Literary Horizon An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal Vol. 1, Issue 3 www.literaryhorizon.com August, 2021 The Mahabharat Conundrum Dr. Purnima Trivedi Kulkarni Director, Discourses: An English Language Learning Initiative, Pune, Maharashtra, India. B.R.Chopra‟s Mahabharata was a rage on Doordarshan in the 90‟s and the viewers watched it with rapt attention. The Mega Epic was re - telecast during the Corona Outbreak to keep people busy during the nationwide lockdown. After watching a few episodes of B.R.Chopra‟s Mahabharata on screen, Karna got perturbed and approached his mother who was singing a hymn, Who says the Lord does not appear before us? Try inviting Him like the very devoted, Meera! Who says the Lord does not eat with us? Try feeding Him like the hermitess, Shabri! Who says Lord does not dance with us? Try choreographing His dance like the beloved Gopis! Who says Lord does not sleep next to us? Try lulling Him to sleep like the doting Yashoda! Who says the Lord does not befriend us? Email: [email protected] Page 1 Literary Horizon An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal Vol. 1, Issue 3 www.literaryhorizon.com August, 2021 Try extending the hand of friendship like Hanuman and Arjuna! Mom, “Why was your unfortunate son christened to be named Karna?” asked Karna and interrupted his mother who was praying. Karna‟s character sketch is the most unsettling one in Mahabharata. “What did I do to you Mom? Were you falling short of names? Couldn‟t you name me after Krishna or Arjuna? Do you want me to live such an unfortunate life?” Simran took her nine - year old son in her arms and said “I named you Karna as he was a warrior, a valiant fighter, generous and magnanimous and extremely duty bound. He was self - schooled, self - scanned and self - mastered.” Karna was not convinced one bit. “Mom, I beg to disagree with you. The truth is that he was abandoned by his own Mother, brought up by a person who belonged to a lower caste and was marginalized and victimized throughout the epic. He was labelled as “Sutputra” and denied the right to education by the venerable Dronacharya. He was a Kshatriya, Mom! Yet, he was forbidden from entering the Kurukshetra battlefield as per Bhishma Pitamah‟s orders. He certainly did not deserve this. I request you to change my name without any further delay. My name is disempowering and demotivating. I have googled everything.” At this time, Karna‟s father entered the Pooja room where the argument was taking place. He said “My name is Abhimanyu, a character from Mahabharata who lived for sixteen years. I am forty already and fit as a fiddle. What‟s in a name? We write our own destiny. If you are still unhappy with the name, we could get your name changed in the Govt. Gazette Sheet. The procedure is way too simple. I am an atheist and least interested in any of the mythological figures,” beamed Abhimanyu. Karna left the room in a huff. Simran was a Research Scholar who had taken up Mahabharata as a topic for her Doctoral Thesis. She had read Shivaji Sawant‟s Mrityunjay in English translation and had not come across Email: [email protected] Page 2 Literary Horizon An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal Vol. 1, Issue 3 www.literaryhorizon.com August, 2021 any author other than him, who had done impeccable research about tales of Mahabharata. Shivaji Sawant thoroughly knew the background to each character, the names of food items they consumed, musical instruments played at that time, regions, kingdoms, geography and topography of the place, weapons used in the war, the rivers along with its tributaries and distributaries and the amount of time a horse would to take to commute from one place to another. The entire novel mesmerized her beyond limits. Her father who taught Mythology at the University of Kurukshetra was her inspiration. He had introduced her to the world of Mythology and Literature. The novel Mrityunjay written from his own perspective covered the life and death of Karna, it revolved around all the characters who were close to Karna: his better half Vrushali, his brother Shon, his friend Duryodhana, his mother Radha and Kunti and his Guru Parshurama. The novel was replete with Similes, Metaphors and vivid imagery. She was all the more fascinated with the end as it concluded with Vasudev Krishna‟s point of view and had thus left an indelible impact on her mind. She named her child “Karna.” Her son had thrown a volley of questions to her. He was too young to read the novel full of scintillating descriptions. She decided to narrate the story to her son