One of meanings of the word Karña signifies ‘eared’ or ‘the ear-ringed one’.19 Thus intrinsic even to his nominal being is this pos-session of ear-rings that denote invulnerability. When Kuntî had conceived her son, in the account given in book three, Sûrya ap-pears as âmuktakavacaä devaä kuñèalâbhyâä vibhûæitam, ‘a deity decorated with ear-rings and possessing a breast-plate’ (III,290,5).
Karña receives these as part of his identity as metonyms of his de-scent, because Kuntî, before agreeing to make love with Sûrya, makes him promise that the son born of the union would be
ku-16From ¬yâc, ‘ask’, “a term of compulsion”, Jamison, 1996, p.191. The use of this verb has the force of “compel[ling] someone to give ... the yâc-er puts himself in the power of the one approached and tacitly accepts inferior status ... the verb is in reciprocal relation with the root ¬dâ, ‘give’.” Jamison discusses this moment in the epic on p.192-93, “the marginal and ambiguous figure of Karña seems an embodiment of traditional, inherited, Indo-European ideals.” Karña himself uses this term when, in discussion with Sûrya, he mentions the prospect of Indra’s begging: kuñèale me prayâcitum, ‘to beg my ear-rings’ (III,284,30).
17V,165,27.
18In compressed form, Karña’s life is swiftly recapitulated by Yudhiæøhira and Nârada during the first five chapters of the Åânti parvan.
19Karñá. It is entirely fitting that, for a hero who is intensely pre-occupied with fame, ‘that which is heard’, that his very name be connected with such ‘hearing’.
He is also sometimes, although not very often, referred to as vëæan, ‘bull’, or
‘best’, or simply, ‘male’. Åiva, Indra, as well as Këæña, are also referred to by this name, and it thus takes on something of the quality of an epithet.
ñèalî kavacî åûro, ‘a hero with ear-rings and breast-plate’
(III,291,17).20 In fact it is the promise of the divine ear-rings and cuirass for her child that really seems to seduce Kuntî. Sûrya admits to her that Aditi herself bestowed the ear-rings upon him and that both they and the cuirass are amëtamayam, ‘made up of the im-mortal’ (III,291,18). He promises to give her son these things, te’sya dâsyâmi, ‘These I will give to him’ (III,291,21).21
In book five when Indra comes to him and begs to be given the ear-rings so that his son, Arjuna, Karña’s chosen opponent, may win their imminent duel, Karña cuts them off.22 Without his ear-rings Karña is a hero who is ‘without himself’, that is, dead, or soon to be dead — the ear-rings being an emblem for his identity or life.23 The epic poets make much of this economy of metaphor
20Note that Karña is referred to as åûra, and not vîra: ‘hero’. Skanda, the divine son of Agni and Svâhâ, is really the only other significantly ear-ringed hero in the poem who is in any way like Karña. tam varadaä åûraä yuvânaä mëæøakuñèalam,
‘That benificent young hero who possessed shining ear-rings’ (III,218,3). He is in fact more of a deity than a hero although Indra on meeting him addresses him as vîra (III,218,15), just before he is anointed as commander of the divine army that is to attack the dânavas. This he does victoriously and Indra acclaims him, triæu lokeæu kîrtiå ca tava akæayyâ bhaviæyati, ‘And your fame will be imperishable among the three worlds’ (III,221,76). Thereafter Skanda plays no important role in the Mahâbhârata narrative.
21 One observes the usual interplay between dâ and yâc, for a few lines later, Kuntî is referred to by the poet as yâcamânâ, ‘soliciting’ (III,29127). As an aside, the mechanics of this coition are, that ‘he, whose form was yogic, touched her na-vel’, yogâtmâ nâbhyâä pasparåa ca eva tâm (III,291,23).
22The Maruts, Indra’s gaña in the Rgveda, also wear rings. So Karña’s ear-rings metonymically, would link him to this group. Indra is the deity who is both divine and heroic and the icon of epic heroes.
23Throughout the course of the poem, the most common occasion for ear-rings to be noted by the poets is when they describe a decapitated head lying on the ground embellished by such ornaments. (VI,66,7; VII,15,37;VIII,19,28; IX,13,15).
