Shri Krishna and his family were welcomed in Hastinapur. Duryodhana arranged the welcoming of guests quite well. Krishna was impressed as Karna managed to convince Duryadhana to contribute to the preparation. The next day Krishna met with Maharaj, Bheesm, Vidur, Dronacharya and Kripacharya and discussed the problem with Jarasandha. They all agreed that it was necessary to stop Jarasandha, so they decided after the coronation they should send a letter to Jarasandha asking him to release all the kings. If he did not agree then he would wage a war against him.
On the day of the coronation, everyone was busy. After completing all rituals Yudhishtir was crowned as the Yuvraj. Kuru elders, Gandhari, Kunti, and Pandavas were very happy, everyone congratulated him. Then Maharaj Dhritarashtra asked Yudhishtir to travel to Varanavat after a few days as every year the King of Hastinapur held a special puja there for the kingdom's welfare. Yudhishtir agreed. After the coronation and grand feast, Krishna got a chance to meet Kunti and the Pandavas.
Krishna, 'Pranaam bua, how are you? Pranaam jyasht Yudhishtir, Bheem. Congratulation bhrata Yudhishtir.'
Yudhishtir, 'Thank you for coming here Vasudev. I am honored to finally meet the great Dwarkadish.'
Krishna, 'The honor is all mine. How are you Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev?'
Everyone especially Arjun was happy to meet Krishna. Arjun immediately befriended him. Later at night both of them sat outside the palace to enjoy the silence and take some rest.
Krishna, 'Arjun, I knew about your prowess in archery. You have achieved quite a fame in this young age.'
Then he realized that Arjun was a little tense when he mentioned archery. So he asked, 'What happened Parth? Why are you tensed?'
Arjun 'Kanha, I trained hard to become the best archer, but he defeated me. I know he did some kind of trick but still, I was defeated. Now the entire Hastinapur is questioning my skill.'
Krishna, 'Who defeated you?'
Arjun (angrily), 'A bloody sutputra. He has the audacity to break the rule and learn archery and he dared to challenge me.'
Krishna, 'Parth you have far better knowledge to discriminate someone based just on their birth or social status. As for Karna he never used any trick to defeat you. He is the best student of Lord Parshuram so far. Bhagwan Parshuram is the Avatar of Vishnu himself. If he or Guru Brihaspati has no problem with Karna's caste then who are we to question him.'
Arjun remained silent. He himself knew that what he felt for Karna was wrong. Since childhood, he never misbehaved with anyone even if they are from a lower caste but now he was angry with himself. During their training, he was Dronacharya's favorite. Guru Drona even forced to cut Eklavya's finger as his skill was making Arjuna insecure. After that incident, Arjun was almost sure that no one could defeat him. But his ego was bruised badly by Karna. Arjun himself knew that Karna was far better than him, but his royal blood was not allowing him to accept that truth. Suddenly a thought came to his mind.
Arjun, 'Wait a minute, I did not tell his name. How do you know him?
Krishna, 'I met him a few years back when he was taking his training. He is not only a great warrior but a very good human being. He is selfless and always respects others.'
Arjun, 'I don't believe you. If he is selfless, then why did he maintain a friendship with Kauravas. Actually, he is greedy. He is with Duryadhana to get rewards from him.'
Krishna, 'Arjun, you shall not blame anyone without knowing the truth. As far I know, he never asked for any favors from Duryodhana. You are just angry because he is better than you. Arjun remember one thing, in this world, there is nothing called best. A true warrior always tries to improve himself, but whenever he falls into the well of pride and arrogance he started losing his skills. So to be a great warrior you have to be a good human being first.'
Arjun did not reply anything but he was thinking. Krishna thought, 'Parth you need to come out of your prejudice and respect others. As the future of Aryavart depends on your decision.'
The next day Krishna had another meeting with the King and ministers of Hastinapur. Later both Yudhishthir and Duryodhana invited him separately for lunch but Krishna declined saying that he was going to meet one of his best friends. This surprised both the princes and they decided to send their spies to know about Krishna's best friend. On the other hand, Karna was excited as he knew that his Prabhu would come to meet him and his family. So, he told his parents that his best friend was coming to meet him and prepared Krishna's favorite foods. In the noon when the preparations were almost done then Radha and Adhirath heard the sound of a chariot in front of their house. When they came out they were shocked to see, the Dwarkadhish, Vasudev Shree Krishna in front of their house.
