Class: Launcher
Name: Karna
Master: Jinako Carigiri
Noble Phantasm: Vasavi Shakti (O Sun, Abide by Death)
Keyword: Golden armor, hero of generosity
Strength: B, Endurance: A, Agility: A, Magic: B, Luck: A+
Divinity: A, Uncrowned Martial Arts: -, Discernment of the Poor: -
| Kewords
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Vasavi Shakti: O Sun, Abide to Death
A spear of light that can only strike once. A spear of mortality made of lightning.
When it was time for the fight between Karna and Arjuna to reach its final stages, Indra, Arjuna's father and king of the gods, in order to help Arjuna, took away Karna's greatest armor, the "golden armor" through trickery.
However, Karna's behavior on that occasion was so noble that Indra came to adore Karna, the enemy of his son, and gave to Karna, as compensation for taking his armor, the power of the god of thunder that even he had not mastered.
That was this "thunder spear." It holds the power to defeat the gods themselves, but there is not record of Karna using this in his myth.
Golden Armor
In Hindu mythology, the golden armor and earrings and the hero Karna had upon his body. Karna's mother, Kunti, feared being an unmarried mother and prayed for the armor and earrings from Surya in order to protect her son.
A defense-type Noble Phantasm that emits the radiance of the sun itself. Since it is light itself given shape, even a god would have difficulty destroying it, and Indra put in the effort to render it unavailable to Karna.
In the myth, Indra took the form of a Brahmin and visited Karna's castle. He approached Karna when he was taking his holy bath and said, "I wish to receive the things you carry."
Karna had sworn not to refuse the request of a Brahmin made during this time. While aware of Indra's trap, he accepted this request and handed over the requested item, the armor that was his only proof of his lineage.
While it was taken from him in the myth, as a Servant, Karna still possesses it. While it appears massive, it's an invincible armor that disregards physics and concepts to curtail antagonistic interference.
As long as he wears it, the damage Karna takes is reduced to one-tenth.
Hero of Generosity
The specialty of the Saint of Generosity Karna, according to The Mahabharata.
Karna is poor at expressing his emotions, but he has the tendency to become angry when those who have picked him up, those who have supported him, are scorned. Even if it is a relationship based only on mutual benefit, to repay a favor with a favor is how Karna lives.
Possibly due to that selfless devotion of his, when people came to him, seeking something, he would generally grant it to them, as long as they were being truthful.
And this was without considering possessions or assets but with him considering the state of their heart first.
However, during the Holy Grail War, his master's victory is his priority, so a request for him to "yield his victory" will go unanswered, and he would admonish his opponent, as such a proposal would have no benefit for them.
"What a ridiculous misunderstanding. First of all, victory is something one must attain for oneself. Is a victory that I give truly a victory for you?"
This is not out of ill intentions, but rather because the question of "Doesn't having victory yielded to you cause you to lose at life?" is matter of real worry for him.
