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| Death of Jayadratha |
With the sunset falling in, the
Kauravas returned to their camp disheartened on the death of King Jayadratha
and their loss while the Pandavas returned to their camp with cheered hearts on
Arjuna’s success. The sons of Pandu and their army, with grieved heart,
prepared themselves for the funeral of the heroic Abhimanyu and the other slain
warriors.
Duryodhana, downhearted and filled
with rage upon the death of King Jayadratha yelled at his Kings and generals –
“The Pandavas crushed my army like an insect. Arjuna reduced my troops to
ashes! He slew King Jayadratha! He cheated…with the support of that trickster
Krishna! They cheated again in slaying King Jayadratha, just like how they
cheated in vanquishing the mighty Bhishma.”
Turing towards Dronacharya, Duryodhana
said – “Guru Drona! I am sure you are enjoying the success of your star pupil,
Arjuna, but, I would like to know about your duties, your trust towards
Hastinapur and the King. The Kings and kin who came to the battlefield,
desiring my victory are lying dead. Those mighty warriors who came to the
battle for my sake are either being vanquished or exterminated by those
Pandavas and their army. As the generalissimo of the army, what the mighty,
undefeatable Drona has done, at least once, for my sake?”
Understanding the rage in Duryodhana’s
heart, Drona spoke in a serene voice – “O Duryodhana! I know you are raged on
the death of your Kings. But, I did warn you about the prowess of Arjuna and Bhīma.
Those two are undefeatable. And, of course, about Krishna’s mightiness, even
though he is unarmed. Even on the day of the dice game and on the days of peace
talks, Vidhura, Pithamaha and even your mother Gandhari, we all warned you
predicting the carnage this war would cause. But you ceased to listen, blindfolded
by Saguni’s words and your greed.”
On hearing the words of Dronacharya,
Duryodhana’s rage increased further and ignoring his words of advice like all
time, he said – “Greater number of akshauhinis… foremost mighty heroes and
warriors accompanied…but what’ s the use when I made the mighty Bhishma and
Drona as the generalissimo, who favor the victory of my foes. Trusting you, I
did not allow King Jayadratha to leave when he asked me yesterday. I must be a fool…to trust you still!”
Karna, beholding Duryodhana losing his
senses, said –“Duryodhana! Do not blame our generalissimo. We all know that,
Pithamaha and Dronacharya battle for your victory. Guru Dronacharya is battling
and also leading our army in putting all his years of experience and skills. Our
warriors too are giving all their power and talent. With a smaller force and
with few mighty Kshatriyas, if the Pandavas are succeeding in the battle, it is
all only act of destiny. What else to say?”
Turning towards Karna with sweltering
rage, Duryodhana yelled –“You stop supporting the Guru. I knew that Pithamaha
and Dronacharya favor the Pandavas. But, not you! I started this battle
trusting you. You promised me that you will slay Arjuna. But you…you have not
accomplished your vow yet. You have mighty celestial Astras that can
slay him…and yet, he is alive. Why is that?”
“Duryodhana, the only Astra I have,
that can slay Arjuna is the Amoghastra (or Vasavi Shakthi) that I got
from Lord Indra. Only that can slay Arjuna, but…” – before Karna could finish,
Aswathama, interfered on behalf of Duryodhana and asked – “Then why have you
not used it yet? It’s been four days since you entered the battlefield.”
“Aswathama, I can use it only when I
have my adversary in front of me. In these four days, Arjuna hardly battled
with me. Krishna turns away his chariot from me in order to defend Arjuna. With
an opportunity, I will definitely use it to slay Arjuna and end this battle,
with victory for Duryodhana.” – said Karna.
Silence filled the bivouac on Karna’s
words, wondering at Krishna’s simpler efforts to defend Arjuna. King Saguni
broke the silence, filling the hearts of the Kings with questions and fear –
“How about we give Karna the chance now?!”
“You want the army to battle in the
night?! It’s against the rules of battle. We should not fight at night. Also,
the army is tired of the day’s battle!” – said Dronacharya.
“Guru
Dronacharya, the Pandavas are not following the rules! They defeated Bhishma
placing Sikandi, which is against the rule. Krishna...he tricked and cheated to
slay King Jayadratha. Think this way… Arjuna is the only person who can see
clearly in the dark. But us… we have you, Karna and Aswathama, the foremost
archers who can see in the dark. This is our opportunity to end the war…by
slaying Arjuna.”
