Karna's Wife (24 page)

Hearing his name, Uruvi felt an ache in her heart. She realized soon enough why Kunti was telling her this tale of the Kurus. In some odd way, it was connected with Karna. ‘Vidura was always considered a Kshatta, or more politely, as a kshetraja, the son of a low-caste woman and a brahmin.’

‘So that was how niyoga flourished in my husband’s family—it was not new for him!’ said Kunti dryly. ‘When he came up with the suggestion, I initially refused. It was only when he went on his knees and begged me with folded hands that I reluctantly gave in—but completely on my terms. When I agreed to subject myself to niyoga, I said I would decide who the man would be, and King Pandu had to agree to it,’ the mother of the Pandavas flushed darkly. ‘Eventually, I invited a god rather than a brahmin, as he had suggested.’

Uruvi had heard from her mother the cruel rumours about the birth of the Pandavas and the subsequent humiliation Kunti often had to suffer at the hands of relentless gossips and spiteful tale-tellers. ‘And that was how Yudhishthira was born first, from Lord Yama, the god of dharma and death. From Vayu, the wind god, I had Bhima, and lastly, I gave birth to Arjuna, the son of Indra, the king of the gods. After I had given three children to King Pandu through niyoga, I stopped. When he asked me to offer myself again for niyoga, I refused outright for I knew the scriptures allow niyoga only up to a maximum of three times. And that was when I quoted to him what I told you just now—the woman who gives her body a fourth time is a swairini, a wanton woman, and one who does so a fifth time is a kulta, a whore. I did not want that stigma, so much to my reluctance, I agreed to share the mantra with Madri. She invoked the Ashwini Kumara twins to beget Nakul and Sahadeva. Thus, the five Pandavas were born!’

Uruvi’s patience was gradually wearing thin; she wanted Kunti to hurry to the most crucial part. ‘Did King Pandu die because of Rishi Kindama’s curse or was there another cause?’ she asked as tactfully as she could.

‘What other reason could there be?’ Kunti looked puzzled. ‘I found them later. He was dead by the time I arrived and Madri was sobbing away hysterically, blaming herself for his death!’

‘You didn’t see him die?’ Uruvi asked instantly, little realizing that she sounded heartless.

‘What are you getting at, Uruvi?’ Kunti looked distressed. ‘Madri saw him die—he died in her arms! She was mad with grief and barely coherent. We quietly arranged for his funeral in the forest…’

‘Why didn’t you inform Hastinapur?’

‘We were in the middle of a thick jungle—it was better to perform his last rites as soon as possible. But how was I to know that the frenzied Madri, mad with grief, would jump into the funeral pyre too? It was a nightmare I have never talked about till now—all I wanted to do was take the small children with me and return home. When Madri died with King Pandu, it was up to me to bring up the five boys and I returned to Hastinapur to stake my claim to the kingdom.’

‘You have been fighting all through your life, but have they given you your rights, Ma? I wonder if ill-luck is hereditary too or is it the curse of victims like Ambika and Ambalika, or even Queen Gandhari, that has made us see what is happening now?’ Uruvi said sadly. ‘Gross injustice has been heaped upon these women. It was rape, though all of you would like to call it something more polite!’ said Uruvi. ‘Offspring born of adultery—vyabhicharodbhava—can never be the source of happiness for anyone. King Dhritrashtra was born blind, but worse, he was blinded by power and the ambition to become a king. He believes his right to the throne was usurped and given away to his younger brother. The brother could not have children of his own and sought niyoga from his wife. His children were never his blood children. As for the third child of King Vichitrvirya, social norms would not accept Vidura or his sons ever as inheritors as they are said to be low-born. What inheritors did Queen Mother Satyavati get from her legacy of ruse and intrigue? Her grandchildren who can hardly boast of the “royal” blood of King Shantanu, her husband, are today fighting amongst themselves and heading for a destructive war!’

Kunti heaved a weary sigh but remained quiet, and Uruvi saw her as a forlorn, sad figure who refused to stop fighting the battles of her life.

‘Why didn’t you go to your father?’ Uruvi asked instead.

