KARNA: Son of the Charioteer

Under the scorching heat of the sun, the sky appeared blue, stretching wide without the presence of clouds.

Dry air blew gently as a young woman's hand trembled while lifting a baby to be placed in a wooden box. The brown wooden box had its every corner sealed with wax. No tears were seen in her eyes, only fear and anxiety.

The girl's face looked pale. Her parents would either exile her or even kill her with their own hands.

Only if they knew she had been involved with someone enough to bear a child without marriage.

She looked again at her baby, adorned with earrings and a necklace given by the baby's father.

The baby's skin looked radiant. She knew this baby would grow strong, handsome, and brave like his father, who was admired by many. But she truly didn't care about the baby.

She just wanted the baby out of her life. She was too young to be a mother.

Her only choice was to float this baby down the Ashwanadi river, connected to the Ganges river.

Strengthening her resolve, she stood up with the box containing the baby and walked towards the river. The rushing water soaked her feet as she continued towards the middle of the river, where the current pushed against her waist.

Her eyes stared at the rapid flow of the river, rushing towards the narrowing end of the river until it disappeared from sight.

The wooden box was now floating on the surface of the river, pulled by the current and only held back by her hand.

She fortified her heart again, realizing that by releasing this baby into the Ganges river, she only had a few options.

The first option, the baby would be found by another family and raised. The second option, the baby would drown on its journey along the Ganges river.

The third and fourth options, the baby would end up stranded somewhere, dying of starvation or falling prey to wild animals.

The girl shook her head, casting away her thoughts and conscience. This child was born not out of her desire. She had to let go to find peace in her life.

Slowly, her hand released the wooden box, letting the sleeping baby on it flow along with the river's current.

The girl's eyes looked moist, whether from the sadness of letting go of her baby or the relief that the baby was now out of her life.

"May the Ganges river cleanse his sins," whispered the girl.

Adhiratha, one of the horse charioteers serving King Dhritarashtra of the Kuru Kingdom, was cleaning his horses by the banks of the Ganges river.

At that moment, he noticed a wooden box floating along the river's current towards him.

Curiously, he hurriedly ran into the middle of the river to catch the box, hoping to find something inside.

He was by the Ganges river almost every day to clean the horse carts.

However, it was unusual for him to come across a box in the middle of the river, although occasionally he would find floating clothes or fallen tree branches.

His entire body was soaked, submerged in the Ganges river up to his shoulders.

His hands quickly caught the wooden box and pulled it to the riverbank.

As he opened the box, his breath caught for a moment, not expecting to find a sleeping baby inside. Hastily, he lifted the box and ran to his house with it.

"Radha, Radha, Radha..." he shouted in front of the house, startling his wife who was cooking. His eyes were wet, and he immediately showed the contents of the box to his wife.

"Whose baby is this?" Radha asked in surprise as she looked at the baby.

"I found him in the river," the man's lips trembled. After a moment of silence, Adhiratha added, "Surely, God has answered our prayers after all these years."

Radha's eyes couldn't leave the charming face of the baby. "Karna..?" she said, accidentally mentioning a name. In Sanskrit, Karna also means ear.

"Karna?" Adhiratha replied. At that moment, the baby's eyes opened, and his hands moved towards them, smiling.

Adhiratha and Radha are a married couple from the suta caste (charioteers), which is the lowest caste among the four castes.

They have been married for a long time but have not been blessed with a child. They appeared very happy to have a son, whom they considered a gift from the Almighty after years of prayer.

They named the baby Vasusena, which means born wealthy, as he wore earrings and a gold necklace.

However, the name most often used for him was Karna. Meanwhile, his father would sometimes call him Radheya, which means son of Radha.

***

On a bright morning, an 8-year-old boy ran to the field to play with his friends. He saw some of his peers playing tug-of-war with another group of children.

Without hesitation, he immediately joined in to help his friends push from the side. In that instant, he and his friends won the game by toppling all their opponents to the ground.

"We won!!!" Radheya's friend cheered, taunting their opponents.

A big-bodied boy from the opposing side disagreed, "It's not fair. He helped you."

"Isn't the game about pushing each other between your friends and mine," said a boy who was Radheya's friend. "He is my friend."

"He can't be your friend," protested the opposing side. "Just look at his shining earrings and necklace. Even your mother doesn't have jewelry as expensive as that."

"He's my friend!" Radheya's friend protested, not wanting to lose.

"My mother said he's an adopted child. A discarded child. Just a bastard thrown away," objected the opponent, getting up and leaving while still taunting. "We didn't lose. You played cunningly by getting help from someone else. Unless you're friends with a bastard."

Radheya's friends looked uneasy at the mention of "friend of a bastard."

Radheya looked sad.

But this wasn't the first time he had been taunted like this. He understood the difference between himself and the other children his age.

None of the other children around him wore earrings and a gold necklace. Besides, the neighbors' mothers often talked about him being cast out from a wealthy family.