16. Radha, A Mother Of Karna

Radha and Adhiratha were taken aback by what they were witnessing. There was a lot of gold jewellery in the basket, but what surprised the couple the most was a very beautiful child lying among the jewellery.

"How is this possible? What kind of stone hearted man could do something like this?"

Adhiratha was enraged. They begged the gods for a child's blessing, and here are some people who, even after receiving it, decided to do this with it.

"Did that man not realise what a heinous sin he was committing? Why drag him into your minor conflict? This is nothing more than a helpless infant. Sending him into this raging river is the same as killing this child. I can only imagine how much pain and sorrow his mother will feel when she learns about the truth."

He was both surprised and enraged. He speculated a man doing this to a child out of jealousy and disagreement. He never thought a woman, let alone his own mother, could bring herself to do such an inhumane thing.

"It's not done by a man, Arya (Husband)."

Radha, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. Her tone of voice was neutral, devoid of emotion.

"What exactly do you mean, Radha?"

Adiratha was perplexed by her words. When he turned to face his wife, he was taken aback by her expressions. She had no expression on her face at this point, but her eyes were filled with rage. He had never seen his ever-smiling wife like this.

"This is a woman's job; a man cannot do it this way."

As she reached out to take Karna from the basket, Radha said. The coldness in her eyes vanished as she held him, replaced by infinite tenderness. It also had a hint of longing in it.

"How can you say this, Radha? How can a woman do this to a child? Please don't slender someone, the gods may become enraged."

Radha's wild guesses were quickly diffused by Adiratha. After all, in this age of gods, humanity has not yet fallen. People are still afraid to commit any evil deeds.

"I'm not slandering anyone, Arya (Husband). Not only is this done by a woman, but she is also the mother of this child."

Radha's voice is now filled with rage and disgust. She was disgusted by the thought of a woman like that can became a mother.

''Why are gods so unjust?' They bless someone like that to be a mother, but they let my motherhood dry up in my desire for the child.'

Radha felt it was unjust. She yearned for a child to call her own. She can give him all of her love, but the gods do not see it and instead bless someone undeserving as that woman with a child.

"Do you understand what you're saying, Radha? How can a mother do this to her child? Please don't say that. We should hurry up and inform the royals, and then we'll all search for his mother together."

Adiratha couldn't believe any mother could be so cruel to her own flesh and blood.

"I'm sure it was his mother who did it. This is proof of that, I will not give this child back to someone like her."

To persuade her husband, Radha reached her hand into a basket filled with gold jewellery and picked up twin bangles while ignoring everything else.

"This is a bangle from his mother, which she placed in it. This kind of jewellery will never be found in a man's basket."

Radha spoke as her disdain for that woman grew stronger by the second.

"If that's the case, she may have done it to protect him. She even put all that jewellery in it for his sake."

Adiratha comes up with a plausible explanation for that woman. He is a straightforward, honest man who believes the world is similarly straightforward. He was unaware of the dark demonic side of the human heart.

"No, she did not do so in order to protect him. Look at the decoration on this basket; it was deliberate."

Radha said this as she hugged Karna tightly in her arms. She felt awful for him.

"This jewellery, on the other hand, is an even more repulsive display of her hypocrisy. She wanted anyone who found this basket to believe that she loved this child, which is why she left so much gold jewellery. She wanted to portray a helpless mother."

Radha sneered at the woman's hypocrisy. She hadn't met her yet, but she knew she was a shrewd and cunning woman. Even to strangers, she wanted to appear morally superior as a helpless woman. She might have fallen for her trick if her eyes weren't so sharp.

"If she truly loved him, she would never have put this sharp metal jewellery in this small basket; this is here for us, not for a child; that woman standing on a high ground giving us money to take care for her abandoned child."

Radha exclaimed as she tossed the basket aside. She appears to touch filth rather than a basket filled with gold.

"What is going on with humanity? Even a Rakasha's (Demon's) mother would not do something like this."

Radha eventually persuaded Adiratha. He was disgusted will be understatement. After all, the mother is a sacred title that even Trimurti (Trinity) respect. It's even said that the entire world is beneath the mother's feet, and now someone tarnishes that sacredness.

He took up the basket and began walking towards the river's shoar.

"We don't need this sin-filled gold, Goddess of the River; please give it to someone who does."

