By Nirooshitha Sethuram, Yogaratna
Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow
Krishna returned to the Pandavas and explained the situation in Hastinapura. He also delivered Kunti’s message about the war.
Kunti wanted Yudhishthira to always uphold justice, while not giving up on his rights. She had also mentioned not to forget that he is a Kshatriya and that his brothers are his supports. If peace efforts fail, he must not fear to fight to preserve his rights.
She also instructed Krishna to tell the Pandavas that all her blessings are always with them. She sent a message specifically to Draupadi as well, saying that the disgrace done to her will be duly justified to her satisfaction.
Yudhishthira became discouraged due to the failure of the peace talks. His hopes for peace were totally erased. It was now time to start preparing for the war. For this they must build an army.
In the meantime, Kunti was in Hastinapura, not knowing how to accomplish what Krishna had asked her to do. She decided to confront the situation to the best of her ability. She planned to visit Karna.
She dreaded the consequences of the war. She knew that Drona would not kill her sons because they were his favorite disciples. Grandsire Bhishma would not kill his own grandsons no matter what. The only other person who had the ability, since Vidura was not going to take part in the war, was her eldest son Karna.
So, her fear was all about Karna, who had been a loyal friend to Duryodhana and had supported all his evil deeds all along. He considered Arjuna to be his arch enemy and had vowed to kill him.
By visiting Karna, she thought she could persuade him to change his mind and to join his own brothers, the Pandavas. For this, she had to reveal who she is to Karna. This was very hard for her as she had been hiding this secret all these years. Now she wanted to reveal it to prevent her sons from killing one another.
While battling with her inner conflicts, she decided to move forward and visit Karna. She went to the riverbanks of Ganga where Karna usually did his morning prayers to the Sun God. When she reached the riverbanks, she saw Karna praying, standing in front of the sun. He was immersed in a deep meditation with his eyes closed.
She stood right behind Karna’s back to be shielded against the blazing sun. Karna stayed in his meditative state until he felt the warmth of the rising sun on his face. When he opened his eyes slowly, he felt that someone was standing right behind him.
He turned around, looked closely at the woman who was standing behind him and realized that it was none other than Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, the Queen of the late King Pandu. He immediately gave his salutations to her and greeted her formally, then asked how he could serve her.
In a feeble voice, full of tears in her eyes, Kunti revealed to Karna that she was his birth mother. She said to him, “Karna you were never the son of Radha. You are the son of Kunti. You are my son, my first born. You were born before my marriage, from a boon by the Sun God. The five Pandavas are your brothers.
“Because of my fear of social disgrace, I did an unthinkable, unjust action to you. Now it’s time for the world to know who you are. It’s time for you to join your own brothers. You have lived under the influence of the Kauravas, making you an enemy to your own brothers. Now it’s time for you to join your brothers and defeat the Kauravas. You will be the heir to the throne and your five younger brothers will be at your command.”
Karna couldn’t believe what he was hearing. All along somehow, he had known that he was a kshatriya, even though he was raised as a simple charioteer. He confessed that his longing desire to be a kshatriya had come true.
Hearing the word, “my son” from Queen Kunti filled his heart fully. Yet he could not hide from the fact that his own mother set him afloat in the river Ganga. It was his foster mother Radha who gave him the mother’s love, affection and care which brought him up to who he is now. So, he asked Kunti why she was revealing the secret to him now. What does she want from him?
With tears running on her cheeks, Kunti explained that the fear of the society kept her from telling the truth to him and the world. But the feelings and love she had for him never changed. She emphasized that the rest of the Pandavas were his younger brothers and that she couldn’t bear the thought of Karna killing his own brothers before her very own eyes.
She complained to him that Duryodhana refused to accept any peace attempts and the war was imminent. Duryodhana never listened to his father nor the elders. Because of this, the war was going to be brutal. So she again emphasized the importance of Karna joining his brothers in the war.
Hearing this patiently, Karna said, “I believe you when you say that you are my mother, but many others also have in the past said it and failed the test. The shawl that I am wearing now is the shawl I was wrapped in when my parents found me floating in Ganga. This will burn anyone who wears it, except for my mother. Would you mind going through the test?”
Kunti nodded and took the shawl and wore it with tears running down her face. Nothing happened, so she passed the test, verifying that she was Karna’s biological mother. Karna fell on his knees and touched Kunti’s feet, with tears running down his face, giving his pranams to his newly found mother.
Kunti embraced him and gave her heartfelt blessings to him. But Karna’s face was filled with mixed emotions — boundless joy, yet full of sorrow. Joy that he had found his mother and sorrow that he was not going to be able to fulfill his mother’s first wish.
