Vaishampayana said : At this time one Adhiratha of the Suta tribe and a friend of Dhritarashthra's accompanied by his wife came to the Jahnavi (Ganga).

O monarch, his wife named Radha was peerless in beauty on earth. That highly fortunate lady had no son.

Although, she made the very best endeavours to obtain one. She, then, beheld drifting along the stream, a basket.

Containing things preventive of dangers and dyed with saffron. And (that basket) was carried before her by the waves of the Janhavi.

And that lady, impelled by curiosity had it seized. She then told all to Adhiratha of the Suta caste.

He (Adhiratha) then carried the basket from the water-side and had it opened by instruments. And therein he teheld a boy.

(Beautiful) as the morning sun, clad in a golden armour and with a beautiful face adorned with brilliant ear-rings.

That Suta together with his wife with eyes expanded in wonder, took the infant on his lap and spoke these words to her.

"O timid lady, since my very birth I have never witnessed such a marvel. I think, this boy that has come to us, is begotten by a celestials,

Surely, considering that I have no son, the gods have sent this child to me.” O lord of the earth, saying this, he made over the child to Radha.

Thereupon, Radha duly adopted that body of celestials appearance and birth, endued with the splendour of the filaments of lotuses and possessed of excellent grace.

She brought him properly up and that mighty boy too began to grow up. Since that time he (Adhiratha) had other sons begotten by him.

The twice-born ones seeing the boy ciad in a golden armour and adorned with golden earrings called him Vasusena.

Thus did the boy of immeasurable strength and splendour come to be known as the son of a charioteer and was styled Vasusena and Vrisha.

That the powerful child, clad in celestials armour (known as) the eldest son of the charioteer (Adhiratha) was growing up in the country of the Angas, was known to Pritha through her spies.

When the charioteer saw that his son in course of time had grown up, he sent him to the city of Hastina.

There the powerful youth lived with Drona in order to learn weapons and made friends with Duryodhana.

Having obtained from Drona, Kripa and Rama (i.e. Parashurama), all the four kinds of weapons, he (Karna) became celebrated in the world as a great bowman.

Having contracted a friendship with the son of Dhritarashtra, he became hostile to the Parthas and was always desirous of fighting with the high-souled Falguna.

And O lord of the earth, since they first saw each other, he (Karna) challenged Arjuna and Arjuna too challenged him.

And O great king, that Karna begotten by him on Kunti was growing up in the race of the Sutas, was, no doubt known to Surya.

Seeing that he was furnished with armour and ear-rings, Yudhishthira was much pained thinking that he was unslayable in battle.

O king of kings, when at noon Karna rose from the water and worshipped the author of the day possessed of rays with joined palms, the Brahmanas prayed to him for riches. And at that time there was nothing that he would not bestow on the twice-born ones.

(For this reason) disguised as a Brahmana Indra came to him and said "give me alms." And the son of Radha replied to him "you are welcome."