Suddenly, Bhishma remembered something and rushed to his table. He ruffled through various messages and threw down the scrolls of birch and palm leaves after a quick glance at each. Where was that message? When he had received the message from the Southern Confederate that morning, he had not given it much thought. It was written in the bombastic language typical to the South, with couched threats hidden in oblique praise. He had dismissed the usual banter about the South invading Hastinapura and not given a second thought to their demand to hand over Karna. He had not even thought it worth discussing in the Sabha. Now, an idea started forming in his mind. He could do something that would save his face. He would sacrifice the Suta and become a hero again. Bhishma was afraid that one day the rivalry between his grand-nephews would flare up to destroy his beloved country. And that Suta upstart was a danger to both sides.
For a moment, Karna’s handsome face came to mind; the Suta who had had the courage to challenge the Kshatriyas. A grudging respect for the underdog who has fought his way up made Bhishma hesitate in his decision. Then he slammed the message on the table and drew to his full height. He had to do it for the sake of the country. The thought gave him courage and helped him push away considerations of fairness. The Suta had to be finished. Without Karna, he could control Suyodhana and remain kingmaker. No, he was not hungry for power; Bhishma hastily corrected the insidious thought. His life was a sacrifice – for his father in his youth, for his nephews in his middle age, and for his grand-nephews in the twilight of his life; a life lived for others. He smiled at the thought, pleased with himself.
Bhishma called the guards and asked for Senanayak Mahaveera. Without turning to look at the bewildered Captain, he said in a voice from which all emotion had been banished, “Arrest the King of Anga and hand him over to the Southern Confederate.”
As the Captain bowed and went out, the guards closed the door, leaving the Grand Regent to his solitary state.
*****
3 ARREST
SUYODHANA WAS STARTLED TO SEE Aswathama and Jayadratha emerge from the darkness. He looked at them in surprise as they brushed past him and entered Shakuni’s chamber. The bells over the door jangled in protest. A moth whizzed past and dived into a flaming torch, filling the air with an acerbic odour.
“Shakuni has escaped,” Aswathama said, challenging Suyodhana to contradict him.
“He may have gone for a walk,” Suyodhana suggested, avoiding looking at the infuriated Brahmin.
“A long walk indeed! He may have even got halfway to Gandhara by now,” retorted Aswathama.
The mouldy smell of the room mixed with the distinctive perfume Shakuni always wore. Suyodhana pulled the burning torch from the wall. Night withdrew wherever the circle of light touched it and rushed back as soon as it was turned away. Insects scurried to hide in the crevices of the walls.
“No! No!” exclaimed Suyodhana, his voice hoarse with repressed anger and denial. “Uncle Shakuni...” His hands shook, making the circle of light vibrate. The curtains moved restlessly in the breeze and shadows danced around the room.
Aswathama put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “He betrayed and tricked us.”
Suyodhana knocked off his friend’s hand and began rummaging in the cupboards. He overturned the bed, emptied the drawers and then smashed them shut. If he did not do something he would go crazy. Beads of sweat formed on his creased forehead.
Jayadratha stood at the window, watching. He had been surprised by Suyodhana’s behaviour today. He had made a bad bargain in marrying Sushala, Suyodhana’s sister. He had expected to grow his kingdom with the help of the imperial Hastinapura army and had counted on Suyodhana to support his expansion plans. The new city of Dwaraka and the riches of Krishna’s land were inviting. But Suyodhana was too preoccupied with the rivalry with his cousins to pay attention to his brother-in-law. Nor did Sushala make things easier for Jayadratha with her constant comparisons of him to her brother. They had a son now, whom Sushala desired to raise to be like Suyodhana. He could hardly wait to tell her how her high-minded, perfect, Kshatriya brother had behaved in the Sabha today. And the way Suyodhana pampered a low-caste like Karna made his blood boil with rage. He spat out a stream of red betel nut juice, watching it clear the veranda and land in the flowerbed below. There was a pale moon playing hide-and-seek with the clouds and the palace was eerily still. In the distance he could hear the sound of marching feet and a frown creased his forehead.
