F for Faith

There can be no love without faith. It is said ‘feed your faith and all your doubts will starve to death, feed your doubts and see your faith wither away’.  Faith can be as delicate as glass or as strong as steel, depending on how you decide to treat it.

Here’s yet another tale from the Mahabharata that talks of faith, love and friendship, that will warm your heart just as it warmed mine.

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Karna had come to the royal palace to meet his friend, Duryodhana, the crown prince of Hastinapur. He asked the soldiers for an audience with his friend. Duryodhana was away and thus he was met by Duryodhana’s wife, Bhanumathi.

“Greetings, brother Karna! Your friend is away and will be back by evening,” said Bhanumathi, offering him a glass of flavored water.

“Oh, is it?  I would like to wait here till brother Duryodhana returns,” said Karna, “I have something very important to discuss with him.”

Bhanumathi thought for a moment and then asked, “Brother Karna, would you like to play a game of dice with me until my Swami comes home?”

“I would like that very much Bhabhisri”, said Karna. “What are you putting at stake?” he asked following her to her chamber.

After the stakes were decided, they settled for a game of dice. As the game progressed, Karna appeared to be winning.

“Ah! Bhabhisri,” said Karna rubbing the dice in his hands gleefully, “Get ready to lose, for I just need a twelve for a win.”

Bhanumathi was about to say something witty, when she saw her husband entering her chamber. Seeing him, she immediately got up to greet him. Karna, whose back was to the door, did not see Duryodhana coming and thought Bhanumathi was quitting the game to avoid the embarrassment of losing to him.

“Bhabhisri, you cannot escape thus,” he mocked, tugging at her drape that was studded with hundreds of white pearls. “You must complete the game.”

Tugged at by his powerful hands, the thread of the pearls snapped and the entire chain of pearls on her drape rolled out onto the floor.

Bhanumathi was stunned. Would her husband misunderstand her and Karna? Would it make him angry? Would she be blamed for no fault of hers?

Looking at Bhanumathi’s expressions, Karna, turned to see what had shocked her. He saw Duryodhana at the door and was suddenly distressed and embarrassed beyond words himself.

What would his friend think? He not only had the audacity to play dice with his friend’s wife in her chamber but he had also committed the unpardonable act of catching her drape.

He stood transfixed not knowing what to say. Duryodhana would surely not tolerate such immodesty. He would be punished and so would Bhanumathi. He stood silently with his head bowed waiting to be sentenced.

Duryodhana looked at the both of them and smiled. “Should I just collect these pearls or should I string them as well?” he asked tongue-in-cheek.

Karna and Bhanumathi were both relieved hearing Duryodhana’s words and also ashamed for having misjudged the mighty King. He not only had immense faith and great love for his queen Bhanumathi, but his faith in his friend Karna was even implicit.

A faith so strong, that Karna never had to think twice before standing in support of his friend and Bhanumathi never had to question her husband's motives. 

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 It takes great gumption to believe what you do not see, and to see what you believe, and that will become the basic foundation of faith.It is amazing how far a person can go when armed with someone’s love and unwavering faith.

Linking back to the A to Z challenge.

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This day....last year...F for Forgive