String of Pearls

Worth

"We didn't love the wrong men Bhanu. We love the wronged men." Supriya would tell me later staring at the same ceiling that once amazed her, now stripped of all the glitters to feed the war monster, looking empty like our bare foreheads. And I couldn't agree more.

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"A valiant young man, sure you are, no doubt in that. But the scriptures state that combat should happen between two equals. The prince Arjuna, as we all know, is the youngest son of our beloved late king Pandu and his noble queen Kunti, heir of the royal Kuru dynasty. A prince can be only challenged by another prince and so before the combat, the royal lineage of the combating princes should be entrenched. So Karna is your name, we learned, as you have claimed, kindly reveal to which dynasty you belong to." The flowery words with which Krupa, chief priest of Hastinapur spoke were laced with malice that was indistinguishable from plain speech. 

Out of his expertise in scriptures, weapons, and many, he also seemed to excel in emotional assault. Bheeshma narrowed his eyes to Krupa in approval. After all, he was the one who divulged a piece of information that formed an idea in Krupa's head. They both smiled. A smile of hyenas surrounding the lone hurt lion.

The young warrior's vanity withered away like a white lotus under the merciless sun. "I don't have a royal parentage and I am no prince.", the stranger mumbled with a flushed face.

"Oh!" Krupa exclaimed in mock sadness. "Then you are not worthy enough to have a duel with our prince Arjuna, according to the rules of combat. Kshatriya men won't fight with those, whose lineage that not equal their prestige," he said in a dismissive tone that made half the nobles thank their stars for not being in Karna's place. On the other end of the field, Drona prompted Arjuna to acknowledge Krupa.

Arjuna with extra cockiness declared, "With due respect to our sacred scriptures and learned Brahmins, as a Kshatriya I am not accepting your proposal to dual with you Karna. As Krupacharya suggested your low birth made you unworthy to fight a prince that I am!"

Karna willed the Sun, whom he worshiped every morning from the day he began to walk, to burn him to ashes. Old demons that were safely tugged in the dark corners of his memories danced before his eyes, mocking him, repeating, "Not worthy! Not worthy!"

"Why god? Why even now after all the hardships I went through?" Karna was anguished.

...

Someone grasped Karna's drooping shoulders and spoke, "Nothing brings more shame to the civilization than demeaning a talent citing the accident of his birth! The rules in scriptures were written ages ago only for the well-being of a man to live with decency and discipline. If that same rules and procedures dare to destroy a talent, then there is no point in calling ourselves noble people!" Duryodhana finished his little speech with such genuineness that it touched many hearts and rose displeasure in some.

"And I, Duryodhana, prince of Hastinapur, the land where even gods visited won't let this happen bounded by the rusting shackles of propriety! If you, my dear prince Arjuna, hesitate to combat with this young man who is a low-born as Acharya Krupa stated, I shall share my royal inheritance with Karna, whom I believe deserves that more than myself." Karna stared at the prince who though was inches shorter, towered over him with his kind small eyes.

The entire stadium, from a beggar to king, all held their breath.

"With the evidence of King Dhritarashtra, Pitamaha Bheeshma, and the noble people of Hastinapura, I make Karna, the King of a country Anga!", the elder Kaurava prince proclaimed.