“Remember this?” Aswathama held up something in one hand. Suyodhana did not want to look. It would make everything final. He wiped his forehead, a lump forming in his throat. Aswathama moved towards the light and held out a white shawl. It was the same one which had almost indicted him in Bhima’s murder trial years before.
The torch fell from Suyodhana’s hand and lay smoking at his feet, making their eyes sting. “I did a despicable thing today.” Suyodhana’s voice and body shook with emotion. “How will I face Bhanumati or my mother? How will I face the people of my country?”
“Shakuni made us do it, we were stupid,” Jayadratha snapped, secretly enjoying Suyodhana’s predicament. He wanted to see his wife’s face when he narrated the incident to her. Her noble brother and his great acts. Jayadratha wanted to laugh.
Aswathama was digging through the Gandharan Prince’s possessions. “Look at this...and this...and this...” He threw down some palm leaves. They lay on the floor mocking Suyodhana’s naivety. “Do you understand what they are? Documents about the arms smuggled into our country, cryptic replies from Durjaya. Everything is falling into place. Ask Jayadratha! Ask him what his spy told him. Evil Mlecha!”
“Suyodhana, Durjaya and his men are being trained in Gandhara. They will wreak havoc in our cities soon. Your Uncle...” Jayadratha’s voice trailed off when he looked into Suyodhana’s face.
“Enough!” Suyodhana shook his head. Red heat was rising behind his eyelids. He closed them. No, his uncle would never do it, but…
“I almost caught him but he managed to escape. I would have chased after him but at that crucial moment I didn’t have a horse. Athiratha slammed the stable doors on my face saying he would not speak to women abusers,” said Aswathama bitterly.
“Where is Karna?” Suyodhana asked.
“With Vrishali. She is giving him hell for his act today.”
Suyodhana rushed out and his friends followed. They were surprised to see a troop of guards marching down the corridor. Suyodhana broke into a run and commanded them to halt but they ignored him and continued to march in cadence. Aswathama and Jayadratha raced through the gardens and reached Karna’s room just before the soldiers and Suyodhana.
The troop halted and the Captain stepped out and addressed the Crown Prince. “Sir, pray, move aside. We are here to arrest His Highness Vasusena Karna, as per the orders of the Grand Regent.”
“Just try it,” Aswathama suggested belligerently, pointing at the young Captain’s chest.
To his enduring credit, the Captain stood his ground. “Sir, pray, allow us to do our duty. We would not like to use force.”
“Tell the Grand Regent that Karna is not available,” Aswathama said and shoved the Captain back.
The scene was becoming uglier by the minute as the soldiers got ready to charge.
“What is going on here?” Suyodhana was relieved to hear Vidhura’s voice. The Prime Minister came hurrying towards them and the soldiers bowed low.
“Sir, what is all this?” Aswathama enquired of Vidhura.
***
Karna knew the very air of this palace was oppressive to Vrishali. She had boiled with rage when her maid told her what had occurred in the Sabha. How could a man like Karna stoop to this level, she had asked. He had no answer. “You are not the Karna I know,” she finally said. He had behaved like a common lout, ordering a woman to be stripped in public. He had tried to justify himself saying Draupadi had insulted him and she was just a whore who shared her bed with five men. But Vrishali had lifted an eyebrow in dis
dain and asked whether it was his bitterness towards Draupadi for spurning him as a suitor that made him hate her. He had looked away knowing it was true but unable to admit it even to himself. Deep in the recesses of his troubled heart, Karna still loved Draupadi.
Karna’s justifications grew weaker as time went by. When he said he had done it for his friend, something snapped inside. Was it fair to blame Suyodhana for what he had done?
“Let us leave all this, Karna, and go far from here, where no one knows who we are,” Vrishali begged earnestly.
Before he could answer, there was an urgent banging on the door. Karna quickly strode over to open it, glad of the reprieve it gave him from answering his wife. Aswathama’s face stared up at him. In the dim light he saw armed soldiers behind his friend.
“Karna, run! I’ll hold these scoundrels,” Aswathama shouted, pushing back the Captain. The soldiers clanged their swords against their shields in warning.
“Run?” Karna asked, jerking back his head. “But why?”
