The Kuru War: A Mahabharata Fiction

8| Awkward Encounter

An emotional Karna sat on a large rock over a shallow stream of water that diverged from the Ganges and flowed through the forest. It was a peaceful spot for on a beautiful day. There were no clouds or canopy causing the untouched light from the sun to shimmer over the fluttering ripples. Shoals of tiny freshwater fish navigated gracefully around the rock, escaping swans that floated with their heads underwater, hunting for food. The little brook was the life source for almost everything around it.

I will never teach you.

A Sudra can never be a warrior.

You must leave.

The last words that Guru Drona spoke filled Karna's head. It was like a painful gong mixed with the ambient sonances around him. Karna had practiced two years for Yogya Parichaya, all the while hoping that he will be allowed to participate, even after knowing that it was a long shot. All he wanted was a chance to show his skill, an opportunity to demonstrate his worth as an archer.

The rock was deep inside the forest, far from the outermost village in Hastinapur. Karna had known that spot for as long as he could remember. The first time was years ago during a fishing trip with his father. A period of time that he did not miss at all. In fact, he despised every moment that his father tried to make him into fishermen like himself and his ancestors before.

How could anyone possess any skill with a bow when his forefathers have never even held one.

Words Karna had heard a thousand times over if not more. From friends, family, and essentially everyone aware of his passion for the bow and arrow.

The only thing preventing him from caving into his doubts was the excitement of shooting an arrow itself. Watching it hit its mark with deadly accuracy. The thrilling rate at with which he could do it repeatedly. It was that feeling of mastery that gripped him like an addiction. Making him aspire to pursue the path of a warrior, not just an ordinary soldier, but a legendary Maharathi with an unparalleled skill known throughout the kingdom.

Karna looked up at the sun, his eyes able to absorb its intense light with ease. It never hurt him, only made him feel liberated from his everyday strife. Laying on that rock, basking under the heat, he had convinced himself not to give up and was determined to begin yet another day of training.

"HELP! Someone? Help me!"

Screams of a man echoed from the woods. Karna sat up, his eyes racing to find the source of distress. He saw an obese hunter chased down by a large brown bear.

When the hunter saw Karna on the rock with a bow, he hightailed towards him with the beast only a few meters behind, seconds away from ripping him apart.

"Kill it! Kill it! Save me!" The hunter yelled.

Karna tucked an arrow on the bowstring and used his left hand's index as a rest. He squinted to focus on the bear's head and blur the surrounding details. After an instantaneous calculation that involved elevation, wind speed, target movement, and distance, Karna launched the arrow. It propelled straight up for a second and then rapidly descended, piercing the bear's hard skull.

The bear struck the hunter's back with its paw, causing him to fly a few meters before landing with his face in the dirt. The hunter stayed there screaming, expecting a set of sharp claws to stab into his flesh at any moment. But that did not happen. After continuing to cry for a minute, the man raised his head off the ground, still in shock, trying to locate his predator. A dead carcass lay behind him with an arrow lodged between its eyes.

"Wh...What, you kill...killed it?"

The hunter fumbled to find his feet and thanked Karna who paced towards him.

"Thanks. Thank you so much!"

Karna scowled at the dumbfounded hunter as he walked straight past him towards the dead beast. He pulled the arrow out of its head and closed his eyes in prayer for the unfortunate animal. The plump man stood silently behind Karna, with his head lowered and hands wrapped in front of his enormous belly.

"I was hunting rabbit when I heard a roar. I turned around to see this large creature behind me. I tried to kill it, but my bow fell, and I could do nothing but run for life."

The hunter explained himself while Karna wiped his arrow of the creature's blood and placed it back into his quiver.

"You were unaware of your surroundings, and it was your mistake that you entered the bear's territory. You should be the one who paid the price."

Karna sounded bitter. His demeanor was resentful by the sorrow of having to kill an innocent animal. The hunter stood petrified on his spot. He opened his mouth but said nothing, his eyes dripped tears.

The hunter acted like an inexperienced child in an older man's body. He had an unkempt beard and a bald top. Only the spots on the sides of his head, above his ears, had a thin layer of hair remaining. His buckskin armor was a size or two smaller than his body, letting his gut shine from underneath it. Despite the man's best efforts to get a hold of himself, his crying intensified and fluids started to leak from his nose. Big hiccups shook his entire body while he frantically wiped his face by the sleeve of his shirt.

Karna was surprised by the man's behavior. He stood up from the bear's side and started walking away without addressing the hunter any further.

"Hey, wait," the hunter yelled.

He pursued Karna looking awkward and worried.

"The bear chased me far deeper into the forest than I have ever been, I don't know how to get back to my village from here. Please help me find my way back?"

Karna stared at the man's anxious face for a moment. He needed to start heading back home. An image of his father, furious by his absence, flashed in front of his eyes. But as the hunter's sobbing got louder, Karna sighed and agreed to help, wondering if his day could get any worse.