Thus the most typical instancing of ear-rings in the epic is intimately associated with death. In book six, for example, of the twelve occasions for kunèala being mentioned, ten concern decapitated heads. (In book six, the usual formula is åi-robhiå ca sakuñèalaiï; in book seven the elements of the typical formula are åiraï kâyât sakuñèalam.) The final reference to ear-rings in the poem comes when all the dead heroes rise out of the Gaògâ and meet one last time with the remaining Kurus. All these dead are described as ‘possessing radiant ear-rings’, sarve bhrâjiæñukuñèalâï (XV,40,15).
where the ear-rings are exchanged for fame and a spear, and then the spear is given up to a figure who wears ear-rings, in return for further renown.24
No other players in the epic possess ear-rings that are so remark-able. Kings and s¯utas sometimes display ear-rings, but there the quality stops; the poets take no further notice of the fact.25 One such character who is thus remarked is the sûta or poet Saäjaya who sings much of the central part of the poem and who possesses the divine eyesight allowing him to be aware of what is occurring far away in the distance; he is called, kuñèalî, ‘the one with ear-rings’.26 Another is Jayadratha, whose decapitated head is
de-24In the account of the Mahâbhârata given by Colonel de Polier published in 1809 and republished in 1986 by Gallimard, Karña still has, at the end of his life,
“une petite plaque d’or et deux petits diamants”, which he offers to Arjuna and Këæña who have approached him in the disguise of brahmins as he lies dying. As Polier remarks, p.285, the two had come “`a voir un homme dont la charité et la gé-nérosité sont si universellement renommés.” This is curiously akin to what J.D.
Smith, 1982, has from a folk tradition in western India, where Karña, dying, gives to Këæña, his teeth.
25The first minor narrative in the poem however (I,3,1), is about Utanka going in search of ear-rings for his guru’s wife which a snake subsequently robs. It is this primary ‘framing’ tale that first introduces the snake sacrifice of Janamejaya.
This narrative is repeated in the Âåvamedhika parvan where again, the ear-rings are taken by a snake (XIV,57,13). Similarly, in book three when the dânavas de-ceive Duryodhana by telling him that Karña will kill Arjuna, they explain that the soul of Naraka had entered the body of Karña for this express purpose (III,240,19).
Now, in the Bhâgavata Purâña, X, Naraka is described as one who had stolen the ear-rings of Aditi, the mother of Indra. Këæña, in the account, returns these after having slain Naraka. This theme of ear-rings being taken is deeply ingrained within the Mahâbhârata narratives and constellates about Karña: his is the crucial lost ear-ring story with which the other tales resonate. One other notable instance where ear-rings appear, but in a slightly derogative sense, is when Arjuna makes his entry to the court of king Virâøa (IV,10,5). Here he is described as absurdly feminised and the ear-rings are part of that cosmetic. Draupadî, in IV,18,14, re-marks about Arjuna’s jewellery in an extremely contemptuous fashion, saying that one who once carried divine missiles now wears ear-rings!
26The sûtas in IV,65,13 are also sumëæøamañikuñèalâï. The gopâï, ‘guardian’, at IV,30,4, also receives this epithet. He does have a ‘chariot’ though, a ratha, which possibly links him with sûtas — hence the ear-rings. Curiously, in the next line, he speaks with the king who is åûraiï parivëtam, ‘surrounded by heroes’, and they are kuñèalâògadadhâribhiï, ‘sporting bracelets and ear-rings’. åûra is a marked term for hero, and a term that is particularly applicable to Karña. So it is
scribed as possessing ear-rings sakuñèalam, (VII,121,26).27 Also ear-ringed is Ghaøotkaca, a demon râkæasa who is instrumental in making Karña even more vulnerable than he is. His ear-rings are bâlasûryâbhe, ‘like a young sun’. Interestingly, in the next line he is described as also possessing a cuirass, this one being ‘broad and very bright and of brass or white metal’ (VII,150,10). As we shall see below in Chapter III with Bhîæma, identities are often played out antagonistically.
In book three, Indra, the progenitor of Arjuna, appears before Karña in order to divest him of his signs of invulnerability so that Arjuna will triumph in the forthcoming duel. Immediately prior to this, Karña’s own father, the Sun, Sûrya, comes to him in order to warn him about what Indra is up to. Karña dismisses Sûrya’s warning saying that for him to be able to give something to Indra, the chief of the deities, will only bring him fame. For the chief im-mortal to come and beg from him can only elevate Karña in terms of renown. He goes on to talk at length about the importance if not the priority of fame over anything else.
Indra then appears, disguised as a brahmin, and Karña hands over his jewels and breastplate, removing them bloodily with a knife. In return he receives a missile, a åakti that is unerring in its flight.28 Thus, although he is no longer invincible, he retains the potential capacity to destroy Arjuna, as well as earning the
superla-apposite that here we have a connection with ear-ring and åûra. See Jakobson, 1980, p.138, “The general meaning of the marked is characterized by the convey-ance of more precise, specific, and additional information than the unmarked term provides.”
