Watching the breath-taking valour of young Abhimanyu, grandsire Bhishma stood still for a moment in his Gangaugha chariot. Throwing an admiring glance at Abhimanyu he exclaimed, “Bless you Partha’s son, gallant Abhimanyu, victory to you!’ During this time, he had moved nimbly and rendered many arrows coming from various directions ineffective by bearing them on his iron armour.
On the left of grandsire, a fierce battle was going on between Virata’s son Uttara and Madra king Shalya. Uttara was sitting in a canopied seat on a tall and mammoth elephant. The army of the Viratas was fighting behind him. Uttara instructed the mahout to direct his elephant towards the chariot of Shalya. The mahout was an expert. He pricked the back of elephant’s ear with the goad and attacked the chariot of Shalya who was shooting arrows. That mammoth elephant whacked the horses of Shalya’s chariot with strikes of its trunk. He grabbed Shalya’s charioteer in his trunk, whirled him in a circular motion and threw him away. From the broken chariot, Shalya shot a snake-like iron arrow at Uttara. It tore the iron armour on Uttara’s chest and pierced his heart. Virata’s son Uttara who was fighting and shouting war slogans collapsed from the back of the elephant. He squirmed in pain and died. His death caused chaos in our army.
Uttara’s brother Shweta attacked Shalya furiously. Jayatsena, Rukmaratha, and Anuvinda blocked him. A fight broke between grandsire Bhishma who had come to assist Shalya and Uttara’s brother Shweta.
Virata’s son valiant Shweta performed a remarkable feat of valour today on behalf of the Pandavas. First, he broke the bow of the Kaurava commander Bhishma- the disciple of invincible, master archer Parashurama. That got the Pandava soldiers excited and they let out slogans of ‘Hail Virata’s son Shweta – victory to you’. Those slogans infuriated grandsire Bhishma. He picked up another bow. In the very first attack he killed all horses of Shweta’s chariot. Then with an arrow he beheaded Shweta’s charioteer too. Injured Shweta launched a very potent Shakti at Bhishma. Bhishma recognized it unmistakably and shot eight arrows in such a formation that they confined that Shakti and rendered it useless on the ground.
The evening was approaching now. The splendid disc of the sun touched the western horizon. A few moments before the end of the first day of the battle Bhishmacharya shot Virata’s son Shweta with a shining arrow charged with Brahma mantra. It pierced Shweta’s chest. Shweta collapsed dead in his chariot. The sun set and the war stopped.
The elongated evening shadows of the second day of the dark fortnight of Margashirsha spread on Kurukshetra. Various birds that used to chirp during the day had permanently fled from this area full of beautiful lakes and greenery to distant places today morning itself after hearing the terrifying war cries. In a few nests the nestlings had exhausted themselves screaming for their parents. Many generations of Kshatriyas had regarded this place as auspicious to offer charities on the day of the solar eclipse after bathing in the Suryakunda on Kurukshetra. Every year on the day of the solar eclipse countless charity-offering platforms were raised along the shore of the lake. In the same place, today many rows of funeral pyres with the woods of holy trees like mango, sandalwood and Bela were prepared by the regulating troops on both the sides. The Viratas had prepared two elevated sandalwood funeral pyres for Uttara and Shweta. The now aged Matsya king Virata had to ignite the funeral pyres of his valiant sons. The reflection of the blazing funeral pyres along the shore of the lake reflecting made the lake itself look like it was on fire.
After dinner, a meeting of the seven regiment leaders, rathis, atirathis and maharathis in the Pandava army along with all the Pandavas was arranged in the capacious pavilion of Krishnadeva.
With a crestfallen, gloomy expression eldest Pandava Yudhishthira said to Krishnadeva, “If grandsire keeps slaughtering the Pandava army like this our defeat is certain!” Krishnadeva smiled on hearing that. He said to Yudhishthira, “Dharma, don’t give up just yet. Don’t worry. We will lose some of the battles for sure, but the ultimate victory will certainly be ours. Our army has warriors like maharathi Satyaki, valiant Virata, and courageous Dhrishtadyumna.
“Your brother Arjuna, the master of Gandiva, who had once fought against Shivashankara, the source of the tempestuous Tandava, is in our army. We have mighty, powerful Bhimsena on our side. So, don’t worry. The final victory will be yours indeed. You and all others should keep it in mind that my devotees will never get destroyed. I will never allow it to happen. Na Me Bhaktaha PraNashyati!”
