SPLIT PERSONALITY OF KARNA (ii PART)

Sri Mdhwacharya  clarifies this point thus: 

When Kunti wanted to test the power of Mantras that Rudramshasambhoota Durvas had taught her, she first recited the Mantra to invoke and propitiate Sun God. She took bath during her periods and invoked the Sun casually. The Shloka in this regard is:

Rutau tu sA samAplutA pareekShaNAya tanmanOho|

SamAhwayad DivAkaram sa chAjagAm tatkShaNAt||

After she invoked the Sun, he appeared in front of her and she could not send him away without sensuously satisfying him. 

Sa tatra jajnivAn swayam dwiteeyarUpakO viBhuhu|
SavarmadivyakunDalO jwalanniva swatEjasA(Mahabharata Nirnaya- Canto 11 Shloka 155)||
Adorned with divine Kundalas and sparkling with his natural rdiation, Sun entered Kunti in his alternate form. The real clarification is this:
PurA sa VAlimAraNapraBhUtadOShakANAt|
SahasravarmanAminAsrENa vEShTitO(a)jani||

Earlier (during Tretayuga), since he (Sun) had prompted Srirama as Sugreeva to kill Vali (Indramsha), he (Sugreeva or Sun) had attracted a sin. Therefore, he (Sun) was born in Kunti with the traits of a demon called Sahasravarma.
TaThApi RAmasEvanAddarEshcha sanniDhAnayuk|
SudarshaneeyakarNataha sa KarNanAmakO(a)Bhavat||

However, since the Sun had greatly served and revered (as Sugreeva) Srirama, he had the good fortune of being very close to the Lord. Since he had very beautiful ears, he came to be called as Karna. 

Whenever his mind was being afflicted by the traits of Sahasravarma (demon), Karna used to be uncultured, uncivic, amoral, unjust and cunning.

SPLIT PERSONALITY OF KARNA

Karna is known for loyalty, modesty, kindness, stoicism, steadfast mind, gifting, love, affection and so on. His loyalty to Dluryodhana is unquestionable. After being made the head of Anga Desha by Duryodhana at a very critical juncture, Karna's foster father was hesitating to meet him. But, Karna goes to his foster father and hugs him. When he was approached by Kunti and Lord Krishna and was told to shift to Pandavas' camp, Karna exhibits utmost loyalty to Duryodhana and a very high degree of stoicism. Despite being cautioned by his father Sun, Karna gives away his Kundala. He was known gift away anything to anyone at an point of time, even if such gifting was detrimental to his very existence. 

However, Karna's attitude at the time of Rape of Draupadi and the killing of Abhimanyu smack of sheer lack of reasoning, culture or morality. As Duryodhana was very intimate to him, Karna could have asked Duryodhana to abstain from all his evil deeds, ill-motivated acts etc. But, Karna never even opposed Duryodhana. On the contrary, he supported and encouraged Duryodhana in all his mischievous acts and thoughts. What was the reason for this split personality? Read tomorrow for the justification.

How did Vishnu repay Vali in Dwapara yuga?

When Srirama hit Vali with an arrow from behind a tree to kill him during Tretayuga, Vali questions Srirama's action. Srirama explains to Vali: "First of all, Sugreeva had surrendered to me and in turn, I had promised to protect him from you and make him the King of Kishkindha. If I had appeared in front of you now, you too would have surrendered to me and I would not have been able to keep the promise made to Sugreeva. Secondly, I have a mission to save this Earth rom Ravana. If you would have killed, which you might not have succeeded in doing, my mission would have failed. Why you could not have killed Ravana is because you cannot forego the boons bestowed upon Ravana by Lord Brahma. Thirdly, I had to punish for banishing a sincere and honest brother and for living with his wife as it is amoral and illegal. Fourthly, you are a powerful Vanara and hunting animals from behind a tree is quite a common practice. However, if you still want, I will make you alive again. Choice is yours." Vali concedes and says: "I am quite happy to die at your hands Rama and if you make me alive now, I will not get another opportunity to get killed by you, the Lord. Please take proper care of Angada, my son." In spite of this conversation, Lord Vishnu did not want to leave the matter there. Vali was the Amsha of Indra and he was again born during Dwapara as Arjuna. Lord Kirshna, an incarnation of Maha Vishnu, serves Arjuna as a charioteer, friend, philosopher (by preaching Geeta) and guide to him till the very end. That is the conviction which is beyond explanation. Lord is always gracious, kind, compassionate and considerate to his devotees. Om Sri VishnuvE Namaha. 

