Karna, My Son: Chapter 17
by The Story of Draupadi’s Birth:
Story so far –Pandavas escape Kauravas’ attempts on their lives several times, including the plot to set them on fire at Varanavata. They escape the wax palace and live at Ekachakra in a Brahmin’s house disguised as Brahmins. Bheema kills a demon called Vakasura who had terrorized the city.
The guest Brahmin reclined on his seat and let out a satisfied burp. He thanked all of us for a good meal that had wiped out all the tiredness of non-stop six hours of walking.
“Tell us all the interesting news,” we said, and the man began his animated narration, having found an eager audience. He gave us many pieces of information, but what caught our imagination most were the tales from Panchala.
Panchala and its valiant but proud king Drupada were not unknown to us. Drona had asked both Pandavas and Kauravas at the end of their education to vanquish Drupada and bring him as a prisoner. This is my gurudakshina1, Drona had said. Kauravas met with failure, but Arjuna and his brothers did the bidding successfully. Drupada stood before Drona, his head hung in shame. Drona took for himself the half of Panchala kingdom that lay to the north of Bhagirathi, or Ganges, leaving the Southern kingdom for Drupada. Drona had taunted, “Now that we are equal, we can be friends, isn’t it?” viciously reminding him his arrogant refusal of friendship earlier. Drupada had said he was touched by the magnanimity of Drona, but it was a humiliation nevertheless, and it rankled him.
The memory of this humiliation robbed his sleep totally. He concluded that he wanted a son as powerful as Arjuna, and a daughter who could turn Arjuna into his ally by marrying him. For making this heady fancy a reality, he needed the services of spiritually powerful priests, and he set out in search of them.
Finally, he found two Brahamin brothers Yaja and Upayaja in a hermitage and brought them to his kingdom. With their help, massive preparations were rolled out for a big ‘Yagya’ – a fire sacrifice – that went on for many days. At the concluding moment, the presiding priest asked Drupada’s wife to come and accept the sanctified libation, but she requested for more time to present herself. The priest didn’t wish to wait, and he poured the libation into the Sacrificial Fire.
There arose from the Fire a young man, resplendent and energetic, and a heavenly voice prophesied that he would cause Drona’s destruction. Soon after, a beautiful, dark complexioned maiden arose from the center of the sacrificial platform. The fragrance from her body could be felt from a distance of two miles! The voice from above said, “This slender-waisted Krishnaa (dark complexioned) will be the cause of the destruction of many Kshatriyas and accomplish the purpose of the gods.”
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Post Commentfoxpete88
On May 1, 2011 at 4:40 am
interesting reading to follow. thanks.-
lian rosa
On May 1, 2011 at 5:09 am
Wow! What a revelation by Vyasa. Now, I am thinking how this information will help the Pandavas later on.
ravitej
On May 1, 2011 at 6:00 am
intresting story.
galore
On May 1, 2011 at 9:41 am
Nice tail from Mahabhart, Thanks from sharing
juliachild
On May 1, 2011 at 2:46 pm
great work
R K Vajpeyi
On May 1, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Interesting as ever. I keep dying of curiosity for the next part and then the process restarts
Ruby Hawk
On May 1, 2011 at 8:51 pm
Uma, you have interesting stories to tell. Thanks for sharing with us.
Ambi2010
On May 1, 2011 at 10:48 pm
will be waiting for next chapter
The Silver Phoenix
On May 2, 2011 at 1:34 pm
it’s getting more and more interesting. superb chapter.
thresiapaulose
On May 4, 2011 at 5:48 pm
My sister Uma,
this way of story-telling really interesting. though I have read the main story of Mahabharatha this is really interesting. Thank you.
Galvatron3000
On May 10, 2011 at 12:21 am
Ive been reading the series over the days, and I must say, your talent as a writer is truly diverse and exceptional. Consider this an instant Bestseller if you ever publish it.