The Broken Bond

Undeniable Brightness

The coronation passed and ended, finally bringing relief and ending the feud. Of course, Duryodhana did not resign himself, but Yudhishthira hoped that in time even his mind would calm down. And in any case, the fight for the crown is over. Perhaps in the future they were waiting for new battles within the family and the new bitterness generated by them, but for now there was an opportunity to rest.

The main relief was that - now Yudhishthira was sure of this - Duryodhana did not know about the true origin of Karna. Because if the secret became known to him, he would not be able to resist. Duryodhana had no more patience than a starving tiger, and the moment he entered the great hall brandishing his weapon, Yudhishthira almost believed that the secret was about to be revealed. For long moments, he stood, waiting for accusatory words, but Duryodhana only tried to spoil the celebration for everyone, which means that the mother could not be afraid.

The question remained whether Karna himself knew. During the coronation, Yudhishthira peered at him against his will. Karna did not take his eyes off Duryodhana, and the further the ceremony went, the more anguish appeared on his face. However, this was not like what happens to people who have their property taken from them. Rather, he looked like a man in front of whom his father and mother were being tortured, although it made it more strange that Duryodhana had managed to become so dear to him. Together with everything that Yudhishthira had seen before, most likely this meant that Karna had no idea about his origin, and was sincere when he called himself the son of the charioteer Adiradha.

Why, at the same time, he needed the title of the best archer of Hastinapur and an alliance with Duryodhana, Yudhishthira still did not understand. However, now he got the opportunity to deal with the riddles of his older brother without too much haste and without fear for the future of loved ones.

The search for answers, however, had to be postponed. The crown of the crown prince brought Yudhishthira and the brothers not only honor, but also the lion's share of worries. Less than a week later, Arjuna had to leave to defend the borders, and Bhima, Nakula and Sahadeva had to go to strengthen damaged relations with their neighbors. Yudhishthira himself busied himself with the decrees, which Dhritarashtra was procrastinating, preoccupied with the issue of an heir rather than administration. This is not to mention a number of long and complex rituals. With all these troubles, Yudhishthira somewhat lost sight of Karna, having talked with him only once and understanding from the conversation only that he did not approve of the surrender of weapons, did not refuse to enmity with Arjuna, but did not want to or could not argue with Duryodhana. The reasons for this humility remained a mystery.

Why Duryodhana retreated was clear: the only alternative was an uprising, doomed to failure as long as the great Bhishma stood at the throne of Hastinapur. With all the vehemence of his temper, Duryodhana was as far from the thirst for a glorious death as the peaks of the Himalayas were from the surface of the sea. But what kept Angraj, who was not afraid to tell his grandfather to his face that he was wrong? Gratitude to Duryodhana for intercession in the competition and for the chance to fight with Arjuna was so great ... to refuse to fight with Arjuna? It was contradictory.

Perhaps, thought Yudhishthira before falling asleep after another busy day, Duryodhana had some kind of power over Karna? Did he know a shameful, albeit not connected with his birth, secret, either threatened or promised something necessary? But how and when did he get this power, what was his threat or promise?

A few more days passed. Yudhishthira was returning from the next royal council, regretting that there were no brothers with whom he could discuss the situation. He lacked Arjuna's sympathy and insight, Bhima's and Nakula's jokes, Sahadeva's stingy comments confirming his own impressions. Yes, and just smiles, looks, voices, smells and love pokes in the side or on the shoulders. Yudhishthira was bored. Never before had he been separated from his brothers for long periods of time, and now he was beginning to discover what people called loneliness. Not a very pleasant state, as Yudhishthira found out, although bearable.