✓ Narottam Arjun: Soul of the Sage

f i f t e e n - s p a r k

Karn walked in the hallways, slightly nervous, he was hoping to find Arjun, apologise, and leave soon. Absent-mindedly walking, he bumped into something, or particularly, someone. The person infront of him was the sister of Arjun, Vrinda, if he remembered the name correctly.

She was running in the hallway, not running from someone just running, here and there. What caught Karn's attention was a marvelous bow in her hand. The intricate carvings, the perfect balance, the bow was a master piece; and Karn knew it.

Fascinated by the bow, he walked towards Vrinda, "Pranipaat Rajkumari," he started the conversation, eyes stuck to the bow. Vrinda greeted back politely, "Will you take care of this for me?" Vrinda passed him the bow, and Karn nodded, "Keep it hidden, I will take it back in the evening," She whispered and left. What Karn failed to notice was the mischievous glint in her eyes.

Being Chanchala, she is, Vrinda sneaked in Arjun and Uloopi's room before dawn and borrowed Uloopi's bow, conveniently just before her and Ashwatthama's duel. It definitely doesn't have anything to with the support Ashwatthama gave her against Arjun, and Vrinda definitely did not do this so as to benefit Drauni.

It was all merely a coincidence, a rather perfect one in the words of Krishna.

Karn walked back to his room, and hid the bow in one of drawers. According to him, this kind of bow definitely didn't belong somewhere hidden, but he had to do what Vrinda asked.

After all, she was, but the sister of the man he wanted to apologize, and it wasn't like she asked him to murder; How wrong would it be, to hide a bow? Only if he knew.

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Arjun walked in the Royal court as usual, but today was different; the Prince of Hastinapur was sitting in the seats reserved for guests.

He gave a small nod to the youngest son of Kunti and sat on his throne. Arjun kept his eyes on the Prince, without him knowing obviously. There was a sense of belonging, familiarity and affection, something Arjun couldn't decipher.

The daily proceedings were going on smoothly, even without Uloopi, who had taken the day off to spend time with Vrinda, and to avoid Suryaputra. In her opinion, he was still a brat and if he said something wrong in her presence, she won't mind slicing off his head.

She decided that Arjun would be disappointed if she killed a guest, and hence, she thought that avoiding Karn was the best. Not that she was afraid of Arjun, it was just that she wanted to shine in his eyes. She wanted him to be proud of her, what else was the reason she wished to duel to with Ashwatthama?

Despite the assurance Ashwatthama gave, her doubt on Karn was obvious. She secretly sent her trusted maids to search his room, for anything unusual. And surprising, she found her bow, hidden well in a drawer.

The bow she wielded, once belonged to Brahman Kaundiya, who used it to make the Naga Princess Soma fall in love with him.
The bow, called as Kondim, was then passed on to Princess Soma's children and then their children, and centuries later Uloopi had it.

"I can do nothing, if I do complain, Suryaputra will question me for searching his room," She screamed in her mind, she wanted to do something about Karn stealing her weapon, but alas, she could do nothing.

Unaware of what her little mischievous acts did, Vrinda was following Uloopi, who seemed tensed. According to Vrinda, she was merely tensed about the absence of her bow.

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Ashwatthama was dressed in a simple white dhoti, and a light brown angavastra tied around his waist. A rudraaksh mala hanging around his neck, and rudraaksh earning adorning his ears.