Delighted
on King Saguni’s words, without any second thought, Duryodhana said-“Gather the
army! Get ready for the battle! That’s an order from the King!!”
Scouts
of the Pandava army informed King Yudhistra who was in the funeral of Abhimanyu
about the happenings in the Kaurava camp. On hearing about the battle plans and
preparations for a night battle, King Yudhistra too informed his generals and
troops to get ready for the battle.
Under
their generalissimo and Arjuna, the Pandava army prepared for a night battle
while Krishna met Bhīma and King
Yudhistra for battle strategies. Turning towards Bhīma,
Krishna said – “Bhīma, the night
battle will favor the Kauravas for they have 3 foremost archers who can see in
darkness. We have only Arjuna. For our defense, call your son, Gatothkach and
his army. The Rakshasas can see clearly in the night. The night belongs
to them and it will help us.”
“But
Krishna, inviting my son who is not human to a battle of humans is adharma. How
can you say me to call Gatothkach?”- said confused Bhīma.
“Bhīma,
anything done to favor and sustain dharma will be considered as dharma only.
Call him to protect our army.”- said Krishna. Without any argument, Bhīma
and King Yudhistra accepted Krishna’s words.
And,
on the dark filled night, both the armies marched towards the battlefield.
Setting their hearts on battle, both the troops prepared for night battle with
the foot soldiers holding their choice of weapon in one hand and lanterns in
another. The chariots held five lanterns while the elephants had three on them and
the cavalries, one. Beholding the Kaurava army rushing towards them with
blazing lamps, the Pandavas too rushed against their foe and there began a
battle, fierce and heartless.
King
Yudhistra rushed against Duryodhana with wrath. Crushing the Pandava soldiers
blocking him, Duryodhana progressed forwarded accepting the battle in hand. Filled
with wrath, Duryodhana shot aimless arrows at King Yudhistra. Cutting off the
arrows, King Yudhistra shot at Duryodhana, broad headed arrows which pierced
the armor. Deeply pierced by one of those shafts, Duryodhana fell unconscious
in his chariot. Beholding Duryodhana lying unconscious, the Pandava soldiers
cheered with delighted heart whereas the Kaurava warriors were filled with
shock. Beholding Duryodhana, Dronacharya rushed to the spot and engaged in
battling with King Yudhistra, witnessing Duryodhana recovering his senses.
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| Lighting up the night sky! |
Regaining
consciousness, Duryodhana, along with Dronacharya, began to attack King
Yudhistra. Witnessing King Yudhistra in trouble, the sons of Pandu and the Panchala
Kings and Princes rushed to defend their King. Arjuna and Karna lighted up the
night sky with their showers of oil dipped darts which slew their foes in
hundreds while Drona singly slew thousands of elephants and the riders and
warriors, thousands of cavalries and chariot warriors and thousands of foot
soldiers and spike men. As Drona was devastating the Pandava warriors, Bhīma
engaged in thrashing the Kaurava soldiers. With bare hands, he slew the Kalinga
Prince by crushing his bones.
Gatothkach
and his army of Rakshasas to whom the night belongs, entering the battlefield
began throwing rocks and uprooted trees at the Kaurava warriors. With his
Akshauhini of Rakshasas, Gatothkach struck fear in the hearts of the
Kaurava soldiers and even the Kings and the Kauravas fled in all directions
holding their desire to live. On the command of Duryodhana, the foremost
Kaurava warriors rushed against the army of Rakshasas. Aswathama rushed
against Anjanaparvan, the son of Gatothkach. Aswathama’s arrows broke the
moment they hit the bare chest of Anjanaparvan. None of his arrows pierced the
skin or even cause a scratch on the Rakshasas. Invoking his celestial astras,
Aswathama engaged in slaughtering the Rakshasa army. Breaking the
colossal mace of Anjanaparvan into pieces, Aswathama showered pointy darts in
hundreds on Anjanaparvan, who, using his powers of illusion, escaped from the
pointy darts. Anjanaparvan made it rain blazing darts on Aswathama. Filled with
wrath and affronted in fighting a time consuming battle with a younger warrior,
cutting off those darts in the mid-air, Aswathama showered in thousands, heated
pointy iron darts at Anjanaparvan and slew the mighty Rakshasa in front of the
eyes of Gatothkach and Bhīma.
