The Karna Parva ( sa, कर्ण पर्व), or ''the Book of Karna,'' is the eighth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

''. Karna Parva traditionally has 96 chapters.Ganguli, K.M. (1883-1896)
Karna Parva
in ''The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa'' (12 Volumes). CalcuttaDutt, M.N. (1901) ''The Mahabharata (Volume 8): Karna Parva''. Calcutta: Elysium Press The critical edition of Karna Parv has 69 chapters Karna Parva describes the appointment of

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the ...

as the third commander-in-chief of the Kaurava alliance. The Parva recites how war begins to tire and frustrate everyone. This book describes how brutal war leads to horrifying behavior over the 16th and 17th day of the 18-day

Kurukshetra War The Kurukshetra War ( sa, कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the ''Mahabharata ( sa, महाभारत )''. The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle be ...

. Karna who is critically acclaimed as the hero of the Mahabharata is the greatest archers of all time equivalent to Parshurama and lord Rama himself Karna Parva includes a treatise by

Aswatthama In the Hinduism, Hindu epic the ''Mahabharata'', Ashwatthama ( sa, अश्वत्थामा, Aśvatthāmā) or Drauni was the son of guru Drona and Kripi (sister of Kripa, Kripacharya). He was the grandson of the sage Bharadwaja. Ashwa ...

which focuses on the motive of the deeds of human life. The crowning incident of this Parva is the final confrontation between Karna and Arjuna, in which Karna is killed.Bibek Debroy (2013), The Mahabharata, Volume 7, Penguin, , Section 73 - Karna Parva

Structure and chapters

This ''

Parva Parva may refer to: * PARVA, a gene * The 18 parvas, books or chapters of the ''Mahabharata'' * Parva (band), name of English band Kaiser Chiefs from 2000 to 2003 * ''Parva'' (2002 film), a Kannada language film by Sunil Kumar Desai * ''Parva'' ...

'' (book) traditionally has 96 adhyayas (chapters). The following are the sub-parvas: : 1. Karna Parva (Chapters: 1–56) : 2. Karna-vadha Parva (Chapters: 57–96)

16th day war

: After learning of the deceptive way his father was killed, Ashwatthama became filled with wrath and invoked the celestial weapon called the

Narayanastra In Hindu mythology, the Narayanastra () is an astra, a celestial missile, affiliated to the Hindu deity, Vishnu, in his form of Narayana. Description This astra ("celestial weapon" in Sanskrit) fires a volley of millions of deadly missiles ...

, against the Pandavas. When the weapon was invoked, violent winds began to blow, peals of thunder are heard, and an arrow pierced every Pandava soldier. This had put fear into the Pandava army, but

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

by stopping the troops advised that the army lay down all its weapons and surrender to the weapon. As himself being the incarnation of Narayana, he knew about the weapon, as the weapon only targets an armed person while ignoring unarmed ones. After getting their soldiers to disarm (including

Bhima In Hindu epic Mahabharata, Bhima ( sa, भीम, ) is the second among the five Pandavas. The ''Mahabharata'' relates many events that portray the might of Bhima. Bhima was born when Vayu, the wind god, granted a son to Kunti and Pandu. Af ...

with some difficulty), the astra passed by harmlessly. Narayanastra failed to harm Krishna as he himself is an incarnation of Narayana. When urged by Duryodhana to use the weapon again, desirous of victory, Aswatthama sadly responded that if the weapon is used again, it would turn on its user.

destroyed one Akshauhini of Pandava army completely. After the use of Narayanastra, a terrible war between both armies took place. Ashvatthama defeated Dhrishtadyumna in direct combat, but failed to kill him as

Satyaki Yuyudhana ( sa, युयुधान, '), better known as Satyaki ( sa, सात्यकि, ), was a powerful Yadava chieftain of Narayani Sena, belonging to the Vrishni clan to which Krishna also belonged. According to the Puranas, he was ...

covered his retreat. : On 16th day of war,

was appointed to protect

Dushyasana Dushasana ( sa, दुःशासन, , ), also spelled Duhshasana, Dussasana or Duhsasana, also known as Sushasana, is an antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of D ...

