Kurukshetra War - Night 10

             

       

        With Pithamaha, the mighty undefeatable warrior of the three worlds being vanquished,both the armies were filled grief. The warriors of both the sides paid their respects and bowed at the mighty and illustrious warrior who was lying on the arrow bed.

     While the foot soldiers and other warriors left the field paying their homage, surrounded by the sons of Pandu, Krishna, Dronacharya, Krpacharya, Duryodhana and his brothers, Abhimanyu, UpaPandavas and the foremost Kings and Princes, Bhishma said – “O my dear sons! This sight of you all standing together gratifies my soul. All my mighty sons, the mighty souls of my family, all together in front of me…this is what I wished to see before my death! Blessed I am as I get to see what I wished for.”

Though everyone stood silent, Pithamaha Bhishma glanced at them and spoke with a smile on his face – “This period is not an auspicious time for death. I will proceed to heaven and join my father and forefathers when the sun is at the northern solstice. Till then, I will hold my breath. It’s a boon granted by my father –‘Death can take you only when you desire’.”

          Pausing for a moment to get hold of his head which was hanging, he raised his head bit higher and spoke – “I am not able to get hold of my head. Could someone get me a pillow to hold it straight?”

          On Duryodhana’s command, his brothers rushed to their camps and fetched pillows filled with fine and delicate feathers. Pithamaha, seeing the pillows, said – “O Duryodhana! These are not the pillow a vanquished hero desires. I am going to die as a hero. Not as a King in his palace bed.”

Turing towards Arjuna who was shedding tears, Pithamaha said, -“O son! Partha! Get me a pillow which you think fits for a hero.”

Arjuna, considering the grandsire’s words as command, saluted him and acted immediately. Getting hold of his Gandiva and chanting few hymns, shooting three shafts towards the earth beneath Pithamaha’s head, he made a fine soft pillow that could hold the highly souled Bhishma’s head without hurting him.

Witnessing Arjuna’s immeasurable achievement, delighted Pithamaha praised him–“O Arjuna! You are an embodiment of talent, intelligence, goodness and morality. A Kshatriya who is following his duties should ignore the worldly pleasures in the battlefield. Hence, observing my Kshatriya duty, I can sleep only using weapons. I am gratified as always, my son!”

In the meantime, on Duryodhana’s advice, few physicians and their assistants who are skilled in removing arrows visited the place. Seeing them and understanding the purpose of their visit, greeting them with his smile and turning towards Duryodhana, Bhishma said – “O Son! Honor them with wealth. I am a Kshatriya. A mighty hero should die in the battlefield and he should be burnt with his weapon and armor. That’s the higher state of death destined for a Kshatriya hero. It will not seem fair if I receive treatment to reduce the pain.”

Listening to Pithamaha’s words, Duryodhana honored the physicians with gold and ornaments and dismissed them to the Kauravas camp. Pithamaha’s entire body was pierced with arrows and blood was dripping making the earth beneath the arrows wet and reddish.  His whole body was sweltering with pain.

Grandsire Bhishma, casting his eyes on Arjuna said – “Pierced by your shafts, my body is aching. I need a favor from you, O Arjuna!”

Filled with tears, pressing his knees on earth, Arjuna spoke with choking words – “Pithamaha! Forgive me for troubling you and hurting you. Order me and I will do anything that will satisfy you. Command me for I am your slave, O Pithamaha! What should I do?”

“Arjuna…my mouth is dry. Get me water, O mighty son!” – Getting orders from Bhishma, Arjuna bowed at him and in a blink of an eye, he stretched his Gandiva and called for Parjanya Astra by chanting hymns. Then, using his tremendous arrow, he pierced the earth to the south, near Bhishma’s shoulders and from the earth sprouted clean and auspicious Ganga, pure like God’s love, to pacify the thirst of her son. Pacifying the thirst of her son, she said-“Bless you, Arjuna, for bringing me here. I will stay beside my son and take care of him, till he wishes to reach for heaven.”

Pithamaha, with his thirst pacified, said –“O Arjuna! You never cease to amaze me! You are the foremost archer of the three worlds. None can defeat you when the Gandiva is there in your hands. Just the resonance of your Gandiva string is enough to insert fear in the hearts of your foes. With the mighty and highly souled Krishna protecting you, I bless you to achieve more victories in the future.”

