A Different Turn of Events

Confusing Savior

After Ashwathama’s Exit - 

The Sabha was quiet. Everyone was once again stunned at the events that took place. Not many knew of the close friendship that Karna shared with Ashwatthama. Duryodhana decided to go after Ashwatthama since he did not wish to witness the injustice towards Karna.

After watching Duryodhana walk out, the Sabha resumed. Bhima had been waiting to deal lashes towards Karna, he was getting impatient so he said, “Now that the interruptions are gone, I will start with the punishment.”

Many kings were eagerly waiting for the punishment to start. They were all happy that the righteous Pandavas would finally put the Sutaputra in his place. 

Bhima raises the whip and hits Karna’s back. As the whip made contact, Karna’s armor appeared filling the Sabha with a bright, golden glow. Due to the heat from the armor, the whip caught on fire and burned to ashes. 

Seeing the whip burn, Bhima is stunned. How had he forgotten about the golden armor that protects the Suta? The armor shines brighter, blinding the occupants of the Sabha. The surroundings also started to heat up causing the ornaments and crowns to burn the wearer. 

Seeing the events around him, Karna prays to his unknown divine father, hoping to calm Surya Dev. His prayers go unfulfilled due to the immense anger Surya Dev feels on behalf of his beloved son. How dare these people punish his innocent son? How dare they try to harm him? 

Outside the Palace - 

While he can no longer see the future, he can still sense the calamity that is to come. As soon as his own battle ended, Krishna rushed towards Hastinapura to salvage the situation and find out who niyati had chosen to bring Dharma Sthapana in the world. As Krishna rides to the palace’s front gates, he hopes that whoever the person is will accept his guidance. 

The gates open automatically for the king of Dwaraka allowing him to get to the Sabha faster. Yashodanandan can feel Surya Dev’s anger and knows who the new chosen one is. He can sense that even Karna cannot stop the god’s anger so he rushes to the Sabha to calm the Sun God. 

Krishna opens the doors to the Sabha and looks at the sun. He says, “Surya Dev, I can understand your anger but you must calm down. Your son may face many struggles but trust that niyati will give him justice. Listen to your son’s prayers and please calm yourself.”

After coming out of his anger, Surya Dev reduces the radiance of his rays. After sensing that the heat had receded, the participants of the Sabha opened their eyes. 

Karna thanks the Sun God for his mercy. He looks behind to see Krishna in all his glory. Krishna looks at Karna and cannot help but feel pain in his heart for the struggles he will have to face. He goes to Karna and frees him from the nagapas. 

Karna is confused by the divine cowherd’s actions. He does not understand why this man is trying to help him right now but he is thankful because the nagapas had been painfully constricting. 

Krishna looks at the Sabha and its occupants in disappointment. He turns towards the Pandavas and glares at them in anger. “Is this the dharma that you follow? You dare call yourselves righteous when you hurt an innocent man without any reason?” Krishna yells.

Krishna could not believe his cousins would be so cruel. How could they hate Karna so much when he has never done anything to them.

The Pandavas were confused by Krishna’s anger. Why is their cousin taking that Sutaputra’s side? They did no wrong here. Arjuna asks, “Madhava, what are you saying? We did no wrong. That Suta is now our slave. This morning he did not follow our directions and went off on his own. We have the right to punish him for disobeying his masters.”

Krishna frowns at Arjuna’s words. “How can you say that, Partha. Karna had simply gone to do his morning Surya Puja. Every person in this world, whether king or slave, has the right to worship their god. How can you punish Karna for that? Not to mention, the punishment was also too harsh for the action. 20 lashes by Bhima are equivalent to 2000 lashes by a normal person. That is an unfair punishment. Thank god for Karna’s Kavach,” said Krishna.

Pandavas looked at each other. They did not really agree with Krishna but they would follow his judgment because he was a divine person. “Okay Keshava, Bhima will not punish Karna with lashes, but he must still be punished for leaving without permission. His punishment will be no food for three days,” said Yudhistira.

Karna was relieved. He knew that the lashes would not hurt him because of his Kavach but they could always aim at his legs. Karna was thankful to Krishna for reasoning with the Pandavas. As a warrior, Karna was not afraid to miss a few meals. Afterall, he was used to hunger as an orphan child. The breakfast he had at the village should also keep him filled for a while.

Despite being grateful to Krishna, Karna was still suspicious. Why was this man helping him? What are his reasons? Karna thinks he should be wary of this divine being.