Karna:

Karna, the eldest son of Kunthi, is a much-loved and much-hated character in Mahabharata.    Karna is often sympathized for being wronged by those around him - wronged for being low-born, wronged for not being recognized on par with the Pandavas. Of all the villainous characters of Mahabharata, Karna garnered and continues to garner maximum sympathy under the proverbial ‘more sinned against than sinning’ narrative.  Nevertheless, the narrative conveniently overlooks Karna’s evil acts under influence, the influence of friendship with   Duryodhana. That Karna could do anything for a friend, go to any extent for his friend’s pleasure, is an oft-glorified story. Karna-Duryodhana’s celebrated friendship is viewed with benign sympathy and even admiration.  But does their friendship merit any acceptance at all? Does true friendship entail throwing discretion to winds? And doing anything for the other?  Is that not an evil collusion, rather than friendship? What exactly then is real and true friendship?  Let us examine from the lens of the saint-poet Bhartruhari, who had famously defined the qualities of a good friend.

The alliance with Duryodhana:

Karna shot into limelight on account of his friendship and partnership with the Kaurava scion, Duryodhana. Alliance with the Kaurava prince, who had already attempted to murder his cousins (Duryodhana set the Pandavas’ house on fire) out of sheer jealousy, was nothing but a clear act of opportunism by Karna. He was promptly appointed as the king of Anga Desa (the present Bihar- Bengal), thereby according him the status of a Kshatriya. Conversely, by securing an alliance with the valorous but a ruffled Karna, Duryodhana secured a bright chance of defeating the Pandavas, in the eventuality of a war. The alliance between the ambitious but deprived Karna, and a jealous and greedy Duryodhana was nothing but a friendship of convenience. It is here that saint Bhartruhari’s definition of true friendship comes to mind. The six qualities of a good friend are, preventing wrongdoing, preaching what is right, protecting the secrets, publicizing the good qualities, refusing to back out in difficult times, lending a helping hand in a financial crisis[1]. Let us examine Karna‘s adherence to each of these principles of friendship.

Preventing a friend from wrongdoing:

Karna’s biggest failure was his lack of discretion- failure to discern the good from the evil. It was surprising how blind he was to the glaring faults of Duryodhana- be it inviting the Pandavas for a game of dice, or the public disrobing of Draupadi. Karna cheered and lauded Duryodhana’s and Dushasana’s acts of disgrace (Duryodhana invited Draupadi, wife of the Pandavas, to sit on his lap, while Dushasana publicly disrobed her).  Karna was evidently blind to his best friend’s follies. He did little to prevent the wrongdoing.  

Preaching what is right:

While Karna enjoyed the largesse extended by Duryodhana by way of his kingdom, and riches, he never advised Duryodhana to part with a portion of his wealth for his worthy cousins. Even in the war, Karna abetted the brutal murder of a young Abhimanyu, who was mercilessly assaulted by Kaurava warriors. What prompted him to stoop so low? He was spurred by his ambition, no doubt - an ambition for upward mobility, which Duryodhana cleverly utilized to his advantage.  

Karna watched in pleasure, the infamous disrobing of Draupadi in public. When Dushasana dragged Draupadi to the court full of men, everyone in the court, except Karna, Duryodhana, Dushasana and Shakuni, grieved. Karna echoed Dushasana’s words and called her a Dasi (slave)[2]. In Karna’s mind, pontificating Draupadi to accept her changed status made more sense than preaching Duryodhana to stop his misdeeds against Pandavas in the game of Dice. He  advised Draupadi to choose one of the Kauravas as a husband in place of the now defeated Pandavas[3]. He even urged her to share her favours with all the victorious Kauravas.

Hiding secrets:

We do not have evidence of Duryodhana hiding anything from anyone. His jealousy towards Pandavas right from their childhood, his attempted murder of his cousins in Lakshagruha or House of Lac, his intolerance to their prosperity and growth post-Rajasuya yagna, everything was out in the open. He was candid with his father, Dhritarashtra, and to the wise advisor of Dhritarashtra, Vidhura. He turned a deaf ear to Vidhura’s counsel, who advised him against calling Pandavas for the ill-fated game of dice. Karna had little to hide on behalf of his friend.

Highlighting the good qualities:

Karna indeed praised Duryodhana, but for all the wrong reasons. He invited Draupadi to be a slave of the Kauravas and the Duryodhana. He extolled the virtues of Duryodhana, the victor in the game of dice, as the rightful owner of Draupadi. He went on to say that if she chose Duryodhana as her consort, there would be no further fear of being pawned in the game of dice. Draupadi would be assured of a lifelong allegiance to a single master (Duryodhana). As a slave she had no choice anyway.  He proclaimed this in the presence of the livid but helpless, vanquished Pandavas. This is how Karna highlighted the ill-begotten power of Duryodhana, and the arrogance that comes with it.

Helping in difficult times:

As Vidhura pointed out, the very instance when Duryodhana invited Pandavas for an ill-fated game of dice, their downfall had begun. Vidhura advised Dhritarashtra to stop Duryodhana from calling for the game, for this would bring about the inevitable downfall of the clan. As a friend, Karna could have done likewise, and could have prevented the eventual war and the decimation of the Kauravas. Alternatively, when Lord Krishna himself offered to strike a deal with Duryodhana, post the return of the Pandavas from exile, Karna could have advised Duryodhana to share the wealth that rightfully belonged to the Pandavas. He did none of this. Instead, he encouraged Duryodhana to wage the fatal Kurukshetra war.

In the war, Karna mercilessly disarmed Abhimanyu in stealth. He destroyed the unstoppable Abhimanyu’s bow from behind, unable to confront him upfront. He was a part of the evil collective who surrounded the teen warrior, ultimately killing him by deceit. This infuriated Arjuna that he vowed to and successfully avenged his son’s death. While Karna thought he was aiding Duryodhana in the war, he was doing the opposite - strengthening the enemy’s resolve to destroy the Kauravas.  

Supporting financially:

Karna received munificence from Duryodhana. There is no evidence to show he financed Duryodhana in exchange. Duryodhana was a king until he died. He did not require any monetary support from Karna either. But Karna offered his soldiers and his prowess in the war, to abet Duryodhana’s unholy outing in the Kurukshetra war.

Karna the evil consort - in Saint Bhartruhari’s words:

Once again, Saint Bhartruhari’s Subhashitam on the behaviour of the majestic, as compared to the lowly (neecha), comes to mind. Bhartruhari observes how a dog, when given a morsel of food, follows the master everywhere and obeys him. The dog, akin to a neecha, lacks discretion. He does not care if the master is a saint or a sinner. An elephant, in contrast, is analogous to a majestic personality. An elephant refuses food unless he is placated and praised. Similarly, a noble person refuses money or other trappings of wealth unless he is valued by his benefactor. He rejects wealth coming from a dubious source, unlike a neecha.

Duryodhana and Karna’s team was a case of friendship gone wrong. Karna chose wrong company, a free ticket to upward mobility. He failed to use his discretion when accepting largesse, and power. He followed his master, the evil Duryodhana blindly, culminating in his gory end.

 

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