On witnessing the happiness in Bhishma’s face and on hearing his words, Duryodhana, the nemesis of the Pandavas became depressed. Casting his eyes on the depressed Duryodhana, Pithamaha spoke unto him gently – “O son! In these ten days of war, you have witnessed the prowess of Arjuna. Even now, you witnessed how clever and a loyal Kshatriya Arjuna is. Listen to my words, O Son. No one can defeat him and none is capable of accomplishing the mighty feats of Arjuna. The celestial weapons which are known and belong only to the three-eyed Lord Rudra, to the devas and even to Brahaspathi are known only to two persons on this earth - Arjuna and Krishna.  So, redeem your senses, listen to my words and kindly cease this battle, right now. Let peace be made with the Pandavas while Krishna is not raged. Save your brothers. Don’t annihilate the Kshatriyas of this world.  Let there be friendliness among the kings and countries. Let the warriors return to their family, friends and kin. At least let the remaining warriors of both the sides live peacefully. Give Yudhistra his Indraprastha. Let peace prevail in you and let the battle be ceased with my death! Abandon your rage, absurdity and voracity. This is the only beneficial solution for both you and the Kuru family.”

Defiled by wickedness, Duryodhana did not pay attention to the words of the great soul. With eyes filled with rage, Duryodhana bowed to Pithamaha and bid farewell to him and left for his camp, followed by his Kings and followers.

Pithamaha, depressed on the failure of his final effort, spoke in lowered voice – “I am tired and feel exhausted. I need some rest. As of you all, return to your camp for you have a battle to fight tomorrow.”

Saying so, Bhishma closed his eyes and started meditating. With hearts plunged in agony, the Pandavas, Krishna and others bowed at the mighty Pithamaha and returned to their bivouacs. Hearing about Bhishma’s defeat, Karna rushed to the battlefield in his chariot. Witnessing the mighty soul of earth lying on arrow bed, filled with grief and with tears in his eyes, he descended from his chariot and ran towards Bhishma.

With pain and tears choking his voice, Karna spoke – “O mighty chief of Kuru! O illustrious Pithamaha! The son of Radhey you hate is here!”

Hearing Karna’s voice, Pithamaha opened his eyes and in a cheering voice, he said – “Karna! I am grateful to see you! Though I have insulted you, I know that you will come and visit me, for sure. I was expecting to see you! ‘The son I hate!!?’ How can I hate my son!? You, son of Kunti, deserve the crown. Moreover, you are my favorite warrior. You are the only warrior who is skilled enough to battle against me. My one and only best and pertinent challenger! I know how much you, as a warrior, will be hurt in hearing my insults in front of all those mighty kings and warriors. Forgive me, for my words, O son! I hold no grudge, Karna. I purposely made sure you stay away from the battle for two reasons. One, I don’t want you to fight against your brothers. I was hoping that, if, you are not going to battle, Duryodhana might stop the war. Secondly, if war is certain, then other than me there is only you who can protect Duryodhana. I am aware of your prowess and skill, O Karna. In archery, you and Arjuna are one and the same. You are same like Krishna in temperament, energy, kindness and skill in battle strategies. You are incapable of being defeated even by Arjuna! For a long time, all I ever did to you and to Duryodhana was all my small efforts to bring peace among you brothers.”

“O Pithamaha! Forgive me for my ignorance!! I have been blind and ignorant! Forgive me, though I am not even worth asking even for forgiveness!” – wept Karna.

“O Karna! Listen to me, only you can cease this battle! Let this massacre end with my death. Free the Kshatriyas from the fear of death. Free the earth from the burden of war. Go and join with your brothers. If you join the Pandavas, Duryodhana will cease the battle.” – said Bhishma.

“Pithamaha, I live under the shadow of Duryodhana. This life I live, the wealth I donate and the pride I earned are all because of him. I cannot falsify the trust he have and the words I have vowed. My destiny is bound to Duryodhana. Keeping in my mind all those, it’s my duty to be with him when he needs me the most. Kindly forgive me for my behavior and grant me permission to participate and win, at least in my duties.” – requested Karna with teary eyes.

Smiling at Karna for his respect towards Duryodhana, Bhishma said –“O Karna! If that’s what you desire, let it be as you wish. Fight with courage and serve the King, without any desire, malevolence and wrath in your mind. Fulfill your duties that you are bound to, as a Kshatriya and as a friend. You have my permission, Son.”

Acknowledging the mighty Bhishma with joined palms, Karna addressed –“O Pithamaha! Without you, the Kaurava army will be fear struck by now. From today, the illustrious Krishna will be their blazing wind and the Pandavas’ army will be fierce like the forest fire. Who is there to protect the Kaurava army other than you? How will I be able to defend Duryodhana?”

“Son, do not underestimate your prowess. Just like how rainy clouds are to a soil, such is your prowess. You are the last refuge for the Kaurava army. The world’s mightiest and foremost archers, forever, will be my two grandsons – You and Arjuna. Proceed with courage and perform your duty. Just like how Krishna protects Arjuna, same are you to Duryodhana. Go now to Duryodhana. Lead the army with your mightiness. From now on, only you can protect the Kaurava army from the mighty Arjuna and Bhīma.” – Bhishma cheered Karna.

