Wives of Karna
The Mahabharata provides limited information about the marital life of Karna, one of the central figures in the epic. His wives are not named in the canonical text and are described as belonging to the Sūta community. In the Stri Parva, one of his wives, revealed to be the mother of his sons Vrishasena and Sushena, is briefly mentioned lamenting over Karna's death.
Over time, various regional traditions and literary adaptations have expanded upon Karna's marital life, often introducing named spouses through imaginative retellings. The Tamil play Karna Moksham depicts a character named Ponnuruvi as his wife, while the regional Kashidasi Mahabharata refers to her as Padmavati. In modern literature, particularly in Shivaji Sawant’s novel Mrityunjay, Karna is portrayed as being married to two women—Vrushali and Supriya.
In the ''Mahabharata''
Karna's wives play insignificant roles in the original epic. In the Udyoga Parva of the Mahabharata, Karna—while explaining his commitment towards his foster parents—mentions them.In the Kurukshetra War, consumed by desperation, Karna pledges to give away his wives and children to anyone who can find Arjuna on the battlefield.
In the epic's Stri Parva, Gandhari, the mother of Duryodhana, describes the grief of women after the Kurukshetra War. The sorrow of a wife of Karna is also described by her.
After the war, Yudhishthira honours Karna's wives.
P. Lal, a professor and translator of the Mahabharata, interprets three unnamed women as Karna wives, all belonging to the Sūta caste.
In derivative literature
Ponnuruvi
Ponnuruvi is the wife of Karna in the Karna Moksham of Kattaikkuttu, a Tamil drama written by Pukalentippulavar. She plays a major role in it and is depicted as a princess belonging to Kshatriya community. In the play, she is the princess of Kalinga and the story of her marriage is based on the MahabharataPadmavati
In the Kashidasi Mahabharat, Padmavati is attested as the wife of Karna. She was the maid of princess Asawari. They were rescued by Karna from some attackers. When Karna asks Asawari's father, the king, for her hand, the king rejected her marriage with Karna. Later, Karna attacked the kings at Asawari's swaymvara. Karna asked her if she would like to marry him. She says that she will do anything to save her father. Karna then accepts her maid Padmavati as his wife instead. Padmavati marries him and goes to Anga Kingdom with him.Vrishali and Supriya
The characters Vrishali and Supriya, depicted as the wives of Karna, are literary creations introduced by author Shivaji Sawant in his Marathi novel Mrityunjaya. According to scholar Pradip Bhattacharya, the name "Vrushali" appears to have been coined by Sawant, drawing a parallel with "Panchali", the heroine of the Mahabharata, while the name "Supriya" resembles that of Subhadra, the wife of Arjuna—Karna's arch-rival.In Mrityunjaya, Vrushali is portrayed as Karna's childhood companion and later his first wife, chosen by Adhiratha. She is described as wise, devout, and devoted to her husband. Following the deaths of Karna and their sons, she ends her life on his funeral pyre, symbolising her loyalty and grief.
Supriya is depicted as Karna’s second wife in the same novel. In the narrative, Supriya serves as the maid of Bhanumati, the princess of Kalinga. After Duryodhana abducts and marries Bhanumati with Karna’s assistance, he arranges Supriya’s marriage to Karna.