INDIA AND THE FIRST SULTAN

Islam made its premiere appearance in the Indian Subcontinent when Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf, the Umayyad governor of Iraq, sent an army under his son-in-law, Mohammed-bin-Qasim to punish Dhar - the ruler of Sindh, for his failure to deal effectively with the sea pirates who had captured the presents sent by the king of Sri Lanka to Hajjaj. Although Qasim managed to establish the Umayyad rule in Sindh (AD 712) and Multan (AD 713), his pre mature death, the division of Multan and Sindh into two separate Arab kingdoms and the administrative incapacity of the Arabs put a temporary full stop on the further expansion of the Islamic rule in India. As the religion of the Prophet ventured into new territories, the baton of Islam passed from the Arabs to the Persians and then, finally, to the Turks. Once a barbaric race of Central Asia, the Turks, transformed themselves into an extremely cultured people after their contact with Islam but retained their war-like spirit. It was this lethal combination that helped them defend many elements of their new religion from the onslaught of the Mongols, in the later period.

It was in this tribe that the first Sultan of the Islamic world, Mahmud of Ghazni was born on 1st November, 971. Although he had participated in many battles along with his father, King Sabuktigin, the throne, after the latter’s death, went to Mahmud’s younger brother, Ismail. However, destiny played its part and Mahmud deposed his brother and ascended the throne in 998 AD. Legend has it that, an year later, when the Khalifa, Al Qadir Billah recognized him as the ruler of the present day Southern Afghanistan and conferred on him the titles of ‘Yamin-ud-Daulah’ and ‘Amin-ul-Millah’, Mahmud took an oath to invade India, the ‘Land of the Kafirs’ every year. True to his word, in his reign exceeding three decades, Mahmud is said to have invaded India at least on twelve different occasions.  

From 1000 to 1014 AD, his invasions were mostly concentrated in regions that fall in modern day Pakistan, where he humbled the mighty Hindushahi kings and the Shia rulers of Multan. The relatively easy victories and the immense booty that he took to Ghazni by plundering cities like the Hindushahi capitals of Waihind (Peshawar) and Nandana in this part of the Subcontinent, made him expand his horizons and fuelled his desire to lay waste the Gangetic valley which, like today, was doted with temples whose riches, he was well aware of. Beginning with the sacking of Thaneswar (AD 1014), Mahmud is said to have looted Hindu religious centres like Mathura, Vrindavan, Kannauj (AD 1018) and finally, he razed the famed temple of Somanath (AD 1024) to the ground. Infact when Mahmud went to his grave, his empire extended from Kurdistan in the west to Samarkand in the north-east and from the Caspian Sea to the Yamuna and was even bigger than that of the Khalifa. Owing to the unprecedented success that he achieved in Central Asia and India, Muslim chronicles regard him as the first Sultan of the Islamic World, a title he deserves more than any of his contemporaries

Mahmud of Ghazni, beyond any doubt, is one of the most controversial figures in history of the Subcontinent, with his character being viewed through the spectrum of region and religion. In Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan, Mahmud is celebrated as a hero and a great patron of the arts, architecture, literature, and Persian revivalism as well as a vanguard of Islam and a paragon of virtue and piety who established the standard of Islam upon heathen land. In fact, Pakistan, a state formed for the welfare of Indian Muslims, has christened one of its short range ballistic missile, Ghaznavi, in the honor of the Mahmud. However, in the Hindu dominated India, Mahmud is depicted as a Muslim villain and barbarian, who looted whatever he could, destroyed whatever he could not, took along with him the wealth of Hindu temples, forced lakhs of people to accept the faith of the Prophet, otherwise killed them, took thousands of beautiful women to Ghazni while countless others were dishonored here, burnt hundreds of villages and beautiful cities and destroyed pieces of arts.

