The Greatest Indian Epic - Mahabharath

[Nakeeran]

THE NIGHT OF DAY 13 :


The news of Arjuna’s vow reached the Kaurava camp swiftly through their spies .

Jayathratha panicks now & pleads to Duryodhana :

I fear for my life now . Pls allow me to go back to my kingdom . I no longer want to be part of this war.

Duryodhana assures him. He further dwelves a plan in which Jayathratha will be well protected by the best of the warriors.

Jayathratha also meets Guru Drona & asks him for the difference between Arjuna & others for which Drona gives a convincing explanation :

Look, I have given the same tutorial instruction to both of you . However, in consequence of the tough life led by him , the dedication & sincerety shown & also vigorous practices have made him a superior archer .

However, do not fear at any cost. I shall protect you ,standing right in front of the array tomorrow & stop Arjuna from going past me. The array will be formed in such a manner that Arjuna cannot penetrate.

Take up your task in pride & fulfill your duties & obligations as a true Kshatriya tomorrow.

Having thus comforted & assured by Dronacharya, Jayathratha returns back to his tent peacefully & set his heart on the battle of battles for the next day.


Now back to Pandava camp :

A furious Krishna , upset & fully aware of the impact & consequence of Arjuna’s terrible oath, chides Arjuna now :

You have sworn with the consent of your brothers but without even consulting me a word . How shall we escape the ridicule of men ?Now , I understand through our spies that adequate arrangements have been made already to protect Jayathratha tomorrow. There is already a plan by Drona to form a new array of SAKATA , HALF A LOTUS.In the middle of the leaves of that lotus will be a needle-mouthed array. Jayadratha, will take his stand, by it, protected by 6 big named kings. And all those 6 Charioteers are of great prowess & without doubt will be exceedingly difficult to penetrate.

THEREFORE, ONCE AGAIN, TAKE COUNSEL WITH WELL-WISHING COUNSELLORS, CONVERSANT WITH POLICY, FOR OUR BENEFIT AND FOR THE SUCCESS OF OUR OVERALL OBJECTVE!'"

Now Arjuna :

These 6 car-warriors are not equal to even half of mine. In the very sight of Drona, I shall slay Jayathratha.

Krishna meets Subadra, mother of Abimanyu & sister of Krishna & comforts her by soothing words. However, Subadra is doubly worried now on the consequence of Arjuna dying in case he fails to kill Jayathratha. Joined by Subadra were Draupathi & Abimanyu’s wife Uttara .

Krishna comforts everyone & finally goes back to his tent.

Now Krishna gets into a meditation mode for a while & then deeply into thoughts on how Arjuna will be achieving his objective next day ?

Krishna tells his charioteer Daruka now :

Indeed it is a monumental task for Arjuna to accomplish his oath. Jayathratha himself, fullyconversant with weapons will fight fearlessly supported by Drona.
Tomorrow, I shall therefore, will do that tomorrow by which Arjuna, may slay Jayadratha before the sun sets. Please equip my chariot according to the rules of military science, must bring it and follow me with it carefully, placing on it my celestial mace called Kaumodaki, my dart and discus, bow and arrows, and every other thing necessary. Also make room on the terrace of my chariot for my standard and for the heroic Garuda thereon, that adorns my umbrella, and yoking thereto my foremost of steeds named Valahaka and Meghapushpa

Upon hearing my Pancha janya emitting the Rishava note, you shall come quickly to

Me so that I shall take up arms & destroy the Kauravas.


A sleepless Arjuna meets Krishna & expresses his concern on how to meet with the target.

Krishna reminds him of the PASUPATHA astra , a divine weapon which he got from Lord Shiva & asks him to apply it when necessary.

That aweful night was thus spent by the Pandavas without sleep.

[Nakeeran]

DAY 14 OF THE WAR :

TODAY’S WAR IS ONE OF THE BEST MOMENTS OF THE 18 DAY WAR DESCRIPTION.

A REVENGE DAY FOR ARJUNA. RATHER, A DO OR DIE SITUATION FOR
THE PANDAVAS AS THEY WERE HEAVILY DEPENDANT ON ARJUNA.

