by Kotru, Umesh
This long talk made Yudhishthira turn red with anger and he shouted at Arjuna, “You have acted like a coward. You have fled from the battlefield today. How could you desert your brothers even after realising that Karna has become unstoppable? Instead of fleeing like this you should have mustered enough courage to attack Karna. You have brought shame on yourself with this act. It would have been better for you to get killed by Karna. What happened to your Gandiva and the divine chariot you received from Agni? Today you have proved that your famed prowess with arms is all sham. The vows you had taken in regard to Karna sound like hollow words to me now. I am really ashamed of your action which has landed my entire army in deep trouble. It would have been better for me not to have started this war. I have pushed my own brothers along with my allies into great trouble. We are facing complete annihilation at the hands of Karna. All my hopes were pinned on you and you have failed me miserably. You are fully aware that throughout the thirteen years of our exile, how much mentally disturbed and anxious I was on account of Karna. It seems Duryodhana was after all right when he used to say that Arjuna is no match for Karna on a battlefield. Right now I am alive as a result of mercy shown by Karna when he had me in his clutches. You cannot imagine how humiliated I am feeling on account of that. The fact that Karna was able to put me into such a vulnerable position despite the presence of all the mighty heroes in my army including you pains me no end. You are not worthy of holding the Gandiva any longer. I suggest you hand it over to somebody who is more capable and take up the reins of his chariot.”
The harsh words spoken by Yudhishthira made Arjuna terribly angry. He picked up a sword in his hand and rushed towards him with the intent of killing him. Shri Krishna intervened promptly and said, “Partha what are you doing? Whom are you intending to attack with your sword? I do not see any enemy in this tent.” Pointing towards Yudhishthira, Arjuna replied, “Keshava, I have vowed to kill anyone who tells me to hand over the Gandiva to someone else. Besides, I cannot tolerate such insulting outburst.” Krishna said: “This is not the way to behave with your elder brother. Maharaj has spoken such piercing words on account of the humiliation he has suffered at the hands of Karna. He intended to get you motivated to confront Karna. Instead of understanding his motive you are doing the opposite.” Shri Krishna went on to explain how an individual should behave under different circumstances. He also told Arjuna the way to fulfill his vow without actually having to resort to violence by suggesting him to speak disrespectfully to Yudhishthira. He explained that traditions hold an act of disrespect by a younger sibling to be equal to death for the elder one. That way he was able to pacify Arjuna and also save Yudhishthira.
Thereafter Arjuna feeling ashamed of his action, addressed Yudhishthira, “Dear Brother, please pardon me for my behaviour. I take a vow that today I will either kill Karna or in the process get killed by him. I resolve to punish the Suta Putra for his uncharitable words to you. I will not return from the battlefield without achieving my objective.” Shri Krishna started praising Arjuna and reminded him about his past acts of valour in order to get him fired up.
Without any further delay, Arjuna and Shri Krishna prepared to return to the battlefield. They got their chariot equipped with various weapons. The horses also had got refreshed after a break and the much deserved care they received. Before taking their leave, both Arjuna and Shri Krishna hugged Yudhishthira by turn and sought his blessings for the mission. On the way back, Shri Krishna continued to boost Arjuna’s morale and said, “Partha, you are fully capable of killing Karna by dint of the extraordinary training you have received from your Gurus and your superior knowledge of divine weapons. But I must also remind you that Karna is not an ordinary opponent. I consider him equal to you or even superior as a warrior. He is able bodied and an extremely strong-willed personality. I advise you to be careful not to rub him the wrong way when you encounter him. It will be difficult for you to contain him if he gets angered beyond a point. You will need to muster all your courage to kill Karna. You should kill his eldest son Vrishasena to demoralise him. That way you can kill him easily in the same fashion as Guru Dronacharya was killed by Dhrishtadyumna.” Shri Krishna reminded Arjuna about the foul language Karna had used against the Pandavas and Draupadi during the game of dice in order to get him further charged up to fight against Karna.
