Wednesday, April 28, 2021

KARNA THE EMPEROR OF HASTINAPUR CONTINUED... EPISODE22

 

Episode 22

Karna as an Emperor



         Immediately after the coronation, Karna and his Queens stood in the open balcony of the Hastinapur palace and the greetings from the people reverberated. The Sun showered all his jasmine laced rays over the ground. The joy all around was boundless. Karna waved his hands before the retreat.

         After an exchange of royal greetings, Karna requested all the guests to stand in silence for a minute as a mark of respect to all those martyred in the battle. Karna ordered that the battlefield of Kurukshetra be blessed by spraying GOMUTRA and COWDUNG collected from Dwaraka’s brown cows.

         Karna went to the strong room in the palace with Sage Vyasa and matured Vidhura and held key discussions.

         Vidura was appointed as the Prime Minister.

         Kripacharya became the Head Priest of the new Empire.

         Bhimasena was handed over the baton of the Commander of the Hastinapur Empire.

         Indraprastha was converted into a War Widows Welfare Zone under the able and kind supervision of Maa Kunti. Nakula opted to assist Kunti.

         Yudhistira preferred to look after the welfare of the people, and Arjuna wished to replace Dronacharya as the coach.

         Sahadeva was entrusted with the animal infantry.

         A long discussion was held about the role of Duryodhana in the changed scenario. Duryodhana volunteered to go with Sage Vyasa to the Ashram as he needed counselling. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari too wished to be with Duryodhana in this crucial transformational period. All the three left the palace with sage Vyasa. The Kauravi widows did not attend their farewell as a mark of displeasure. They were not happy with Gandhari and Bhanumati as they were deserting them, while Kunti had come forward to take care of them.

         But, the fate of Ashwattaama was a million-dollar question to Karna. Heart in heart, he did not wish to lose such a talented person. The Pandavas too were in a dilemma as Ashwattaama was the brave and deserving son of their Guru Dronacharya. Bhimasena was bent upon taking revenge against Ashwattaama, not only for his disgusting cowardly act but also, for his control of powerful Astra’s and Mantras. Draupadi and other Pandavi’s stood firm with Bhimasena.

         Sage Vyasa and Vidhura realised that the presence of Ashwattaama would be detrimental to the Empire in the long run and that he would not leave any stone unturned to lead a Kurukshetra war 2. They also took into account the long-lasting anger of Bhimasena. They very much wanted to give vent to his anger. It was decided that Bhimasena should throw Ashwattaama out of Hastinapur Empire, as far as he can, as a punishment.

         As the dusk began to dawn, in presence of all, Bhimasena pulled the “mani”(a small bump) from Ashwattaama’s forehead with all his might, lifted him up, swirled around and with a big heave threw him. Ashwattaama became an unidentified flying object in the sky and continued to float in outer space breathing air and licking the moisture. The red blood flowing from his forehead reflected daily during the sunset.

Did Draupadi marry Karna?

How was the welcome back to Krishna and Balarama? In the next episode 23.

No comments:

Post a Comment

A WHISPERED EXTENSION OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA:

  A WHISPERED EXTENSION OF THE BHAGAVAD GITA: (Rephrased by Copilot) Title: “The Unspoken Dilemma” As the sun dipped below the horizon...