subaltern” is used in the fields of history, anthropology, sociology, human geography and literary criticism.

There are so many characters in the great epic Mahabharata but Karna comes across as the most evocative one. One cannot but be awed by his towering personality and sheer strength of character, and at the same time help to identify oneself with the moments of frailty in his tragic life. It is the realistic mix of nuances that makes Karna such a credible and lifelike character. The intriguing story of a hero who despite being born to royalty was brought up lovingly by a lowly charioteer and his wife, his whole life was one great struggle against cruel destiny and all the odds placed in his way by the inequities of his time.

The story of Karna begins with the misfortune of his secret birth and unfolds itself amidst the unremitting gloom of injustice and insult. 

The intriguing story of a hero who despite being born to royalty was cast away by his mother brought up lovingly by a lowly charioteer and his wife, his whole life was one great struggle against cruel destiny and all the odds placed in his way by the inequities of his time. On the psychological front, the stigma of his perceived lineage never left him. It required Adhiratha, his father, to quote him the equally tragic story of Ekalavya to bring him out of depression into which Guru Dronacharya's rejection for his enrolment for higher studies had pushed him. His psyche again suffered a setback when he was debarred from the tournament on the basis of his lineage, despite being the best performer of the day. Another big shock came his way in the Swayamvar of Draupadi. The biggest ambition of any warrior is to display his powers in battle. But cruel fate even denied him that privilege when he was forced to sit out of the Kurukshetra war for the first ten days. He might have looked normal from the outside but his inner personality was surely impacted by these and many other tragedies. Rejected and insulted by society at every step, he developed some flaws engendered by a defiant spirit and nurtured by association with the devil designs of Duryodhana, his benefactor prince. But those very things seem to enhance and enliven the appeal of his character. At every stage in his life he had to endure immense hardships and yet, never did he deter from the path of righteousness. The various sacrifices he made were only one aspect of his towering, though complex personality.The commitment to his principles was so deeply embedded in his psyche that he could not breach the same even in the thick of battle and in his worst nightmares. Overall, all this made him a unique personality with no parallel among his contemporaries. Therefore Karna can be considered undoubtedly as the unsung hero of the Mahabharata.

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