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The second signifying sub-ensemble begins in the form of an address - "vatsa" meaning "child" - which is indicative of the extension of the earlier proposition establishing a relation that exists or can exist irrespective of blood ties. Kunti's address to Karna as "child" is pre-emptive of the course of events to follow. The phrase - "Tora Jiivanera Prathama Prabhaate" - "in the first dawn of your life" - is a partial signifier which is further extended through - "Paricaya Karaayechi Tore Vishva-Saathe" - "had acquainted you with this world" - the word "parichoy" is very important as the Bengali word reflects both acquaintance and identity which in turn is indicative of the central problematic of the narrative. The next two micro-units reflects the purpose of Kunti's visit, who leaving behind all hesitation - "Laaja"/"lajja" - (something which she wasn't able to do at the moment of his birth as a maiden-mother) - had come to confer on him the truth of his identity - "parichoy". The word "parichoy" is repeated twice in this sub-ensemble to create the inner play that is so central in evoking the Bhaava that reflects the psychic tension of the characters.

In the translated text, the format is of a reply to the question that was earlier asked regarding identity but the word itself never finds any mention. The hesitation that Kunti has because of her sense of guilt towards Karna and the responsibility of being the mother of not only the Pandavas but also of Karna finds no resonance in the English version. Rather a new notion is introduced in the phrase "with that light you are worshipping" indicating the "setting sun" of the earlier stanza. The co-relation of "Vishva" or "world" and the dual notion of "parichoy" as both acquaintance and identity are completely lost. The whole idea of unfolding as opposed to a factual statement of identity makes the translation too direct and the symbolic overtones and the poetic nuances of the Bengali version are completely obliterated and along with it, the aesthetic rigour of the portrayal.

The third ensemble is an address to Kunti and the play of images is indicative of the implications that the revelation had on him. In the first micro-ensemble, he expresses the state of his consciousness and says that the rays from her lowered eyelids seemed to stir his inner being just like the impact the rays of the sun have on the snow-capped mountain peaks. In the next micro-unit, he says that her voice seems to emanate from another world, as if from his previous birth and arouses in him a strange melancholy ("Apuurva Vedanaa"). Therefore, the third micro-unit is a proposition in extension, and it urges her to reveal to him how the mystery of his birth is related to her, someone who is yet unknown to him.

In the translation, the introduction of the word "cause" changes the whole ambience of signification as then what Karna is seeking to do is to know merely the source of his "blind sadness" (which is not quite an equivalent of "Apuurva Vedanaa ") that "may well lie beyond the reach of my earlier memory". The notion of previous birth ("Puurvajanma") again is not the same as "earlier" (or even earliest) memory" but the obvious connotative and denotative differences arise due to the specificity of the semantic field in which a language operates within the material, historical forces that give shape to a living or lived culture. The notion of "earlier memory" is embedded in the Platonic idealist tradition that conceives of reality in purely metaphysical terms as an abstraction and the material world that appears as real is actually a reflection of the real that lies embedded in the hidden depths of a mind that has swerved from the contemplation of the real as ideal. But "purbajanma" or previous birth has in its conception the idea of re-births that keep occurring on a physical/material level till the "atman" or consciousness is free from the bondage of the cycle of birth, death and re-birth. The idea of causality in the translated text is therefore central while in the Bengali primary, such an idea would be foreign to the idea of life being a continuous cycle, and it is the freedom from this chain of events that leads to "moksha" or liberation.

In the fourth sub-ensemble, Kunti urges him to be patient for a while as the Sun God is seen retiring for the day. She waits for the darkness of the evening to condense further into the blackness of the night as she is unable to reveal her true identity in the illumination of the sun. Her "laj" (or "lajja" - 'sense of shame') prevents her from speaking when there is still light and it is only in the pitch darkness of the night that she is able to unfold the truth of her identity as well as her relation to Karna.

In the translated text, the notion of darkness is counter-pointed against the "prying eyes of day" as the metaphoric resonance of "deb Dibaakar" has a mythic relevance related to Karna's birth because Kunti had tried to test the boon of her ability to conceive by engaging the elemental forces and her first unconscious target was the Sun God ("deb Dibakar" - lord of the day). The result was the birth of Karna when she was still a maiden and it is this that made her hesitate. The English translation of this unit is not a disjunction but a shift in meaning, which occurs not only due to the difference in cultural contexts and a kind of pragmatism that might be there to suit the needs of the target readership.

The fifth sub-ensemble is a single-unit entity as Karna acknowledges with surprise the identity of Kunti, the mother of Arjuna, his arch-opponent. The semanteme "Arjunajananii" is a proposition that creates a discord at the end of the first sequence of the narrative as it breaks into the silent, meditative ambience of the earlier sub-ensembles initiating the beginning of a disintegration of the inner psychic order.