Although there is little doubt that the one of the motives behind Mahmud’s repeated invasions into India was the propagation of Islam, new evidence unearthed from the medieval sources seem to indicate that there was more to Mahmud’s invasion than the spreading of the teachings of the Prophet. The following is a list of potential reasons that may have led the Sultan of Ghazni to invade India:

(1) Establishment of the Glory of Islam: Many modern Muslim historians argue that while Mahmud destroyed and plundered Hindu kingdoms of India, he repeated the same story with the Muslim rulers of Central Asia. Professor Havell believes that Mahmud would have also looted Baghdad the same way he looted Indian cities if he could get wealth there. As such, a sizable portion of modern day historians believe that Mahmud’s raids were to acquire the wealth of India, so as to finance his ambitions of expansions in Central Asia.

There is considerable evidence from writings of Al Beruni, Soghidan, Uyghur and Manichean texts that after the initial destruction and pillage, Buddhists, Jains and Hindus were granted protected subject status as Dhimmis. By that time, however, most of the centers of Buddhist and Hindu learning were already destroyed. Also a large number of Hindus were employed as soldiers in Mahmud’s multi-national army.

However, Utbi, the court historian of Mahmud claims that his master’s invasions were jihads to destroy the idolaters, their religion and temples. Contemporary Muslim sources regard Mahmud as a Ghazi (Slayer of the Infidels) and the destroyer of idols. Thus, while religion might have not been the only reason to invade India, yet it was one of the motives behind Mahmud’s raids into the Subcontinent.

(2) Wealth of India: The Indian Society in the early days of the second millennium AD presents a very sorry state and was a reason, tempting enough for any aggressive foreign ruler to aspire the riches of India. Politically, North India was fragmented into several strong and extensive kingdoms, whose rich resources were often wasted in internal conflicts. The caste system had become rigid and Hadis, Doms, Chandalas, Badhatu etc were forced to live in pathetic conditions on the outskirts of the villages. Social evils like Sati, child marriage and polygamy became the norm of the day whereas window re-marriages were not permitted. Deterioration in morals and religion can be concluded from the fact that the practice of keeping devadasis in temples was prevalent. However, the one thing that India possessed in abundance was wealth. The economy, unlike the society and religion was doing well and the wealth was concentrated in the hands of the rich and adorned the temples of India.

Meanwhile, Mahmud was an ambitious ruler and patronized arts. He aimed to use the spoils he amassed from India to sponsor his Central Asian campaigns and to make his capital, Ghazni, an important centre of Islamic learning in the eleventh century. Al beruni - the scholar of Sanskrit, Turki and Sciences, Firdausi – the author of Shahnameh, Utbi, Farabi, and Ujari etc endowed his court. It was from the money that he got from his Indian campaigns that Mahmud constructed several mosques, tombs, a university, a library and a museum in his capital, which made Ghazni, one of the most beautiful cities of this period and a hub of fine arts and culture.

(3) The Isolation of India and the Ignorance of the Hindus: The attitude of the Hindus of this era is correctly captured by Al Beruni when he says 

“The Hindus believe that there is no country like theirs, no nation like theirs,
no king like theirs, no religion like theirs, and no science like theirs.”

As such the Hindus were completely cut off from the events that unfolded in the rest of the Old World and this led to the development of a false pride in them. The Indians had lost the vigor and intelligence that they were once known for and were not in a position to improve themselves or to absorb new things from the rest of the world. Over the last few centuries, the Indians failed to make much progress in the spheres of combat and strategic planning. The sword continued to remain their chief fighting weapon and the north-west frontier was not sufficiently fortified.

As such the Turkish forces with their superior fighting skills and weaponry, coupled by their fast moving cavalry routed the slow moving Rajputs in more than one occasion. In fact, Rajyapala, - the Prathihara ruler of Kannauj, Vidhyadhar – the Chandela king of Kalinjar and Bhima I – the ruler of Gujarat seem to have fled at the sight of Mahmud’s mighty forces without offering any resistance. After the collapse of the Hindushahis, Mahmud found no real challenge in rest of the Subcontinent and invaded and looted it at his will as the people, from the common man on the streets to the ineffective Rajput kings of the North looked on helplessly and prayed that the man who had tormented them, destroyed their temples and looted their wealth would not come back to haunt them again.