Karna saw Suyodhana’s worried face appear. He looked back at Vrishali and flinched at the look of hatred those eyes bore towards his friend. ‘No, Vrishali, Suyodhana is not to blame,’ he wanted to say. There was so much to explain to her. Karna looked at her heavily pregnant body, wanting to protect her from all harm, but Suyodhana grasped his arm.
“You are not running anywhere; let us see the Grand Regent.”
As the tall form of Karna stepped forward to walk beside his friends, behind them the soldiers of Hastinapura stood ready to arrest him at the slightest nod from the Grand Regent and hand him over to the Confederate.
*****
4 THE CHALLENGE
BHISHMA ORDERED THE GUARDS TO OPEN the door to his chambers. Prince Suyodhana entered. “My apologies for disturbing your rest, Pitamaha, but Karna, King of Anga, wishes to speak with you urgently.”
Bhishma frowned, undecided. His mind was in turmoil. He knew he was being unfair to the Suta. When he took his decision, he had acted to save face. Now, the prospective of having to face Karna made the Grand Regent uneasy. The last thing he wanted was to see Suyodhana or his cronies. ‘Scoundrels! Shameless creatures!’ he told himself, trying to recapture the rage he had felt scorching him that afternoon.
Karna entered and bowed. What was this Suta doing in his chambers? He had to be bundled off to the South without delay. He could not look into Karna glowing eyes. What strange eyes the Suta had, Bhishma thought irrelevantly for a moment. He was about to order them out when Vidhura entered.
“Yes, honourable Prince? Who is your next victim? Are even your mother and sister safe?” Bhishma asked testily, unwilling to acknowledge Karna even by a stare. A guard came in and lit the lamps in the room. Bhishma’s eyes caught the glitter of diamond ear studs in Karna’s ears and felt irrational rage. Karna was making him look small. “Yes?” Bhishma’s eyebrows arched, a distasteful frown wrinkling his brow.
Suyodhana was taken aback by his grandsire’s icy tone. “I…I deeply regret what has happened, but why arrest Karna?”
“And you have nothing more to say than you deeply regret...?” Bhishma moved closer to the Crown Prince.
“Pitamaha, that woman insulted me. You know what happened at Indraprastha. I am a Kshatriya. You cannot expect me to take such an insult lying down. I stood naked in their court. I was ridiculed and shamed. How do you want me to take it?” Suyodhana’s anger rose. Why was everyone blaming only him? Was it his fault Yudhishtra had gambled and lost?
“You are destroying this country.” Bhishma’s nostrils flared. His eyes were cold and hard.
“Destroying this country? I didn’t see this anger when the Pandavas destroyed Khandivaprastha. I didn’t see you take action when my Aunt Kunti had six Nishadas murdered.” Enough! He was not going to take these accusations lying down anymore. They were all partial to his cousins – Pitamaha, Guru Drona, everyone. Only his friends had stood by him.
“How dare you talk to an elder in this fashion, Suyodhana?”
“Pitamaha, I am not a child. I won this country.”
“Won this country? Has this Suta given you such silly ideas? He is going to be your ruin, young man.”
“What has happened to make you so angry, Pitamaha? We only threatened to strip her, we did not...”
“You arrogant fool! How dare you try to justify your behaviour?”
“Sir, I did not touch the woman.”
“Leave this room, now!”
“If you wish. But tell me why you are arresting Karna.”
“Because the Southern Confederate wants his head. Because he cheated his Guru. They have declared war on Hastinapura. If I do not hand over this Suta, they will ransack Hastinapura.”
“Sir, what is my crime?” Karna asked, lifting his eyes to the Grandsire’s face.
Bhishma covered his hesitation in a bout of coughing. He did not have an answer. The Suta’s eyes pierced his conscience. “I will not spill my soldiers’ blood over a Suta.”
“Sir, I am a low-caste but am I not a warrior too? I have fought for Hastinapura. I have protected her whenever she has been threatened. Allow me a warrior’s death, not that of a criminal. I request this from one warrior to another,” Karna said.
“Warrior? A man who condones the stripping of a woman in public cannot call himself a warrior.”
