He is adopted and raised by foster Suta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana[2] of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra.

[15] Called Vasusena as a child by his foster parents, he became known by the name Karna because of the golden earrings of Surya he used to wear, according to the Sanskrit epics scholar David Slavitt.

[28] Karna appears for the first time in the Mahabharata in the verse 1.1.65 of Adi Parvan (first book) where he is briefly mentioned through the metaphor of a tree, as someone who is refusing to fight or help in the capture of Krishna.

[18][31] The story of his unmarried mother getting the child due to her curiosity, his divine connection to the Hindu god Surya,[32] then his birth appears for the first time in the epic in section 1.104.7.

The text does not belabour the details about Karna in the early sections, rather uses metaphors and metonyms to colourfully remind the audience of the fabric of a character they already are assumed to be aware of.

The manuscripts found in the North and South India for the Karna parvan book have "great divergence" in details, though the thematic essence is similar.

On leaving, having been delighted with his stay and her diligent services, Durvasa thanked her and gave her the Siddha mantra, telling her that if she ever wants, she can invoke any deity to give her a child.

[42] As the adolescent mother abandons her unwanted child on the river, she laments and the epic verses describe her emotions with heartbreaking poetry, according to the Indologist Patricia Greer.

When Drona declines to teach him the knowledge of the Brahmastra weapon, Karna disguises himself as a Brahmin to become a student of Parashurama, an incarnation of the god Vishnu.

Upon discovering Karna's deception, Parashurama curses him, declaring that he will forget the secret of the Brahmastra at the critical moment when he wishes to use it against his enemy.

At school and in episodes where his character appears, he is repeatedly rejected, subjected to ridicule and bullied for being the son of a poor family, and particularly for his low birth.

The boy Karna came to be known for his solitary habits, hard work, pious yoga before Surya every day, compassion and eager generosity to help anyone in need particularly Brahmins, his gift of speech, and for the pursuit of excellence in whatever he did.

[58][61] Yet, states the Mahabharata scholar Alf Hiltebeitel, "remarkably, Karna regrets his harsh words to Draupadi and Pandavas", in verse 5.139.45, where he confesses he spoke so to please Duryodhana.

Additionally, Karna played a critical role during Duryodhana’s military campaigns, successfully defeating various kings like Drupada and Bhaggadatta and expanding the Kaurava domain.

Some renditions show Draupadi refusing to marry Karna on account of being a Sūta, while some other versions describe him failing to string the bow by the "breadth of a hair".

[85][86] In section 5.138 of the epic, according to McGrath, Krishna states, "by law, Karna should be considered as the eldest born of Pandavas", that he can use this information to become the king.

[99][100] Bhima's son Ghatotkacha had a rakshasha lineage, and his powers of illusion to confuse the enemies grew to enormous proportions as the war dragged deeper into the fifteenth night.

Duryodhana and Kaurava army rejoice with the death of Bhima's son Ghatotkacha, but now Karna had exhausted the weapon that gave him an advantage over Arjuna.

The South Indian king considers it below his dignity to be a mere charioteer and starts insulting Karna, who retaliates with words.

Arjuna – whose own son was killed by the Kauravas a day ago while he was trying to unstick his chariot's wheel – takes this moment to launch the fatal attack.

In the modern day version of the Mahabharata, nine sons of Karna are mentioned—Vrishasena, Chitrasena, Satyasena, Sushena, Shatrunjaya, Dvipata, Banasena, Prasena and Vrishaketu.

Karna's kavacha (breastplate armour) has been compared with that of Achilles's Styx-coated body and with Irish warrior Ferdiad's skin that could not be pierced.

When Karna is not allowed to train in weaponry because he is a suta, it makes one ask, ’What if my child had been denied entry into college because of her birth?’ [...] We want them [our children] to feel secure and confident about their position.

During violence and war, where all sides are motivated in part by their own beliefs in what constitutes righteousness, coupled with anger, frustration, and fear, the circumstances are ever more complex, actions irreversible, choices difficult.

The choices made by Karna and his opponents must then be reflected upon both in terms of the circumstances and the mesh of multiple relative goods or bads, by characters each with different combinations of human strengths and weaknesses.

[135][136] According to the Indologist Adam Bowles, while the Hindu Arthashastra text presents an objective analysis of situations, its dharmasutras, dharmasastras and the epics attempt to deal with the more complex, subjective scenarios of life.

[149] A more modern era example of Karna-like human behaviour was in Mahatma Gandhi, who "after getting well-educated in a British law school and gaining international experience", steadfastly felt more empowered to embrace his heritage and culture rather than abandon or transcend it.

[150] He is martially adept and equal to Arjuna as a warrior, a gifted speaker who embeds provocative insults for his opponents in front of an audience.

His life story raises compassion, sorrow with an impending sense of destruction and fear (phobos and eleos) in the audience, as any good tragic drama.

[165] Ramdhari Singh Dinkar in 1978 published an epic poem Rashmirathi (translation: One who rides the Chariot of light, 1952) which narrates Karna's life.