Krishna, 'Pranaam Shreeman Adhirath, Radhama, it's good to see you.'
Before both of them came out of the trance, Karna came there and greeted him, 'Pranaam Keshav, Thank you that you accepted my invitation and came to our house.'
Krishna (smiling), 'How can I decline your invitation. After all, you are one of my best friends. The honor is all mine that you invited me.'
Krishna entered their house. He brought gifts for Karna's family members. Adhirath and Radha were overwhelmed. They still did not believe their luck that Shree Krishna himself came to their house as a guest. Karna asked his mother to prepare all his favorite foods like kheer, buttermilk, plain rice, veggies, fruits, kheer etc. Krishna enjoyed it very much. He praised Radha and Rupmati for the food. Then Adhirath said, 'Dwarkadhish, you are the royal guest of Hastinapur, in the royal palace they prepared chappanbhog (56 dishes of foods) for you. We are poor and cannot prepare anything that befits your royal status.'
Krishna, 'Shreeman Adhirathji, this food has something that the royal palace cannot give me. The foods of your house are prepared with love. And in this world, there are no treasures that can be compared with a mother's love. Today you remind me of my life in Gokul. My Jashoda maiaa also used to prepare these dishes for me.'
After lunch, Krishna took their leave and he and Karna went to the bank of the river.
Karna, 'Prabhu thanks for coming. I wanted to have you as my guest and you fulfilled my wish.'
Krishna, 'Karna, you are my true devotee and I prefer love and bhakti more than anything.
Karna, 'Prabhu, did you meet my family? I don't know how to stop the enmity between Kauravas and Pandavas. The Kauravas are full of jealousy and hatred towards the Pandavas. And Gandharraj Shakuni is the mastermind behind this problem. But he is not the only one responsible for this problem. Pitamaha Bheesh, Mantri Vidur and Dronacharya are also responisble.'
Krishna, 'How come?'
Karna, 'They always show favoritism towards the Pandavas and neglected the Kauravas. In fact, they wanted to kill Duryodhana saying he was a bad omen when he was born. Mama Shakuni took this opportunity and used this against the Kuru family to separate the cousins. I have a feeling that this enmity is going to bring a huge calamity to our country. This will affect mother earth tremendously.'
Krishna, 'You are right Karna, I know you tried to change Duryodhana. Nobody is born evil and everyone deserves a chance. I already talked to Arjuna and tried to change his perspectives towards the social norms. But be careful about one thing Karna, choose carefully if you need to choose between friendship and righteousness. Don't follow Dharma blindly and do what is right for the entire humanity.'
Karna, 'Prabhu, I will definitely remember your words. I am also worried about the Asuras. The Asuras made alliances with some human kingdoms to increase their power. I heard that Jarasandha imprisoned 86 kings to complete a dark ritual. If he becomes successful then it will be a problem for us. Bhayankarasur will surely take his help to attack mother earth.'
Krishna, 'That is why I came here. Soon we will wage a war against Jarasandha and Karna we need your help to kill him. Only a person with divine powers can kill him and it is your destiny to destroy the evil.'
Karna, 'Prabhu today by asking me to fight with you, you bestowed me with great honor. But will the Pandavas go to the war as well? I don't think they will like it if I join you.'
Krishna, 'No, they will not fight this war. Their destiny will take them to a different path which will be essential for them. They will learn many things in their journey.'
Hastinapur palace
Both the Princes were informed by their respective spies that Krishna went to meet Karna and also had lunch with his family. Both of them were shocked to know that Krishna declined the invitation of the royalties to go to a poor charioteer's house. Yudhishtir thought, 'We were wrong about Karna. Krishna is considered as the Avatar of Vishnu and Karna is his friend. That means Karna is also a good person.' While Duryodhana first was angry that Krishna declined his invitation but then thought, 'Karna is my friend and I should not be jealous of him. But one thing is sure, my Mitra is not an ordinary person. Dwarkadhish himself considered him as his friend. I am lucky that I befriended him and took him to our side. Now he will be my shield and with his help, I will be the Chakravarty Samrat.'
