'All the respected warriors of Hastinapur..'
'..are bound by some loyalty or the other.'
'Karna knows that he is Kunti's eldest son.'
'But gratitude has bound him to Duryodhan.'
'Grandsire Bhishma, sages Drona and Kripa..'
'..are bound to Hastinapur.'
'Only Vidhur is not bound to anything.'
'He is free of Hastinapur.'
'Which is why when war became inevitable..'
'..though he decided to stay on in Hastinapur..'
'..he did decide..'
'..to resign from the post of prime minister..'
'..during this battle between truth and untruth.'
'Hastinapur, he felt, was under the banner of untruth.'
Vidhur?
My respect, o king!
Why the surprise in your voice, my lord?
Has my footstep changed?
No, Vidhur! Your footstep has not changed..
..but I am no longer confident in recognizing sound.
Maybe my ability to recognize sounds..
..is slowly fading away.
O Vidhur! You are an evolved soul!
An expert in ethics!
Please guide me, my brother.
O king!
When war is inevitable..
..a king should not be in a dilemma.
Order your soul to close..
..the doors of your dilemma.
That is the problem, Vidhur!
Whenever I find a solution to my dilemma..
..you raise the matter all over again.
I have come to you with a permanent solution.
O king!
Medical science says that if a part of the body is diseased..
..the surgeon should..
..cut away that portion.
Hence, if I am..
..a diseased part of your politics..
..I am willing to turn a surgeon..
..and have myself cut away from the polity.
Vidhur..
Are you talking of leaving me?
Has the cancer spread so far that..
..my younger brother Vidhur..
..who was my shadow..
..now wants to leave me?
I can never leave you, my brother!
Never!
But my loyalty to you has made me helpless.
Helpless.
Now, I am resigning from..
..the prime minister.
No!
No.
Which means I am truly..
..alone at last!
I never liked your advice but..
..your words reminded me of you.
My dear Pandu has gone to heaven..
..but you were with me.
Now you wish to leave me along..
..with the terrible result of the war.
What should I do?
I am not in favor of war.
That's why I will not fight..
..on any one side in this war.
I am going home..
..where I shall isolate myself.
Don't return without your turban.
My respects!
Here!
Here.
"Vidhur pays the price for.."
"..standing up for truth."
"He resigns from his post.."
"..opening his eyes at last."
Do not worry, sister!
If there is war, your sons will surely win.
I am not worried about victory.
I am worried about Duryodhan.
Whatever he is, he is my son too.
How can I mourn for him in front of his mother?
What do I say to her?
My respects!
May you live long!
Do not bless me thus!
What will I do with a long life?
If all the old people in Hastinapur die..
..it will be good for them.
How many corpses can their feeble shoulders carry?
Do their old eyes have enough..
..tears to shed over every corpse?
Is there any hope of avoiding war?
If there was hope..
..would I refuse a blessing?
What did grandsire say?
He is now commander of the Kaurav army.
I don't understand..
..how the Pandavas will face him in war.
Who can hurt a warrior with wishful death?
But will he want to live after seeing the..
..corpses of his sons and grandsons?
He represents the glory of our dynasty.
Find a way to ensure his long life, Vidhur!
How can I ensure that?
Every road that leads to..
..and goes away from Hastinapur..
..is the path of destruction.
O God!
Where are you going?
I would leave if I could but..
..I, too, must share Hastinapur's destruction.
The tears I am fated to shed..
..must be shed.
Charity begins at home, dear Karna.
Please forgive your mother!
This arena is a public place where I publicly announce..
..that I be declared the best archer..
..or the Kuru family's best archer..
..fight a duel with me and prove..
..that he is really the best archer.
Allow me to introduce you to the archer..
..you have challenged.
He is Arjun, son of king Pandu of the lunar dynasty.
He is queen Kunti's son and sage Drona's student.
Introduce yourself, archer.
No!
No, Karna!
Forgive me, my son! Forgive me!
Forgive me!
No!
My respects, lady!
Sit in the shade of that tree..
..and tell me how I can serve you.
Sit here!
Doesn't the sun light hurt you?
There is a scorching sun in my heart.
I have come to ask for something.
I know that, lady.
Everyone who comes to me, asks for something.
But before asking, will you introduce yourself?
The manner in which you asked is not usual.
It seems you are asking for a favor for the first time.
If you cannot ask for a favor, don't!
Command me!
No! I don't have any right to order you.
Only your mother Radha can do that.
I bow to the lady..
..whom you call your mother..
..and receive her blessings.
Do you know her?
Who in India does not know your mother?