Hearing those reassuring words of Krishnadeva all assembled warriors got relaxed and bowed down to him devotedly. I couldn’t resist asking, “Is the Panchala prince Dhrishtadyumna going to remain our commander tomorrow also?” He smiled again and looking at me he said, “The valiant commander of an army never changes until he falls on the battleground while fighting. My guess is that the Kauravas will follow the same. Grandsire Bhishma’s grit is not stagnant. He has the experience that comes with age. Everyone should boldly stand ground against his impeccable shooting of arrows. Right now, I am thinking of only one thing – how to face him tomorrow.”
Though no one else had noticed the brilliant intellectual move of Krishnadeva that he had played on the battleground I had noticed it. Today in the violent combats on the battlefield many charioteers were killed. But not even a single scratch was there on the blue body of Krishnadeva who was steering Arjuna’s chariot! By declaring himself to be an unarmed charioteer he had secured himself completely, according to the rules of engagement. No one including Duryodhana had realized the genius of his intellect.
We started returning to our pavilions after finishing the meeting of the first day. The regulating troops could be seen making preparations for tomorrow’s new battlefield.
The third day of the dark fortnight of Margashirsha dawned. Our commander Dhrishtadyumna arranged our army in the Krauncharuna or heron formation. Four maharathis from among the seven regiment leaders were kept at its very long beak shape. Those were Bhimsena, Dhrishtadyumna himself, Chedi king Dhrishtaketu, and I. Virata, Jarasandha’s sons Jayasena and Pandya were at the abdomen and the tail of the heron.
Grandsire Bhishma arranged the Kuru army in the Arrow formation. At the triangular tip of this arrow Duryodhana himself stood on the right of commander Bhishma along with his ten brothers such as Durmukha, Dushasana, Dusaha, and Durgharsha.
Raising his thick and crooked eyebrows he threw a contemptuous glance at the heron bird of our army and roared, “Oh Kuru warriors! Today we will pierce the heart of this worthless heron of Pandavas in front of the grandsire.” Protruding the veins in his throat he blew his conch named ‘Vidaraka’ with all his might. His eyes became bloody red. As grandsire Bhishma blew his ‘Ganganabha’ conch Duryodhana raised his heavy mace from his shoulder and dancing it in the air, inspiring his army, he shouted very loudly, “Ready, Onward, Charge”. The Kaurava army fell upon the Pandava army like a tiger assaulting its prey. Amidst the shouting of war slogans swords clanged, maces clashed, pestles collided against each other and the war began. Bhimsena, Abhimanyu, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata and I attacked grandsire. Indomitable warrior, grandsire confined all of us in one place with rapid-fire arrows. He cast a trap of seven Naracha arrows around me. I broke it with much efforts. He separated the two impenetrable parts of the beak shape of our Krauncharuna formation. With his thick white beard shaking he commanded the chariots regiment behind him ‘Onward…’ At his command his chariot regiment attacked and broke through our Krauncharuna formation. Our chariot warriors and horse riders began retreating. Master archer Arjuna who was watching all this from a distance got enraged. He said to Krishnadeva, “Vaasudevaa, now you must take my Nandighosha chariot right in front of grandsire.”
It was only yesterday that this same Arjuna was tormented by the thought of shooting deadly arrows at grandsire Bhishma with whom he used to play as a child. On hearing his words of the other extreme today, Krishnadeva smiled naughtily and said to Partha, “Dhananjaya, are you sure you want me to take your chariot in front of grandsire?�
�� Then Arjuna hurriedly said, “Yes, certainly. Otherwise those five warriors of the Pandavas won’t stand a chance in front of grandsire for a long time.” As soon as he heard those words Krishnadeva blew his Panchjanya conch in such a way that the Kaurava army felt that the Hanuman on Arjuna’s pennant himself was howling and coming to attack them.
A fierce battle ensued between grandsire Bhishma and Arjuna. In that Duryodhana, Shalya, Jayadratha, and Shakuni came to assist grandsire. There was now a crowd of fights between pairs of chariots on the battlefield near grandsire. Hundreds of arrows littered around on the land of Kurukshetra. Injured and dead soldiers on both sides lay amidst them. Great archer Dhananjaya stood his ground like a mountain, fighting against four great warriors, including grandsire, one after the other.
