Does Karna know from the beginning that Radha and Adhiratha adopted him?
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The retellings confuse me because they all seem to handle this differently. In some versions, Karna knows he’s adopted but has no idea who his biological parents are. In others, he doesn’t even know he’s adopted and genuinely believes Radha and Adhiratha are his biological parents.
The Villi Bharatham version I’ve read doesn’t seem to make this clear either. When Krishna reveals the truth about his birth, Karna says:
இன்றால் எனது பிறப்புணர்ந்தேன்
என்று என்பு உருகி…
Translation: Only today have I come to know about my birth...
So does this mean Karna didn’t know he was adopted at all until Krishna told him? Or did he already know that Radha and Adhiratha weren’t his biological parents and just didn’t know who his real parents were? And if he already knew he was adopted, why did he never try to find out who his biological parents were?