Read Online AJAYA - RISE OF KALI (Book 2) by Anand Neelakantan - Free Book Online

know I fought him for six hard months, with the entire might of Hastinapura behind me? Did I claim victory? All I got was a disadvantageous truce! Do you young hotheads even know what you are saying?”
    Suyodhana looked at the Grand Regent and said clearly, “Sir, Karna has done nothing wrong.”
    “Vidhura, are they crazy or just plain stupid? Fools! Now listen to me. If you want to fight this war, fight it far from Hastinapura. Suta, your ego and arrogance are galling, but I will not stop you. Just stay away from my city.”
    “Sir, we will take...” Suyodhana stopped short when Bhishma raised his hand.
    “We? Who is this ‘we’? You are not going anywhere, Suyodhana. I cannot, in all conscience, send you on such a suicidal mission. You will stay here in Hastinapura and learn to rule. You have done a shameful thing today. You will have to learn to face your subjects. You cannot run from your responsibilities. Let this Suta fight and die at the hands of the Southern Confederate. I will not stop him.”
    “I do not expect Prince Suyodhana to come with me,” Karna said.
    Bhishma stared at them and then said to Suyodhana, his face expressionless, “At least the Suta has some sense.”
    “Sir, you are insulting me,” retorted Suyodhana, his eyes ablaze.
    “It was meant to be so. Neither you nor your cousin Yudhishtra are fit to rule. You have demonstrated that to the whole world today.”
    “Pitamaha! Do you not yourself cling to power? How can you then accuse everyone else of being fools?”
    Bhishma remained standing, his face devoid of expression. Vidhura rushed to Bhishma. Still staring at Suyodhana, the Grand Regent slowly sat, his head bent, not wanting these young men to catch him in a moment of weakness. After all the sacrifices he had made, after all the wars he had fought, after all the hard work, this is what he got; he bit his lips in bitterness. Power! When had he ever been hungry for power? He had always carried it as a burden. He could have been King, yet he had remained true to his vow, and this is what he got for his sacrifice. And that too from the boy he had loved the most. This ungrateful lad! Was this Suta so important that Suyodhana would speak to him so? The Crown Prince had to be saved from Karna. Hastinapura had to be saved from this arrogant low-caste upstart.
    Only the white-knuckled grip on the armrests betrayed the Grand Regent’s emotions. ‘Three decades of selfless service and I have to live to see this day,’ he thought bitterly. Bhishma could feel Vidhura’s comforting presence. Who knew, perhaps even Vidhura would turn against him one day.
    With sudden energy, he pushed away Vidhura and stood erect. Although his eyes glistened with unshed tears, he was the Grand Regent of the Kurus once again. He turned to Suyodhana and the Crown Prince took a step back. But Karna stood his ground, putting himself between Suyodhana and the Grand Regent.
    “Move away, Suta, I have something to say to my grand-nephew.”
    Karna and Bhishma stared at each other. It was Karna who looked away and stepped back to stand behind Suyodhana.
    “Suyodhana, foolish son, you think you can make me feel guilty and I will toe the line? You think this Suta can fight and win against Parashurama? Ha! I am still the only man equal to Parashurama.”
    “Karna will fight Parashurama and he will win,” Suyodhana stated calmly.
    Bhishma stared at him and then broke into bitter laughter, his body shaking with contemptuous mirth. “You say a Suta is going to win where I failed? Suyodhana, I have never gambled in my life but today I will. Let this Suta come back alive, I do not even say he has to win, just let him return alive, and I promise I will step down as Grand Regent.”
    Suyodhana bowed to Bhishma and walked out of the chamber. Karna looked at the mighty warrior before him, then kneeled and touched the floor at his feet. Raising his hand to his head in obeisance, he rose gracefully and walked away. The door