There, a violent battle was going on between Dronacharya and Commander Dhrishtadyumna. Drona mounted a deadly arrow like the Kaladanda on his bow. He closed his eyes, chanted some mantras, and shot it at Dhrishtadyumna. Its sound was so terrifying and loud that soldiers on both sides held their breath and kept staring at it. Alert Dhrishtadyumna recognized the arrow. He counter-attacked it with another power. That power broke Drona’s arrow into two in mid-air.
Drona got furious and showered arrows on Dhrishtadyumna continuously to confine him. So Bhimsena came forward to protect the commander. Then Kalingaraja and his mammoth Kalinga army blocked Bhimsena. They surrounded the mighty warrior from all sides. Just as a wildcat confined in a closed room hisses and attacks anybody in its sight, Bhimsena descended on the battlefield from his chariot and assaulted the Kalingas while roaring.
In the mace fight Bhimsena first killed Kalingaraja’s son. Seeing his son collapse the infuriated Kalingaraja also got down from his chariot with his mace. An intense mace fight took place between him and Bhimsena. Soldiers on both sides kept watching it with their mouths agape. In the end Bhimsena made a quick movement and unerringly struck a heavy blow of his mace right on the chest of the Kalingaraja. That strike cracked the iron armour on the Kalingaraja’s chest and a trickle of blood started flowing. The Kalingaraja was also killed. The Kalinga army began running amuck trembling with fear looking at the mace on Bhimsena’s shoulder.
Gallant Abhimanyu was besieged by many including Duryodhana. Seeing him in trouble Krishnadeva called out to his horses ‘Megha, Bala, Shaibya, Sugriva’ and steered the Nandighosha chariot closer to Abhimanyu. Arjuna showered rains of arrows from his Gandiva bow to free his son surrounded by many warriors. It made Duryodhana and the others flee helter-skelter. On the second day of the war the sun set on the horizon of Kurukshetra. The battleground of Kurukshetra that was vibrating with the sounds of kettle drums and war horns calmed down with the sound of grandsire’s conch, indicating the end of the day. The exhausted soldiers dropped their weapons wherever they were and returned to their own pavilions.
After dinner, as usual our meeting was arranged in Krishnadeva’s pavilion. Master archer Arjuna started explaining tomorrow’s crescentmoon formation to all of us. Staring at his gallant face we got lost in the thought of how to face the day tomorrow. Suddenly the surveillance team leader Vaayusena of our army entered the pavilion hastily while gasping. He bowed down to Krishnadeva sitting on the elevated seat in the centre and presented important news that he had picked up from the pavilion of the Kaurava commander.
“Duryodhana rebuked Commander Bhishma severely in the Kaurava camp – ‘Lakhs of Kuru soldiers got killed within two days. We made you the commander because you are senior and have the experience. You haven’t demonstrated any real valour yet. You are partial to the Pandavas. You are not being fierce enough with them on purpose.’ Thus, he clearly accused the venerable valiant grandsire in front of all with sharp, humiliating words.
“On hearing that Bhishma, who was humiliated and angry, furiously took a vow that ‘Tomorrow I will compel unarmed Srikrishna the Lord of Dwaraka to hold a weapon in his hands! Or else I will die on the battlefield!!’
“Because of his vow the Kaurava camp is bursting with energy. In that meeting itself Duryodhana declared his further policy.
“Once the Lord of Dwaraka holds a weapon in his hands, Duryodhana is planning to raise a hue and cry that, ‘A rule of engagement has been broken. Srikrishna who is supposed to be an unarmed participant of the war has held a weapon in his hand. Now he is disqualified to enter the battlefield. He should be removed from the position of the charioteer of Arjuna’s Nandighosha chariot.’”
On hearing that news our council became utterly solemn. Kurukshetra without Krishnadeva meant our clear defeat! No one could even imagine that.
Baffled Arjuna said, “In my opinion Srikrishna should not enter the battlefield at all tomorrow! Then taking up a weapon would be out of question.” Many people seconded him. All Pandava warriors who knew very well that grandsire’s promise is like a promise carved in stone, absolutely unalterable, began whispering among themselves.
But Krishnadeva was calm!
After some time, he calmly said to all, “I will see how to handle Bhishma’s promise! You get back to the daily preparations of war as usual. Take a good night’s sleep! Hail Goddess Ida!” He directly concluded the meeting at that.
