The gentle evening wind from the sacred Ganga continued to move across the fertile plains as Karna stood silently upon the elevated patch of land overlooking the riverbanks. The fading sunlight painted the waters gold while countless merchant boats drifted slowly through the current below, their lanterns beginning to flicker awake one by one like stars descending upon the earth.
Behind him, ministers, surveyors, architects and royal scribes stood waiting with rolled maps and wooden measuring rods in their hands, but Karna's attention remained fixed on the land itself.
Not merely the soil.
Not merely the trade routes.
But the future.
The cool breeze carried the smell of wet earth, river clay and distant incense drifting from small shrines near the ghats. Birds crossed the orange sky overhead while workers hammered temporary wooden markers into the ground to define the enclave's first boundaries.
Beside him, Duryodhana watched curiously.
"You have been staring at this land for almost an entire prahar," he finally said with a faint smirk. "What are you seeing that the rest of us are not?"
Karna remained silent for a moment. Then slowly he spoke.
"A kingdom breathes through three things, Duryodhana." His voice remained calm and thoughtful. "Food, trade, and faith."
Duryodhana frowned slightly, listening carefully.
Karna pointed toward the river.
"Food sustains the body." Then toward the merchant vessels. "Trade sustains prosperity." Finally he looked toward the distant horizon where temple smoke rose faintly into the evening sky. "And faith…" His eyes softened slightly. "…faith sustains the soul of civilization."
The prince quietly absorbed those words. Karna then continued walking slowly across the elevated ground while everyone followed behind him.
"The problem with many kingdoms," he said calmly, "is that they build things separately. A king builds a fort somewhere. Merchants settle somewhere else. Temples rise in another direction. Farmers remain abandoned in another corner." He paused briefly. "But when people remain disconnected from one another…" His gaze deepened slightly. "…their hearts also become disconnected."
The wind fluttered his angavastra softly.
"So I will not build merely an enclave here." Karna slowly turned toward everyone. "I will build a living city."
The ministers exchanged glances immediately. Duryodhana folded his arms.
"And what exactly do you intend to create?"
At that, a faint spark appeared in Karna's eyes.
"The Sarvadevalaya Project."
Even the royal scribes looked startled. Karna continued calmly.
"Thanks to the blessings of Syamantakamani…" He glanced briefly toward the river, thinking. "…Dakshina Kalinga no longer suffers the burden of scarcity."
Every single day the divine gem produced unimaginable wealth.
After Karna's daily worship rituals and offerings to the sacred stone, the treasury overflowed steadily like a river during monsoon—seventy-seven kilograms of gold every day.
An amount so vast that even mighty kingdoms would struggle to produce such revenue through taxation alone.
Combined with trade expansion, port revenue, and careful treasury management under Karna's administration, Dakshina Kalinga had already accumulated reserves greater than many ancient empires.
And unlike greedy kings, Karna did not hoard wealth for vanity. He spent it—on roads, hospitals, ports, education, army reforms, public welfare. Now he intended something even greater.
Karna slowly crouched near the ground and used a wooden stick to begin drawing rough outlines upon the soil itself.
"This section…" he said while tracing near the riverside, "will become the spiritual district." He drew several circular structures. "Temples. Ghats. Pilgrim rest houses. A massive Sarvadevalaya where devotees of different deities can worship together."
Duryodhana looked genuinely surprised.
"Different deities… together?"
Karna nodded calmly.
"Truth does not become smaller because people call the Divine by different names." He then added in a softer voice, "A river accepts every stream without hatred. A king should learn from rivers."
The evening breeze became strangely quiet afterward. Even the scribes slowed their writing. Karna continued drawing further along the river.
"Here…" he pointed downstream, "will stand the commercial harbour." His tone became more practical now. "Large docking stations. Protected warehouses. Inspection offices. Ship repair facilities. Tax-free merchant lanes. Pearl, spice, silk and timber markets."
As he described each section, the ministers' eyes widened gradually. The scale itself was enormous. Karna continued without pause.
"Pilgrims who visit Kashi can stop here safely on their journey. Merchants from eastern ports can trade directly through Ganga routes. Southern goods can move north faster." He then looked at Duryodhana. "And Southern Panchala can become connected to maritime trade without depending entirely upon western kingdoms."
Duryodhana slowly narrowed his eyes. Now he understood. This was not merely a religious town. Nor merely a trading centre. This was a future economic artery.
Karna resumed drawing.
"Further inland…" he said calmly, "the residential settlements." He marked rows carefully. "Houses for merchants. Artisans. Boat workers. Blacksmiths. Families. Schools. Water systems. Drainage. Storage districts. Public kitchens." His voice remained steady. "No citizen should feel abandoned merely because they are not born noble."
Duryodhana quietly observed everything. Karna then drew another section.
"The administrative quarter. Governor's offices. Military barracks. With approximately eight hundred soldiers."
Duryodhana raised an eyebrow.
"Only eight hundred?"
Karna nodded.
"This enclave exists for prosperity, not oppression." Then he added calmly, "A heavily militarised city eventually forgets how to smile."
Some nearby Kuru high-ranking soldiers looked slightly uncomfortable at those words. Karna ignored it. Finally he drew one last isolated section upon slightly elevated terrain overlooking the river.
"My private residence."
Duryodhana smirked faintly.
"At last, something luxurious."
Karna gave a small smile.
"Not luxurious. Peaceful." He looked toward the flowing Ganga quietly. "A king also needs silence sometimes."
For several moments nobody spoke. The sunset slowly deepened across the horizon while the river glowed like molten gold beneath heaven itself. Then suddenly Duryodhana laughed softly.
"You truly are strange, Karna."
Karna glanced toward him. Duryodhana shook his head with amusement.
"Most kings think first about fortresses, weapons, taxes and dominance…" He looked toward the rough plans on the ground.
By evening, both of them finally departed from the riverside along with their escorts, but they did not return to Hastinapura yet because the entire enclave territory was far too vast to inspect in a single day. Instead, they travelled toward the nearby riverside town of Gangodbhava.
The town itself remained peaceful and prosperous due to its location near the Ganga trade routes. Oil lamps glowed warmly across clay houses while evening prayers echoed from small temples near the ghats. Fishermen pulled in their final nets for the night while merchants closed their wooden stalls one after another.
The town head himself came out nervously to welcome them. He almost trembled upon realising both the Kuru prince and the ruler of Dakshina Kalinga would stay under his roof. Simple but comfortable accommodations were quickly arranged.
That night Karna sat near the open balcony of the residence while river wind entered softly through the curtains. Below he could hear distant temple bells, children laughing, boatmen singing faintly in the dark. For the first time in many days, his mind felt somewhat peaceful.
Yet somewhere deep within, that strange uneasiness still lingered quietly—like smoke hidden beneath ashes.
And just like that, three more days passed as the exploration of the enclave continued across the vast lands surrounding the sacred riverbanks.