The next day Krishna left Hastinapur. Yudhishtir was also preparing to visit Varanavat with his family. There Shakuni also planned to kill Pandavas by preparing the Lakshagriha. He gave money to an architect called Purochan to make a palace made of flammable substances. The Pandavas would be burned alive and then Duryodhana would be the king. Even if anyone suspected anything there would be no evidence.
Karna also went to the palace to meet Duryodhana. He also came to know about Pandavas journey and was shocked to know that Dhritarashtra prepared a special palace for them.
Karna (thaught), 'I am smelling a big conspiracy here. King Dhritarashtra is sending Pandavas to do a puja which was done by the king himself. And now he prepared a Palace for them. There must be something fishy. I need to gather more information about that palace.'
Karna then went to the palace garden and saw two pigeons. He recalled Mahadev's blessing to understand animals' and birds' language and called the birds. Then he instructed those birds to stay with the Pandavas. He knew that Nakul could also understand animals' language, so he specifically instructed them not to reveal anything about him.
Varanavart
Pandavas reached Varanavart where they were welcomed with great pomp and splendor. Purochan took them to the new palace. Pandavas and Kunti were very happy to see the magnificent palace. There were mirrors arranged in the Palace in such a way that at night moonlight would reflect into the mirrors and the whole palace would be illuminated. So no torches were necessary to light the entire place. Everyone was overwhelmed except Sahadev.
Sahadev, 'But Shreeman Purochan, what will happen in the new moon night or in the cloudy nights when moonlights are not available. You should have provisions to light torches on such occasions.'
Purochan was scared as he knew if they use lights a single flame would be sufficient to burn the Palace. But Bheem saved him saying, 'Come on Sahadev. We are going to stay here only for two days. So don't worry about that.'
Purochan, 'Ye...Yes Rajkumar, I will definitely think of something to illuminate the Palace on those special nights.' (in mind) 'Before that, all of you will burn along with the palace.'
Purochan arranged everything properly for the yagna. The yagna was held outside the palace in an open field. Purochan informed them that he arranged the yagna outside the palace so that the citizens could see the puja and met their Rajkumars and Maharani. Nobody suspected anything. At night Purochan prepared delicious foods for the Pandavas and Kunti and he left early saying that he was tired. They also gave the Pandavas a glass of milk each mixed with sleeping herbs.
On the other hand, the two pigeons saw everything, returned to Hastinapur in the evening, and went to meet Karna who was waiting eagerly.
Pigeon 1, 'Hello friend, we followed the 5 men and 1 woman and reached to a place where there is a palace. But you know the Palace has many mirrors and can be lighted only by moonlight at night. You know the palace was also made of wax, not the things you humans normally use.'
Pigeon 2, 'You human are crazy... I was hungry so I entered the palace to find some food. Humans have a place in their house where they keep their food, but this palace has no such place. They were preparing food outside and bringing it inside. Why does anyone do that?'
As the pigeons returned in the evening, they have no idea that the Pandavas were served milk with sleeping herbs on it. Karna thanked the pigeons and was deep in thought, 'Palace can be lighted by moonlight, made of wax and no kitchen. Why....think Karna, think. Something is really off. I have a feeling that what Mama Shakuni had planned, he will execute it tonight as tomorrow Pandavas will come back. Palace made of wax.....Oh No!.'
Karna suddenly got the answer. Shakuni planned to burn them alive.
Karna (thinking), 'Bloody fox, so that's your plan Ha. I will rip you apart you moron. No....not now, first I need to help them out. But if I go there alone, they will definitely not believe me and think of it as a new plan of Duryodhana. I need to take someone with me on whom they can trust.'
Suddenly an idea came to his mind. He ran to mahamantri Vidura's house and knocked on his door.
Vidur, 'Who came here at this time?' When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Karna. Vidur respected Karna for his talent but also suspicious of his motives as he was a friend of Duryodhana. Then Karna said, 'Mantriji, it's an emergency, you should come right now with me?'
Vidur (surprised), 'What... now.... with you... why?
Karna (irritated), 'I have no time to explain you now.' Saying that he held Vidur's hand tightly and chanted the Mantra given by Sage Ved Vyas to reach Varnavart.
Precap- Saving Pandavas from Lakshagriha.