Karna's Wife (32 page)

That the quiet Shona masked so much anger behind his calm façade, amazed Uruvi. He raged on, ‘You say you love your husband, but I say you love yourself much more! You are his wife, Uruvi—you should be by his side. Look at Draupadi—she saved the very husbands who forsook her. In spite of them staking her in the dice game, she is with them right now in the forests, suffering for their mistake, which was no fault of hers. Why do you insist on clashing with my brother? Now you are humiliating him even further.’

A faint spot of colour appeared on Uruvi’s pale cheeks and her eyes turned hard and angry. A moment later, she went numb; she had never felt so many emotions rising within her in a flash of a moment—anger, pain, hurt and above all, guilt. Shona’s unreserved love for his older brother made him spew such venom, she knew. In his eyes, she was a failure as his brother’s wife; as a warrior’s wife, she fell below standards. Even though she realized there was no point in arguing with him, she knew she had to defend herself.

There was a long pause as Shona stood shaking with anger, knowing he had been insufferably rude to his sister-in-law. ‘I try but I can’t help resenting her,’ he told himself over and over again, trying to calm down. It was as if she had taken Radheya away from all of them. He had been secretly relieved when Uruvi had finally left his brother, but seeing Radheya’s plight without her, Shona had taken back his wish that she would never come back, admitting that only she could bring a smile to his lips. So, for Radheya’s sake, he had tolerated Uruvi. But he could not understand her.

Assuming that she would not reply, Shona was about to leave the room when her clear voice rang out. ‘Shona, I am protecting all I have—my husband, my family, my sanity,’ she said simply. ‘I know you have never welcomed me here and have disapproved of me all these years. Possibly, you thought I was a threat to the peace in this house. If I was, I am sorry, but I do feel affection for this family. I know you are very protective about Vrushali but I did not seek to replace her—she will always hold a special place in Karna’s heart, which I can never usurp. I am in no position to defend myself but I
am
proud of him,’ she added fiercely, ‘I am the wife of the greatest warrior of this generation, who has conquered the entire Aryavarta—the whole country—all alone! Karna managed to single-handedly defeat Jarasandha, one of the most valiant warriors on earth, within a matter of hours. He was the same Jarasandha whom the great Bhima took eighteen long days to kill in a wrestling combat later. I am so proud of him that it hurts me that he is winning all the glory for the wrong man, for the wrong reason. He is Duryodhana’s strength and without him, Duryodhana could not have called himself an emperor. And he is doing all this for a man who doesn’t have a shred of integrity nor honesty in him. He is the same man who will drag us all to a needless war. In spite of being a monarch of such a huge empire, do you think he will return Indraprastha, which is rightfully theirs, to the Pandavas?’

Shona stood silently, unable to reply. ‘There are two sides in a war: the triumph and the terror,’ she reminded him gently. ‘I can see only the horror, the suffering, the aftermath of war. And I am sure that looking after the sick, the maimed and the crippled is not going against dharma. I don’t think so, nor do my parents and Karna—and they matter most to me,’ she said defiantly, lifting her head proudly.

‘I am trying to protect Karna from ridicule,’ said Shona, his manner abruptly defensive.

‘Serving the sick and the injured is ridiculous?’

‘That it is you who is serving them is!’ he replied tersely.

‘What does it matter who looks after the injured as long as someone does?’ she sighed. ‘You see war in its glory, I see its ugliness,’ she stated. ‘Look at that side of war, Shona, for what you see will get worse as the war is fought. And for what? For “honour”? War will pass, so will victory; but its horrors will not. To fight and kill one’s enemies is the kshatriya dharma. But when you fight your friends, your teachers and your relatives, it only causes grief and endless pain.’

Shona looked at her in reluctant admiration and though she tried to turn away, she could not hide the sorrow in her large, soft eyes. At that moment, he heard the clatter of horses’ hooves outside and leaned out of the window to see who had come to the palace. He saw it was Karna, who was reining in the horses drawing his chariot. ‘He’s back!’ he turned around to tell his sister-in-law, but she was already at the door, walking rapidly, almost running, to greet her husband. A tender yet bright smile touched her eyes, making them sparkle with joy and love. Shona felt his throat constrict in sudden emotion. He remembered Vrushali’s words—Uruvi loves him too much, she had said. Shona had known it, but today he wanted to believe it—for his brother’s sake.

