The Birth of Karna

Kunti was a young woman who was serving her time to her beloved Guru, spending her days maintaining the garden and minding the animals. She had always done what she was told and had much respect for the Guru she worked for. Kunti did anything to please her master and worked day and night whenever she was needed. The Guru, Durvasa, was very ill-tempered and Kunti worked very hard to please him.

One day the Guru was so pleased with her work, he summoned her to his quarters to discuss her reward. "Kunti, you have been much help to me, and I would like to reward you with great power," Guru said.

"Yes, Guru," Kunti replied.

" I have seen you work hard around here to please me, and I feel it's only right to give a gift to my loyal helper... I am going to bless you with a Mantra that you can recite at any time. From there whatever God you are thinking of while you chant this Mantra will appear and bless you with a child."

Kunti thanked the Guru for the gift and was excited for her future to come and welcome her with open arms. Although Kunti showed gratitude towards her Guru, she was unsure if this was a curse or a gift.

Kunti immediately went to the Ganga river to try out her new gift. She thought of something just to see if the gift would work. Kunti did not know that the gift would work, or what would come if she decided to try it out. She thought of the Sun God while chanting the Mantra. He then appeared in front of her. The Sun God told her she must be careful and should not chant the words unless she wants a child. She said to the Sun God she did not wish for a child, but it was already done. She could not believe what was happening. Was she really about to become a mother with no husband? The Sun God told her she must not use her powers foolishly because he could not take back the child once he was summoned.

She then gave birth to a boy with gold earrings and armor; he was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Kunti knew she could not keep him because of what her father would think of an unmarried woman with a child. In fear, she sent the child down the river in a basket and prayed for forgiveness.

Later on, a man by the name of Adhiratha, who was a charioteer of Dhritarashtra, was sitting by the river Ganga praying to the Gods to bless him with a child. He noticed something significant floating down the bank of the river, and he swam out to capture it and lo and behold it was a child in a basket. It was the most beautiful boy he had ever seen. He brought him inside to his wife and told her how he found him. They both knew he was special and would grow to be a great man. They knew that they were blessed with the child and decided to name him Radheya.

Author's Notes: The story of Karna's birth was a surprise to his birth mother Kunti and was also a blessing to his adoptive parents. She foolishly used her gift when she did not need to. This story was very important to me because it caused a domino effect in the story line. She went on and had a whole new life and later on her past came up again which most likely rocked her world, and many other people in the epics. Even though he was the son of a great God, he grew up being treated as nothing other than an average man. This story really struck me. I enjoyed how the story of the Mahabharata showed them meeting up in the future. I went into more detail for this segment and included some inside detail for Kunti's feelings as well as her regret for her sins. I think this story shows more of Kunti's feelings and gives her more of a voice in this story because it shares more of why she made her choices. I also think it shares more inside on how and why she had always kept her gift a secret until later on and did not want to share that she had foolishly used her gift as a young girl.

Source: The Birth of Karna, Mahabharata, Youtube

I used this image of Kunti sending her son down the river shortly after his birth- Source: Krishna Movement