The Kuru War: A Mahabharata Fiction

9| Rahageer

The hunter's village was roughly two miles away through the dense patch of forest around them. It was a scape brimming with all shades of green, everything from the tiniest shrubs to the lofty trees. Rowdy troops of monkeys scatted the small chirping birds that covered the vast network of branches. Their broken feathers sprinkled like snippets of reds and blues.

Abundant nuts and berries lay on the forest's floor that attracted many small residents out of their burrowed homes, only to be preyed upon by bigger, hungrier foes. Sadly, there weren't many large animals to be seen anymore; the ever-expanding villages surrounding the woods had already hunted a vast population for their meat and fur.

Karna remembered last time he was in that forest. It was on an unplanned trip with his uncle while his father and younger brother sold fish in a nearby settlement. Karna's uncle, Varun, was the only person who supported his dream. In fact, he was the one who made Karna his very first bow. Sadly, it had been two years since Uncle Varun's passing. He was a drinker, and his health had finally caught up to him. But before he died, Karna remembered promising him that he wouldn't give up on his dream. Karna swore that one way or the other, he would find a way to become a warrior. It was in that very forest, Karna's last memory of a good day spent with his uncle.

"You look young to use the bow so well. As you can probably tell, I am not nearly as good. My dad wanted me to hunt dinner today. Usually, it's my younger brother Shaan who does the hunting. Oh my god, where are my manners, I didn't even tell you my name. My name is Surya. What is yours?" rambled the hunter.

He clumsily tripped over every other rock in their way, needing to switch back and forth between talking and panting as he tried hard to not fall behind a brisking Karna.

"I'm Karna."

"Oh, that's a wonderful name! I will remember that, Karna. Rolls smoothly off the tongue. I am so glad you were there today, Karna, otherwise I would have been a goner for good. I cannot wait to tell Shaan about you; he is also a great archer. I have always been more of an, if I say so myself, academic."

"What does that mean? Academic?" asked Karna.

"Oh! It is someone who reads and writes for a living. Or in my case wants to," replied Surya.

Surya seemed excited when Karna asked him the question. The pitch of his voice jumped for a moment, but then it quickly faded, and his neck dropped.

"My father hates it; he wants me to be more like Shaan. He says it is disgraceful for his oldest to be so feminine. But I don't think that books are feminine, they capture the world's past, present, and possibly even the future."

"I wish I could read. I would love to know my future," said Karna in a sarcastic tone.

Karna still couldn't believe what he was doing. Walking a stranger like an escort while his father, Adhiratha, awaited him with a stick back home. It had happened way too many times to keep count. And the punishments had only gotten worse, especially since Adhiratha found out about the secret training. He believed that his son was better off living by the rules of Varna if their family was to continue a peaceful life. He felt that in the end, Shudra or Kshatriya, there was no difference as long as they slept under a roof with a full belly.

"Oh, look! It's my bow!" exclaimed Surya, abruptly running off to the side.

He picked up what appeared to be a shiny piece of metal from afar before running back towards Karna. It was a thing of beauty, a heavy bronze longbow with elegantly curved limbs engraved with annular patterns depicting Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. The five primal elements that are said to have made up the universe.