Uruvi recalled the day she first saw Karna. The details were still clear in her mind and never failed to excite her. But what had intrigued her most about him were not his good looks, his fair hair, his compelling deep brown eyes, his shy, closed-up personality, his splendid body or his magnificent skill with the bow and arrow. It was his golden kavach and kundals that had mesmerized her. Her favourite time of the day was early dawn, when she watched her husband fast asleep next to her as the sun’s first rays lit up his armour and earrings.

She loved looking at the sunrays falling on his beautiful face, which took on a dreamy softness, his serene face looking almost divine. It was a precious moment that she caught every morning, basking in it. It was as if the early sunrays slanted across the room to fall on his glistening chest to embrace him, giving him a warm glow and adding new power and potency to him.

This morning, Karna was not his usual self. He pushed himself up and sat up straight, frowning slightly.

‘What’s the matter? Is something wrong?’ she asked immediately, in concern.

He rubbed his hands over his eyes as if to drive the remnants of sleep and confused thoughts away. ‘I think I was dreaming…’ he murmured distractedly.

Studying his troubled face closely, she asked quietly, ‘Was it a nightmare?’ She recalled her own dreadful dreams, which left her tossing and wakeful each night.

‘No…’ he answered slowly. ‘I wouldn’t say it was that extreme… but it was strange.’

‘Strange?’

‘Why would Lord Surya visit me in my dreams to say that I will meet Lord Indra today?’ he looked bemused. ‘He said that the king of the gods coveted my kavach and kundals. It’s all so vivid, so real! I think I am just getting a little paranoid! Or just plain tired!’

‘No, you’re not paranoid,’ she responded. ‘You are neither mistrustful, nor fearful or suspicious—in fact I’m the one who has all those sterling qualities!’ she said in a lighter tone. ‘Karna, please don’t ignore the dream. I think it’s a warning, perhaps to alert you to some danger.’ As she was saying the words, Uruvi was swamped by anxiety, a gnawing fear that was a familiar feeling these days.

‘Now you are giving the dream too much importance!’ he said. ‘But I admit it’s still haunting me. All I can think of is how difficult it would be to shed my kavach and kundals—they are so much a part of me! I might have to slice them off or rip them off…hmmm, which one will it be?’ he said in a bantering tone.

‘Oh, stop fooling around…’ she said in worried exasperation. ‘Karna, war is drawing near and the Pandavas know that you will be the most difficult man to vanquish. Arjuna is your biggest rival and he has sworn to kill you in battle. Lord Indra happens to be Arjuna’s father so it cannot be a coincidence that Lord Surya has warned you about him. It all adds up! Please be careful today.’

Karna smiled, trying to make light of her worry. But even when he left the palace, she mulled over the bizarre dream. Many anxious hours later, Uruvi wondered if she should tell someone about the dream but felt foolish. Should she tell Shona so that he could protect Karna? Or should she reveal her doubts to Vrushali and Radha? By noon, Uruvi was beside herself with a nagging foreboding, but told herself that she was overreacting to a mere dream.

Karna went about his morning routine of going to the Ganga for his morning bath and worshipping Lord Surya at noon. People gathered around him to request him to fulfil their wishes, and as he had vowed, he did not reject anyone. Uruvi did not expect him home till evening and was surprised when she heard his chariot arrive early in the afternoon. She rushed to meet him, her feet flying up the steps to their room.

At first, she did not see him in the chamber, hearing only the sound of someone rummaging through the chest near her bed. Hearing her footsteps, the noise stopped and Karna came into full view. Uruvi stared at him, the colour draining away and bleaching her face paperwhite. She uttered a strangulated cry, her hands clasping her mouth with horror.