０１ - 『日輪よ、死に随え』
一撃のみの光槍。雷光で出来た必滅の槍。
カルナとアルジュナの戦いが最終局面を迎えた時、アルジュナの父であり神々の王であるインドラは
アルジュナを助けるため、カルナの最大の武具である『黄金の鎧』を策略で取り上げてしまった。
しかし、その時のカルナの態度があまりにも高潔だったため、インドラは我が子の敵であるカルナに心酔し、鎧を取り上げた代償として自身ですら使いこなせなかった雷神の力を与えた。
それがこの『雷槍』である。
神々をも打ち倒す力を持つというが、神話においてカルナがこれを使用した記録はない。
０２ - 黄金の鎧
インド神話において、英雄カルナが身にまとっていた黄金の鎧と耳輪。
カルナの母クンティーが未婚の母となる事に恐怖を感じ、 息子を守るためにスーリヤに願った鎧と耳飾り。
太陽そのものの輝きを放つ、強力な防御型宝具。
光そのものが形となったものであるため、神々でさえ破壊は困難であり、インドラはこれを無効化しようと尽力した。
神話において、インドラはバラモン僧に変化してカルナの館を訪ね、
カルナが御前の沐浴をしている時に“貴方の持ち物をいただきたい”とせまったという。
カルナには沐浴の時にバラモンに請われたら断らない、という誓いがあった。
彼はインドラの罠と知りながらもこの申し出を受け、求められるまま、
唯一の出自の証ともいえる鎧を差し出したという。
神話では奪われたままだが、サーヴァント化したカルナはこの鎧を所持している。
見た目こそ重厚になってしまうが、物理・概念とわずあらゆる敵対干渉を削減する無敵の鎧である。
これがあるかぎり、カルナにはダメージ数値は十分の一しか届かない。
０３ -施しの英雄
『マハーバーラタ』において施しの聖者と言われたカルナの特長。
感情表現の乏しいカルナだが、自らを拾い上げたもの、擁護したものを貶められる事には憤怒する傾向にある。
それが利益のみの関係であれ、恩義には恩義で酬いるのがカルナの在り方だからだ。
そんな滅私奉公な性格からか、カルナは人から何かを求められた時、道理が通っていればたいていのものは与えてしまう。
これは彼が持ち物や財産にこだわらず、心の在り方を第一に考えているためだろう。
ただし、聖杯戦争中は主人の勝利が第一なので、“勝ちを譲ってくれ”という求めには応じられないし、それが相手にとって良くない提案であると諭す。
「ふざけた勘違いだ。 そもそも勝利とは自らでしか勝ち得ぬもの。
俺が施す勝利は、本当におまえにとっての勝利なのか？」
これは嫌味ではなく、勝ちを譲られた時点で人生に負けているのではないか？
と本気で心配しての質問である。
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| Skills
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01 - Divinity [A]
The son of the sun god, Surya. In order to allow him to unify with Surya on a later occasion, he possess Divinity of the highest rank. Compared to heroes related to sun gods with Divinity ranked below B, he exhibits high defensive abilities.
While Karna is not good at asserting himself, when it comes to protecting the dignity of his sun god father, he shows a furious determination.
It seems that for the motherless Karna, that his father was the sun god was his only certainty, on top of receiving that power, he swore that he would never be able to do anything that would shame his father.
02 - Uncrowned Martial Arts [-]
Skill at arms that when unacknowledged for various reasons. Each sword, spear, bow, Riding, and Divinity skill is brought down one rank, and attributes will be displayed as their complete opposites. However, once his true name is revealed, this skill will no longer take effect.
Also, this is a digression, but the rank of his luck stat was reported by Karna himself.
03 - Discernment of the Poor [-]
The ability to observe and see through one's opponent's personality and attributes. Cannot be tricked by deceit or spoken excuses.
Truly, he was a immensely prudent and superhuman hero. He had the virtue to accept differing ideologies, even if they were his enemies', and their accompanying ways of life and respect them as "ways to live."
But Karna has difficulty conveying his true nature. Karna's speech and conduct pricks at those true natures. Words and actions meant to deceive oneself, behavior meant to gloss over, conviction. Karna sees through all of those things and frankly states "the true nature that his opponent wants to hide."
As a result, he comes to be hated by the majority of his opponents and is forced to fight them.
Anyone would hate having their faults being spoken of.
It goes without saying, but Karna's words and conduct do not contain any disgust at his opponent('s faults).
For Karna who affirms the position of every human, both faith that is not compatible with him and beauty and ugliness that he cannot understand are things to be held in esteem. Because he cannot put the admiration in his heart into words, people misunderstand him as someone who "denies and hates everything."
