A String Of Pearls

The End of the Exile

Towards the second half of the twelfth year, Duryodhan had the bright idea to go make fun of his cousins due to no other reason but sheer pettiness. Bhanumati had tried to convince him to not do ridiculous foolishness like this again, but well.

What was worse was that Bhrata Karna agreed to this plan at once. Had he refused, Duryodhan might have been convinced.

The excuse had arrived when the news came that cattle sheds were being attacked and ravaged in a place near where the Pandavas were currently staying. This was of course not something the Crown Prince himself would go to check, but, well.

They thought that after saving the cows and cattle, they would display their wealth and pride to mock the Pandavas and Bhanumati honestly found it childish.

So Duryodhan had gone with some of his brothers and Karna and they had been ambushed by Gandharvas who were friends of Arjun and who rightfully detested Duryodhan.

Duryodhan had been taken captive along with his brothers.

Bhrata Karna had fought and defeated thousands of Gandharvas before being finally overwhelmed and his quiver of arrows had ended and then he had run.

Later Arjun and Bheem had gone and released Duryodhan and his brothers from the Gandharvas, by telling their celestial friends that this was not their war and they would deal with it when the time came.

It was a terribly shameful incident but Bhanumati had the notion that this was only the beginning of their misfortunes.

Pitamaha Bheeshma had created an uproar at both Duryodhan's foolishness and Karna's actions of running away.

Now Bhanumati personally didn't think anything wrong with running to save your life when you knew you were overpowered, but warriors were not sensible in matters concerning their so-called honour.

(She might have resented Bhrata Karnaa little, for leaving her husband, but given how much she loved them both despite resenting them for far greater things, this hardly registered, especially when in the end, everyone had been returned in perfect health and without any damage, except perhaps to their pride. Besides, she couldn't even blame Bhrata Karna, really. Not everyone had self-replenishing divine quivers like Arjun.)

Karna had shamefully looked away, not even attempting to defend himself, but once again surprising everyone, though by now they should have had no reason to be surprised, Duryodhan himself came to Karna's defence.

("I know you would have come back for me." He told Karna warmly.

Karna stared back at him, agape, tears in his eyes.

"Yes, I would have, of course I would have, but-- I ran , Duryodhan. I abandoned you."

"Only because you would have been taken captive as well!" Duryodhan argued. "For gods sake, your quiver of arrows had ended! What on Earth were you supposed to do?! Stand there with an empty quiver?! It would have been foolishness to let yourself get captured as well. And don't say abandoned because you would have returned to release me later. Perhaps with reinforcements. That's all that matters to me. Besides, it was the smart thing to do!"

Karna had once again been beyond touched by this friendship he had been gifted by God and as penance for his actions and to show his great regret at them, he swore off meat, till he had bathed the Pandava armies in blood.

(Vrushali had asked him to immediately stop such nonsense, especially since meat was practically a necessity for warriors, but quite like Pitamaha Bheeshma, though both of them would hate the comparison, once Bhrata Karna made a vow, that was that. )