The fourth day of the dark fortnight of Margashirsha stood behind the horizon of the blood-soaked land of Kurukshetra. The day was yet to break. Surrounded by Drona, Duryodhana and his five brothers, Kripa, Ashwatthama, Jayadratha, Kritavarma, and Shalya on both sides, today the Kaurava commander, Shantanu’s son Gangeya Bhishma looked like the Sun god dispersing thousands of rays. His face was emitting the glow of determination. With all the warriors, he walked to the battlefield to survey the disciplined formation of his army. Within two days two akshauhini soldiers combined from both sides had been slaughtered. Among them our Pandava soldiers were more in number. Under the command of the grandsire about ten akshauhini armed soldiers of the Kaurava army had gathered the Garuda formation – in the shape of the eagle, the king of birds. The most vital part of this eagle was its beak at the foremost end. The great grandsire Bhishma was going to stand at the tip of the beak. Behind the beak was the neck of the eagle, which was going to be protected by the Kekeyas and Gandharas. In the spread of the right wing of the eagle, Kritavarma of the Yadavas and Sindhu king Jayadratha were going to stand along with their armies. Bhagadutta and Bhurishrava were going to guard the left wing of the eagle. In the abdomen of the eagle kings like Sudakshina and Neela were going to cover Duryodhana.
Madra king Shalya and princes of Avanti – Vinda and Anuvinda were going to stand at the tail end of this gigantic eagle of the Kaurava army.
The talons of both feet of the eagle are very important. It is in these strong talons that he holds his prey tightly. The talons of this eagle of the Kaurava army were going to be safeguarded by the Sanshaptaka brothers on the left side and troops of Barbaras and Nishadhas on the right side.
This formation of grandsire’s army was indeed ingenious, impenetrable and aggressive.
With his warriors, grandsire walked through the throat of the eagle formation, both his wings and came into his abdomen. He said to Duryodhana who was there, “Suyodhanaa, today I will compel Krishna to break his vow for sure. Then it will be up to you to see how to drive him out of the battlefield. Once he leaves the battleground victory will be certainly yours!” Hearing that Duryodhana’s chest puffed with pride and he insanely ranted as per his nature, “If that happens grandsire, then as the Kaurava prince I am going to send the sinful Pandavas to the forest again, without playing any game of dice. This time I am going to send them even beyond the Himalayas!”
Grandsire put his arm around his shoulder and smiling weakly he said, “As per my information the Pandavas are going to structure the army in the shape of a crescent moon. Think about how you can eclipse that moon. I am telling you firmly that as long as Vaasudeva is on the side of the Pandavas it is going to be highly impossible for you to gain victory.”
While talking to everyone, hefty grandsire dressed up
in his war costume came to the tail end of the eagle formation. Here Shalya was a bit upset. He had left from the Madra kingdom to join the Pandavas who were his bhache. But Duryodhana met him in the middle of his journey, offered him countless gifts and with his sweet words convinced him to join the Kaurava side. During yesterday’s council Duryodhana had instructed grandsire to keep him at the tail end of the Kuru army.
Now this war drama on Kurukshetra was getting intriguing beyond imagination. The foremost strength of us Pandavas was Krishnadeva. The second strong point was the unity of all Pandavas. All the assembled kings and warriors on the Pandava side had complete and unfaltering faith in the valour of Bhima and Arjuna.
The Kaurava army of Duryodhana was full of many rifts of secret differences that were seemingly masked. I did not have the slightest doubt that Krishnadeva was astutely going to take advantage of these rifts. Krishnadeva steered Arjuna’s Nandighosha chariot, overflowing with weaponry and brought it in the centre of the Pandava army. He descended from the Nandighosha chariot along with Arjuna. First, he spoke with his four horses in a language that no one else could understand. He patted the rump of one, the back of another, affectionately stroked the mane of another. The next moment He and I left, walking to survey our army along with many leaders such as Bhimsena, his son Ghatotkacha, Panchala king Drupada, Matsya king Virata, Yudhishthira, Nakula and Sahadeva. We surveyed the crescent-moon shape of our army that had two edges – one on the inside and one on the outside, and returned to the original place.
The distinctive feature of this crescent-moon shape was, its two end points facing each other. If agile, expert war soldiers were posted at both these endpoints then at the right time they could be brought together by the commander’s order and our whole army could swallow any bird entirely whether it was a hawk, a vulture or a eagle.
Both commanders took their places. Now a breath-taking scene was set on the land of Kurukshetra – that of the strong eagle made of lakhs, hankering to claw at the moon and the crescent-moon made of lakhs, yearning to swallow the eagle entirely if needed.
Srikrishna- the Lord of the Universe Page 85
