Karna

Chapter 1:

I would like to speak today! Some people would be surprised knowing I was going to speak!  They would say, since when dead started speaking? But sometimes a speck of remnant must speak! When people alive behave like dead, then dead must speak like alive! I’m not going to speak like others as I know I’m not a philosopher. Right from the word go, the world was a battlefield for me! And my life, was like a repertoire filled with numerous situational & emotional arrows of various shapes & sizes!

 

Today, I’d like to open my life's repertoire to you! I will open up with free mind, all my life experiences to you! Those experiential arrows with their glazing radiance, those that are eye catching with strong and enticing build, those that are broken and appalling – all of them as it is!

 

I want to validate and verify them from all the world’s valour. From mother earth, I want to really find out the value of it. From all the teachers in the world, I want to find out their real place. From a true friend, who can give his life for his friend, I want to testify them. With life full of love for brotherhood, I want its valuation done.

 

I clearly hear the sound which is coming from deep within me. I’m in vainly trying to control it but it keeps coming like a spreading fire. It keeps telling me to tell my life tale to everyone in the simplest possible words. Everyone says, ‘Karna, your life was a torn cloth!’. Tell everyone with a loud vibration, it was not a torn cloth but a shimmering royal velvet cloth. It was torn into tens of thousands of pieces as it was entangled in the situational barbed fence of my destiny. Whoever found these pieces, used them for their good. And yet, why are you proud of it?

 

Instead of staying at the bottom of the box like an unused new royal cloth, you fought alone with the monster hell of a situation. Let everyone see with their eyes wide open and decide for themselves what value your torn royal cloth was of. Let them keep their ears open. The world hear tales of valiant with interest, but the next moment, just the next moment, they forget about it with ease, will your story shake them up? Will it have sustainable strength?

 

Those who have a heart of lion, those who believe deeply in the final truth, those who think of death as a toy, will they hear you? Is it just a story? It is a noble truth! And truth is never a slave of who is hearing or seeing it! It comes out in the open. Just like a rising sun!

 

While hearing a story, we imagine it to have an effect of sweet intoxication of winning a trophy, an effect of dancer’s mesmerizing rhythmic dance, an effect of a man-woman passionate cuddling, and more importantly, it should let us forget the fleeting nature of life. What I’m going to tell you will have nothing of this sort. It is a story of my struggle! A struggle of my various thrilling emotions!

 

I was a soldier who fought with my heart and soul in it! I’m telling this story only to satisfy myself! A man must vent out somewhere, without which he cannot feel liberated! Therefore, I’m going to tell you my story with openness!

 

The difficulty I’m facing is, how to tell it in the chronologically coordinated fashion! As the thundering lightening pierces through the ears of forest horses, they begin to run helter-skelter as they find a way. Similarly, many events are passing by my eyes without reference to time they occurred. Not sure why, but again and again I’m remembering of Champa Town which is situated on the beautiful and auspicious bank of Ganga river. The time I spent in Champa town was the most memorable and delicate turn of my life.

 

Many of my memories have awakened by the mere name of that town as if the flock of deer runs taking high leaps. Some say, memories are like feathers of peacock and others say, they are like flowers that leave fragrance behind, but I do not agree with it! Memories are like the legs of elephant! They imprint a deep impression on your mind! At least all my memories are like that – unforgettable! Champa town is one such memory which is deeply imprinted on my mind and soul. It is the silent and sought-after shelter of my life's journey! Some people call life a temple. I know that my life is not a temple and if it is, Champa town is the most melodic unique bell of it.

 It is one of the most beautiful towns situated on the vast bank of Ganga river. It is! No – It was!

 Chapter 2:

Champa was a small town in the lap of nature with trees all around and birds chirping all day long. I spent my childhood delightfully in this town where I woke up every day to the cacophony of twittering birds and cow’s mooing, where I took refuge in the pleasing shed of a banyan tree at noon every day, where I slept while the gentle breeze coming from river Ganga touched my innocent body. My childhood went like an arrow left from the bow, never to return.

