Karnan-The great hero of Mahabharata war
The princess Pritha, also known as Kunti, bore as a virgin, a son called Karna, whose father was the sun-god Surya and the name Surya Puthra.
 To keep Kunti’s virginity undisturbed, the sun-god arranged to give her a child that came from her ear, and therefore the child was known as Karna and he was born of Kunti from the ear. The word Karna means ear.
Kunti was nevertheless afraid of social stigma and therefore she abandoned the child. She put Karna in a basket and placed the same in the Ganges river. Thereby karna became the illegitimate eldest son of Kunti. (the irony of the situation is that there are many karnas born even today).
History repeats even in the present era, where there  are those girls who are from well to do families and want “freedom” but end up with teenage pregnancies and then abandon their new born, not letting anyone know in the process as to what occurred, thereby manifesting a life of misery for the child.More and more Karnans are born every day in this world.
*(As an Ear surgeon, the story of this great warrior who endured lot of pain and suffering all his life till death- Karnan, always fascinated me , also the story of Kumbha karna, the great snorer….)