From his teenage years, Duryodhana had cultivated a Duṣṭa-traya — a Diabolical Triad comprising Śakuni, Duśyāsana, and Karna, which assisted his self-scripted drama of evil that ultimately ruined him and the Kaurava kingdom and the nation.

This is akin to the sinister cabal surrounding Indira Gandhi whose depraved counsel wrecked India and culminated in her assassination and the genocide of Sikhs — all horrors of her own making.

The parallel doesn’t stop here. Karna’s loyalty was a personal loyalty exclusively reserved for Duryodhana. For him, Duryodhana was Hastinapura, just as DK Barooah had infamously declared that India was Indira.

The iconic Kannada litterateur, journalist and philosopher, DV Gundappa fleshes out Karna’s innate character and the nature of his relationship with Duryodhana:

“When Karna was mocked and humiliated for being the son of a Sūta (charioteer in this case; in general, low birth), he was unable to find a convincing counter to it and had to swallow the indignity."

Indignity bred inferiority within Karna, which in turn spawned a lifelong resentment against the whole world, in a manner of speaking. Duryodhana became the........

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