Karna Parva

The Karna Parva (Sanskrit: कर्ण पर्व), or the Book of Karna, is the eighth of eighteen books of the Indian Epic Mahabharata. Karna Parva has 96 chapters.

Karna Parva describes the appointment of Karna as the third commander-in-chief of the Kaurava alliance. The Parva recites how war begins to tire and frustrate everyone, triggers angry shouting matches between Yudhishthira and Arjuna - brothers who otherwise love each other. This book describes how brutal war leads to horrifying behavior over the 16th and 17th day of the 18-day Kurukshetra War. At the end of the parva, Karna is killed in a fierce battle with Arjuna.

Karna Parva includes a treatise by Aswatthama which focuses on the motive of the deeds of human life. The crowning incident of this Parva is the final confrontation between Karna and Arjuna, in which Karna is killed unfairly.

This Parva (book) has 96 adhyayas (chapters).

The eighth book of the Mahabharata praises Karna's warrior abilities. He defeated three of five Pandava brothers - Yudhishthira, Nakula and Sahedeva. However, Karna did not kill any of them in order to keep his promise to Kunti - the biological mother of Pandavas and his - to not harm his four step brothers, but only kill Arjuna (see Udyoga Parva). Yudhishthira became upset with Karna's action and behavior on the battlefield, criticized Arjuna for failing everyone during the war, and particularly by not engaging Karna. This upset Arjuna who reminded Yudhishthira, in Chapter 70 of Karna parva, that Yudhishthira's addiction to gambling was at the root cause of everything - from their exile to this unnecessary war. Krishna intervened between the two brothers and reconciled them.

On the second last day of the war, Karna and Arjuna engaged in a mortal fight, in which Karna was slowly gaining upper hand. Karna's chariot sank into earth. Karna stepped out to remove the wheel, asking Arjuna to suspend their battle, as the agreed rules of just war required. However, Krishna told Arjuna that Karna had no right to the rules of a just war because Karna and Duryodhana had consistently violated those rules of justice before the war, including when the game of dice was played and when Draupadi was dragged to the royal court by hair. Karna hung his head in shame but continued the fight on a tilted chariot, even making Arjuna swoon. While Arjun was unconscious, Karna decided to utilize the time in extracting the wheel of his chariot. Krishna knew that it was the only time possible to kill Karna, else he was invincible. Arjuna responded with Anjalika Astra, killing Karna.

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