Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: Karṇa), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata
He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the Pandavas), and thus a demigod of royal birth
Kunti was granted the boon to bear a child with desired divine qualities from the gods and without much knowledge, Kunti invoked the sun god to confirm it if it was true indeed
Karna was secretly born to an unmarried Kunti in her teenage years, fearing outrage and backlash from society over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti had no choice but to abandon the newly born Karna adrift in a basket on the Ganges, in the hope that he finds foster parents
The basket discovered and Karna is adopted and raised by foster Suta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra
Karna grows up to be an accomplished warrior of extraordinary abilities, a gifted speaker and becomes a loyal friend of Duryodhana
He was appointed the king of Anga (Bihar-Bengal) by Duryodhana
Karna joined the Duryodhana’s side in the Kurukshetra war
He was a key warrior who aimed to kill 3rd Pandava Arjuna but dies in a battle with him during the war
He is a tragic hero in the Mahabharata, in a manner similar to Aristotle’s literary category of “flawed good man”
He meets his biological mother late in the epic, and then discovers that he is the older half-brother of those he is fighting against
Karna is a symbol of someone who is rejected by those who should love him but do not given the circumstances, yet becomes a man of exceptional abilities willing to give his love and life as a loyal friend
His character is developed in the epic to raise and discuss major emotional and dharma (duty, ethics, moral) dilemmas
His story has inspired many secondary works, poetry and dramatic plays in the Hindu arts tradition, both in India and in southeast Asia
A regional tradition believes that Karna founded the city of Karnal, in contemporary Haryana