Van Parva
In the
meeting after Pandavas left for exile:
Sakuni said, 'O king, O lord of the earth, what
folly hath taken possession of thee! The Pandavas have gone to the forest,
having given a particular pledge, so that what thou apprehendest can never take
place! O bull of the Bharata race, the Pandavas ever abide by the truth. They
will never, therefore, accept the words of thy father! If however, accepting
the commands of the king, they come back to the capital, violating their vow,
even this would be our conduct, viz., assuming, an aspect of neutrality, and in
apparent obedience to the will of the monarch, we will closely watch the
Pandavas, keeping our counsels!'
"Dussasana said, 'O uncle of great
intelligence, it is even as thou sayest! The words of wisdom thou utterest
always recommend themselves to me!'"Karna
said, 'O Duryodhana, all of us seek to accomplish thy will and, O king, I see
that unanimity at present prevaileth among us! The sons of Pandu, with
passions under complete control, will never return without passing away the
promised period. If, however, they do
return from failing sense, do thou defeat them again at dice.'
Vaisampayana said, 'Thus addressed by Karna, king
Duryodhana with cheerless heart, averted his face from his counsellors. Marking
all this, Karna expanding his beautiful
eyes, and vehemently gesticulating in anger, haughtily addressed Duryodhana and
Dussasana and Suvala's son saying, 'Ye princes, know ye my opinion! We are
all servants of the king (Duryodhana) waiting upon him with joined palms! We
should, therefore, do what is agreeable to him! But we are not always able to
seek his welfare with promptness and activity (owing to our dependence on
Dhritarashtra)! But let us now, encased
in mail and armed with our weapons, mount our cars and go in a body to slay the
Pandavas now living in the forest! After the Pandavas have been quieted and
after they have gone on the unknown journey, both ourselves and the sons of
Dhritarashtra will find peace! As long
as they are in distress, as long as they are in sorrow, as long as they are
destitute of help, so long are we a match for them! This is my mind!'
No such suggestion of
Karna is shown in either of the shows.
Ghosh
yatra parva (planning of the Gandharva incident):
Vaisampayana said, "Hearing those words of
Dhritarashtra, Sakuni, when the opportunity presented itself, aided by Kama*, spoke unto Duryodhana these
words, 'Having exiled the heroic Pandavas by thy own prowess, O Bharata, rule
thou this earth without a rival like the slayer of Samvara ruling the heaven! O
monarch, the kings of the east, the south, the west, and the north, have all
been made tributory to thee! O lord of earth, that blazing Prosperity which had
before paid her court to the sons of Pandu, hath now been acquired by thee
along with thy brothers! That blazing Prosperity, O king, which we not many
days ago saw with heavy hearts in Yudhishthira at Indraprastha, is today seen
by us to be owned by thee, she having, O mighty-armed monarch, been snatched by
thee from the royal Yudhishthira by force of intellect alone. O slayer of
hostile heroes, all the kings of the earth now living in subjection to thee,
await thy commands, as they did before under Yudhishthira, awaiting his. O
monarch, the goddess Earth with her boundless extent with girth of seas, with
her mountains and forests, and towns and cities and mines, and decked with
woodlands and hills is now thine! Adored by the Brahmanas and worshipped by the
kings, thou blazest forth, O king, in consequence of thy prowess, like the Sun
among the gods in heaven! Surrounded by the Kurus, O king, like Yama by the
Rudra, or Vasava by the Maruts, thou shinest, O monarch, like the Moon among
the stars! Let us, therefore, O king, go
and look at the sons of Pandu--them who are now divested of prosperity, them
who never obeyed commands, them who never owed subjection! It hath been heard
by us, O monarch, that the Pandavas are now living on the banks of the lake
called Dwaitavana, with a multitude of Brahmanas, having the wilderness for
their home. Go thither, O king, in all thy prosperity, scorching the son of
Pandu with a sight of thy glory, like the Sun scorching everything with his hot
rays! Thyself a sovereign and they divested of sovereignty, thyself in
prosperity and they divested of it, thyself possessing affluence and they in
poverty, behold now, O king, the sons of Pandu. Let the sons of Pandu behold
thee like Yayati, the son of Nahusha, accompanied by a large train of followers
and enjoying bliss that is great. O king, that blazing Prosperity which is seen
by both one's friends and foes, is regarded as well-bestowed! What happiness can be more complete than
that which he enjoyeth who while himself in prosperity, looketh upon his foes
in adversity, like a person on the hill top looking down upon another crawling
on the earth? O tiger among kings, the happiness that one derives from
beholding his foes in grief, is greater than what one may derive from the
acquisition of offering or wealth or kingdom! What happiness will not be his
who, himself in affluence, will cast his eyes on Dhananjaya attired in barks
and deer-skins? Let thy wife dressed in costly robes look at the woeful Krishna
clad in barks and deer-skins, and enhance the latter's grief! Let the daughter
of Drupada reproach herself and her life, divested as she is of wealth, for the
sorrow that she will feel upon beholding thy wife decked in ornaments will be
far greater than what she had felt in the midst of the assembly (when Dussasana
had dragged her there)!"