27His henchman, Koøikâåya, with whom he attempts to kidnap Draupadî in the forest, is similarly described as kuñèalî, ‘ear-ringed’ (III,248,17). Like Saäjaya, Koøikâåya functions as a sûta, a ‘charioteer’. It would thus seem that kuñèalin is a signifier for this class of individual; Karña of course, belongs to the sûta class. In the Virâøa parvan ear-rings appear with a much greater frequency than any other book in the Mahâbhârata: for some reason they are far more commonplace in this section of the poem.
28The reason he does not use this to destroy his main enemy, Arjuna, is given in VII,157,37, where Këæña says, aham eva tu râdheyaä mohayâmi yudhâä vara / yato nâvasëjac chaktiä pâñèave åvetavâhane, ‘So I delude[d] the son of Râdhâ, best of warriors. Hence he did not discharge the weapon at the son of Pâñèu, him of the white horses’.
tive honour of having bestowed a gift upon the chief of the celes-tials. Later on, through a similar act of great liberality, Karña also relinquishes the missile.
When Karña had cut away his natural breast-plate he received the patronymic, vaikartana, from vikartana, the Sun, ‘divider’ or ‘dis-tributor’, but it can mean ‘the one who cuts’.29 When he does this cutting, all the deities and celestials are present and roar aloud and flowers fall from the sky (III,294,36).30 This is something that only occurs once again, that is, at the end of his life in book eight (VIII,63,60). Thus, these two instants, where there is a loss of im/mortality, are being emphatically indicated by the poets.
Not long after this Karña briefly skirmishes with Bhîma, the fa-ther of the râkæasa Ghaøotkaca. In this engagement he loses an ear-ring to one of Bhîma’s arrows. There is a triple polyptotonic play on the noun here, for the kind of arrow that is used is called a broad arrow or karñin.31
VII,114,3: sa karñaä karñinâ karne ... vivyâdha.
He pierced Karña on the ear with a broad arrow.
In the next line Bhîma also pierces his chest, which of course is no longer protected by the divine and invulnerable cuirass which In-dra had taken. This same phrase where the triple play on ear is made had also occurred sixty lines earlier on in the chapter, when someone else attacks Karña.32 So twice the audience is signalled
29tato vaikartanaï karñaï karmañâ tena so’bhavat, ‘Then, by this act Karña became Vaikartana’ (I,104,21). Këæña repeats this, karño vai tena vaikartanaï smëtaï (VII,155,19).
30 When Bhîæma elects to die at VI,114,33ff., there are identical phenomena.
Bhîæma, as shown below in Ch.III,2, has many traits in common with Karña. There is a similar phenomenon when Duryodhana finally dies, an event that Gitomer, 1992, has examined. Karña and Duryodhana are of course closely linked figures.
31Bhîæma, in the Åânti parvan, describing some of the rules of war, interdicts the use of such arrows (XII,16,11).
32 This is when Abhimanyu was assaulting Karña, sa karñaä karñinâ karñe punar vivyâdha phâlguniï, ‘Abhimanyu again pierced Karña on the ear with a broad arrow’ (VII,46,10 and 47,1). I follow the translation convention of only giv-ing primary proper names where the text supplies an epithet or secondary title.
this new mortality of the hero by the poet’s repetition of the sym-bolic locus of that mortality.
Similarly, just a few lines before the wheel of Karña’s chariot sticks in the earth in book eight, there is again such a signal (VIII,66,42). The audience has heard prophesied several times that the grounded wheel will be a sign for Karña’s death. A few lines prior to this, Karña, of course, has his ear-rings — presumably a new and ‘mortal’ set — and his crown, struck off by an arrow of Arjuna. Again, we observe the same pattern appearing: ear-rings or the absence of ear-rings and death.
Bhîma’s demon son, the râkæasa Ghaøotkaca, who wears ‘bril-liant ear-rings’, dîptakuñèalam, then goes into the attack. This ini-tial duel between Karña and the demon continues over many lines (VII,150,4-103). It is because Ghaøotkaca is destroying the Kuru forces in book seven that they beg Karña to save them (VII,154,48ff.) Just as Karña generously and impersonally relin-quished his ear-rings, so he relinquishes the missile; he does not hesitate to save his companions. He destroys Ghaøotkaca by using this final supernatural resource, the special spear, the åakti which was guaranteed to always find its target and which he had previ-ously reserved for Arjuna.33
VII,154,54: mëtyoï svasâraä jvalitâm ivolkâm.
