THE MAHABHARATA: A Modern Rendering, Vol 1 (78 page)

SIX THE BRAHMANA AT NOON
 

At dawn, it seemed the sun rose slowly, as if to postpone the hour of Karna’s worship. But rise above the world he must and he did so, inevitably. Karna was in a fever, impatient for the star to climb to midheaven. He was full of an urgent sense of destiny.

At last, the time for his worship came and Karna stood bare-bodied at noon, with his hands folded over his head, staring at the sun above and chanting the Surya mantra. At the end of an hour, just as he lowered his face, he heard a thin voice beside him, begging weakly, “Alms, O king, alms for a poor brahmana.”

Karna turned and saw an aged and emaciated brahmana, with both shaking hands outstretched. “Alms, alms. I have come to you for alms. I have heard you never send anyone away empty-handed at this hour.”

His heart beating wildly, Karna stared at the old brahmana, incredulous that this was the king of the Devas who stood before him. After a long moment, Karna said, “What are the alms you want, old one?”

“I want no cows, no jewels, no gold, Karna,” the brahmana replied. “I don’t want what other brahmanas ask for.”

“Then what can I give you?”

The brahmana’s eyes lighted lovingly on, first, Karna’s kundala in his ears, then strayed down to the golden mail on his chest, which was like his skin. The mendicant whispered, “Those! Your kavacha and your kundala.”

Karna laughed. He had decided to make Indra beg a little. He said slowly, “Strange alms for a brahmana! What will you do with these?”

“I have heard you are the greatest alms-giver in the world, Karna,” said the brahmana.

“I will give you other kavacha and kundala, brahmana, as many as you want, as priceless as you please. But these are part of my body, they cannot be removed.”

“It is your kavacha and kundala I have come for. They are all I want.”

“I will give you vast wealth, I will give you my very kingdom. But not these.”

“I have come only for your golden kavacha and kundala. Cut them from your body and give them to me. I have heard you never refuse anything you are asked at this hour. Have I heard wrongly?”

Delighted that he could tantalize the Deva king, Karna said, “Brahmana, perhaps you don’t know what you are asking for. The sheen of my kavacha and kundala attract you; but when you hear what they mean to me, I am sure you will not want them.

Muni, these are no common armor and earrings. They are the guardians of my life, for they have been dipped in the amrita the Devas drink. I was born with these, my lord, to be an invincible warrior. I have sworn to my friend Duryodhana that I will kill Arjuna and win the war of the age for him.

So, ask me for something else, anything at all. But leave me my kavacha and kundala.”

The brahmana repeated, “It is for your kavacha and kundala that I have come a long way. It is these I want from you and nothing else.”

Karna saw the anxiety on his face and began to laugh. “Why do you laugh?” cried the brahmana.

Folding his hands, Karna said, “Because I know who you are, my Lord! I am blessed, O Indra, that you, the greatest Deva, the most munificent of all alms-givers, have come for alms to a mortal. I know why you want my kavacha and kundala; I know for whose sake you have come. And though it is my life you have come begging for, I am proud to give you even that at this sacred hour.”

Karna drew his sword and severed the armor from his chest, cutting golden links and the kundala from his ears, drawing more blood1. Smiling, be set them down at the astonished God’s feet. “Here, my Lord, the alms of Karna’s life. For I never refuse anyone at this hour, be it anything they come to beg for.”

Karna’s face shone in the grace of this ultimate charity: when he gave away his own life. He was so ecstatic he wept. Flowers of light fell on him out of heaven and Indra stood revealed before him, the Deva’s eyes also full.

Indra said, “You are the noblest man I ever saw. Ask me for any boon and I will give it to you. You can have anything except my Vajra.”

1. Ganguli’s text says he is called Karna for this severing of his earrings.

Karna said, “For me, to ask a gift in return is not to give at all. My charity would lose honor if I took something from you. Yet now, I will indeed ask you for a gift and I will tell you why.

