Many of you, who are not familiar with Indian/Hindu mythology might be asking who exactly is this Karna Guy? What is so special about him?
Well the answer is "Everything!"
Literally everything is special about him. There are many legends associated with Karna - the Great Warrior and one of the top 5 Archers of the Dwaapar-Yug. I will try to mention the basics.
Karna was born out of wedlock between a human Princess and the Heavenly Sun Deity. The Princess had received the knowledge of a summoning ritual that would bind a Heavenly Deity to come down to the mortal world and give birth to a child with the summoner. Such, a child would be a Half-Deity and possess immense strength.
This Princess was 'Kunti' who later gave birth to the 5 main Heroes of the Mahabharat(a) War. She had served a Great sage 'Durvaasaa' with utmost sincerity. Although he was supposed to be a great sage, 'Durvaasaa' was known for his bad temperament and Anger Issues.
Not many could satisfied him. Kunti impressed him very much and hence he shared the knowledge of the Summoning ritual with her, knowing full well that she would need it to give birth to the five 'Pandavas'.
When she received the knowledge, Kunti was a teenager. Part curiosity and part excitement led her to use the summoning ritual while she was strolling around the banks of a river. The Sun was visible to her so she summoned the Sun Deity, just to check if the Summoning ritual actually works!
The Heavenly Sun Deity (Spiritual Manifestation of the Sun) descended on Earth. Kunti realized her mistake and asked him to go back. He explained that the both of them were bound by the summoning ritual and needed to produce a child and those two couldn't escape the chains of the fate now.
A teenaged unmarried Princess gave birth to a son 9 months later. She had hidden herself in her Palace with the help of her confidants and restricted the entry into her palace. She had made up an excuse that the Sage 'Durvaasaa' had asked her to meditate and do penance for a bright future.
The son was born with Golden Earrings. 'Karna' in Sanskrit/Hindi means Ear. Because of his Golden Earrings, 'Karna' became the boy's nickname and most people do not know his original name. His original/official name is Vasusena.
Apart from the pair of Earrings, he was also born with a Golden Armor. That Armor made Karna an Immortal. Later when the Mahabharat(a) War was to take place, the King of Heavenly Deities 'Indra' asked 'Karna' to donate his Earrings and Armor. Karna was a philanthropist known to never ignore a request for donation.
Even though Karna knew that 'Indra' wanted him to give up his Armor so that his divine protection is lost and then Indra's son Arjuna will be able to slay Karna; he still gave it away happily. Such was his character. That is why he was called a 'Daanveer' - the most charitable Warrior.
Coming back to his birth, Kunti had made a blunder and fearing that she will be shunned by the society (since a lady giving birth before marriage was considered a huge taboo at the time), she placed Karna in a basket and set him adrift on the river, hoping someone will pick him up and raise him well.
So, basically he was an illegitimate child of Kunti and hence half-brothers with the Pandavas. Raised by parents of the lowest class. Was acknowledged by Duryodhana, the eldest of Kauravas. Kauravas and Pandavas were cousins and mortal enemies.
Basically the Mahabhrat(a) war can be said to be a family fight for property (Throne of the Kingdom) that escalated to the Great War of Kurukshetra. Just kidding, well it had several moral and Dharmic (righteous) reasons involved.
It was a war so huge, that the armies spanned 100s of Kilometers and tens of Millions of soldiers and warriors died.
Anyway, apart from
-Parshurama (6th re-incarnation of Supreme God Vishnu)
-Krishna (6th re-incarnation of Supreme God Vishnu) and
-Hanuman (9th re-incarnation of Supreme God Shiva)
-Balrama (2nd re-incarnation of Sheshnag a subordinate of Supreme God Vishnu)
-Barbarika (Although not a God, he had a special boon from the Supreme God Shiva)
who were in the Human World at the time, the greatest Archers were-
#Bheeshm(a)
#Arjun(a)
#Karn(a)
#Dronachary(a)
#Eklavya(a)
they all had da few boons and blessings and it is not possible to rank them exactly. Arjuna had the support of Shri Krishna, who helped him get rid of all his opponents.
---------
A1 END.