Adiratha bowed his head and prayed. He would rather be die poor than to have the richness of this gold. Not to mention that he is not poor; Though he is not rich, but he is more then enough capable of feeding his family three times a day.

"Arya, please wait!"

Radha stopped quickly as she saw her husband was about to place the basket in the flow of a river. Adhirtha came to a halt and looked back at her, puzzled.

'By the speech she gave, I didn't think she was greedy, but her heart is the same as the woman she condemned.'

The goddess Ganga, who was watching the couple from a distance, reflected. When she overheard the couple's conversation, she thought she had found the perfect place for her little Karna.

She was about to reveal herself as she saw Adiratha about to let those gold flow, confirming that he is not a greedy person, but Radha's words stopped her. Ganga believed that it was greed that caused her to stop her husband.

"Radha, what happened? Why are you stopping me?"

Adiratha questioned, a little hesitantly. He knew his wife would not be tempted by this gold, but a small doubt arose in his heart. After all, this is far too much gold. Furthermore, gold in the form of jewellery is a fatal weakness to every woman. This is something that cannot be refused.

'What will I do if she asks to keep it?'

Adiratha found himself in a dilemma: on the one hand was a self-respect, and on the other, his wife's first wish. He knows that even if he worked his entire life, he would never be able to earn this much gold jewellery, so he can't even promise to give it to her later.

"Arya, what are you thinking? These filthy sinful things will never tempt me. I was just saying that you didn't put this bangles in the basket."

Radha noticed that Adiratha had misunderstood her, so she quickly explained. She wasn't going to put bangles in the basket at first, not out of greed, but out of tradition. Mother's bangles were originally intended to be given to child's first bride, but she had an epiphany and changed her mind.

"But Radha, those bangles are the right of the mother of this child; we can't take that away from her; even if she didn't deserve it, she is still the mother of this child."

Adiratha said reluctantly, When the groom's mother sees her soon-to-be daughter-in-law or a candidate for one, she will take out her bangles to convey the message to a girl of her acceptance, This privilege was only available to the groom's mother. Even though he didn't want to keep the gold, he had to keep the bangles.

"Yes, this was only a mother's right, but giving birth does not make a woman a mother; taking care of that child does. Look don't i also have the bangles? I will look after this child; I will be his mother. As a result, these bangles are useless to us."

Radha showed off her gold bangles by raising one hand. While holding Karna, who was sleeping, tenderly. Her bangles have been passed down from generation to generation. She received them when she first met her mother-in-law, and she now has the fortune to pass them down to her daughter-in-law.

*Tremble*

Just as her voice fell, It's shake the heaven. The couple can't feel it, but Ganga can. In awe, she looked up at heaven.

'How could heaven accept her as Karna's mother? Is her love for him reached to that degree? Surya dev dis not lie to me; this couple will be the best parents for my son.'

Ganga knows this trembling is Heavens acceptance of Radha's decision. Which means hevean itself announced her to be Karna's mother cutting off all the relationship with Kunti.

Though Ganga felt a little guilty for misinterpreting Radha, she was more than happy to be wrong because it meant she could hand over Karna in safe hands.

"Do you want to raise him as our own, Radha? But with this much gold, he's clearly a Shatriya (Royal/Warrior birth). If we Suta (Chariotor) a Shudhra (Low born/Working class) raise him, he will only receive humiliation wherever he goes."

Adiratha, despite her joy at having a son, remains realistic. This much gold and preparation demonstrate that child was unquestionably a highborn. If they raise him, they will only be a hindrance to him because world will regard him as a low born.

"But— "

Radha wanted to argue but she doesn't have anything to contradict the claim of Adiratha. Indeed with them, he only receives a life of hardship.

"Th-Then we give him to some childless royals, They will take good care of him."

Radha with a bleeding heart suggested. Though she can able to give all her love to the child but she knew no matter how much she tried world only humiliates the child because of them. So she hardened her heart and was ready to take him into the palace of Hastinapur.

"There is no need, Devi¹ (Goddess). As his mother, you can raise him. I'll handle everything else."

Suddenly, the river's surface rose, and Ganga emerged from it.

(A/N: New update schedule. Every week, I write 5 chapters, two chapters back to back with a one-day break in between.

[1] Devi: Devi is a Goddess, but it is also used to refer to a stranger woman or to show respect for that woman.

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