Drupada stared at him. Dhrishtadyumna looked equally surprised.
Karna continued, his voice calm despite the tension surrounding them. "I have the divine chariot. I can search the surrounding region far faster than any army. If they are still nearby, I can find them. If they have already traveled a considerable distance, I can still search much farther than your soldiers could in the same amount of time."
Drupada remained silent, his mind racing. *How can he be so certain? What does he already know that I do not?*
Karna looked across the arena. The forty-seven rulers were still standing. Some were furious. Some were confused. Some looked insulted. Some were already demanding explanations from the Panchala officials.
"You need to remain here," Karna said firmly. "You and Dhrishtadyumna both. More than half of these kings are probably angry already, and if both of you leave, there will be nobody here to control the situation."
Dhrishtadyumna glanced toward the suitors. *He is right,* he thought. *If Father and I both leave, this gathering will turn into chaos within moments.*
The anger in the arena was becoming more obvious by the moment.
Karna turned back to Drupada. "Postpone the Swayamvara."
Drupada's eyes narrowed. "For how long?" he asked.
"Give me atleast one prahar," Karna answered.
"Yes." Karna's voice remained firm. "By then, I will solve this issue and bring her back."
Drupada looked at him for several long moments. He wanted to ask how Karna intended to find his daughter so quickly. He wanted to demand where she had gone and why she had disappeared. He wanted to understand how such a thing could have happened inside a palace that had been guarded so carefully. But there was no time for all of those questions. *I have no better choice,* he realized. *If anyone can find her quickly, it is him.*
Finally, Drupada nodded. "Go," he said.
Karna turned. He began walking toward the edge of the arena. The crowd parted instinctively as he moved through it. He did not hurry. There was no need. Once he reached an open stretch of ground where there was sufficient space above and around him, Karna stopped.
The arena had fallen almost completely silent. The forty-seven suitors watched him. Dhrishtadyumna watched him. Drupada watched him. Then Karna looked upward. He summoned his divine chariot.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the sky seemed to brighten. A golden chariot emerged from above, descending rapidly toward the arena. The seven divine horses pulling it shone beneath the morning sun, their movements controlled and powerful, while the great symbol of Suryadev gleamed upon the chariot itself.
A collective gasp passed through the crowd. Even the kings who had spent years around divine weapons stared openly. The chariot descended toward the ground without disturbing the people nearby, its divine presence making the entire arena feel suddenly smaller.
Karna leapt. He landed inside the chariot with effortless precision. The seven horses immediately responded. The chariot rose. For a moment it hovered above the arena. Then it shot toward the sky. The crowd watched as the golden chariot disappeared into the distance.
Duryodhana had been standing among the Kuru delegation throughout the entire exchange. His patience finally broke. He stepped forward and raised his voice across the arena.
"What is going on, Panchala Naresh?" he demanded. "Where is the princess?"
Drupada turned toward him. The king's face had hardened completely. His hands clenched into fists. His mind could think of only one thing.
*Draupadi.*
And beneath the anger, beneath the humiliation, beneath the confusion that had overtaken the Swayamvara, another thought struck him with far greater force.
*What have you done?*
***
Karna continued flying for several minutes after leaving the Swayamvara arena, the divine chariot moving across the sky with a speed that no ordinary horse or chariot could match.
From above, Kampilya spread beneath him in a wide expanse of streets, houses, gardens, temples and open fields, with the city's outer settlements gradually thinning as the chariot moved toward the outskirts.
Karna kept his eyes moving constantly, searching every road that led away from the city, every small group of travelers and every cluster of horses that could possibly belong to someone trying to leave unnoticed.
*Searching the Potter's house will be useless,* he thought. *They left it days ago. Once they realized their presence might be discovered, they would never have stayed in the same place. If Arjuna decided to take her, he would not remain inside Kampilya.*
He therefore had to think differently.
Finding Draupadi herself would be difficult from the sky. Finding Arjuna would be difficult too. But Bhima was another matter. A man of Bhima's height and enormous build was not something one encountered casually, especially not among Brahmanas dressed in simple clothing. There might be hundreds of Brahmanas in Kampilya, but very few would possess that kind of physical presence.
Karna narrowed his eyes as the chariot moved beyond the city's main boundaries. *If they are traveling by horse, they cannot have gone too far.*
He continued scanning the roads. Then he saw them. Two horses were moving along a road on the outskirts of Kampilya, well away from the crowded city. One carried two riders. The second carried a single man whose broad shoulders and massive frame immediately caught Karna's attention.
Karna's expression hardened. *Bhima. There is no longer any doubt.* He looked toward the other horse. The man riding with Draupadi was dressed simply, but the bow he carried made his identity almost obvious now. *Arjuna.*
Karna did not waste another moment. He guided the divine chariot past them, turned sharply in the air, and descended ahead of the two horses. The chariot landed across the road, forcing the riders to slow and eventually stop. The horses reared slightly at the sudden appearance of the divine vehicle.
Arjuna immediately tightened his grip on the reins. *He found us already?* Bhima's fingers curled into a fist. Draupadi stared, her heart beating hard against her ribs.
Karna stepped down from the chariot. His expression was serious. There was no anger in his face yet, but there was enough disappointment that Arjuna understood immediately that this would not be a friendly conversation.
Karna looked directly at him. "That is enough running away," he said. "Now I will be taking Draupadi back with me."
Arjuna remained silent for a moment, his thoughts racing. *If I let him take her back, everything we planned collapses.* Then he said, "I am afraid that is not possible, Maharaj Karna."
Karna stared at him. "You knew I was trying to help you," he said, his voice quiet but heavy. "I gave you a choice. I even spoke with Maharaj Drupada and amended the rules so that extraordinary Brahmana archers could participate in the Swayamvara. I made certain that someone like you would have a chance to stand before the challenge. But instead of trying to win her hand like a brave warrior, you took her away on the very day of her Swayamvara. Are you not ashamed of what you have done?"
Arjuna looked at him steadily. *He still does not understand the position we are in.*
"You speak of choice, Maharaj Karna," he answered, "but what choice did we actually have?"
Karna frowned. *What does he mean by that?*