The Karṇa Parva is the eighth of the eighteen books of the Mahābhārata, in 96 chapters. It tells of the seventeenth day of the Kurukshetra war, when Karṇa served as the Kaurava senāpati (commander) with Śalya as his sārathi (charioteer). It ends in Karṇa’s death at Arjuna’s hands by the Āñjalika arrow.

The parva covers events of the highest drama and moral weight: Bhīmasena’s killing of Duḥśāsana and the fulfilment of his vow, Arjuna’s killing of Vṛshasena (Karṇa’s son), the exchange of divine astras in the last duel of Karṇa and Arjuna, the sinking of Karṇa’s chariot wheel, Kṛshṇa’s answer to Karṇa’s appeal to dharma, and the firing of the Āñjalika that ended Karṇa’s life.

Overview

The Karṇa Parva opens on the morning of the seventeenth day of the Kurukshetra war. Droṇācārya had fallen on day 15. On day 16 Karṇa had already served as senāpati and fought his greatest battles against the Pāñcāla and Pāṇḍava forces, using the Bhārgava-astra with terrible effect. The Karṇa Parva covers the second and last day of Karṇa’s command, the seventeenth day of the war.

The day begins with Śalya, king of Madra, taking up the post of Karṇa’s sārathi. This was made possible by Yudhishṭhira’s earlier plan, which bound Śalya by a vow of honest speech, so that his words in the chariot would weaken Karṇa’s confidence rather than support it. The war that day was among the fiercest of all eighteen days.

Structure and contents

The 96 chapters of the Karṇa Parva cover:

Chapters 1–47: the opening battle of day 17; Karṇa’s sons Susheṇa, Satyasena and Vṛshasena at their posts; Bhīma against Karṇa; Bhānusena’s death; Śalya carrying Karṇa away from Bhīma while Karṇa is unconscious; the general battle; Karṇa’s use of the Bhārgava-astra; Aśvatthāmā against Yudhishṭhira; Karṇa’s slaughter of Pāñcāla warriors.
Chapters 48–64: Karṇa’s sons in battle; many duels; Yudhishṭhira’s retreat to the camp, wounded; Arjuna goes to the camp.
Chapters 65–71: the Gāṇḍīva-tyāga episode: Yudhishṭhira’s anger at Arjuna; Kṛshṇa’s intervention; the Balāka-ākhyāna and the Kauśika-ākhyāna; Arjuna’s reconciliation with Yudhishṭhira; Arjuna’s oath to kill Karṇa.
Chapters 72–86: Arjuna’s return to battle; Vṛshasena Vadha; the cosmic alignment of forces; the final duel begins.
Chapters 87–91: the great duel of Karṇa and Arjuna; the Nāgāstra episode; the sinking of Karṇa’s chariot wheel; Kṛshṇa’s answer in dharma; the Āñjalika arrow; Karṇa Vadha.
Chapters 92–96: the aftermath; Śalya’s return to Duryodhana; Duryodhana’s grief; Yudhishṭhira’s joy; Kṛshṇa and Arjuna report to Yudhishṭhira; Yudhishṭhira visits the battlefield.

Main events

Duśśāsana Vadha (chapter 83)

Bhīmasena at last fulfils the terrible vow he made in the hall of dice. He strikes Duḥśāsana with his mace, tears off his arm and drinks his blood before the gathered armies. The fulfilment of this vow, made thirteen years earlier, is one of the great moments of the war in which deeds bear their fruit.

The Gāṇḍīva-tyāga episode (chapters 66–71)

In the camp, Yudhishṭhira, wounded and enraged, bursts out at Arjuna with a speech listing what he sees as Arjuna’s failures. It ends in the crushing insult: “Give away your Gāṇḍīva to someone worthier.” By a secret vow, Arjuna must kill anyone who insults the Gāṇḍīva, and he draws his sword against his own brother. Kṛshṇa steps in with the Balāka-ākhyāna and the Kauśika-ākhyāna, teaching the difference between dharma as the letter of a rule and dharma as wisdom.

Vṛshasena Vadha (chapter 85)

Arjuna kills Vṛshasena, Karṇa’s son, after taunting Karṇa that six warriors together had killed his own son Abhimanyu.

