Wedding day

Bhanumati was tensed since morning. She did not want to marry a demon but her room was heavily guarded so that she could not escape. Dhumrasur brought a small group of demons just to complete the wedding as he was confident that no human would dare to attack him. He asked the demon priest to start the ritual.

Here Karna and Duryodhana reached the Kalinga palace. There were many soldiers as well as demons. Both Karna and Duryodhana dressed as workers and posed as if they came to decorate the palace. Karna had a basket in his hand filled with flowers. They were entering the palace when a guard stopped them.

Guard, 'Who are you and where are you going?'

Karna (timidly), 'Sir, the king ordered us to decorate the bride's chamber with flowers for the wedding night. So we are taking the flowers there.'

Guard, 'I never saw you before here.'

Karna, 'Sir the royal decorator is scared so he refused to come. But we are poor, we need money so we came to decorate.'

Guard, 'Okay okay, go inside. But if the king does not like your decorations then he will surely throw you two in front of the Asuras.'

They entered the palace. Duryodhana praised, 'Wow friend, I have no idea that you are such a talented actor.'

Karna, 'Mitra we need to hurry, we should find Princess.'

They asked few maids about Bride's location and went to her chamber. Bhanumati was crying suddenly she heard a familiar voice, 'Priye'.

She could not even believe her ears. She almost lost her hope but now her lover Duryodhana was here. She jumped a hugged him.

Bhanumati, 'Yuvraj, please take me from here. I beg you. Otherwise, I will kill myself.'

Karna entered, 'cough. cough, Princess please change your attire. Wear these clothes and cover your face with a veil.'

Karna gave her some clothes for the maids. Then three of them came out quickly.

Karna brought Duryodhana's chariot and hid it in a forest near the palace. But they had to cover the distance on foot. So they were walking fast but without creating any suspicion. Suddenly they heard a commotion from the palace.

Karna, 'O Narayan, I think they found that princess is missing. Mitra, Princess please run fast.'

The guards and Asuras already saw them and chased them. Karna knew that he can run 10times faster than a normal man, so asked Duryodhana to protect the princess and he himself ran towards the forest. Duryodhana took out his mace and started fighting but soon the guards surrounded them,

King Pradeep, 'Well, well my little sister, trying to elope with her lover. No way sister. Today I will kill your lover in front of your eyes.'

Bhanumati, 'You disgusting creature. Trying to sell your own sister to the demons. I curse you Pradeep, you will rot in hell.'

King Pradeep ordered his guards to attack Duryodhana but suddenly Karna entered into the circle of the guards with the chariot and knocked them off. He launched an arrow that turned into a net and caught all the soldiers. Duryodhana and Bhanumati climbed to the chariot. Then Karna ran the chariot at full speed.

The remaining Asuras and guards chased them. While running towards the border Karna saw a tornado was formed in front of them.

Duryodhana shouted, 'What is that.'

Karna calmly replied, 'I think that Dhumrasur is trying to attack us.'

Duryodhana, 'What.... and how can you be so calm?'

Then the tornado was stopped and Dhumrasur appeared in front of them, 'What do you mere humans think? You can take the princess away from me? Today we will have a feast with your flesh and blood. After all, it's my wedding.'

Duryodhana, 'Shut up you ugly creature. How dare you even thinking about my princess. Today no one can save you.'

Dhumrasur, 'You want to fight me, now take this.' He launched an asurastra called jwala astra that could burn anything in its path. Bhanumati hugged Duryodhana thinking that was the end for them but Karna calmly stood up in front of them as a shield. When the astra reached him, his kavach appeared and it was stopped.

Then Karna said, 'Dhumrasur I was waiting for your attack.' Saying he held out his right hand and his Surya Dhanush appeared. He launched Himbastra to nullify the scorching heat created by jwala astra. Dhumrasur launched Dhumrastra which created black smoke but Karna launched Pavanastra to create strong wind to remove the smoke. In the meantime, Duryodhana jumped down from the chariot and fought with other demons and guards.