０１ - 神性：[A]
太陽神スーリヤの息子。
のちにスーリヤと一体化するため、最高の神性を持つ。
神性がB以下の太陽神系の英霊に対して高い防御力を発揮する。
自己主張の乏しいカルナだが、父である太陽神の威光を守る事には激しい決意を見せる。
母のいないカルナだが、父が太陽神である事だけは確かであり、その力を授かった以上、決して、父を貶める事はできないと誓っているからだろう。
０２ - 無冠の武芸：[－]
様々な理由から認められる事のなかった武具の技量。
剣、槍、弓、騎乗、神性のそれぞれのスキルランクをマイナス１し、属性を真逆のものとして表示する。
ただし、真名が明かされた場合、このスキルは消滅する。
また余談ではあるが、幸運値のランクはカルナ本人による申告である。
０３ - 貧者の見識：[－]
相手の性格・属性を見抜く眼力。
言葉による弁明、欺瞞に騙される事がない。
実はたいへん思慮深い、人間的に優れた英雄。
異なる思想、敵側のものであろうとその生き方を受け入れ、“それもあり”と尊重する徳の高さを持っている。
しかし、カルナのそういった本質は伝わりづらい。
カルナの言動は本質を突く。
自らを偽った言動、取り繕う態度、信念。
そういったものを見抜き、『相手が隠しておきたい本質』を率直に語ってしまう。
結果、たいていの相手に嫌われてしまい、戦闘を余儀なくされる。
誰だって自らの短所を語られるのは嫌なものだ。
言うまでもなく、カルナの言動は相手（の短所）を嫌悪してのものではない。
人それぞれの立ち位置を肯定するカルナにとって、相容れぬ信念、理解できない美醜も尊ぶもの。
心の中では感心しているものの言葉には出さないため、結果として“あらゆるものを否定し、嫌っている”ように勘違いされてしまうようだ。
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| Setting
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Personal Background I
Karna appears in the Indian epic poem The Mahabharata, as a hero on the vanquished side. (The central conflict of The Mahabharata is the war over influence between the Pandava royal family and Kaurava royal family.)
Karna became famous as the rival of Arjuna, the great hero of Hindu mythology.
Karna was born from the daughter of a human king, Kunti, and the sun god, Surya.
Kunti was the wife of the Kuru king Pandu, but he was under a curse that prevented him from producing children, so his queens each had no choice but other methods to bear children.
Kunti was a woman who had a mantra that allowed her to copulate with and bear the child of any god and, by those means, gave Pandu children.
...But. Before she became the king's wife, she tested the mantra and bore a single child. That child was Karna, the golden hero who was born from relations with the sun god Surya.
Kunti was a determined woman and, afraid of her first birth and anxiety over whether the god would acknowledge his own child, prayed to Surya: "I want proof that this child is your son."
Surya heard Kunti's words and gave his own power and attributes to the child as he was born.
This is the source of the golden armor that made Karna invulnerable.
But. Though she was shown such grace and faithfulness, Kunti threw away her first son. For her, who was to become the queen of Kuru king Pandu, the existence of her son nothing but unnecessary.
This is how Karna, who was thrown away by his owner mother, came to be ignorant of his own birth, but he lived with only the things he had been given by his father, the sun god Surya, held in his chest.
The form of Karna, who didn't know his own mother's face and who questioned whether his mother was motivated by dishonesty, couldn't be called beautiful.
Though he possessed his father's brilliant authority, his form was stained black. His countenance was cruel, and his every action was violent. Because of his lack of human mother, he didn't learn the subtleties of human emotion and spent his days being considered a nuisance by the people around him.
That was how Karna was raised, but he didn't hate his mother or his surroundings. Instead, he accepted everything.
"I was given life by my mother and father. No matter what kind of person my mother is, I do not hold contempt for her. If there is anything I hate, anything I hold contempt for, it is myself alone."
In contrast to his appearance, Karna was an exceedingly virtuous and perceptive child. Possibly the cause of that was because, while he was the child of a god, he was also a child without a single relative. Karna was blessed with the opportunity to question the poor, their lives, and their value. As a result, he chose, of his own free will, the path where he persisted in his own fastidiousness.
"I who was born with more than people should display a 'proof of my life' greater than those of people. Unless I do so, the people without power will not be rewarded."