Forget the others! Even I do not know my mother.
She threw me in the river Ganga soon after my birth.
The lady whose name you just took..
..is not my mother.
She is more than a mother.
She sang the lullabies that my mother..
..should have sung.
Her gentle hands put me to sleep.
It was in her lap that I was put to sleep in.
Even today when my soul is aching..
..it is she who applied the healing touch.
Even then, my life is a vacuum.
My heart still aches for my real mother.
Sometimes I wish..
..I would meet her..
..and after bowing to her, ask her.
Mother! Tell me, what is my fault?
For what crime am I being punished?
What if she explains her helplessness?
- What will you do? - Helplessness?
God may become helpless..
..but a mother is never helpless.
Even a mother can be helpless.
I know your mother's helplessness.
You know my mother's helplessness?
How do you know it?
I know it because..
..because I am the helpless mother..
..who had sacrificed her first son.
You?
- Yes. - You are my mother?
Yes, my son! Yes!
I bow to the queen mother of Indraprasth!
My son!
Do not call me 'son'! I am Radha's son, Radhey.
And you are queen mother Kunti!
The mother of the Pandavas!
How surprising that queen Kunti..
..should ask a charioteer's son for a favor!
Ask, queen Kunti!
To serve you is my pleasure.
My son!
But please don't call me 'son'.
Why not, my son?
You are my son, Karna!
I was your son even..
..when you rejected me.
Even today it is not my love which has brought you here.
It must be some other motive.
It must be your selfishness.
How can the charitable Karna be so stern?
How can you be so stern?
I am not being stern, mother.
It is only the pain in my heart.
You gave my share of your love to the other sons..
..and you are calling me stern?
The world heaped insults on me and yet..
..you remained quiet?
How did you remember your rejected son?
What do you want from your discarded son?
Ask for what you want and return to the palace.
If anyone sees you with me..
..questions will be asked..
..and you will not be able to tell them..
..that I am your son.
You are as helpless today..
..as you were when I was born.
For a moment forget your bitterness..
..and lay your head on my lap.
Allow me to stroke your head.
Karna, my son!
My head, mother..
.. is not worthy of being placed on your lap.
I don't want to defile your lap.
Don't say that, my son.
I am not your son.
Calling myself your son will be an insult..
..to the lady who brought me up.
You are not my mother but Arjun's shield.
Had you come here as my mother..
..you would have sat in your chariot..
..and told your charioteer..
..to take you to your eldest son's house.
At my house, you would have told the doorman..
..to tell me..
..that my mother is here to bless me.
But you did not do that..
..because you had nothing to give me.
Instead, you chose this place and time with care.
You knew I would not refuse any favors here.
You are not here to make me your son..
..but to ask for Arjun's life.
So, remove this mask of motherhood and ask!
Did you not recognize me in the arena?
If you did, why did you not stop Arjun and Bhim..
..from insulting me? Why didn't you tell them that..
..I wasn't Radhey?
When I was insulted in the Kuru court by your sons..
..why didn't you say that I was your son too?
Why didn't you order them..
..to seek the blessings of their eldest brother?
It is not so, mother!
It is not that I did not cry for you..
..who gave me birth but rejected me.
I often wondered what you looked like.
My imagination would give you different forms.
I would be restless to touch your feet.
Sometimes I would even cry thinking about..
..the helplessness which made you reject me.
Or else, which mother will give up her child?
This would act like a balm to my heart.
But today..
..the politics of your motherhood have wounded me.
You have not brought motherhood to me..
..but some mirage of motherhood.
Today you have crossed all limits of injustice.
Mother! Mother!
The word melts in my mouth.
How I craved to call you that as a child!
But you were satisfied with your five sons.
Today you want me to put my head in your lap?
You know very well that..
..I cannot accept that honor.
I did not get you when I needed you the most.
You left me wandering in a forest of insults.
You watched as I was covered in blood.
Today you need me for your son's life.
Why should I give it to you? Why?
Why should I give it to you?
Karna! My son!
I have bathed in your tears!
I am honored, mother.
Now tell me what do you wish of Radhey?
No Karna! You are not Radhey.
You are Kaunteya!
My eldest son!
I am proud to be your mother.
I will tell the world that I am a mother..
..of not five but six brave warriors.
What is the use of saying that now?
Let me be Radhey.
Radhey is indebted to a few people..
..and he must pay them back.
Tell me, what did you want?
Don't disappoint me, my son!
If what you want is in my power to give..
..you won't be disappointed.
Command me!
Now that you know you are a Kaunteya..