THE KAURAVAS WERE VERY PARTICULAR THIS DAY TO BE DEFENSIVE & THEIR MAIN FOCUS WAS TO ENSURE THAT ARJUNA DOESN’T REACH JAYATHRATHA SO THAT THE WAR IS WON ( AS ARJUNA WAS SUPPOSED TO JUMP INTO THE FIRE IF HE FAILS )

SO A WELL THOUGHT PLAN WAS MADE TO SAVE JAYATHRATHA

I THOUGHT ITS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE ARRAY FORMATION SHOULD BE DESCRIBED AT LENGTH SO THAT U ALL WILL REALIZE HOW IMPENETRABLE WAS THE VYUHA .

Drona creates a formidable array as follows :

-Drona at the head of the array .

-Duryodhana stands behind him. Dushashana & Vikarna stood by the side of Duryodhana.

-Behind the above were Karna, Aswathama, Salya, Kripa

-Behind them were 100,000 horse warriors

-Behind them were 60,000 charioteers

-Behind them were 10,000 elephant based warriors

-Behind them were 120,000 foot soldiers

And the distance thus covered by the above was 12 miles.

-AND FINALLY BEHIND THEM , JAYATHRATHA WAS POSITIONED
ALONG WITH KANDARA WARRIORS ( today’s Afganishtan )

The array that Drona forms today is PART SAKATA & PART A CIRCLE.

The length was full 48 miles long & the width was 20 miles.

Drona himself personally supervised the arrangement of the mighty foray.

In the rear of that array was another impenetrable array of the form of lotus.

And within that lotus was another dense array called the needle.

Having formed his mighty array thus, Drona took up his station.

At the mouth of that needle, Kritavarman took up his stand.

Next to Kritavarman, stood the ruler of the Kamvojas and Jalasandha.

Next to these, stood Duryodhana and Karna.

Behind them hundreds and thousands of warriors were stationed in that Sakata for protecting its head.


And the day war for the day finally commenced !

[Nakeeran]

DAY 14 -----------------------

Arjuna , with revenge as the only objective , started very aggressively on the Kaurava forces & the array got a bit shaken.

Dushasana steps in & fights extremely hard with Arjuna & exhibits all his skills on archery but finally could not sustain the fury of Arjuna & was forced to retreat.

Arjuna then faces Drona who welcomes with shower of arrows .

Arjuna now requests his Guru to allow him to move past so that he can catch up with Jayathratha. However Drona was very clear –

Defeat me first and then move further

Drona fires missiles on Arjuna for which Arjuna gives back. This fight went on in brief & Drona proved why he WAS THE TEACHER TO ARJUNA . Even before Arjuna could fit his arrow, Drona’s arrows cut his shafts to pieces. As Arjuna tries to cut Drona’s bow to weaken him, came like a flash, another arrow which actually hit fiercely Arjuna’s Kandiva ! . And this interesting battle between Guru & shishya continued further before Krishna realized that Drona is emerging stronger & getting the better of his disciple , quickly tells Arjuna :

THIS DRONA IS UNBEATABLE IN WAR. LET US NOT WASTE TIME IN FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE WITH HIM. SEEK HIS PERMISSION ONCE AGAIN & PROCEEED FURTHER IN PURSUIT OF JAYATHRATHA.

As Arjuna tried to by pass Drona, Drona called him again to fight & then go but Arjuna with all modesty says :

Guru, U are not my enemy but my Guru. And I am determined to achieve another important thing today . Hence I shall leave you right now because nobody can beat you in warfare .

Saying this, Arjuna swiftly by passes Drona & moves forward.


HERE , THERE IS A SLIP BY DRONA – IMO, DRONA DID NOT FULFILL HIS DUTIES AS A COMMITTED COMMANDER OF DURYODHANA. IF HE HAD WISHED, HE WOULD HAVE PULLED ARJUNA LIKE THE TRIGARTHAS FOR A PITCHED BATTLE SO THAT ARJUNA COULD NOT HAVE ACHIEVED HIS OBJECTIVE FOR THE DAY & HENCE EVEN WOULD HAVE DIED BY JUMPING INTO THE FIRE.
INSTEAD, DRONA HAPPILY LET ARJUNA SPEED PAST HIM WITH A SMILE, HAVING SATISFIED WITH HIS EGO BY PRAISES HEAPED BY ARJUNA !

