The Mahabharata (20 page)

Yudhistira marched at the head of the advancing troops. In the rear were Virata, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata's sons, forty thousand chariots; cavalry and infantry. Yudhistira encamped on the levelled part of a field called Kurukshetra, which was at a fair distance from cemeteries, temples, and other consecrated ground. Krishna dammed a little river nearby for water storage, and stationed a strong body of troops to protect it. Thousands of tents were pitched all around, stocked with plenty of food and drink. Huge quantities of weapons and coats of mail were heaped in mounds.

At Hastinapura, the troops were mustered in millions and moved to the front. Duryodhana arranged his eleven akshaunis of troops—men, elephants, chariots, and horses—into three classes—superior, middling, and inferior. In addition to normal weapons, his military store consisted of earthen pots filled with poisonous snakes or inflammable material, strange devices for throwing hot treacle, poison darts, and huge syringes for shooting boiling oil. He placed akshaunis of troops under Kripa, Drona, Salya, Dussasana, and others. His Supreme Commander, as expected, was Bhishma. Karna reminded everyone of his vow not to fight until Bhishma should be slain in battle.

Duryodhana ordered musicians to play their instruments, sound the drums, and blow conchs. Suddenly, amid these celebrations, there were bad omens. The sky was cloudless, but blood-coloured showers fell and made the ground slushy. Whirlwinds and earthquakes occurred. Meteors fell. Jackals howled.

Dhritarashtra received a description of the armies through Sanjaya, who had been granted an extraordinary vision by which he could watch the progress of the battle from his seat in the palace hall. Sanjaya reported on the formations of troops facing each other on the east and west of Kurukshetra Field. At dawn all the arrangements were complete and both sides were ready to fight.

Piloted by Krishna, Arjuna's chariot was stationed at a strategic point in the front line from which he could survey fully the personalities opposite. He recognized each one, and suddenly lost heart. All his kinsmen, his guru, his uncle, grandfather, and cousins were there waiting to be hurt and killed. He suddenly felt weak and irresolute. He confessed to Krishna, “I cannot go on with this war. My grasp on Gandiva slips, my mind wanders; how can I slaughter my kith and kin? I do not want the kingdom; I do not want anything. Leave me alone. Let me go away.” The Gandiva slipped from his hand, and he sat down on the floor of his chariot and began to sob. “How can I direct my arrow at Bhishma or Drona, whom I ought to worship? I do not know if any kingdom is worth winning after so much bloodshed. What is that gain worth?” Thus he lamented.

When Arjuna fell into a silence after exhausting his feelings, Krishna quietly said,
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“You are stricken with grief at the thought of those who deserve no consideration.”

Krishna then began to preach in gentle tones, a profound philosophy of detached conduct. He analysed the categories and subtle qualities of the mind that give rise to different kinds of action and responses. He defined the true nature of personality, its scope and stature in relation to society, the world, and God, and of existence and death. He expounded yoga of different types, and how one should realize the deathlessness of the soul encased in the perishable physical
body. Again and again Krishna emphasized the importance of performing one's duty with detachment in a spirit of dedication. Arjuna listened reverently, now and then interrupting to clear a doubt or to seek an elucidation. Krishna answered all his questions with the utmost grace, and finally granted him a grand vision of his real stature. Krishna, whom he had taken to be his companion, suddenly stood transformed—he was God himself, multidimensional and all-pervading.

Time, creatures, friends and foes alike were absorbed in the great being whose stature spanned the space between sky and earth, and extended from horizon to horizon. Birth, death, slaughter, protection, and every activity seemed to be a part of this being, nothing existed beyond it. Creation, destruction, activity and inactivity all formed a part and parcel of this grand being, whose vision filled Arjuna with terror and ecstasy. He cried out, “Now I understand!”

The God declared, “I am death, I am destruction. These men who stand before you are already slain through their own karma, you will be only an instrument of their destruction.”

