Once when Durvāsā Muni was a guest at the house of Kuntī's father, Kuntī satisfied Durvāsā by rendering service, and thus he blessed her with the mystic power by which she could summon any demigod. To examine the potency of this mystic power, the pious Kuntī immediately called for the sun-god.
As soon as Kuntī called for the demigod of the sun, he appeared before her, much to her surprise. She told the sun-god, "I was simply examining the effectiveness of this mystic power. I'm sorry I have called you unnecessarily. Please return and excuse me."
The sun-god said, "O beautiful Kuntī, your meeting with the demigods cannot be fruitless. Therefore, let me place my seed in your womb so that you may bear a son. 1 shall arrange to keep your virginity intact, since you are still an unmarried girl."
According to rules of the Vedic civilization, if a girl gives birth to a child before she is married, no one will marry her. Therefore, although the sun-god wanted to give Kuntī a child, she hesitated because she was still unmarried. To keep her virginity intact, the sun-god arranged to give her a child that came from her ear.
After saying this, the sun-god discharged his semen into the womb of Kuntī and then returned to the celestial kingdom. Immediately thereafter, Kuntī gave birth to Karṇa, a child who was like a second sun-god.