What Karna had was simply the conviction to live without bringing dishonor to his father's authority and without shaming the people who compensated him. "Though he may be relentless and ruthless, he is also full of majesty," is Karna's stance given form.
And Karna, who had grown to be a young man, participated in a conference of the Kuru family. At this conference, the five Pandava brothers indulged themselves in the martial arts they were so proud of and so famous for. The third son Arjuna's skill at the bow was especially magnificent, to the point that he was praised as having no equal.
When the grounds were united as one voice praising the Pandavas, Karna leapt up to participate and displayed martial arts of the same rank as Arjuna's.
(This is a digression, but the reason for the unmotivated Karna to challenge Arjuna is unclear in the legend as well. The reason that Arjuna was the only opponent that Karna, who never envied nor hated anyone, was conscious of was established later.)
Karna challenged Arjuna to determine which of them was superior. But to challenge Arjuna, a member of the royal family, one must be higher than a Kshatriya.
(*Kshatriya... Those in the caste system who are of the military or royalty. Karna seemed to be a Vaishya (merchant class) or a Shudrya (a slave).)
Karna, whose challenge was refused due to the difference in status, was a laughingstock. The one who saved Karna in this situation was the eldest of the one hundred princes of the Kaurava clan, who opposed the Pandavas, Duryodhana.
He became interested in Karna and made him a king at that place. This is how Karna was saved from disgrace, but his foster father, who had heard of his promotion, appeared and established his origins.
The five Pandava brothers further ridiculed Karna, who displayed martial arts superior to their own, saying, "The son of a charioteer should have a sense of shame."
These words enraged Karna. If it were about himself, he would accept and be resigned to anything, but he would not allow insults toward his foster father. Even if it was a foster father who announced himself out of greed, to Karna, he was the father who raised him, who Karna should take pride in.
The antagonism between Karna and the five Pandava brothers had become something he could not step back from, but sunset had come and the curtain was drawn on the conference.
From then again, Karna, as the friend of Duryodhana, who saved him and treated him as a king, lived as a guest of honor of the one hundred princes of the Kaurava clan.
He would learn later that what awaits him beyond that is a cruel battle with the five Pandava brothers--great hero Arjuna.
Personal Background II
The antagonism between the Kauravas whom Karna entrusted his bow as a soldier and the Pandavas that Arjuna led intensified and finally became a war with their territory in the balance.
That war is called the Kurukshetra War, and that is where Karna's life came to an end.
Karna continued to wield his strength so that the one hundred Kaurava princes, and consequently Duryodhana, would be victorious. On the Pandava side, the only one who could oppose Karna was Arjuna, but even Arjuna could only be resigned to the fact that facing Karna directly was death.
Through several conflicts, pretexts, and mutual hatred, the war between this two camps arrived at Kurukshetra.
Things having reached this point, Karna's mother, Kunti, wagered one last gamble: to reveal his lineage to Karna and draw him to the Pandava camp.
Kunti told only Krishna, who was a friend of Arjuna in the guise of a normal person, of this situation, and the two of them went alone to meet Karna.
Kunti revealed that she was Karna's mother, spoke how fighting with the five Pandava brothers would yield no benefits whilst weeping, and persuaded him that by fighting together with Arjuna, he would attain glory.
Karna, without failing to show the friend of his arch-enemy Arjuna, Krishna, thanks, quietly listened to his mother's arguments.
Afterwards,
"I understand your words. To join hands with the five brothers and return to my proper form. That would be a story filled with light, without a single fault."
Then, facing the rejoicing Kunti, Karna continued speaking in an even softer voice.
"But I wish for you to answer one thing. Do you not feel that those words of yours were too late?"
She was too late in declaring she was his mother. She was too late in looking back upon Karna. "If you do not feel that this is a shame, then please answer. You, who declare yourself my mother, if you yourself have done no wrong, then I will accept the past without feeling ashamed."
While Kunti was a selfish woman, that was due to her natural innocence and and simple-mindedness; she was most definitely not a shameless woman. She knew her own deeds...throwing away Karna, who had just been born, for her own sake...were full of selfishness and reproached herself for that.
