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Drona
Karna is the son of Kunti and a sun god, but his birth is kept secret and he is not considered one of the Pandavas, despite sharing a mother with some of them. He earns the nickname Karna the Cutter due to his decision to cut off the famous earrings and armor that once made him invincible (after being tricked by Indra). He is a noble warrior, a giant “walking mountain” of a man, who nevertheless sides with the arrogant Duryodhana against his half-brothers the Pandavas, showing how war can lead to complicated allegiances.
Karna Quotes in Mahabharata
The Mahabharata quotes below are all either spoken by Karna or refer to Karna. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1. Beginnings Quotes
Ugraśravas the Suta, teller of ancient tales, son of Lomaharshana the Suta, once approached the Brahmin seers assembled in the Naimisha forest to attend the twelve-year sacrifice of Śaunaka their chief, bowing politely to those keepers of keen vows.
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Chapter 3. The Forest Quotes
‘I choose fame in the world, O Sun, even over life itself; for he that has fame gains heaven, whilst he that has none perishes.’
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Chapter 7. Drona Quotes
And he performed this last find and astonishing foe-slaying feat: at the time he was pierced in the heart by the Spear, he appeared, O king, huge as a cloud, or a mountain; then that Rakshasa prince fell headlong to earth from on high, body torn, limbs stilled, lifeless and speechless, but gigantic in form. Bhima’s son Ghatotkaca, doer of fearful deeds, fell with the terrifying, fearful form he had assumed; and thus even in death he smashed on whole section of your army, bringing terror to the Kauravas.
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Chapter 8. Karna Quotes
‘Karna, if you challenge Arjuna to battle, you are a hare challenging a mighty elephant with tusks like plough-shafts, its temporal glands bursting with rut. If you want to fight the son of Kunti, you are a silly child poking with a stick a deadly poisonous king cobra in its hole, its hood expanded.’
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The glorious standard of Karna the mighty chariot-fighter was now destroyed by the noble wearer of the diadem with a razor-edged, gold-shafted arrow that he shot with the greatest of care; and with the fall of that standard there fell too the Kurus’ fame and dharma, and their hopes of victory, sir, and all that they held dear, and their very hearts.
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Chapter 9. Salya Quotes
Seeing these most wonderful happenings, and the honour paid to Duryodhana, the Pandavas felt ashamed; they grieved mightily to hear it said that Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and Buriśravas had been killed unfairly. But Krishna, seeing them anxious and downcast, proclaimed in a voice sounding like thunder or drums, ‘Duryodhana here with his swift weapons, and those other valiant chariot-fighters, could not have been slain by you on the battlefield in a fair fight. That is why I devised these stratagems, lords of men—otherwise the victory of the Pandavas could never have happened.’
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Chapter 11. The Women Quotes
Thus Yudhishthira lord of dharma lamented again and again; then, weeping softly, O king, the lord of men made an offering of water to his brother.
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Karna Character Timeline in Mahabharata
The timeline below shows where the character Karna appears in Mahabharata. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1. Beginnings
...the heroic five Pandavas brothers: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva. Abhimanyu is Arjuna’s son. Karna is a chariot-fighter and has part of a sun god in him.
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...known as Pritha). Before meeting Pandu, Kunti was a virgin until she had a child (Karna) with a sun god. Because of the unusual circumstances, she was allowed to keep her...
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...wield their weapons, they will carry out a special task for him. Drona also instructs Karna, who looks down on the Pandavas (who are secretly his half-brothers). For a short period...
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...to put on a public display of their new weaponry prowess. All of a sudden Karna, a “walking mountain” of a man, interrupts the festivities. Karna lays down a challenge to...
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Arjuna agrees to the fight. He goes to one side with the fellow Pandavas, while Karna goes to the other side with Duryodhana and the other sons of Dhritarashtra. When Karna’s...
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...as a pot” and loves his Pandava brothers. It is Ghatotkaca’s fate to eventually defeat Karna.
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...his objections. THE WEDDING. The five Pandavas marry Draupadi. THE COMING OF VIDURA. Duryodhana and Karna hear about the wedding from Vidura. While Duryodhana and Karna argue to Dhritarashtra that the...
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Chapter 2. The Hall
...he nevertheless assures Duryodhana that he has many allies of his own, like Drona and Karna.
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...and how he took advantage of Yudhishthira’s gambling vice. He begins to gather support, so Karna speaks up in defense of Duryodhana.
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Karna orders one of his brothers to strip the Pandavas and Draupadi. The Pandavas take off...
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Chapter 3. The Forest
THE TAKING OF THE EARRINGS. Janamejaya asks to hear more about Karna, so Vaiśampayana tells more about him. It’s been 13 years of exile for the Pandavas....
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Karna tells the Sun that he will hand over his earrings and armor to Indra anyway—because...
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Indra takes the form of a Brahmin and approaches Karna. He asks for Karna’s earrings and armor, but Karna refuses, telling Indra he knows his...
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Indra warns Karna that he must only use his Spear in times of need, or else it will...
