ways of thinking and acting, and entail
an overall assessment of a person. For
further information see Wendy Doniger
O’Flaherty (ed.), Karma and Rebirth in
Classical Indian Traditions, 1980; and
K. S. Mathur, “Hindu Values of Life:
Karma and Dharma,” in T. N. Madan
(ed.), Religion in India, 1991.
Karmamarga
(“path of action”) One of Hinduism’s
three generally accepted paths to gain
final liberation of the soul (moksha),
along with the Path of Devotion (bhakti-
marga) and the Path of Wisdom (jnana-
marga). Bhaktimarga stresses devotion
to God, and the jnanamarga stresses
the realization of the ultimate identity
of one’s individual Self (atman)
and Ultimate Reality (Brahman).
Karmamarga emphasizes selfless action
performed for the benefit of others.
Karmendriya
(“organ of action”) In Indian philoso-
phy, any of the five organs through
which human beings act on their envi-
ronment, traditionally considered to be:
voice, hands, feet, and the organs of
elimination and generation.Karna
In the Mahabharata, the later of the two
great Hindu epics, Karna is the eldest of
the Pandavabrothers, although he is
not aware of his true identity until a few
days before his death. He is born when
his mother, Kunti, in a moment of
youthful impulsiveness, looks upon the
sunwhile reciting a mantra, giving her
the power to have a son by any of the
gods. She is immediately visited by a
shining figure, who leaves her with an
equally shining son. Distraught and des-
perate at the birth of this child, which as
an unmarried woman she feels she can-
not keep, she puts him in a box and
abandons him in the Ganges.
The child is adopted by the chario-
teer, Adhiratha, who raises Karna as his
own son. Karna later comes to the court
of King Dhrtarashtra, where he
becomes friends with the king’s son,Karmamarga
The Himalayan town of Karnaprayag.