And for that reason, she possesses a minimum amount of pride. She could not tell to Karna, who had been raised alone until now, who was grateful to his foster family, who had never once embraced hatred toward another, a horrible lie.
Kunti broke off the negotiation without answering. Karna said this to Kunti, who stood with her head hanging,
"That is a deception, a complacent love. The only one your love can save is you. Your love is directed at no one but yourself. But--"
"I shall answer that feeling. From hereon, during the war, I will not kill any of the brothers who come to match me. I will only use all my power against my arch-enemy Arjuna."
Karna swore not to lay a hand on the brothers of the Pandava family who were inferior to him in strength. The countless times Karna allowed the five brothers to go after this was due to this pledge.
"Return to the place that you obtained with your own hands. ...Though it was only once, I am grateful that you called me your son."
Karna opened the castle gate and escorted Kunti out. That was the love that Karna bore for his mother, Kunti. It was not love for his mother at this late point in time but Kunti's resolution to raise "her feelings as mother" in the end... even if it wasn't genuine... That is what he answered. Kunti risked the danger of having her past come to light. To the hero of generosity Karna, such determination is worthy of compensation.
And so, just before the final battle. Arjuna's father, Indra, who understood that Karna could not be persuaded, took the form of a Brahmin, contacts Karna, and takes his golden armor.
Though Karna had lost the property of being unkillable that he received from his father, he never said he would stop proceeding to the battlefield. He did not care that when he had lost his golden armor he had hastened his own death.
Indra, who was touched by how gallant a figure Karna struck, asked why. Why did he continue to the battlefield, having lost his armor, but without reproaching Indra, who had hatched this scheme out of love for Arjuna?
"There is no need to hate you. It is simply a matter of being a step ahead. In fact--yes. Though you are a god, you are also a father. Such a thing brings me joy."
Then why do you advance toward the battlefield, asked Indra.
"To me, defeat is bringing shame upon my father. Even though death awaits me, I cannot run away."
After all, that was why he lived. To Karna, who lived his life with pride in those who gave him life and raised him, his life was not his own.
"Including, I owe Duryodhana a debt. For some reason, that impudent and timid man is so bright to me. It may be blasphemy against my father but, occasionally, I feel that that sweet light is the warmth of the sun."
It was not the fire of the sun that Karna carried nor the absolute brilliance of Surya; to Karna, the sun was the imperfect charm that humans displayed.
Indra, who saw the divinity of Surya himself in that form, gave Karna his spear. He had taken from this noble hero something greater than his life. Unless he gave something as compensation, his honor would be stained; above all--he was charmed with him: if it were this man, he could wield the greatest spear, that Indra had not given even to his own son.
After, Karna sent off the Brahmin, having lost his armor (flesh), and headed to the battlefield, as thin as a ghost.
The final battle with Arjuna. Karna was already without allies; his charioteer, whom he trusted with his body, was already an enemy, in collusion with the Pandavas.
He had a large number of heavy burdens, his feelings towards his younger half-brothers.
Due to his curse, the wheel of Karna's chariot was stuck in a rut. The string of Arjuna's bow was drawn back to its limits. These brothers who, for a long time, were manipulated by an unseen destiny to compete for supremacy, could only in this moment strike one another with all their might.
--And sure enough, Arjuna's bow shot down the sun.
It is said that after his death, Karna became one with his father Surya. Called "the hero of generosity," he was a saint with the creed of not refusing when people came to ask or rely on him. The hero who, while possessing exceedingly high abilities, was within a tragedy where he was the enemy of his brothers by blood, received various curses, and lost his life without showing his true worth--that is Karna.
This is a digression, but it is impossible to determine if Arjuna knew the truth...that Karna was his older brother...or not.
It seems the only people who knew that Karna was Kunti's son were Karna and Kunti, Krishna, and the sun god Surya.