‘Again, dear, I have not been as fortunate as you are,’ Kunti remarked somewhat dryly. Uruvi flushed, reminding herself she was in her father’s palatial home. ‘As a widow with five young boys, I could not turn to my father for help. I had two fathers—King Sura of Vrishni who gave me away to his childless friend, King Kuntibhoj, my second father, but both disowned me in my worst hours,’ Uruvi heard the bitterness which Kunti could not hide in her voice. ‘Neither of my two “fathers” came forward to provide shelter or support to me. I turned to that one person who I knew would help me—Vidura, Queen Mother Satyavati’s favourite grandson. He has proved to be more than a friend and a protective uncle to my sons. It was he who saved them from being burnt alive. And it is in his home that I have now sought shelter when my sons have gone on exile. I returned for the sake of my sons to give them their rights, and even today, I am still doing that. I could have gone for another exile this time too, but I did not. I sent Draupadi instead. I stayed back to remind King Dhritrashtra and Queen Gandhari that injustice has been meted out to me and my sons all these years. I intend to subtly reproach them with my silent presence, which will remind them of my sons’ violated rights. I am a patient woman and I won’t give up.’

‘You are now fighting for your sons’ rights, but what about your daughter-in-law’s violation in the royal court?’ asked Uruvi softly. ‘In spite of everything, you could not save yourself from nasty tongues, could you? Then, is it not tragic irony that you made your daughter-in-law, Draupadi, suffer a worse humiliation by marrying her to your five sons? And isn’t it worse fate that it was my husband Karna who, on the basis of this very assertion, called Draupadi a whore?’

‘Yes, I should have foreseen this,’ replied Kunti dully. ‘It was an oversight on my part. I believed that if Draupadi were to marry the five Pandavas, she would bring them closer and they would be united and strong in the fight for their rights for Hastinapur. I thought marriage to five different women would have scattered them. I feared a split that would weaken the goal.’

Uruvi saw Kunti in a new light, as a woman she had never before witnessed. She was appalled. ‘And you used Draupadi as a weapon for the purpose?’ she retorted bitingly. ‘She was only a means for your sole purpose of bonding the brothers forever. You wanted their lives and ambitions governed by, and revolving around, a single woman. Five wives would have created chaos and differences between the brothers, is that it? What a price for her to pay, Ma! How could you be so coldly calculating? Was I part of your great plan too, but which did not materialize?’ Uruvi sounded hurt.

‘No, dear, you were not! But even though you did not marry Arjuna, I am glad that you chose Karna as your groom. I mean it, Uruvi. I couldn’t have been happier! About your other accusation—yes, probably I did and I am guilty as charged,’ Kunti said evenly. ‘I wanted you to marry one of my sons because it would have been for the best for all of us, just as I considered it worthwhile that Bhima should marry Hidimba, the rakshasa (demonness) princess who was madly in love with him. They have a son now—Ghatotkacha—the strongest man on earth right now.’

‘And who will aid you in case there is a war, right?’ Uruvi guessed shrewdly. ‘So, with all your daughters-in-law, it was your stratagem and cunning all the way. But in my case, things went a little wrong, didn’t they?’

‘Yes, you married Karna and as I said earlier, I couldn’t have been gladder!’

‘Why? I hurt your son when I married Karna—doesn’t that rankle? I know your sons, the Pandavas, hate me for what I did and can never forgive me for my decision to marry Karna and reject Arjuna. They have not forgotten nor forgiven me for it.’

‘I supported your decision about Karna because he is a good man. A very good man,’ Kunti murmured softly.

‘A very good man who doesn’t always get it right! He is doing the most wrong things. Don’t absolve him of his faults.’

‘I am not. I am telling you that he, like others, is not perfect. It is you who should accept his failings as well. Do not be so self-righteous or disparage him to a point of an ugly confrontation. He humiliated Draupadi for an altogether different reason. He simply wanted to hit back at the woman who had once publicly scorned him.’

‘You always seem to have all the right answers. But what if it had worked the other way round?’ asked Uruvi irreverently. ‘What if, instead of uniting your sons, Draupadi had been a spiteful, vengeful woman and had split the brothers by playing one against the other? She could have played the seduction game with your sons as well as you played the game of intrigue with her.’

There was a sudden flare of tension between the two women. ‘But my strategy worked wonderfully, especially with Draupadi,’ Kunti answered sharply. ‘With Draupadi also came the Panchala power and the Yadava wealth through Krishna, which increased the power of the Pandavas. Instead of labelling me as a scheming mother-in-law, did you know that the Kauravas planned to destroy the Pandavas’ unity by sending across a bewitching beauty to seduce them? It was Karna who pointed out their folly. He explained to them that as the Pandavas were married to an extraordinarily beautiful woman, who also was their common wife, this ploy was sure to fail.’

