The sky was no longer sky. It was a battlefield of gods.Thunder rolled like war drums, lightning lashed like serpents of fire, and beneath it stood Karna, the son of Surya, his bow Vijaya blazing like the rising dawn.
Indra's chariot floated upon the stormclouds, drawn by white horses that shone like lightning themselves. His hand gripped the Vajra, but his arsenal was vast—he was not merely a wielder of thunder; he was the master of countless divine astras.
"Show me, son of the Sun," Indra roared, "whether your fire can truly rival the storm of heaven!"
First Exchange – Agneyastra vs Varunastra
Karna raised an arrow, whispering the mantra of Agneyastra. The shaft burst into a column of flame, hotter than the desert winds, fiercer than forest fire. He loosed it, and the arrow transformed into a river of fire that surged toward Indra's chariot.
Indra's lips curved into a smile. He chanted a counter-mantra and loosed his own arrow—the Varunastra, the weapon of water. A deluge poured forth from his shaft, an ocean released into the sky.
Flame and flood collided in midair. Steam exploded across the heavens, shrouding the battlefield in mist. The roar of fire and the crash of waves echoed as if creation itself was at war.
Second Exchange – Vayavyastra vs Nagastra
Through the mist, Indra summoned the Vayavyastra, weapon of the wind. His arrow unleashed a tempest, a cyclone that tore trees from the ground and hurled them skyward. The storm raged toward Karna like the fury of ten thousand hurricanes.
Karna planted his feet. His eyes narrowed, and he invoked the Nagastra. From his bow shot a serpent-arrow, which multiplied into a thousand hooded cobras of fire and smoke. They hissed and coiled through the storm, biting into the wind itself, shattering the cyclone with their fiery venom.
The tempest fell apart. The air trembled. Indra's brows lifted—few mortals could counter the wind itself.
Third Exchange – Suryaastra vs Indrastra
Now Karna's blood burned with divine fire. He called upon the Suryaastra, channeling the very essence of his father. His arrow blazed like the midday sun, so brilliant that even Indra's horses faltered, neighing in terror.
Indra's eyes narrowed. He raised his own arrow, chanting the mantra of the Indrastra. A bolt of lightning, sharper than any sword, leapt from his bowstring and split the air with deafening fury.
Sunfire and lightning clashed. The heavens shook. Birds fell from the sky, blinded by the brilliance. The villagers far below covered their eyes and wept, believing the end of the world had come.
Fourth Exchange – Bhargavastra vs Vajra
Indra's fury deepened. "You wield astras well, Karna. But no mortal has ever faced the Vajra and lived. Now feel the wrath that slew the Asuras themselves!"
He hurled his thunderbolt. The Vajra tore through the sky like a mountain of lightning, its roar louder than a thousand storms.
Karna's face remained calm, though his heart thundered within his chest. He invoked the Bhargavastra, gift of Parashurama, the weapon that carried the fury of the earth's guardian sages. His arrow flew, glowing like molten rock, burning with the breath of volcanoes.
The two collided.Lightning against earthfire.Heaven against mortal defiance.
The explosion was so great that mountains shook and rivers turned back in their course. Half the sky went white, the other half black. For a moment, creation itself seemed to hold its breath.
Final Exchange – Stalemate of Fate
When the light faded, Karna still stood, his bow unbroken, his body shielded by his golden kavacha and kundala. His feet were rooted in the soil of Bharat, unyielding as the land itself.
Indra hovered in the sky, Vajra returned to his hand but faintly dimmed, its brilliance marred by cracks of exhaustion.
The devas above, who had gathered to witness, murmured in astonishment. A mortal had withstood the might of the thunder god, not by trickery, but by sheer mastery of astras.
Indra's fury cooled into a grudging respect. Yet pride forbade him from bowing.
"You have strength worthy of legends, Karna," he said, voice softer, but still edged. "But remember this—your glory will come with a price. The armor that shields you is not yours to keep forever. One day, I shall take it. And when that day comes, not even the sun shall save you."
Karna lowered his bow and smiled faintly. "If fate demands it, so be it. But until that day, O Lord, know this—I shall fight not to challenge the heavens, but to protect the people who live beneath them."
For a heartbeat, silence lingered. Then Indra turned his chariot and vanished into the heavens, leaving the sky calm once more.
The duel was over. No victor was declared, but the earth itself knew: a mortal had stood against the thunder god, and neither had prevailed.
And thus began the silent enmity between Indra and Karna, a shadow that would follow both until the end of the great war.