Talking of Karna in the same aspect, he is a noble character. Since, despite being the son of Hindu God Surya and unmarried Princess Kunti, he was forced by the destined circumstances to accept the life of a Suta boy. Since according to Aristotle, a tragic hero often belongs to a noble birth, or rises to noble standing and Karna fulfills both these conditions well in his case. As a young woman, princess Kunti had been granted a boon by sage Durvasa to be able to invoke any deity to give her a child. Eager to test the power, while still unmarried, she called upon the solar deity Surya and was handed Karna wearing armour (Kavacha) and a pair of earrings (Kundala). Afraid of being an unwed mother and having a bastard, Kunti placed the baby in a basket and set him afloat on a river. After the unwanted infant was abandoned by his princess mother, he had grown up in the house of a Suta, a chariot, Adhiratha. Adhiratha and his wife Radha brought him up so Karna got the name of Sutaputra. Since, at that point of time, caste and birth order was one of the major aspects to determine one's position in society, therefore being abandoned by his royal mother, he was born ill-fated.
According to Karve, Karna was one of the most unfortunate being of Mahabharata. Karna's defeat was infused in this one fact that he did not know who he was by birth and when the answer was given to him, it was too late. The constant eagerness to know about himself haunted him always. All through life, he constantly addressed the query multiple times, and answered the question: "Who am I?" .This 'I 'remains dynamic and changeful; and so at no given moment is a final answer possible. Social behavior and ritual define and limit the identity of the 'I' in his various roles.
Karna was said to be the son of the Sun-God who, however, plays no decisive role in the story .After the unwanted infant was abandoned by his princess mother, he had grown up in the house of a Suta, Adhiratha.