When they reached amidst their army, they saw that the Panchala warriors were reeling under the impact of Karna’s assault. Many of the warriors who had stayed put even against Dronacharya could not face Karna and fled. Shri Krishna swiftly took Arjuna’s chariot towards the fleeing Panchalas. Arjuna resumed his attack on the Kaurava army. All the Kaurava soldiers retreated towards Karna and sought his protection. Arjuna also requested Shri Krishna to drive his chariot towards Karna.
Seeing Arjuna approaching, Shalya said, “Karna, look, your prime target is approaching. Prepare yourself for the duel. This is going to be a fight to the finish for both of you. Let this battle be the most terrible one anyone has witnessed so far.” Karna nodded his head and instructed all the major commanders of the Kaurava army to simultaneously attack Arjuna so that he could be tired before they engaged each other in direct battle. Arjuna started overcoming all of them one by one. While Arjuna was thus engaged with the Kaurava commanders, Bhima spotted Duhshasana and attacked him. He destroyed his chariot and killed his charioteer. Bhima then jumped down from his chariot and rushed towards Duhshasana. Dragging him out of his broken chariot, he pounced on Duhshasana like a hungry Lion, ripping apart his limbs and breaking his bones. He tore Duhshasana’s chest with his bare hands and started drinking his blood while letting out blood-curdling roars. The scene was so macabre that the nearby Kaurava soldiers fled for their lives. Bhima’s entire body got drenched with Duhshasana’s blood. Many of Duhshasana’s brothers who were present nearby attacked Bhima in unison, upon witnessing how he converted Duhshasana into a mangled mass of flesh. Bhima killed all of them as well.
When this horrible news reached Duryodhana, he slumped into his chariot with grief and started wailing for his dear brother. Karna too became very sad and his attention from the ongoing battle got diverted, which was promptly noticed by Shalya. “Friend, you cannot afford to let such events overcome you. Death is natural to the fate of a warrior in a war like this and brings glory to the brave. You need to concentrate on your mission. Arjuna will soon arrive here. Prepare yourself for the decisive battle with Arjuna that is going to commence soon,” he said. While Shalya was speaking to Karna, Vrishasena (Karna’s eldest son) attacked Bhima. As Bhima was already engaged with other Kaurava warriors, Nakula came forward to confront Vrishasena. An intense battle ensued. Vrishasena, like his illustrious father, was an accomplished warrior and had imbibed the knowledge of several divine weapons from him. He tormented Nakula with his sharp arrows and destroyed his bow. Nakula attacked Vrishasena with a sword, which the latter cut into pieces. His chariot was also demolished by Vrishasena. Nakula quickly jumped into Bhima’s chariot and both of them started attacking Vrishasena together. But he successfully repelled their attack. Failing to contain Vrishasena, Nakula cried out to Arjuna for help. Arjuna rushed in their direction and showered numerous arrows on Vrishasena, who promptly countered all of them with his own arrows. Vrishasena managed to injure both Shri Krishna and Arjuna. After prolonged battle, Arjuna chanted some mantras and fired a divine arrow at Vrishasena, which penetrated deep into his chest and made him unconscious. He quickly followed it up with several other arrows and cut down both of his arms and eventually beheaded him with a sharp arrow. The sight of his eldest son getting killed by Arjuna filled Karna with rage and grief at the same time. He ordered Shalya to rush towards Arjuna.
Realising that the time for the most decisive battle of the war was near, Shri Krishna said; “Partha, prepare yourself now to fight the mighty Karna. See how the Pandava soldiers are fleeing under the impact of his ferocious attack. Other than you, no one will be able to stop Karna. The time for you to fulfill yo
ur vow to kill him has come.” He also blessed Arjuna to be victorious. Arjuna responded by requesting Shri Krishna to drive the chariot towards Karna. In no time he stood face to face with Karna, who too was ready for him. Karna and Arjuna appeared like two glorious suns facing each other. Their chariots were well endowed with all sorts of weapons and drawn by horses white as snow. While the banner on Karna’s chariot carried the symbol of a thick rope used to rein in elephants, the banner on Arjuna’s chariot bore the symbol of a monkey. Both the chariots were colourfully decorated, which enhanced their glory. The attention of both the armies turned towards the duel which was about to start and all of them started rallying around one or the other of them. Even the Devatas in the heaven appeared in the sky to witness the epic encounter. All the major commanders from either side stood around Arjuna and Karna respectively. A terrible battle commenced which resembled the primordial conflict between the Devatas and Asuras.