“O Great God,” said Arjuna, “my weakness has passed. I have no more doubts in my mind.” And he lifted his bow, ready to face the battle. Krishna then resumed his mortal appearance.

When Arjuna was seen to take up his bow again, great relief swept through the ranks of the Pandavas. Just when this happened and the battle was about to begin, much to everyone's surprise, Yudhistira was seen crossing over to the other side, after taking off his armor and mail coat. The Kauravas thought at first that he was approaching to sure for peace, having become nervous at the last moment. But Yudhistira went directly to his master, Drona, and bowed to him, touched the feet of his grand-uncle, Bhishma, and the other elders, and returned to his post. Wearing again his coat of mail and armour, he gave the signal for attack.

The battle was to rage for eighteen days on the field of Kurukshetra, sometimes in favour of one side and sometimes in favour of the other. It was strictly understood that action should begin at sunrise and end with the setting sun, but as the days passed this restriction was not always observed. Sometimes battle was prolonged into the night when the armies fought with the help of flares and torches. Normally they ceased to fight at sunset, and retreated to their respective tents to assess the day's action and plan the following day's strategy. The soldiers relaxed at night with song and dance.

Each day the troop formations were altered. Both sides tried to obtain information as to the intentions of the other and plan a counter-move. Several types of troop formations were ordered by the generals according to the need of the hour. If the troops on one side were formed in makara, the fish, the other adopted the form of krauncha, the heron, so that the formation and the attack thereon might follow a logistical law. The commanders chose how the troops should be placed, deployed, or formed. Each unit commander had to decide for himself how best to act under a given circumstance. On the third day, Bhishma had the Kaurava army in the eagle formation. For this the antidote was the crescent formation, with Bhima and Arjuna at each tip of the crescent, which could close from both sides in a pincer movement.

Each day there was exultation on one side and despair on the other—a see-saw of hope and despair. Counting their losses, the Pandavas sometimes felt hopeless, but Krishna, always beside Arjuna, kept up their spirits with his encouraging words. Every day on both sides there were disheartening losses of men, horses, and leaders, and the ground became soaked with blood.

O
N THE FIRST DAY
of battle
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the initial move was made by Bhima, leading his regiment. He sprung into action with gusto, breaking out of the bonds and repressions of fourteen years. Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son, the youngest warrior in the field, joined the fray and his targets were well defined. Bhishma, his great-grandfather, was his first target, and his arrows pierced him in nine places. Bhishma, while admiring the young man's pluck, retaliated mercilessly.

Arjuna said to Krishna, “Steer me close to Bhishma. Unless we put an end to the grand old man, we will not survive—he is proving deadly.” Although Bhishma had a special
bodyguard of picked warriors, Arjuna's attack was unrelenting.

Duryodhana, watching the course of battle, became nervous. He appealed to his elder, Bhishma, almost reprimanding him, “This combination of Krishna and Arjuna threatens to wipe us out. Karna, on whom I could always depend, will not fight, but only stand aside as long as you are alive.”

Bhishma said, “Do you suggest that I immolate myself and leave the way clear for Karna?”

Duryodhana became apologetic and explained, “Please act quickly and get Arjuna out of the way.”

At this, Bhishma shot an arrow which drew blood from Krishna's chest, but left him unaffected. The sight of it, however, enraged Arjuna and strengthened his determination to destroy Bhishma, whose bodyguards were collapsing one by one. They attacked and counter-attacked and came so close to each other that at times the chariots could be identified only by the pennants fluttering above them. But the engagement was inconclusive.

At another sector, Drona and Dhrishtadyumna were engaged in a deadly combat. Dhrishtadyumna had waited for this chance all his life.
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Dhrishtadyumna's charioteer was killed by Drona's shaft. Dhrishtadyumna took his mace, jumped down from his chariot, and advanced on foot. Drona's arrow knocked off the mace from his hand, but Dhrishtadyumna drew his sword and sprang forward. Drona neutralised him again. At this moment, Bhima came to Dhrishtadyumna's rescue and carried him off in his chariot.

