I walked through the stone hallways of the Hastinapur palace.
My mind was confused.
I wanted to fight for my rights and show my archery skills.
I wanted to prove I was better than Arjuna and show my worth to the world and I did it.
Because of this, I won the friendship of Duryodhana and became the King of Anga.
I thought that because I proved my worth, the world would treat me better.
But people still looked down on me because of my lower caste.
With pain in my heart, I went to my mother and father, Radha and Adhiratha.
I asked them to live with me in my new kingdom of Anga.
But they refused.
Adhiratha said, “A chariot driver only belongs in the stables.” They did not want to live with me.
I fought the entire world in the tournament ground to prove my greatness.
Now, even my own parents ran away from my success.
Lost in deep sadness, I walked through the royal hallway.
Then, the world seemed to slow down.
Walking from the other side of the hallway was Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas.
As she came closer, a strange pain grew deep in my chest.
I felt a strong, painful pull toward this woman.
My body acted on its own.
I stopped next to a silver pot filled with water and lotus flowers.
I bent down, picked a single white lotus, and stood in her path.
Kunti stopped.
I knelt down.
With great respect, I placed the lotus gently at her feet.
It was a silent, beautiful gift from an outcast to a queen.
When I looked up, I met her eyes.
For a moment, everything was silent.
Kunti’s eyes grew wide.
She felt a strange familiarity in her heart as she looked at me, a radiant young man.
She looked at the divine armor hidden under my royal clothes.
”What is the meaning of this?” a sharp, loud voice broke the silence.
The heavy sound of sandals echoed against the stone walls.
The Pandavas had arrived.
They stood around their mother like angry gods.
Their eyes locked onto me, the “Suta-putra” kneeling on the floor.
Bhima laughed in a mean, deep voice.
“A crow dressed in peacock feathers is still a crow, Karna.
Your hands are meant to hold the reins of horses, not to give royal gifts to the House of Kuru( kuruvansha).”
Arjuna stepped forward.
“Duryodhana’s charity gave you a crown, but it cannot give you royal blood.
So do not become arrogant, Karna.”
Nakula and Sahadeva also smiled meanly at the same time.
I stayed frozen on one knee.
But I was not looking at them.
Suddenly, the world went completely blank for me.
The loud voices of the Pandavas sounded far away, like they were speaking in underwater.
The bright colors of the world turned into a blinding white light.
A shockwave hit my brain, as if lightning had struck inside my mind.
In a single second, thirty-one years of my life as Karna flashed before my eyes.
I saw myself as a young boy wanting to hold a bow.
I felt the pain when Sage Drona rejected me.
I heard the voice of Sage Parashurama giving me his final, terrible curse.
And I felt deep gratitude toward Duryodhana.
He was the only man who helped me in a world that always kicked me.
But suddenly, a completely different kind of memory crashed into my mind.
It was my past life on Earth.
I was not just Karna.
In those other memories, my name was Varun.
Images of a modern world flooded my mind—cars, roads, airplanes, schools, classrooms, and my quiet life on Earth.
Along with these memories, I also knew the story of the Mahabharata epic because I had read it in that past life.
I saw the entire future: the house of wax, the cheating game of dice, the terrible humiliation of Draupadi, the thirteen years in the forest, and the bloody war of Kurukshetra.
I saw my own death.
I saw how my chariot wheel would sink into the mud, how I would forget my magic weapons because of the curse, and how Arjuna’s arrow would cut off my head while I stood helpless and unarmed.
I looked up at Kunti from the floor.
Suddenly, all the pieces of the puzzle connected in my broken mind.
She was my real mother.
The woman who threw me into the river as a baby to hide her secret was standing right in front of me.
And the four men shouting insults at me were my younger brothers.
Deep sadness washed over me as my two lives became one.
The joke played by fate was so cruel.
Why did my memories come back only now?
If I had remembered my past life when I was a child, I would have thrown my bow into the river.
I would have lived happily as a simple chariot driver’s son.
If I had remembered it before going to Mahendragiri mountain, I would never have lied to Sage Parashurama.
I would not have received that deadly curse.
If I had remembered it just yesterday, I would have skipped the tournament completely.
I would have let Arjuna have all the glory, and I would have refused the kingdom of Anga.
I would have avoided the unbreakable friendship with Duryodhana that forced me to stand on the bad side.
But the memories came now.
The tournament was over.
I was already the King of Anga.
I was already Duryodhana’s best friend.
The choice was already made.
I was trapped in the body of a tragic villain, but I had the mind of a modern man who knew exactly how the story would end.
”…Karna.”
My mind snapped back to reality.
Time moved normally again.
The four Pandavas had finally finished insulting me.
Yudhishthira stepped forward.
His voice was calm.
”Enough,” Yudhishthira commanded his younger brothers.
His look silenced Bheema and Arjuna.
He then looked at me.
“King Karna has done nothing wrong here.
King Karna, my brothers speak out of pride, not wisdom.
I do not hate you for what happened at the tournament.
You have won your kingdom, and we have our own path to walk.
I ask you to leave this place in peace.”
In my past life, before my memories joined together, the old Karna would have become very angry.
His hurt pride would have made him say bitter words.
He would have promised revenge and walked away in rage.
But I knew the tragic end of this story.
There was no need to waste words on them.
I looked at Yudhishthira.
I looked past him at Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva.
These were my real younger brothers.
They knew nothing about our blood relation, and they were just acting out of young arrogance.
I did not feel angry.
I only felt pity for them.
I turned around smoothly to leave.
But before I could take a third step, a shaking voice broke the silence of the hallway.
”Wait, King Karna.”
It was Kunti.
She walked past Yudhishthira.
Her face was pale as she looked at my back.
She looked down at the white lotus near her feet, and she felt a deep sadness that almost made her cry.
The divine glow of my armor made her motherly instincts scream inside her.
She wanted to throw away her pride and tell the world the truth: He is your own blood!
He is my first son!
He is your oldest brother!
But she was too afraid of royal shame and scandal.
The fear stopped the words in her throat.
She did not have the courage to destroy her own reputation and the royal status of her other sons.
She forced her voice to be steady.
”Do not speak to the King of Anga like this,” Kunti said, looking strictly at her sons.
“You are proud of your royal manners, yet you speak like this.
He is…”
”…he is like an older brother to you all in age.
He deserves basic respect when you speak to him.”
Bheema and Arjuna looked at each other, feeling very confused and suspicious.
But because they respected their mother, they stayed quiet.
Kunti looked back at me and stepped closer.
“In the arena today, King Karna, you showed great and terrifying power.
Your skills with the bow were unmatched.
You and my Arjuna are equal warriors.
The world has rarely seen two such masters.
I hope your heart does not hold anger for my sons’ foolish words.”
Before my memories returned, I would have yelled angrily, ‘I am not Arjuna’s equal, Queen Kunti, I am better than him!’ and walked away in rage.
But now, the praise meant nothing to me.
I saw the guilt hurting her soul.
I saw a mother trying to make herself feel better with compliments, while still keeping her first son hidden away as a secret.
I turned my head slightly to look at Kunti.
My face showed no emotion at all.
I simply accepted her words with a slow, silent nod of my head, turned around, and walked away.
My steady steps faded into the distance.
I left behind a shocked Kunti and the Pandavas.
They expected me to talk back.
This silent departure was not what they expected.
I walked faster, my mind racing.
I needed a quiet place.
I needed to organize my two sets of memories, understand the timeline.