Karna and Arjuna started using powerful weapons against each other, which resulted in heavy casualties on both sides. Both of them were able to neutralise each other’s weapons quite efficiently. It appeared that the battle would continue forever without a clear winner. At this moment Ashvatthama addressed Duryodhana, “Friend, we have already suffered a lot. Countless precious lives have been lost in this war. I feel that we cannot win against the Pandavas. I would suggest you call for a truce with Pandavas and prevent any further loss of life. Let the kingdom be divided between you and the Pandavas.” Duryodhana replied, “Friend, we have gone too far ahead to even think of turning back. The way Karna is engaging Arjuna, I am sure he will be victorious. Besides, after all the humiliation and hardships suffered by the Pandavas, I don’t think Yudhishthira will agree to a truce. Also I want to avenge the death of my beloved brother Duhshasana.” Ashvatthama then desisted from his rather belated peace initiative.
In the mean time, Arjuna fired the powerful Agni Astra which engulfed the entire Kaurava army with a huge ball of fire. Karna retaliated with Varuna Astra which sent forth waves of water and put out the fire caused by Arjuna’s weapon. Both of them went on fighting with more divine weapons. Every weapon fired by Arjuna was successfully countered by Karna and vice-versa. Karna also managed to inflict heavy casualties on the Pandava army at the same time. Seeing this, Bhima became restless and shouted at Arjuna, “Brother, how can you allow Karna to decimate our army in your very presence? You have to stop this. Remember how you overcame the Gandharvas and defeated the entire Kaurava army all by yourself. You are capable of doing it. Go ahead and kill the Suta Putra.” Shri Krishna also added, “Partha, so far Karna has easily countered your attacks. Concentrate hard and put an end to this. You are capable of killing Karna.” Krishna’s encouragement filled Arjuna with renewed energy. He started firing a barrage of other divine weapons, which caused severe damage to the Kaurava army. He got so excited that the string of his bow snapped in the process.
A horde of Pandava soldiers came forward to keep Karna occupied till Arjuna re-strung his bow. Karna killed all of them in no time. He also injured both Shri Krishna and Arjuna with his sharp arrows. Arjuna resumed his attack on Karna. He continued to fire numerous divine weapons which were countered by Karna one by one without difficulty. When the battle was appearing to be going nowhere, Karna decided to use the snake-headed divine arrow which he had specifically reserved for use against Arjuna. Just before that, the serpent named Ashvasena, son of the venomous Takshaka had emerged from the netherworld. Ashvasena nursed a deep grudge against Arjuna since he had killed his mother while burning down the Khandava forest where they used to live. Ashvasena crept into Karna’s chariot and entered the divine arrow which Karna intended to use. Karna lifted the arrow and mounted it on his bow, unaware of the presence of Ashvasena. While he took aim at Arjuna’s head, Shri Krishna pressed his toe against the chariot. This made the horses drawing Arjuna’s chariot bend on their knees and the wheels of the chariot went down a bit into the earth, resulting in the entire chariot sinking down a bit. Seeing this, Shalya said “Karna you should lower your aim if you want to behead Arjuna”. Karna responded, “I do not take the same aim twice”. He fired the arrow which rushed forward like a blazing ray of lightning towards Arjuna. However, instead of beheading him, the arrow knocked off Arjuna’s golden crown which immediately burnt down to ashes. Thus did Shri Krishna once again save Arjuna from certain death.
While the snake-headed arrow fired by Karna failed to hit the target, Ashvasena, who was still inside the arrow rushed back to Karna. “Who are you?” asked a surprised Karna. Ashvasena narrated his story to Karna and told him about his purpose for being there. He said, “Karna, place me on your bow like an arrow and fire towards Arjuna. I will not miss him this time”. Karna replied, “I do not need the help of a third person in my fight with Arjuna. I will win or lose my battle relying only on my own capabilities.” With this, he caught hold of Ashvasena and threw him away. However, Ashvasena, who could himself fly, charged aerially towards Arjuna with the intent to kill him. Arjuna, however, was alert and promptly cut down Ashvasena into several pieces with his sharp arrows.
