Raghukul: Mahabharat

Chapter 7: The Meeting

After Karn was given his guest room, he mostly stayed inside. But that night, feeling restless, he decided to go out for a walk. Unknowingly, he wandered towards a restricted area and discovered a beautiful garden. Entranced, he entered and sat near a pond, taking in the serene surroundings. As he looked around, his eyes fell on her.

She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, even compared to the celestial beings he had encountered in Swarg. She had long, wavy, and heavy bluish-black hair, milky white flawless skin, and big round red eyes that reminded him of fire. She sat under a tree to his right, gazing at the moon. Suddenly, her eyes met his, and he froze.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked. Although there was confusion and a hint of anger in her voice, she spoke calmly and respectfully.

Karn replied, "I am sorry, Devi. I am new here and was walking around when I stumbled upon this place. If I have offended you, please punish me." He bowed and looked up, noting the confusion on her face.

"It's okay," she said. "I was just surprised because this side of the palace is restricted to almost everyone."

Karn was shocked to hear this and said, "I'm sorry for intruding here, Devi, but there weren't any guards to warn me."

She looked shocked at that and said, "Thank you for informing me."

Karn then said, "Devi, I think you should go to your room as well because who knows if somebody else might come. Should I escort you?"

She replied, "No, I'll manage."

Later in his bed, as Karn tried to sleep, he found himself thinking about her repeatedly. Eventually, he finally drifted off to sleep.

The next day, Karn woke up, performed his SuryaPuja, and asked a das to escort him to the dining area for breakfast. As he entered, he saw almost every king and prince who had come for the Swayamvar. They noticed him as well and stopped to look. Karn then asked the das, "Where is Krishn?"

The das replied, "Maharaj Dwarkadheesh Krishn is in a private chamber."

Karn said, "Take me to him." The das nodded and they walked away.

At the chamber entrance, Karn told another das, "Go and tell Dwarkadheesh that I am here." The das returned and informed him that Dwarkadheesh was calling him inside.

As Karn entered the chamber, he froze for a second. The girl he had seen the previous night was there, laughing and talking with Krishn, who was looking at him. Krishn said, "Pranipat, AyodhyaRaj."

Karn replied, "Pranipat, Dwarkadheesh."

Draupadi stopped and looked at Karn, freezing for a moment. Krishn said, "AyodhyaRaj, this is my Sakhi, PanchalKumari Draupadi."

Karn then said, "Pranipat, Rajkumari."

Draupadi replied, "Pranipat, Maharaj."

Krishn then said, "Draupadi, this is my friend, AyodhyaRaj Karn." Draupadi nodded at that. While Krishn and Draupadi started talking again, Karn found himself thinking about her eyes.

A dasi entered and said, "Maharaj, Rajkumari, Dwarkadheesh, Maharaj Drupad is calling you three for breakfast." They all nodded and started walking. Draupadi asked, "Sakha, what kind of competition did you put for my Swayamvar?"

Krishn replied, "Now that is a secret, Sakhi."

As they arrived at the dining chamber, they saw many kings and princes eating breakfast. Upon their entry, they heard a voice, "Look how AyodhyaRaj is following that Mayavi like a dog on a leash."

Karn turned and saw it was Sindh and Madra Raj who were talking. He then said, "SindhRaj, MadraRaj, I promised my Gurudev that if anyone says anything bad about me, I will give them a punishment. And for you, I have the perfect punishment. You are so arrogant because of your kingdoms, so I, AyodhyaRaj Karn, declare war against Sindh and Madra."

SindhRaj Jaydrath and MadraRaj Shalya froze for a second. Jaydrath then said, "What can you do? You came here for a Swayamvar, so you can't go and attack our kingdoms."

Krishn sighed at this. Karn said, "Do you know what kingdom I rule?"

Jaydrath laughed and said, "Everyone knows you rule Ayodhya."

Karn then said, "And which dev do you think would come for Ayodhya's help right away?"

Jaydrath and Shalya thought for a moment and said, "No god would come."

Karn then said, "Ayodhya was ruled by Shri Ram, and which god helped Shri Ram?"

Jaydrath and Shalya thought for a moment, then they both shook and Jaydrath said, "P-Pavan Putra Hanuman."

Karn smiled and said, "Good." Then Karn started chanting a hymn, causing a strong wind to blow and the earth to shake. After it stopped, everyone wondered what had happened.

A das entered and said, "Maharaj Drupad, Bhagwan Hanuman is standing at the door of this palace." Everyone was shocked to hear this. They heard footsteps and saw AyodhyaRaj and Krishn walking, so everyone, including SindhRaj and MadraRaj, followed.

At the main entrance, Karn said, "Pranipat, Bhrata." Everyone was shocked at how he addressed Hanuman.

Hanuman said, "Ayushman Bhava. What help did you need?"

Karn said, "SindhRaj and MadraRaj not only disrespected me but also Dwarkadheesh Krishn. I declared war on them. I want you to go and defeat their army, keep the royal family as hostages inside the castle, and bring one of the hostages from each kingdom here as proof."

Hanuman turned serious and said, "Karn, you are telling me to do this is the only reason I'm doing it. If I had found out about this any other way, I would have leveled their kingdoms to the ground."

Hanuman then left, and everyone was shocked by the events that had transpired. That evening, Karn received news that the Hastinapur princes had arrived with Bheesma as well.

That evening, Draupadi was sitting with Krishn. Krishn said, "Sakhi, what are you thinking?"

Draupadi blushed and quickly said, "Nothing, Sakha."

Krishn smiled and said, "Sakhi, I'm here for you as a friend. Won't you even trust me?"

Draupadi shook her head and said, "No, it's just..."

Krishn urged gently, "Tell me na, I will help you, I promise."

Draupadi blushed deeper and said, "It's just... I don't know why, but my brain keeps thinking about AyodhyaRaj, and I don't understand why that is."

Krishn smiled knowingly and said, "Sakhi, what that means is that you are in love with AyodhyaRaj."

Draupadi almost screamed, "What?"

Krishn chuckled, "Yes, Sakhi."

That night, Draupadi slept, her thoughts swirling around Karn, unable to shake the feeling that had settled in her heart.

Many were along me about my Schedule, I just wanna say that it's quiet simple, according to Indian time, it's mostly in the Morning, midday, or night and midnight.