Kunti's first son, given away at birth and raised by a charioteer, who spends his life being told his skill does not outrank his upbringing.
Appears in
Draupadi's svayamvara — An archery test won by a supposed dead man in disguise, and a mother's careless word that binds five brothers to one wife.
Draupadi in the assembly — Dragged into a full court, the queen puts a question of law to the elders — and every one of them declines to answer it.
Abhimanyu inside the wheel — A boy who knows how to break into a formation and not how to break out of it is sent in first, and the gap closes behind him
Embodies
Birth and worth — Whether a man is measured by the womb he came from or the skill he can prove, argued in the epic by throwing the word suta-putra at him
The binding vow — A promise that outlives the reason it was made for, and the ruin its keeping costs everyone around it.
Questions to explore
Karna is the son of a queen and the son of a charioteer at the same time — which one does the epic finally treat as decisive?
Does the Critical Edition contain Draupadi refusing Karna at the svayamvara because of his birth, or is that a later addition?
Is Karna's loyalty to Duryodhana gratitude, or the only place he was ever offered standing?