from clutches of

. Bhima defeated by

in archery. Soon Karna picked up sword and rushed on to Bhima. Soon they engaged in sword fight, when Bhima was about to stab Karna, Karna's son

Banasena The ''Mahabharata'' is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India; it was composed by the sage Vyasa. The most important characters of ''Mahabharata'' can be said to include: Krishna; the Pandavas Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula ...

came in aid of his father. On seeing Banasena, Bhima got angered as his own son

Ghatotkacha Ghatotkacha ( sa, घटोत्कच, , literally: "Bald Pot") is a prominent character in the story of ''Mahabharata''. His name comes from the fact that his head was hairless (''utkacha'') and shaped like a ghatam, or a pot. Ghatotkacha ...

was slain by Karna. Banasena challenged Bhima and soon attacked Bhima with mace. Bhima brutally but fairly killed Banasena in front of

. Bhima killed Banasena by hitting him several times on head, chest and abdomen regions. Seeing his son's fate; Karna quickly picked up a mace and attacked Bhima. Bhima asked Karna to take his son's body to perform funerals and later fight with Arjuna. : By using an ordinary bow Ashwatthama fired millions of arrows at a time which resulted in the stupefaction of Arjuna himself. Then after some time he again overpowered Arjuna as Lord Krishna and Arjuna were bathed in blood but at last Arjuna pierced his steeds and steeds carried Ashwatthama away and also his weapons were exhausted. : King Malayadhwaja of Pandya Kingdom was one of the mightiest warrior of Pandavas and on that day he fought brilliantly against Ashwatthama. After a long duel of Archery between them Ashwatthama made Malayadhwaja carless, weaponless and had obtained an opportunity to kill him on the spot but he spared him temporarily for more fight.Then Malayadhwaja proceeded against Ashwatthama on an elephant and sped a powerful lance which destroyed latter’s diadem.Then Ashwathama cut off the head and arms of Malayadhwaja and also killed 6 followers of Malayadhwaja. All the great warriors of Kauravas then applauded him for his act. : Then Bhima headed to kill

Dussasana Dushasana ( sa, दुःशासन, , ), also spelled Duhshasana, Dussasana or Duhsasana, also known as Sushasana, is an antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. He was second eldest among the Kaurava princes and the younger brother of ...

. Bhima engaged in duel with Dushasana. First they fought by means of archery.

broke Dushasana's bow. Dushasana took sword,

cut off sword. Bhima cut all weapons in similar manner till Dushasana took mace. When Dushasana took up mace, Bhima also took his mace. Soon both started mace duel with each other. Bhima beat Dushasana many times with his mace. Bhima broke Dushyasana's mace. Both of them began wrestling. Finally

defeated and brutally killed

in front of

Duryodhana Duryodhana ( sa, दुर्योधन, ) also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He was the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra and his queen Gandhari. Being ...

. Bhima killed Dussashana by separating and detaching his hands from the body. Bhima beat Dussashana in heart region. Bhima squeezed blood from

's heart and dressed

Draupadi Draupadi ( sa, द्रौपदी, draupadī, Daughter of Drupada), also referred to as Krishnaa, Panchali, and Yagyaseni, is the main female protagonist of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata,'' and the common consort of the five Pandava brothers ...

's hair. Bhima also drank off remaining blood and fulfilled his oath.

17th day war

: In very early hours, after the sunrise; Trigartas and Samsaptakas engaged fight with Arjuna. Arjuna began to sweep the armies. Arjuna used his Nagastra. Then Partha slew them with his straight arrows. Indeed, all these warriors in that battle, aiming at whom Partha had invoked that foot-tying weapon, had their lower limbs encircled with snakes. Then Susharma countered with his Sauparna astra. Thereupon numerous birds began to come down and devour those snakes. There was no man amongst them that could fight with Arjuna. Arjuna began to destroy all the troops. Beholding that slaughter, all of them remained perfectly inactive, without putting forth their prowess. Arjuna slew all Sampsaptakas and Trigartas. Arjun also killed King

Susharma Susharma (Sanskrit: सुशर्मा) was the 234th Katoch king of Trigarta (present-day Kangra) and cousin brother of Bhanumati. He brutally attacked Virata, king of Matsya Kingdom because all Pandavas were living in disguise in his ...