(4) The Aggressive Policy of the Hindushahis: The rivalry between the Hindushahi kings of North Western India and the Ghaznavis dates back to the days of Mahmud’s father, Sabuktigin. When the Hindushahi king Jayapala invaded Ghazni during the reign of the cruel king Pirai, it was Sabuktigin in his capacity as the commander of the Ghazni forces who defeated him. On his ascend to the throne, Sabuktigin repulsed another two invasions by the Hindushahi kings. Thus, it was the kings of India who first took an aggressive stance against the growth of Islam in Afghanistan region. But the strength of the Turks and the military incapacity of the Hindus meant that the latter were beaten back and they ended up giving enough excuses for the Turks to try out their luck in India.

When he came to the throne, Mahmud pursued an aggressive policy against the Hindushahis. The defeat that he inflicted on Jayapala (AD 1001) was so humiliating that he is said to have committed suicide by walking into the funeral pyre, unable to come in terms with magnitude of his loss. His successors, Anandapala and Trilochanapala tried to defeat the Ghaznavis by enlisting the support of various other chiefs but failed on more than one occasion. During one of the battles (AD 1009), the confederacy formed by Anandapala faced an unfortunate defeat as his elephant turned back from the battle in a crucial moment, turning the tide into Mahmud's favor once more. Thus Mahmud was single handedly responsible of extinguishing the once powerful Hindushahi dynasty and its last ruler is said to have died as petty chieftain.

Also some of Mahmud’s invasions were to quell the revolts that had taken place in his absence or to prevent Rajput states from forming alliances against him. He raided and annexed Multan (AD 1008) after its ruler Abu-i-Fath Daud and Mahmud’s governor, Nawasa Shah rebelled against the Turks when the Sultan was busy fighting the Seljuk-Turks. The primary motive of his invasion of Chandela territories (AD 1019) was to break up the alliance that the Chandela, the Prathihras and the Hindushahis had formed against him. Mahmud came back to India for the last time (AD 1027) to punish the Jats who had troubled him o his way to Ghazni after sacking the temple of Somnath.

(5) Elephants: Dr A. B. Pandey has opined that the search for the great pachyderms may have been one of the reasons for Mahmud to invade India. In fact, all throughout the medieval period, the elephants were used in wars. A herd of well trained elephants was enough to put the enemy army in a state of utter confusion and chaos. Mahmud is said to have released Jayapala (AD 1001), the Hindushahi ruler after he agreed to a humiliating treaty that included a clause by which the Sultan got 25 elephants. He said to have got a further 300 elephants from the Chandela ruler, Vidhyadhar (AD 1020-21) as a tribute in return of the right of governing 15 fortresses. Hence, there is enough historic evidence to support Mahmud wanted Indian elephants so that they could be utilized in wars against his enemies in the west.

India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru once said, “Civilizations, like empires, fall, not so much because of the strength of the enemy outside as through the weakness and decay within.” In fact, the sharp social differences and corruption that plagued contemporary India had made the society hollow and it was in no position to resist their powerful invaders. The arrogance of the Hindus and their inability to make breakthroughs in the fields of combat and weaponry added to the miseries already present in the society. On the contrary, the Turkish armies, inspired by their new religion, were more determined than ever to establish the glory of Islam and routed the Rajput armies by their fast moving cavalry. As such, the wealth of India was like the wealth of a weak person which could tempt any strong man, like Mahmud to possess it.

