Death and Rebirth

"It's always like this.. Karna had just kept his words and was loyal, why did Indra dev decided to do something like that?", Arjun said angrily, when he looked at the scene of Lord Indra, disguised as a beggar, asking for his kundan(earrings) and kavach(armour). He had seen this scene many times, but every time he saw this scene he always got angry.

Arjun like many Indians was watching the great Epic TV show, Mahabharat. This show was once aired in the national channel many years ago, and now due to the lockdown situation, thanks to the pandemic was again aired in many channels. Arjun, was a single child of his parents, and unlike how people would imagine him to live a prosperous life since he was a single child, his life was completely opposite.

His parents were at odds with each other. Even Arjun had no idea why their relationship was at such a stage. But he never asked, since he never saw them talk to each other in his entire life. His parents were rich. His father was an entrepreneur and owned a multi-billion company and his mother was a fashion designer, who designed clothes for many celebrities.

Arjun was also quite famous, and it was all because of his own talents. Arjun had started to write novels, when he was seventeen, and now he is twenty. In this short span, he had gained millions of fans in his social media, and even one of his book was going to become a film. Yep, a film adaptation. That's something an author could feel proud of. And all his other books had great response from the readers too. And many of his fans knew a fact about Arjun, that he had himself accepted. He was a great devotee of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Although he was a firm believer, but he also had a playboy like character, but he never cheated and was never in some kind of controversy, which might have caused his fans to be disgusted by him.

After turning off the TV, Arjun decided to go to the bathroom, to have a bath. It was already evening. And evening is the time for Pooja.

After washing himself, Arjun went to the temple he had built in his villa. It was completely customized, with hints of sci-fi. It had a futuristic appearance, and completely unique.

Like always he lit the lamp, and prayed to the Gods. Then he spent fifteen minutes, talking to his favourite god and Goddess. Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.

Because he was mostly alone in his life, he always thought of Lord Shiva as his father, and Goddess Parvati as his mother. Maybe it was this thinking of his, that made him always talk to them. It might be considered kind of extreme by some, but it is as it is.

Just when he got up, he wished, "If I were able to change Karna's fate... " With a sigh, he decided it was time to work on his novel. So he sat in front of his computer and turned it on. Just when he started typing the words on his computer, he suddenly felt a jolt of electricity on his hands, and it was too painful, that he passed out.

Or that was what Arjun thought happened to him.

When he woke up, he found himself standing on... Snow.

He was frightened from the sudden change in surroundings. Arjun remembered that he was at his house, sitting in front of his computer planning to write his novel, and now he was in some snowy area.

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He looked around, confused, and then saw a figure approaching him. As the figure came closer, he realized who it was. It was Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. Arjun couldn't believe his eyes. He had always wanted to meet them, but he never thought it would happen like this.

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati looked at him with kind eyes. "Welcome, Arjun," Lord Shiva said in a deep voice. "We have been watching you, and we have heard your prayers."

Arjun couldn't believe what he was hearing. "My prayers?" he asked in disbelief. But before they could reply he asked, "Am I dead?"

"Yes, Arjun. We heard your prayers. And sadly, yes you are dead. Your time on that planet has come to an end.," Goddess Parvati said with a smile. " But this would cheer you up. We have heard your prayers, and we have come to help you."

Arjun was overjoyed to hear this. "Thank you, Lord Shiva, and Goddess Parvati," he said with tears in his eyes. "I am grateful for your help."

Yes, he was sad from the fact that he has died, but that emotion was less than the emotion he had when he heard the father and mother had heard his prayers.

'Does this mean, father and mother consider me as their child?', Arjun thought. It was weird when he thought so himself. He was already twenty and he was still behaving awkwardly.

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati smiled at him. Goddess Parvati stepped forward and hugged him. Then she said, "Arjun. Here's a little secret. We had always seen you as our son. From the day you were born, we have been watching you. In your own way, you always caught our attention. " Then she looked at Lord Shiva, her husband, who nodded with a fatherly smile. I couldn't help but wipe the tears that I felt on my cheeks, when I heard their words. 'So doesn't that mean, Ganesha and Karthikeya are my brother's?', Arjun thought.

Mother said, "Yes, they are your brothers. But they are your elder brothers, since they are older than you. But they aren't here, so you can only meet them later. " "We have a task for you, Arjun," Lord Shiva said. I was silent and listened carefully. Now that Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati had accepted me as their son, their words was something I would try to do, even if it was impossible. Lord Shiva continued, "We want you to live Karna's life."

Arjun was taken aback. "Karna?" he repeated. "But Karna is a character from the Mahabharata. How can I live his life?"

"You will be reincarnated as Karna," Goddess Parvati said. "You will experience his life firsthand."

Arjun felt overwhelmed by the task ahead of him. "I will do my best," he said with determination.

The reason was because Arjun always wanted to change the fate of Karna. Even though his name was Arjun, but he always thought Karna to be the best, and the Archer Arjuna was nowhere near him in many of his characteristic traits.

Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati nodded their heads in approval. "We know you will, Arjun," Lord Shiva said. "And we will guide you along the way."

Arjun touched their feet and said, "Bless me, Mother and Father. "

Lord Shiva smiled and said,"May you always walk in the light of truth, and let your actions be guided by honesty and integrity."

Goddess Parvati smiled and said, "May you find joy and fulfillment in all that you do, and may your passions and talents lead you to success."

With that, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati disappeared, and Arjun found himself in a different body, in a different time.