Karna

Karṇa (Sankrist: कर्ण) is the hero of the epic Mahabharata, who's also known as "Vrisha". He was the main protagonist of the epic and was the eldest of the Pandava. Unlike his younger brothers, Karṇa was given up by his mother Kunti. He was born through the blessings of lord Surya. Kunti was granted a special chant to use to call upon a god to impregnate her. She tested this by calling Surya, and had Karṇa. He was raised by charioteers. He emerged as the hero of the Kurukshetra war. He was a warrior who fought against the curses and misfortune that plagued him. He fought on the Kaurava side in the Kurukshetra War, unaware of his heritage. He was made King of Anga by Duryodhana, his friend and cousin. He was known for his courage and generosity, saying, upon his coronation, that any man who came to see him with a request would never leave empty-handed.

Early Life and Training
Karṇa became interested in warfare and approached Drona, teacher of his Kaurava cousins. Drona taught him the basic welfare but however his relations with Guru Drona was not good and he soon left the Gurukula. He then learnt by himself, seeking his immortal father as a guide. However, when he wanted to learn archery, he sought Parashurama, incarnation of Vishnu and teacher to Drona. Towards the end of his training, Karṇa offered Parashurama his leg to rest his head on. While Parashurama was asleep, a bee stung Karṇa. He did not flinch as he did not want to disturb his teacher. When blood flowed from the wound, Parashurama woke up and deduced Karṇa was not a brahmin. He then laid curse upon Karṇa that he would forget all the knowledge required to wield the divine weapon Brahmastra, at the moment of his greatest need. Upon Karṇa's pleading, Parshurama relented and gifted him the many celestial weapons and the divine bow for being a diligent student.

Karṇa once encountered a child who was crying over her pot of spilt butter. On asking her the reason for her dismay, she stated that she feared that her stepmother would be angry over her carelessness. Refusing to take new butter from Karṇa, the child insisted that she wanted the same butter. Taking pity on her, Karṇa took the soil mixed with butter in his fist and squeezed it with all his might, so that the butter dripped back into the pot. During this process, Karṇa heard the agonized voice of a woman. When he opened his fist, he realized that the voice was that of Prithvi. She chastised Karṇa for inflicting enormous pain on Mother Earth for the sake of a mere child and cursed him that at a very crucial moment in battle, his chariot wheel would be trapped as tightly as he had held that fistful of soil.

During the War
Karṇa entered the war on the fifteenth day as commander of the Kaurava forces, alongside Drona, replacing the injured Bhishma. Kunti secretly visited her firstborn son and revealed his parentage. He vowed to spare his brothers should he meet them in battle, save Arjuna. On the seventeenth day, Karṇa and Arjuna resumed their battle, when Karṇa's chariot wheel sank into the loose ground. He still defended himself but also forgot all incantations for divine weapons at the crucial moment, as was cursed by Parshurama. Karṇa got down from his chariot to free the wheel and asked Arjuna to pause reminding him of battle etiquette. But Krishna (another of Vishnu's incarnations) in turn reminded Arjuna of all the rules that Kauravas had broken in the war and before. Enraged with recollection of all the incidences Arjuna slew Karṇa.