Karna- The Hero Chosen by the Gods

Panchal war

Hastinapur Palace

Duryodhana (shouting), ' Arjun! Arjun! Arjun! Always that wretched Pandavs. I don't understand why everyone is praising them. As if we Kauravas are nothing. 'Arjun, the best archer, Arjun the favorite student. I just hate Guru Dronas' and Pitamaha's bias towards them.'

Dusshashan, 'Those Pandavas always try to belittle us. They do not leave any chance to prove themselves superior than everyone. Mamaji, we need to do something.'

Shakuni, 'My sons, have patience. We cannot do directly anything to them. Otherwise your pitamaha will have your heads. '

Duryadona, 'But we cannot sit here like these. Otherwise those Pandavas will snatch my throne.'

Shakuni, 'No one can snatch your right, as long as your Mamashree is here. But right now we need to use our intelligence rather than our strength. I have an idea.'

Dusshashan, 'What idea?'

Shakuni, 'After completion of your training, it is time to give your Gurudakshina to Acharya Drona. I know he wants to take revenge from Panchal. If you can defeat Panchalraj, then you can prove yourself superior to the Pandavas.'

Aswatthama entered the room. Aswatthama, 'What happened friends? Why are you so tensed?'

Duryodhana, 'Ashwatthama, I am angry on that Pandavas. They are really getting on my nerves. I just want to defeat them and show everyone in Hastinapur that only Duryadhana has the ability to be the king of Hastinapur.'

Aswatthama,' Dear friend, if you can defeat Panchalraj then you can show your prowess to my father. Even I am tired of his blind faith in Arjuna. I also want to see their defeat.'

Duryodhana, 'I shall defeat Panchalraj and be the king. No one can stop me.'

Shakuni (in mind), 'My dear nephew you will be just a puppet of mine to achieve my dream. You will sit on the throne and I will control everything. First I need to remove those Panduputras from my path, then I will become invincible. I will avenge my fathers' humiliation.'

Shakuni was thinking about the time when Bheesma invaded Gandhar as Shakunis father declined his offer to marry Gandhari with the blind Dhritarashtra. Shakuni lost his uncles, cousins and his brother in the war. He still remembered how his father was humiliated when they were imprisoned. The soldiers of Hastinapur treated them as slaves. It was his sister who begged Bhisma to release his family. Bhisma still justified his action as 'to establish Dharma in Gandhar.' But the truth was still now Gandhar was a part of Kuru empire and the people were treated as second-class citizens. Shakuni's father died as he could not bear the humiliation or his daughter's conditions. On that day Shakuni vowed to destroy Kuru dynasty. He would tarnish their pride one day. To did that, he sacrificed his pride and stayed in his sister's household. He poisoned Dhritarashtra's mind against his brother Pandu, then he turned Duryadhana against Pandavas and the Kuru elders. Now it was time to make Duryadhana the crown prince and for that, he needed someone who could stand against Arjun.

Shakuni (thinking), 'I know there must be someone who can be my weapon to help Duryodhana. Aswatthama is a great warrior and I know Guru Drona will choose his son over his student. But I am still not sure if he is enough for those Pandavas. Aswatthama is also greedy. All he wants is to be a king of any region and that is why is always flattering Duryodhana. As long as his ambition does not harm my plans, I am okay with him. But I also need Aswatthama to convince Guru Drona to give him Brahammastra.'

Karna's house

Karna was having dinner with his family. His younger brothers were very excited and continue chatting about the contest. But Karna was tensed. During the contest, he felt the immense tensions among the cousins. The tournament would turn into a real battleground if the elders did not intervene to stop them. 'That is why Parbhau Narayan wants me to come here. I need to fulfill my duties in my mortal life by helping my family. But I don't think Prabhu's ultimate goal is to make Yudhishtir the king. He must be planning something really big. Now to know my family better, I need to stay near them. I have to find a way to go to the palace.'