The Arena Closes with New Alliances and Fears
As the torches are lit at the end of the day's events, Duryodhana leads his new champion Karna away. The crowd disperses with divided loyalties, and a secret is born when Kunti recognizes her abandoned son but says nothing, while Yudhishthira quietly acknowledges a new, formidable rival.
The sun set. The arena, which had witnessed the Pandavas' display of martial skill and Karna's shocking challenge, was now lit by the flames of myriad torches. The public spectacle was over.
King Duryodhana grasped Karna's hand and led him away. With Drona, Kripa, and Bhishma, the Pandavas also returned to their own homes. The crowd broke apart, everyone going to their respective houses. As they left, their voices carried the division sown that day: some hailed Arjuna, some Karna, and some Duryodhana.
In that dispersing crowd, Kunti was filled with a private, conflicted delight. Out of affection for her son, and because she recognized him from the various auspicious marks on his body, she knew the truth. The brilliant, arrogant archer who had challenged Arjuna and been made king of Anga was Karna, her firstborn, the son she had set adrift on the river so long ago. She said nothing.
For Duryodhana, the calculation was simple and triumphant. Having obtained Karna, he quickly banished the fears that had arisen from witnessing Arjuna's unparalleled skills. He now had a champion. The skilled warrior Karna, for his part, gratified Suyodhana (Duryodhana) with sweet words, binding their new alliance.
And Yudhishthira, the eldest Pandava, known for his adherence to truth, quietly assessed the new reality. At that time, he thought that there was no archer equal to Karna on earth. The factions of the future had solidified in a single afternoon.