Karna, considering Bhishma’s words as a command, saluted him and touched his feet. With grandsire’s blessings, Karna rushed to the Kaurava camp, desire of fulfilling his duty.

Reaching the Kaurava camp, Karna saw the depressed army of Duryodhana. Just like a flock of deer is troubled and fear struck in front of a lion pack, the whole Kaurava army was restless with the loss of Bhishma. The entire camp was filled with absolute silence. Deprived of hope and senses and immersed in fear, questions and thoughts, everyone resembled statues without souls. Beholding Karna entering the Kaurava camp in his magnificent chariot, shining like god himself, the warriors shouted-“Karna! Karna!”. Tears of joy filled their eyes, witnessing their redeemer.

The hearts which were filled with depression and fear was now filled exceedingly with joy, hope and relief. The cheers of the warriors, the sound of the drums and the soldiers beating their shields reached the sky and delighted the camp’s ether. Duryodhana, who was sitting depressed inside his bivouac, unable to find a way to encourage his army heard the cheers and like a child running towards the mother with happiness, he ran towards Karna. Embracing Karna,delighted Duryodhana spoke – “Behold my brave warrior! Behold the arrival of my mighty Karna! Your defender! Our rescuer!”

Holding his friend and turning towards the mighty army of Kaurava, Karna addressed – “With the defeat of Bhishma, the mighty soul of earth, I do not see anyone mighty enough to protect us all. Every single warrior’s life on this battle field is definitely petite with that mighty warrior gone. I will hold the duty of defending you all!! What was once the mighty Bhishma’s, ‘Protecting the mighty Kaurava army!’, that duty lays upon my shoulders now. Defended by me, proceed in the battlefield against the foes, for the King. I will protect you all with my mighty bow. Considering not my life, I will duly proceed and battle against the Pandavas, considering only the duties of a Kshatriya. Fight you Kshatriyas! For the King!”

On hearing Karna’s inspiring speech, the whole of Kaurava army cheered and regarded the Pandavas as already vanquished. With the army getting prepared for the next day’s battle with cheered hearts, Duryodhana, along with Karna and foremost Kings and friends entered his bivouac.

“With the mighty souled Bhishma protecting us, the army has battled for these ten days. Without him, now, who is mighty enough to lead us like Pithamaha? Who is there to lead and protect us like him, against those mighty Pandavas and especially the unarmed trickster Krishna? There’s none other than you, O son of Suta, my dear friend! Only you can cheer the army to battle with prowess and courage. The whole of Kaurava camp came to life only after seeing you. Without doubt, there is only you, to lead and protect us.” – said Duryodhana.

Hearing Duryodhana’s words, Aswathama and Dronacharya were shocked. Dronacharya left the bivouac with a raged heart. Witnessing Dronacharya’s disapproval and Duryodhana’s negligence, placing his hand on his friend’s shoulders, Karna said – “O Friend! I am delighted that you are confident that I will earn you your victory. I will definitely be happier to lead the army for you. But, you should also consider the mighty warriors of the army, other than me. There are senior warriors, skilled and experienced and talented more than me, without doubt. The generalissimo of an army should be someone who is mighty, intelligent, well versed in all battle strategies and also should be clever and kind enough to treat everyone as equal. Someone, who was always looked up by the soldiers for support and has been a refuge at times of troubles, worth of all the due respects they will get. We have one such mighty soul, whom even Arjuna will fear to oppose. The wielder and expert in handling all kind of weapons, the mighty, the talented and skilled senior, high souled Dronacharya, your guru is by your side. Make him as the generalissimo, friend. Everyone will follow his command and also, he is the only one who is mighty enough to handle all the Pandavas and the army, singly. So, make him as the leader and defender of your army. Let us go to his bivouac now!”

The mighty Kings and brothers of Duryodhana also approved favoring the words of Karna. Reaching the bivouac of the mighty Dronacharya, Duryodhana said –“O Guru! Foremost of warriors! Forgive me for my words and ignorance. There’s none who is good as you, in controlling the Kaurava army. None among the Kings and warriors are mighty and skilled enough like you to lead us to our victory. I request you to lead the army and help us vanquish the foes.  Lead us and we will follow you, considering your words as our commands till death.”

“Son! Desiring your victory, I will fight against the Pandavas. While your troops will be proceeding to battle tomorrow with cheered hearts, the Pandavas and their army will be filled with fear, seeing me as your generalissimo. Fear not, as I am here to lead you and your army.”- said Drona.

Acharya Drona as CIC

Delighted on Dronacharya’s words, Duryodhana with cheered heart, made Dronacharya as their commander-in-chief. The Kings and the warriors, with cheered hearts, uttered loud shouts which reached the Pandavas camp and implanted fear in their hearts.