Kairavi

Chapter 4

"Impossible!" Lord Parshuram's voice boomed in the atmosphere. "My disciples can never be unjust to anyone."
"But they were to me, o mahamuni. Both of them tried to prevent me from obtaining shastra vidya as I'm not a Kshatriya." The brahmin vented to him.
"Have they forgotten that I've deprived this Earth of unrighteous Kshatriyas 21 times? Or do they want to witness that in the form of their own death?" The sage lashed out.

He continued, "But Drona is a brahmin himself. Then why did he refuse to teach you?"
"Because he wants Pandu putra Arjun to be the greatest warrior in the world. He thinks nobody else deserves that honour but I beg to differ. That's why I came to you, my lord. I have faith, that you don't believe in partiality." the boy countered, fueling Lord Parshuram's anger even more.

"I've not come here to instigate you against your own shishyas, gurudev. I've merely showed up before you to prove them wrong, and become the greatest warrior of all time. I'd feel like I've gotten justice if I recieve my education from you." He finished.
"Who are you, child?"

"Radheya Karna" he beamed.
"Before I accept you as my student, I need to get all of my suspicions cleared. What is your gotra? Are you really not a Kshatriya?" The great sage inquired.
"No, sire. I'm not a Kshatriya. But how does that even matter? Should abilities be decided on the basis of birth, or competency?" Karna revolted.

"No putra. It certainly shouldn't. I'll teach you whatever I know, but I can't promise that you'd become the finest archer in the world. That's for you to work on." Lord replied.
"But I promise you gurudev that I shall become the greatest archer in the world." Karna pledged. Lord Parshuram was visibly impressed as he blessed his new disciple and walked back to the ashram.

Kairavi had already tucked her dolls in her dress, safe from Radheya. She walked up to him and said, "Thank you for saving me from dying and bringing my doll back, Karna mahoday." He nodded in affirmation. "But I know you're not a brahmin either." she added. Creases of anxiety started forming on Karna's forhead but Kairavi reassured him. "Don't panic, I will keep this a secret."

"So this is payback for saving your life?" Karna pressed on. "No, it's because I don't believe that abilities should be decided on the basis of birth status. Or competency. Rather, they should be assessed through one's dedication." Karna was flabbergasted on hearing such a mature answer from an 8 year old, who ran down a cliff because of a clay toy.

"Who told you that?" He asked. "Gurudev  did." "But he didn't argue with me when I said that." Radheya wondered.
"You proved your dedication when you took that vow, brother." she answered while trotting back towards the ashram.

12 years later:

The determined and passionate Radheya grew up to be a handsome and strong warrior. The youngster looked nothing less than a crownless prince with a tall and broad stature, big muscular arms, lotus shaped eyes and the dark flowing hair.
His Vijay bow, gifted by his teacher could evoke any astra and as long as it was in his hands, no weapon could even come close to him.
His divine kavach and kundals could swallow any astra used against him. With his armour and bow, he was invincible.

Whereas, Kairavi turned out to be a breathtaking creation of the Moon God. Her beauty even made the stars shy out in the nightsky. Those big brown eyes always carried a silver twinkle while her smile brought tranquility to the beholder.
Her flawless skin smelled like Beli  flowers and lustrous black hair hugged her waist from behind. She sounded like songbirds of the dawn and moved like a dancing swan.

Her mind incorporated telepathic powers, intellect, patience and knowledge of the world. She had mastered the 64 kalas and could recite the shashtras even in a slumber.

Bhagwan Parshuram had equipped her with every skill that she would require to endure the grievances and challenges that lingered on her destiny.