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 The role of
fate-11
Our character...is an omen of our destiny, and the more integrity we have and keep, the simpler and nobler that destiny is likely to be.
George Santayana, US (Spanish-born) philosopher (1863 - 1952)
XI. Congenital fate
Moses, the legendary Hebrew liberator and prophet, led the Israelites out of the tyranny of the Egyptian ruler. He was born a Hebrew but was abandoned by his mother Jochebed at infancy when the Egyptian edict dictated that all male children born to Hebrew captives should be killed. The birth and future destiny of Moses was prophesied to the Pharaoh who then ordered the murder of all Hebrew boys. He was placed inside a reed basket and floated on the river Nile by his mother so that he could live elsewhere. As fate would have it, the Pharaoh’s daughter picked him up and raised him as her own and named him “Moses”. He had a luxurious life until adulthood, until he found out that he was born a Hebrew. He rebelled against the Pharaoh and from then on his whole life and that of the bonded Hebrew men changed forever. Was fate responsible to turn Moses from a wretched infant life to an opulent palace life only to revert back to a long and troublesome life in trying to establish the land of Israel? Was his fate fixed at birth?
If karma is the sole cause for an individual’s fate, then the fate of the individual is sealed at birth. Whatever good deeds the individual does in his present birth might not mitigate the evil consequences of the bad deeds of the previous birth. The good deeds performed in the current life might confer the benefits in the next birth but are of little use in the current life. There are instances of such cases in Mahabharatham. The case of Karna is one such. Karna is known as one of the most generous persons given to charity. But he met with a cruel fate all his life. Let us examine his case in detail. It appears to be a case of congenital fate - case sealed at birth inside a box with a combination lock (with million codes) whose number was forgotten.
 Karna was born to Kunti (and the sun god), out of wedlock, when Kunti out of youthful indiscretion practiced the mantra taught by the sage Durvasa. Karna was born with divine armour and earrings that would confer him protection from death. Fearing shame, Kunti put him in a basket and floated him out on the river Ganga. At this point Karna’s life bears a resemblance to that of Moses. The growing-up phase was very different as was the adult life later. While Moses went on to achieve prophet-hood, Karna met with a tragic end fighting the great war on the side of the Kauravas. What a gulf of difference for two individuals who started their lives’ journey on “riverboats”!
Karna was picked up from the river and raised by Adiratha (a charioteer) and his wife Radha. When Karna wanted to learn archery Drona refused to teach him because he was of lower caste (shudra) than Brahmins and Kshatriyas. He went to Parasurama and learnt the various skills in warfare disguising (deliberately or otherwise) his ancestry. When Parasurama learnt ultimately that Karna was not a Brahmin, he cursed Karna that all his knowledge would fail him when he needed it most. That would be tragic to Karna in the war. In addition, during a skills competition in Hastinapur, when Karna challenged Arjuna for the championship he was disqualified on the basis of his birth again. At that time, Duryodhana stepped forward and anointed Karna as king of the land of Anga. For that gracious gesture Karna was indebted forever to Duryodhana. That was destiny in the making since the repayment of that gesture involved fighting on the side of Duryodhana as a mark of loyalty.
 Before the war Kunti went to Karna and tried to coax him into joining the Pandavas after disclosing to him that he was her first son. Years ago fate prevented Kunti from disclosing that fact during the skills competition when Karna was humiliated for his “lowly” birth. Despite the promise of the throne of Hastinapur, Karna politely but firmly refused Kunti’s offer citing that his loyalty lay with Duryodhana. It was cruel fate again that Kunti extracted a promise from Karna not to kill any of her other sons except Arjuna. Karna was gracious to accede to that request. Besides, she asked him not to use the nAgastra on Arjuna more than once. Fate was building up the momentum through the merciful (?) mother. Even Krishna could not convince him to switch his allegiance to the Pandavas. Kunti’s disclosure caused discomfiture to Karna and disturbed his mental equilibrium. Karna knew very well that the Kauravas would lose but was rather content to serve out his duty.
If that was not enough limitation placed on Karna, Indra (the father of Arjuna) too plotted against Karna by disguising as a Brahmin and begged Karna’s armour as alms so that Arjuna could kill Karna without the protection of the divine armour as a shield. Karna’s father (Surya) appeared in his dream to warn about this deception but Karna’s generosity excelled the caution advised by Surya. Indra, in exchange for Karna’s generosity, gave Karna a formidable weapon, Shakti, but imposed a condition that it could be used only once. That condition would also prove detrimental to the prowess of Karna. He was forced to use it to kill Ghatotkaca (Bhima’s son) although he reserved it for use against Arjuna. Without the Shakti weapon and without his armour, Karna was rendered powerless. Perhaps Indra knew that the weapon he gifted to Karna would be used against Ghatotkaca and not against
Arjuna!
 After assuming the leadership of the army (after Drona’s death), Karna fought valiantly. Without the Shakti weapon, Karna relied only on the nAgAstra to kill Arjuna. Even there fate intervened. He promised Kunti that he would use it only once. He was so confident at his skill that he aimed it at Arjuna’s head. Shalya (Karna’s charioteer) warned him that he was aiming too high. Karna ignored that warning. Fate was smiling! Krishna depressed the chariot a few inches so that the weapon could miss Arjuna’s head. The weapon came back to Karna for re-use. But he could not re-use that again in view of his promise to Kunti. There fate really conspired against him. Deployment of other weapons that he learnt from Parasurama was not possible because of the curse. Karna could not remember the proper incantation to use them.
As a result of killing a cow that belonged to a Brahmin, Karna was also cursed by the Brahmin that he will be killed in a helpless situation when his chariot would get stuck in the ground. When it actually happened, his charioteer walked away. Karna appealed to Arjuna to hold the fight until he could release the wheel of the chariot from the mud. But Krishna prevailed over Arjuna’s hesitation and prodded him to kill Karna then and there citing all the unjust activities of Karna (including his ganging up against Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu). Arjuna did the bidding of Krishna and killed Karna who was unarmed. One of the many truly unfair practices by the Pandavas in the war, indeed! That was the end of the great warrior who was doomed from birth.
The conspiracy of fate is seen nowhere else in Mahabharatham in its fullest form as in the case of Karna. Of all the characters in Mahabharatham, Karna was the one who was “more sinned against than sinning”. We see several factors each one chipping away Karna’s strength. The curse of guru Parasurama (was the bee which bored into the thigh of Karna really an agent of fate?), the curse of the Brahmin, the promises extracted by Kunti, Indra’s participation by securing the armour, the chariot wheel getting stuck in the ground, the desertion by the charioteer Shalya, Krishna’s tricks, and above all the staunch friendship with Duryodhana were all nails in the coffin of Karna (which worked to ensure Karna’s defeat and death).
Karna lived true to the dictum of Thamizh saint poet TiruvaLLuvar,
“e^n^nanRi konRArkkum uyvuNDAm uyvillai sey^nanRi konRa magaRku”
(there is the possibility of expiation for violating various forms of virtue but there is no salvation for one who is ungrateful for precious timely help rendered to
him). He was steadfast in his loyalty towards Duryodhana but from cradle to grave Karna could not escape the crude reality of cruel fate. The good deeds that Karna did in his lifetime entitled him to a place in Heaven, we are told.
Sethuraman Subramanian
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