 

But just by mere recollection of it, the expanse of river Ganga to the skyline comes in front of my eyes. An empire of the whitish blue water to the horizon! All those water droplets know me, and I know them. While running on the wet soft sand on the bank of river Ganga, my footprints imprinted on it. The strong gust of air coming from the river, sometimes, took away my scarf with it. Therefore, along with the memory of Champa town, I also remember river Ganga which is vastly spread from one end to another.

What is childhood? Who can neatly describe it? Many people with their imaginative abilities describe it, but in my opinion, it is like a chariot. A chariot with shackle free horses. A chariot which runs over innumerable ripples of the river to find out if the blue water is really spread up to the horizon. A chariot which flies into the sky to find out what keeps stars in their orbit, so they don’t fall on the earth.

Chapter 3:

 For me and my little brother ‘Shone’ – It was our tiny world. Shone! Yes Shone! His original name was ‘Shatruntap’. But everyone used to call him ‘Shone’. Shone was my younger brother. I had another brother ‘Vrukrath’ but he left in his childhood to stay with my mother’s sister. Our childhood was filled with Shone’s and my memories. Growing up in pure air of Champa town, it was a tiny world of two innocent lives filled with an unimaginable imagination. There were no signs of fake and false prestige, no grudge, and nursing hatred against each other for selfishness. It was a world of two brothers with no nefarious intentions. There were only two gate keepers to this world. My mother – ‘Radha’ and my father – ‘Adhirath’! Even today, with their slightest memory, a soft string of love rings bell in my heart, and unconsciously my eyes become wet with tears, with gratitude and love for them. I wipe them as I know tears are a sign of weakness. No number of tears can put out the fire of worldly sorrows. And yet, my eyes get wet with tears to release burden from my soul. Because in my life, I could not give them anything valuable than my tears. And I did not believe anything substantial existed which could be given to them in return for their valuable love for their children. They did not expect anything from me whatsoever. What they gave me was just unadulterated love! Therefore, in their memory, my eyes get wet with gratitude, and emotions drenched in love for them.

 

Chapter 4:

My mother was an ocean of love! All the people in town used to call me ‘Vasusen’. My younger brother Shone used to call me ‘Vasu’. My mother had not only given me her milk, but I had always been drinking to my heart’s content the nectar of her undiluted love for me. As if she was born to shower her love on everyone. All the people in town used to call her ‘Radha’ mother. Because of her love for everyone and relentless passion to help others, everyone used to abide by her word. I was born with two earrings in my ears! She used to talk about it in her conversations with people around. She used to panic if I disappeared from her line of sight for a short while. Not just panic but distressed! She would search for me in neighbors’ houses. She would stare at my earrings hours on end forgetting her existence. She would caress me by moving her hand on my head and tell me ‘Vasu, do not ever roam by the bank of river.’

‘Why not?’ I asked

‘Look, listen to your elders. When I told you not to go, you must not go.’

‘How coward are you? What would happen if I went?

‘No Vasu!’ She would pull me near her and while caressing would ask me ‘Vasu, do you care for me? Do you like me?’

‘Yes’ I nodded. Looking at my rhythmically oscillating earrings, with praiseworthiness, she would say ‘Consider it my order. Do not ever go by the river’. She would tell me with sympathy and commiseration for me.

 

For her to feel better, I would nod in affirmation ‘If you said so I would not go, ok with you?’ On hearing it, she would pull me towards her and cuddle me. She would kiss me on my forehead and ears. Then I would feel, I should stay in her lap protected forever.

 

I would think while resting in her lap, why she feared the river? And I experienced unavoidable pull towards it. To talk to the strong water currents was my favourite pastime. What would happen if she knew it? She would have surely run to the river in search of me. Whatever may happen, she should never know I go by the river regularly. I would make a strong resolve to not tell her about it and to fulfil it, I would provide incentives to Shone so he would not disclose it to her either.

 

Chapter 5:

My father was a charioteer of Kaurav King Dhritarashtra. He mostly stayed in Kaurav capital Hastinapur. Hastinapur was far away from Champa Town. Sometimes he would come to Champa town riding in a big chariot.  At that time, my and Shone’s excitement would be at its peak. Shone would jump in the chariot the moment he saw it in the door, he would forcibly take away horses’ reins from my father and call me loudly, ‘Brother Vasu, come quickly. We would go to Ganga River to collect shells and conches.’ I would leave whatever I was doing and run towards it.

