About
Chitrasena — Son of Karna, Slain by Nakula
Chitrasena · son of Karna · son of Radheya
Chitrasena is a son of Karna — the great warrior of the Kaurava army in the Mahabharata — and one of the eight sons of Karna who participated in the Kurukshetra War. He is recorded as having been killed by Nakula, one of the Pandava twins, on the eighteenth and final day of the battle. The Mahabharata mentions him by name among the sons of Karna who fell during the war, and his profile within the epic is limited to this battlefield record.
✦ The Name
Chitrasena is a compound of chitra (variegated, bright, remarkable, or pictured) and sena (army). The name signifies one whose army is distinguished or brilliant. It is a name borne by several figures in the Mahabharata, most notably a king of the Gandharvas, making Karna's son one of several characters sharing this name within the epic.
✦ Lineage
- Father: Karna (also known as Vasusena, Radheya, and Suryaputra), foremost archer of the Kaurava forces, biological son of the sun god Surya and Kunti, adoptive son of the charioteer Adhiratha, and king of Anga.
- Mother: Not named in any primary source. The canonical Mahabharata does not name Karna's wife or wives. The names Vrushali and Supriya, and any distribution of sons between them, are features of Shivaji Sawant's modern novel Mrityunjaya and have no primary textual attestation.
- Brothers: Vrishasena (eldest), Satyasena, Sushena, Shatrunjaya, Dvipata, Banasena, Prasena (all killed in the Kurukshetra War); Vrishaketu (youngest, sole survivor of the war).
✦ Role in the Kurukshetra War
Chitrasena is recorded among the sons of Karna who fought in the Kurukshetra War. He was killed by Nakula on the eighteenth day of the battle. Nakula is described in the epic as a warrior of great swiftness and skill, particularly with the sword and bow, and is credited with the deaths of three of Karna's sons — Chitrasena, Satyasena, and Sushena — on that final day of fighting.
✦ References
- Mahabharata, Shalya Parva (Book 9): Records the deaths of Karna's sons Chitrasena, Satyasena, and Sushena at the hands of Nakula on the eighteenth day of battle.
- Wikipedia, "Wives of Karna": Establishes that Karna's wives are not named in the canonical text, and that names attributed in popular tradition derive from modern literary adaptations.
- Kevin McGrath, The Sanskrit Hero: Karna in Epic Mahabharata (Brill, 2004): Scholarly reference on Karna's family in the epic, noting the absence of named wives in primary sources.