by Kotru, Umesh
Most spectators seemed to agree with the arguments put forward by Duryodhana and a confused murmur rose amongst them. Many of them were praising Duryodhana for his cogent and firm words. While this argument between Bhima and Duryodhana was going on, the sun set and the arena was enveloped by dusk. As per custom, the proceedings had to be stopped and everybody started retiring to their homes. Duryodhana, brimming with a new-found confidence, and visibly elated at having earned the friendship and loyalty of a powerful ally in Karna, placed his hand on the latter’s shoulders and led him out of the arena.
Chapter-6
Quest for Excellence
Duryodhana after leaving the arena took Karna straight to his palace. The Kaurava prince was beaming with joy at finding an ally who was both worthy as well as reliable. At the same time he instructed his younger brother Duhshasana to get a separate palace ready for immediate occupation by Karna. In the meantime Duryodhana’s two close associates, maternal uncle Shakuni and trusted friend Ashvatthama, assembled in Duryodhana’s apartments where they were joined by all his other brothers and later by Duhshasana also. After preliminary introductions and sharing of some drinks, everyone left, except the core group comprising Shakuni, Ashvatthama and Duhshasana. In due course dinner, the kind of which Karna had never tasted in his life, was served. After enjoying the sumptuous food, Duryodhana was the first to break silence by addressing Duhshasana.
He said, “Brother, what is the status of the lodging for our most honoured guest tonight? You should ensure that all the amenities and comfort should match those at this place and the palace of yours.” Before Duhshasana could reply Karna said, “My friend, please don’t embarrass me further by this honour which I had never expected in my wildest dreams. I am a Suta and allow me to remain one. Don’t spoil me by such lavish hospitality. You have already done enough for me for which I shall remain eternally grateful to you.” On hearing these words, Duryodhana became somewhat upset and retorted by saying, “Brother, don’t you ever repeat these words before me, unless you have any cause to doubt our friendship. As far as I am concerned I am your friend and brother for life.” With these words he got up and hugged Karna tightly. Then, as if to drive home the importance he attached to his new friendship, he reiterated his demand for a status report concerning Karna’s lodging from his younger brother.
“Brother,” said Duhshasana, “Everything is ready and as per your wishes.” After this assurance about logistics for the valued new member of the Kaurava coterie, the entire atmosphere turned refreshingly merry and convivial. Duryodhana took upon himself the task of introducing Karna formally to his Mamaji Shakuni and Guruputra Ashvatthama. Shakuni in a lighter vein addressed Karna, “Friend, from now onwards you can also address me as Mamaji.” Everyone around the room laughed. He also invited him to a game of dice which Karna declined, mainly because he did not know anything about the game. After a long time, the assembly broke up and everybody left for their respective abodes with Duhshasana escorting Karna to his new lodging.
The moment Karna was alone in his lodgings he reflected on the day’s events, which felt like continuation of a sweet dream. He had never seen such a big bedroom with fancy decorations and an equally big bed in the centre. When he actually hit the bed it felt like he was sinking into the ultra soft mattress. This unfamiliar indulgence was enough for him to lose his first night’s sleep in the new environment. Since sleep deserted him he began to reflect on the past. His reverie took him back in time to his native village, where his entire family slept on the floor. All activity in his village would end with sunset as there was, unlike in Hastinapura, no night life there. He saw himself progressing from a toddler to a grown-up kid who would constantly worry his mother about some evil eye being cast on his rare good looks. Despite his loving parents and juniors, the family lived in abject poverty. One constant companion throughout his life was his hidden dream of making it big someday. He would grow despondent whenever the stark reality of his seemingly hopeless situation would dawn on him. But he never gave up hope and one day was pleasantly surprised when his father took him for the visit to Hastinapura. Recollecting the events of those days, forced a smile on his handsome face. Continuing with the same thought process, he vividly remembered how difficult it was for him to get admitted into Guru Dronacharya’s Gurukula and how he was denied chance to enroll for higher studies because of his lineage. Recollection of this unpleasant experience brought him back to reality, as he found himself lying in his plush new bed. His final thought before closing his eyes was to nurture his friendship with Duryodhana and how to realise his dream of becoming an ace archer.