Vaisampayana continued, "Having thus spoken
unto the king, Karna and Sakuni both remained
silent, O Janamejaya, after their discourse was over."
Vaisampayana said, "Having heard these words of Karna, king
Duryodhana became highly pleased. Soon after, however, the prince became
melancholy and addressing the speaker said, 'What thou tellest me, O Karna, is always before my mind.
[*Kama: it should be Karna]
And as soon as the night had passed away, Karna
came to the king. And coming to him,
Karna smilingly spoke unto Duryodhana, saying, 'A plan hath been contrived by
me. Listen to it, O lord of men! Our herds are now waiting in the woods of
Dwaitavana in expectation of thee! Without doubt, we may all go there under the
pretext of supervising our cattle stations, for, O monarch, it is proper that
kings should frequently repair to their cattle stations. If this be the motive
put forth, thy father, O prince, will certainly grant thee permission!' And
while Duryodhana and Karna were thus
conversing laughingly, Sakuni addressed them and said, 'This plan, free
from difficulties, was what I also saw for going thither! The king will
certainly grant us permission, or even send us thither of his own accord. Our
herds are now all waiting in the woods of Dwaitavana expecting thee. Without
doubt, we may all go there under the pretext of supervising our cattle
stations!'
"They
then all three laughed together, and gave their hands unto one another. And
having arrived at that conclusion, they went to see the chief of Kurus.
BRC (Episode 51):
Such plan is suggested by Shakuni to everyone (In the epic it is clearly Karna's suggestion).
SP: Gandharva
incident was completely skipped in the show.
The war of
Karna with Gandharvas:
"And seeing the Gandharva host yielding to
fear, the angry Chitrasena sprang from his seat, resolved to exterminate the
Kuru army. And conversant with various modes of warfare, he waged on the fight,
aided by his weapons of illusion. And the Kaurava warriors were then all
deprived of their senses by the illusion of Chitrasena. And then, O Bharata, it
seemed that every warrior of the Kuru army was fallen upon and surrounded by
ten Gandharvas. And attacked with great vigour, the Kuru host was greatly
afflicted and struck with panic. O king, all of them that liked to live, fled
from the field. But while the entire Dhritarashtra host broke and fled, Karna,
that offspring of the Sun, stood there, O king, immovable as a hill. Indeed,
Duryodhana and Karna and Sakuni, the son of Suvala, all fought with the
Gandharvas, although every one of them was much wounded and mangled in the
encounter. All the Gandharvas then, desirous of slaying Karna, rushed together
by hundreds and thousands towards Karna. And those mighty warriors, desirous of
slaying the Suta's son, surrounded him on all sides, with swords and
battle-axes and spears. And some cut down the yoke of his car, and some his
flagstaff, and some the shaft of his car, and some his horses, and some his
charioteer. And some cut down his umbrella and some the wooden fender round his
car and some the joints of his car. It was thus that many thousands of
Gandharvas, together attacking his car, broke it into minute fragments. And while his car was thus attacked,
Karna leaped therefrom with sword and shield in hand, and mounting on Vikarna's
car, urged the steeds for saving himself."
