Gaudavaho

Author(s): Vakpatiraj, Narhari Govind Suru, P L Vaidya, A N Upadhye, H C Bhayani
Publisher: Prakrit Text Society Ahmedabad

Page 497

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Gaüḍavaho
you drown (faforg) in it, that was an occasion for you, for having a practice () of entering the water.
492. Karna is one of the great heroes of the Mahabharata. He is the son of Kunti by Surya, before her marriage to Pandu. Kunti on one occasion paid such attention to the sage Durvāsas that he gave her a charm, by virtue of which she might have a child by any god, she preferred to invoke. She chose the sun and the result was Karna, who was equipped with arms and armour. Afraid of censure and disgrace, Kunti exposed the child on the banks of the Yamuna, where it was found by Nandana or Adhiratha, the Sūta or charioteer of Dhṛtaräṣṭra. The charioteer and his wife Radha brought him up as their own and the child passed on as such. When he grew up, Indra disguised himself as a Brāhmaṇa and cajoled him out of his cuirass. Karna was made king of Anga by Duryodhana in order to quality him to fight in the passage of arms at the Swayamvara of Draupadi. This princess haughtily rejected him, saying "I wed not with the baseborn." Karna had especial rivalry and animosity against Arjuna, whom he vowed to kill. The Mahabharata notes many clashes between these two warriors. The present Gāthā notes one in which the snake Kanda-puccha, who bore hostility against Arjuna since the incident of his burning the Khandava forest, transforms himself into a deadly arrow in the hands of Karna and gets himself shot against him. Krsna perceived the snakearrow and immediately stepped down the chariot and its horses, as a result of which the arrow hit only the crest-gem on the crown of Arjuna. In the final terrific combat between him and Arjuna, the wheel of Karna's chariot tore deep down into the earth, immobilising the chariot and when Karna got busy to extract the buried wheel, Arjuna killed him with his deadly arrow. This incident led to a hot discussion between the two warriors and later among the other kings as well.
The snake Kanda-puccha, turned into an arrow, was shot at Arjuna. When he struck against the crest-jewel in the crown of Arjuna (f), he emitted sparks of poisonous fire, which looked like the particles of the jewel being thrown out by the snake who swallowed the gem. Cf. खाण्डववनदाहसमये कृतवैरः कण्डपुच्छो नाम सर्पः अर्जुनेन सह युद्धोद्यतस्य कर्णस्य शरीभूय अर्जुनस्य शिरश्छेत्तुं प्रसृतः । तेन च सारथीभूतवासुदेवकृतरथप्रयोगविशेषस्यार्जुनस्य शिरस्यप्रभवता शिरश्चूडामणिरेव