Scene 1
Pandu's coronation. After the ceremony, a solemn Pandu seeks the blessings of all the elders and retires to his private chambers.Queen Kunti is grief-stricken. Pandu explains it was the duty of every kshatriya to undertake military conquest. Kunti pointedly asks him whether he didn't undertake this solely for the sake of his elder brother. Pandu admits it was partly so but says that undertaking digvijaya was his dream and he was doing it voluntarily and whole-heartedly.
Pandu then goes to Madri to take leave of her. Madri cries that she had prayed so fervently to all gods for getting Pandu as her husband and rues why the god who had granted her the boon also cursed her with separation. She insists she could not bear his separation. She could drive his chariot and accompany him as Kaikeyi accompanied Dasharatha a long time back. Pandu declares the suggestion as not feasible.
Pandu meets Bhishma and Satyavati next. Bhishma appreciates Pandu's sacrifice in voluntarily giving up the rule of Hastinapura. Satyavati expresses her gratitude to Pandu for tactfully solving a crisis and protecting the interests of Hastinapura. She blesses him for the successful completion of his military campaign.
After obtaining blessings from his mother Ambalika, Pandu visits Dhritarashtra, Gandhari and Shkuni. Shakuni, as usual, is cunning, and from Pandu's wry expression, we can say he is well aware of Shakuni's intentions. Gandhari says Pandu's decision showed his generosity. She assures him that she will take care of Kunti and Madri as her own sisters.
In a private conversation with his attendent, Shakuni admits to his initial apprehensions when the decision to crown Pandu was announced, but luckily, Pandu got caught in the fishing hook he had tossed.
Pandu then leaves on his long journey.
Scene 2
Kunti is performing Puja to Goddess Durga, when all of a sudden, she notices two men carrying a huge casket. She then remembers the casket with her child that she had cast in the river. She asks the men to leave it in her room, and with a thudding heart, she opens it. The casket contains sculpted images of gods and goddesses.She then seeks permission from Satyavati to visit her ailing friend at Mathura.
At Mathura, she meets her confidante Bhadra (Patra - Tamil pronunciation??) and tells her that the workers at the Hastinapur palace brought a casket similar to the one they used to float her baby on the river. She begs Bhadra to accompany and help her in looking for the child because she couldn't bear the tormenting thoughts of the abandoned baby. If she could trace her child, she would tell the world that it was her son.
Bhadra consoles Kunti and tells her that her son was growing in the house of Adiratha, a charioteer. Kunti grieves he had face hardships as the son of a charioteer, but Bhadra says the child is being looked after well.
Scene 3
Karna is now eight-year old. He is helping his parents clean the chariot and tend the horse. All of a sudden he notices a chariot driven by a horse that has gone out of control. He jumps into the chariot from a tree and safely halts it.Whereas Pandu readily goes to forest to avoid confrontation with his brother, Karna grows up without knowing he would be embroiled in a fight with his brother. At the same time, the anarchy in Mathura under Kamsa calls for Lord Vishnu to take his Avatar.
The people in a village near Mathura go about their activities peacefully when a horde of horsemen headed by Kamsa trample a young boy and gallop away. The people wail and pray to God to end their suffering.
Narayana stands before His wives and assure them that he is fully aware of everything, because His mind is always alert. He tells them that the people of Mathura will have to witness many more atrocities. He then assures them that the time to establish dharma is close.
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