Shudra 7

...Not only this Karana had to suffer humiliation in his later days because his Shudra identity of impure origin - the people born from impure feet. How could he aspire to marry a princess? If a king wants to marry a commoner then it is properly proper. But a Shudra and a Kshatriya princess? The thought was sufficient to throw the lawmakers in a nauseating mental turmoil.

There was a princess in Mahabharata who played major part in the epic. She belonged to Panchala kingdom. Her father was the king of Panchala kingdom. He organized a Swayamvar for his daughter in question; her name was Draupadi. A Swayamvar was the occasion where only that Kshatriya who fulfilled the condition to marry the girl was permitted to marry her. It was a kind of choosing the most capable groom for the girl. The king Drupad invited all the Kshatriyas in the Swayamvar for his daughter. Karana along with Kauravas also went to Swayamvar. Many kings and Kshatriyas were present there to try their luck. There was a condition to marry Draupadi; only the one who could pierce the eye of a fish could marry her. The fish was placed on a top of a pole and a wheel was moving under it. One had to shoot the arrow while standing beneath the moving wheel near the pole by looking down at the reflection of fish in a vessel filled with water placed on the ground. If Eklavya’s thumb was not cut off and if the competition was open to all the warriors then he could have won it hands down. But that would have caused the pure lawmakers to suffer from nightmares. Their pure digestive system could not have digested it. Vomiting was certain indicating a high regard they had for the lower caste people. The kings after kings and Kshatriyas after Kshatriyas tried it but failed. So Karana got up to try his luck, he might have certainly done it. At once Draupadi objected saying that she did not want to marry a Shudra Suta-Putra. This made Karana stop then and there. No amount of bravery or skill or talent could convert a Shudra into a Kshatriya eligible to marry among Kshatriyas. He could have fought with them but not marry into them. None of the elders like Bhishma and Yudhister tried to justify the claim of Karana. Later in Mahabharata these two persons are found extolling the importance of deeds and Gunas in determining one’s Varna...