Another year passed by;
King Kuntiboja decided to arrange swayamvara, sending the invitations to several kingdoms including Hastinapura.
But, it took almost five years to heal her wounds and by the time, Kunti reached 22, she was able to swallow the pain and shut it inside her heart.
While she left her home and reached Hastinapura to get ready to live a new life with King Pandu, at Suryaloka, 54 months old Karna was playing hide and seek with his two mothers.
Chhaya, the goddess of shadow and a consort of Lord Surya had like look as if she was annoyed by the situation while helping out Sanjna. She doesn't like Karna from the moment he was brought into the palace.
Of course, it wasn't without reasons, although the poor little kid wasn't the one to be blamed.
The first reason was that Karna had the radiance of the Sun god. It's just as powerful as the one she sees on Yama, the god of death and dharma.
The second reason was that Saranyu/Sanjna loves him dearly, partly due to the absence of her children who were busy doing their jobs out there, serving the universe. Chhaya also misses her children but only Sanjna gets to fulfill the hole in her heart? That's very much unfair.
The third reason was that Lord Surya had given Karna, divine armor and divine earrings when he was born but when Shani was born, the same god cursed him.
The fourth reason and probably the biggest reason was that her favorite child of all, Shani was exiled from Suryaloka due to the bitter relationship between the father and son. And she couldn't leave the palace without the permission of Lord Surya, who will never allow her to meet Shani.
The only consolation for her is how other the gods don't approve of a mortal living in Suryaloka. But, what can they do? It is Lord Surya's decision and even the King of Gods, Indra doesn't have the right to kick out Karna from Devaloka without any strong reasons.
As Sanjna tried to find him, little Karna reached the mandir located within the palace and took a look at the Shivalinga. He held his palms together and spoke, "Lord Shiva, please help me, will you? Om Namah Shivaya."
"Son, where are you?" A voice was heard nearby.
"It's mother." He hurriedly scurried forward and hid behind Shivalinga with a grin on his face. "Mother won't find me here, hehe..."
In a hurry, he didn't see the flower falling from the top of Lingam onto Yoni by itself. Some believe that this kind of situation generally means god listened to one's prayers and some think it's just the air. However, that's for mortal human beings. If it happens in a place like Suryaloka, it isn't something that can be ignored. Too bad that no one witnessed it.
Karna quietly hid himself and his mother passed away the mandir and went to other places in the palace.
Two hours pass away but neither Sanjna nor Chhaya fails to find him.
"Sister, how about you use divine sense to find him." Goddess Chhaya suggested her as she was tired of roaming here and there. She realized that these days, the little brat got better at hiding.
Goddess Sanjna also felt that she had enough fun for today. She closed her eyes and tried to find Little Karna.
In an instant, her facial expression changed as she couldn't find him. She tried once again. The result was the same and she started to panic. "My son..."
She started to run.
"What happened?" Chhaya asked her as she followed from behind. In her mind, she was only having bad thoughts, "Did that little brat fall into trouble? Would be nice if it happens for real."
In the courtroom, Lord Surya is in the middle of having an important talk with the Gandharva King, Chitrasena.
Sanjna rushed into the hall and disturbed their meeting.
"Dear?" Lord Surya was surprised. Chitrasena also seemed to be confused by her sudden entry without any pre-notice
"Lord Surya, Karna is nowhere to be found. He's missing." A look of worry was clear on her face.
"What do you mean?" Lord Surya stood on his feet.
"We're playing hide and seek. I'm searching for him for two hours. He has yet to be found. Even my divine senses can't find him anywhere in the palace." Goddess Sanjna didn't hide anything and informed him of everything that happened.
"Karna is just a kid, Goddess Saranyu," The Gandharva King tried to calm her down. "If he's not in the palace, he probably was playing with the other kids."
Of course, in Suryaloka, only Lord Surya and his family don't live. There are soldiers, servants, and their families also reside in the realm. And their families also might have similar age children. Chitrasen thought the little kid might have gone out in secret. Kids do mischief. It's common.
However, Sanjna dismissed his words with her reply, "but my son never stepped out of the palace in his life. What if he had gone to the forest and got lost?"
"Calm down, dear. Give me a moment. I'll tell you where your son is hiding." He closed his eyes and scanned the entire Suryaloka within a second but availed no results. A look of shock appeared on his face as he said, "He isn't in Suryaloka."
"What does it mean, Lord Surya?" Chitrasena suddenly became worried too. Just a moment ago, he was actually in talks about a future marriage proposal between his youngest daughter and Karna, which was initiated by Lord Surya.
And he was prepared to accept the proposal as he believed having an alliance with the sun god's family would only elevate his status. Karna's mortal status is never an issue. It's not like Gandharvas were immortal like the gods. They can only prolong their lives with the resurrection performed by Lord Indra.
But, in the next moment, he found his potential son-in-law is missing? Was he kidnapped? Or was he dead? King Chitrasena doesn't have any idea how to respond to the situation.
Now, even Lord Surya and Sanjna started to have the same thoughts.
Goddess Sanjna started to tear up. Lord Surya caught her shoulders and said, "There's no place that my light can't reach. I'll search from Bhramaloka to Patal if I have to. I'll promise to bring Karna to you."
Within a few hours, a commotion rose in the Heaven and the soldiers were sent to every realm in the search of a mortal human kid. The reason for this is the blatant threat of Goddess Sanjna who outrightly demanded Lord Surya to bring back her son or else, she would remove the protection for the earth.
Lord Surya knew that without clouds, the day will get hotter and the night will get cooler. The sudden changes in the temperature will harm humans on a global scale for sure.
And without clouds, no natural rains can occur. So, Lord Indra might have to work 24/7. There was his worry.
Meanwhile, in Vaikunta, Lord Vishnu who was sleeping let out a smile.
Looking at it, Goddess Lakshmi who was massaging his feet asked her husband, "What happened, My Lord? Is there a reason for your smile?"
Lord Vishnu opened his eyes and replied, "Goddess Sanjna, my dear. She developed world attachment for Karna. It will have to end or else, Karna will deviate from his destined path."
"Karna?" Goddess Lakshmi is hearing the name for the first time. But considering the rest of Lord Surya's children were all in an important position, she wondered whether this boy was also destined for something great.
Back at Suryaloka, the main culprit of the situation, little Karna got tired and eventually fell asleep behind Shivalinga, which was blocking all the divine senses to go past it, all because the kid asked for the help.