The great duel (chapters 87–91)

The great duel of Karṇa and Arjuna runs across five chapters. Astra after astra is exchanged: the Āgneya, Vāruṇa, Vāyavya, Indra, Bhārgava and Brahma astras. The key episodes within the duel are:

The Nāgāstra: the nāga Aśvasena enters Karṇa’s arrow. Kṛshṇa presses the chariot down into the earth, so the arrow knocks off Arjuna’s kirīṭa (crown) instead of cutting off his head. Karṇa refuses to use the arrow a second time. Arjuna kills Aśvasena.
The wheel sinks: Karṇa’s left chariot wheel sinks into the earth, fulfilling the śāpa laid on him by a brāhmaṇa. At the same time the Bhārgava-astra leaves him, fulfilling Paraśurāma’s śāpa.
Karṇa’s appeal to dharma: Karṇa gets down from the chariot to lift the wheel and appeals to Arjuna’s code as a warrior: one must not attack an opponent who has no chariot.
Kṛshṇa’s answer: Kṛshṇa lists every act of adharma done against the Pāṇḍavas, the disrobing of Draupadī, the Lākshāgṛha (house of lac) and the poisoning of Bhīma, and asks where Karṇa’s dharma was on each of those days.
The Āñjalika: Arjuna fires the supreme Āñjalika arrow, which cuts off Karṇa’s head. A great light rises from Karṇa’s body into the sun.

Karṇa Vadha (chapter 91)

The death of Karṇa is told with great poetic force. His severed head is likened to the setting sun. A light leaves his body and enters the disc of the sun. The armies on both sides stand still in wonder.

Chapters

Chapters 1–47 (Opening of Day 17, Earlier Battles)

Ch. 1–10: Opening of the seventeenth day; Karṇa’s appointment as senāpati; Śalya agrees to be sārathi; army formations; Karṇa’s motivational speech
Ch. 11–20: Day 17 battle begins; Karṇa vs. Bhīmasena; Karṇa’s sons Susheṇa and Satyasena as wheel-guards; Vṛshasena as rear-guard; Bhīma fights Karṇa with great ferocity
Ch. 21–30: Bhānusena (Karṇa’s son) killed by Bhīma; Bhīma knocks Karṇa unconscious; Śalya carries Karṇa away; Kaurava forces briefly retreat
Ch. 31–40: General battle; Suketu (son of Citraketu) killed by Kṛpa; Arjuna uses Aindra-astra to kill thousands of Saṃśaptakas
Ch. 41–47: Aśvatthāmā vs. Yudhishṭhira; Karṇa slaughters Pāñcāla warriors — Jishṇu, Jishṇukarman, Devāpi, Bhadra, Daṇḍa, Citra, Citrāyudha, Hari, Siṃhaketu, Rocamāna, Śalabha; Aśvatthāmā takes vow to kill Dhṛshṭadyumna

Chapters 48–64 (Battle Continues; Yudhishṭhira Wounded)

Ch. 48–50: Multiple duels; Śikhaṇḍī vs. Karṇa; Dhṛshṭadyumna vs. Duḥśāsana; Vṛshasena vs. Nakula; Sahadeva kills Ulūka’s horses and sārathi; Śakuni vs. Sātyaki; Kṛpa vs. Yudhāmanyu; Kṛtavarmā vs. Uttamaujā; Bhīma vs. Duryodhana
Ch. 51–57: Karṇa uses Bhārgava-astra causing massive destruction; Arjuna vs. Aśvatthāmā multiple rounds; Yudhishṭhira retreats to camp wounded; Arjuna goes to camp
Ch. 58–60: Kṛshṇa describes battlefield to Arjuna; Kṛshṇa-Arjuna dialogue
Ch. 61–64: Various duels; Bhīma vs. Śakuni; Karṇa advances

Chapters 65–71 (Gāṇḍīva-tyāga — Yudhishṭhira’s Anger)

Ch. 65: Arjuna and Kṛshṇa learn Yudhishṭhira went to camp; proceed there
Ch. 66: Yudhishṭhira first welcomes Arjuna warmly (thinking Karṇa dead), then erupts in rage when told Karṇa lives; the devastating Gāṇḍīva-tyāga insult — “Give your Gāṇḍīva to someone worthier”
Ch. 67–68: Arjuna’s account of his fights; Yudhishṭhira’s krodha-vākya cataloguing grievances
Ch. 69: Arjuna draws his sword to kill Yudhishṭhira (per his vow to kill any insulter of the Gāṇḍīva); Kṛshṇa intervenes; Balāka-ākhyāna — hunter who killed an asura and earned svarga; Kauśika-ākhyāna — brāhmaṇa who followed literal truth and led robbers to hiding people, earning naraka; Kṛshṇa’s teaching on dharma-subtlety; advice to dishonor Yudhishṭhira with the informal “tvam” address
Ch. 70: Arjuna addresses Yudhishṭhira with harsh “tvam”; criticizes him; self-praise (Kṛshṇa’s second suggestion as substitute for killing)
Ch. 71: Brothers reconcile; Arjuna’s solemn oath to kill Karṇa; Dāruka (Kṛshṇa’s charioteer) explicitly named

