The Pandavas have been slowly regaining their glory.
In the last 5 years, Hastinapur had been invaded by multiple Kingdoms since their losses and the Kingdom was thought weak.
The Pandavas and the Kauravas had both been proving them wrong, having learned from their mistakes. They defended their borders and made the former vassal states submit again
The Pandavas had been conquering Kingdoms in the North and West, subjugating them to Hastinapur's rule.
Bheem, Nakul and Sahadev had conquered Eastern Kingdoms like Pundra, Videha and Champa. They maintained good relations with Magadha since they couldn't invade it due to Karn's threat.
As per their Pitamah's instructions, the 4 out of 5 Pandavas had married. Bhima to Valandhara who was princess Kashi, Yudhishthira to Devika, Nakul to Princess Karenumati of Chedi while Sahdev had married their mamashree Shayla's daughter Vijaya.
From all the children of the Kuru Vansh, the Kauravas were expected to disobey orders the most, and Duryodhan did return empty handed, but with his head held high.
But no, Arjun was the first to disobey his Pitamah's orders by refusing to marry, as everyone were shocked.
No, Arjun had only ever been interested in refining his skills as an archer and practiced daily nowadays. He had been participating in many wars and proving himself as a deadly combatant.
Arjun had marched for the North and the West, and he killed Sindhu naresh Jayadratha when he demanded his sister Dusshala as concubine in exchange for swearing his Kingdom to the Kuru dynasty, blinded in arrogance by his boon given by his father. He underestimated Arjun who filled his body with arrows, making it into a deathbed for him as he suffered and Sindhu was conquered.
" Bloody monster, now I understand how Karn felt " Arjun said while cleaning his arrows and grimaced.
He really has to stop thinking of that Sutaputra unless he wants to go through a sexual orientation crisis or whatever. Nakul will never stop teasing him about it.
But then again, it was impossible to stop thinking of that guy. Defeating him was Arjun's goal.
Yes, he admits that shooting Anjalikastra at that premika of his was a sin and mistake, and Arjun never stopped feeling remorseful of the sin that almost happened at his hand.
But for some reason, Arjun was drawn towards Karn and yearned to battle him again..... and he seemed so similar to him. Arjun had also unintentionally learned from Karn how to catch an arrow and throw it at the target, like he did at Arjun's bow and broke it. Arjun trained for it and mastered that trick. It was quite useful too as he caught the enemy's astras and shot it back at them. However, Arjun wasn't dumb enough to risk it on trying with weapons like Brahmastra.
Arjun knew Karn was an archer. He had the yes of one.
He had also fought Duryodhan, and the surprising effect was that their Kaurav brother had become less insufferable since returning with multiple bruises, and had gone into developing the vassal states of Hastinapur instead of going to fight wars.
Duryodhan had improved areas in Anga and it thrived agriculturally, as him and his 99 brothers had personally worked on the land. He and his brothers had also talked the nearby Kingdoms into increasing trade with their own.
Arjun wouldn't say it was bad, because Duryodhan had become less of a menace to them.
That Karn has been affecting them all -
" I really have to stop thinking of him ! " Arjun was frustrated as he went on his carriage and made for his way to Hastinapur.
Suddenly, his carriage shook and halted as the horses became spooked.
He immediately jumped out to see that they had stepped on a giant snake and Arjun drew out his bow.
The anaconda immediately transformed into a girl and screamed " DON'T SHOOT ME, YOU IDIOT !!! ".
Arjun was mesmerized by the beauty of this Naga woman and the golden dress she wore along with the minimal jewelry that did nothing to diminish her beauty.
" AAAAHHHH... my shoulder ! " she groaned in pain while clutching her left shoulder " You drove over my shoulder !!! ".
" Devi, I am sorry ! " Arjun apologized with surprise " wait, your shoulder ?... I thought Snakes didn't have body parts ".
" DON'T JOKE, YOU IDIOT !!! "
Arjun turned to his Saarthi and said " not a word of this to anyone ".
His Saarthi nodded and Arjun turned to her " Devi..... I know how to heal wounds. Don't worry, I will fix you up..... this is Panduputra Arjun's promise ".
" Fine... and my name is Shivanya " she said as she clutched her shoulder.
Arjun applied some ointments to her shoulder and though Shivanya was feeling pain, she was also feeling warmth and pleasure from his touch alone.
Whenever she stared at him, she couldn't help but admire his handsome features.
