Cause of Karna’s Death in Kurukshetra In Mahabharata English Version
Karna’s two curses given by his teacher Parashurama and by a Brahmin resulted in his defeat of Arjuna and ultimately led to his death during the battle in the Mahabharata.
Here are 2 curses received by Karna that determined his life path in the war in Kurukshetra
1. Parasurama’s Curse:
Like the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Karna was also a disciple of Dronacharya. Once, he approached Dronacharya and asked him to teach him about the brahmastra and the art of letting go and summoning him.
Dronacharya taught about Brahmastra only to his favorite disciple Arjuna and partly to his son Ashwathama. So he refused to teach Karna about the brahmastra.
After being rejected by Dronacharya, he decided to learn about the brahmastra from Parashurama. Parashurama was the teacher of Dronacharya.
But there is one problem. The problem was that Parashurama only taught Brahmins, and Karna was not a Brahmin either.
Thus, Karna presented himself before Parashurama as a Brahmin without revealing his true identity.
Parashurama accepted him as his disciple. He trained him until he declared Karna equal to himself in the arts of war and archery. He also taught him about the brahmastra and the technique of releasing and summoning it.
Karna’s curse
One day after training, Karna offered his master Parashurama in his lap to rest and take a nap.
While Parashurama was sleeping, a terrible insect pierced his thigh with its teeth. Even after the excruciating pain, Karna didn’t move because he didn’t want to disturb his teacher. His thigh was injured, and finally, blood started to ooze out of his thigh.
When Parashurama woke up, he saw blood coming out of Karna’s wound.
He soon learned that Karna was not a Brahmin. He knew that a Brahmin could not endure pain for so long.
An angry Parashurama cursed Karna:
Parashurama became angry that Karna lied to him about being a brahmin in greed for weapons.
He curses Karna that he will engage in a fight with someone equal to him in strength and skill when his death comes. During this time of battle, brahmastras will not appear before him.
Upon hearing this, Karna became very sad and guilty for his transgression, and left.
Then, on his last day on the battlefield against Arjuna, Karna forgot the spell to summon the brahmastra weapon.
2. Brahmin’s Curse:
Once while in the hermitage of Parashurama, he wandered alone by the sea with his sword and bow. He started practicing his archery skills with his bow and arrows. But by accident, he killed a Brahmin’s cow.
The Brahmin became angry. He cursed for being killed by his enemy when his attention was diverted in the middle of the battle.
The brahmin said, You always try to compete with someone namely Arjuna, and you have been fighting against him every day. Because of this evil, when you fight with it, the earth will swallow the wheels of your chariot. O worst man, When you fight against your enemy, disturbed because the wheels of your chariot have been eaten by the earth, he will show his courage and cut off your head. O fool, Leave this place. Just as you are annoyed when you act against me, others will chop and drop your head when you are disturbed.
Shanti Parva, Mahabharata
Later, during his battle with Arjuna, when Karna was busy removing the wheels of his chariot which was stuck in the mud. During this time, he was shot by Arjuna, on the advice of Krishna.
So, that’s how two curses impacted Karna’s fate, but in the end it was his actions that resulted in his downfall and death in the Kurukshetra war in the Mahabharata.
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