 

I would jump in it. Shone would run it in high speed in the quest to reach the bank of river Ganga quickly. Five strong and stout yet elegant royal horses would run at high speed, the little Shone would find it difficult to control its speed. He would get tired to in vainly try to control them. He would call me for help. The marks of holding horses’ reins were clearly visible on his hands. At that time, I could sense pity in his voice, and I would feel love for him. I would take away the control of Chariot and run it in high speed for Shone’s amusement. He would encourage me to run it at an even higher speed, by clapping his hands. In a matter of time, we would cover two miles to reach the bank of river Ganga. Like a deer, shone would jump out of the chariot and run towards the riverbank. His little footprints were clearly visible on the wet sand like a straight line. I, sitting in a chariot, would constantly stare at the water like possessed. I would think, I had an unsaid relationship with this water, that is why, I was drawn towards it! Moment later I would think, what sort of a relation a man would have with the water? It is an instrument to quench the thirst of a thirsty. Inadvertently, the reins would fall off from my hands. I would store in my little eyes, the beautiful view of river Ganga! I would think, I wish, it would have been better if all my body had eyes!

 

I would come out of the slumber of my thoughts with Shone’s questions! He would be ecstatic to have gotten multi-coloured conches and shells. He would ask me questions after questions,

‘Brother are these shells made up of water?’

‘Yes’

He would not be satisfied with that answer. He would ask again,

‘But then, are the colours on them given by the water?’

‘Yes’

‘Then why water is not colourful?’

Sometimes, I would shirk away from answering his questions, because I knew if I answered he would ask more questions. To be honest, I did not know answers to some of his questions!

 

‘Let’s go, we spent enough time here.’ I would distract his mind from the questions he had.

 

We would then head home in the evening. On the way, we would see various types of birds return to their nest with their cacophonous chirp and twitter. Shone’s sleeping curiosity would suddenly awaken! He would constantly look at the flock of birds sticking out his neck out of the chariot and ask questions. I would ignore him at that time. At that time, the sun would enter two highest mountains on the west. The horses would show no signs of fatigue even after running tirelessly whole day. I would think, those two tall and big mountains were like door keepers for the palace that was behind them! The bright red sun would fascinate me! Within moments it would disappear from my sight, this feeling of separation inadvertently would run through my whole body. I would stare at it for long. Shone would shake me in exhilaration to show me the flock of eagles flying in the sky. Momentarily, I would look at that tough and huge bird - they could fly high up in the sky. Shone would ask. ‘Brother, which birds are these?’

‘Eagle! The king of birds!’

‘Brother, would you go high up in the sky like them?’ he would ask.

‘Are you mad? Am I a bird to go fly that high in the sky?’

‘Definitely not but how did you manage to control the high-speed horses?’

‘Ok Shone. I could go high up in the sky like an eagle, but you would not be able to see me!’ He would be satisfied with my answer. I could see a glitter of respect for me in his eyes.

 

I would again look at the west skyline and in the end would ask him a question, ‘Shone, have you seen the disc of sun? What do you think looking at it?’

 

I would think he would carefully look at it and tell me, may be in different words, the same feeling I had looking at it.  He would close his eyes immediately as he could not tolerate the brightness of it and looking at my ears he would rub his eyes and told me ‘It looks like your face!’.

 

I would touch my ears. I could feel the earrings. I was told, I had them on since my birth!

 

Shone would start to crib, ‘Mother loves you more than me. Therefore, she had given you these earrings! Do I have them?’

 

I would momentarily think about what he said. I would again minutely stare at the setting sun. A turmoil of emotions would run through my mind. I would control the horse’s reins with one hand and bid adieu to the setting sun with another, all this without Shone’s notice. I would feel within me a sense of longing for the sun. I would feel something was going away from me. In that emotion, I would crack whips on the back of horses. They would run with the speed of air neighing, swinging their hooves, blowing dust on the way. I would forget about Shone while horses kept running, passing by the trees. One thought would touch me briefly. ‘With the path left behind, I’m moving from the kingdom of brightness to the dismal sea of darkness.’