The second sequence has two signifying ensembles. The first ensemble has eight sub-ensembles. Kunti answers Karna in the affirmative knowing full well the implications inherent in the fact of being the mother of Arjuna but that prompts her to make the further entreaty - "But do not, therefore, hate me" [P. 304]. The reference to Arjuna as "your antagonist" is to make it clear to the western audience the relational axis between Karna and Arjuna as adversaries in the battle of Kurukshetra that was fought between the Kauravas and Pandavas over the throne of Hastinapura.

The next few micro-ensembles recount all the painful moments that Kunti as Karna's mother had to undergo. This makes her recall all the moments of humiliation that Karna (Kaninputra - kumarigarbhajata) had to contend with due to the unfortunate circumstances of his birth and upbringing. The propositions in this unit are in the form of an elaborate "infix" as it has connections with events that are yet to follow and in fact, they prepare the ground for the final violence that is to take place. The incident recounted is the day of the trial of arms in Hastinanagar when Karna made his first entry. The attributes used to describe the appearance of Karna is in relation to the first light of dawn and again we witness how the symbolic matrix is enriched with the reference to the sun as "Arun", indicating the radiant aspect of the sun. The use of the word "Puurvaashaa" in [1. b] of this sequence is interesting as it indicates a duality - the word means both "purba dik" - "the eastern horizon" and "Puurvera Prati Aashaa" - "past expectation" and in the translated text, this whole unit is missing. The sorrow of Kunti too is expressed in a series of images and in the translation, her speechlessness - "Vaakyahiinaa", her unfortunate predicament - "Abhaaginii", her thirst for the love of her child inducing an agony as intense as the sting of a thousand snakes - "Atripta Snehakhudhaara Sahasra Naaginii Jaagaaye Jarjara Vakkhe" is reduced to a single unit epithet "unhappy", quite in keeping with the factual thrust of a literal discourse and it thus fails to capture the psychic overtones of a mother forced to conceal her identity and thereby conceal the fact of her motherhood from her son due to the burden of tradition and the strictures of common morality.

In the third sub-ensemble, Kripa's intervention is recounted. It is who has made Karna's humiliation complete: at the royal gathering, he has asked him the name of his father. Realizing that Karna does not have a royal parentage, Kripa claims that he has no right to fight with Arjuna - "Raajakule Janma Nahe yaara / Arjunera Saathe Yuddhe Naahi Adhikaara". The proposition made through the issue of "adhikar" or "right" is central to the existential human condition of Karna and the reduction of the whole concept of "royal birth" and "rights" to merely "mean birth" is problematic. Further, the whole notion of - " Aarakta Aanata Mukhe Naa Rahila VaaNii, / DaaMRaaye Rahile, Sei Lajjaa-Aabhaakhaani / Dahila Yaahaara Vakkha Agnisama Teje / Ke Se Abhaaginii?" is lost in "You stood speechless, like a thunder-cloud at sunset flashing with an agony of suppressed light." Karna's face is "flushed" - (whether in shame or in anger or both) is indicated by the word "arakta" followed by "anato mukhe" - "lowered face" and hence his state of speechlessness and the transfixed posture! Nowhere features the idea of "an agony of suppressed light" and hence the state of "speechlessness" and the only bhaava that emanates in the English translation is of concealed or barely restrained anger which is hardly the way in which Karna is presented in the Bengali version.

Duryodhana, the usurper of the throne of Hastinapura is referred to by Kunti as "DhanYa". She hails him as her son since he has retrieved Karna from this situation of shame by declaring him the king of Anga, a prominent province under the rule of the Kauravas. In the translation, however, Tagore again tries to indicate a cause for Duryodhana's action and states - "who perceived your worth" - and hence Kunti is profuse in her praise of Duryodhana. There is again a problem in the translated text because in the Bengali version Tagore is pre-occupied with presenting only Kunti's agony at not being able to shield her child from the fingers pointing to his birth. Kunti is not engaged in any evaluation of Karna as she has come to him with a prayer in mind and she wants him to grant it with all her heart. But the deviation in the translation can be rationalized as the notions in the propositions "who perceived your worth" and "thus winning the Kauravas a champion" is to communicate the reason why and how Karna was fighting on the side of the Kauravas as the Commander-in Chief in the battle of Kurukshetra.

In the next micro-ensemble, Kunti recounts her moment of joy when Karna places his crowned head at the feet of Adhiratha, the charioteer, his father and seeing this, the Pandavas break into "jeering laughter". The translation of "AbhiSeekasikta Shira LuTaaye CaraNe / Suutavriddhe PraNamile PitrisambhaaSaNe" as "laid your crown at his feet" communicates the central idea of humility but what it fails to indicate, is the proud acknowledgement of the fatherhood of the old charioteer by Karna. Again, placing the crown at one's feet is quite inadequate as, in the western context, it is an act of surrender but in the open court Karna is acknowledging with dignity his humble birth and parentage that has no royal connection and he thus places his newly crowned head on the feet of the old charioteer who has come to bless him, braving the milling crowd, thereby making a silent statement of resistance against the words of Kripa as mentioned earlier. It is this heroic humility and the capacity for resistance that Kunti hails him for and feels proud of begetting him and it thus acts as an "infix" to be elaborated on later.

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