Karna said, “Mata, I cannot betray Duryodhana. It is my duty to repay my debt to him even if I must sacrifice my life fighting by his side. How could I not do that when he’s the one who saved me from many situations where I was disgraced and looked down upon.
“When Kripacharya forbade me to take part in the competition, Duryodhana made me the king of Anga. How could I ever repay him for such generosity? He gave his friendship to me and I to him. What you are asking from me is something unthinkable. I am extremely sorry I cannot comply with your request. Is there anything else that I can do for you?”
Hearing this from Karna, Kunti’s heart was filled with despair. She was shaken by Karna’s loyalty & love for Duryodhana. She was heartbroken; all her hopes were crushed. She looked miserable.
When Karna saw this, his heart was broken as well. Refusing his birth mother’s request was not something he wanted to do. He was hurt that he was hurting his mother’s feelings. So he decided to console his mother. He asked again if he could help her in any other way except joining the Pandavas in war.
Kunti, being a Queen herself, was able to get herself together. She gained strength and asked Karna not to use the Nagastra Astra (Bow of the Serpents) on Arjuna more than once. Karna not only agreed to that, but also promised that he would not kill any of his brothers except Arjuna.
He said to Kunti, “as the fight between Pandavas and Kauravas is unavoidable, one of us is certainly going to die. It would be either Arjuna or me. You will continue to have five children whether he dies or I do.”
Hearing this consoled Kunti somewhat. Full of emotion and gratitude, she embraced Karna closely and said, “What must happen will happen.” She had no words to thank him for promising her that he wouldn’t kill four of his younger brothers.
Karna also had a request to ask of Kunti. He asked for a boon from Kunti that, if he were to win the war, for her to announce that he is her first-born. But if he were to die, she would hold his head in her lap and announce to the whole world that he is her son. Until then it should remain a secret. Kunti, full of tears, agreed silently and left with a heavy heart.
Both the Kauravas and the Pandavas started to build their armies, preparing and strategizing for the inevitable upcoming epic war. One of the most important tactics was to make alliances with powerful kingdoms. Kings from all over the land started their journey to join one of the armies, according to their preferences and allegiance.
The Yadavas were considered one of the powerful armies in the region. Due to this, both the Kauravas and the Pandavas wanted their support in the war gravely. Therefore, both Duryodhana and Arjuna came to Dwarka to ask for Krishna’s help in the war.
Duryodhana arrived first and found that Krishna was enjoying his afternoon nap. As he was asked not to disturb Krishna, Duryodhana sat on the bed by Krishna’s head. While waiting for Krishna to wake up, Arjuna walked inside the room with the same intention. As Arjuna adored Krishna with utmost respect, Arjuna went and stood near Krishna’s feet.
After some time, Krishna woke up. His eyes fell on Arjuna first because he was standing at his feet. Krishna was delighted to see Arjuna and greeted him, asking for the reason for his visit. Duryodhana immediately jumped in, saying that he was the one who arrived first and the reason for the visit was to ask for Krishna’s help in the war. Only then Krishna noticed Duryodhana who was sitting on the bed beside his head. Krishna smiled and greeted Duryodhana too.
Arjuna then humbly stated that he was there to seek Krishna’s help in the war as well. Krishna smiled and said that they were both very dear to him, so he will help them both. This confused both Arjuna and Duryodhana.
Seeing their confusion, Krishna told them that he and his mighty army (Narayani Sena) would fight on different sides. He continued, saying that he himself would not take part in the war. He will provide his army to one of them and his moral support and guidance to the other.
Now the question is who gets the mighty Yadava army and who gets Krishna, his guidance, and his support? Most of all, the question is who gets to choose first.
More to come…
- Krishna & Yudhishthira
https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/mahabharata-english-summary/d/doc1345406.html ↩︎ - Kunti
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e6/9d/5e/e69d5efa68afe01d6601817af9d30205.jpg ↩︎ - Kunti & Karna
https://www.sawanonlinebookstore.com/karnas-generosity/ ↩︎ - Karna
https://snowcandy-huang.tumblr.com/post/109979697242/fanart-of-karnamahabharatby-snowcandy ↩︎ - Kunti and Karna
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3581338325216984&id=498424850175029&set=a.1589226197761550 (Painting by Giampaolo Tomassetti) ↩︎ - Nagastra Astra (Bow of the Serpents)
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/WB0VL2 ↩︎ - Pandavas planning war strategy
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/life/italian-painter-mahabharat/#.iil1u5vfq
(Painting by Giampaolo Tomassetti) ↩︎ - Duryodhana, Krishna & Arjuna
https://sandeepa.in/2020/03/10/senyodyoga-parva-lord-krishna-offering-help-to-both-duryodhana-and-arjuna-chapter-7-slokas-1-39/ ↩︎
