Reading Notes Week 7: Narayan's Mahabharata Part D

Karna and Arjuna fighting in the war. Source: Flickr

The story of Karna is one of importance throughout the Mahabharata. His loyalty extends to no end as he realizes that his fate is none other than to die due to loyalty. He learns of his origins from both Krishna and his mother, Kunti. Yet, Karna still devotes himself because of the life he was given by Duryodhana. His loyalty is unmatched. However, it would be interesting to read his perspective or to see how the story would end up had he been on the side of the Pandava brothers. This is an idea for a story, as Karna could rather take the side of his true brothers and leave Duryodhana. This could lead to Duryodhana going to war instantly with the brothers. It seems as though destiny unwavers in this situation, since Karna remains alive and joins his brothers in the end. But it would be interesting to read this story from his perspective to understand his loyalty and the decisions he made. Despite his loyalty he was an accomplice to Duryodhana. So it makes me wonder where his consequences came back to meet him.

Bibliography

The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayan. Literary source.