International Journal of Mechanical and Production Engineering Research and Development (IJMPERD) ISSN(P): 2249-6890; ISSN(E): 2249-8001 Vol. 10, Issue 1, Feb 2020, 797-804 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

OMNIPRESENCE: AN INTRINSIC STUDY OF COMPOSITION OF THE CHARACTER KARNA IN KAVITA KANÉ’S KARNA’S WIFE THE OUTCAST’S QUEEN AND CHITRA BANERJEE DIVAKARUNI’S PALACE OF ILLUSIONS

ANAMIKA SAHA Research Scholar, Gurukul Kangri University, Dehradun ABSTRACT

Every character is designed to nourish a rationale to validate the existence of something that breathes yet may or may not be visible. To give birth to a plot, the creator has to nourish its baby that develops into the boom of intellect and is compelled to go through a multi layered trauma. This idea and practice of impersonation has always been discussed and considered since the age of Plato. With the introduction of scandal, a term gifted by Claude Levi Strauss, the architecture of characters became more complex in the world of criticism. In Indian context, the recognition of scandal existed since the Vedic period. The grand epic The Mahabharata witnesses the existence of scandal in every character that preserves itself as a normal entity in the external world. Beginning from Shantanu, the true Kuru king to Parikshit, the last

mentioned heir of Kuru clan, every character has built up a taboo that they seek inside but never accepted it. Because of Article Original the latter one cannot deny the fact of the preservation of the core that breathes inside the womb of scandal hiding its position in it. Due to this, the grand epic has been facing the wound of criticism since ages and passed the test of antiquity. This paper is an attempt to scrutinize the most type casted character Karna who carries the antagonistic characteristics in the main stream plot line. This paper walks through the path of the identity crisis that the character has dealt with throughout his life focusing more on the scandal that recites within it on the basis of the fictions Chitra

Banerjee Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions and Kavita Kane’s Karna’s Wife. Along with this the paper also focuses in the existence of the lack within the structure of scandal and hence presenting Karna as a paradoxical taboo.

Received: Dec 27, 2019; Accepted: Jan 17, 2020; Published: Feb 27, 2020; Paper Id.: IJMPERDFEB202069

INTRODUCTION

Karna was the offspring of Lord Surya and Princess Kunti before her marriage to King Pandu. He was an unwanted child and the result of his mother’s naivety. He was discarded as soon as he came to this world. “He was a beautiful orphaned baby, with bewitching kundals (earrings) and a golden kavach (armour) to protect him, who had mysteriously strayed into a river and into the lonely lives of Dhristarashtra’s charioteer, Adhiratha, and his wife Radha”( 12-13, Karna’s Wife).

Karna’s life began with abandonment; a specimen that represents the complex practices of the social structure controlled by the hegemonic ideas and practices that were paradoxically hidden yet glorified. This abandonment has lead Karna’s life to shape up the choices he has made throughout his life though he had realized his doom even before its arrival in the later years. By birth he was a kshatriya and by nourishment he was a sutaputra – the journey of Karna being a taboo begins from here. His origin was concealed from the world for the sake of the structure to maintain its status quo. But this very concealment has brought a skeptical query to light: firstly, what does this concealment reflect towards the macro level in the text? Secondly how does the enveloping of this concealment settles with the absence of the knowledge of our own origin awakening the ‘Karna’ within every

www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected] 798 Anamika Saha individual? Thirdly, how and why does the concealment as an archetype has been chosen to connect the character with the readers opening the door of the world of Karna’s myth for us?

When Draupadi was examining every characters’ portraits in Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions, she was judgemental; just by listening the oral history from multiple mouths and scrutinizing their respective portraits she was trying to write up the entire book on each character. In that case does this book as a whole exist as a mere testimony of Draupadi’s judgements? Though she was trying to fix rather than solve the puzzle, as a woman she had studied the women characters too. In fact, she was trying to position as well as fit herself in the family of the Pandavas. The prophecy as well as the history was intermingling, repeating the idea of Eliot of the existence of the past within the present. Draupadi had probably understood this play of time and molding herself accordingly for the next play. As Flynn presents Nietzsche’s idea of eternal recurrence in his book:

“According to this theory, we are fated to do just what we do. Nietzsche calls this the thesis of ‘eternal recurrence’. He thinks it follows from the fact that our options are finite but time is infinite. Thus, as he interprets it, whatever can happen will occur again an infinite number of times.” (42, Existentialism: A Very Short Introduction)

Probably her knowledge led her to the conclusion she was carrying within herself:

“Perhaps strong women tended to have unhappy marriages?”

