Drupada listened carefully and immediately followed the instructions.
The attendants brought the vessels of milk, and the two children were bathed according to the ancient custom.
It was an unusual sight, particularly because neither appeared to be a newborn in the ordinary sense, yet the ritual treated them as such.
Drupada watched his son and daughter with a strange mixture of pride and wonder as the milk flowed over their bodies and was then washed away.
Clothes were brought next, followed by ornaments befitting the children of a king.
The young warrior was dressed and adorned as a prince, while the girl was dressed in fine garments and ornaments appropriate to a royal daughter.
Drupada then stepped forward for the final rite. He pricked his finger, allowed a small amount of blood to collect upon it, and carefully placed the tika upon his son's forehead.
"You shall be known as Dhrishtadyumna," he proclaimed, giving the warrior the name by which he would henceforth be recognized.
Then he turned toward the girl.
His expression softened as he looked at her, perhaps finally realizing that this daughter whom he had barely thought to ask anything for was now standing before him as a divine blessing. He touched his blood to her forehead and gave her the name Draupadi.
With that final act, the ritual was complete. Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi were no longer merely manifestations of Agni's blessing within the yajna. They had been formally accepted as Drupada's children, and in that moment, their births were complete.
The sacred fire continued to burn quietly before them. Drupada remained beside the yajna kund for a while, looking at his two children. Karna could see the satisfaction on his face, but he also sensed that another matter remained. Drupada eventually turned toward him. "Maharaj Karna, there is one thing left."
Karna looked at him. "What is it?"
"Your dakshina."
Karna shook his head. "I do not require one, Raja Drupada."
But Drupada immediately refused. "You must accept it. Without the dakshina, this yajna cannot be properly accepted. You have performed the ritual with me and brought about the blessings I sought. I cannot allow you to leave without accepting something from me."
Karna studied him for a moment. He understood the importance Drupada attached to the custom. Refusing any further would only make the king uncomfortable. "Very well. If you insist, then give me some gold or anything else that is within your capacity. Whatever you give, I will accept."
Drupada shook his head.
"I am willing to give you anything you demand, Maharaj."
Karna raised an eyebrow.
"Anything?"
"Anything."
A faint smile appeared on Karna's face. "What I demand may not be pleasant."
That immediately made Drupada uneasy.
For the first time, his mind began wandering toward possibilities he did not want to consider. 'What could he ask for?' Karna was not an ordinary king. He was the ruler of Dakshina Kalinga, one of the most powerful warriors in Aryavarta and a man whose influence extended far beyond his own kingdom. Could he ask for land? Could he ask for gold? Could he ask for a political concession? For a moment, Drupada even wondered whether Karna might ask for part of Panchala itself.
Karna noticed his expression and chuckled.
"Do not worry, Raja Drupada. What I want is not materialistic."
Drupada looked at him with renewed curiosity. "Then please, go ahead."
Karna's expression became serious.
"Fine. Since you insist, I will ask you to forget the enmity of your ancestors and extend a peace treaty toward Hastinapura. That will be my dakshina."
Drupada stared at him.
Karna continued before he could misunderstand. "I am not asking you to abandon your personal grievance against Drona. Nor am I asking you to become an ally of Hastinapura. I am asking you to let go of the enmity between your kingdom and theirs. Whatever happened between your ancestors and theirs belongs to the past. Do not carry that hatred forward simply because it was inherited."
Drupada remained silent.
Karna's request was far more difficult than gold.
Gold could be given from a treasury and forgotten. A political agreement could be written upon a palm leaf. But abandoning an inherited enmity required something entirely different. It required a king to decide that the grievances of the dead would no longer determine the lives of the living.
Drupada looked toward the sacred fire.
He thought about his newly born son and daughter.
Then he looked back at Karna.
"I promise."
Karna nodded.
Drupada had expected a demand for wealth or territory. Instead, Karna had asked him to end an old hatred. There was something almost fitting about it. The yajna had been performed to bring new life into Panchala, and Karna's dakshina was asking him not to allow old hatred to poison that future.
But Karna was not finished.
He looked toward Draupadi.
"And there is something I wish to ask that concerns her."
Drupada listened.
"I ask you to accept me as I take your daughter as my ritual sister, both of us connected by Yajna."
Drupada's eyes widened slightly as Karna continued, his voice steady. "And I promise before the heavens that I will always be there for her as her brother."
For a moment, Drupada could say nothing.
Then a smile slowly appeared upon his face.
He looked toward Draupadi, then back at Karna.
There was something reassuring about the promise. This was not merely a ceremonial relationship being created for political convenience. Karna had not asked for her hand, her wealth, or any advantage through her. He had simply chosen to become her brother and had given his word that he would protect her.
And Drupada knew exactly what such a promise meant coming from Karna.
The King of Dakshina Kalinga was already spoken of across the land as one of the greatest warriors alive. His name carried weight among kings, warriors, and even those who opposed him. A promise of protection from such a man was itself a formidable blessing.
"Then I accept," Drupada said quietly.
He turned toward the sacred fire. "I have something to announce as well."
Karna stood beside him.
Drupada raised his hand and spoke before Agni, taking the fire as witness to his oath. "As long as I remain upon the throne of Panchala, Dakshina Panchala shall remain on the side of Dakshina Kalinga. We shall not carry enmity against one another, and our kingdoms shall remain bound by peace."
The flames moved gently as though acknowledging the oath.
Karna watched them in silence.
The yajna that had begun with Drupada's desire for an heir had ended with far more than the birth of two children. Panchala had gained a prince and a princess, an old enmity had been set aside, and Karna had gained a sister.
Neither of them yet understood how much the last of those promises would eventually matter.