He lay sprawled upon the crimson earth
Like a lotus floating atop a scarlet stream.
His eyes closed;
He sleeps amidst a red field of flowers
Swathing endlessly,
A stretch of rough land.
The depressing chilly moon
Beckons wolves and jackals forth.
To ravage and to denude; they leap.
But he denies them not
Of their right to flesh;
For even in death,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Just and fair
***
A sinuous arrow set to the grand bow
He prudently zeroes in on the foe.
Eventide breaks through the canvas of the ether
And he defers;
Bequeathing his corrival
With the boon of survival.
Venerating the departure of the solar disc from the firmament
He empathizes with the adversary
For even in precariousness,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Noble and gracious.
***
He streaks across the front
Like a blazing long-haired star;
Reducing all in his wake
To naught but wreckage.
Hurtling through the arena;
Inciting terror like Death;
He chooses to let live
The quivering, opposing foremen.
An oath to their matriarch he honours;
Turning away, he indulges them
For even in violence,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Liberal and benign.
***
He rejects opulence, luxury, affluence;
Declining social prominence;
He espouses friendship above all else.
He seeks to rise in status
Yet as camaraderie is compromised;
Blind to rank he becomes.
To his friend’s affection;
He opts to pay homage;
Spurning the avarice of the world at his feet,
Sacrificing a lifelong desire.
For even in an ensnarement,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Uncorrupted and pure.
***
Long-silent and uncaring
Herself his mater reveals.
An opportunity she grasps
Endeavouring to win him over
Prior to the preface of the war.
Shaking his head at her enticement
He lets her part not empty-handed
As he bestows upon her
His charity of mercy
On the children she acknowledges.
For even in sorrow,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Kind and chivalrous.
***
Cleansed and unadulterated
He reveres the Sun
As the river sparkles with its dawning glow.
He dismisses none as they beseech him
Be it for assistance or alms.
Humane to a fault;
He refuses not his mantle of invincibility
Bleeding, he relinquishes his protective cloak
Being wise to the treacherous subterfuge.
For even in unfairness,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Upstanding and virtuous.
***
Pining, aching and yearning
For the emotion known as love,
He stows away his morals
To please his lone friend.
To propitiate this single friend
Who gave him everything
When he had nothing,
He turns depraved.
He gratifies that comrade
Presenting reimbursement;
For even in sin,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Loyal and true.
***
The cheerful Sun shines down
Upon the radiant face of the babe;
Sleeping, smiling softly.
He nestles close to his mother’s bosom; content;
Not knowing of his fate.
Setting him adrift,
She darts back home,
Guilty of the outcome of her lust.
The child resisted not, cried not,
He granted her with freedom and relief.
For even in birth,
He is the benefactor Karna;
Regal and heroic.
~ Dibyasree Nandy
Kolkata, India