Unknowingly she was trying to understand the pain of Kunti and Karna; she attempted to get into the shoes of Kunti to understand the fear and courage breathing at the end of the chapter births she had stated,

“Inanger and regret, they’d both wish she’d had the courage to choose another way.” (79, Palace of Illusions)

The conclusion of the chapter has been dedicated to Draupadi’s confession to her darkest secret which she “didn’t dare reveal this dark flower that refused to be uprooted from my heart.” (130, Palace of Illusions) The sceptic mind raises a basic question if she did not want anyone to know about her darkest secret then why did she confess in the text that may reveal her secret to the world? Draupadi is the only thread that connects the world outside the text to the world that breathes inside. She did not want the latter to know her secret due to the demand of her masquerade role she is playing. But she wanted to pour her secret out to someone or somewhere; hence she chose this world instead. And by this confession she has immortalized her secret to this world. The written words are permanent that would be read uncountable times in this world. Not only that every reader would nourish this secret within themselves either by reading, thinking or talking about it. On the other side, the world inside the text would never know of this immortality. This image is similar to C.S.Lewis’ The chronicles of Narnia in which an entire parallel world breathes and struggles inside a closet. The closet is the only door that connects both the parallel worlds. Similarly, in this case Draupadi is the closet that connects these parallel worlds.

Love does not understand any caste or gender that can be proved with multiple examples in the epic, including Draupadi who had saved Karna within her heart and married the Pandavas. It is also similar to the promise Bheeshma did for the sake of his father. In fact, every play in this world carries the sense of eternity on one formula: displacement and replacement. King Shantanu married goddess Ganga, who left him when the former broke his promise. Later he fell in love with Satyavati, who has the daughter of a fisherman. Ganga was displaced and replaced by Satyavati; yet the position of

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11 Omnipresence: An Intrinsic Study of Composition of the Character Karna in Kavita Kané’s Karna’s Wife The 799 Outcast’s Queen and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions her existence remained intact for eternity. In this way Draupadi’s use of the word “again” in her statement is more powerful: it reflects the nature of the loop of replacement and displacement that has made the event eternal. This similar nature can be seen in the statement below

“The gods, who seem to like it when humans make unnatural sacrifices, gave him a boon for that: no one would be able to kill him (Bheeshma) unless he was ready to die” (132)

Similar unnatural sacrifice has been glorified in Kane’s Karna’s wife where Karna has sacrificed his kavach and kundals to Lord Indra and received the vasabi shakti astra and a boon of being eternally remembered in the future:

“Lord Indra was taken aback when I ripped them out and lay them in front of him. He said, “Karna, no ordinary mortal would have done what you did today, I am moved by your gesture and will grant you a boon in return…” (217-218, Karna’s Wife)

Karna wanted to feel worthy throughout his life due to which he was expecting a comparison and justification with Arjuna, expecting a sense of clear justification and assurance of his worth from the structure conceived around him, that is creating individual yet collective construction of insecurity within him. As Eleanor E.Maccoby in her paper ‘Parenting and its effects on children: on reading and misreading behavior genetics’ stated in her abstract that:

“… knowing only the strength of genetic factors, however, is not a sufficient basis for estimating environmental ones and indeed, that attempts to do so can systematically underestimate parenting effects. Children’s genetic predispositions and their parent’s childrearing regimes are seen to be closely interwoven, and the ways in which they function jointly to affect children’s development are explored.” (1, 51:1-2.7)

All the sides were preparing themselves for the single ‘event’ (Derrida, Structure Sign and Play in the Discourse of Human Sciences) that would happen in the future of which they had no due during the session of upbringing. Both the sides were strong genetically but the “childrearing regimes” focused only on the future event that will create history of mankind. Developing the bond with Bheeshma Draupadi was merging herself with past and present while walking with Bheeshma.

“I couldn’t take my eyes from the river’s foaming rush. How much had happened here! Babies drowned, babies saved.” (134)

She was thinking about Bhishma’s, his dead brothers and Karna too. Karna was omnipresent in her thought: he was saved by suta and Bhishma by Shantanu. Bhishma’s brothers were dead in the same river devoured by their own mother Ganga. From the microscopic view we cannot deny that Ganga was the beginner of the play in this world (only to the extent a human mind can perceive as that story moves back beyond the wordly ones). To support this, Bhishma says, “The river holds many memories. She offers to you the one you most long to know. But she’s tricky like her currents. Sometimes she shows you what you wish to see, and not the actual truth.” (134, Palace of Illusions)

On the other hand, as mentioned in Kavita Kane’s fiction Karna’s Wife, Uruvi married Karna against all odds; the entire world was expecting her to marry Arjuna but she chose his rival. Even in the text it has been accepted as the point where Uruvi has officially entered into the rivalry world of rights and vengeance. Arjun and Karna were rivals and this text has set up another binary to balance the same – Draupadi and Uruvi. Draupadi chose Arjuna over Karna and Uruvi chose Karna over Arjuna. This sounds balancing the structure of vengeance but it does not seem to be simple as it tries to be.