０１ - 人物背景Ⅰ
カルナはインドの叙事詩『マハーバーラタ』に登場する、倒される側の英雄である。
（マハーバーラタはパーンダヴァ王家とカウラヴァ王家、両勢力による戦いを主軸として描かれたもの）
インド神話の大英雄アルジュナのライバルとして名高い。
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カルナは人間の王の娘クンティーと、太陽神スーリヤとの間に生まれた。
クンティーはクル王パーンドゥの妻だったが、パーンドゥは子供を作れない呪いにかかっており、后たちは各々の手段で子供をもうけるしかなかった。
クンティーは任意の神々と交わり、子供を産むマントラを授かった女で、この手段でパーンドゥの子供を産む。
……が。彼女は王の妻となる前に、マントラの実験として子を一人もうけていた。
この子供こそカルナ。太陽神スーリヤと交わるコトで生まれた、黄金の英雄である。
クンティーはしたたかな女で、初出産の恐れ、神々が自分の子を認知するかといった不安から、太陽神スーリヤに“この子供が貴方の息子である証拠がほしい”と願った。
太陽神スーリヤはクンティーの言葉を聞き入れ、生まれてくる子供に自らの威光、属性を与える。
これがカルナを不死身たらしめる黄金の鎧の出自である。
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が。そこまでの恩寵、誠実さを示されながら、クンティーは一人目の息子を捨ててしまう。
クル王パーンドゥの后になる事が決まっていた彼女には、息子の存在は無用でしかなかったからだ。
こうして母に捨てられたカルナは自らの出自を知らず、ただ、太陽神スーリヤを父に持つ事のみを胸にして生きていく。
母の顔を知らず、また、その母の動機が不純だった為か、カルナの姿は見目麗しいものとは言えなかった。
父の輝かしい威光は備わっているものの、その姿は黒く濁っていた。
顔つきは酷薄で、その一挙一動は粗暴につきる。
人間の母親がいなかった為に人の感情の機微を学べず、まわりの人間からは煙たがれる日々だった。
そんな境遇で育ったカルナだが、彼は母や周りを恨まなかった。むしろ全てを肯定していた。
「俺が生を受けたのは父と母あってこそ。
母がどのような人物であれ、俺が母を貶める事はない。
俺が恨み、貶めるものがあるとすれば、それは俺自身だけだ」
カルナはその外見とは裏腹に、優れた徳と悟りを得た子供だった。
神の子でありながら天涯孤独の身であったからだろう。
カルナは弱きものたち、その生と価値を問う機会に恵まれた。
その結論として、彼は自らの潔癖さを貫く道を選んだ。
「人より多くのものを戴いて生まれた自分は、人より優れた“生の証”を示すべきだ。
そうでなければ、力なき人々が報われない」
カルナにあるものは父の威光を汚さず、報いてくれた人々に恥じる事なく生きる信念だけ。
“冷酷、無慈悲ではあるが、同時に尊厳に満ちている”
カルナのスタンスはこうしてかたちどられた。
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そうして青年に成長したカルナは、クル族の協議会に参加する。
協議会ではパーンダヴァ五兄弟がその武芸を誇り、名声をほしいままにしていた。
特に三男アルジュナの弓の腕は素晴らしく、誰もかなう者はいないと讃えられた。
場がパーンダヴァを讃える声で一色になった時、カルナは飛び入りで参加し、アルジュナと同格の武芸を披露する。
（余談だが、消極的なカルナがなぜアルジュナと競おうとしたかは伝説上でも不明とされている。
誰も羨まない、誰も恨まないカルナが唯一意識した相手がアルジュナである理由は、後に判明する事になる）
カルナは優劣を決しようとアルジュナに挑戦する。
が、王族であるアルジュナに挑戦するにはクシャトリア以上の資格が必要となる。
（※クシャトリア……
カースト制度でいう武門、王族。
カルナはヴァイシャ（商人）、あるいはシュードラ（奴隷）だったと思われる）