My Lord, out of your love for Arjuna and his brothers, you asked me for my life, at a time when I would dishonor myself if I refused you. Indra, the world shall speak ill of you for this. Give me your Shakti for the kavacha and the kundala, so men will say Indra gave Karna his own ayudha in return for what he took from him. The Shakti will not save my life; that is doomed, anyway. But I feel strange love for you and I want to protect your reputation.”

Indra could hardly believe the warrior before him, whom he had come to betray to his death, was a mortal man. He breathed, “Today you have conquered the king of the Devas. There shall be no scar on your body where you cut away the kavacha and kundala.”

Indra raised his hand and those wounds vanished. The God said, “May your body be brighter than it was when you wore your armor” and Karna was radiant. “As for the Shakti, I will give it to you. You may use it only once and it will destroy the one at whom you cast it. Then it will return to me and you will never see it again.

Karna smiled, “I need to use it only once. I have only one enemy.”

Indra grew very still. “Krishna protects my son. You cannot kill Arjuna even with my Shakti.”

Karna said, “We shall see, my Lord. At least, I can try to win the war for Duryodhana.”

“Win or lose the war, it is a small matter. Today you have won immortal fame with the alms you have given me. I name you Vaikartana for cutting your kavacha from your flesh; and men will say, ever after, that the greatest of all alms-givers was not Indra, but Karna. As long as the world lives, Karna, your fame shall live in it.

But now, it is time I left you.”

Indra picked up the golden kavacha and kundala that lay at his feet. They shone more brilliantly than ever at his touch. But Karna knelt before the Deva and said, “Ah, my Lord, I feel I have made a friend of you today and that you have some affection for me. I have another gift to ask of you, incalculably dearer than the one I asked for before.”

“What is it, O prince among men?”

“Cast your light upon my deepest sorrow, O Indra. Tell me who my natural father is and my mother.”

Indra’s eyes were full of pity. He said gently, “It is not fated you know that secret yet and I cannot change fate. But, one day, you will surely know,” he added thoughtfully, “and he who tells you shall be a greater one than me.”

Karna smiled in resignation and, wiping his tears, said, “No matter, then. I will carry my grief until the time comes for me to know the truth.” He laughed, “Besides, I am lighter now since I gave away my kavacha. Lighter than I have ever been, lighter by my very life!”

Indra laid his hand on Karna’s head. “May your name be a sweet fragrance through time. And those who merely hear about this deed of yours, even in the vilest days of the kali yuga, they shall not stray from the path of truth.”

The day was dark now, because the sun hid his face behind some clouds in sorrow. A breeze stirred around Karna and Indra; a thin drizzle fell upon them; the earth was full of soft joy. Taking the kavacha and kundala, Indra vanished before Karna’s eyes.

Karna was happy. Though he had possibly lost his life, the Deva had given him something far more precious. Indra had blessed him with immortal fame.

SEVEN THE QUEEN’S SAIRANDHRI
 

In the city of Virata, queen Sudeshna grew very fond of her exquisite flower girl and Panchali was well cared for in the palace. Malini the sairandhri was quite above the jealousies and intrigues that haunt every harem and despite her beauty, all the queen’s women liked her.

Eleven peaceful, comfortable months passed. Only once, when he arrived unannounced in his wife’s apartment, did king Virata catch a glimpse of Malini. He said breathlessly to his wife, “Who is that sakhi of yours? Send her to me tonight.”

“My lord, not her! She is a strange creature, cursed to be apart from her gandharva husbands for a year. But they watch over her, invisibly. If you seduce Malini you will invite your death to you.”

Virata was wise enough never to pursue Draupadi, or even ask after her again. But Sudeshna had a brother called Keechaka. He was a fierce kshatriya, the Senapati of Virata’s army. When the Pandavas came to the Matsya kingdom, Keechaka, an insatiable conqueror, was away on a campaign. The sons of Pandu had been in Virata for eleven months, when one day Keechaka came home with his legions and ample treasures, the spoils of war.

