The Broken Bond

Blessing In Disguise

-Arjuun

-Bheeem

-Queen Kunti

How much time had passed, Karna did not understand. He ran around the burning house, calling out the name of Queen Kunti and her sons. Golden heat licked his skin and rolled powerlessly off his golden armor. Several times Karna imagined that he heard screams, but each time it turned out that he was dreaming. The stinking smoke corroded his eyes, clogged up his nose and throat even through the chador with which Karna covered his face. The ends of his hair smoked and crackled, and he searched and searched.

Then rain poured from the sky, killing the merciless flames. Karna tumbled out into the open from the rubble that nearly landed on his head.

- Anga-raj!

The voice thundered like thunder, and for the first moment it seemed to Karna that heaven itself spoke to demand an answer from him for this delay. Karna slowly turned around and saw the great Bhishma.

-“Anga-raj, what have you done?!”

- I did not make it in time.

Then Karna sank down on his knees, the coals that crunched under his weight and repeated, finally realizing what had happened:

- I did not make it in time.

The great Bhishma towered over him, huge and angry. Half-gray loose hair swirled like a thundercloud, and Karna waited for lightning to burst out of it now to incinerate him on the spot, after Queen Kunti and her sons.

But there was no lightning, and the great Bhishma was silent, and only after long moments Karna recognized the despair that appeared on his face.

- But why? Why, Anga-raj?!

Indeed, why? The Yagya of Prince Duryodhana was not supposed to take place today, what went wrong, when, because of what?

- I don't know.

- You do not know? Bhishma suddenly stepped towards him, grabbed his clothes and yanked him to his feet.

- You lie! You knew that something terrible was coming, and you rushed here as if all the demons of hell were chasing you! What happened, Anga-raj? What did Duryodhana do?!

Duryodhana.

The name sounded in the air like a sentence, and Karna's thoughts raced in panic. His request, his desire to save Duryadhana's own honor and Queen Kunti, the death of Pandavas?

- No! he exclaimed, clutching Bhishma's arms,

- No, it's my fault! Everything that happened is my fault, and mine alone! Prince Duryodhana... Prince Duryodhana tried to stop me, but...

- Shut up! Bhishma's voice boomed, but cracked and broke,

-"Shut up, you stupid boy! Don't you dare take punishment away from someone who deserves it!"

Karna shook his head frantically.

- Not. It's me. It's my fault. If you must execute me, I'm ready to take your hit right now. But... it's only my fault. Go on!

If only he could have guessed from the very beginning how to prevent this plan! If only he hadn't been so slow! If he hadn't tried to combine the incompatible: loyalty to Duryodhana with love for Queen Kunti and respect for the Pandava princes! Everything could have turned out differently.

- Do not deny the obvious, Anga-raj, and do not think that I am so naive! Only Duryodhana wanted Yudhishthira dead, and only Shakuni could think of such a plan. You are trying to take on someone else's sin and leave sinners without retribution, and this is a violation of dharma, Anga-raj! Did your father and mother teach you to transcend the dharma?!