A meteor, like the blazing sister of Death.
By the time the final duel with Arjuna happens, Karña no longer has either the protection nor the weaponry to triumph: which of course means death.
This stratagem to weaken and defeat Karña had been engineered by the super-subtle deity Këæña, who danced with delight and
be-The profusion of nomenclature can be confusing to those unfamilar with the poem.
33The spear is nihitâ varæapûgân vadhâyâjau satkëtâ phalgunasya, ‘kept and adored a succession of years for the destruction of Arjuna in battle’ (VII,154,53).
came atiharæam, ‘overjoyed’ (VII,155,11) when Karña was no more invincible to Arjuna.34 He says,
VII,155,13: åaktihastaä punaï karñaä ko loke’sti pumân iha ya enam abhitiæøhet ...
What man is there in the world who could withstand Karña with the spear in hand?
Complete with ear-rings and spear Karña was invincible in the three worlds; neither Indra nor Varuña nor Yama himself could defeat him (VII,155,15ff.), even Këæña was powerless. Këæña adds that Karña had now attained ‘human status’, so’dya mânuæatâm prâp-taï (VII,155,27), that is, he could be killed.35 It should be men-tioned that previously in the poem, in book one in fact, we heard that Ghaøotkaca was ‘created by Indra himself’ especially for the destruction of Karña, saa sëæøo maghavatâ ... karñasya ... vinâåâya, (I,143,38).
What is important here therefore, is firstly, how these divine ear-rings are really objects which denote great power and a certain non-mortality and which Karña is prepared to exchange in return for extraordinary fame and a spear. Secondly, when he does give up his invincibility even more, by using that special missile to fin-ish off Ghaøotkaca, he is again behaving in a fashion that will se-cure him fame and in conditions marked by the presence of these kuñèale, ear-rings.36
In return for this second act of bestowal we hear,
34 Twice had Këæña instructed Arjuna to desist from attacking Karña because the latter still held this missile (VII,148,33ff.) Even Saäjaya comments on this tactic of Këæña’s to keep Arjuna away from Karña at VII,157,28. Këæña then sum-mons Ghaøotkaca and requests that he venture against Karña (VII,148,40ff.)
35Although Këæña adds, nânyena kenacit / ëte tvâ, ‘not by anyone else except you!’ (VII,155,23). At this moment in the chariot, Këæña proceeds to sing a long eulogy of Karña, lavishly praising him (VII,155,24-27). He finishes this by tell-ing Arjuna that only one instant will occur when Karña will be able to be slain, that is, when his wheel sticks in the ground (VII,155,28). Later, he informs Arjuna that upadekæyâmy upâyaä te yena taä prahaniæyasi, ‘I shall indicate to you the stratagem with which you will kill him’ (VII,156,30).
36Ghaøoøkaca possesses both ear-rings and a cuirass. Symmetry is also a phe-nomenon qualifying the Karña-Arjuna relation; see below, Ch.III,1.
VII,154,63: tataï karñah kurubhih pûjyamâno yathâ åakro vëtravadhe marudbhiï.
Then Karña was being honoured by the Kurus, as Indra by the Maruts after the destruction of Vëtra.
That is, Karña is being praised as if he were the chief of the im-mortals himself. There is a circulation here of fame, and the two exchanges are marked by the unusual presence of ear-rings. In French one would say that, ‘Pompidou a cassé sa pipe’, or in Eng-lish, ‘George has kicked the bucket’. It is as if the idiom here is that
‘Karña has lost his ear-rings’. This is perhaps pushing the model a bit far, but the import is carried through.
As a corollary to the above, when Arjuna eventually slays Karña — and we have been hearing this refrain about his imminent death right from the beginning of the poem when the blind old king Dhëtarâæøra mentions him in his lament (I,1,139) — Arjuna is again and again likened to Indra slaying the demon Vëtra. That is, Karña is again and again put in the position of Vëtra.
VIII,63,16: indravëtrâv iva ... samupasthitau ...
They appeared ... like Indra and Vëtra.
We hear of this particular myth many times in the Ëgveda, it could almost be said to be the ‘charter myth’ of Vedic culture or poetry.
It is a myth associated with the primary cosmogonic act whereby the three worlds are made viable for human life. At this point
It is a myth associated with the primary cosmogonic act whereby the three worlds are made viable for human life. At this point