Karna is one of the most complex characters in Mahabharata. He has so many shades of grey that a lot can be learnt about human nature and psychology by studying his behaviour. On the one hand, he was a brave and skilled warrior who was famous for his generosity. He was a loyal friend to those who helped him.
On the other hand, he never tried to stop Duryodhana from evil actions. In fact, in many incidents like the ‘Ghosha Yatra’ and the ‘Dyuta Krida’, he was among those inciting Duryodhana. So, was he a hero or an antihero?
Let us consider the quality he was most famous for—generosity. He was called Danaveer. He was known to never refuse a Brahmin anything. Indra took advantage of this quality by asking for his divine kavach-kundala (armour and earrings) that had made Karna invincible.
It is said that Karna had realised it was Indra, in the guise of a Brahmin, who was trying to help his rival Arjuna. However, Karna still chose to grant Indra’s request. He was so exceptionally generous despite his deep hatred for the Pandavas, and Arjuna in particular. Can a person be both hateful and generous at the same time?
Karna’s life was defined, to a large extent, by the circumstances of his birth. Born to a still unwed Kunti, he was abandoned at birth. Left to his fate inside a wooden box sailing on the Ganga River, he was fortunate to be rescued by Hastinapur’s charioteer Adhiratha. He and his wife Radha were childless and brought up this newborn.
Though Karna received great love and care from his foster parents, he always pined to know the identity of his biological parents. Karna aspired to become the greatest archer of the world, but no Guru would teach him because his foster father was a suta (charioteer), considered inferior to the Kshatriyas. Because of this, Guru Dronacharya refused to impart knowledge of divine weapons to him. Karna gained the knowledge by lying to Parshurama but his lie was eventually discovered and he got cursed.
No matter how much Karna struggled against his perceived low birth, he could not escape it. Karna seems to have had a strong inner desire to be accepted and respected in the society. His friendship with Duryodhana was a means to social acceptability. His generosity too was somewhere born out of this thirst for name and fame. He wanted to give away more than anyone else and acquire a reputation greater than anyone else’s. Karna’s generosity, and how it became a cause of his end, is one of the many things that have made Karna the most tragic figure in Mahabharata.