 

I would think, the night was going to pass in aloofness.

 

In his excitement, shone would show the collection of his multi-coloured shells and conches to mother. While praising him, mother would ask me ‘Vasu, what have you got?’. I would be confused as I did not know what to answer because I had gotten nothing! I would somehow compose myself and say ‘It was good enough that I brought Shone home, Mother. He would have otherwise stayed there whole night collecting shells and conches.’

 

‘Have you brought me home? In fact, I have brought him home. He would have otherwise waited there until sunrise to look at the sun!’ Shone would say in his defence. Mother would look at me carefully. I did not understand why she looked at me with such minuteness. I would straight away come out from there.

Chapter 6:

Our house had various types, shapes, and sizes of bows brought by my father. I did not know why but when I saw the bow for the first time I had a tremendous attraction towards it. I immediately liked its curved shape; its string and the clangoring sound it made when its string was slightly pulled backward and left. I snatched it from my father. I went to Shone rolling it over in my hand. Shone was playing in the veranda with the horses’ tail. He was busy taking out the bright and long hair from Horses’ bunchy tail. He was humming something. I uttered showing him the arrow, ‘This is our toy, Shone! Stop plucking hair from horses’ tail. From now on we will play with this new toy.’ He immediately shook off the hair from his hands. ‘Show me, show me’ he came dancing to me in an excitement. He took it from me, held it in his hands and said, ‘Isn’t it quite heavy?’

 

‘No. How is it heavy? Give it to me and bring an arrow from inside’. I had sent him to bring an arrow. He had run away shouting ‘Brother needs an arrow; Brother needs an arrow.’ I had wiped off the dust from it. I weighed it on my hand. In the meanwhile, Shone had come running with an arrow. He had handed it to me and pointing towards the banyan tree he would say, ‘Shoot an arrow on that tree’. I tightened the bow string, mounted an arrow on it and steadying myself with one eye closed, aimed at the target pulling the bow string backward with force and shot an arrow. It traversed in straight line and within seconds pierced into the banyan tree. A whitish liquid started dripping from the tree where an arrow was struck. Shone started clapping and jumping. He liked my arrow shooting skills.

 

It was our favourite game from that day onwards. It was our favourite past time to shoot a flying bird with precision, to aim and target two objects at the same time with two arrows, to aim at the highest mango stem and pierce it. We would play it hours on end forgetting ourselves. The referee was our father! Whatever he would say, we would oblige to him humbly.

 

I would think of just one thing. I should be able to shoot an arrow wherever I wanted to. With just the sound of an object and without looking at it, I should be able to shoot it with an arrow. Just like the porcupine erects hundreds of quills in his defence against predators, I should be able to shoot multiple arrows at the same time.

Chapter 7:

Can anyone define with precision what is a dream? To me, it is an apparatus to fulfill the desires of a dissatisfied mind. What dwells in the mind is seen in the dreams. Because that night, I had dreamed of many bows dancing. In that dream, I was handling various bows one after another - Bows that were garnished with flowers, bows that were of sharp curved shape, and bows that were tough and flexible. I was striking them on objects I could find. I woke up from the dream clapping and praising my archery skills.

 

One day, me and Shone had gone to the nearby forest to collect the tough and long-lasting wood for the chariot. Shone was very happy that day. From his perspective, he was happy and lucky to have gotten a chance to roam around in the forest! He had an attraction for various birds’ melodious sounds, creaking sound due to rubbing of tree branches against each other, the pleasing sound of spring water, the rustling sound of creeper plants when they climb up on big trees. He would describe these sounds for hours. On the other hand, I did not like to go to the forest as much as I could not get a glance of the sun! I would get uneasy to have not gotten a chance to see the sun. I would find myself suffocated. As soon as possible, I would think of leaving the forest. When we had reached an empty terrain, I would find myself comfortable. All my fatigue would vanish away after I had a look at the sun.