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Draupadi, though married Arjuna but loved Karna and that had made all the difference. We can see the text as the parallel continuity of the Palace of Illusions. The locus here shifted from Uruvi to Karna; the text has changed the centre from Uruvi to Karna.

Uruvi is the character that breathes at the periphery since the construction of the structure without realizing its sharp edge. Kane has attempted to highlight its sharpness through this fiction but ended up presenting an epitome of status quo of the structure with the acknowledgement of the ad infinitum of the nature of the structure. Objectively, the text narrates about Uruvi and her struggle to maintain Karna’s position within the structure. Initially the protagonist Uruvi has been exploited for building up the idea of perfection – something that human mind fantasizes for. This idea of perfection highlights the hidden desire that has been nourished with the help of hegemonic idea of perfection breathing in the society.

Further we see the desire of the ‘absent’ – though she discerned Karna and gathered facts about him through various means, it was still a mystery for her. Mystery is something that is half hidden and half revealed; one is unable to deny its existence yet it carries the characteristics of the absence. Such purgatorial position attracts the human mind as it craves for an immediate locus and its own position; currently Uruvi is dangling between this curiosity and the absence. She chose the locus already but could not position herself. The images that she had carried in her mind about Karna were similar to the affect of repetition on human mind. It was the reminder for Uruvi of her new locus – Karna.

“Uruvi was full of despair at the thought of the hurt she would cause her family because she wanted Karna – yet, being Karna’s wife was now her only aspiration, the only aim that gave meaning to her life.” (16)

Similar was the case with Karna but not romantically. He too was searching for his deeply rooted locus seeking permanence dangling between curiosity, despair, absence and the lack.

Karna’s Wife attempts to represent the evidence of the voice of the subaltern – the exposition of the text is dominated the introduction of the characters that are marginalised in the mainstream, say, Ashwathama, Karna, Uruvi, Vrushali and many more. On the other hand the dominant characters have been partially marginalised, or one can say, brought the entire course upside down. On one hand Duryodhana has still been typecasted as the antagonist and on the other hand Arjun has been presented as the rival antagonist too. Duryodhana was the result of hatred, envy and ambition that has completely typecasted him to be one of the “dusthachatushtham”:

“She rejected him solely because he was not born early enough... His mother never really bothered about him; his father saw him only as an heir, not a son to be loved and cared for. He has been brought up on hate – by his uncle, who seeks revenge for injustice done to him, his father and his sister by the Kuru clan.” (87)

The lack of Duryodhana was well absorbed by Karna,

“I was dumped by my natural mother after I was born but here is a mother after I was born but here is a mother who was ready to kill her son before his birth. How then, can he notbe branded with hate and evil?” (87)

The plan as well as the birth of Duryodhana and the other Kauravas was violent in nature. They were born in lack – the characteristics that are devoid of the present. Yudhisthir was born before Duryodhana whose father was Yama that presents the existence of ‘sura’, “ Sura comes from the word surati – to rule or to possess supreme or superhuman power, and means god, divinity or deity, a synonym for Deva, ‘the shining ones’ or the gods themselves.” (26, The Book of Demons by Nandita Krishna)

Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11 Omnipresence: An Intrinsic Study of Composition of the Character Karna in Kavita Kané’s Karna’s Wife The 801 Outcast’s Queen and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions After the existence of ‘Sura’ it was necessary for the binary to exist, as William Blake states,

“Without Contraries is no Progression. Attraction and repulsion, Reason and Energy love and hate, are necessary to Human Existence.”

So the arrival of Duryodhana was inevitable. But in this case, Karna was the bridge between ‘sura’ and ‘asura’. Karna was the son of Surya that makes him demigod but his choice of standing with Duryodhana has cost him the title of “dustachatushthyam”, which is demonic of the period. This balances the leverage of both birth and duty which is fundamental in Hindu social system to work. His identity is completely based on ‘lack’ without any binary facing him. The nearest one could find is Arjuna. This binary is evident in both Palace ofIllusions and Karna’s Wife; and hence Karna was bound to play the role of an antagonist to justify Arjuna as protagonist. And in the latter book it is the other way around; Arjuna has been presented as the antagonist and Karna as the hero who is the victim of fate.

