Tuesday, April 7, 2015

A-Z April Challenge 2015: F for FATHER OF KARNA (SURYA)

F for Father of Karna (Surya)
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The skies turned dark while the wind whistled shrilly. It was barely noon though it appeared as if it was past twilight. Surya, the Sun God, suddenly felt his power reduced. What was happening?

On Earth, the young girl Kunti was excited. Her eyes shining with happiness, she invoked Lord Surya as she uttered the Shloka taught her by Sage Durvasa. Within a few seconds, the Sun God appeared before her, bound by the mantra. Though he didn’t look too happy about it, he gave Kunti what she sought. A baby boy! His work done, Surya rose up into the skies, as it turned light once again.

Aghast, Kunti looked at the newborn baby in her arms. The little one shone almost as bright as the Sun himself. He even wore a golden armour and earrings of gold. Kunti raised a hand to shade her eyes from the brilliance. Karna stared up at the sky, a beatific smile on his baby face, as if in acknowledgement of his father, the Sun. 

Surya watched helplessly as Kunti placed Baby Karna in a basket and let him float in the River Ganga. It wasn’t possible for Surya to take the baby with him. The little one wouldn’t be able to survive outside the Earth. 

Golden rays shielded the baby as the basket floated along the river. Surya gave a sigh of relief when a charioteer picked up Baby Karna and made him his own. Glad to see his baby boy in safe hands, Surya went about his duties.

Surya peeped into the charioteer’s home to check on his son from time to time. He could see that the child was well loved. Surya was proud to see that his son was growing up to be a fearless man. 

Moreover, Karna had acquired one special quality from his father – the art of giving. Karna gave people whatever they asked for - gold, precious stones, jewellery, houses, land, elephants, horses, cattle, just about anything that he could lay his hands on. One just had to ask Karna for something and receive it the very next second. Surya was mighty proud of his son. 

The father of Karna was disturbed when he saw that his son had taken the side of Duryodhana. Duryodhana was the epitome of Adharma. That way lay ruin. But how could he stop his son from taking the Kaurava’s side? Karna was bound by gratitude, the same way his father, the Sun God, had been bound by Sage Durvasa’s mantra. Surya sighed deeply. There was no way he could stop Karna from a sure death in war. 

It was Day 17 of the Kurukshetra war. Karna was still going strong as he faced Pandava Arjuna. Suddenly, his chariot wheel got stuck in the soil. When Karna got down to lift it, Lord Indra appeared before him in the form of a Brahmin seeking alms. This was one time when Surya so wished that his son wasn’t a giver. Not having anything else to give the old man, Karna took out his knife to cut off his golden armour and earrings that he was born with and handed them over to him. Surya watched in anguish as Karna did away with the last vestige of protection that he had given to him at birth. Knowing that there was no way that he could stop Karna’s death, Surya hid his face behind dark clouds as the skies opened up and poured on the land of Kurukshetra, just as Arjuna released the arrow that drove into Karna’s unprotected chest. 






Check out some of my favourite bloggers who are also participating in A-Z April Challenge 2015

Eloquent Articulation by Inderpreet Kaur Uppal
I Luv Fiction by Ruchi Singh

44 comments:

  1. Such a powerful ending. One thing I love about this epic is that it includes multitudes of smaller stories, all amazing in their own right.

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    Multicolored Diary - Epics from A to Z
    MopDog - 26 Ways to Die in Medieval Hungary

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    1. Thank you Tarkabarka Holgy :D
      You are absolutely right. There are hundreds of smaller stories. I am happy that I know and remember some of them

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  2. Profound story, with much to learn from it. :-)

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  3. Standing ovation for this one Sundari. Superbly told. You drew me inside the story. Looooovved it!

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    1. THANK YOU INA! That sure is praise indeed from the Queen of Mytho :D :D :D

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  4. Karna is such a wronged soul. Discriminated throughout his life and killed by treachery. Mahabharata is full of such heroes. Thank you for this Sundari. :)

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  5. The story of Karna is one that always fills me simultaneously with such awe and anguish. To be one of such nobility, with complete dedication to duty and generosity is such a rare sight these days. So much to learn from our epics. Nicely narrated, Sundari :)

    *Shailaja/Alternate Angles/A-Z*

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  6. Karna was a hero in his own way. He deserved better for sure.

    I love your theme and the way I am learning mythology through your posts :)

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  7. If there is one person whom I feel extremely sorry for after Abhumanyu, then it is Karna! Such a mighty warrior but wronged so much! And your narration was so powerful! Loved it :)

    Few Things Left Unsaid

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  8. Even knowing what I was going to read did not stop me from getting goosebumps....impeccable narration! hats off!

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  9. I always consider Karna to be the real hero of Mahabharata.

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  10. Wow, Karna was such a powerful warrior. Though he was fair and generous throughout his life, he was killed in unjust manner. Beautiful narration :)

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    1. Such a sad story is Karna's. However one tells it, it brings sadness. Thank you Prasanna :)

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  11. Stories within stories & all together these bring goosebumps. Superb naration Sundari !

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  12. Lovely!! I don't think there is anyone who is not in love with Karna. He is probably the true hero of Mahabharat standing unflinchingly for what he thought was right.

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  13. A wonderful interpretation from Surya's viewpoint! I love it, Sundari! Karna has always been the noblest of all the warriors in the epics! Congratulations on yet another story beautifully told!

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  14. Karna is one of my favorite characters from Mahabharata. You have done a fab job with the story :) However, it breaks my heart each time I read about him :(

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    1. Thank you so much Aathira! It's truly a sad tale indeed

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  15. Karna always invoked sympathy, but reading the story from Surya's POV also brings him into the gamut of emotions. Well narrated!!

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  16. Karna is one of my favorite characters in Mahabharata. Although, his story is really sad.
    Also, no one had really explored Surya's emotions about his son. Nicely done, Sundari.
    *Shantala @ ShanayaTales*

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  17. Beautifully written...loved the last bit where Surya hides his face behind the dark clouds and then it starts to rain....that touched something in me.

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  18. It was so unfair the way Karna was treated. He was an epitome of virtue.

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    1. I agree with you Janaki - an innocent caught amidst cunning people

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  19. So much to read and learn from mythology!
    So engrossing. Sad story but very interesting.

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    1. So true! Have read so many and heard many more. I find that I still don't know a lot of them :D

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  20. Teared up Sundari. Never thought from Surya's perspective about the birth, life & death of Karna. And the reason for Karna being a giver at all times. It was in his genes! These two perspectives were very refreshingly new fro me. Thanks Sundari. Beautifully thought out and written.

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