Is it true that Lord Krishna told Arjuna that Karna was superior to Arjuna?

 

Is it true that Lord Krishna told Arjuna that Karna was superior to Arjuna?

yes and No both.

For most of his life Krishna rated Arjuna higher than Karna. Krishna stated that Arjuna was capable of slaying Bhishma, Drona and Karna together. In fact Krishna said he was invincible and none is able to counter him. If all kuru army stands in front of him he alone can slay them just like that.

Krishna always trusted Arjuna and knew his capability. But Arjuna was a pacifist. He refused to fight before the war. He kept on giving chances to his opponents to run. This behavior of Arjuna irritated Krishna to the extent that he was forced to lift weapon in MB. So Arjuna gets charged and fights Bhishma and defeats him on 3rd day along with several kuru warriors.

But Arjuna again used to get soft on his opponents. Krishna sensed this. He knew that this might be dangerous. Arjuna had defeated Karna several times and was not serious about him. He used to let him go every time. Krishna knew that Karna was cursed and his chariot will sink and according to curse he had to be slayed then only. But Arjuna was a graceful warrior who would never attack Karna like that. karna always used to run from Arjuna be it virat or on 14th day of war. Krishna did not want him to escape this time and wanted him to be punished.

Karna had shakti weapon which Krishna praises. Some people say he was afraid of it and intentionally kept Arjuna away until it was used on gatotkach. Right but one should read the full part. Krishna says if they face Arjuna will nullify all his weapons and then Karna will use his dart. Note this point—It shows that according to krishna Arjuna was superior to Karna therefore he would nullify his weapons and force him to use his dart. According to Indra he could use his dart only when his life was in danger. So Arjuna was so powerful to put him in a situation where he was about to be killed.

Now , the part where Krishna calls Karna superior and praises him a lot is after Gatotkach’s death. It was a situation where Arjuna was sad. So to remove his sorrows and charge him up to kill Karna. Krishna overrated karna so that Arjuna doesn’t get over confident and kills him whenever he gets a chance. Krishna was right about that part. when they face and Arjuna was about to kill Karna with Raudrastra Karna chariot sinks and Arjuna leaves karna. So karna tries to buy time by trying to pull his chariot. He doesn’t take another chariot why? Because he knew his end was near. Now again it was Krishna who forces Arjuna to kill him. This was necessary because Kauravas had record of cheating so no wise teacher or guide would let his followers fall in the trap. He would try to not let them lose focus.

Our teachers also warn us that we would fail in exams if we don’t revise even if we are getting 90 plus marks. That is to make sure we keep trying not because they don’t trust us.