Another side of Kamsa!

In one of the Pravachanas I have heard through an audio, without knowing who he is, I was surprised and to a great extent convinced about another angle from which Kmsa can be understood. The narration goes like this....

When Kamsa tries to summon Krishna from Gokul to his palace, he had a clear understanding of his fate. He just wanted Krishna to come and kill him as he had foreseen that he had enough of this world and that the time had come for his departure from this world. He eagerly waited for Lord Krishna to get killed. But, his action, words and messages were all misunderstood by the world that in reality, Kamsa wanted to kill Krishna. This reminds me of another instance where even Duryodhana had realised the power of Krishna better than any of the Pandavas. When Krishna was coming to Hastinavati, Duryodhana actually planned to arrest Krishna. However, Krishna pressed his toe on the threshold while entering the royal hall making Duryodhana fall from his seat at the feet of the Lord. While Krishna tried to lift him up saying "Why should a great King like you fall at my feet?" Duryodhana whispered in the Lord's ear "I know, you prompted me to think of arresting you and then you have made me fall at your feet. Now, you are addressing me as the King, whereas you are the real king of this whole universe. I am just a puppet and you are playing with me as you do with all the beings." This sort of thought never crossed the minds of anyone and only other exceptions were, perhaps, Bheeshma and Karna. Duryodhana surprises everyone in this instance.

About Jatayu, king of birds

Jatayu and Sampati were the sons of Aruna, son of Vinate, and Shyene was their mother. In Adi Parva of Mahabharata, there is a mention of these two brothers challenging each other on their speed in flying. When they had flown a very long height in the sky, Jatayu started fumbling due to the heat and Sampati tried to cover his younger brother from the heat with his wings. By that time, Jatayu had lost consciousness and he fell in Dandakaranya. Sampati too could not withstand the heat as his wings were burnt and he fell on the shores of South sea, where a sage called Nishakara was doing penance. Seeing the bird on the verge of death, the sage treated the bird. The bird recovered. However, since that moment, the two brothers did not meet each other at all. Jatayu was unaware of where his elder brother was till death as he died while trying to prevent Ravana from escaping with Seetha. Sampati saved the Vanaras, including Hanumantha, from committing suicide by providing them with the information about the whereabouts of Ravana, Lanka and Seetha. Jatayu also died only after informing Rama and Lakshmana about Ravana. What a great service these two birds rendered to the Lord in their dying moments?

GOOD AFTERNOON TO ALL 

Who are Apsaras and Gandharvas?

Apsaras originated during the Great Churning of Milk Sea. Basically, they are very attractive, beautiful, enchanting celestial concubines. According to Bhagavata, they were born out of the palm of Lord Brahma. Their basic duty is to sing and dance in the conventions organized by Indra to entertain the deities. Normally, they do not marry. At times, they try to breach the penance of Rishis at the behest of Lord Indra. Urvashi, Menaka, Rambha, Tilottame and a few others are prominent among them. Gandharvas are basically musicians and singers meant to entertain the deities. Gandharvas are men and are believed to be descendants of Sage Kashyapa and Arishta. They generally accompany Apsaras. They are choristers and are endowed with great skill to sing. They are also known to guard the Soma, but are barred from consuming Soma. Yakshas are a section of deities created by Lord Brahma at the very beginning, preceded only by the creation of Udaka or water. Some of these beings, who were actually meant to protect water, pronounced the word Jaksha (eat0 and some said Raksha (protect). Then, Lord Brahma called those sying Jaksha as Yakshas and those saying Raksha as Rakshasas. Later, Kubera impressed Lord Shiva with penance at the confluence of Kaveri and Narmada Rivers and secured the kingdom of Yakshas. Pannagas are a race belonging to Nagas or serpents and believed to be descendants of Kadru. Vidyadhara literally means a person of great wisdom. These Vidyadharas mentioned by Lord Brahma may be semi-deities with super-natural powers to reduce or expand their sizes at will. Kinnaras are said to be beings with human body and horse’s face born from deities. They are all subjects of Kubera. They were born to Surase from Kashyapa.