Bhagavad Gita · Mahabharata Codex

Karna

कर्ण · karṇa

King of Anga; Duryodhana's closest friend; secretly the eldest son of Kunti

The eldest Pandava fights against his brothers, and only he and his mother know it.

Karna was born to the unmarried Kunti by the sun god, with golden armour and earrings on his body. She set him afloat on a river, and a charioteer and his wife raised him. All his life he was mocked as a charioteer's son, though he was Arjuna's equal with the bow. Duryodhana alone honoured him and made him a king. Karna repaid that with total loyalty, even after he learned the truth of his birth.