Beholding his son dead, Gatothkach
rushed against Aswathama, showering millions of darts. Skilled in archery like
his father, Aswathama cut off those darts and furiously showered darts at the
fast approaching Rakshasha. Creating illusions of all kinds, Gatothkach
attacked Aswathama from all directions, at times visible and at times staying
invisible. Gatothkach made it rain maces and swords upon Aswathama with a
desire to slay him but, with his mightiness, Aswathama dispelled every illusion
of Gatothkach by invoking celestial weapons like Vajra weapon
and Vayavya weapon. Beholding Aswathama
covering the chest of Gatothkach with his pointy darts, the Rakshashas and the
Panchala warriors rushed in defense.
Receiving the mighty Rakshashas
and warriors singly, Aswathama, implementing all his skills in archery,
showered shafts showing all his splendid talents in archery, impressing
Duryodhana and filling his heart with delight. Raining fire breathing shafts at
the Rakshashas and the Panchala warriors, Aswathama slew thousands of
chariot warriors along with their steeds and charioteer and invoking his
celestial weapons, he slew the entire Akshauhini of the Rakshashas, bringing
relief in the hearts of the Kaurava warriors. Ceasing not, turning towards the
Panchala warriors, Aswathama slew the sons of King Drupada viz., Prince
Suratha, Prince Satrunjaya and the ten sons of King Kuntibhoja. With pointed
darts, he then slew princes Jaya, Jayanika, Valanika,
Prishdhra,Chandrasena and Srutayush who were rushing with rage against him.
Bhīma, raged on the death of his grandson and the princes,
began to slaughter the Kaurava warriors brutally. King Valikha encountering Bhīma lost his
head to Bhīma’s mace in one blow and the lifeless head fell on the ground,
terrifying the hearts of the Kauravas. Ceasing not, filled with wrath, Bhīma raged
against the rushing brothers of King Saguni. Bhīma, with his bow in his hand began to shoot perfectly
aimed arrows at them. Failing not to hit in the vital body parts of the
brothers of Saguni, those arrows, falling like meteors, took the life of those seven
princes along with Satachandra. Ceasing not, Bhīma slew five more brothers of King Saguni, viz., Gavaksha,
Sarabha, Bibhu, Subhaga and Bhanudatta, in front of their army.
Beholding the prowess of Bhīma, the
Pandava warriors rushed against the Kaurava soldiers with rage while the
terrified Gandhara soldiers fled in all directions. Nakula’s son Satanika
engaging in battling with Chitrasena (brother of Duryodhana), broke the bow of
Chitrasena and slew his steeds and charioteer in a wink of an eye. Chitrasena
who was standing grounded, deprived of weapons was saved by Kritavarman. King
Saguni, lost his bows and standard to Nakula and pierced by Nakula’s pointy
darts, he fell unconscious on his chariot. Witnessing Saguni lying unconscious,
his charioteer rode him away from the battle field.
Witnessing the carnage of his army, Duryodhana rushing
towards Karna, said with a depressed heart – “Karna, save my warriors. Bhīma and
Arjuna are snatching my victory by crushing my warriors.”
“Duryodhana, fear not. I will proceed against Arjuna
and slay him tonight and end this battle before sunrise. You will have your
desired victory sooner.” – saying so, Karna rushed against Arjuna and Krishna.
Karna noticed the darts of Arjuna falling from the sky
like shooting stars and slaying the Kaurava warriors. The Panchala warriors,
witnessing Karna, rushed to defend Arjuna. Karna’s darts, mightier like
Arjuna’s, covered the rushing Pandava soldiers and their steeds and elephants
and made them fell on the ground, deprived of life. Beholding Karna’s prowess,
Arjuna sped his darts with wings of gold at Karna and broke the bow of Karna.
Taking up another bow, Karna covered Arjuna and Krishna with his pointy darts.
Pierced with arrows in his chest armor, understanding
the aim of Karna, Krishna said – “Arjuna, Dronacharya is battling with King
Yudhistra. He can easily take this opportunity and seize the King. Let’s
proceed towards King Yudhistra to save him. There’s none other than you to stop
Dronacharya.”
Pierced by Karna, raged Arjuna slew the steeds and the
charioteer of Karna and broke the chariot of Karna with his arrows. With a
smile, Krishna rode the chariot away from Karna. Jumping from his chariot and
rescued by Krpacharya, Karna ascending into his other chariot, rushed against
Arjuna before he was stopped by Sahadeva.
Defending King Yudhistra, Arjuna and his platoon
ceased Dronacharya from proceeding forward. Turning towards the King, Krishna
said – “Yudhistra, proceed against King Duryodhana. Dronacharya is with plans
to capture you. Let Arjuna proceed against Dronacharya.”