There was singing and dancing in the streets, a procession and then a banquet in the king’s halls. It was early evening when Keechaka managed to tear himself away from the festivity and visit his sister in her apartment. He was much younger than Sudeshna, almost like a son to her and she received him excitedly. They sat together for an hour, while she fed him all the dainties he had loved since he was a boy. Whenever they were together, it was as if they were children again.

It was getting late, time for Keechaka to return to his own palace. He paused at Sudeshna’s window and said wistfully, “Your garden is in bloom. How lovely it is and how peaceful, after all the killing I have seen and done this past year.”

Sudeshna said, “Why don’t you walk back through my garden? There is a small gate below it, you can go that way.”

Sniffing the breeze outside and the scents of flowers, Keechaka kissed his sister and went out through the window. It was as if fate called him. He strolled along the garden-paths, alone, stroking soft petals with his warrior’s hands. He was pensive, an unusual mood for him. Turning a final corner, he saw the little pavilion at the bottom of Sudeshna’s garden, tucked away in a stand of trees. The sun was setting and, framed starkly against its last light, Keechaka saw the most beautiful woman he had ever set eyes on. She stood in the small cloister, her dark face turned toward the sinking sun. She was far away, in a world of her own.

Keechaka looked at her and knew his life would never be the same again. He stood transfixed, staring at the vision before him, knowing himself lost. Sudeshna had given Draupadi freedom of this garden; she came here to be alone with her sorrows and her yearnings. Today, from her window, she had watched Keechaka’s triumphal entry into the city. It had stirred memories in her: of how Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva had ridden into Indraprastha during the days of the Rajasuya yagna. Full of nostalgia, she had come here to cry alone.

As she stood watching the sunset, a man’s deep voice hailed her, “Who are you?”

Draupadi whirled around to find Keechaka standing at the foot of the steps to the little arbor. His eyes roved over her body in naked adoration. Seeing him look like that, Draupadi ran down the steps on the far side of the pavilion, but Keechaka caught up with her.

He seized her arm and said hoarsely, “Who are you? This is not the first time I have come to my sister’s palace, but I have never seen you before. For if I had, my life would have changed forever.”

He devoured her with his gaze. Slowly, he whispered, “I never knew any woman could be so beautiful. You are a human woman, aren’t you? Or are you a Goddess? Why are you by yourself, without a man? What a terrible waste! Tell me who you are, I want to be your slave.”

Draupadi shivered at his touch. She cried, “I am your sister’s flower girl Malini. I am a servant here, please let me go. It is not right that a man of your nobility speaks to a mere maid.”

“Maid!” he roared. “I will make you my wife. My only wife from now and all the others your slaves. I am Keechaka, the real master of this land. There is no man on earth as strong as I am Malini, though now your beauty makes me dizzy and I feel as weak as a young bird in spring!

Come with me, be my wife. Your slightest whim shall be my command. The king is no king at all; he dare not raise his voice against me. Keechaka rules and you shall be as a queen beside him. I am in love with you, Malini and I realize now that I have never known love before. All my time, all my strength and power shall be as incense at the altar of this love. You are my life from now. I beg you, come with me.”

She trembled when she saw he was serious. She wrested her arm from his grasp. She saw his eyes fill and he knelt before her!

Draupadi said, “It is not proper for a kshatriya to speak to a maidservant. You could have any woman in this city. You must have many lovely wives already. My lord, a man should say such things only to his wife.

Besides, you mistake me, Keechaka: I am not a single woman. I have five gandharva husbands, who let me live in queen Sudeshna’s palace, saying I would be safe here. They are dangerous and would kill you, if they knew you spoke to me as you have done. I beg you, leave me alone.”

She turned to go, but with a cry, he seized her ankle. She said, “You are tying a noose around your neck, mistaking it for a garland of flowers. I warn you, don’t play with your life; my husbands are immortals. You are a powerful man in this kingdom. You have a family, wives and children you love and who love you. Don’t throw all that away for the sake of this brief madness. I warn you again, Keechaka, if you pursue me my husbands will kill you.”