DAY 14 CONTINUES---------

[Nakeeran]

DAY 14 CONTINUES ---------------

Now a rampaging Arjuna was checked by Kritavarma but in vain.

Another king by name Srutayudha fought gallantly with Arjuna now.

He was son of Varuna born to a woman called Parnasa. While delivering , as per the prayers of his mother, Srutayudha was blessed with a powerful mace with destructive powers & said that the man will be invincible in any war with this mace . Varuna also laid the condition that the mace SHOULD NOT BE USED AGAINST SOMEONE WHO IS NOT ENGAGED IN FIGHT. IF APPLIED SO, IT WILL BOUNCE BACK ON THE USER & KILL HIM.

At the most important moment of his life, Srutayudha however forget this & angrily rushed with his mace towards the chariot of Arjuna & threw on Krishna . As mentioned by Varuna, the mace went back & hit him & killed him instantly
Now Sudakshina, the king of Kambojas tried to check Arjuna’s progress but dies after waging a valiant fight .

An upset Duryodhana screams at Drona :

Wonder how right in front of your eyes, Arjuna managed to penetrate & forged ahead but U have remained quiet ! I think I have made a mistake of asking Jayathratha to appear in the war today. Atleast, he would have saved his life by abandoning. Why U are so partial towards us ?

Drona replies :

I am no longer angry with U now Duryodhana but the speed of Arjuna’s chariot is twice faster than mine & due to age factor, I am unable to match his speed & fight him from a distance. But , our main objective of capturing Yudhishtira is my goal now for which I am well focused. If I let it loose, the entire Pandavas will storm inside the array & we will get defeated. Its better that I stay in the front & chase Yudhishtira.
However, do not fear. You shall now fight with Arjuna .

Drona now gives an armour & ties around Duryodhana saying that :

No weapon will be able to strike you in battle. Noone can pierce this armour of yours. Go & resist Arjuna.

A cheerful Duryodhana meets Arjuna

[Nakeeran]

Day 14 continues :

Before Duryodhana could meet Arjuna, the Avanti brothers, Vinda & Anuvinda attacked Arjuna but both get killed finally along with their army men.

As the day’s fight was so exhausting midway, the horses of Arjuna became tired & thirsty. Krishna sensing this, took the chariot away from the war zone a bit & Arjuna shot an arrow which pierced the earth & water came out & the horses drank it peacefully.
Krishna now , removed their fatigue, pain, froth, trembling and wounds. Then plucking out their arrows and rubbing those horses with his own hands, made them trot .

Now Duryodhana, with his special armour , fights with Arjuna. Much to the surprise of Krishna, Arjuna’s shafts didn’t get that desired impact & they were all repelled & a shocked Krishan even questions the utility of Kandiva whether it has lost its value now ?

Arjuna after a prolonged battled , realizes the trueth & tells Krishna that Guru Drona had already taught the secret behind this armour & how to untie it also. Now let me teach him a lesson.

Having said this , Arjuna chants divine mantras & sharply sends arrows which cuts the cover of the armour.& makes Duryodhana weak & now he loses all that special protection . Armless & chariotless, Duryodhana was forced to retreat now.

[Nakeeran]

Day 14 continues :

Lets have a look at what happened with Drona & the other Pandavas.

Gatotkacha fights with Alamvusa & the fierry battle was a terrible sight to watch as both resorted to illusions & all other tactics to beat each other. Finally Gatotkacha pounces on Alamvusa & kills him.

Drishtadyumna , launched a mighty assault on Drona but Drona , but he was no match for Drona on archery. Getting wild, he jumps out of his chariot & with a sword pounces on Drona’s chariot but continuous firing of shafts by Drona prevents him from going close .

So he tries to pounce on Drona from various sides but fails. A furious Drona almost would have killed Drishtadyumna but for timely intervention / interception from Satyaki saved his life. Satyaki also takes away Drishtadyumna on his chariot & saves his life.

