As Karna - Out of my depth

five

It is in that veritable silence, amidst the tension and apprehension of all people and the heart stopping terror on my father's face that I realized, very late mind you, that the voice mine and now the eyes of nearly the entire court are on me. I could feel the sweat on my palms, thundering of my heart and hairs on my neck, it is now, this entire thing has become too real for me.

Till now, every thing has been fun and games, the love of my parents and my brothers has been like a dream of the heaven. But now, the reality of this blood drenched story slapped me awake to the reality. For the first time in my new life, I have faced the situation that had me feel like shaking with fear. The situation is too real and the consequences too dire. I brought forth my resolve and courage from the depths of my heart because I can't fail here. The life of my brother is the line and little Swarnajeet is relying on me. I cannot face my mother if I let go of my brother like this. I have to be the big brother my little idiots believed me to be.

Bheeshma's POV:

The Great Elder of the Kuru clan, Mahaamahim Bheeshm , was the first to get over the shock that somebody has dared to halt the King's court. Even the commander of the mighty army of the Kurus was surprised that the thundering command has come from a boy, nay a child seeming to be no older than 11. But that surprise didn't stop him from observing the eldest child of Adhirath. He could see that the child is indeed special as expected when he intended to join the army at such an young age, he can see that the child didn't realize what was going on and that his mouth moved on its own. But, he can also see the resolve forming in his heart as the child prepared to do something. He commanded, " Speak child! why did you halt the king's punishment or do you think you are eligible to question the learned men of the country? " He knows he is overly harsh on the child drowned in grief and fear, but he could not allow the disrespect to the crown.

Karna's POV:

Hearing the command of Honourable Bheeshma, my thoughts immediately came to a halt. I opened my mouth to present my argument, suddenly a great amount of knowledge came to the forefront of my mind, this I realized is the knowledge from my boon. Truly, i had to marvel at the knowledge that I realised was from Ravana. He truly was a genius in many disciplines and has no equal in his scholarly pursuits making him worthy of the title Ravanabrahma.

I immediately bowed to the Royals and spoke, " O great king of Kurus and the learned men of the court, please forgive my impudence in disturbing the proceedings. It was not my intention to cause any disrespect, but my haste to stop the grievous injustice to my brother made me forget my position. O the foremost of the warriors and scholars of Aryavarta, Please give me a chance to say my argument, if you feel it is not right then I will accept any punishment as my due." 

The King who was already sympathatic to my father, was intrigued and gave me the chance to present my argument. He ordered, silencing the court, " O Adhiratha ( son of Adhirath), Speak child! Tell me who you are and share your thoughts, why do you consider this an injustice? Did you not listen when the learned Brahmans said that those mantras are for the ears of only Brahmans and Kshatriyas? But, forget not, fail to convince us and you will face double the punishment of your brother."

With this order, the faces of those brahmanas who accused my brother began to glow. I think the prospect of punishing two children in place of one excited them. Truly, Brahmans of this period are blood thirsty, nothing like those priests I met in various temples. I immediately thanked the King and started my argument as there is no place for any doubt because a small mistake my parents two sons instead of one as before. I decided if worst comes to worst I will fight with my entire power and give my family time to escape as that is the least I can do for them. I shook my head to push those thoughts aside and started to speak, " O Great king! As you said it is indeed said that the mantras are for the ears of the Kshatriyas and Brahmanas. But, my king, it is also said that the Varnas ( castes) are based on the work and not on birth. If the learned men of the court say it is the birth that determines the cast, the did the great sage Vishwamitra, born in the Kshatriya caste, become a Brahmarshi,a brahman. Our Vedas state that

the one who possess Brahma's knowledge is a Brahmana,

the one who learned weaponry is a Kshatriya,

the one who does trade is a Vaishya,

and the one who serves is a Sudra.

By these lines, O king, a person may be born in any clan can become a scholar (Brahmana) or a warrior ( Kshatriya).

It is said that Lord Brahma created everything be they living or non living, O king, so it can be said that the lord Brahma is the father of all living things. My father has three sons, Just like you , my king, have 102 children. my father treats us all three equally just as you do all the princes and princess. So, my king, if a father treats all his children equally, doesn't Lord Brahma, the creator of the world look at them equally? If the creator of the world looks at all children equally and provides them equal opportunities to become what they wish, who are we to restrict the children born in different castes from learning. By distinguishing the varnas based on profession, a child cannot have a varna before taking up the position. So if my brother is guilty of hearing the mantras restricted to Kshatriyas and brahmanas, then all the children who have not yet become kshatriyas or brahmanas i.e, those who do not have the brahmagnana or who didnot learn the weaponry are also guilty. If those children who are learning to become brahmins and kshatriyas can listen to these mantras then my brother is also eligible to listen them because my brother may also become a brahmana like sage Vishwamitra. "