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Chapter 4. Virata
...as he rides in Arjuna’s chariot, and they come to a Kuru army that includes Karna, Duryodhana, Kripa, Bhishma, and Drona. Uttara jumps off the chariot and tries to run away,...
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Chapter 5. Perseverance
Duryodhana and Karna both speak up saying they want to fight anyway. After everyone leaves, Dhritarashtra privately asks...
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...She has her own messages to pass on to the Pandavas. Krishna travels onward with Karna and talks with him for a while.
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PERSUADING KARNA. Samjaya was riding with Krishna and Karna, and he reports back to Dhritarashtra what they discussed. Kunti (Karna’s biological mother, as well...
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Chapter 6. Bhishma
...dead, Bhishma laments how Duryodhana’s foolishness will be the downfall of the Kauravas. Later, however, Karna (who promised not to fight while Bhishma was alive) asks permission of Bhishma to fight...
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Chapter 7. Drona
...the Pandavas in battle on the eleventh day of fighting. But the first appearance of Karna on the battlefield raises their spirits. Duryodhana asks Karna who should replace Bhishma’s position as...
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...is dead. All sides fight fiercely, with the Pandavas regrouping and Arjuna slaying three of Karna’s brothers before the armies withdraw to their camps for the evening.
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...turns to fight Abhimanyu. But Abhimanyu continues to fight fiercely, slaying the younger brother of Karna. A son of Duryodhana also fights Abhimanyu, and Abhimanyu shoots his head off.
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...to slay great heroes, even after taking many arrows to his own body. Drona and Karna discuss how to slay Abhimanyu, with Drona suggesting that Karna and others try to ride...
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Bhima manages to get Karna off the battlefield by killing his charioteer. Duryodhana and Drona regroup, devoting all the Kaurava...
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In Samjaya’s retelling, Bhima goes after Karna and manages to kill five of Dhritarashtra’s 100 sons. Karna manages to knock Bhima out...
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After this, Arjuna urges Krishna to take him toward Jayadratha. Karna is the last defense, but Arjuna manages to slay his horses. Aśvatthaman takes Karna into...
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...Bhima manages to kill 10 more of Dhritarashtra’s 100 sons, as well as one of Karna’s brothers.
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...advantage, and many Kauravas have to retreat. Arjuna wants to battle to the death against Karna, but Krishna says it’s not time and that Ghatotkaca, now revived, should go instead. Ghatotkaca...
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Ghatotkaca and Karna fight fiercely, with Ghatotkaca using illusions to distract his opponent, but Karna dispels these illusions...
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Karna doesn’t back down, however, and he destroys a shower of arrows headed at him. Ghatotkaca...
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The destruction around Karna seems so great that many encourage him to use his special celestial weapon Spear from...
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...his army and says they must take out the mighty enemy warriors like Drona and Karna. Many of the fighters are weary, but after a short break, the battle continues through...
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Chapter 8. Karna
THE KILLING OF KARNA. After the Kauravas finish mourning the death of Drona, Karna gets appointed as his successor in command. But two days later, Karna dies at the...
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...on until nightfall before withdrawing back to their camp. Back at camp, Aśvatthaman recommends that Karna be the new commander, and Duryodhana agrees with him. Karna accepts and receives praise from...
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On the 16th day of fighting, Karna leads the Kauravas into battle. Yudhishthira urges Arjuna to focus on killing Karna, the greatest...
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...head back to their camps. They keep fighting the next morning—the 17th day of battle. Karna tells Duryodhana that this is the decisive day when either Karna kills Arjuna or Arjuna...
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Karna begins offering money to anyone who can point him toward Arjuna. Salya argues with him,...
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The battle rages on, with Karna and Arjuna each killing many of their respective opponents on different parts of the battlefield....
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At one point, Yudhishthira thinks Arjuna has slain Karna, then he gets angry when he finds out Karna is still alive. Arjuna is so...
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Karna and Arjuna finally face off with their armies. Karna gets first blood, hitting Arjuna with...
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At one point, Karna nearly hits Arjuna’s head, but Krishna maneuvers the chariot, and instead it just knocks off...
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Arjuna manages to tear apart Karna’s standard with a gold-shafted arrow. Arjuna asks the gods to bless his next arrow, then...
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Chapter 9. Salya
After Karna’s death, Duryodhana appoints Salya as the next commander, but soon after, Yudhishthira kills him. Not...
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...rational option is to surrender to the Pandavas. Aśvatthaman recommends Salya as a replacement for Karna. Salya leads the Kauravas into battle on the 18th day, but the Pandavas force them...
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Chapter 11. The Women
...the many grieving women perform water rites for the dead men. The Pandavas learn that Karna was in fact Kunti’s biological son all along. Yudhishthira makes a water offering to his...
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Chapter 12. Tranquility
...the Ganga for a month to purify themselves. Yudhishthira, saddened to learn that the dead Karna was his elder half-brother, asks the seer Narada why Karna had to die in battle....
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Chapter 18. The Ascent to Heaven
...protests that if this is truly Indra’s heaven, he should see other dead heroes like Karna, Satyaki, and Dhrishtadyumna. He asks again to see his brothers and Draupadi.
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