Karna is one of the most celebrated heroes of the Mahabharata. Born to an unwed princess, Kunti, through a boon granted by Rishi Durvasa, Karna was abandoned at birth. Kunti placed him in a basket along with some riches and set the basket adrift in a river. He was discovered by a charioteer named Adhiratha, who raised him as his own son. The boy grew to be Karna, renowned for his valour and generosity. After challenging the Kuru prince Arjuna in an arena, Karna was crowned as the King of Anga by Duryodhana. Remarkably, Karna is not the only mythological hero with such a birth narrative; many cultures possess similar tales of origin for their heroes.
From one of the earliest places to have a civilisation, Mesopotamia, comes the story of Sargon of Akkad, the first ruler of the Akkadian empire. Sargon was the illegitimate son of a priestess in the city of Azupiranu. She placed the baby in a basket, sealed its mouth with bitumen and cast it into the river. The river carried the basket until it was seen by Akki, the water drawer. Akki brought the baby up as his own son. Sargon first became the cup-bearer to Ur-Zababa, King of Kish. After several life-and-death incidents, he finally became the king.
Moses, the prophet revered in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Bahai faiths, was born in Egypt. At that time, Hebrews used to be slaves in Egypt. They were increasing in population, and the Egyptian Pharaoh was worried that they may align themselves with Egypt’s enemies. To reduce their population, he ordered that newborn Hebrew boys be killed. Moses’ mother hid him and later put him in a basket and floated it on the Nile River. The daughter of the Pharaoh had gone to the river to bathe. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to fetch it. When she opened it, she saw a Hebrew baby. She brought the child with her and had her attendants fetch a Hebrew wet nurse to provide milk for the newborn. This happened to be Moses’ birth mother. Moses grew up in the Egyptian royal family and later led the Hebrews out of Egypt.
In Greek mythology, Oedipus was a famous tragic hero. He was born to King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes. Before his birth, a prophecy was made that he would kill his father. Wishing to thwart the prophecy, Laius gave the newborn baby to a shepherd to be left to die on a mountainside. The shepherd took pity on the baby and handed him to another shepherd, who gave Oedipus to a neighbouring king who was childless. Oedipus grew up there and fulfilled the prophecy.