Now Satyaki fights with Drona & shows his prowess that the Devas & Rishis assemble to watch the magnificient battle between the 2 . For every shaft of Drona, Satyaki had a befitting response & nullifies it. Infact, Drona’s bows were cut several times by Satyaki’s pin point accurate shafts which makes Drona wonder he is another Arjuna himself ! Both lose their chariots & had to move to the next chariot to resume fighting. Once Drona fires a AGNEYA ASTRA – made of fire for which Satyaki replies with VARUNA ASTRA & annihilates it .

But as the battle progressed further, it became apparent that Satyaki was becoming weaker & Drona emerging stronger with his overall skills as an archer. A panicking Satyaki was saved by a group of Pandavas at the nick of the moment & he retreats.

A worried Yudhishtira now asks Satyaki to go & support Arjuna for which Satyaki, despite being tired tells Bhima to take care of Yudhishtira & moves towards Arjuna’s direction.

Day 14 continues --------

[Nakeeran]

DAY 14 CONTINUES :

Yesterday we saw how Arjuna tactfully bypassed Drona by surrendering to him.

Satyaki, was not in that mould & hence he tried to forcefully penetrate Drona’s array but Acharya was there once again at front firing shafts & troubled him.

Satyaki now realizing his error in judgement pleads like Arjuna to let him pass by & asks his Sarathy to swiftly enter to the army headed by Karna. Drona however didn’t allow him so easily . He troubled him a lot before Satyaki could pierce the format & inch towards Arjuna.

Before reaching Arjuna, Satyaki successfully negotiated Duryodhana, Dushashana , Ashwathama, Kritavarma – all on individual battle .

Satyaki showed tremendous archery skills today .

However, the time taken by Satyaki to reach Arjuna was longer enough for Yudhishtira to panic once again & this time he instructs Bhima to proceed in the direction of Arjuna to follow Satyaki.

Despite repeated assurance by Bhima, Yudishtira was not convinced as he could hear Krishna’s counch’s sound only but not of Arjuna’s.

Now Bhima was also forced to leave him but kept Drishtadyumna & the remaining Panchalas to counter Drona.

While Bhima was about to cross Drona, Drona welcomed him with a shower of arrows & questioned him in the same manner how he dealt with Arjuna & Satyaki expecting the same kind of respect from Bhima also.

But Bhima was furious on hearing Drona’s words & his anger went uncontrollable. With loud screams about his profession & what he was supposed to do as such & also warned him that he is no longer their Guru but today a foe of Pandavas .

Having said this, Bhima hurls a big mace which breaks Drona’s chariot into pieces. Drona was forced to jump quickly on to another chariot for safety. Even that was also broken ruthlessly by Bhima & this day itself Drona lost around 8 chariots ! .

HERE ONE WILL REALIZE HOW EFFICIENT WAS THE SUPPORT & BACK UP THAT WAS PROVIDED TO COMMANDERS . WHY I AM HIGHLIGHTING THIS FEATURE HERE ESPECIALLY ON VARIOUS CHARIOTS BEING MOVED TO DRONA AS A BACK UP .

THIS BACK WAS NOT WELL FOLLOWED WITH KARNA WHICH COST HIS LIFE WHEN HIS HOUR CAME.

DAY 14 CONTINUES

[Nakeeran]

Day 14 continues :

Drona continues to torment the Pandava group headed by Yudhishtira & he kills another Panchala prince besides killing the son of Jarasandha.

While Bhima was forging towards Arjuna’s place, he comes across the 8 brothers of Duryodhana namely,
-Kundabhedin

- Sushena

- Dirghanetra

- Vrindaraka

- Abhaya

- Raudrakarman

- Durvimochana

- Sudharshan

All the above get killed by Bhima in a fierce fight .

Besides Bhima also kills Vinda & Anuvinda brothers who earlier retreated after fighting with Arjuna.

Finally Bhima sees at a distance where Arjuna was fighting & utters a huge roar in such a manner that it reached Yudhistira who gets inspired by the positive response from Bhima. On seeing Bhima, Arjuna & Krishna also express their surprise.