..it is not right that you should fight your brothers.
I have come here to take you with me.
Come to your brothers. They will embrace you.
You will rule the world.
This is the second time I am being called to do that.
Yesterday, Krishna tried to bribe me..
..and today you are trying to bribe me.
No, Karna! This is not a bribe.
It is your right!
My heart is so full of bitterness and sadness..
..that there is no place for any ambition.
I cannot carry out your order.
But why not, my son?
I became a Kaunteya today!
It is my second birth.
But who will repay the debts of Radhey?
When my mother was not my own.
When my brothers were not my own.
When I had no friend in this world..
..Duryodhan extended a hand of friendship.
Will it be right of me to..
..desert him and walk into the Pandava camp?
This is the debt of gratitude.
I do not even want to die before repaying it.
Only my backing has made him fight this war.
Should I now go to him and say that..
..the Pandavas are my brothers and to find another friend.
I am cursed by sage Parshuram and a Brahmin.
Lord Indra has taken away my shield.
Krishna and now you have disarmed me.
Still, I am compelled to fight for Duryodhan..
..as you were compelled to reject me.
Mother! You wanted a favour of me..
..and I could not grant it.
Please forgive me!
But I'll not send you back empty-handed.
You are a mother of five sons.
None except the sun God, you and I know..
..that you have six sons.
So, o mother!
Whatever be the result of the war..
..you will have five sons!
If I die in battle..
..Arjun will survive!
If he dies in battle, I shall survive!
You will remain a mother of five sons.
"O mother! Your motherhood.."
"..will never be suspected."
"Whether Karna survives or Arjun survives.."
"..you will be a mother of five sons."
Greetings, Krishna!
Please sit!
How is elder father?
First ask about our own mother.
- He is older than her. - Then ask about grandsire.
He is not the king!
He is a king who usurped the rights of his nephews.
A warrior's duty is to protect decency.
The day he does not do so, the sun will blacken.
How is elder father?
Healthy but worried.
Even grandsire and the sages are healthy but sad and worried.
The king is worried for a different reason..
..and the sages for another.
The king is worried about the war..
..and the sages with the result of the war.
This means that war is certain.
Yes Arjun! War is certain.
I did my best to avoid this war..
..but Duryodhan is keen on war.
So, war is certain!
Now tell us, how is mother?
Aunt Kunti has sent a special message for you.
She said that the day for which mothers..
..give birth to brave sons has come.
Why did you not bring her with you?
She should not stay in the enemy camp.
That is the ethics of war.
This war is unlike other wars.
The scope of this war is not limited to..
..the clash of weapons.
The dust from the horses' hooves will eclipse the sun.
Day will look like night.
Every heart will become..
..a private battlefield.
Hence, each one is searching for a frame of reference.
Aunt Kunti will also take part.
She has already selected her battlefield.
She will stay there.
If Duryodhan asks for her blessings..
..she will bless him with a long life.
I have come for your blessing.
May you live long!
I wanted a blessing of victory from you.
- Did your mother bless you thus? - No!
She'll never bless me before you do!
Did grandsire bless you thus?
He will lead my army. For me that is a blessing.
Did sage Drona and Kripa bless you?
They will command units in my army.
And Vidhur?
He will never bless me!
He does not want me to win.
He is not my well wisher.
He is Hastinapur's well wisher..
..and also yours!
If elders scold you, you must not be angry.
Nor should you doubt their love for you.
But if you oppose, Hastinapur Vidhur will not side with you.
Do you oppose Hastinapur, Duryodhan?
Hastinapur is our capital. How can I oppose it?
Hastinapur is not only our capital.
It is the focus of our dynasty.
It is our history, our culture.
The city is your elder mother.
Do not think of it as a capital alone!
It is a pride of our dynasty!
If this vanishes, nothing will be left.
This city is your identity.
Protect it but respect it too.
Bow to the cry and ask for a blessing of victory.
I cannot give you that blessing.
Does it mean you do not wish me to be victorious?
I am standing between victory and defeat..
..with my tears in check.
Whoever is defeated, I'll have to cry.
I am not happy with you but I don't want you to die.
That is why I blessed you with a long life.
If you must wage war..
..wear the shield of this blessing.
But I don't know if this shield will protect you..
..from Arjun's arrows and Bhim's mace.
"Truth stands at the crossroads."
"Kunti's heart is in turmoil."
"Whom to bless with victory?"
"Whom to curse with death?"
"Both sides are her own hands."
"Both sides are her own branches."
"Whom should she open her heart to?"
"Whom should she condemn to the pyre?"