SOURCES

(1) History of Medieval India 1000 - 1740 AD by L. P. Sharma (3rd Edition)

(2) Wikipedia – Mahmud of Ghazni (Link) 

ATITHI DEVO BHAVAH

Credit: International Crane Foundation

The real India, as Mahatma Gandhi once said, lies in her myriad villages and no worthwhile development is possible on the national front without the active participation of our rural brothers. Although most of our villages are still plagued by social evils and insufficient infrastructure development, there is no doubt in the fact that village communities have the potential to improve their living, without much assistance from the government, when the people are inspired and their infinite energies are directed in the right manner. The village of Khichan in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan is a perfect example of how community development and social activism at the rural level can help villagers improve their living standards. The village, which has become popular among bird watchers, achieved international recognition when it was featured in Birding World magazine in an article titled, “Khichan - the Demoiselle crane village."

Located in the pristine sands of the Thar desert, Khichan is just like any other village located in the region. From the outside, there is not much in the village that makes it stand apart from the other villages that surround it. The economy is agrarian and the nearest town, Phalodi, located 4.5 km away, is renowned for its salt industry. However, with the onset of winter, winged visitors from plains and steppes of Eurasia and Mongolia come to this village, primarily due to the tradition of feeding wild birds established here, a few decades ago. The feeding programme, coupled with the presence of sand dunes and water ponds, has made this place a favourite destination for the migratory Demoiselle cranes, while on their stay in India.

The Demoiselle cranes (Anthropides virgo) are the smallest and second most abundant species of cranes in the world, with sightings being reported from as many as 47 countries. They weigh about 2-3 kg with a height of 89 cm and wing span of 155 -180 cm. Essentially grassland birds, the cranes have plain bluish gray plumage and are omnivores. They mainly feed on plant materials, insects, peanuts, beans and other cereal grains, and small animals. Demoiselle cranes have to take one of the toughest migrations in the world. In late August through September, they gather in flocks of up to 400 individuals and prepare for their flight to their winter range. Along their arduous journey they have to cross the Himalayan mountains to get to their over wintering grounds in India, many die from fatigue, hunger and predation from birds such as eagles. At their wintering grounds, Demoiselles have been observed flocking with Common cranes, their combined totals reaching up to 20,000 individuals.

The annual feeding spectacle began when a local, belonging to the Jain community, started offering grains to the feathered visitors or Kurjars, as they are locally known here. Soon as the number of people looking after the cranes grew, the feathered visitors seem to have been deeply impressed by the 'Khichan brand of hospitality'. This can be inferred from the fact that the number of Demoiselles arriving in this place annually, grew from a few dozen in the 1980s to well over 15,000 today. Although omnivores, villagers in the Khichan, like in other parts of the Thar, venerate them for their perceived vegetarian eating habits and for the norm of keeping a single life partner all through their lifetime. In fact both of the above perceived behavioral patterns of these cranes are consistent with the teachings of Mahavir, the founder of Jainism.

Credit: International Crane Foundation

With the donations coming primarily from the Jain community, the villagers have constructed a rectangular enclosure 50x60 m at the edge of the village, known locally as Chugga Ghar (Feeding Centre). The children of the village chip in their bit and it is their duty to spread the grains before the flocks of cranes arrive for their breakfast session of about 90 min. After feeding, the cranes, in large congregations, are seen at some of the water bodies and sand dunes to the north of Khichan. They face the sun, their tie-like black chest feathers contrasting with the blue winter sky. A short while later they depart in different directions in small family flocks in a disciplined order led by the female, followed closely by two young ones with the male forming the rear guard. Again, during mid-day, they assemble for a drink, followed by an occasional bath, and a second feed. Acrobatic exhibition of mutual affection between couples is also seen. They roost in faraway agriculture fields and return to the same water bodies next day, early in the morning. As per the report of the International crane Foundation:

"All cranes engage in dancing, which includes various behaviors 

such as bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing, and wing flapping.

Dancing can occur at any age and is commonly associated with courtship, however, 

it is generally believed to be a normal part of motor development for cranes 

and can serve to thwart aggression, relieve tension, and strengthen the pair bond."