Taking the commands of Krishna, King Yudhistra, along
with his platoon rushed towards Bhīma who was battling with Duryodhana and his legion.
Meanwhile, Sahadeva lost his steeds, charioteer and bow to Karna and was
standing on a grounded chariot. Ceasing not, picking up his sword, Sahadeva
rushed against Karna on foot. Breaking the sword into two before Sahadeva could
descend from his chariot and aiming a golden dart at Sahadeva, Karna smiled and
addressed – “Sahadeva, look at you! Standing deprived of all your weapons.
Never indulge in a fight with warriors who are skilled, talented and superior
to you.” Saying so, taking a deep breath, Karna removing his dart from the bow,
addressed his charioteer to rush the chariot towards Arjuna, remembering his
vow to Matha Kunti.
“Arjuna, Karna is advancing in the battle like raging
sun. But, the mighty Dronacharya is trying to capture King Yudhistra. If you
proceed against Karna, there will be none to stop Dronacharya. Let the heroic
Gatothkach proceed against Karna. He can stop him from advancing.” – Saying so,
Krishna called Gatothkach.
Krishna said – “Gatothkach, Karna is crushing the
Pandava army. The night belongs to the Rakshashas than to humans. With
your unlimited power and mightiness, proceed against Karna and slay him. Except
you, none can achieve this feat.”
“Worry not, uncle. I will slay Karna and Duryodhana by
tonight and will ensure my uncle’s victory.
No Kaurava warriors will get to see the sunrise tomorrow.” – Saying so,
Gatothkach rushed against Karna.
Perceiving Gatothkach rushing against Karna,
Duryodhana said -“Duchadhana, instead of Arjuna, Gatothkach is urging against
Karna. Take as many warriors you want and defend Karna at all cost. Don’t let
Gatothkach near our Karna. He is the only hope to slay Arjuna.”
Before Duchadhana could assemble his legion to defend
Karna, tearing the darkness, a streak of light appeared and like thunder, a Rakshasa
appeared in front of Duryodhana. Addressing Duryodhana, he said – “O King, I am
Alambusha, son of the mighty and foremost Rakshasa Jatasura. My father was
murdered by the sons of Pandu and I desire to take my revenge on them. Command
me to slay the Pandavas and also Gatothkach and I will gladly give you your
victory.”
Delighted in seeing Alambusha, Duryodhana said – “Blessed
I am! Alambusha, Go and slay all those foes of ours, right now!”
Alambusha, taking the command, proceeded against
Gatothkach and summoned him for a duel.
Thrilled in seeing Alambusha, Gatothkach rushed against him and Karna
with excitement. Terrified not, the mighty Gatothkach invoking his diversified
illusions, crushed the Kaurava soldiers approaching him and also pierced Karna
and Alambusha with his long pointy darts. Raged Alambusha began to attack the
Pandava soldiers and thousands fell dead either struck in fear or struck by the
arrows of Alambusha. Beholding Alambusha, the heroic Gatothkach rushed against
him and engaged in a duel with him. Grabbing the gigantic Alambusha in his
hands, Gatothkach pressed him on the ground, twisting his arms. The battle of
the Rakshasas was so terrible and brutal that, they crushed the soldiers,
elephants and steeds on their path. The archers and long bowmen of Pandava
troops, desire to protect Gatothkach, showered darts at Alambusha. Troubled by
the darts piercing him, Alambusha lost control he had on Gatothkach and seizing
the opportunity, Gatothkach got hold of Alambusha in his hands and crushed him,
breaking his bones into pieces.
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| Gatothkach and Alambusha |
Roaring
like thunder, Gatothkach battled with
Karna. Showering pointy darts at each other, exhausted not, both the heroic
warriors fought their night battle with the desire of slaying each other. Karna
invoked various celestial astras while Gatothkach invoked his illusion
powers. Taking different forms, Gatothkach provoked Karna’s rage and also
implanted fear in the Kauravas. Gatothkach made it rain stones, blazing darts,
snakes and even trees. Gatothkach’s illusion slew Kaurava soldiers in
thousands. Pierced by darts, both Karna and Gatothkach were dripping blood but
still, ceasing not, they both continued their duel. Beholding Gatothkach’s
mightiness and the death of his warriors, terrified Duryodhana yelled – “Karna,
Gatothkach is crushing my army. If this continues, we will be left without any
warrior by our side in the morning. Slay him faster.”