First thing which he did early next morning was to maintain his daily routine of worshiping the Sun-god, followed by vigorous training for improving his skills in both conventional as well as divine weapons. The result of his dedication and skill had been witnessed by everybody in the arena only a day earlier. But the frustration at being denied access to the most potent divine weapons continued to haunt him. He pushed these issues to some corners of his subconscious mind and took up his new role as the king of Anga Desha in right earnest. His father Adhiratha also moved in with his son in his new royal house.
In the evening, a messenger from Duryodhana informed him that he was required at his palace urgently. On rushing there he found everyone else among his newly acquired friends engaged in an animated discussion on no issue in particular. After customary greetings, he settled down in his seat and asked Duryodhana the reason for his urgent summons. In response everybody burst into loud laughter. Duryodhana said, “My friend, from today all of us will have drinks, merriment and dinner at this place every evening. I hope you have no problem with that.” Karna responded with a smile, which conveyed his assent and the merrymaking started.
From that day onwards Karna was among the first to be in that hall and to return late at night. Although there was nothing more to be achieved yet his obsession with possessing advanced divine weapons, particularly the Brahma Astra, continued to haunt him. In the daily evening conclave at Duryodhana’s palace, the topics of discussion were mostly idle gossip and exchange of ideas on fresh plots against the Pandavas. The most virulent brainwaves would originate from Shakuni and Duhshasana. One day Karna was late to the party. Duryodhana said, “Mamaji, my spies have informed me that Karna has a routine of worshipping the Sun-god early morning.”
“My dear Duryodhana,” replied Shakuni, “What is wrong with that?” “There is nothing wrong with that,” replied Duryodhana; “but I am curious about his practicing his skills for two hours before the image of the Sun-god which he has secretly installed at an isolated spot on the river bank.” Duhshasana joined in the discussion by saying, “Brother, this is actually very good news for us, because it indicates Karna has not forgotten the insult at the hands of Arjuna in the arena. We should actually nurture this hatred for the Pandavas in his mind. In fact we should add fuel to the fire burning inside him and keep his both real as well as imaginary wounds festering.” Shakuni was pleasantly impressed at hearing these comments, which suited his own intriguing nature; he immediately got up and hugged Duhshasana. Any further discussion was aborted with the arrival of Karna.
These regular meetings set in motion a lifelong relationship of Karna with Duryodhana’s coterie, which meant, among other things, frequent get-togethers, gambling and plotting of sinister schemes. With the passage of time, his resistance against gambling etc. crumbled and he became a regular member of the group. Hence his inner quotient of evil thinking and deeds went on increasing by associative influence. His basic insecurity as a result of the rejection and rebuke meted out to him by the Puru elders served as a catalyst in this apparent transition. During the early days, his conscience was a constant factor that bothered him but gradually, he fell in line. Adhiratha also noticed this change but kept quiet.
But despite all the luxury bestowed on him, he felt sad at heart. It was not long before the trained eyes of Shakuni and Duhshasana also noticed this; t
hey discussed the matter in Karna’s absence with Duryodhana, who agreed but failed to see any apparent reason for this sadness. Karna of course denied that anything was wrong, but his denial failed to convince anyone. In his absence, they discussed further and reached a unanimous decision that Karna was missing his wives and children. The task of quietly organising the move of Karna’s family from his native village to Hastinapura was entrusted to the resourceful Duhshasana. He secretly called Adhiratha to his chamber and asked him to bring Karna’s family to Hastinapura without any further delay. He was also forbidden to reveal this plan to Karna till his family was already settled in their new dwelling.