BRC (Episode 51): There is no war of Karna with Gandharvas
shown and hence no defeat is shown. He was drunk when Gandharvas captured
Duryodhan and went to save him after regaining consciousness but was late in
reaching after Pandavas had already saved Duryodhan. And Gandharvas were shown
as ordinary tribal people (Similar to kabilas or circus troops) with their
Mukhiya.
SP: No Gandharva incident is shown and thus no
defeat of Karna is shown ever thus far in the show (Not in Drupad war, not in
Draupadi swayamvar and not here).
After
Duryodhana was saved by Pandavas:
And as the king Duryodhana was seated on an
elevated bedstead endued with the effulgence of fire, himself looking like the
moon under an eclipse, towards the small hours of the morning Karna,
approaching him, said, 'Fortunate it is, O son of Gandhari, that thou art
alive! Fortunate it is, that we have once more met! By good luck it is that
thou hast vanquished the Gandharvas capable of assuming any form at will. And,
O son of the Kuru race, it is by good luck alone, that I am enabled to see thy
brothers-- mighty warriors all--come off victorious from that encounter, having
subjugated their foes! As regards
myself, assailed by all the Gandharvas, I fled before thy eyes, unable to rally
our flying host. Assailed by the foe with all his might, my body mangled with
their arrows, I sought safety in flight. This however, O Bharata, seemed to
me to be a great marvel that I behold you all come safe and sound in body, with
your wives, troops, and vehicles, out of that super-human encounter. O Bharata,
there is another man in this world who can achieve what thou, O king, hast
achieved in battle to-day with thy brothers.
[After knowing the actual
fact & seeing Duryodhana in grief, Karna spoke again.]
"And beholding Dussasana and Duryodhana thus
weeping, Karna in great grief approached them both and said, 'Ye, Kuru princes,
why do you thus yield to sorrow like ordinary men, from senselessness? Mere
weeping can never ease a sorrowing man's grief. When weeping can never remove
one's griefs, what do you gain by thus giving way to sorrow? Summon patience to
your aid to not gladden the foe by such conduct. O king, the Pandavas only did their duty in liberating thee. They that
reside in the dominions of the king, should always do what is agreeable to the
king. Protected by thee, the Pandavas are residing happily in thy dominion. It
behoveth thee not to indulge in such sorrow like an ordinary person. Behold,
thy uterine brothers are all sad and cheerless at seeing thee resolved to put an
end to thy life by forgoing food. Blest be thou! Rise up and come to thy city
and console these thy uterine brothers."
"Kama* continued, 'O king, this conduct of thine
to-day appeareth to be childish. O hero, O slayer of foes, what is to be wondered
at in this that the Pandavas liberated thee when thou wert vanquished by the
foe? O son of the Kuru race, those that
reside in the territories of the king, especially those (amongst them) that
lead the profession of arms, should always do what is agreeable to the king
whether they happen to be known to their monarch or unknown to him. It happened
often that foremost men who crush the ranks of the hostile host, are vanquished
by them, and are rescued by their own troops. They that leading the profession
of arms, reside in the king's realm should always combine and exert themselves
to the best of their power, for the king. If, therefore, O king, the Pandavas,
who live in the territories, have liberated thee, what is there to be regretted
at in this? That the Pandavas, O
best of kings, did not follow thee when thou didst march forth to battle at the
head of thy troops, has been an improper act on their part. They had before
this come under thy power, becoming thy slaves. They are, therefore, bound to
aid thee now, being endued with courage and might and incapable of turning
away from the field of battle. Thou art enjoying all the rich possessions of
the Pandavas. Behold them yet alive, O king! They have not resolved to die,
forgoing all food. Blest be thou! Rise up, O king! It behoveth thee not to
indulge in great sorrow long. O king, it is the certain duty of those that
reside in the king's realm to do what is agreeable to the king. Where should
the regret be in all this? If thou, O king, dost not act according to my words
I shall stay here employed in reverentially serving thy feet. O bull among men,
I do not desire to live deprived of thy company. O king, if thou resolvest to
slay thyself by forgoing food, thou wilt simply be an object of laughter with other
kings."
