Week 14 Reading: The Birth of Karna

 When Kunti (the mother of the Pandavas) was a young women she had a remarkable personality and her father ruled the kingdom with pride. One fine day, the rishi Durvasa enters the palace and approaches the king for service. The king agrees as everyone is afraid of the rishi for his short temper and curses. However, Kunti is fearless and serves the rishi without any hesitation. She speaks her mind and impresses Durvasa. As he was leaving, he whispers a mantra in Kunti's ears . He clarifies that this will summon the god she desires and leaves. With still a lot of uncertainty behind it, Kunti decides to test it out. Durvasa left out a key detail in the mantra and Kunti finds herself with a beautiful baby boy, Karna. She sees his golden earrings and armor, instantly realizing that he is destined for greater things. However, being an unmarried woman, she has to let the baby go. She leaves it in a basket and lets it float down the river. This is later found my a fisherman and hence Karna grew up outside palace walls. 

Kunti leaves Karna in a basket

 Kunti has to make the tough choice of abandoning a child. Karna only finds out about his birth mother only towards the end of the Kurukshetra War. 

Week 14 Reading: Shantanu and Ganga

King Shantanu ruled over the kingdom of Hastinapur. This was before the birth of the Pandavas or the Kurukshetra War. While on the banks of the river Ganga, the king fell in love with the river Goddess and asked to her marry him. The Goddess agreed on the condition that he would never question her decision. They lived happily for a while without issue before their first child was born. Goddess Ganga drowned the child to King Shantanu's shock. She continued to do so  until just before the eighth child met the same fate, King Shantanu stopped her. He asked her for the reason for such a preposterous thing. She told him about the eight Vasus who were the celestial beings cursed with mortality. She relieved seven of them of the curse until now. She immediately vanishes with their eighth child. 

King Shantanu with Goddess Ganga

Ravi Varma made paintings like this throughout the 19th Century that are considered pieces of art. 

Source

 Mahabharata Episode 1 - Shantanu the Unfortunate | Epified