You are welcome, Vidya.
EPISODE 16.
Pandu is crowned as King. He then leaves his throne on his mission to conquer the surrounding kingdoms. He seeks blessings from everyone, including Dhri, who will be ruling in his absence. Kunti and Madri are very upset and Madri insists that she wants to join him as she is trained in the arts of warfare. Pandu refuses. Meanwhile Gandhari promises to look after Kunti and Madri as her own sisters. Sakuni is gleeful that his idea is going well. He is secretly hoping that Pandu will be killed and his brother-in-law will be the King.
Kunti is preparing for prayers. She is very happy. Then she sees two men carrying a wooden box into the palace and she gets scared. Flashback: She and her friend putting a baby in a wooden box and letting it into a river. She asks the soldiers about the box. They tell her they found it at a river bank (Kunti panics more - I wonder why. Must be out of guilt because the box she had put in the river was a few years back). Kunti tells them to leave the box in her room.
Kunti goes to Satyavati and asks permission to go back to her home. Satyavati tells her that her permission is not needed as Kunti is now the Queen, but nevertheless she can go. Kunti then leaves and meets her friend who helped her years ago and tells her that she is still upset and feels guilty over the baby, and tells her about the incident with the box. Her friend tells her that that is not the same box as the one she put her baby in. Kunti asks how she knows? Her friend says she knew that Kunti was upset at sending her baby away so the very next day she started looking for the child but found him only recently. If not for the earrings that he wore, she would have never found him. Kunti asks where the child is now and her friend says he is growing up in a charioteer's home. Kunti despairs that her child is growing up in abject poverty but her friend asks her not to worry as he is surrounded by love and happiness. This is Karna.
Scene changes to woods. Karna and his parents are looking after the animals and doing other chores. A chariot with a woman is travelling. Suddenly the horses lose control and the charioteer falls off. The chariot is going wildly and the woman is in fear. Young Karna (very suitable child actor) sees this, runs fast, climbs on to a tree and jumps down on the chariot and brings the chariot to a halt...
Introduction to Krishna
Scene changes again. Children playing happily, adults doing their chores. Very happy and warm scene of a village. Suddenly horses come thundering - soldiers led by Kamsa, just trample on the villagers, old people and children die. A man carries his dead son and pleads to Vishnu, asking Him when they will be free of Kamsa's tyranny. Lakshmi (Neelima Rani) and Bhoomidevi hear the laments of the villager but Vishnu continues sleeping. They get upset that Vishnu is not doing anything. Vishnu tells them that the suffering of the people is just beginning and that things have to happen before Vishnu can do anything.
...Continues.