Within a few days, Karna’s family arrived and was settled into their new dwelling at a time when he was away with Duryodhana. When he finally reached home in the gorgeous attire of a King, every family member rushed to him for reassurance as they were feeling scared in the new regal surroundings. With the help of Adhiratha and house servants, he made each member comfortable but felt bad in the absence of his beloved mother who had refused to leave her native village. He said Baba, why didn’t you convince Maa to come here too? It would have given me great pleasure to see her after a long time.” Adhiratha replied, “Son, she is also missing you and has promised to come here in the near future. You rest assured.” Further conversation between father and son was cut short with the arrival of urgent summons from Duryodhana. Arrival of Karna’s family was converted into a festive occasion by Duryodhana and there was lot of gaiety and celebration in his quarters that night. Things went on in this fashion for quite some time before Duryodhana himself observed that at times Karna was absent minded and it appeared that he was only physically present in the room while his thoughts were elsewhere.
One day he put his arm on the shoulder of Karna and took him aside to enquire if his friend was having some problem. As usual Karna denied everything but on persistent prodding by Duryodhana, he confessed that he sorely desired to possess advanced divine weapons including the Brahma Astra. He requested Duryodhana to ask Ashvatthama to intercede on his behalf with Guru Dronacharya. Duryodhana promised to talk to Ashvatthama and the matter ended there. After a lapse of a few days, as the usual party was in full swing with Ashvatthama also there, Duryodhana said, “My dear friend, I have to discuss something regarding our dear friend Karna. He needs some help from you.” “What are friends there for if they don’t come to each other’s help in their hour of need?” replied Ashvatthama; “If he needs something which is in my power to give, I promise to do the needful.” “Then listen carefully,” said Duryodhana, “All of us here are aware of the competence of Karna but he was unfairly prevented from defeating Arjuna in the arena. He will have his revenge some day but what he misses most in his armoury is the possession of advanced divine weapons like the Brahma Astra. Can you request your revered father to take Karna under his wing and impart him knowledge about these advanced weapons? This will make us invincible in any future battle with Pandavas.”
Ashvatthama replied, “I will do anything for my dear friends but knowing my father, it will be very difficult to convince him. He loathes the very idea of anybody being a better archer than Arjuna. However I will make an attempt for the sake of our friendship and report back to you shortly. Now let us revert to the present moment and enjoy.” After a lapse of some more days, Ashvatthama announced the failure of his mission. Karna was the least shocked of them all, because of his earlier experience of the attitude of Guru Dronacharya. He went silent and was not enjoying the party. Shakuni saw the plight of Karna and addressed Ashvatthama, “Friend, is there no way by which we can make Angaraj happy? You must surely be aware about someone who can teach him the art of perfecting advanced divine weapons.”
“Mamaji, I have the answer to your question,” replied Ashvatthama, “But there is again a problem, though of a different kind. In my opinion the redoubtable sage Parashurama is the answer to Karna’s problems; but unfortunately he gives training to only Brahmins and our friend here is not one.” At this stage, everyone’s attention became focused on this conversation between Shakuni and Ashvatthama. “But why is it so?” rejoined Duhshasana. “For that I have to go back in time and relate briefly the past history of Parashurama,” said Ashvatthama. By now everyone was interested and clustered around Ashvatthama to ensure that they missed nothing. “By the way, Karna, are you aware that Parashurama is the guru of my father as well as of the eldest Puru, Bhishma?” asked Ashvatthama. Karna nodded his head, signifying that he knew the fact and the narration continued.
Ashvatthama said, “Parashurama is the fifth son of the great Maharishi Jamadagni. One day the Maharishi suspected the fidelity of his wife and accordingly commanded his sons to kill their mother. On their refusal, he cursed them to become wretched dimwits. But when Parashurama came back and received the same command, he lost no time in beheading his mother and fulfilling his father’s wish. This pleased the Maharishi so much that he asked Parashurama to ask for as many boons as he wished. The first boon he asked was bringing his mother back to life with no knowledge about the events preceding her beheading by Parashurama. He then asked for his brothers to be reverted to their original selves and for a long life for himself. He also was blessed with mastery in all kinds of weapons, including all divine weapons. In short Jamadagni agreed to whatever his son sought that day, and in due course Parashurama became a fearsome warrior.
