Chapter 51 51. Duryodhana, The Unconqurable
A middle-aged man walked out of the group and stood in front of Suyodhan patting his shoulders to gesture to him to stop talking further.
"Banje, There is a limit of things you may ask a wise person, After all some secrets should be kept as one, Never ask someone the main trick behind their action, It is upto you to figure it out, Asking about that is considered as a taboo."
That middle aged man got on his knees to be on the level of Suyodhana as he told him the ethics of the tricks and treachery in a soft gentle doting voice.
Suyodhan realised that what his uncle was talking about, He never knew it is not right to ask the core details of others plans but was about to do it.
He was curious even after Karna's explanation about how Karna knew it would work on his uncle Vidur? Also, how does he come to know about the key secret of what happened that day?
That information is well protected as it will taint the image of their dynasty, Only a few core members of the family knew, A fact that it was his uncle Vidur who read the stars for them is an even more secretive thing, Which only people present there knew about it.
Not even those high-level core members knew it. They were told that an unknown man came and told them about a bad omen to them after seeing Suyodhana.
His uncle might have guessed what he was about to ask and thankfully he prevented him from asking it.
Indeed now he thinks about it. If his mitra knew about this then that means he had gotten this information from some secretive source and if he asked that question he unintentionally had put him in a tough spot.
"Thank you Mama, Forgive me Mitra, I know there are some questions better left unasked."
Suyodhana quickly thanked his mama (Mother's brother) for stopping him in time then he turned around to face Karna and also asked for forgiveness from him.
He felt guilty about what he was going to do. Since he became self-aware all he heard was that others were calling him a bad omen, A curse to their family and faced taunts from the elders.
Only his close family was treating him as the child he was, And now there was another person, Who did not see him as a curse, A sign of bad, The reason for the destruction of his family but he saw him as a boon of Shiva.
He saw him as a child and taught him when he was doing something wrong rather than by default saying he was born evil and should be expected to do something evil. That's why he really wanted to treasure his new, first and currently only friend.
A friend who sees him as who he is not how the world perceives him, The one who understands him and the one who will punish and pull back when he is going to do something wrong.
Hearing Karna saying all that about himself he confirmed that he did not make a mistake giving him a promise that he will not do anything, Karna said not to do, He will never allow him to walk on the evil path and direct him to the right one.
Which all he wants, A guidance. Guidance which will help him to wash away the black spot of his birth being a curse to his family, He did not want to be the reason for his family's destruction.
"Suyodhana as your uncle said, Indeed there are some questions better not to be asked but that doesn't mean you should not ask them, If you really felt from your heart that you need to know why or how something is a way it is, You should not be afraid to ask the question.
And if that causes you problems or you provoke someone, Don't worry we still have Mahamahim Bhishma here. I just sent him to deal with the mess, So don't worry about it, I have his 3 promises, Remember?"
Karna laughed as he saw and heard the words of the uncle of Kauravas. If anyone asked him who had won the Kurukshetra war then his answer would be this man, not Pandavas.
He was the winner of that war. Unlike others, he got what he wanted, which was revenge against Hastinapur and the death of Bhishma. He successfully fulfilled his wishes.
This man though is not nearly as strong as a warrior like Bhishma but Karna is still way more afraid of him than Bhishma, Why?
Simple, This man's mind is his biggest and strongest weapon. His intellect is so much that even the gods could not deal with it. He even doubts that those blue guys without prior knowledge of future events would be able to outsmart him with his terrifying level of intellect.
And what is even more scary is that even though he is not a strong warrior but he is not weak either, He is proficient in the arts of Maya (Illusion) which is even on par with the Maya of Raksha, A dweller of dark, Who are inherently gifted in use of Maya.
So it's not wrong to say Karna respects and admires this warrior. People in his time used to blame this guy for the reason of that war and called him evil, ugly, selfish and whatnot.
But in Karna's eyes he was none of those things, Since when did try to get revenge for his sister's dishonour to become evil? Selfish? All he did was punish the one who was responsible for the tears in her eyes.
The eyes he could never see because she herself was blindfolded for the sake of her husband. The way he did it might not sound or look good but his intention behind it was pure and just.
That's why Karna always wondered how come this man called evil and such but not the man who gambled his wife in a game of Ludo? Or a man who destroyed at least 4 women's lives for his pride? He just doesn't get how those people's reasoning works.
Anyway, This man is in Karna's top priority to add to his group, After all, with his intelligence and Karna's power. There is no way someone is going to stand a chance against them.
"Mitra, I have a request, Can you please listen to it?"
Karna was about to greet that middle aged man but Suyodhana spoke, stopping him in his tracks, Karna looked at him in confusion not understanding what request he had to him.
He can get whatever he wants just by asking, after all, no matter how much others hate him for being a bad omen he is still the prince of Hastinapur, He so has the status and power of the prince.
"Of course, Please say if I can, I will try to fulfil your request."
Karna didn't waste time thinking much about it and asked him to express his request.
"Can you stop calling me Suyodhan? I want to change my name from Suyodhana to Duryodhana."
Suyodhan was a little hesitant to answer Karna but after taking a deep breath he said what was in his mind.
As his words fell, The dining hall became silent, Gandhari looked at him in shock, While his 100 brothers were looking at him in shock even Shushala stopped hiding behind her mother's legs and poked her head out surprised by her brother's words.
Only the middle-aged man and Karna hearing his words understand why Suyodhan had said that, Which put a wide smile on their face.
"Mother, my Anuj's (little brother), Anuja (little sister) and Mama, Can you too call me that? I wanted to change my name from Suyodhana to Duryodhana?"
He then looked at his mother and his siblings and asked them about the decision he made hearing the words of Karna, That opened his eyes.
Indeed Duryodhan is not a bad name, rather it is most suitable for him, A unconquerable, He who was born from the boon of lord Shiva should have this mighty name.
Also, he has another meaning behind choosing this name and that is to tell others that you can't conquer his body but can win his heart and to do that he should understand his mind.
Understand who he is, Who he really is and understand his standing, This is the only way to win over this unconquerable warrior.
"Bhanje (Nephew), Are you sure about this? Did you want to use the name that was used to insult you? Do people not make you a joke?"
Middle aged man, whose name is yet to be revealed yet everyone should already know it said to Suyodhan but not because to prevent him from doing it rather is to hear how he will react to his question.
"Mama, It will be a joke, An insult if I am treated like one, If I just treat it like a compliment others will do the same, After that Duryodhana name will not be used as to insult me but as an honour. I will go down in history as the unconquerable one."
Suyodhan puffed his chest as he answered in a mighty firm voice without any hesitation or fear like a lion showing off his authority.
[Ding! Change in fate detected….
Congratulations to the host for completing a hidden task…
Rewards are being distributed…]
(A/N : What reward will Karna get now?
Like always thank you for reading and have a good day ??.)