The people of this village are very protective of their annual visitors. This fact comes into prominence from the story of Sevaram Mallu Parhivar, a local contractor. Seeing that a large number of birds were getting electrocuted, he filed a complaint with the District Administration, asking for placing the electric transmission lines underground. As the DC ignored his repeated complaints, he approached the High Court against the State Electricity Board. However, inspite of his noble intentions, the Court imposed a fine of Rs. 4 lakhs on him. But with the help of the State Forest Department, Sevaram filed an appeal in the High Court and eventually won the case.

Credit: International Crane Foundation

In fact such is the love and admiration of the Demoiselles that they have become a part of the local tradition and culture. They are an integral part of the desert love lore about Marwari migrants of yore who were forced to live separately from their loved ones due to compulsions of trade. Fussy eaters amongst the kids are known as 'Kurjars' and engaged girls are fondly referred to as 'Kurjaris'. The birds are revered as messengers of God and are believed to yield magical powers.

The place is soon developing into a magnet for tourists. A large number of travelers, both local and international, come to Khichan to see and study these migratory birds from such close range and in such large numbers. Their flights, in the setting of the conventional mansions (some of them are heritage buildings being converted to tourist lodges) of the village, present brilliant photo-ops. The Marwar Crane Foundation has pledged financial support to the feeding program. A director of the International Crane Foundation has visited Khichan. This foundation is also supporting the efforts of Marwar Crane Foundation in feeding the cranes. The government, for a change, has been quick enough to realize the potential of this place as a popular tourist attraction, thanks to the cranes and peculiar indigenous architecture. As such, the State government has given heritage status to the village and it has also got a package of Rs. 75 lakhs from the Union government in the last budget.

In recent times, the cranes have been disturbed by dogs and passing villagers. To add to the problems, illegal encroachments have developed over the years, much to the consternation of bird watching vacation tourists. There has been also an effort to move the prevailing feeding area as it has become too crowded but it has not yet been implemented. Also, the feeding program has led to a drastic increase in the number of crows, pigeons and rats in the village, which has increased the vulnerability to diseases. Besides, a significant number of the people here feel that it would be better if the money was spent on the poor and the needy, rather than the migratory birds.

Although there will be skeptics, the village of Khichan is a testimonial to the fact that man and nature can co-exist peacefully. The villagers here have realized the fact that their own survival is inter-linked with that of their feathered friends. It is instances like this that bring to light, the amount of knowledge that is present in the interiors of India, and make us proud to be Indians.

Credit: International Crane Foundation

Special Thanks to : Vishwanath Bhat

SOURCES

(1) NDTV Profit: Apollo Presents - The Unstoppable Indians (Link)

(2) The Hindu - Desert turns birds’ paradise (Link)

(3) Lal Nivas - Demoiselle Cranes: The Royalty of Khichan (Link)

(4) Wikipedia – Khichan (Link)

IMAGES

(1) Credit: International Crane Foundation (Link)

Original: Demoiselle Cranes

(2)  Credit: International Crane Foundation (Link)

Original: Demoiselle Cranes

(3) Credit: International Crane Foundation (Link) 
Original: Demoiselle Cranes

 (4) Credit: Wikipedia (Link)

Original: Anthropoides virgo at Twycros Zoo

KARNA AND THE THREE CURSES

The Mahabharat which is the longest epic in the world, speaks of a time in ancient India when the rulers of the sub continent's innumerable kingdoms allied themselves with the two warring factions that laid their claim over the throne of Hastinapur. The finest warriors of the day, namely, Arjuna - contemporary India's foremost archer, Bhima - the man with supreme physical prowess, Yudhistir - the defender of Dharma, Duryodhana - the adversary of Pandavas and Bhishma - the protector of the king of Hastinapur fought in a fierce battle that is said to have lasted for 18 days. However among the galaxy of stars that fought on the dusty grounds of Kurukshetra, there was one who shone more brighter than the rest on the horizon of Indian mythology. Although he ended up dying on the battlefield at the hands of his own brother Arjuna, Karna is widely considered by many, including Krishna and Bhishma as per Valmiki's Mahabharat, as a noble spirit who rarely appears in the human race. Inspite of devoting his services to evil Duryodhana, Karna remains an adulated figure for millions of Hindus and Indians. He is specially adored for his generosity and always considered as a formidable warrior, perhaps the greatest warrior of all time, a courageous spirit who braved impossible odds in his life, and died with unique courage, valour and honour.