[*Kama: it should be Karna]
BRC (Episode 51):
Duryodhan was in grief after killing his servant and wanted to commit suicide
and Karna explains him that Panavas only did their duties. So this is as per
the epic. However he doesn't mention that Pandavas were made slaves of
Duryodhan and Duryodhan anyhow could have ordered his slaves to save his life.
Only the dialog of duty is there and not slavery.
SP: No Gandharva
incident was shown in the show.
Karna's
words about Bhishma:
And seeing them gone, Bhishma, the grandfather of
the Kurus, hung down his head from shame, and then, O king, went to his own
quarters. And, O mighty monarch, when Bhishma had left, that lord of men,
Dhritarashtra's son came there again, and began to consult with his
counsellors, 'What is it that is good for me? What remaineth to be done? And
how we can most effectively bring about the good we shall discuss to-day.' Karna said, 'O Kuru's son, Duryodhana, do
thou lay to heart tie words that I say. Bhishma always blameth us, and praiseth
the Pandavas. And from the ill-will he beareth towards thee, he hateth me also.
And, O lord of men, in thy presence he ever crieth me down. I shall never, O
Bharata, bear these words that Bhishma had said in thy presence in relation to
this matter, extolling the Pandavas, and censuring thee, O represser of
foes! Do thou, O king, enjoin on me, together with servants, forces, and cars.
I shall, O monarch, conquer the earth furnished with mountains and woods and
forests. The earth had been conquered by the four powerful Pandavas. I shall,
without doubt, conquer it for thee single-handed. Let that wretch of the Kuru race, the exceedingly wicked-minded Bhishma,
see it,--he who vilifies those that do not deserve censure, and praises those
that should not be praised. Let him this day witness my might, and blame
himself. Do thou, O king, command me. Victory shall surely be thine. By my
weapon, O monarch, I swear this before thee.'
In both the shows,
there is no such specific abusing of Bhishma by Karna at this specific
incident.
After
Duryodhana performed the Vaishnava sacrifice:
And the
Suta's son, rising up, said, 'By good luck it is, O foremost of the Bharata
race, that this mighty sacrifice of thine hath been brought to a close. When,
however, the sons of Pritha shall have been slain in battle and thou wilt have
completed the Rajasuya sacrifice, once again, O lord of men, shall I honour
thee thus.' Then that mighty king, the illustrious son of Dhritarashtra,
replied unto him, 'Truly hath this been spoken by thee. When, O foremost of
men, the wicked-minded Pandavas have been slain, and when also the grand
Rajasuya hath been celebrated by me, then thou shalt again, O hero, honour me
thus.' And having said this, O Bharata, the Kaurava embraced Karna, and began,
O mighty king, to think of the Rajasuya, that foremost of sacrifices. And that
best of kings also addressed the Kurus around him, saying, 'When shall I, ye
Kauravas, having slain all the Pandavas, celebrate that costly and foremost of
sacrifices, the Rajasuya.' Then spake
Karna unto him, saying, 'Hear me, O elephant among kings! So long as I do not slay Arjuna, I shall
not allow any one to wash my feet, nor shall I taste meat. And I shall observe
the Asura vow and whoever may solicit me (for any thing), I never shall say, 'I
have it not.' When Karna had thus vowed to slay Phalguna in battle, those
mighty charioteers and bowmen, the sons of Dhritarashtra, sent up a loud cheer;
and Dhritarashtra's sons thought that the Pandavas had already been conquered.
Then that chief of kings, the graceful Duryodhana, leaving those bulls among
men, entered his apartment, like the lord Kuvera entering the garden of Chitraratha.
And all those mighty bowmen also, O Bharata, went to their respective quarters.
[In SECTION CLXXV, even
before the serpent (king Nahusha) meets Bheema and Yudhishthira, it is written
how many years of Pandavas' exile have been spent.