-
" Bloody kids !! " Sahira's emotions were acting up due to her pregnancy as she sat near a tree and Pond to meditate.
She decided she didn't want to be a teacher anymore, with those little monsters screaming around and not paying attention to her class.
Guru Vardev had made her job easier but she was at her wit's end.
That was also because Karn had been 'Momming' her since he had returned. Even more than Radhama !.
Maybe it was the pregnancy.
" Putri " she turned her head to find a sage in typical ascetic clothes and Kakashree in hand..... and he looked familiar enough.
" What do you want, Surya Dev ? " she bluntly asked and he stumbled back in shock.
" How do you recognize me ?!! "
" Come on, do you think me so dumb ?. You glow like you had just put a bucket full of moisturizer on your skin, that typical sadhu white beard does nothing to hide your resemblance to Karn, nor does the lack of dirt on your from traveling here bare feet, the putri word gave you away and you Devtas always come in Sadhu form. Get original, will you ? ... and not to forget that those dumb horses pretending to stroll around near me are your sons, the Ashvini twins " Sahira said while rolling her eyes as the twins came in their true form and stared at her with mouths wide open.
" You 2 seriously need to work on your disguises " Sahira said to the twins " one of you kept looking in your reflection in a pond while the other kept staring around in curiosity. Seriously, you both are just like your sons. a Mare just passed by me. You're supposed to chase her in heat... if you're gonna be in disguise then you should sell it first, dudes ".
" Anuj's wife really is sharp " Nasatya was open mouthed.
" and sassy " Dasra added.
" Aren't you all supposed to be in Devalok doing God knows what ? " Sahira raised an eyebrow.
Surya Dev snorted " I can also add that it's not good for pregnant girls to work like that ".
" I'm Kaliyugi " she shrugged " and Bhanumati is pregnant too ".
" Yamuna and Tapiti are mothering her too, at the moment, and Bhanumati is losing it " Nasatya grinned.
Sahira laughed, and she felt her baby kick. She groaned a bit and the 3 devtas surrounded her in concern.
" You should stop sending Karn away from this place. You are pregnant and he should be here " Surya said in concern.
" Karn has a duty to the people too. He's a warrior, and teacher, and fighting to establish education rights for all, just like I am " Sahira said in determination " you should say it to him and expect the same answer ".
Surya looked saddened " my own son... he keeps turning his back on me. He has not done Surya Puja ever since he found out the truth about his origins ".
Sahira bluntly said " you expect him to accept you as a father and replace Adhirath baba in his heart ? ".
" Krishna has 2 fathers - "
" That is not the same " Sahira glared at him, taking him aback " Vasudev maharaj had to abandon Krishna to protect him, but you watched over Karn and said nothing. You were held back by the rules from interfering in human affairs and he respects that, but he cannot be expected to accept you when he just found out that his entire life had been a lie. You have no right to place expectations on him. He is still a human being and he has gone through a lot, especially with what almost happened to Devrya ... and by the way, what would have happened to Devrya if I wasn't there ? ".
Surya looked uncomfortable " she would have been raped and killed, and her killer would have escaped..... but he would have died in Kurukshetra war - ".
" That bastard would have attained Moksha and gone to Heaven ?!!! " Sahira glared at Surya dev.
" Not anymore " Nasatya said
" he is in narg now " Dara said
" and bhrata Yama is taking his sweet time to torture him " Nasatya added with a smirk.
Sahira then grimly smiled, and then had a question on her face " but why me ?..... why was I the only one transported from Kaliyug to here. Does shree Krishna have some sort of plan ? ".
" We do not know... only he can answer that " Surya dev said with a sad smile " you have given me answers, bahu..... you are honest and blunt. I will wait for Karn to talk with me again..... but I am glad you changed his life for the better ".
With that Surya deva and Ashwini Kumars disappeared back to Surya lok.
-
Elsewhere, a year had passed and Hastinapur was in a state of chaos as Arjun had come to the palace with a Naga woman as his wife.
Arjun had fallen in love with Shivanya, and she with him, and they were expecting a child. No matter how much Bhishma and the elders ordered, he would not set her aside and he threatened as far as to go to Vanvas with her, and they had to relent.
Kunti, on the other hand, was happy that she was a grandmother as Karn's wives had given birth to 2 girls. Then she lamented that she couldn't meet her granddaughters. She found comfort in Arjun's wife.
Bhishma spent half his time banging his head on the wall and the other time lamenting that he should have taken the throne himself.
