"THIS IS the day, Karna This is the day for which you were cursed!"
—Sage Parashuram
In this episode of Mahabharata, the long awaited archery duel between Arjun and Karna takes place on Day 17 of the Kurukshetra war.
Tropes found here are
- Anxiety Dreams: Karna is plagued by these throughout the night before his big showdown. The dreams are of all the curses he’s received so far.
- Archery Duel: Arjun and Karna engage in a momentous one, with both being able to intercept each others’ fired arrows with ease. For a moment, Karna even appears to be getting the better of Arjun, by severing the string of Arjun’s bow multiple times. Then Karna’s curses manifest.
- Call-Back: The Brahmin calf owner’s diatribe to Karna on what constitutes a sin note is very similar to Vidhur’s reasoning for why Pandu had to face the consequences for Rishi Kindam’s death.
- Cowardly Lion: For the first time ever, Arjun admits to Draupadi that he is scared of facing Karna. This results in him compulsively sharpening his arrows.
- Curse: Two curses - the failure of his brahmastra invocation and the breakdown of his chariot - manifest concurrently, dooming Karna.
- Diabolus ex Machina: From Karna’s perspective. A Deus ex Machina from Arjun’s however.
- Duel Boss: Karna is this for Arjun.
- Flash Back: Before firing the divyastra at Karna, Arjun flashes back to Abhimanyu’s brutal stabbing.
- I Gave My Word: Unbeknownst to the Pandavas, this is why Karna spares Yudhistir, Bhim, Nakul and Sahadev after defeating them. He had promised Kunti that at the end of the day, she will still have five sons - implying that only one between him and Arjun will survive.
- Magic Misfire: Karna’s invocation of the Brahmastra fails - exactly as Parashuram’s curse predicted.
- Mucking in the Mud: The right wheel of Karna’s chariot gets stuck in the mud and is immobilized - exactly as the calf owner’s curse predicted. This forces him to dismount to try unsuccessfully to dislodge the wheel free.
- Off with His Head!: Karna gets decapitated by Arjun’d divyastra weapon.
- You Will Be Spared: Yudhistir has Duryodhan on the ropes but spares him so Bhim can fulfill his oath. Then Karna duels, defeats and spares Nakul, Sahadev, Bhim and Yudhistir, just as he promised Kunti he would.