 

On that day as usual, we had started the return journey taking the wood with us. I was taking bigger strides to come out of the forest quickly. Shone was following me. I stopped to rest after reaching an empty terrain. Shone reached there in a short while. He offloaded the wood from his shoulder to the tree trunk and wiped off his sweat with a piece of cloth. On the nearby ranch, a flock of white-black spotted buffaloes was feeding. A reindeer was also spotted among the buffaloes. With his elegant antlers, he was staring at us angrily. It was reason enough for Shone to ask questions! He quickly asked me, ‘Brother, how has a lone reindeer arrived in the flock of buffaloes?’ What could I have answered him? Just to say something, I said ‘He could have missed his way! Or else the others in his flock could have forgotten him. Didn’t he stand out from the flock of buffaloes? Wasn’t he conspicuous in the flock of buffaloes?’ But after thinking for a while, I could not find an answer to why his fellow mates left him alone.

 

We started our journey back home looking at the reindeer. I had really liked his elegant horns. On the way, I had unassumingly touched my ears. I touched the earrings. Do I look as elegant as the reindeer due to the earrings? A thought had whizzed past my mind!

 

I had asked my mother several times about the earrings. She could not satisfactorily answer me about it. I had once asked her clearly, ‘Shone and I are blood brothers, then why doesn’t he have these earrings?’ Momentarily she would look at my earrings stunned but the next moment coming to her senses she would say, ‘Do not ask me that! Ask your father!’. She was astonished while saying it.

 

I ran to my father. I asked him the very question. But he gave me a weird answer, ‘Ask river Ganga! She would give you an answer one day!’ I started thinking ‘How would river Ganga give me an answer? How would a river talk? Why do elders talk like this? Why do they talk to little ones like this?

 

That evening I sneaked out of the house to go sit by the bank of river Ganga. I asked her waves the pressing question I had in my mind. ‘Why do I alone have these earrings?’ But none of her waves could answer me back! That day I felt, all the elderly men are conmen! They know to keep the little ones in ignorance otherwise how is such a big river silent?

 

Next day while playing with bows and arrows I asked the same question to Shone, ‘Shone, tell me honestly why you don’t have earrings?’ I stood still listening to his answer. He said, ‘I do not know. I like your earrings very much. While you were asleep at night, they constantly radiate mild glaze! Its blue radiance falls on your brownish cheeks! Your face looks like a blossomed golden lotus as the first rays of sun drops on it!’

 

I looked at him speechless. He was not lying to me and he would never lie to me. Many questions had immediately sprung in my mind. Nobody had such earrings I had. Not just that, they were glazing earrings! Why did I get them? Who am I? I shook Shone violently holding him by his shoulders and asked ‘Shone, who am I?’

 

He looked at my slightly oscillating earrings in calm and said innocently, ‘My elder brother, Vasu!’

I left his shoulders. His answer could not satisfy me. I looked ahead. The twilight sun, before setting, was painting the firmament with the innumerable rays of various colours and I was getting anxious about the earrings.

 Chapter 8:

I could not sleep that night. Curiosity is like an uncontrollable horse. I tried to restrain it, but it would run away. I was changing sides in anxiety. The very question again and again started appearing in front of my eyes. ‘Why do I alone have these earrings?’ It seems they glitter at night! How do they shine? Why do they shine? I suddenly woke up and sat on the bed. I made a futile attempt to stretch my eyeballs to the outer edge of my eyes to see my earrings. My ears were not visible from the range of my eyeballs. I was distressed. How would I see my ears, I started thinking? I could not think of anything! Momentarily, I felt like waking up Shone and asking him ‘Are the earrings shining?’ He had slept worriless. If I had woken him up, my Mother would have woken up too. My Father was in Hastinapur. What do I do now? I remembered my father’s words, ‘Someday river Ganga would give you an answer!’