Chapters 72–86 (Return to Battle; Vṛshasena-vadha)

Ch. 72–74: Arjuna prepares; Kṛshṇa’s speech on Karṇa’s strength; remaining Kaurava heroes named; tribal armies; Arjuna’s vow
Ch. 75: Battle resumes; Viśoka named as Bhīma’s charioteer (dialogue); Uttamaujā kills Susheṇa (Karṇa’s son)
Ch. 76–77: Bhīma-Viśoka dialogue; Bhīma defeats Śakuni; Duryodhana saves Śakuni
Ch. 78–79: Karṇa counterattacks; Prasena (Karṇa’s son) killed; Dhṛshṭadyumna’s son killed by Karṇa; Karṇa-Śalya dialogue on Arjuna
Ch. 80–81: Arjuna advances; Janamejaya’s sārathi killed by Karṇa
Ch. 82: Bhīma vs. Duḥśāsana duel begins
Ch. 83: Duśśāsana-vadha — Bhīma kills Duḥśāsana; tears his arm; drinks his blood; fulfillment of vow
Ch. 84: Ten Dhārtarāshṭra sons (Nishaṅgī, Kavacī, Pāśī, Daṇḍadhāra, Dhanurvana, Alolupa, Sahu, Shaṇḍa, Vātavega, Suvarcase) attack Bhīma — Arjuna kills them all with bhallas; Vṛshasena vs. Nakula; Kuḷinda warriors fight
Ch. 85: Vṛshasena-vadha — Arjuna taunts Karṇa, then kills Vṛshasena (cuts off both arms and head)
Ch. 86: Kṛshṇa encourages Arjuna; cosmic alignment of forces — celestial beings take sides; Sūrya vs. Indra debate; Brahmā and Śiva confirm Arjuna’s victory

Chapters 87–91 (The Supreme Duel; Karṇa-vadha)

Ch. 87: Final duel commences; Karṇa asks Śalya what he will do if Karṇa dies — Śalya promises to fight alone; Kṛshṇa promises to fight if needed; both warriors declare their intent
Ch. 88: Aśvatthāmā urges Duryodhana to make peace with Pāṇḍavas — Duryodhana refuses
Ch. 89: The great astra exchange: Āgneya vs. Vāruṇa; Vāyavya; Arjuna’s bowstring breaks; Karṇa’s Bhārgava-astra destroys Pāñcāla forces; Brahma-astra exchanges
Ch. 90: Nāgāstra episode — Aśvasena enters Karṇa’s arrow; Kṛshṇa sinks the chariot into the earth; arrow knocks off Arjuna’s kirīṭa (divine crown from Indra); Karṇa refuses to reuse the arrow; conversation between Karṇa and Aśvasena; Arjuna kills Aśvasena; Kṛshṇa lifts the chariot; Karṇa’s left chariot-wheel sinks into earth — brāhmaṇa’s śāpa; Bhārgava-astra deserts Karṇa — Paraśurāma’s śāpa; Karṇa descends to lift the wheel; Karṇa’s appeal to dharma; Kṛshṇa’s rebuttal cataloguing Karṇa’s adharmas
Ch. 91: Karṇa-vadha — Arjuna fires the Āñjalika arrow; Karṇa’s head is severed; a light from his body rises into the sun; Kaurava army flees

Chapters 92–96 (Aftermath)

Ch. 92: Śalya returns to Duryodhana; reports; Duryodhana’s grief; Bhīma’s celebration
Ch. 93: After-battle chaos; Duryodhana’s speech to his fleeing troops; battle continues; all flee
Ch. 94: Śalya’s vivid description of the devastated battlefield; Śalya advises Duryodhana to retreat; Duryodhana laments “Hā Karṇa!”
Ch. 95: Kaurava retreat to camp; Duryodhana follows
Ch. 96: Kṛshṇa embraces Arjuna; Kṛshṇa praises Arjuna’s victory over Karṇa as Indra’s over Vṛtra; they report to Yudhishṭhira; Yudhishṭhira visits battlefield and sees Karṇa; Yudhishṭhira’s prayer of joy and gratitude; Śravaṇa-mahimā — the puṇya (merit) of hearing or reading the Karṇa Parva

Sources

Mahābhārata, Karṇa Parva, chapters 1–96