Week 7 Storytelling: Where were you?

Where were you?

Krishna approached me with a serious matter. He told me, Karna, that the men I was going to rage war with, the Pandavas, were my brothers. My whole life, I felt out of place in Duryodhana, but they still accepted me as one of their own. They would tell me that I was abandoned and they took me in with the kindness of their hearts. Although, sometimes they did not have much to give. They gave as much as they could. Krishna advised me to go to the Pandavas’ castle and talk to my birth mother, Kunti.

As I walked up the winding path to the castle, it was like the stories I heard when I was younger. High walls and impenetrable gates were the rumors that whispered in the streets for those lucky enough to get a glimpse of it. When I was growing up, I was fortunate to have leaves to cover me during the rainy season. Taking in the enormity of the castle, I wonder how the family could live in so much wealth when most of their kingdom was living roofless.

When I walked into the doors, the Pandavas brothers greeted me. It is interesting how I never noticed the similarities in our noses and smiles. It was like looking at a mirror. They seemed so carefree during a time of waging war. They led me to a room at the end of the west wing. I stood in front of the double doors until a soft female voice said, “You may come in.” As I crept through the doors, there was a woman in the center of the room starring at me with tears pooling in her eyes. She looked familiar. In this setting, she looked like a true queen, but on the streets when I normally saw her, she merely looked like a middle-class merchant’s wife looking at the various goods we had to sell. Perhaps she conversed with me because she knew I was her son.

She observed me in full. She looked relieved to be reunited with me. I stood in shock. Here was the woman who left me at the banks of the river. She opened her mouth to speak but I interrupted her. “Why? Where were you?” I asked the strange woman.

She replied, “I am Kunti. I am your mother. I know you must have a lot of questions which we can discuss at a later time but, you need to call of the war.”

I thought it over.

In a firm voice, I said, “No.”

She looked puzzled.

I explained to her, “I will not let the people who need me down. You stripped me  from my birthright. I had to grow up in hardships. But I am glad. It made me the man I am today. The man who may share the same blood as you and the Pandavas, but that does not mean we are family. Duryodhana was kind to me when you were nonexistent.”

Kunti buckled down to her knees. She started sobbing. “It was what the Gods told me to do. It was the only way.” She told Karna.

Karna disregarded the remark. He said, “I will take down all my blood brethren. I will save and fight Arjuna last.”

With that, Karna left the castle and prepared for war.

(Karna and Kunti - Image Source)

Author's Note: In the original story, Krishna tells Karna of his true past. He advised Karna to make peace with his brothers and they will treat him with respect. However when the time came and Karna met his mother, his mother told him that it was her who indeed decided to choose a different life path for Karna. Karna did not want to go against Duryodhana, someone who helped raise him and someone who had a lot of faith placed in Karna. Instead choosing his blood relatives, he chose the people who were there for him and counting on him. I decided to tell the story in Karna's point of view because a lot of emotions must be running in his mind. It would have been a huge shock. I also wanted Karna to come from a poorer family who rose up the ranks by hard work rather than having a birthright. 

Bibliography. "Krishna and Karna" from the Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan. Web source.