The Rivalry Between Arjuna and Karna: The Story of Past Life

The epic tale of the Mahabharata is filled with stories of great warriors and their ancient battles. Among these, the rivalry between Arjuna and Karna is one of the most interesting and complex. However, this rivalry is not just a result of their actions in their current life, but has its roots in their past lives. In this blog, we will learn the story of how their rivalry began, what they were like in their past lives.

Table of Contents

1. Karan's Previous Life
2. Arjuna's Previous Life
3. Who were the Pandavas in their past lives?
4. The Beginning of the Rivalry Between Karan and Arjuna

Karan's Previous Life

According to the Mahabharata, Karna was a demon named Dambhodbhava in his previous life. He was extremely evil and powerful, and had received a boon from the Sun God according to which he got 1,00 kavachas (armours) that could only be destroyed under certain circumstances.
The story goes that Dambhodbhava had taken control of the entire universe and everyone feared him. It was said that these armors could be destroyed only one at a time and that too only by a person who had meditated and performed penance for 100 years. Any other person who tried to destroy the armor would die instantly.

The two sages Nara-Narayana fought with Dambhodbhava in turns for about 1,00 years, with each armor destroyed resulting in the death of a sage, until 99 armors were destroyed. At that time, Dambhodbhava ran to the Sun god, who refused to hand him over to Nara-Narayana, thereby saving his life.

The Sun god eventually impregnated Kunti, and placed the demon in her womb. It is said that Nara-Narayana was reborn as Arjuna and Yudhishthira to avenge his defeat. Thus Karna was the reincarnation of the demon Dambhodbhava, who was born with armor on his body due to a boon from the Sun god.

Arjuna's Previous Birth

In his previous birth, Arjuna was the sage Nara, one of the twin incarnations of Lord Vishnu and Narayana (Krishna). Nara and Narayana took birth to protect righteousness on earth. The epic Mahabharata mentions Lord Krishna reminding Arjuna of his previous births as Nara and Narayana. Arjuna as Nara fought alongside Krishna (Narayana) against the demon Dambhodbhava, who later reincarnated as Karna. Arjuna's birth was celebrated by the gods, sages and divine beings, who declared that he would be unparalleled in valour, defeat all kings, perform three Ashvamedha Yajnas and receive the Pashupata weapon from Shiva. Arjuna mastered archery under the tutelage of Drona and was considered his most skilled student.
Who were the Pandavas in their previous birth?

In their previous birth, the Pandavas were the five Indras, punished by Lord Shiva for their arrogance. Shiva showed him an underground chamber where he was imprisoned and then took him to meet Lord Vishnu in Karya Vaikuntha. Vishnu dropped two hairs, one white and one black, which became Krishna and Balarama respectively. The five Indras then reincarnated as the Pandavas: Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva.

Beginning of the animosity between Karna and Arjuna

In the Indian epic Mahabharata, the main reason for the animosity between Karna and Arjuna is their rivalry over superior war skills and their competing allegiances. Born from Kunti's womb before her union with Pandu, Karna was raised by a charioteer and was unaware of his true lineage until much later in life. He pledged his allegiance to Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, and the two became good friends. In contrast, Arjuna was Kunti's third son and one of the five Pandava brothers. He was renowned for exceptional archery abilities and played an important role in the Pandava camp.

The rivalry between Arjuna and Karna became even more intense. Karna and Arjuna were fighting for the hand of Draupadi as they both had affection for the Pandava wife. Karna's animosity towards Arjuna grew further when Draupadi chose Arjuna as her life partner in her swayamvara ceremony - a ritual in which a princess chooses her own life partner.

Karna's loyalty to Duryodhana: Karna stood in direct opposition to Arjuna and the Pandavas because of his unflinching loyalty to Duryodhana, the main enemy of the Pandavas.

Battlefield rivalry: Karna and Arjuna fought fierce battles several times during the Kurukshetra War, each attempting to establish his superiority as a warrior. Their personal animosity towards each other led to their fierce combat confrontations on the battlefield.

Social status: Due to his low birth, Karna experienced prejudice, which increased his feelings of injustice and hostility towards the Pandavas and Arjuna, who were higher born. Karna and Arjuna recognized each other's fighting prowess despite their animosity. One of the main themes of Mahabharata is their battles, which emphasise the difficulties of friendship, devotion and rivalry.