" Child, I have been impressed by your dedication. You have helped me a lot during my stay here in the palace! I am delighted with my stay and your diligent service! As a thank you, I am giving you this mantra."
Kunti smiled at the Sage and asked " What is the mantra for my lord?"
" In the future, if you ever desire, you can invoke any deity to give you a son!"
" I am at a loss for words for your generosity, Lord!"
The sage smiled and warned her " But, be careful, child. Do not use this mantra lightly! It can be a boon if used at the right time, however, if used at the wrong time, it will be a curse that will haunt you forever!"
Kunti bowed her head and said, " I will heed your warning, Lord!"
The sage nodded and left.
Not long after Kunti, who was just a teenager was very curious. The Sage had told her to not use the mantra at the wrong time. She didn't know what time was supposed to be right to use this mantra.
She wanted to find out if what the sage had said was correct.
Unable to hold herself back, one morning she initiated the mantra which allowed her to invoke any divine deity to grant her a child.
Using the mantra, she invoked Surya, the Sun God!
The Sun God appeared but he was hovering in the air. He came with a golden glow donned in golden jewellery and breastplate. His brilliance was so great even a blind man could see it.
" You have used the mantra to invoke me, Kunti. As per the condition, I shall fulfil your wish and grant you a child!" said Surya, the Sun God.
He raised his hands and a ray of golden light emitted from it, landing on the stomach of Kunti.
Seeing this, Kunti was horrified.
" No!!!! Please Sun God! Take back your blessings! I was just testing to see if the mantra would work! I had no intention of becoming a mother!"
The Sun God paid no heed to her words and said " This is not a game child! You did it knowing full well what would happen! You were informed of it by the sage not long ago.
The blessing cannot be taken back! The child shall be born with my brilliance! He will be born with my divine earrings and breastplate that would protect him from all dangers!
That would signify his status as my son! He shall be invincible all his life! There will be no warrior better than him in this universe! The world will sing him praises, and he shall be known as Karna!"
After saying that, the Sun God left leaving golden dust on the land he hovered above.
"No No No No No! If I give birth to a child before getting married, society will not allow me to live a life of respect! I will have a hard time marrying! I absolutely cannot allow that to happen!"
9 months later,
On a huge rock beside a deep and beautiful river was a woman with a child in her arm and a basket beside her. The child had beautiful golden earrings and a golden breastplate that looked divine.
" Forgive me, my son! Your mother can only abandon you! This society...it will not allow me to live a life of respect if I take you in as my son."
These 9 months of hardship made her fall in love with her son, however, she still couldn't keep him. It was selfish of her to throw away her newborn son but she had no choice.
Kunti sobbed looking at Karna whose eyes showed confusion. However, Kunti failed to notice it as her eyes were flooded with tears.
Kunti hugged her newborn son and screamed with anguish. She glanced at Karna one last time and put him in a basket.
" You have been blessed by the Sun God's divine armour and earrings! They will always protect you! No harm will ever fall on you! Still, forgive your mother for this grave sin!"
Kunti picked up the basket and walked near the river. Standing on the edge of the rock, she caressed the face of Karna and hurled him to the river.
Kunti felt her legs give up as she sat down with her hands spread in front of her. Tears gushed out again from her eyes as she looked at the basket which looked as if it would be swallowed by the river any second.
The child in the basket looked at the waves with fright. From the moment he was born he appeared abnormal. It looked as if he housed a secret that no one was aware of.
(Karna Pov)
' What the hell is going on?'
' I thought I died but I am here, as a child!'
Looking at the waves that rose above me, I couldn't help but feel dreadful. I wasn't scared of death, but the situation made my instincts scream with fright.
' I was just a normal social worker...what did I even do to get such an end?'
I looked down to see my chest shining. Due to the light, I couldn't see what it was clearly but looking at it made me feel safe. I felt myself calm down the next second.
The waves subsided and the brilliant light coming from my chest dimmed as well.
' An armour?'
Unfortunately, it had some kind of design that I was not able to see.
' It can't be!!!'
Suddenly I came up with a conclusion. In my previous life, I worked in different parts of the world, helping people, and this made me familiar with the local languages.
If I wasn't wrong the woman that held me in her arms not too long ago spoke a language that sounded weirdly familiar with Hindi and Nepali, but she didn't exactly speak that language.
I was born to parents where one was from India and another one was from Nepal and the fact that I was fluent in both these languages helped me understand that it was Sanskrit.
' Hindi and Nepali...Hindi and Nepali...'
Repeating the name of the two languages, I couldn't think of a language other than Sanskrit that was so weirdly familiar and unfamiliar to Hindi and Nepali.
' It must be Sanskrit! The way she spoke...was different from anything I heard in my lifetime. Only Hindi and Nepali bore some similarities in the language. And if that was the case then the language she spoke should be Sanskrit!'
' Both Hindi and Nepali were derived mainly from Sanskrit. They were sister languages. This could be the only answer!'
' If she spoke Sanskrit...then- No that isn't even possible! Why would she speak in Sanskrit? I could be wrong but people no longer used Sanskrit to speak normally. Some did however it seems really out of place.'
' If all of my hypotheses are correct then there is only one answer to my current situation!'
' I have been reincarnated into the past! And I am probably in the Indian subcontinent.'
I sighed knowing that I was done for. I didn't know how far it was in the past but I was sure of one thing, it was dangerous!
I needed to make sure that I survive. After all, I didn't know what kind of obstacles awaited me at this age.
' I just hope I didn't reincarnate in those times where people walked around with divine arrows that were stronger than Atomic Bombs!'
( A/N: How do you wish for me to proceed with the story? Do you want him to still be a son of a charioteer? Or, do you want something else to happen? Suggest me some ideas!)