Karna Shapatham....

The powerful rendition of “Karna Shapatham” (or Karna's Vow), as a part of the Kathakali art form brings to life the illustrious story of Karna and his great vow to his mother Kunti. V and I listened to Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan's recital on this over the weekend and I felt that I must write about it here. The story in this scene explains the “famous” conversation between Kunti and Karna before the Kurukshetra battle.

In the story of Mahabharata, one cannot fail to notice that every single character is a story in itself. Each individual’s characterization is perfectly sketched in this great saga and that of Karna’s stands out as one of the most fascinating one of them all. V and I even discussed on how someone should make a justifiable and well researched movie on this character. Born as a Kshatriya to virgin Kunti and the Sun God, he was abandoned by her, only to have been raised by a charioteer, taught by the proficient archer, sage Parasurama, befriended and knighted by the powerful Duryodhan and found his place in the Kurukshetra war against his own brothers, the Pandavas. He was slain in the end not because he was weaker than his opponent Arjun, but only because of the single mis-doing of his mother Kunti and the 3 separate curses that befell him decides to act on him at the same crucial moment in the war!

The sequence here explains how Kunti discloses his birth and lineage to him and tries to lure him into the Pandavas side to defeat the Kauravas, while Duryodhan and Dusshasan stand overhearing this conversation. Karna, shocked at his revelation, accuses her of all the humiliation that he has faced in his life due to his non-kshatriya status, his unconditional love and respect towards Duryodhan and his ever famous vow to her, that forms the crux of this Kathakali’s existence. He promises her that a) Out of all the 5 Pandavas, he will only kill Arjun while the others will be spared. It could only be either he or Arjun that will remain alive at the end of the war; thereby she will at any time have only 5 Pandavas alive and b) that he will use the famous "divine" weapon only once against Arjun and c) he will die before Duryodhan can die(stressing on the fact that Duryodhan's safety is ensured as long as Karna is alive).

The “Karna Shapatham” Kathakali is a lovely adaptation of the story with rich literature and detailed research on the scene. The emotions that the characters of Karna, Kunti and Duryodhan undergo are vividly displayed through the lyrics & clearly catch the mind’s eye. Though I did not follow all the Sanskrit verses in it, V translated some of them for me. I have watched live Kathakali performance earlier of “Keechaka Vadham”, but hope to watch this one too someday.