While Karna remains to be one of the most celebrated personalities of Hindu mythology, very few people are aware of the fact that he had learnt the art of warfare and mastered deadly weapons under the able tutelage of Parashuram. Karna who was brought up by Adhirata, a charioteer of the king Dhritarashtra of Hastinapur, after being abandoned by his mother, Kunti, aimed to be a skillful fighter. As such he went to Dhronacharya, who was in-charge of training the princes of Hastinapur, both Kauravas and Pandavas, in the art of warfare and diplomacy. However, Dhrona refused to accept him as his disciple citing his low caste as the reason. Karna like he did so many times throughout his life, fought all odds and decided to be self-taught with his brother, Shrona's help. In accordance with the ancient tradition that one must learn any art form only under a guru, Karna decided to make Surya his teacher. Such was the dedication of this man that he gathered information about various ayudhas (weapons) during the day and then after sundown, he exercised them. Although he achieved expertize in handling many weapons, Karna became more interested in learning all the advanced skills of archery including the use of divine weapons.

In a bid to fulfill his dream of being among the best fighters of his generation, Karna decided to approach Parashuram. However, Parashuram was only known to accept Brahmins as his students. Disciples like Gangaputra Bhishma and Dhronacharya had made Parashuram proud earlier and Karna longed to make this great saint, his tutor. As such, he was not going to make his low social status the reason for being turned down by Parashuram. Karna appeared before the sage as a Brahmin. Parashuram accepted him and trained him to such a point, that he declared Karna to be equal to himself in the art of warfare and archery. Thus, Karna became a diligent student of Parashuram.

 Legend has it that one day while his techer was resting on his lap, Karna was stung by a giant bee on his thigh. Despite the excruciating pain, Karna did not move so as not to disturb his guru's sleep. As the bee bored deeper into Karna's thigh, the wound began to bleed. Parashuram was woken up by the blood from Karna's thigh. He soon realized that Karna was a not a Brahmin as no one in the priestly class could bear the gruesome pain for such a long time. Thus, Parashuram, who had sworn vengeance against all Kshatriyas, concluded that Karna lied about being a in order to learn from him. So, he cursed Karna that his martial skills including the use of Brahmastra would desert him when he needed them most. This in turn meant that Karna would forget all that he had learnt from Parashuram during his hour of crisis. Karna, who was unaware of his royal lineage, pleaded with his master that any student in his place would have acted the same way.

While he regretted cursing Karna in a moment of anger, Parashuram's curse was irrevocable. He, gifted Karna with a celestial weapon called Bhargavastra along with Parashuram's personal bow called Vijaya and blessed him that in the end, Karna would achieve what every mortal aspires the most - everlasting glory and immortal fame. In fact mythological sources say that it was the king of Gods - Indra who had stung Karna in the form of the bee so that he would be cursed by the great sage. The same Indra later exploited Karna's generosity and took away the the Kavacha (body armour) and Kundana (ear rings) that virtually made Karna invincible. It is beyond any doubt that had Indra, father of Karna's sworn enemy, Arjuna, not interfered in the matter, Arjuna would have never been able to beat Karna.