 

I slowly stood up from my bed. I opened the door and started walking towards the riverbank. The sky was filled with glittering stars. Shone had said, ‘Your earrings shine like the stars’. I would look at the stars in between to observe how they shine! But I would not be satisfied with that. The sound of insects was constant at night. The entire Champa town was silent at night. The only sound I could hear was of horses’ sneezing from somebody’s stable nearby. In the faint, dim, and blurred light of stars, the road ahead was hazy. I started walking faster. In between, the cold wind gush was dashing down on my body. I had forgotten to carry my muffler. After walking for long, I reached the riverbank. The water which was lively and zooming in the day light was silent and serious at night. The water that was visibly spread to the skyline in the daylight was completely mixed in the darkness of night. The sound of water waves slapping the rocks and the sand on the riverbank could only be heard. I stood there to sense silence in the air. Momentarily, I had forgotten I had come here to ask something.

 

Engrossed in my thoughts, I entered in the water. The shadow of starts above was visible in the steady water. With the slight movement of water, some shadows would elongate. I bent down to grab the water in my cupped hands. The two stars started shining more! I bent down further to take my face close to the water. Those two stars were nothing but my two earrings! They were mildly shining in the mirror of water beneath. With the movement of water, the image of earrings would lengthen. I carefully started looking at my face in the water. Those two earrings were throwing waves of bluish colour. That was the hazy nature of my face. The river Ganga confirmed me that my earrings shimmer at night. But why do I alone have these earrings? Who am I?

 

I was still standing in the water. One doubt was cleared away from my mind. But the other one remained, ‘Why do I have these shimmering earrings?’ I was in the water for three hours. In the morning, somebody rang the bell inside the temple! I suddenly remembered my house! My mother would have panicked to have not seen me around. I looked ahead with the thought I would have to return home now. The eastern side was starting to brighten up slowly! The water that was in the realm of darkness was again standing hand in hand with the blue skyline. Just as the yellowish bud sprouts from the soil with the first rain showers, the sun was rising from the uterus of mother Ganga. I looked at it and I felt satisfied. Unconsciously, I took the water in my cupped hands and with my eyes closed, I offered it to the sun and I returned.

 

The road that was cloudy at night was now bright! The Champa town that was silent at night was now lively just like the fluttering of the hoisted triangular flag at the top of the temple. Upon my return, my mother asked, ‘Where have you been?’ She was scared.

 

‘To the riverbank! You did not but she showed me how these earrings shimmer!’ My mother looked at me in astonishment. She would give me such weird looks often. She wanted to ask me something more. To avoid that, I quickly walked out.

Chapter 9:

 

We had a banyan tree in our courtyard. It was not just a tree but an abode for various types of birds! In the summer the tree would blossom with small little fruits, at that time it would look like the sky full of glittering stars. The birds on it were very happy then. They would produce various sounds to show their happiness to others! I would listen to their chirp and twitter for hours on end. I would think I should be like this tree. The birds should eat all my fruits. The king of bird’s eagle should come and reside on my branches.

 

I had imagined, the eagle would say with pride to me, ‘I’m born to eat slithering snakes and not the gooey fruits.’ I would respectfully say to him, ‘Don’t eat my fruits but will you sit on my branches to take some rest?’

 

He would stay for a short while, pluck the fruit from one of my branches before taking a leap to fly high up in the sky. To see his defeat, I would clap with my leaves! I would twist my muffler and threw it in the air in happiness!

I was looking at the tree. It was shaped like a bludgeon! The circular circumference at the top branches and strong in the bottom! Suddenly, I heard a sound and turned to look at it. Our neighbor charioteer ‘Bhagdatta’ was approaching while whipping the twisted rope that was in his hand. I looked at him in surprise. While wrapping up the twisted rope around his neck he said, ‘What are you looking at, Vasu?’

‘I’m looking at birds’, I said

‘What birds are you looking at on this banyan tree? There are only crows here! They want to eat gooey fruits! If you want to look at various type of birds, go in the forest. Some fruits fell as he whipped the rope.

 

‘Crows’

 

‘The other birds won’t come here’. You could sometimes find a male cuckoo here. That too, due to cunningness of female cuckoo.

 

‘What cunningness?’ I asked out of curiosity.