“Dronacharya, because of his extreme affection and pride for his favourite disciple, Arjuna, had rejected two potential rivals, both worthy opponents, of Arjuna. The first one was Eklavya, a tribal prince and a master archer who was asked to give his right thumb as guru dakshina… The other contender who challenged Arjuna’s powers in archery was Karna. Realising that the young sutaputra might better his favourite student some day, Dronacharya rejected Karna outright on the pretext that Karna was not born a royal warrior” (71-72)

The lack of Karna was much put into words by his mother Radha, “The seed of discontent continued to grow as a life – long resentment against the Kurus’ guru, sighedKarna’s mother wretchedly.” (72)

This sense of discontentment has became the major part of Karna’s identity. Identity based on absent that too has been highlighted repeatedly automatically places the character towards the ‘Other’; but in this case Karna cannot be type casted. He was in between; he portrays both Oedipus and Brutus at the same time. Born with an “ill fate” and the choices on the basis of moral ‘good’ had turned to be the cause of his fall later. These traits are generally accepted as the virtue in the societal structure but nothing stays ad infinitum. Even the virtuous characteristics turn upside down, questioning the concrete structure of perfection. In this case the guru who is the epitome of a perfect teacher,

“Dronacharya’s treatment of Karna was as malicious as the pitiless suppression of Eklayva’s talents – not just because Eklavya was a tribal but because he would have been a threat to his favourite disciple, Arjuna. Like Karna, Eklayva was rejected and callously cast aside so that Arjuna could feel secure and become successful! Is that the dharma of teacher?... The only justification for his presence in Hastinapur is not training the Kuru princes but seeking his own vengeance – to destroy King Drupad through Arjuna, who is his ace card.” (75-76)

Let us perceive patriarchy as something natural. Naturally, the males present a show and eliminate their competition but somewhere that is inadequate, and hence, the introduction of patriarchy took place. Consciously and subconsciously everyone needs to be the ‘alpha’. One way to do it is possession of women. But here we forget to see the contribution of women in the structure. The whole idea is built around the idea of the elevated and the demeaned, and hence the ego. And the structure was formed and it was neutral (at least for the males) which is why it existed and suddenly due to advancements and progress, the need of any such idea is invalidated.

But the idea of ‘alpha’ does not stand independently; it demands support from the ‘subject’ too. In this case the subject is the ‘alpha’ itself as well as the characters associated with it. Karna, by not supporting himself is actually www.tjprc.org SCOPUS Indexed Journal [email protected] 802 Anamika Saha polishing himself to justify his position. He had confessed his weaknesses or flaws in front of Uruvi in such a way that it turned out to be the virtue. All the curses he was enamored with were reflecting two major aspects. Firstly, as a protagonist he is the epitome of sacrifice and secondly, someone’s right is always someone’s wrong that is, there is no black and white but grey. The trait of sacrifice has been weaved in such a manner that it elevates as well as demotes the character simultaneously because of the second aspect that we have mentioned earlier. This ‘gray’ was missing or more specifically, never highlighted in case of Pandavas to show them as the ‘alpha’ with perfections. For instance, the incident of Khandavpratha’s establishment. This was deliberate by the creator itself; the conclusion of the character was first decided and then the patterns were weaved. This reflects the fact the direction we keep on choosing every time is not the one but the opposite, which again, builds up a binary that brings up the loop again and again just like the tautology of this mythology. The tautological characteristic of the impending doom of Karna has always carried a lowlight till it reaches to chapter 15 of the text in which Karna presents his already ‘painted by fate’ doom in front of Uruvi. Perceiving Karna as alpha of this text, his weakness, failures and misunderstandings (considering conventionally) have been turned upside down to the virtues of the character to justify him being the alpha. This text is about the alpha that makes him the ‘subject’ by the subject, his wife Uruvi. This text is more about the justification of Karna being the alpha that has always lacked the limelight. The alpha itself had always lined in the ‘lack’, as we have already discussed earlier.

All the above extracts are the evidences of the carefully chosen and nourishment of the alpha, but the ‘sub-pattern’ (as Spivak calls it) is inevitable too within the structure. Karna himself was an ‘out cast’, yet was carefully chosen and dragged to the mainstream acceptance. Still Vrushali was left behind; it was the careful choice to elevate the love of Karna and Uruvi and for that the writer has exploited the ‘subaltern’, clearly highlighting the politics of the hegemonic ideology of hierarchal pyramid.

Figure 1

In conclusion, Karna has proved himself to be the specimen of the scandal that has existed since forever without recognition but ironically recognized posthumously elevating him to the pedestal. Presence never fascinated the world, absence did hence even the basic idea of knowledge runs towards the unknown. Therefore, Karna is not merely a character who struggled throughout his life for acceptance but it is an element existing within every structure and its elements nourishing the driving force to continue the play within itself. Karna is omnipresent: he is the personified genre of flexibility.

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Impact Factor (JCC): 8.8746 SCOPUS Indexed Journal NAAS Rating: 3.11 Omnipresence: An Intrinsic Study of Composition of the Character Karna in Kavita Kané’s Karna’s Wife The 803 Outcast’s Queen and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s Palace of Illusions

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