Karṇa Sambhava

Karṇa Sambhava is the account of the wonderful birth of Karṇa, the first son of Kuntī and Bhagavān Sūrya. It is told in the Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Chapters 112–113. Before her marriage to Pāṇḍu, Kuntī was a young girl called Pṛthā, living in the house of her adoptive father Kuntibhoja. The ṛshi Durvāsa gave her a divine mantra to reward her excellent care of him as a guest. Out of youthful curiosity she tried the mantra and called Bhagavān Sūrya himself. Bhagavān Sūrya appeared, and Karṇa was born with a natural golden kavaca (armour) and kuṇḍala (earrings) that made him all but unbeatable. Kuntī was unmarried and ashamed. She placed the baby in a basket and set it on the river. Adhiratha the charioteer and his wife Rādhā found him and raised him.

Kuntī and Durvāsa’s hospitality

Pṛthā, who would later be called Kuntī, was the daughter of Śūra, a Yādava chief. He gave her in adoption to his cousin Kuntibhoja, who had no children. She grew up in Kuntibhoja’s house, and her duty was to receive guests, ṛshis and brāhmaṇas, with proper care.

The quick-tempered ṛshi Durvāsa came to stay in Kuntibhoja’s house for some time. Kuntī served him without fail. She saw to every detail of his comfort, put up with every demand and met every need before it was spoken. Her service was so perfect and so steady that Durvāsa was truly pleased, which was rare.

Before leaving, Durvāsa gave Kuntī a mantra. He told her: “With this mantra you can call any deva you choose, and he will appear before you and give you a son with his own qualities.” He taught her the mantra and went away.

Calling Bhagavān Sūrya

Kuntī was alone in her room, turning the mantra over in her mind. She was young and curious, and she wondered whether the mantra really worked. She decided to test it and to call Bhagavān Sūrya, the deva of the sun, who was shining in the sky above her.

She said the mantra. Bhagavān Sūrya appeared at once, blazing and radiant, filling her room with golden light, in a form of unmatched majesty. Kuntī was overwhelmed. She told him that she had only been testing the mantra, that she had not meant a real calling, and she begged him to go.

Bhagavān Sūrya replied that a mantra rightly spoken with the proper purpose cannot be taken back. He was bound to fulfil it, and he would give her a son. He promised that her virginity would be restored after the birth, so that no worldly shame would touch her. He also said that the son would be born with the kavaca and kuṇḍala that were his own, gifts of the sun, which would make him almost impossible to defeat in battle.

Karṇa’s birth and the basket

Karṇa was born shining like the sun. The golden kavaca covered his body and the bright kuṇḍala glowed at his ears. The sight filled Kuntī with wonder and grief together. He was more beautiful than words can say. But she was unmarried, and she could not keep him.

She made a basket and lined it with cloth. She laid the baby inside and put it on the river. The basket floated downstream, carried by the current.

Bhagavān Sūrya’s promise held. Kuntī’s virginity was restored, and no outward mark of her motherhood remained. She carried the secret of Karṇa’s birth alone for the rest of her life.

Adopted by Adhiratha and Rādhā

The basket was found by Adhiratha, a sūta (charioteer) who served in the Kuru court. He and his wife Rādhā had no children. When Rādhā found the shining baby in armour floating on the river, she knew he was a gift from the devas. She took him home and raised him as her own son with great love.

At birth the boy was named Vasushena (“one who has wealth”). Later he was called Rādheya (son of Rādhā), and in the end Karṇa. He grew up in a charioteer’s house. Only Kuntī and Bhagavān Sūrya knew his true solar birth.

Indra takes the kavaca and kuṇḍala

Karṇa grew into a great warrior. The kavaca and kuṇḍala he was born with were known to make him safe from harm in battle. Arjuna was the son of Indra, and Indra was deeply afraid that Karṇa would kill Arjuna.

Indra made a plan. He came to Karṇa dressed as a brāhmaṇa, at the time of Karṇa’s daily giving to the brāhmaṇas who came to him at sunrise. Indra asked for the kavaca and kuṇḍala. Karṇa knew him. Bhagavān Sūrya had already warned Karṇa in a dream that a brāhmaṇa would come asking for these and that he should not give them. But Karṇa’s vow of generosity could not be broken. He cut the kavaca from his body, took off the kuṇḍala and gave them to Indra.

Indra was moved by what Karṇa had given up and offered him a vara (a boon) in return. Karṇa asked for Indra’s own weapon that never fails, the Śakti astra. Indra gave it, on one condition: it could be used only once, and after it struck its target it would return to Indra’s hand.

Karṇa at the weapons display

Droṇācārya arranged a great display of weapons (the Astra Darśana) for the Kuru princes. Karṇa came into the arena as an uninvited onlooker and repeated every feat of Arjuna before the whole court. He carried the mark of the place where the kavaca had been cut from his body, but his bearing and skill shone like the sun. He said he wished to fight Arjuna.

Kṛpācārya asked for his family before allowing a royal duel. Karṇa’s face fell. Duryodhana at once crowned him king of Aṅga, so that he had royal rank. The duel with Arjuna was stopped that day only by the setting of the sun.

Kuntī was at the display. She fainted when she saw her two sons, Karṇa and Arjuna, ready to fight each other without knowing that they were brothers.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Sambhava Parva, Chapters 112–113