On seeing Bhima thus advancing, Karna , unable to control his anger , stretched his bow with great force & rushed at Bhima with a loud shout .

Now a WONDERFUL BATTLE TAKES PLACE BETWEEN KARNA & BHIMA

Day 14 continues

[Nakeeran]

Day 14 - KARNA Vs BHIMA

Karna checked Bhima’s course like a tall tree withstanding tempest !

This fight resembled ANOTHER WAR ITSELF !

Twice Karna’s bows were cut by the arrows of Bhima & Bhima tried to quickly move past Karna to reach Arjuna but Karna was not in a mood to let him move so freely .

Karna questions Bhima :

I dreamt not that U know how to fight . Why r u showing ur back now ? This is not befitting for a son of Kunti !!

Bhima , hearing the teasing words of Karna resumed his fight with him with more ferocity.

Whatever shaft that Bhima aimed at Karna were all broken to pieces in return by a smiling Karna. Actually Karna was well versed with the art of military science & hence Bhima was no match for Karna on archery.

While Karna fought casually & mildly, Bhima was all furious , recollecting his former wrongs during the Druapadhi episode & attacked with vengeance.

At one stage, hit by Karna’s arrows , Bhima looked like having bathed in blood but he gave a befitting response back & pierced Karna’s chest with such an impact that Karna felt great pain .

Bhima also destroys Karna’s chariot in the process but he moves to another chariot quickly . He relaxes for a while.

Now Duryodhana seeing Karna tired , sends his brother Durjaya to fight but Bhima kills him after a brief fight which makes Karna weep in grief.

Now Durmukha , another brother of Duryodhana rushes to support Karna but with 9 straight shafts, Bhima kills Durmukha also. Seeing his body lying on the ground , Karna with tears rolling on his eyes abstained for a moment from the fight & circumambulated him .
Seeing the plight of Karna, 5 more brothers of Duryodhana came forward :

Durmarshana

Duhsaha

Durmada

Durdhara

Jaya

All the 5 above surrounded Bhima from all sides.

But Bhima sends them to Yama’s abode in no time.

Now Karna’s grief was immeasurable seeing many brothers of Duryodhana giving their life for him & felt guilty & resumes his battle with Bhima .

But once again, a furious Bhima troubled Karna with diverse weapons in such a manner that Karna became weak . Duryodhana once again sends another set of his brothers now :

Chitra

Upachitra

Charuchitra

Sarasan

Chitrayudha

Chitravarman

But Bhima felled each one of them with a single arrow & they all fell like trees uprooted .

With uncontrollable anger now, Karna resumes his fight with Bhima & both fought like 2 elephants tearing each other.

In the meanwhile 6 more brothers of Duryodhana tried to back Karna :

Satrunjaya

Satrusaha

Chitra

Chitrayudha

Dridha

Chitrasena

& all in no time were vanquished from earth by Bhima’s arrows.

Seeing all this around, Vikarna , another brother of Duryodhana comes forward to check Bhima’s onslaught .

After a brief fight, Bhima kills Vikarna also.

UPON KILLING VIKARNA, BHIMA GRIEVED BITTERLY FROM SORROW FOR VIKARNA WHO WAS DEAR TO HIM. AND BHIMA SAID,
EVEN THUS WAS THE VOW MADE BY ME, THAT ALL OF YOU SHOULD BE SLAIN BY ME IN BATTLE.

IT IS FOR THAT, O VIKARNA, THAT U HAD BEEN SLAIN NOW. MY VOW HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. O DEAR VIKARNA, U CAME TO FIGHT WITH ME, BEARING IN MIND THE DUTIES OF A KSHATRIYA. U WERE EVER ENGAGED IN OUR GOOD. IT IS SCARCELY PROPER, THEREFORE, FOR ME TO GRIEVE FOR U ILLUSTRIOUS ONE

Bhima, rarely showed his emotions during the war & this was one moment.

Day 14 KARNA Vs BHIMA TO CONTINUE

[Nakeeran]

DAY 14 - KARNA TAMES BHIMA

Seeing his blood brothers falling like insects before Bhima, Duryodhana’s grief was immeasurable. He recollects now what Vidura said when Krishna approached them for peace . Duryodhana was unable to do what he should do now.

