When Kunti Devi was young, long before the swayamvara in which she would choose the Bharata king Pandu , the sage Durvasas visited the kingdom of Kunti and stayed at the king's palace.

He was served there by the the young princess who had been the first to welcome him. He was so taken by her kindnesses to him that he taught her a splendid mantra.
``If you use this mantra,'' he told her, ``and call upon a god, the god will come down and lie with you for a night. The very next day, you shall have the god's son.'' Kunti dutifully learnt the mantra but the curiosity of youth was killing her. She yearned to use it. Sometimes, she even thought the old sage was leading her down a garden trail. ``It won't work,'' she thought to herself as she stood in the sun and chanted the mantra silently in her mind. Or would it?

That night, Kunti went to her window and softly mouthed the mantra. In a blaze of light, the sun god himself appeared. He was resplendent and his form so lit up the room that there was no darkness anywhere. He came close to her and Kunti shut her eyes, so bright was his presence.
``You called,'' said the sun god, ``and I have come.''
``But,'' stuttered Kunti, ``I was only testing the mantra. I don't wish to have any children now. I am not married, yet.''
``I can leave now,'' said the sun god, ``if you do not wish me to stay.''
Yet, yet, the sun god was tall, jewels fell across his bare chest and his golden hair framed his face. ``Stay,'' whispered Kunti.

The next day, the son of the sun god was born to Kunti. He wore gold earrings and a gold armor and his very body shone. Kunti placed the baby in a basket and sent it floating down the Yamuna.
The basket floated down the Yamuna into the Ganges which washed it ashore in the land of Anga where it was found by the charioteer Adhiratha.
Adhiratha took the child to his wife and said, ``the gods have given us this child, who wears golden armor and earrings. We shall raise him a warrior, even though I am but a lowly charioteer.'' They named this child Karna. And Karna would prove, in the exhibition that Drona held to showcase Arjuna and his other pupils, that he was a better warrior than them all .

Once Drona's revenge had been exacted , he decided to hold an exhibition of his students for the benefit of King Dhritarashtra. Dhitarashtra had pavilions and walls built around a clearing for the exhibition. When the king and queen arrived at the grounds, the exhibition was inagurated by Kripa. Kripa was the original guru of the Pandavas and the Kauravas - Drona came by later . So, Kripa asked King Dhritarashtra for permission to start the exhibition and when that was given, Drona entered the grounds. Following him were Ashwattama, the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Nakula and Sahadeva, the Pandava sons of Madri, proved to be the best swordsmen in the group. Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava and the wisest of them all, proved to be the best chariot driver in the group. It was then that Bhima and Duryodhana competed in a heavy mace competition.

It was a close match with both Bhima and Duryodhana aiming and hitting all their targets. The roar of the crowd, their evenly matched skill, and the history of animosity between the two men , it was only a matter of time before they forgot the targets and started going at each other. But Drona was having none of that, he made Aswattama stop the two of them. Aswattama swiftly pulled the maces from their hands, threw the heavy maces to the ground and brought the brawl to a stop. When Aswattama threw the maces to the ground, the earth tremored.

Meanwhile, Arjuna had entered the grounds and was amazing the crowd with his feats of archery. Arjuna performed the most amazing feats - he hid himself in a cloud, shot fire and water from his arrows even while streaming across the field in a chariot. Arjuna surpassed Nakula and Sahadeva in his swordsmanship, he surpassed Yudhishthira in his chariot, and even Bhima and Duryodhana with his mace. He surpassed every one who had gone before him. The crowd roared its awe and approval and the blind king, hearing the crowd, thanked heavens for Pandu's sons.

On this note of Arjuna's feat, Drona started to bring the exhibition to an end. But before Drona could end the competition came the sound of a Kshatriya challenge from outside the walls of the ground. Hearing the sound a cupped hand makes with an armpit, Drona ordered that the challenge be accepted. In came Karna, half-brother of the Pandavas , but son of a charioteer. Karna, son of the sun-god himself, came in his golden armor. He was handsome and awe-inspiring. He bowed to Drona and then facing Arjuna, informed Arjuna that he would match every deed of Arjuna's.

Karna then proceeded to do everything that Arjuna had done before him, only he did with greater ease and poise. Karna's performance was so gracious and his skill so apparent, that everyone agreed that Karna was the greatest warrior that they had seen that day. And Kripa and Drona and Arjuna could only marvel at the warrior they saw that day.

Just who was he? Kripa went over to Karna, and asked him who he was. "Which royal family do you belong to?", he asked. At the phrasing of that question, Karna turned pale. Duryodhana, noticing this, chastised Kripa for forgetting his own roots. Duryodhana asked Karna, after taking him aside, where he was from.
"Anga," replied Karna, the half-brother of the Pandavas who had been abandoned by his mother soon after his birth. Duryodhana immediately proclaimed the great warrior, greater than even Arjuna, king of Anga.
Karna was tremendously grateful. "What do I have to give to you in return," he asked Duryodhana. Not only had Duryodhana treated him kindly without inquiring into his origins, he was offering to make him a king. "All I want," said Duryodhana, "is your friendship."

So it was that on the field that was meant to showcase the deeds of Arjuna, that Karna was anointed the king of Anga. Seeing his son anointed a king, the charioteer Adhiratha with pride approached Karna. And Karna, his son, his hair still wet from the anointing oil, knelt before Adhiratha.

Seeing that Karna was the son of a charioteer, Bhima ridiculed the scene. "What is the use," he asked Duryodhana, "of making this charioteer a king? He is not a warrior; he should stick to driving chariots!" But Karna faced Bhima down. "This is my father," he told Bhima, "Adhiratha taught me all the weapons you saw me use today. I have always looked for a home, and Duryodhana here has given me his friendship."

Thus it was that Karna became the loyal friend of Duryodhana, in return for Duryodhana's kindness on the exhibition fields. And everyone there knew that the greatest warrior of them all, greater than even the much-talked-about Arjuna, was Karna, king of Anga and friend of Duryodhana.