Karna- The Hero Chosen by the Gods

Virat war (I)

The entire Matsya kingdom was agitated due to the upcoming war. All the citizens were preparing themselves. They knew that Hastinapur was the most powerful kingdom but they also did not want to give up without fighting. The king himself was encouraging everyone to prepare to fight till their last breath. Pandavas also wanted to take part in the war but they knew that it would disclose their identity to the world and their exile would be broken. But it was also their duty to protect the innocent citizens of the kingdom which gave them shelter. 

Yudhistir, 'We cannot let the kingdom suffer because of us.'

Sahadev, ' But it will be foolish to disclose our identity to Hastinapur.'

Bheem, 'But King Virat can never win against Hastinapur. Their army is huge.'

Avni, 'No, there is a chance of winning. As Hastinapur will expect no preparation here as Keechak assured them. I don't think they know about Keechak's death and king Virat is already preparing for the war.'

Karna, 'I don't believe in Shakuni, his spy network is too strong. But we have to delay Hastinapur's arrival here.'

Arjun, 'Yes here just one week left to finish our exile. After that, we can show them our strength.'

Draupadi, 'But how are we going to delay the army. Today king was telling the queen that the army will reach here within four days.'

Karna smiled, 'Leave that to me.'

The next day in the very early morning, Karna secretly left the kingdom. He used his power and went to the place where Hastinapur's army was camping. 

Karna, 'I think now, I need to use Mata Saraswati's boon.' He sat near a tree and chanted a mantra, then a Veena appeared in front of him. Karna started to play a tune. 

Hastinapur army camp,

After Duryodhana left Hastinapur, Dhritarashtra made Dusshasshan the Yuvraj. After being Yuvraj, Dusshasshan had created a reign of terror in his kingdom. He was evil and after getting power he started thinking of himself above everything. Because of his tyrant nature, the citizens also started running away from his kingdom. The Kuru elders also helped the citizens secretly to leave Hastinapur. Shakuni also asked help from Asurs to terrorize people. Dhritarashtra though a greedy and selfish person but did not want to torture his subjects. But Dusshasshan was an arrogant, selfish person who did not even pay any heed to his father's words. Now he came to conquer Matsya on Shakuni's insistence. According to Shakuni even if the Pandavas were not present there but it would be beneficial to have Matsya as Virat was famous for cows. Cows were important for the economy as they provided milk, helped in agriculture. So having Matsya was essential to secure Hastinapur's economic conditions. 

But Shakuni was disturbed as they could not bring the Kuru elders with them. After Duryodhana's escape, he was suspicious of Bhessm's motive. Bheesm though supported Pandavas but he was loyal to king Dhritarashtra before. But now he was questioning the king. He even opposed many decisions and it seemed like Bheesm and Drona were more loyal to the citizens, not the king. This change in the kuru elders had made Shakuni very sceptical and he refused to bring them into the war. He was confident that Keechak had already trapped the Pandavas there (if they were present in Matsya) or captured the king. So they just brought a big army with them just in case (or to show their prowess).

In the morning all the warriors were preparing for the war. They had camped near a forest from where Matsya was 4-5 days away. They were hurrying to reach there as they did not want to give any time to their enemy to prepare. Suddenly a huge storm started along with heavy rain. The sound of the thunderclap startled the horses and the elephants. Dark clouds covered the sky. The weather turned so drastic that the army was unable to proceed further. 

Dusshasshan, 'What happened suddenly? Why does the weather change?'

Aswatthama, 'We cannot proceed in such bad weather. All our horses and elephants were agitated. We have to take shelter here.'

The storm lasted for almost the entire day. During the entire time, Karna did not leave the place and continuously played the veena. No normal human being could not do that but Karna was not a normal human and today he had to protect his family. 

The next day, when the sun rose the Kuru army was again preparing for departure. The previous day's storm made the roads very muddy and difficult to travel. But the army was somehow continued their journey. Little did they know that another figure covered with black clothes was secretly following them. 

After traveling for some time they came near a place where there was a forest on one side and on another side there was a big, vast field. 

Dusshasshan, 'Mamashri, which is the actual road to Matsya?'

Shakuni, 'Because of the storm, now it is difficult. Let me ask someone.' Then they saw a short heighted man with a big mustache and beard came out of the forest with some tree branches on his head and some fruits in his hand. Shakuni, 'That man must be a local. Hey you...come here.'

That man saw a huge army with some people wearing expensive armor sitting on chariots in front of him. As he was a poor, villager he was scared to see such a huge army and royalties in front of him. But still, he went near the person who called him and respectfully asked, 'Yes Manyavar, what can I do for you?'

Shakuni (haughtily), 'Which is the shortest road to Matsya border?'

The man, 'This vast field is the road to Matsya border but sir there is another road from this forest which is a shortcut.'

Dusshasshan, 'We will take the shortcut.'

Shakuni, 'No...it will be difficult to find our way inside the forest. We will take the long road.'

Aswatthama, 'Why don't we take this man with us. He is a local and he can guide us.'

Hearing that the man said, 'No sir, I cannot go with you. My wife and children are waiting for me at home. I have to bring these fruits otherwise they have to starve today.'

Dusshasshan (roared), 'How dare you to say no to the crown prince of Hastinapur. Hey, soldiers tie this man and bring him with us.'

The man pleadingly, 'Please no Yuvraj, please don't take me with you. I am a poor villager and my family is waiting for me. Please...I beg of you.'

But the soldiers did not listen to anything. They bound the helpless man and forcefully dragged him with them. The entire army entered inside the forest.

Note- Very sorry for the small and late update. But my Khadoos boss is killing me with all workloads. Sometimes I think my boss is worse than Shaku Mama. Please forgive me for the late update but will try my best to update soon.