Bhanumati was stunned to see both of their skills. Them Dhumrasur tried to create illusions like a rain of fire falling from the sky or a wave of fire coming towards them, but Karna a student of Shukracharya nullify all the illusions. Then Dhumrasur attacked them with a sword. Karna chanted a mantra and 'Chandrahas Kharag' appeared in his hand. Karna then started a duel with Dhumrasur. Dhumrasur was a demon and very strong but Karna was also a God, so he got an upper hand, and at last, he beheaded Dhumrasur.

On the other hand, Duryodhana killed the guards and he moved towards Pradeep. Pradeep tried to fight him but Duryodhana was stronger. He easily overpowered Pradeep. Prapradeep begged for his life to his sister but she said, 'You are not my brother, you are nobody's son. In fact, you are not even a human. A creature like you should not be spared for the betterment of mankind.' Then Duryodhana killed him.

Bhanumati started weeping. She lost all her family. Duryodhana consoled her saying 'please don't cry. From now on my family is your family.'

Then he asked Karna to take them to Hastinapur.

In Hastinapur

Everyone was in tension as both Duryodhana and Karna were missing. Bheesm sent the soldiers to search for him but they could not find them. Then Karna and Duryodhana returned with Bhanumati. Duryodhana explained everything and Gandhari and Bheesm were happy as Duryodhana saved a woman and also he found the love of his life. Dhritarashtra was angry at first but then felt happy as now Kalinga would come under their control as Bhanumati was the sole heir of Kalinga. He also praised Karna for helping Duryodhana. He then ordered Vidur to start the marriage preparation of Duryodhana.

After the marriage ceremony in the assembly hall, Bhanumati said, 'In front of all the elders today I want to say something. My own brother tried to sell me off to a demon. But Karna you helped me to reunite with my love. You risked your own life for our happiness. When the Asur sent some fiery weapon towards us, you acted like a shield to protect us. So today I want to have you as my brother. Can you please accept me as your sister Bhrata Karn?'

Karn was overwhelmed. He almost got tears in his eyes. He said, 'Yuvrani, today you gave me a great honor. You called a commoner like me Bhrata. I am honored.'

Gandhari, 'No my son, you are not a commoner. Birth is not everything, it is the morals given by the parents that are important. Karna your mother is truly blessed to have a son like you. You always protected my son. Please accept my daughter-in-law's offer. I will be very happy.'

Everyone in the Kuru family was happy except Dronacharya, Aswatthama, Shakuni, Bheem, and Nakul. Pandavas except Arjun also came to the wedding. Bheem and Nakul still hated Karna though the reason was unknown to them. Yudhishtir and Sahadev were neutral towards Karna. Yudhishtir knew that Karna was a good person. Secretly he wished if Karna came to their side.

But there was one person who had a mixed feeling about Karna.

Draupadi, she had a complex feeling for Karna. On one hand, she knew that Karna was a good person. She herself saw that Karna always respected her and her family. Kunti told her how he helped them to escape Lakshagriha and also tried to give them fertile lands during division. But she did not understand her anger towards him. Why..why she felt an unknown rage to that man. She felt a kind of betrayal in her life and in her subconscious, she held Karna responsible.

After her marriage, her life changed drastically. Like every woman, she wanted some respect and love. Yes...she was the queen of Indraprastha. Everyone respected her but her husbands....she still did not understand her feeling towards them. She was loyal, she did all her duties and tried to please them. But there was a deep void in her heart that yearned for love. Her husbands promised her not to marry again, except Bheem and Arjun (she did not know about his other marriages yet) all got a second wife and they even expected her to accept their wives wholeheartedly. She divided and molded herself into her husbands' liking but no one asked about her wishes.

During Arjun's exile, Draupadi longed for him, her first love or that what she thought. She always felt a void in her heart. Sometimes she felt that if her decision was different on the Swyamver maybe she had a humble life far away from politics. She might be not the queen but at least she had her husband's love. But she could not share her feelings with anyone. Choosing this life was her decision and she had to bear it.