Overview
Karna (Sanskrit: कर्णः, IAST: Karṇa), also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. According to the epic, he is the spiritual son of Surya, the solar deity, and Kunti, who later becomes the Pandava queen. His birth is said to have occurred after Kunti invoked a divine boon in her youth to test its power; fearing societal stigma, she set the infant adrift in a basket on the Ganges.
The child was discovered and fostered by Adhiratha Nandana, a sūta (charioteer) in the service of King Dhritarashtra, and his wife Radha. Karna grew into an accomplished warrior of remarkable abilities and a gifted speaker. He became a close and loyal friend of Duryodhana, who appointed him king of Anga (in the region of present-day Bihar and Bengal). Karna sided with the Kauravas in the Kurukshetra War and was ultimately slain by Arjuna.
Karna is portrayed in the epic as a tragic hero, comparable to the literary category of the "flawed good man". Late in the narrative, he meets his biological mother and learns that he is the elder half-brother of the Pandavas, against whom he is fighting. He is depicted as a figure rejected by those who ought to have loved him, yet who emerges as a man of exceptional capability willing to offer his loyalty and his life in friendship. His character is used in the epic to explore profound emotional conflicts and dilemmas of dharma (duty, ethics and morality).
Karna's story has inspired numerous secondary works, including poetry and dramatic plays, within the Hindu arts tradition both in India and in Southeast Asia. A regional tradition holds that Karna founded the city of Karnal, in present-day Haryana.
References
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article on Karna.