Karna in the context of "Surya"

Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, IAST: Arjuna) is one of the central characters of the ancient Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is the third oldest of the five Pandava brothers and is widely recognised as the most distinguished among them. He is the son of Indra, the king of the gods, and Kunti, wife of King Pandu of Kuru dynasty—making him a divine-born hero. Arjuna is famed for his extraordinary prowess in archery and mastery over celestial weapons. Throughout the epic, Arjuna sustains a close friendship with his maternal cousin, Krishna, who serves as his spiritual guide.

Arjuna is celebrated for numerous heroic exploits throughout the epic. From an early age, he distinguishes himself as an exceptional student under the tutelage of the revered warrior-sage Drona. In his youth, Arjuna secured the hand of Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, by excelling in an archery competition. Subsequently, during a period of temporary exile prompted by a breach of a fraternal agreement, Arjuna embarked on a journey during which he entered into matrimonial alliances with three princesses: Ulupi, Chitrangada, and Subhadra. From these unions, he fathered four sons: Shrutakarma, Iravan, Babhruvahana and Abhimanyu. Arjuna plays a major role in establishing his elder brother Yudhishthira’s sovereignty, subduing numerous kingdoms and setting fire to the forest of Khandavaprastha. When the Pandavas are deceitfully exiled after being tricked into forfeiting their kingdom by their jealous cousins, the Kauravas, Arjuna vows to kill Karna—a key Kaurava ally and Arjuna's main rival who is later revealed to be his elder half-brother. During exile, Arjuna undertakes a journey to acquire divine weapons and earns the favour of the god Shiva. Beyond his martial prowess, Arjuna was also skilled in music and dance, which enabled him to disguise himself as a eunuch teacher of princess Uttarā of Matsya during his final year of exile. During this period, he also defeats the entire Kuru army.

Draupadi (Sanskrit: द्रौपदी, romanized: draupadī, lit. 'Daughter of Drupada'), also referred to as Krishnā, Panchali and Yajnaseni, is one of the central characters of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata (c. 400 BCE – 400 CE). Born from a yajna (fire sacrifice) conducted by King Drupada of Panchala, she is the princess of the Panchala Kingdom and the common wife of the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva—in a polyandrous marriage sanctioned by divine prophecy and narratives of her previous lives. Attested as a partial incarnation of the goddess Shri, Draupadi initially serves as the queen of Indraprastha, overseeing the kingdom's finances and treasury. She is also described as a sakhi (close friend) of the god Krishna.

The most notable episode featuring Draupadi takes place during the game of dice at the Kuru court. In this game, Yudhishthira, having lost Indraprastha and his freedom, wagers and loses Draupadi to his cousin Duryodhana—the leader of the Kauravas. She is forcibly dragged into the royal assembly and deemed a slave. However, she challenges the assembly, questioning the legality of being staked after her husband had already forfeited his own freedom. After she is publicly humiliated by Duryodhana and his ally Karna for being married to five men, the Kaurava prince Dushasana attempts to disrobe her, but her honour is miraculously preserved, as her garment becomes endlessly extended. The Kuru king Dhritarashtra then intervenes and grants Draupadi two boons, resulting in the release of the Pandavas from bondage.

Duryodhana (Sanskrit: दुर्योधन, IAST: Duryodhana), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. He is the eldest of the Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gandhari of Kuru dynasty. Born through a miraculous manner, his birth is accompanied by ill-omens. Duryodhana grows up in Hastinapura and later becomes its crown prince. Driven by innate selfishness, jealousy, and hostility towards his cousins—the five Pandava brothers—Duryodhana frequently plots against them, aided by his principal allies: his trickster uncle Shakuni, his loyal friend Karna, his devoted brother Dushasana and his blind and indulgent father Dhritarashtra.

Duryodhana's envy culminates in the infamous dice game, where he humiliates Draupadi, the queen of the Pandavas. This incident provokes Bhima, the second Pandava, to vow that he will one day smash Duryodhana's thigh. Later, with the help of Shakuni, Duryodhana tricks the Pandavas into relinquishing their kingdom and forces them into exile. Even after the Pandavas complete their thirteen-year exile, he refuses to restore their kingdom, directly triggering the outbreak of the Kurukshetra War.

Kunti (Sanskrit: कुन्ती, IAST: Kuntī), also known as Pritha (Sanskrit: पृथा, IAST: Pṛthā), is a prominent character in the Mahabharata, an ancient Sanskrit epic poem. A princess of the Vrishni dynasty, she becomes the wife of Pandu, king of the Kuru Kingdom, and is chiefly known as the mother of the five Pandavas—having given birth to the three eldest, Yudhishthira, Bhima, and Arjuna—and raising their younger stepbrothers, Nakula and Sahadeva, as her own.

Kunti is one of the few female figures in the epic whose early life is described in detail. Born to Shurasena, she is adopted by her childless uncle, Kuntibhoja, and during her adolescence, she receives a divine mantra from the sage Durvasa, which allows her to invoke any deity and bear a child by them. Out of curiosity, she uses the mantra to invoke the sun god Surya, resulting in the concealed birth of her first son, Karna. Due to the societal stigma surrounding childbirth outside of marriage, she abandons Karna shortly after his birth.

Shalya (Sanskrit: शल्य, lit. Pike) is a major character in the Mahabharata, one of two Sanskrit epics of Ancient India. He was a powerful king from the Bahlika clan, ruling over the Madra kingdom in the Northwest region of the Indian subcontinent. Although he was the brother of Madri, the wife of Pandu, Shalya sided with the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra War. Despite his allegiance, he supported the Pandavas and wished for their victory. While he initially fought as a key warrior for the Kauravas, he was made Karna’s charioteer and, following Karna’s death, was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava forces. Shalya was killed by the eldest Pandava, Yudhishthira.

The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India composed by Veda Vyasa. At its heart lies the epic struggle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The central characters include the five Pandava brothers—Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva—along with their wife Draupadi. On the opposing side, the hundred Kaurava brothers are led by the elder brother, Duryodhana. However, the Mahabharata is richly populated with other notable figures including Krishna, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Kunti, Dushasana, Kripa, Dhritrashtra, Gandhari, Shakuni, Ashwatthama, Balarama, Subhadra, Vyasa, Abhimanyu, Pandu, Satyavati and Amba.

The Mahabharata manuscripts exist in numerous versions, wherein the specifics and details of major characters and episodes vary, often significantly. Except for the sections containing the Bhagavad Gita which is remarkably consistent between the numerous manuscripts, the rest of the epic exists in many versions. The differences between the Northern and Southern recensions are particularly significant, with the Southern manuscripts more profuse and longer. The manuscripts found in the North and South India have "great divergence" in details, though the thematic essence is similar. Scholars have attempted to construct a critical edition, relying mostly on a study of the Bombay edition, the Poona edition, the Calcutta edition and the south Indian editions of the Mahabharata manuscripts. The most accepted version is one prepared by scholars led by Vishnu Sukthankar at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, preserved at the Kyoto University, the Cambridge University and various Indian universities.