while lulling him to sleep. “When I held you in my arms for the first time, I could feel myself standing at the banks of river Ganga looking into the sun and crying silently at the loss of your Kavach (metaphorically comparing her umbilical cord to Karna‟s Kavach) You were safe inside my womb but the moment the cord was cut, I cried in dejection thinking of the trials and tribulations of the world you‟d be exposed to while experiencing the post - natal life. I wanted my Karna to be the best of his version,” said Simran caressing her son. Karna, “I don‟t want you to be like the Karna in Mahabharat. I want you to write your own History. Karna was always indebted to his friend Duryodhana who offered him a wealth of encouragement and support. And he was compelled to participate in the war and side with Adharma.” Email: [email protected] Page 3 Literary Horizon An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal Vol. 1, Issue 3 www.literaryhorizon.com August, 2021 Karna listened to his mother‟s story as she continued: “Vasudev Krishna embraced Karna and offered him the Kingdom of Indraprastha, but he declined it saying, he honoured his word more than anything. He willingly parted with his Kavach and Kundal when Indra asked for them to save his son, Arjuna‟s life. This Karna was “Danveer”: a bosom friend and steadfast in his decisions. No other character from Mahabharata, other than Karna made a colossal effort to participate in the decision - making process. Karna had nothing to do with the Kurukshetra war as it was between the Kauravas and Pandavas who were fighting for their rights. Karna was not entitled to any of those rights, yet he risked his life in the war out of selflessness. He had an unfathomable love for Duryodhana, his friend. He was the last person to backstab him.” Karna heard his mother‟s story, spellbound. He was way too small but he very well understood the difference between right and wrong, dharma and adharma. He stated “Mom, Karna actually didn‟t have any vested interest or a selfish motive. That‟s thoroughly admirable. But Mom, he was discriminated. He wasn‟t accepted in the mainstream of the society. He became a victim of casteism despite being a strong powerful and indestructible force.” Simran looked flabbergasted at her son‟s analysis. Karna went further and asked: Mom, “Is Danveer Karna the villain of Mahabharata or the Hero? He was a loser after all. And I am not a loser, Mom!” Simran was totally taken aback at her son‟s question and said “My darling son, no person living or dead is completely black or completely white. We are grey and that is why we are humans. One more thing, if I would have named you Arjuna, you would have depended on Krishna for advice and help. We are born in Kali Yuga. You won‟t be fortunate to have Krishna as your Charioteer all your life who would answer your staggering philosophical questions. I expect you to write your own tale like Karna. Who says only winners inspire you to perspire? Losers teach us the most essential lessons of life.” Karna looked into his mother‟s eyes and said “Mom, if you are head over heels in love with Karna, why don‟t you convert your Hare Krishna chant into Hare Karna”? You love your Email: [email protected] Page 4 Literary Horizon An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal Vol. 1, Issue 3 www.literaryhorizon.com August, 2021 Krishna more than me, don‟t you?” Simran placed a kiss on Karna‟s cheek and said “Krishna is present in you, me and everybody. He carries the entire solar system in his mouth. Krishna is the Protector. Krishna too faced caste discrimination when he took a human form in Mahabharata. Karna‟s friend Duryodhana insulted him and called him a “Gwala” but he never thought of Karna to be base born. He annihilated caste. Krishna was the avatar of Narayana himself, yet he had to face a lot of criticism from people who felt he was partial towards the Pandavas. He was unbiased and just. He wasn‟t favouring the Pandavas for nothing. He wanted Dharma to triumph over Adharma. That is the reason why I practice Krishna Consciousness.” Karna‟s questions never stopped but Simran gracefully and successfully managed to extract the extreme emotions out of her son. She was happy to know that she had a curious child with a phenomenal IQ. He kept asking questions ceaselessly and that‟s exactly what a researcher needs to do. Raise plenty of questions and substantiate the claims with textual evidence. Simran was delighted and elated to know that her son belonged to the 21st Century and yet he took avid interest in the flaming descriptions of Mahabharata.