Changing Destiny

6. Sparring with Bheem-1

 Karn woke up the next day and got ready for his morning prayers to surya dev. He saw his mother already awake.

"Good morning mother", Karn said.

"Good morning Putr. Is Vrushali awake?", she asked.

"No maa! She is still sleeping. If she wakes up tell her that I have gone to the river bank for my morning prayers. Later I have go to the palace", Karn said.

"Putr do you have to return to Anga so soon?", Radha ma asked.

"No maa. In my absence, the Pradhan mantra will take care of the national affairs. By palace I meant the Hastinapur palace. A royal feast has been planned and Maharaj Dhritirashtran asked me to help in overseeing the preparations", Karn said.

"He has 100 sons along with 5 more rajkumars and yet you are getting dumped with all these works huh?", Radha ma asked with a small frown.

"Maata! Maharaj knows well that if those princes are given these works, they will be fighting with each other and the work will not be done. Someone has to do the job. It is an honor Maata", Karn replied.

"I know Putr. But as a mother I can't help being worried about you. Eat properly and don't stress yourself over the work.", his mother said.

"Sure ma I promise", he said.

"And this is more important- do not get involved in unnecessary arguments or fights.", she said hoping her son would understand. And of course he did. He nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry maa. Not only me, I am gonna make sure that no one fights", he said with a tone of finality.

"I am proud of you Putr", Radha ma said.

"Yes I know", he winked at his mother with a smile, "It is getting late. Let me take my leave", he said.

"Goodbye Putr. All the best", she said.

He smiled and left.

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After finishing his prayers, Karn was on the way to the Palace. The whole way his mind was going back to the conversation he had with his wife the previous night.

"Its okay to be the eldest", she had said.

"Treat them like children", she had said.

"It's okay to yield when necessary", she had said.

Karn was in deep thoughts. 'Soon Maharaj has to announce the crown prince. If the Pandavs and Kauravs keep being at each other's throats then the whole kingdom will fall. I can't let that happen'.

'Why do you care?', his mind asked.

'I don't know. Maybe it is the right thing to do', he replied.

'They insulted you. They don't like you', his mind said.

'So what? They are like kids. I will make them realize their mistake. I will make them like me as well as each other', he replied.

'I don't think it is possible', his mind said bitterly.

'Maybe it is time for me to stop talking to you and start listening to my heart', he shut his mind up. And by that time, he had reached the palace.

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Bheem was examining his weapon in the training area.

"May I join you?", he heard a voice behind him. He turned around to find Angaraj in simple clothes.

"Good Morning Angaraj. What do you want today?", he asked.

"Well Prince Bheem.. I am a man of my words. So here I am to accompany you in your daily practice", he said with a smile.

"Oh welcome Angaraj", Bheem said, "I thought you would chicken out", he added with a playful smirk.

"Hello Prince Bheem! Have you met me?", Karn returned the smirk.

Meanwhile they got into their position for sparring.

"Last chance for stepping out Angaraj. I am not going to pull back my thunderbolt like punches", Bheem boasted.

"I don't expect you to do so", Karn replied without batting an eye and taunted him to start.

And then the match started except and at the same time silence filled the large area except for a few groans and grunts. After one look at Bheem, Angaraj decided to break the silence.

"My mouth is not tied up Prince Bheem. I can answer your questions", Karn said panting. Before Bheem could say anything, Karn raised his hand, "Don't even try to deny it because your face says it all".

Bheem had a conflicting look between whether to ask or ignore but then decided to go with the former.

"Well Angaraj, I don't beat around the bush so, why are you playing nice all of a sudden?", Bheem asked going straight to the point with a frown on his face.

"No Prince Bheem. I am always nice", Karn replied, "When was I not a nice person?", he asked.

"Come on! You are Duryodhan's friend", Bheem replied with a shrug.

"How does that make me a bad person? I am Duryodhan's friend. But that does not mean I don't like you. And that definitely does not mean I am not a nice person", Karn said.

"If you were a nice person, you wouldn't have agreed to the throne of Anga – Angaraj", Bheem said. As the conversation went deeper, the punches got stronger.

"Well that was my only chance to prove my talent. I didn't forget that days events. Does bad mouthing a person based on their caste a right thing to do Prince Bheem?", Karn asked with a smirk, "Duryodhan was the only one who saw me for my talent beyond my caste. Now tell me who is the bad person?, he asked.

"You are indebted to him. So you keep supporting him. What if he is using you?", Bheem asked.

"You know what? He was using me. But the roots of friendship are stronger than your strengths Prince Bheem. He gave me a genuine apology as well as to my parents for having selfish motives initially. And then he promised me with blood that he would never do that to me again", Karn said.

"And you believed him?", Bheem asked.

"No – not at first. But I believed the moment Maharaj Dhritirashtran asked me to perform the Rajyasuya yogam for Anga if I wanted to. Ganga Putr Bheeshm said me that Duryodhan convinced Maharaj", Karn said.

"Whaaaaatttt?!! Why didn't you do it?", Bheem was puzzled.

"That moment I found a selfless friend in Duryodhan. So I kindly rejected the proposal", Karn said.

Bheem was shocked. "I could not believe this. I don't know if I could ever", he said.

"OK! Tell me something. why do you hate him?", Karn asked.

"Well he tried to kill me when we were kids", Bheem said as if it is a most casual thing.

"WHAAAATTTTTT?', Karn was shocked and stopped sparing which earned him a punch to his jaw.

"Ooopppssss!!"

"He tried to kill you when you were KIDS?", Karn's voice shook in disbelief.

"Yes he poisoned me. That's why I hate him. He is a venomous snake since his childhood", Bheem spat out.

Karn went silent.

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NOTE: That's it for today. Ooooohhhhh the conversation just got interesting. Why was Karn so shocked? Why did he go silent? Is he rethinking about his friendship with Duryodhan? Stay tuned to find out. Feel free to express what you think about this chapter in the comment box and don't forget to vote. Your support is my fuel.