After that Arjuna fired a divine arrow at Karna, which penetrated his armour and made him lose consciousness. Arjuna stopped for a while to allow Karna to recover from the attack. But Shri Krishna urged, “Partha, why do you waste precious time? Continue your attack. A warrior should never lose the opportunity to overcome a powerful opponent, particularly when he is in distress.” He goaded Arjuna to keep attacking Karna, who soon gained consciousness and started countering every attack. Seeing Karna retaliate with unbounded fury, Shri Krishna urged Arjuna to use more powerful divine weapons. However, Karna displayed such amazing skills at both attack and defence that he clearly proved himself the superior of the two. While Karna was thus starting to gain an upper hand, suddenly the wheels of his chariot got stuck in the ground and came to a halt. This reminded him of the fateful curse he had received from the Brahmin whose cow had been accidently killed by him.
Not one to give up, Karna jumped down from his chariot and with a wave of his hand requested Arjuna to stop attacking to allow him time to pull out the wheels of his chariot. As per the dharma (customary ethics) of warfare such allowance was in order. While Arjuna obliged by holding his arrow, Shri Krishna retorted harshly: “Karna, why are you seeking refuge in dharma at this time when you are in a difficult situation? Where was your concern for dharma when you insulted the innocent Pandavas in the Kaurava Sabha? Where was your dharma when you misbehaved with Draupadi? Which dharma sanctioned killing of a seriously injured and unarmed Abhimanyu by six Maharathis? What kind of dharma did you follow when you participated with your evil friends in hatching umpteen plots to harm the Pandavas? Have you forgotten all the evil deeds committed by you?” Karna had no answer and hung his head in shame. He bent towards the wheel of his chariot and tried to pull it free. Karna like Bhimasena was a very strong person. But despite his best efforts he was not able to move the accursed wheel even a little bit.
Shri Krishna, on his part, instructed Arjuna to take advantage of the situation and fire the deadly Anjalika missile at Karna. While Arjuna was preparing to load the arrow on his bow, Karna noticed it from a corner of his eye. He immediately turned around and tried to invoke the Brahma Astra. But as a result of Parashurama’s curse, he could not bring himself to remember the mantra for invoking the powerful Astra. Arjuna had by this time fired the crescent-headed Anjalika, taking aim at Karna’s neck. The arrow struck Karna like a bolt of lightning and severed his head which landed on the ground with a thud. A bright stream of light emerged from Karna’s body and merged with the sun which was shining brightly in the evening sky.
Seeing this, all Pandava commanders surrounded Arjuna’s chariot and started celebrating the most decisive victory achieved by him. Shri Krishna also got up from his seat and tightly embraced Arjuna. Duryodhana along with his remaining commanders and his entire army went into deep mourning. The loss of Karna, which was unthinkable for
Duryodhana, made him lose any hope for victory. For him the writing was now on the wall – the Kauravas were doomed to meet a disastrous defeat.
Meanwhile Yudhishthira, who was eagerly awaiting outcome of the duel between Arjuna and Karna, was getting impatient by the minute. At the height of his anxiety, he heard a spurt in the noises coming from the direction of the battlefield, which did not resemble clash of arms. His anxiety shot up further as he could not make out anything from the noise till he distinctly heard the clear sounds made by the famous conches of Shri Krishna and Arjuna conveying the unmistaken message of Arjuna’s victory and the death of Karna. His joy then knew no bounds.
But the actual battlefield was enveloped by an eerie silence and the mood was sombre on both sides of the divide. Everything seemed to have come to a standstill. The eyes of both Shri Krishna as well as Shalya were moist for different reasons. Shalya was sad with the knowledge that this world had lost its greatest warrior, while Shri Krishna knew that a brother had killed a brother. In that grievous climax of the war, nobody – not even the Pandavas themselves – would have disputed that a real hero, who lived and died for his principles, had passed away. Was it a coincidence that the effulgence of an extraordinary life that was brought to this world with the rising sun left the world only to be merged into the setting sun? Posterity tells us it was not. That spark of brilliant life had served its one worldly purpose – that of telling all future generations what pure human effort can achieve on its own, sans any help from destiny.