Again, at the mention of Karna in the context of Draupadi, Uruvi felt a stab of jealousy. Kunti noticed the gleam of anger in Uruvi’s eyes, detecting the storm raging within Uruvi. She had provoked her successfully, she thought, and continued with her relentless but subtle harrying.

‘Answering your last question about why Draupadi did not turn against us, Uruvi, you well know by now, dear, that Draupadi is not an avenger,’ she replied smoothly. ‘Or would she have forgiven Karna so easily?’ Kunti gave the younger girl a shrewd look. ‘If the offended has pardoned the offender, the case is closed, right, Uruvi? And that’s how it should be. The chapter is closed. Don’t turn back the pages.’

‘I don’t need to turn them back; they keep flipping back with the winds of time,’ answered Uruvi resignedly. ‘I am not leaving Karna, if that’s what you fear. I will return to him once the baby is born.’

‘But your relationship is not as good as it was before, is it?’ the older lady persisted.

‘I can’t make myself forget and forgive what he did, it’s not easy!’ she cried in despair.

‘Nothing is easy,’ Kunti retorted briskly. ‘I told you my story because I wanted you to realize a few things. That you should know when to give in and when to hit back. This time you are hitting the wrong person for the wrong reason. It’s Draupadi, isn’t it? It is she who is coming between the two of you.’

I must be painfully transparent, Uruvi thought with dismay. The one secret she was trying to hide so frantically was now stripped bare. She could not avoid the issue any longer with the older lady. ‘Yes, Draupadi is an insidious presence…’ she agreed slowly. ‘Somehow I think I have already lost Karna in a way. And you realized it too, and that’s why you came here to reassure me, didn’t you? You know Draupadi loves Karna and that’s why she has forgiven him so simply, so effortlessly. But what about Karna? How am I to live with a man, knowing he is in love with a married woman? Each time I feel like going near him, I recall his words to her—that she is nothing but a whore who has bedded five husbands! It is as if he regrets he wasn’t one of them! He said that she should find other men to cohabit with—it was as if he has been waiting and lusting for her all along! I can’t get rid of that horrible, hideous image of the two entwined together,’ Uruvi shut her eyes in tight fury. ‘It torments me, keeps taunting me. I can’t sleep, I can’t think any more!’ she wept, burying her face in her hands.

Kunti could not bear to see Uruvi’s anguish, and wanted to assuage her pain. She went up to her and embraced Uruvi gently, as if to wish away the sorrow welling inside. The tears still streamed down the girl’s pale face. Kunti allowed her to weep out the agony she had buried inside her so long. She had been shocked when she saw Uruvi at her doorstep on the day her sons and daughter-in-law left for their exile. When Uruvi had insisted on meeting Draupadi, she had wondered what the two women had spoken about, but she had not got a chance to talk with Uruvi after that day.

She had known something was hugely amiss and had been anxious about Uruvi since then. Karna looked jaded and unhappy each time she saw him at the royal court. And there seemed to be no news about Uruvi, except that she had left for Pukeya. Finally, she had decided to visit Pukeya to find out for herself. She had been very worried and now, with the girl sobbing disconsolately in her lap, Kunti felt her own eyes wet with tears, although she rarely let herself cry. Kunti knew obscurely that it was better for her not to put what she felt into words. But Uruvi, she reflected, hardening her heart, had to face the reality she was running away from.

‘Have you asked Karna about his feelings?’ she asked, as Uruvi’s bout of weeping abated.

‘No,’ Uruvi murmured brokenly. ‘I don’t dare! I fear his reply. What if he admits to it? I know he can never lie to me…but I wouldn’t be brave enough to take his honesty.’

‘You have two options—but both are difficult,’ warned the older woman. ‘Either question him openly and accept the situation gracefully or…’

‘Do I have the luxury of another “or”?’ Uruvi questioned harshly.

‘Or,’ Kunti said deliberately, ‘believe in your love and trust him. Believe that he loves no one but you. Loving is not just believing; it is also accepting the worst. Uruvi, he does love you. I have seen him with you; he is a contented man. Don’t ruin what you have. Your doubts, your suspicions, your somewhat misplaced noble moral fortitude can do you more damage than good. You have been lucky to get your man. Keep him safe with you. Don’t stretch your luck too far. It might just swing back hard and harshly. Marriage is about working on what has changed, not what you once believed in.’