Karna, on seeing all these happen , recouped himself forcefully & resumed his fight with Bhima.

As the fight went on for a longer duration, Karna gradually emerges stronger of the two.

And indeed Karna proved his class now .His hands in taking up an arrow, fixing it on the bow-string, stretching the string and letting it off, none could notice any interval between those acts. And while Karna was thus engaged in shooting his arrows right and left, his bow incessantly drawn to a circle, like a terrible circle of fire.

The arrows shot from the bow of Karna, as they coursed through the welkin, looked like one long continuously drawn arrow in the sky. Like a cloud covering a mountain with torrents of rain, Karna in rage, covered Bhima with showers of arrows.

Karna now with razor sharp arrows cuts the bow of Bhima.

He then slays the horses of Bhima.

Karna also troubles Bhima’s charioteer heavily that he runs to the chariot of Satyaki.

Excited with rage, Karna now cuts off the flag-staff of Bhima and felled his banner.

Deprived of his bow, Bhima seized a dart, whirled it in his hand and then hurled it with great force at Karna's car & they also get cut off by Karna’s arrows.

Bhima tries to take his sword now but even before he could raise it, Karna’s powerful arrows breaks it & the sword flies to a long distance, carried by the velocity of Karna’s arrow speed.

Bhima goes mad now .

Karna now smilingly takes another bigger bow with a stronger string & fires innumerable missiles . Struck by those shafts Bhima leaped into the sky

For which Karna conceals himself on the terrace of his chariot. Seeing this, Bhima catching hold of Karna's flagstaff, waited on the earth. His bow cut off, himself deprived of his car, Bhima, observant of the duties of his order, stood still for battle, keeping his broken chariot behind him.

Karna rushed against Bhima now & the passage-at-arms that then took place between those two was terrible. However, Bhima as he was totally exhausted , wsa obliged to turn back , vigorously pursued by Karna.

Now Bhima whose stock of weapons was totally exhausted used dead elephants as cover. Bhima entered into their midst for impeding the progress of Karna's chariot. Approaching that multitude of elephants and getting into the midst of that fastness which was inaccessible to a chariot, Bhima, desirous of saving his life, refrained from striking Karna.

Looking for a shelter, Bhima lifts a dead elephant , waited for Karna.

Karna, however, with his shafts, cut off that elephant held by Bhima.

Now Bhima hurled the fragments of that elephant’s body & also a chariot’s wheels & dead horses. Infact, all objects that he saw lying there on the field, Bhima was throwing upon Karna.

Karna however repeatedly caused the distressed Bhima, to lose the sense.

NOW KARNA IS JUST AT ARMS LENGTH DISTANCE WITH BHIMA TO SLAY HIM.

Karna now recollecting the words of Kunti, took not the life of the unarmed Bhima.

Approaching quickly Karna touched him with the horn of his bow.

As soon, however, as Bhima was touched with the bow, he snatched the bow from Karna and struck him with it on the head.

Struck by Bhima , Karna with eyes red in wrath, smiling the while, said unto him repeatedly these words :

Beardless eunuch, ignorant fool and glutton ,without skin in weapons, do not fight with me. U are a child , a laggard in battle.
U are fit for eatables and drink. U should never battle. Subsisting on roots, flowers, and observant of vows and austerities, U should pass Ur. days in the woods
Urging cooks and servants and slaves in the house to speed, U are fit for cooking only.

Karna those teasing , wounding & harming words. And as Bhima stood there TOTALLY SURRENDERED & HELPLESS , Karna once more touched him with the bow.

And laughing loudly, Karna once again said :

Go now where the two krishnas are . They will protect Ur life .

KARNA, MINDFUL OF THE ASSURANCE GIVEN TO KUNTI, FREES BHIMA FROM THE CLUTCHES OF DEATH.

Watching the whole sequence of events from a distance, a furious Arjuna fires a shaft on Karna

Now Bhima quickly mounted on Satyaki’s chariot fled away from the scene.

DAY 14 CONTINUES ................