“One day the invincible King Kartaveerya-Arjuna came to Jamdagni’s ashrama and after vandalising it, stole the calf of the ashram’s Homadhenu Cow. The sequence of events was related to Parashurama by his father. He became so angry that he left in pursuit of Kartaveerya and after locating him a fearsome battle ensued, in which Parashurama cut off his thousand arms and killed him. To avenge their father’s killing, his sons attacked the ashram when Parashurama was not present and killed Maharishi Jamadagni, when the latter was engaged in meditation. When Parashurama returned and heard about the events, he took a vow to rid the entire world of Kshatriyas. The carnage that followed resulted in Parashurama filling five ponds in the territory of Samantapanchaka with the blood of the Kshatriyas he killed. After killing all the sons of Kartaveerya-Arjuna, he annihilated the Kshatriyas on twentyone occasions, till Maharishi Richika, his grandfather from the Bhrigu clan, appeared on the scene and stopped the carnage. He advised Parashurama to donate all his wealth to the Brahmins and himself retire to the Mahendra Hills for doing penance.
“Dear Duhshasana, I hope you now understand why Parashurama imparts training to Brahmins only.” Everybody in fact was stunned into silence at the amazing narrative. Duryodhana was the first to regain his composure and said, “So what? My friend will go to him disguised as a Brahmin and get the weapons to fulfill his lifelong dream.” Karna said, “Brother, It is against my nature to cheat even for the sake of fulfilling of my life’s ambition. I will always remain uncomfortable with possessing anything through the path of adharma.” On hearing these words of Karna, Shakuni had a hearty laugh and said, “Karna, in which world are you living? Both dharma and adharma are relative terms and what counts in the final analysis is the power you wield, nothing else.” Since it was getting late, all then left for their lodgings. All along the way to his residence, Karna was immersed in deep thought – contemplating the advice of Duryodhana, but unable to reach a decision.
From that day onwards he was constantly pestered with questions by the entire group till his defences crumbled and he caved into their demand of seeking training from Parashurama. Contribution of Adhiratha to this decision was no less significant in this context. In course of a long chat with his father, Karna had said, “Baba, I have a problem and need your guidance.” Adhiratha grew apprehensive at once and waited for him to continue. Karna continued, “I have been advised to approach Parashurama for further training in the guise of a Brahmin. Although I don’t like cheating, yet there is no other way to realise my dream of possessing Brahma Astra. What do you suggest, Baba?”
The subtlety of this
question was beyond the comprehension of his father’s simple mind. After a pause he replied, “Radheya, as a father I would like my son to be the best in the world. Regarding your specific question, it is for you to take a decision. Whatever you decide, I am with you all the way and my blessings are always with you.” The matter had ended there.
Duryodhana was the happiest as he knew possession of Brahma Astra by Karna would give a big boost to him vis-a vis his enemies, the Pandavas. Finally the day arrived when Karna left for the Mahendra Hills where Parashurama’s Ashram was located. In due course, he arrived at the Ashram and fell at the feet of Guru Parashurama. Parashurama was highly impressed by his manners and his godlike personality and after the usual blessings asked him to introduce himself. Karna replied, “I am a poor Brahmin’s son desiring to learn warfare and the use of advanced divine weapons from you. I have heard that you don’t deny Brahmins this privilege.” “Alright,” said Parashurama, “I accept you as a disciple but you will have to follow all the rules and regulations of this Ashram sincerely. Otherwise you will be thrown out of this Ashram on breaching any rule.” He then asked one of his other disciples to show Karna his new quarters.
Thus began a new chapter of Karna’s life as the disciple of Guru Parashurama. He felt elated at the turn of events, but at the back of his mind a nagging feeling that good things never last in his case persisted. His sufferings and denials at every stage had made him into a thorough pessimist. After a few days of brooding, which the guru attributed to possible homesickness, Karna composed himself as always and plunged headlong into the service of his guru. His dedication and eagerness to learn coupled with his impressive personality soon made him very popular in the Ashram. The guru was so impressed that he taught him the use of his personal bow which, normally, nobody was allowed to even touch.