“Yes, it was a grave mistake. Will you forever hold it against us? Is there no place for forgiveness in your eyes, Sir?” Karna asked, desperation in his voice.
“You know that woman got what she deserved.” Suyodhana glared back defiantly at his great-uncle.
Karna quickly moved to the fore, pushing back his angry friend. He bowed low before Bhishma. “Sir, please accept my apologies. I beg your pardon for our dishonourable conduct. Allow me a chance to fight my enemies.”
“Fight? You think you can fight Parashurama?”
“Jayadratha has three thousand men and complete trust in Karna’s abilities. Karna can lead the soldiers of Sindh to take on the Southern Confederate. We just need your permission,” said Suyodhana.
Jayadratha, standing in a corner of the chamber with Aswathama, was shocked to hear it. Why should he lend his soldiers to the Suta? How could his brother-in-law promise his friend what was not his? He mulled over the proposal in his mind and decided to wait till he knew what came of this interesting conversation. Maybe he could make a bargain with Suyodhana, for the favour he was doing.
Bhishma gave a snort. “Three thousand men and this Suta to lead them? To face an army numbering a lakh of men? Led by none other than Parashurama himself. Do you not know I fought him for six hard months, with the entire might of Hastinapura behind me? Did I claim victory? All I got was a disadvantageous truce! Do you young hotheads even know what you are saying?”
Suyodhana looked at the Grand Regent and said clearly, “Sir, Karna has done nothing wrong.”
“Vidhura, are they crazy or just plain stupid? Fools! Now listen to me. If you want to fight this war, fight it far from Hastinapura. Suta, your ego and arrogance are galling, but I will not stop you. Just stay away from my city.”
“Sir, we will take...” Suyodhana stopped short when Bhishma raised his hand.
“We? Who is this ‘we’? You are not going anywhere, Suyodhana. I cannot, in all conscience, send you on such a suicidal mission. You will stay here in Hastinapura and learn to rule. You have done a shameful thing today. You will have to learn to face your subjects. You cannot run from your responsibilities. Let this Suta fight and die at the hands of the Southern Confederate. I will not stop him.”
“I do not expect Prince Suyodhana to come with me,” Karna said.
Bhishma stared at them and then said to Suyodhana, his face expressionless, “At least the Suta has some sense.”
“Sir, you are insulting me,” retorted Suyodhana, his eyes ablaze.
“It was meant to be so. Neither you nor your cousin Yudhishtra are fit to rule. You have demonstrated that to the whole world today.??
?
“Pitamaha! Do you not yourself cling to power? How can you then accuse everyone else of being fools?”
Bhishma remained standing, his face devoid of expression. Vidhura rushed to Bhishma. Still staring at Suyodhana, the Grand Regent slowly sat, his head bent, not wanting these young men to catch him in a moment of weakness. After all the sacrifices he had made, after all the wars he had fought, after all the hard work, this is what he got; he bit his lips in bitterness. Power! When had he ever been hungry for power? He had always carried it as a burden. He could have been King, yet he had remained true to his vow, and this is what he got for his sacrifice. And that too from the boy he had loved the most. This ungrateful lad! Was this Suta so important that Suyodhana would speak to him so? The Crown Prince had to be saved from Karna. Hastinapura had to be saved from this arrogant low-caste upstart.
Only the white-knuckled grip on the armrests betrayed the Grand Regent’s emotions. ‘Three decades of selfless service and I have to live to see this day,’ he thought bitterly. Bhishma could feel Vidhura’s comforting presence. Who knew, perhaps even Vidhura would turn against him one day.
With sudden energy, he pushed away Vidhura and stood erect. Although his eyes glistened with unshed tears, he was the Grand Regent of the Kurus once again. He turned to Suyodhana and the Crown Prince took a step back. But Karna stood his ground, putting himself between Suyodhana and the Grand Regent.
“Move away, Suta, I have something to say to my grand-nephew.”
Karna and Bhishma stared at each other. It was Karna who looked away and stepped back to stand behind Suyodhana.
“Suyodhana, foolish son, you think you can make me feel guilty and I will toe the line? You think this Suta can fight and win against Parashurama? Ha! I am still the only man equal to Parashurama.”