On one side were his grandsons who had developed a rebellious streak, and on the other side was that Sutaputra Karn who humiliated his clan along with that wife of his and was still at large as they broke all norms of society and kept educating the low castes while teaching them Astras and Shastras.
He also humiliated Duryodhan and dared to take Kalinga Kumari Bhanumati as his second wife.
He expected Duryodhan to rage like a Bull, but that fool boy instead started praising Karn and went to Anga to develop the land along with his 100 brothers by working like Shudras !. Gandhari was not helping when she was encouraging this behavior.
That boy Karn was becoming a thorn in his side and Bhishma was so close to raging like a madman.
" Madra, Balhika and Gandhar's warriors have been beaten into submission by that bloody Sutputra and his adivasi army. They fight like cowards, attacking from woods, and setting up traps !! " Bhishma growled, angry that the elder brother of his departed father had been humiliated along with his cousins.
Dhritrashtra, Shakuni and Vidhur looked concerned but for different reasons. Dhritrashtra and Vidhur were worried about engaging Karn in war and risking the Kuru children, but Shakuni was worried about Gandhar's people and praying that his son Uluka was managing it well in his absence.
Suddenly, a soldier came into the room and he said in fright " Mahamahim Bhishma !. Rajkumar Yudhishthir has married ! ".
" WHAT ?!! " Everyone screamed in shock.
" Who is it ?!! " Bhishma demanded.
" It's ..... a Brahmin woman named Dharma " the soldier nervously answered.
Bhishma's scream of rage was heard throughout the castle of the Kurus.
Meanwhile, Krishna was rolling on the floor in laughter at the events happening.
-
A year had had passed since Sahira had given birth to Aparajita while a few months have passed since Bhanumati gave birth to Sagrika.
The 2 children had become the delight of their community. Radhama played with them most of the time while Vardha also watched over them when Karn and Sahira were also busy in their duties along with Bhaumati who had taken to joining them in teaching the students.
" Jai shree Ram ! "
" Jai ..... shree ..... Ram ! "
" BOLDIYA !!! " Hanuman let out a victory cheer as he sat near Karn's daughters in front of Bhagwan Ram and Ma Sita's statue.
He had a bet with Karn and Sahira that their daughter's first words would be 'Jai Shree Ram'.
Karn and Sahira came to the scene, staring in shock.
" Sahira !. I told you we should spend more time together ! " Karn looked defeated " first words are not Ma or Baba, but Jai shree Ram ?! ".
Sahira looked amused " At least it's not a curse word they learned first, considering the time they spend listening to me ".
Sahira then put her hand around his neck and came closer to him with a seductive smirk " so..... you want to make another baby ? ".
" Hey, we're near a shrine ! " Karn looked shocked, and tried to hide the arousal he was feeling along with a blush.
Suddenly, an Eagle came near him and landed a morpankh on his head, along with a letter in its leg.
Karn read it and said " Shri Krishna wants to meet us both along with Radha and come with him to meet ... the princess of Vidharba ".
Sahira blinked before smirking at him mischievously, and Karn looked horrified " no.... no, no, no.... mai Brihanalla nahi banoonga !. Bali ka bakra bane Arjun, mai nahi !!! ( I'm not becoming Brihanalla !!!. Arjun is the sacrificial goat, not me !!!).
Hanuman and Sahira burst out laughing.
-
" The preparations have begun, whoever lifts Kindhura will have your hand in marriage my daughter " Drupad said to his daughter in her room as all her children were present.
Draupadi stared at her father curiously " but Pitashree, who will participate in my swayamvar ?. I heard that Rajkumar Arjun has already married - ".
Drupad laughed " Arjun ?!!. That fool couldn't even defeat me !. He had his bow broken by a Sutputra, and that boy has been humiliating the Kurus for a long time now ! ".
Shikhandi said " but Pitashree, he killed Jarasandha in Malyuddha, and pounded Bheem, a Devaputra..... he has caused political mayhem across Aryavarta. He would be a useful ally to have ".
" He would be, but Strength of arms does not change a person's status " Drupad dismissed, but suddenly laughed " but that wife of his insulted Bhishma in his own sabha and thrashed his name !. My spies had told me of the many insults she gave and half of them had me laughing ".
Shikhandi smiled " As they did me ".
" I have heard that Karn's presence is like that of Surya Dev " Drishtadyumna mused.
Karn. Draupadi was curious about that name the more he was mentioned. She heard her sakha mention him a few times too and hoped she could meet him.