KARNA: Son of the Charioteer

Chapter 2

That evening, Karna ran home and asked his mother, "Mother, am I not your child? Why do they all say I am illegitimate?"

Radha left her work in the kitchen and immediately hugged Karna. "Don't listen to them, Karna. You are our child."

That night, Adhiratha came home and found Karna looking sad. Radha secretly told him about what happened that evening.

After dinner, Adhiratha called Karna to sit beside him. "Karna, Father will tell you about yourself. Not because we don't love you, but because Father feels you are old enough to know." Adhiratha recounted the entire story of finding him by the Ganges River, and Radha brought out the box and cloth that wrapped him when he was a baby.

Karna touched the box and the smooth cloth.

"We may not be your biological parents," Radha said, "But our love for you is no less than a biological parent's love for their child. We love you."

Adhiratha touched Karna's head. "You are Radheya—son of Radha. You are our child even though our blood does not flow in you, but our hearts are intertwined," Adhiratha said. "When I first saw you, I knew the Creator had decided you were my child. I will strive to be the best father for you."

Karna nodded, not fully understanding. He looked at the beautiful wooden box and felt its smoothness with his small hands.

"We guess, you may come from a wealthy family of higher caste. When you grow up, you can search for your father and mother," Radha hugged Karna.

Karna shook his head and closed the wooden box. "I only have one family." Karna hugged Radha tightly, "I am Radheya, the son of my father and mother. I don't want to be the child of any other family."

From then on, whenever anyone mocked him as a bastard or illegitimate child, he would stand tall in front of them and say, "I am Radheya and my father's name is Adhiratha." Then he would punch them.

Radheya soon became his name, and after that, no one mocked his origins anymore.

Radheya's environment mostly consisted of people from the lower caste. From a young age, he and his friends learned to work and help their parents.

As the son of a charioteer, Radheya almost always helped Adhiratha in his work.

Washing chariots and bathing horses could be considered his routine work.

This work made him visit the banks of the Ganges almost every day. What made him happiest was during the day by the Ganges.

When the sun was high above his head, Radheya would take off his clothes, letting his skin soak in as much sunlight as possible.

He always felt a pleasant vibration that made his whole body feel strong and powerful in the warmth of the sun.

For years to come, every day, Radheya would perform a ritual worship to the Sun God—Surya, at the banks of the Ganges. This worship was done as a sign of his respect and admiration for Surya, who gave his light to many beings.

It was completely different from his worship and belief in the Supreme Being, which was essentially worship of the True Creator.

From a young age, Radheya secretly studied the Vedas from a poor Brahmin.

Although it was forbidden, the poor Brahmin believed that knowledge of the Vedas should not be restricted to Brahmins alone.

So, he taught anyone willing to learn, regardless of their caste, and as a result, he was ostracized from his own community. This was because there were rules that only allowed Vedic education for certain castes.

Radheya realized that worshiping the Supreme and Singular Creator would never be shaken or replaced.

Whereas his worship and reverence for the Sun God were similar to his reverence for his teacher, father, mother, and respected individuals. In this case, he chose Surya as his teacher because he wanted to be like the sun for everyone.

By the time he turned 12, Adhiratha and Radha could see Radheya growing into a very handsome young man.

His nose was sharp, his eyes shone brightly, his chin was beautifully defined, and his tall stature was impressive. Only nobles had such a physique, and even Radheya's body sometimes seemed to radiate charisma.

In an instant, people could see the difference between Radheya and other men his age. Adhiratha taught him how to be a good charioteer.

Radheya did it and learned quickly, impressing his father. However, deep inside, Radheya was not too interested in that path. Something within him compelled him to find another path in life.

One evening by the banks of the Ganges, Karna had just finished washing the chariot and was sitting with his father when a deer emerged from the forest to drink from the river.

Radheya's hand quickly grabbed his bow and slowly placed an arrow on the bowstring. The deer raised its head to look at Radheya, and at that moment, an arrow was released from his bow. The deer quickly ran, but the arrow had already struck its neck.

Radheya quickly grabbed another arrow and shot the deer that was running. The second arrow hit the deer's leg, causing it to fall and unable to get up again.

Adhiratha became immediately happy and ran towards the deer. "We got another deer."

Radheya smiled with joy, knowing that his mother would also be happy.

He had started learning archery years ago when he saw wild animals occasionally coming to drink while he washed the chariot. He wanted to catch those wild animals and immediately asked his father for a bow and arrow.

Adhiratha bought him a bow and several arrows made by the blacksmith.

Approaching his 13th birthday, by the banks of the Ganges, Adhiratha said while looking at his son,

"Radheya, I am truly impressed by your skill in handling the horses. You do it so well." Adhiratha paused for a moment. "But I know you don't want to be a charioteer. Your eyes always look into the distance as if there's something else you want to do. Tell me, what is your true desire?"

Radheya lowered his head, hesitant to answer his true desire for various reasons.

"Radheya, I am your father. I will do my best to help you. Tell me."

"Father," Radheya whispered softly, "I enjoy martial arts and the art of warfare."