Who was the father of Karna?

Surya, the Hindu sun deity, was Karna’s divine father. His mother was Kunti, who invoked Surya with a mantra before her marriage to Pandu.

Kunti had received the mantra from the sage Durvasa, allowing her to summon a deity and bear a child by him. Curious about its power, she invoked Surya. Karna was born with natural golden armor, called kavacha, and earrings, called kundala—signs of his divine origin and protection.

Fearing disgrace because she was unmarried, Kunti placed the infant in a basket and set him afloat. The child was found and raised by the charioteer Adhiratha and his wife Radha. This foster upbringing caused Karna to be treated as a suta, or charioteer’s son, despite his royal and divine birth.

Karna later became King of Anga and Duryodhana’s closest ally. The epic eventually reveals that he is Kunti’s eldest son and therefore the half-brother of the five Pandavas. Indra, father of Arjuna, is not Karna’s father; he is instead the deity associated with Arjuna’s birth.