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Madhumita Gupta is from Alwar in Rajasthan, India. She has been an English teacher in Dhulesia Public School (Rajkot, Gujarat), Gyan Vihar Senior Sec. School (Jaipur, Rajasthan), Arts College Alwar (as lecturer), Alwar Public School (Alwar, Rajasthan). she and her husband are presently running Aditya English Institute in Alwar. She has been an All India Radio announcer. She has been writing for Hindustan Times, Times of India and Filmfare. She currently writes for Femina.

It wasn’t Sunil Dutt, Big B or even Shahrukh Khan. It was the one who was disowned at birth, humiliated at every step, despite being one from the most revered lineage, the one who was never given a fair chance whether it was as a student or as a young man, for no fault of his. The one who rose despite all odds (or perhaps in defiance to them?). Rose high enough to conquer all who had mocked at him, gained in strength so much that the mightiest bowed in front of him. Knowingly he chose to be on the side of the wrong, but for all the right reasons –gratitude, loyalty and friendship. And went on to become one of the most loved, the most memorable and among the biggest heroes of the Mahabharata. He encapsulated in himself all the angst of a wronged life, which was lived with the motto of making the best of the worst.

We may revere Sri Krishna more, admire Pandava’s for being with the ‘dharma’ but equally truly we identify more with him. For in all of us, there is this Karna- gray, flawed but undaunted-the greatest anti-hero of all times. Unlike a hero, who’s a paragon of virtues, who inspires awe in us but seldom a sense of identity, an antihero is a flawed hero, who conquers in spite of his limitations. There is an innate ‘human-ness’ in him which is instantly identifiable because it doesn’t look down upon us from a pedestal but stands at the same level with us. His imperfection, in fact, makes him perfect.

The irony of Karna’s life was that he was cursed to live the life of a ‘suta-putra’ in spite of being ‘Surya-putra’. The man who was meant to reign, was instead made to hold the reins. And that is what he might’ve done all his life had he been content to let the wheel of destiny turn unchallenged. But being Karna, he not only challenged it but also reversed it through sheer will. In spite of guru Dronacharya turning him down, he managed to rival and surpass the skills of Arjuna- Drona’s protégé, at archery. The feat which would’ve been a water-shed in a less unfortunate life, made him a bitter rival of his own brothers-the pandavas and a convenient scape-goat for Duryodhana’s evil plans, who realized his worth and used him to his advantage in the battle of ‘Kurukshetra’.

Had it not been because of his own matchless generosity and two wholly unwarranted curses, Karna might well have justified Duryodhana’s trust and won the battle for him. Charity, which is said to pave one’s way to heaven, proved to be Karna’s undoing when he gave his celestial Kavacha and Kundalas away to Indra, Arjun’s father. And yet what can be braver than that? He had been warned and knew it only too well that giving them away was like signing his own death sentence.

It must’ve been a heartbreaking moment for him, when Kunti finally revealed Karna’s true identity at the very eve of Mahabharata--not out of any love for him but out of fear for the lives of her other sons. Instead of blaming her for his miserable life hounded by doubts about his roots, he granted her the wish of not killing any of her sons except Arjuna. And so great was his valour that he might’ve done just that had Lord Krishna not incited a hesitant Arjuna to kill the unarmed Karna as he struggled helplessly to pull his chariot out of the mire. And thus, in the battle of Kurukshetra, Karna fought and died at the hands of his own brother, Arjuna, for his unique cause- his loyalty towards his mentor Duryodhana.

Though it ended in a mire, Karna’s was a truly uplifting life- as this was no villain, but a hero-who was flawless himself but with a flawed fate which dogged him from his watery cradle to the bloody grave. And there in lies the identification a common man finds in him. None of us are perfect, all of us have our flaws but along with that we’ve also been given the will, the resilience, which can help us overcome them, just as Karna had. Life is not fair to most of us but if we look hard enough there are mitigating factors, which can and do make life happier. Life is, at best, a mixed blessing, and it is up to us to choose our destinies.

Charges of lack of ‘good sense’ have been leveled against Karna, but ‘wisdom’ isn’t what his lesson is about. It is about a triumph of will; of going beyond one’s destiny; of not letting down those who stood by you when you were down; of honoring your commitments; of not letting relations come in the way of duty. In a yet unsung way, the moral of this illustrious life is the same as the Gita- we have to go on, regardless.

Even if it’s fated otherwise. Because even if we’re not fated to catch a star our hands might still brush the rainbow, if we reach high enough.

Had Karna not aspired to rise above his destiny, he wouldn’t have become one of the most admirable characters of the Mahabharata, but remained a forgettable ‘Suta-putra’ all his life.

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