Mrityunjay - Review

Finally I have finished reading ‘Mrityunjay’ – a novel by Shivaji Savant. It’s based on the life of Karna – a great warrior and the ultimate hero or shall I say tragic hero from Mahabharata. (Ashwani had gifted me this book on my birthday.. he actually took the effort of mailing me this all the way from Delhi.. he knew I wanted to read this one after hearing so much about it. Thanks dear.. :-) ) In literal terms, Mrityunjay means a person who has conquered death.

Prior to reading this, my interpretation of Karna, like many of us, was based on the DD serial, Mahabharata. He along with Krishna has always been my favourite character in Mahabharata. Out of the Pandavas, I only like Arjun as he was very focused and had single minded dedication. Though unlike Karna, he was always guided by great teachers/mentors.

After reading this book, my love for the character of Karna has been reaffirmed. I learned about many little known incidents in his life and how each incident guided and shaped his future actions. Although he was a Kshatriya and son of Kunti & Sun God, he was unaware of it and always lived under the shadow of being a Charioteer’s son. All through his life, he strives and yearns to be recognized as a great warrior based on his capability and not be called just a charioteer’s son coz he was born into it. The book has captured Karna’s feelings, his pain & sufferings, his courage & character really well. The book is divided into sections with each section dedicated to an imp character in Karna’s life. Each character is telling things as first person.

Karna was born with a divine set of earrings and shield in his body. Though unaware of being the son of Sun God, he had a strange attraction towards him since his childhood. He was a great devotee of the Sun God and made him his Guru. He found himself different from other members in his community and hence always struggled to adjust in it. He loved his family a lot – his father, his loving mother, Radhamata, or his dedicated younger brother, Shona or his dutiful wife, Vrushali and their kids. Their love and dedication for Karna was also complete. All of them loved and dotted over Karna and were loved unconditionally in return. The love story of Karna and Vrushali is so delicate and endearing. I didn’t even know Karna was married that too a love marriage.. :-). Vrushali was just the perfect partner for a loving and generous person like Karna. She gave with ultimate abandon and love. Then there’s the love that Karna has for his younger brother Shona and the faith with which Shona reveres Karna which are quite touching. It was wonderful reading about many such little known facets of his personality. Made him all the more humane. :-)

When he went to Hastinapur with his father to get training under Guru Drona , he was shunned by everyone except Duryodhana. This acceptance from Duryodhana and recognition of his capability, led to a strong bond and friendship between them even though they had very different temperament. Even though Karna was a better warrior and archer, everyone appreciated Arjun more as he was of royal lineage. Drona and many others were biased towards Arjun and this was a source of great rivalry between the two.

Karna was humiliated time and again by many people like Drona, Draupadi, Pandavas, even once by Bhishma Pitamah – for being a charioteer’s son. These were source of much disquiet and hurt in Karna’s life. Despite all this, Karna was compassionate. He had great character, was a benevolent individual and king, committed to his words, an ideal son, husband, brother and friend. Despite being a great warrior, he was peace loving in nature. He is famous for his benevolent nature. Here’s one incident to attest to it - even though he knew before hand that Lord Indra was coming in disguise to take away his protective shield and earrings from him to save Arjun, he happily gives it to Indra as alms. While on his deathbed, he removed his gold teeth and gave it to a dead solder’s poor father so that it could be used to make funeral arrangements for his son. No wonder he is called ‘Daanveer Karna’.

Karna also had great love and devotion for Lord Krishna. Just before the war of Mahabharata, Krishna told him the reality of his birth. Both Krishna and Kunti requested him to join Pandavas and rule over being the eldest and best of Pandavas. He however rejected this offer as he could not abandon his friend, Duryodhana who supported him throughout his life. When Kunti asks him to spare life of her 5 sons, he promises to spare all his sons except Arjun . So that at the end of it, Kunti will be left with 5 sons including either Arjun or Karna.

Karna was the ultimate tragic hero of the Mahabharata, and the man who, after Bhishma Pitamah, should have been the real claimant to the throne of Hastinapur. His yearnings and dilemmas have been captured really well by the author. All in all, it is an awesome book which has been very beautifully written. A must read for sure

Rating: I would give it 5 out of 5.