The Kauravas concentrated their attack on Arjuna and surrounded him, but he always kept himself within a sheath
created by a perpetual stream of arrows rotating around his person. At another part of the battlefield, Sakuni led a force against Satyaki and Abhimanyu.

Bhima and his son Ghatotkacha
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fought against Duryodhana's unit, but Bhishma and Drona combined to rescue his forces and rally them. Again Duryodhana reproached Bhishma, “You were looking on with admiration when Bhima's forces were taking their toll. You are so fond of the Pandavas even at this stage! I know you can deal with them if you make up your mind.”

Bhishma just smiled and said, “Do you know how old I am? I am doing my best, that's all, that's all.” But he was stung by Duryodhana's graceless remarks, and went into action, attacking the enemy with renewed vigour. The Pandava army began to scatter.

Krishna urged Arjuna to action. “If you fail to attack your grandsire at once, everything will be lost. You are hesitant to encounter him. You must overcome your reluctance to touch him.” As Arjuna's chariot approached Bhishma, he subjected it to a hail of arrows, but they were warded off with such skill and speed that Bhishma, although the target of Arjuna's own arrows, cried, “Bravo! Bravo!” Arjuna managed to break Bhishma's bow, but he simply picked up another.

It seemed to Krishna that they were play-acting, and he was dissatisfied with Arjuna's performance. Krishna stopped the chariot and jumped out of it, raising his discus.
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“I'll kill this grand warrior myself. You will not do it, I know.”

As he advanced towards Bhishma, the latter said ecstatically, “Welcome, Lord of the Universe. Let my soul be released by your divine hand; that will be my salvation.”

Arjuna followed Krishna, desperately pleading, “No, don't. Remember your vow not to use your weapon. Stop. I promise, I'll attack Bhishma….

Krishna was assuaged, and by that evening Arjuna had destroyed a great part of the Kaurava forces.

At the start of the next day, in spite of their losses, the Kauravas looked extremely well ordered and optimistic. Arjuna observed their disposition and saw his son Abhimanyu plunge into the attack. He was at once surrounded by Salya, Aswathama, and a number of experienced warriors. Arjuna went up to his support, joined by Dhrishtadyumna. In turn, Duryodhana and his brothers helped Salya, and Bhima and his son Ghatotkacha came up to support the Pandavas.

Duryodhana met this array with an attack by elephant forces. Bhima got down from his chariot with his iron-clad mace in hand and attacked and destroyed the elephants. Their carcasses lay about like mountains; those that survived ran amuck in a grim stampede. While retreating, they trampled down the soldiers on their own side, thus creating a scene of immeasurable confusion. As arrows came flying, Bhima climbed into his chariot again. He said to his driver, “Ahead I see all those evil-minded brothers of Duryodhana. Drive on, we will dispatch them all; they are ready for Yama's world.” He accounted for eight of Duryodhana's brothers that day, commenting with satisfaction, “The old man had forethought in bringing forth a hundred sons.”

Duryodhana fought with vigour—even Bhima was hit and stunned for a moment. At this, his son Ghatotkacha hit the Kaurava army like a cyclone, and smashed them. “We cannot fight this rakshasa any more,” said Bhishma. “We must stop for the day. Our troops are tired and weary.”

On the sixth day, Arjuna decided to put an end to Bhishma, whose attack was causing tremendous damage. He
brought in Sikandi,
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placed him in front of himself, and advanced to the attack. Bhishma realised that his end had come—he could neither fight nor shoot his arrows at Sikandi, as he knew this warrior had been born a woman. Bhishma stood still while Sikandi's arrows came flying at him. From behind Sikandi, Arjuna's arrows probed for the weak points in Bhishma's armour. When he recognized the arrows coming from Arjuna, Bhishma retaliated by hurling a javelin, which was parried by Arjuna.