Vaisampayana said, "In company with that hero
equal unto Indra, Arjuna--that foremost of men, sported in the pleasure-gardens
of the lord of treasures (situated) in those woods on that romantic and
excellent mountain. And surveying those peerless and various pleasure-grounds filled
with diverse trees, that chief of men, Kiriti, ever intent upon arms, ranged at
large, bow in hand. And having through the grace of king Vaisravana obtained a
residence, those sons of a sovereign cared not for the prosperity of men. And,
O king, that period of their (lives)
passed peacefully. And having Partha in their company, they spent four years there
even like a single night. And as the Pandavas lived in the wood, (these four
years) and the former six, numbering ten, passed smoothly with them.
In the very next chapter
after Duryodhana's sacrifice and Karna's Asura vow, after having a dream of
deers of Dwaita van, Yudhishthira told his brothers about how much time was
remaining then to fulfill 12 years exile.
Awaking after such a vision, that excellent king,
moved by pity towards the deer, thus spake unto his brothers assembled there,
'Those deer that are alive after them that have been slaughtered, accosted me
at night, after I had awakened, saying, 'We remain like the cues of our lines. Blest
be thou! Do thou have compassion on us.' And they have spoken truly. We ought
to feel pity for the dwellers of the forest. We have been feeding on them for a year
together and eight months*. Let us,
therefore, again (repair) to the romantic Kamyakas, that best of forests
abounding in wild animals, situated at the head of the desert, near lake
Trinavindu. And there let us pleasantly pass the rest of our time.'
*We have been feeding on them for a year together and eight months:
the original verse is:
"Saashta Maasah Hi No Varshah Yad Enaan Upayunjmahe"
Here Upayunjmahe has loot
vibhakti in uttam purush plural number. Loot vibhakti is always used for future
tense. So it means "We will spend 1 year and 8 months"
So it cannot be past tense
as translated here, it should be future only. As per the proof of SECTION CLXXV,
already 10 years were passed and the current year was 11th year only
during which Duryodhana performed the sacrifice and Karna took his vow.
So, it means, when Karna
took his oath of charity, then there were 1
year & 8 months more to complete the exile of Pandavas. The charity was
started from that time & was continued till his death.]
No such incident was shown in either of the shows. Karna
is shown as Danveer by virtue of his greatness and not for the specific purpose
of defeating Pandavas only for less than 2 years.
Planning
of cursing Pandavas by Durvasa:
Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words
of the great ascetic, Suyodhana felt himself
to be inspired with new life. Indeed, it had been agreed upon between himself
and Karna and Dussasana as to what the boon should be that he would ask of the
Muni if the latter were pleased with his reception. And the evil-minded
king, bethinking himself of what had previously
been decided, joyfully solicited the following favour, saying, 'The great king Yudhishthira is the
eldest and the best of our race. That pious
man is now living in the forest with his brothers. Do thou, therefore, once become the guest of that illustrious one even as,
O Brahmana, thou hast with thy
disciples been mine for some time. If thou
art minded to do me a favour, do thou go unto him at a time when that delicate and excellent lady, the
celebrated princess of Panchala, after having
regaled with food the Brahmanas, her husbands and herself, may lie down to rest.'
BRC (Episode 52):
Such planning is made by Shakuni not Karna as per the show.
SP: Karna was not
involved here.
When
Karna gave his kavach-kundal to Indra:
Vaisampayana continued, "Although thus urged
with various words by Karna, still, O chief of the Bharata race, that Brahmana
did not ask for any other boon. And although Karna sought to pacify him to the
best of his power, and worshipped him duly, yet that best of Brahmanas did not
ask for any other boon. And when that foremost of Brahmanas did not ask for any
other boon, Radha's son again spake unto him with a smile, 'My mail, O
regenerate one, hath been born with my body, and this pair of ear-rings hath
arisen from Amrita. It is for these that I am unslayable in the worlds.
Therefore, I cannot part with them. Do thou, O bull among Brahmanas, accept
from me the entire kingdom of the earth, rid of enemies and full of prosperity!
O foremost of regenerate ones, if I am deprived of my ear-rings, and the mail
born with my body, I shall be liable to be vanquished by the foes!'
