Kunti, the adopted princess of King Kuntibhoja, serves Sage Durvasa and receives a divine mantra. She has no idea of the power of the mantra, which summons divine beings to provide sons, and playfully tests the mantra. Summoned by the mantra, the blazing Sun God appears, and insists on providing Kunti with a son. After initial refusal, a fearful Kunti agrees to bear Surya’s son- who is born instantaneously. The child Karna is born with earrings and golden armour on its chest. The hapless Kunti decides to abandon the child the same morning to avoid the ignominy of being labelled an unwed mother. She puts the sleeping boy in a casket filled with jewels and gold, and sets the casket adrift in the river.   And thus the legend of Karna begins...