His grip was numb on her foot; Keechaka was like a dreaming man. Draupadi freed herself and fled from the garden. He still knelt there, dazed. Then, slowly, he pulled himself up and walked back to Sudeshna’s palace.

She rose in surprise when she saw him. When she saw how he looked, Sudeshna cried, “What happened, Keechaka? Why are you back?”

Keechaka covered his face with his hands and fell on her bed. Anxiously, she cried again, “Has something happened to you, my child? Tell me what it is. You were well when you left here, just moments ago.”

Keechaka said nothing for a while; then he sat up. His eyes burning, he asked, “Who is she, Sudeshna? Who is your sairandhri? I have never seen anyone like her before. I must have her for myself, or I will die.

I confessed my love. I offered to marry her, but she ran from me. Ah, my body is on fire and my heart is trying to break out of my chest. Sudeshna, I will die if I don’t hold her in my arms!”

Alarmed, Sudeshna sat beside him. She stroked his face and said, “Malini came to me eleven months ago, asking for a year’s sanctuary. She is a wonderful young woman, charming and honest as she is beautiful. Yet she is full of some deep sorrow and keeps much to herself, though she serves me well as a flower girl. But Keechaka, she is more than what she seems. She is married to five gandharvas; they have been cursed to be apart from her for a year.

One day, Virata saw her and he also wanted her. But when I warned him about the gandharvas, he was wise enough to leave her alone. You must also forget about Malini. She is mysterious and ominous powers lurk near her.

I have a hundred lovely sakhis. Choose any of them but Malini and I will send her to you tonight. For your very life, Keechaka, forget about the sairandhri.”

Keechaka laughed grimly. “How can you ask me to think of another woman after I have seen Malini? My old life is behind me, now that I have seen her; I feel I have been born again. And if I could hold her in my arms, I shall have the kingdom of the Gods! She is a sacred flame and her eyes are like sparks leaping from it. Oh Sudeshna, I don’t think you realize what seeing your sairandhri has done to me.

As for the gandharva husbands, you forget I am not an old man like Virata. I am Keechaka! For her I would kill a hundred gandharvas; how can five keep me from having her?

And it seems you know little about women, though you are one yourself. Haven’t you seen her eyes, her flaming eyes? She is the kind of woman who cannot bear to be apart from her husband for even a day. I have known many women and she is surely the most exquisite one I ever saw. But I am sure she is the most passionate, as well.

You say she has five husbands and she has been away from them for eleven months. Can you imagine how she yearns for a strong man’s embrace? She will be easy to seduce. I must have her, Sudeshna; my life is worthless unless I have Malini. I see her in my arms, already. I hear her sighs, her cries of love.”

His sister saw how lost he was. Sudeshna was full of foreboding. But she saw that, if she did not help him, he would pursue Malini on his own. It was a choice between the word of protection she had given the sairandhri and her love for her brother. The queen thought, suppose he is right: perhaps the flower girl will give in to him and eagerly. Who was she, Sudeshna, to stand in his way, when he was so ardent for her?

She said, “I am full of fear for you, but I know you will not rest until you have seduced Malini. Go from here now, Keechaka and I will send her to you soon, for some wine perhaps. Woo her gently and I will be happy if you win her. But oh, my brother, if you fail and she is angry, I tremble for you. I fear her gandharvas, Keechaka, somehow I fear them terribly.”

Keechaka jumped up and hugged his sister. “No one loves me like you do! Just send her to me, the rest will be easy.”

He ran impatiently from her apartment, already imagining the moment when Malini would be in his bed. No woman he wanted had ever refused Keechaka before. He did not think the flower girl would be an exception. He imagined her very refusal to give in immediately was a sign that she desired him. Keechaka was borne away by a dangerous dream.