Hastinapur:

Kalaa Pradarshan:

The arena was decorated beautifully. A raised platform was made for the king. Other royalty and royal guests had a platform to them, while another platform was made for the royal ladies. All these platforms were made with gold, pearls and lapis lazuli enhancing its beauty. Yet another platform was made for the people of Hastinapur. Soon, the arena was filled with viewers, the royalty also arrived, everyone eager to see the valour of the princes.

Then, amidst the sound of trumpets and the eagerness of viewers, Dronacharya entered the arena, along with his son, the mighty warrior, Ashwatthama. 

After them, entered the warriors, the brave princes of Kuruvansh, equipped with various weapons. With Yudhishthir leading the way, those princes began to display great valour and wonderful skills in the use of weapons.

Yudhishthir won everyone's heart with the agility and precision of his moves. The rest of the princes were also repeatedly demonstrating their skills in the use of bows and arrows, chariots, fighting on elephants, fighting on horses and duels, and what not. All the viewers were cheering them, their eyes dilated with wonder. They also saw the agility, beauty, symmetry, balance, firmness of grasp and mastery in use of sword and shield, by the two extremely handsome sons of Madri.

 Sahdev, the youngest pandav, was the only warrior who uses a Parshu, among everyone.

After all of them, entered Suyodhan and Vrikodar, holding a mace in their hands.

These immensely strong warriors circled each other, for having a duel. When these two started fighting, the spectators divided into two factions, each partial towards its own favourite. Some hailed the valorous Suyodhan, while others cheered for the mighty Bhimasen.  On seeing that the place had become like a turbulent ocean, the very wise, Guru Dronacharya asked his son to stop the  warriors, to not anger the crowd over Bheem and Duryodhan, as they are both very skilled. Hence, the duel was stopped by Ashwatthama.

After the two brave fighters, the valorous son of Indra, Arjun entered the arena, his skills unmatched.

 He created fire with an agneya weapon, water with a varuna weapon, winds with a vayavya weapon, rain with a parjanya weapon. He entered the ground with a bhoumya weapon, created mountains with a parvata weapon. He made everything disappear with an antardhana weapon. In an instant, he appeared tall, then short. In an instant, he was yoked to his chariot. In another, he was in the middle of his chariot. And in another instant, he was on the ground again. In this way, he exhibited great valour in the use of numerous weapons.

Vidur was explaining the incidents happening to Dhritrashtra, while Kunti was explaining the same to Gandhari. Everyone, including the boys, were impressed by the skills shown by the brave and mighty Bharatvanshis.

When the tournament was almost over, the musical instruments were quiet, another unexpected warrior entered the arena, and bowed in front of Dronacharya and Kripacharya, seeking their blessings. He was adorned with a natural armour, his face radiant with his Kundal(earrings).

After seeking the blessings of the great teachers, he, Suryaputra Karn , addressed his unrecognised brother, saying - "Hey Arjun, aaj mai in sabhi logo'n ke saamne ye pratyaksh karna chahta hoon, ki hum dono'n mein se shreshth dhanurdhar kaun hai. Isliye, Hey Parth, mai tumhe dwandwa ka awahan deta hu. Ise sweekar karo."

Kunti's breath hitched seeing Karna there. For everyone, they were just two warriors challenging each other, no big deal, right. But for her, it was two pieces of her heart, standing against each other, ready to fight. Her motherly heart ached, thinking about her two sons, standing in battleground, against each other.

On hearing Karna's words, the immensely intelligent Kripacharya addressed him, saying - "Putra, yeh Kuruvansh ka shringar, Kunti putra Arjun hai. Tum bhi apne mata, pita aur Rajvansh ka naam bataao. Tatpashchat, Arjun yadi chaahe, toh tumhare dwandwa ke awahan ko sweekar kar sakta hai."

Hearing this, Karna lowered his head with shame. It looked as if a lotus had been faded and torn by showers of rain. Seeing this, Duryodhan came forward and said, "Hey Gurudev! Shaastro'n ke anusaar teen prakar ke log Raja ban sakte hain- pehle voh, jo kshatriya kul mein janme ho, doosre voh, jinme atulneey saahas ho, aur teesre voh, jo sena ko sanchalit kar uski agwani(lead) karne ki kshamta rakhte ho. Isliye, yadi Arjun, rajvansh ke atirikt kisi se dwandwa nhi kar sakta, toh mai, Kurukumar Duryodan, Karna ko Angdesh ka Raja ghoshit karta hoon."

And hence, Karna was coronated as the king of Anga. His foster father, Adhirath too came forward, to bless his son. On seeing him, Karna discarded his bow and bowed down to take his blessings. Adhirath blessed his son, from the very core of his heart. Then, Karna went to Suyodhan, and said - "Hey Rajkumar, aapki iss daya ke badle mai aapko kya de sakta hoon?"

"Mujhe toh sirf tumhari Mitrata chahiye.", Duryodhan replied.

Karna hugged him hearing his words, and said - "Awashya, mitra."

By the time all these things ended, it was already sunset. Karna went inside with Kauravas, and Pandavas too left the arena, with Bhishma, Drona and Kripa.

The spectators also left for their respective houses, having various opinions. As they went away, some hailed Arjun, some Karna and some Duryodhan. Kunti was also delighted, knowing that her son has now become Angraj Karna. 

Duryodhan has also banished his fears arising from Arjun's skills, now that he had Karna by his side. At that time, Yudhishthira also thought that there was no archer equal to Karna on earth.

This chapter has been entirely dedicated to the major characters of the original epic. I hope you'll enjoy this. I wanted to introduce them by this chapter, although, so many of them are still left. They will be introduced with time. Btw, this was a really long chapter.

Also, let me tell you a secret, okay. I have a soft spot for the 2 madreyas. The 4 kounteyas(including Karna), are like brothers to me, though.