身分の差から挑戦を断られ、笑いものにされるカルナ。
そんなカルナを救ったのはパーンダヴァと対立する一族、カウラヴァ百王子の長兄、ドゥリーヨダナだった。
彼はカルナを気に入り、その場で王として迎え入れる。
こうしてカルナは不名誉から救われたが、カルナの出世を聞きつけた養父が現れ、カルナの出自が判明してしまった。
パーンダヴァ五兄弟は自分たちより上の武芸を見せたカルナをさらなる笑いものにする。
“御者の息子風情が恥を知れ”と。
カルナはこの言葉に激怒した。
自分の事ならあまんじて受けるが、養父を侮辱された事は聞き逃せない。
……たとえそれが欲にかられて名乗り出た養父だとしても、カルナにとっては自らを育ててくれた誇るべき父だからだ。
カルナと五兄弟の対立はもはや引き下がれないものとなるが、日没を迎え、協議会は幕を下ろした。
以後、カルナは自分を救い、王として扱ってくれたドゥリーヨダナを友とし、彼らカウラヴァ百王子の賓客として生きる事になる。
その先に待つ、パーンダヴァ五兄弟―――
大英雄アルジュナとの過酷な戦いを理解した上で。
０２ - 人物背景Ⅱ
カルナが武人として弓を預けるカウラヴァ百王子と、アルジュナを筆頭とするパーンダヴァ五兄弟の対立は激しさを増し、最終的には領地をかけての戦となった。
この戦をクルクシェートラの戦いと呼び、カルナはこの戦でその命を終える事となる。
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カルナはカウラヴァ百王子を、ひいてはドゥリーヨダナを勝たせる為にその力を振るい続けた。
パーンダヴァ側でカルナに対抗できるのはアルジュナだけであり、そのアルジュナをもってしてもカルナとの直接対決は死を覚悟しなければならないものだった。
いくつかの衝突、因縁、憎しみ合いを経て、両陣営の戦いはクルクシェートラに到達する。
ことここに至って、カルナの母・クンティーは最後の賭けにでた。
カルナに自らの出自を明かし、パーンダヴァ陣営に引き入れようと考えたのである。
クンティーはアルジュナの従者にして友人・クリシュナにのみ事情を明かし、二人だけでカルナと面会する。
クンティーは自分がカルナの母である事を明かし、実の兄弟で戦う事の無益さを涙ながらに語り、アルジュナたちと共に戦い、栄光を手にするべきだと説得した。
カルナは宿敵アルジュナの友人であるクリシュナに礼を欠かさず、また、母の説得を静かに聞き入れた。
その後に、
「貴女の言葉は分かった。兄弟たちと手を取り、正しい姿に戻る。
それはなに一つ欠点のない、光に満ちた物語だろう」
では、と喜ぶクンティーに対し、カルナはなお静かに言葉を続ける。
「だが、一つだけ答えてほしい。
貴女はその言葉を、遅すぎたとは思わないのか」
母と名乗るのが遅すぎた。
カルナを省みるのが遅すぎた。
それを恥と思わないのであれば、どうか答えてほしい。
―――母を名乗る貴方が、自らに何の負い目もないというのなら、自分も恥じる事なく過去を受け入れる、と。
クンティーは身勝手な女ではあるが、それも生来の天真爛漫さ、無邪気さからくるもので、決して恥を知らない女ではない。
彼女とて自らの行い……
自分のために生まれたばかりのカルナを捨てた事……
が我欲に満ちたものだと自覚、自責はあった。
なればこそ、彼女にも最低限の誇りはある。
今まで独りで育ち、養父たちに感謝し、何の憎しみも抱かないカルナに、醜い嘘だけはつけなかったのである。
クンティーは答えられず、交渉は決裂。
うなだれて立ち去るクンティーにカルナは告げる。
「それは欺瞞、独りよがりの愛だ。
アナタの愛で救えるのは、アナタだけだ。
アナタの愛はアナタにしか向けられていない。
だが―――」
「その気持ちに応えよう。
以後、戦において俺に及ばぬ兄弟を仕留める事はない。
俺が全力を尽くすのは、我が宿敵アルジュナだけだ」
五兄弟のうち、実力の劣る他の兄弟には手を出さないとカルナは誓う。