 

‘The cuckoo keeps her egg in crow’s nest in the absence of crows as it looks like that of crow’s egg. Because of which the crow does not doubt the egg. The crow hatches the cuckoo’s egg and the cuckoo offspring, who’s voice mesmerizes the sky, starts to grow in crow’s nest!’. He wrapped the rope around his neck again.

 

‘Cuckoo in crow’s nest?’ I asked. How is it possible? Couldn’t Bhagdatta’s observation be wrong? What’s wrong in trusting his observation? Cuckoo could be growing with the crow, perhaps! But Cuckoo does not grow to be a crow!

 

As the rainy season arrives, the cuckoo starts to sing in her melodious voice making its presence felt that ‘I’m a cuckoo! I’m a cuckoo!’.

 Chapter 10:

One day all the boys gathered in the playground outside of town to play. Somebody suggested to play the game of King’s court! Aren’t kids the saints who can create an alternate universe of their own? They were able to create the nuances of King’s court. Those strong and stout had occupied positions of a treasurer, horses’ minister, army chief, king’s secretary, and other ministerial ranks. How could they have found these positions was a surprise.

In the middle of the ground was a huge rock. It was decided to be a king’s throne! I had to leave the ground to meet my father who had just arrived from Hastinapur. Upon seeing him, he gave me good news. He would take me to Hastinapur with him! There is a scholarly guru and a war strategist ‘Drone’, he said. Drone would teach you weapon skills. I remembered Shone but he was not around. I decided to tell this news to Shone carefully otherwise he would insist to go to Hastinapur along with us. It would be difficult to say no to him.

I returned to the ground and everyone started shouting. ‘Call Vasu! Call Vasu!’ Shone called me waving his hand happily. ‘Come quickly’, I started walking faster. Everyone surrounded me. In that chaos I could not understand what they were saying. ‘King-Vasu-Earring-Chief’ these words dashed on my ears. Raising my two arms I shouted, ‘Stop shouting!’ and everyone became silent.

‘We have formed the King’s court. But we could not find the suitable King! Because of your earrings, we feel you could be the King!’, Brahmadatta said on everyone’s behalf. Everyone shouted in agreement.

‘But I have come to call Shone back home’, I said.

‘He is the army chief and not Shone! And King should not call the chief. You must give such orders to your servants’, Bahuket said jokingly.

‘And chief should not call the King by his name! If the chief broke rules, what would the army do?’ Brahmadatta rebuked Shone sternly.

In my hesitation, they pulled me towards the rock and sat me down on it! Respectfully bowing down Brahmadatta said, ‘Victory to the King of Champa, Vasusen’. Everyone applauded happily in response. I sat proudly like a King and knowing there was no getaway from here I said, ‘Minister, you have my permission to show the progress report to this court!’ A herd of cattle was grazing in the nearby pasture and a bull from that herd was disturbed because of our loud noise. He raised his tail upright stiff. He judged the direction from where the noise was coming and started running angrily towards us blowing out air from his flared-up nostrils. Brahmadatta saw the monster bull running towards them and he started running hastily while shouting ‘Chief, King run. The kingdom is in trouble.’ Everyone ran helter-skelter, just like the rainwater disappears from the soil quickly. Shone held my hand and pulled me to run. I stood up on the rock quickly and pulled up Shone and had him stand behind me. Like a storm, the bull was approaching us. His eyes were rolling. He was determined to break anything that would come along the way. Saliva was running down his mouth. It was shining with the rays of light. As he approached the rock, he stopped momentarily. With his hooves, he started to dig soil. He positioned his horns down and started to run at us with force. I briefly looked at the sun. The sun was easily controlling innumerable horses of his chariot with two hands! Within seconds I pushed back Shone and I strongly held the raging bull by his horns. ‘Vasu Brother!’, Shone started crying. I do not remember clearly what happened next. But as the bull started to jerk and jolt me, I firmly started to clench my fists around his horns. I felt completely exhausted. After this, who was Vasu and where was he, I could not remember.