Dejected at being cursed by his own Guru, Karna is said to have wandered in the forests. While he was practising the 'Shabdavedi Vidhya' (art of hitting the target by detecting the source of sound), he mistook a Brahmin's cow for a wild animal and shot it. Enraged, the Brahmin cursed Karna that as he had killed a helpless animal, he too would be killed when he was the most helpless, when his concentration was diverted from his enemy.
However putting these things behind him, Karna went on to become the King of Ambha (modern Bhagalpur) after he impressed Duryodhana when he surpassed Arjuna's feat in a tournament held by Dhrona in Hastinapur to display the skills that he had given to the Kuru princes. This event established key relationships in the Mahabharat, namely, the strong bond between Duryodhana and Karna, the intense rivalry between Karna and Arjuna, and the enmity in general between the Pandavas as a whole and Karna.

Sometime later, when he was on a tour of his new kingdom, Karna is said to have encountered a girl who was crying out of fear of her step mother since her ghee had fallen to the ground. Being generous enough Karna told her that he would give her new ghee. But, the child insisted that she wanted only the ghee that was mixed with the soil and refused to take the new ghee. Taking pity on the girl, Karna took the soil mixed with ghee in his fist and squeezed it with all his might to extract the ghee and pour it back into the pot. However, Bhoomi Devi (Mother Earth) was furious at him for hurting her for the sake of a mere child. So, the Earth goddess cursed him that in a very crucial battle of his life, she would trap his chariot wheel in the same way that he held the fistful of soil, thereby making him vulnerable to his enemy.

Thus, Karna was cursed on three separate and independent occasions. Unfortunately, each of these curses became operational at the same crucial moment in the Kurukshetra war, later making him weaponless, left without a chariot and helpless.

On the sixteenth day of the great battle of Kurukshetra, Karna led the Kaurava army. He first defeated the might Bhima but spared his life saying that he was elder to Bhima. Later he went on to beat Yudhistir but left him alive saying that "It seems that you have forgotten all the teachings which your guru has taught you, so first go and practice those and then come to fight". Also he defeated the twins, Nakul and Sahadev but didn't kill them as he had promised Kunti that he would not kill any of the Pandavas except for Arjuna. Then Karna proceeded towards Arjuna and unleashed the deadly weapon, Nagastra at him. But Krishna, like he had done so many times in the past, saved him from what would have been sure death.

On the seventeenth day, the much anticipated contest between Arjuna and Karna took place. Though the duel was initially held at a stalemate, Karna was hampered when his chariot wheel sank into the ground in loose wet soil (Bhoomi Devi's curse thus came into effect). He also found himself unable to remember the incantations for divine weapons, as his teacher Parashuram had foretold. Descending from his chariot to remove the wheel, he requested Arjuna to wait until it is set right as per the rules of battle. Krishna told Arjuna that Karna has no right to refer to the rules at this point, after having violated the same himself while killing Abhimanyu. He urged Arjuna to kill Karna while he was helpless (Brahman's curse came into effect here). Lord Krishna told Arjuna that if he did not kill Karna at this critical juncture of the war, he might never be able to kill him and the Pandavas may never win the war. Thus, Arjuna fatally injured Karna using a divine arrow.

It is believed that on the night before his death, Karna's guru, Parashuram appeared to him in his dreams. He is said to have told Karna that he was well aware of Karna's caste when he had approached him to become his disciple. Yet, inspite of his vow, he agreed to teach Karna, a Kshatriya, as he was fully aware of Karna's capability and impeccable character. Besides, Parashuram went on further to explain the reasons for him cursing his own disciple. Parashuram said that if Karna would not die then the Kauravas would have won the battle and the Earth would be ruled by Duryodhana. As such, Adharma would prevail and people would have suffered in his reign.

Though the three curses and interventions from Indra and Kunti led to his death on the battlefield, Karna achieved the feat of immortality as foretold by his guru, Parashuram. His generosity and the manner in which he carried himself throughout his life is praised several times in mythology and literature. Thus though he allied with evil out of gratitude towards his friend Duryodhana, he is even today, revered to as one of the greatest mn to have participated in the Great War. In fact, Karna, more than anyone else, is the true hero of the Mahabharat.

Special Thanks to : Mr. Ambarish Kulkarni


SOURCES : www.wikipedia.org/karna