これ以後、カルナは幾度となく五兄弟を見逃すのはこの誓いからである。
「自ら手にした場所へ帰るがいい。
……一度だけだが。
息子と呼ばれた事には、感謝している」
館の門を閉め、クンティーを送り出すカルナ。
それはカルナなりの母親・クンティーへの愛。
いまさら母恋しでもないが、最後に「母親としての情」に訴えたクンティーの覚悟……それが真偽さだからぬものとしても……
に、彼は応えたのだ。
クンティーは自らの過去を明かす、という危険を冒した。
施しの英雄であるカルナにとって、その決意は酬いるに値するものだったのだ。
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そうして、最後の戦いの直前。
カルナの懐柔はできないと悟ったアルジュナの父、雷神インドラはバラモン僧に化けてカルナと接触し、彼から黄金の鎧を奪った。
父スーリヤから授かった不死身性を失ったカルナだったが、それでも戦いに赴く事をやめるとは言わなかった。
カルナは黄金の鎧を失った時点で、速やかに自らの破滅を受け入れたにも関わらずだ。
あまりにも潔いカルナに感じ入ったのか、インドラは何故、と問う。
アルジュナ愛しでこのような計略に走るインドラを非難せず、鎧を失い、なぜ戦場に向かえるのかと。
「アナタを恨む事はない。
一枚上手だっただけの話だろう。
むしろ―――そうだな。神といえど父親である、というのが俺には喜ばしい」
では戦いに赴くのは何故だ、とインドラ。
「俺にとって敗北とは、父の威光を汚す事だ。
死が待っているにしても、逃げる事はできない」
なにしろ、その為だけに生きてきた。
自らを生み、育ててくれたものたちに胸を張れるように生きてきたカルナにとって、自らの命は、彼自身のものですらなかったのだ。
「それに、ドゥリーヨダナにも恩がある。
俺はなぜか、あの厚顔で小心な男が眩しくてな。
我が父への不敬となるが、たまに、あの甘い光こそが、日の暖かさだと思うのだ」
カルナの背負う太陽の火ではなく、絶対的なスーリヤの輝きでもなく、人間が見せる不完全な魅力こそが太陽だとカルナは語る。
その姿にスーリヤそのものの神性を見たインドラは、自らの槍をカルナに与えた。
彼はこの高潔な英雄から命以上のものを奪った。
その見返りにあたるものを与えなければ自らの名誉を貶める事になるし、なにより―――
己が息子にも与えなかった最強の槍を、この男なら使いこなせるのでは、と惚れてしまったのだ。
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こうしてカルナはバラモン僧を送り、鎧（肉）を失い、幽鬼のようにやせ細った姿で戦場に向かった。
アルジュナとの最後の戦い。
カルナには既に味方はなく、身を任せる馬車の御者すらパーンダヴァに内通する敵だった。
数々の重荷、異母兄弟である弟への感情。
呪いによりカルナの馬車の車輪は轍にはまり、アルジュナの矢の弦が限界まで引き絞られる。
長く、見えない縁に操られるよう覇を競いあった兄弟は、ここぞとばかりに渾身の一撃を放ち合う。
――果たして、アルジュナの弓は、太陽を撃ち落とした。
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カルナは死後、父スーリヤと一体化したと言われている。
『施しの英雄』と呼ばれ、何かを乞われたり頼まれたりした時に断らない事を信条とした聖人。
非常に高い能力を持ちながら、血の繋がった兄弟と敵対する悲劇を迎え、
様々な呪いを受け、その真価を発揮する事なく命を落とした英雄―――それがカルナである。
余談ではあるが、アルジュナが真相……カルナが自分の兄である事……を知っていたかどうかは定かではない。
カルナがクンティーの息子である事を知っているのは、カルナとクンティー、クリシュナ、太陽神スーリヤだけと思われる。
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