When I woke up, I was on the playground with my head on my mother’s lap! My father was standing nearby controlling the rein of the bull. The bull was standing there tired and gasping for breath. The foam could be coming out of his mouth. Shone was standing by my head. He looked at me constantly. He felt a sigh of relief and gave me a smile when I opened my eyes. I looked around. Brahmadatta, Veerbahu, and all the other team members from the earlier game were gathered around me! I suddenly remembered the King’s court and I felt, earlier I had a burning fire power in me. That power had vanished somewhere. I felt fatigued but no pain anywhere in the body. I sat down instinctively. I looked at my body to check if there were any bruises. I could not find a single scratch on my body! I stood up. I took the rein away from my father. I gave a thump on the back of the gasping bull. He quivered in fear. He pulled his tail down and cringed away from me! I gave the rein of the bull to his owner who was standing nearby. He looked at me in surprise and took away the bull!

The King’s court play also ended!

Chapter 11

 

I got to know in the evening, the details of events happened earlier that day. Shone mentioned the bull had made numerous attempts to throw me out. But he could not throw me out. He violently jumped up and down to throw me. He gave weird jerks to his body. He dug soil with his hooves. He tried all he could for two hours. Finally, he was tired and stood silent in exhaustion. He started oozing foam from his mouth. In the meanwhile, Shone had run to get my father to the playground. My father took control of bull’s rein, but he had much difficulty in removing my clenched fist grip from the bull’s horns. Whoever touched my body felt a burning sensation!

 

I started thinking. To have fought with such brute force for hours, my body did not even have a scratch! How could my body tolerate temperature others could not withstand!

 

I curiously asked Shone, ‘Shone, have you ever had bruises while playing?’ He said, ‘Many times. Once I dived deep in the water of river Ganga. There was a nail inside the water I was unaware of. I hit my head against it! I Instantly I felt dizzy. I came out of the water with blood constantly oozing from my bruise. The wound was clearly visible on my head. Brahmadatta pulled me out of the water. He mashed various tree leaves with the stone and applied its juice on my wound! I did not tell it to mother anytime as she would get angry. You should not tell her!’, he bent down to show me the scar on his head.

 

Shone gets wounds. Blood drips from his body. I would also have blood in my body! I suddenly got up and went inside the house. Many bows and arrows were kept there in line. I pulled one arrow from there. Its sharp edge shined like the moon. I raised the arrow upside down above my head such that it’s sharp edge would fall on my foot. I released the arrow! I tightly closed my eyes in the fear that it will pierce through my foot now. The rays of bright light whizzed past my eyes! The arrow fell on my foot, but I could only feel a mild prick. The sharp side of arrow could not pierce through my foot! I felt I did not throw it well enough, so I tried again and again, but the arrow could not pierce through my skin! I looked carefully at my legs. I could not see a single scratch in there. Curiosity and suspicion started dancing in my head with many unanswered questions. I tried to forcefully pierce the arrow in my thigh, arm, chest, stomach and other body parts to no avail! It could not even go an inch in my body. Why it could not go in? Why?

 

Am I impenetrable? The lightening thunder of suspicion went from one end to the other from the cloud of my soul. My whole body must have an impenetrable shield that cannot be broken with anything. Impenetrable shield! Wow! If I jumped through the running chariot, it would not hurt me! No weapon would be able to make any sort of impact on me! No impact on my body by anything which means I will never die! My golden skin will never die, and it will always shine! I’m immortal! The bull could not harm me because I’m impenetrable. I have the shield. I have shimmering earrings. Shone is my blood brother but he neither has the shield not the earrings. Why do I alone have them? Who am I? The shrill and discordant sound of suspicion rang through the cloud of my soul. The fire of incongruous thoughts started to smolder in me. I thought I’m unique from others. I’m different than all of them. I started to regret such thoughts. The Radha mother who’s milk I drank, the mother who I’m part of, the mother who had been doing hard work to raise us, wasn’t I ungrateful to her with such thoughts? Shone who respected me with all his innocence, wasn’t I deceiving him with such thoughts? My soul rebelled to pull me back in the harsh world of reality’. Do not shout like a maniac, ‘Who am I?’. Remember, you are a son of Adhirath and Radha! Charioteer’s son Karna! The elder brother of Shone! Another Charioteer in the family of Charioteers! A charioteer!