Karna knew that Gatothkach will respond to the
celestial astras if he invokes them, except for the Amoghastra (also
known as Vasavi Shakthi Astra). But, Karna was saving that Astra
to slay Arjuna. Duryodhana who was battling with Bhīma was on
the verge of losing the battle and Karna was in the need to defend his friend.
Thinking for a moment and with no time to lose, Karna invoked the foremost
invincible dart, the Amoghastra and hurled it at Gatothkach. The Astra,
which never fails to slay the enemy when he is standing against, pierced right
through the broad chest of Gatothkach and out of pain, roaring like a lion,
Gatothkach fell on the ground. Even while falling, taking his most dreadful
gigantic form, Gatothkach crushed the Kaurava warriors standing beneath him and
pressed by his weight, Kaurava warriors amounting an Akshauhini breathed their
last along with Gatothkach.
Beholding Gatothkach dead, the sons of
Pandu were filled with grief. Arjuna, on hearing the loud roar of Gatothkach,
urged Krishna to rush the chariot towards Karna. Raged on witnessing his son’s
death Bhīma rushed
against Duryodhana. Trying to defend their brother, the brothers of Duryodhana
defended Duryodhana and proceeded against the wrath filled Bhīma. Showering
his well-aimed darts, Bhīma covered the Kaurava warriors and the princes.
Pierced utterly, the eleven brothers of Duryodhana viz., Nagadatta,
Dridharatha, Vira, Ayobahu, Suhastasena, Viraga, Pramatha, Ugrayudha,
Dushkarna, Durmada and Dridhayudha fell lifeless on their respective chariots.The
darts of Bhīma slew hundreds of Kaurava soldiers.
With his brothers dead, Duryodhana
rushed against Bhīma and raged on the death of Gatothkach, King
Yudhistra urged every soldier of the Pandava army to proceed against Duryodhana.
The Panchala warriors resisted Drona as the Sons of Pandu rushed against
Duryodhana while Karna resisted Arjuna. At the middle of the night, the
battlefield filled with warriors with anger and revenge in their heart was
aloud, abysmal and noisy. In the darkness, not knowing the difference between
foe and friend, the warriors slew the ones fighting with them.
Beholding Arjuna, Karna spoke
eloquently in a bold voice –“Arjuna! Only now you have the courage to face me!?
I can sense the happiness in Krishna’s heart. He is ready to even let go of his
favourite sons - Abhimanyu and Gatothkach, in order to protect you! You can
call yourself a mighty hero and archer, Arjuna!”
Not understanding Karna’s words and
witnessing Krishna sitting serene, Arjuna asked –“Krishna, I don’t understand
Karna’s words. What is it that he is able to discern about you but not me?”
Taking a deep breath, Krishna said
–“Arjuna, Karna got the Amoghastra from Lord Indra with a desire to slay
you. No one in this world can stop the power of Amoghastra, not even my
blazing Sudhakshina Chakra. Karna is a brilliant archer and foremost
skilled warrior. With the Amoghastra, he is more powerful and
undefeatable, even by you. Not even by me. With your death, this war will end
and so is the reign of dharma. Gatothkach, in order to defend you, took the Amoghastra.
So, now, without his protective armor, ear-rings and Amoghastra, Karna,
now is like every archer. He can be defeated and slayed. But, trust me…even now
defeating him is going to be tough, even for you. Dharma must prevail on this earth and for
that, King Yudhistra should win this battle.”
Meanwhile, both the troops got
exhausted battling from the sunrise. Even the steeds and elephants ceased to
listen to the commands of their rider. The twelve hours of daylight battle and
the nine hours of moonlight battle drained the energy of the warriors. Even the
Kings and princes fought without any vigour. Beholding the state of the
warriors and understanding the situation, Arjuna spoke aloud – “Warriors, I can
see that you are all tired because of the day’s battle. You all can rest in the
field till sunrise. Let’s withdraw from the battle so that you all can go to
sleep.”
Gladdened on hearing Arjuna’s words,
the Pandava warriors dropped their weapons and slept in the field. The Kaurava
warriors turned towards Karna for approval. Karna and Dronacharya, witnessing
the exhaustion of the warriors permitted them to withdraw from the battle. The
cavalries slept on the top of their steeds. And thus,
both the troops, forgetting their enmity, slept alongside in the battlefield
with the time for sunrise nearing in hours.
Falsified story
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