Written by Abhay Talwar – a grade 5 student

I have chosen this book because it teaches us many important life lessons. It makes us think about the consequences of our actions.

This book depicts the life of Karna who is one of the most important characters in the Mahabharata.

He was a human hero. He admitted to his mistakes. Even though many people were unkind to him, he remained to be a man with a heart of gold. He was known as Danveer Karna. Although he didn’t have much, he gave whatever he had. During the battle of Kurukshetra he gave his kavach and kundals (which made him immortal) to Lord Indra.  This showed his generosity.

He wanted to become the best archer in the world and overcame all hardships to achieve his dreams. When Karna and Arjuna faced each other in the battlefield, Karna was by far the better archer; Arjuna only won because of Sri Krishna on his side.

Karna was a man of his words. During the battle, he ensured that he didn’t harm any of the Pandavas thus keeping his word to Kunti. He led Duryodhan’s army during the battle thus keeping his word to Duryodhan.

Karna made a wrong choice and later questioned his actions. He knew Duryodhan was doing the wrong thing but his fierce loyalty and friendship made him a mere spectator. Should he have stopped Duryudhon instead of keeping quiet and indulging him? Should he have chosen loyalty but in the wrong over justice but in the right? He was stuck in the wrong side between good and evil. Karna sacrificed himself so that good could prevail over evil.