Karna sat alone, his head filled with questions, his heart burning.
"Why this world is not treating me equal? What wrong I did? Are skills and weapons only for royals? What about us poor people? Don't we have hands? Don't we have hearts?"
So many questions, but no one to answer.
He went home, threw himself on the old chair, staring at the broken ceiling with despair and deep thought. His mind was running wild, and tears started forming but he wiped them fast.
Just then, his mother, Radha, came, her voice soft but worried.
"What happened, Radheya? Why are you like this, my child?"
Karna looked at her, his voice shaking but strong:
"Mother… tell me, am I not qualified to learn skills like sword fighting, archery, or Vedas? Am I cursed because I was born poor?"
His mother sighed, holding back her own sadness.
"Radheya, my son… we can't afford those dreams. Only royals and kings are allowed to learn such things. We are poor, simple people. This is not our world."
But Karna stood up, his fist clenched. His eyes burning like fire.
"Who said that? Who made that rule? See, Mother, one day I will conquer this world and make everyone equal. I will defeat Arjuna, the one our people are praising like a god. I will prove that a poor man can rise above a prince."
At that moment, his father, Adhiratha, stepped in. He heard it all and his voice thundered:
"What nonsense are you talking about, boy? Have you lost your mind? Arjuna is a prince, a warrior born. He can do anything. Who are you? Just a filthy human like us. You can't oppose him. And Arjuna… he respects everyone. He is noble, not like you think."
Karna's voice shook, but his spirit didn't break.
"Then what about me, Father? Does he respect me too? Do you know how the people laughed at me today when I said I wanted to learn fighting? Archery? Swordsmanship? They called me a fool, a dreamer, a worthless man."
"Is this your prince's justice? That a low-class man like me has no right to fight? No right to defend himself?"
He raised his voice, his pain turning into anger.
"Father, look at me. I will change the fate of this kingdom. I will defeat Arjuna and make him realize what it feels like to look down on someone."
His father's patience broke. With one hard slap, he shouted:
"Enough! Get out of my house. You have lost your way."
Karna's heart shattered, his tears finally fell, but he turned and walked away, not looking back.
His mother cried softly, turning to Adhiratha:
"How can you be so harsh? He is just a child… dreaming of a better life."
But his father, cold and tired, said:
"I know… but his dreams are dangerous. In this kingdom, the king is god. We must serve them, not raise hatred. He is walking a path of destruction. He will return… when his anger cools. Don't worry."
But night fell, and Karna did not return.
Adhiratha left for the royal palace the next morning, but Karna was still missing.
Worried, his mother searched the village. But there was no sign of him.
Then, from the nearby forest, she heard a strange sound—something breaking, something falling. She followed the sound, fear in her heart.
Deep inside the woods, she found trees fallen, smashed as if some beast had torn them down. Blood stained the path, fresh and red.
In the distance, she saw a glowing golden light shining faintly in the dark woods.
She moved closer, hiding behind the trees, and then… she saw him.
Karna.
His hands were glowing faintly gold, his face twisted in pain and fury. He was crying, punching trees with his bare hands, tearing them down like they were nothing.
"WHY?!" he screamed into the silent night. "WHY CAN'T I BE FREE?!"
With each strike, trees fell. With each cry, the forest shook.
Finally, his strength gave out. He collapsed to the ground, blood dripping from his fists, tears falling freely.
His mother ran to him, tears in her eyes.
She dragged his fainted body to a small house deep in the forest, one she had never seen before. It was old, hidden, and forgotten.
Inside, she found something strange—a wooden sword and an old bow, placed carefully on a stone table.
She looked at her son's broken hands,her heart broken seeing her son like this