. Arjuna slayed 100,000 warriors. When Arjuna was involved in fight with Samsaptakas,

defeated the Pandava brothers Nakula, Sahadeva and Yudhishthira in battle but spared their lives as per promise he made to Kunti. Karna along with his son Vrishasena began slaying armies of Pandavas. Arjuna came into the place where Karna and

Vrishasena In the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata'', Vrishasena ( sa, वृषसेन, Vṛṣasena) was the eldest son of the warrior Karna and his wife Vrushali. Along with his father, he fought in the Kurukshetra war from the side of the Kauravas and defea ...

were creating havocs. Karna was earlier involved in the killing of an unarmed

Abhimanyu Abhimanyu is a legendary warrior from the ancient Hindu history ''Mahabharata''. He was born to the third Pandava prince Arjuna and the Yadu princess Subhadra, who was Krishna's younger sister. The ''Sambhava Parva'' of the Adi Parva sta ...

on the thirteenth day of the battle. First,

broke

's bow from behind, since it was impossible to face an armed

and then finally stabbed Abhimanyu along with other warriors. Remembering the injustified death of his son in which both Karna and Vrishasena had major role, Arjuna planned for revenge.

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

gave the challenge to

to save his son and attacked

fiercely and fired four razor headed arrows, cutting off Vrishasena's bow, his two arms and then his head in front of

, who failed to protect his son. Karna became inconsolable after seeing his son's fate. He engaged a long duel with Arjuna. The much anticipated battle between Arjuna and Karna took place fiercely. As the battle intensified, Arjuna pushed back Karna's chariot 10 steps backward every time by the energy of the arrows, but Karna failed to push Arjuna's chariot back. When questioned by Arjuna, Krishna said it is meant to be impossible for any human ever to push his chariot backwards because the chariot of Arjuna contains both

Hanuman Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...

and Krishna, thus holding the entire weight of the universe. Although it was done by krishna so that arjuna doesn't becomes overconfident. Being pushed back by Arjuna, Karna began coming forward but then Karna's chariot wheel was trapped in the mud as a result of the curse he had received earlier from goddess Earth. At the crucial moment, he forgot the incantations to invoke

Brahmastra In Hindu mythology, the ''Brahmastra'' (IAST: ''Brahmāstra'') is an '' astra'' (weapon) that is said to be able to destroy the whole universe, capable of destroying creation and vanquishing all beings. Only Parasurama, Rama, Meghnada, Bhisma, ...

, as a result of his guru Parashurama's curse. Karna got down from his chariot to free the wheel and asked Arjuna to pause, reminding him of the etiquette of war. But Krishna spurred Arjuna to attack Karna reminding the way Karna killed Abhimanyu by stabbing him from behind- which are against the rules of engagement of the war. Being spurred by Krishna, then Arjuna used Anjalikastra to kill Karna which decapitated Karna, leading to his death. Arjuna had to kill Karna in such a kind of situation only because Karna had banes from Goddess Earth and poor brahmin. Earth Goddess cursed Karna that his chariot wheel gets struck in land which will lead to his death and a saint cursed Karna that Karna would die when he is weaponless as Karna killed his cow when it was helpless. In order to fulfill curses, Krishna spurred Arjuna to kill Karna in that situation.

English translations

Karna Parva was composed in Sanskrit. Several translations of the book in English are available. Two translations from the 19th century, now in public domain, are those by Kisari Mohan Ganguli and Manmatha Nath Dutt. The translations vary with each translator's interpretations. Clay Sanskrit Library has published a 15 volume set of the Mahabharata which includes a translation of Karna Parva by Adam Bowles. This translation is modern and uses an old manuscript of the Epic.Bibek Debroy, The Mahabharata : Volume 3, , Penguin Books, page xxiii - xxiv of Introduction

Quotations and teachings

Karna Parva, Chapter 6: Karna Parva, Chapter 69:

References

External links

Karna Parva
English translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
Karna Parva
English translation by Manmatha Nath Dutt
Le Mahabharata
Translation in French, by H. Fauche (Paris, 1868)
Karna Parva in Sanskrit
by Vyasadeva and commentary by Nilakantha (Editor: Kinjawadekar, 1929)

{{Mahabharata Parvas in the Mahabharata Kurukshetra War