|
|
| Karna |
The last hope of peace was gone with Krishna. Kunti plunged into grief when she heard that Krishna's mission of peace had failed. What chance do my sons have against the mighty three - Bhishma, Drona and Karna? Bhishma and Drona may refrain from killing them but Karna is their sworn enemy. Now is the time to tell him about his birth. He will then surely abandon Duryodhana and join his brothers, she decided. Tortured by these thoughts she went to the bank of the Ganga where Karna offered his daily prayers.
She waited patiently until he finished his prayers. When he turned around at last and greeted her courteously, she gathered up her courage and spoke to him. In a voice husky with emotion, she told him the story of his birth and how she had cast him adrift in the river many years ago.
Karna lowered his gaze and said nothing. Kunti went on. "I tell you the truth, Karna, I am your mother." Still Karna did not reply. Unable to bear his silence any longer, Kunti broke down begging him with clasped hands to forgive her for the wrong she had done him. But Karna no longer harboured any grudge against her. "What is there to forgive, mother?" he said in a low voice. "Fate rules all men and controls their actions. It has been your destiny to bear me and cast me away; it has been mine to be brought up by strangers and to live to see this day."
At Karna's words a great weight seemed to lift from Kunti's heart and she told him what was in her mind. "You are the eldest of the Pandavas," she said. "Surely you cannot fight against them, you share with them the ties of blood." Then, she begged Karna to come and join his brothers.
A strong surge of affection rose within Karna but he managed to control it and replied sadly, "What you ask of me, dear mother, is opposed to my duty. You deprived me of motherly love when you threw me into the river. Duryodhana loves me like a brother and is relying on me to take him safely through this crisis. In fact it is I who urged him to go to war. Will it be fair on my part to desert him now? Please forgive me. I cannot agree to what you ask of me.?
"And yet, I cannot have my mother plead in vain. I promise that I shall not kill any of your other sons, but I shall kill Arjuna or be killed by him. Either way you will still have five sons left. Now bless me, mother."
Tears flowed down Kunti's wrinkled face. "How noble you are, Karna!" she whispered. "What more could I ask of you? May the gods bless you!"
Karna prostrated himself before her, and she touched his head in blessing. Then, she turned and walked back to the palace. | |
|