Vaisampayana continued, "When the illustrious
slayer of Paka refused to ask for any other boon, Kama*
with a smile again addressed him, saying, 'O god of gods, even before this, I
had recognised thee, O Lord! O Sakra, it is not proper for me to confer on thee
any unprofitable boon, for thou art the very lord of the celestials! On the
contrary, being as thou art the Creator and lord of all beings, it is thou that
shouldst confer boons on me! If, O god, I give thee this coat of mail and
ear-rings, then I am sure to meet with destruction, and thou shalt also undergo
ridicule! Therefore, O Sakra, take my
earrings and excellent mail in exchange for something conferred by thee on me!
Otherwise, I will not bestow them on thee!' Thereupon Sakra replied, 'Even
before I had come to thee, Surya had known of my purpose and without doubt, it
is he that hath unfolded everything unto thee! O Karna, be it as thou wishest! O son, except the thunder-bolt alone, tell
me what it is that thou desirest to have!'"
Vaisampayana continued, "Hearing these words
of Indra, Karna was filled with delight and seeing that his purpose was about
to be accomplished he approached Vasava, and intent upon obtaining a dart
incapable of being baffled, he addressed
Indra, saying, 'Do thou, O Vasava, in exchange for my coat of mail and
ear-rings, give me a dart incapable of being baffled, and competent to destroy
hosts of enemies when arrayed in order of battle!' Thereupon, O ruler of
earth, fixing his mind for a moment on the dart (for bringing it there), Vasava
thus spake unto Karna, 'Do thou give me thy ear-rings, and the coat of mail born
with thy body, and in return take this dart on these terms! When I encounter
the Daitya in battle, this dart that is incapable of being baffled, hurled by
my hand, destroyeth enemies by hundreds, and cometh back to my hand after achieving
its purpose. In thy hand, however, this dart, O son of Suta, will slay only one
powerful enemy of thine. And having achieved that feat, it will, roaring and
blazing, return to me!' Thereat Karna said, 'I desire to slay in fierce fight
even one enemy of mine, who roareth fiercely and is hot as fire, and of whom I
am in fear!' At this, Indra said, 'Thou shall slay such a roaring and powerful
foe in battle. But that one whom thou seekest to slay, is protected by an
illustrious personage. Even He whom persons versed in the Vedas call 'the
invincible Boar,' and 'the incomprehensible Narayana,' even that Krishna
himself, is protecting him!' Thereupon
Karna replied, 'Even if this be so, do thou, O illustrious one give me the
weapon that will destroy only one powerful foe! I shall, on my part, bestow on
thee my mail and ear-rings, cutting them off my person. Do thou, however, grant
that my body, thus wounded, may not be unsightly!' Hearing this, Indra
said, 'As thou, O Karna, art bent upon observing the truth, thy person shall
not be unsightly, or shall any scar remain on it. And, O thou best of those
that are graced with speech, O Karna, thou shall be possessed of complexion and
energy of thy father him self. And if, maddened by wrath, thou hurlest this
dart, while there are still other weapons with thee, and when thy life also is not
in imminent peril, it will fall even on thyself.' Karna answered, 'As thou
directest me, O Sakra, I shall hurl this Vasavi dart only when I am in imminent
peril! Truly I tell thee this!'"
[*Kama: it should be Karna]
BRC (Episode 65):
This episode was shown in Udhyog Parva after Virat war and immediately after Vishwaroop
Darshan and just before Krishna Karna meeting (Editing error because Karna then immediately meets Krishna in the
next scene, who just came out of the court of Hastinapur after being insulted
by Duryodhan). And Karna doesn't ask for any specific thing in return but only
something in general as Shakti and Indra gives him the weapon. Also Karna gives
his Kavach-Kundal immediately without asking anything in return (but in the epic, he offered the exchange
first and very specifically the dart). But Indra forces him to ask
something in return making his big praises and still Karna shows that he is not
intended to take anything in exchange but won't redicule Indra in the eyes of
the present and future. This is in slight
contradiction with the epic.
SP: This incident
was shown just on the verge of the war at Kurukshetra and Arjun tried to
interfere creating drama and another drama was created by Nakul Sahdev curing
Karna's pain at mata Kunti's orders.
Edited by ShivangBuch - 9 years ago
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