Karna stood there bleeding, his chest a mass of blood and gashes. Where his kavach had once spread across his chest and back, was a lump of torn flesh and thick strips of red, bleeding skin. Blood dripped from both ears where the orbs of his kundals had once sparkled. His earlobes had been sliced off savagely.

It might have been a fraction of a moment that ticked away but at once, Uruvi guessed what had happened. She headed straight for the medicine box and a bowl of warm water.

‘Let me clean the wounds,’ her voice shook, but her hands were steady as she swiftly staunched the bleeding slashes and cuts. Karna stood still, as silent as she was.

‘Oh, Karna, what did you do?’ she whispered brokenly as she applied the antiseptic salve over the open wounds.

‘I gave away my kavach and kundals to Lord Indra,’ he sighed. ‘He needed them more urgently,’ he added with a trace of his old dry humour.

Uruvi continued applying the salve calmly, though she was shaking inside. ‘He asked you for them to help his son, Arjuna. Yet you did not refuse him. And he knew you would not! Your generosity is so well known that he was sure you would not refuse to part with them. The king of the gods that he is, he knew you would be bound by the self-imposed oath of giving alms without expecting any return, without any condition,’ she said softly, but her voice throbbed with pain and the anger she felt for Lord Indra and Arjuna. She hated them. ‘His son is safe now! But what about you? You are completely vulnerable. The kavach and kundals made you invincible—and that was the biggest threat to the Pandavas.’

‘Dear wife, my bravery was not defined by the kavach and kundals I wore. They were not my badge of honour,’ Karna retorted wryly, the arrogance back in his voice. ‘I fight with my capabilities, not with accessories.’

They were interrupted by an uproar at the door. It was Shona, accompanied by Vrushali, who rushed to the side of the bleeding Karna. It was a very angry Shona who confronted Karna. Vrushali, pale and quiet, quickly joined Uruvi and began making fresh bandages for the lesions all over his chest.

‘I heard you did the unthinkable,’ Shona seethed, gritting his teeth. ‘Radheya, I warned you not to give in to any request today! But you didn’t heed my words.’

So, Karna
had
told his brother about the dream but he had chosen to turn a deaf ear to Shona’s warnings. Uruvi wondered, was it foolish bravery or noble generosity, or was it both?

The older brother smiled weakly, placing his hand on Shona’s clenched fist to placate him. ‘Lord Indra approached me dressed as a brahmin, and requested me with folded hands. He said, “I ask not for gold, or sapphire or gems as others may have desired. O sinless one, one who is so sincere in your vow, please give me the golden shield on your chest and those earrings, too. This is one gift, O chastiser of foes, that you cannot deny to me for this is one boon I need from you.” I was, of course, surprised by his strange request! But I wasn’t shocked for at that very moment I realized I was talking not to a poor brahmin, but to Lord Indra himself. Lord Surya had warned me in my dream that he would seek me out. I couldn’t go back on my vow, so I bowed to the Lord standing in front of me and gave him what he asked for…’

Vrushali could not contain her gasp of horror. ‘But they were inseparable parts of your body…’ she murmured in anguish.

‘Lord Indra was taken aback when I ripped them out and lay them in front of him. He said, “Karna, no ordinary mortal would have done what you did today. I am moved by your gesture and will grant you a boon in return.” In reply, I said, “If you are genuinely pleased with me, please bless me with your divine weapon, the Vasabi Shakti astra, the master weapon which can destroy any enemy.” Unhesitatingly, the Lord handed me the Shakti weapon, saying that it could be used only once.’

‘So you are happy that you now have the Shakti astra instead of the kavach and kundals?’ Shona asked derisively.

‘I had no choice, did I?’ Karna answered mildly.

‘No, brother, you had a choice—an informed, forewarned choice, Radheya, but you preferred to ignore it,’ snapped Shona angrily. ‘Why? Did your generosity make you so noble that you became self-destructive? What about self-preservation? Your large-heartedness is legendary to all by now but to be so generous at the cost of your life is…’

‘Foolish! I realize that but I cannot go back on my word of honour. A promise given is never to be taken back, whatever the consequences. I would rather die than make a beggar leave my house unfulfilled.’