The Thirteenth Day (19 page)

I put my arm around my brother as his breath heaved inside his body. He was trying hard not to cry. After a little while, he regained his composure and nudged me away gently. I got back on my chariot and we grinned embarrassedly like only brothers can after a display of emotion.

We took our chariots and joined the rest. The Kauravas had re-formed and were fighting back. Bhagadatta had joined them with a contingent of elephants that were jostling through our ranks. Suyodhana was nowhere to be found.

Bhima went straight for Bhagadatta and was intercepted by an elephant in a purple-and-gold trim and golden armour. The elephant was mounted by a large pavilion, which carried seven archers, three on either side and one in the centre who spoke in a strange tongue. He slapped his thigh and pointed at Bhima and laughed, and spoke some more. He then took out a bow and fired a missile, which barely missed Bhima’s charioteer.

This seemed to amuse him and he slapped his thigh again and laughed to the skies and pointed again at Bhima with his palm facing out. He then put a hand on his mahout’s shoulder and the elephant charged out if its line into our midst. A strange jingling was heard and I saw the elephant was wearing golden anklets. It created a strange effect. Somewhat like temple bells over a loud aarti.

Bhima jumped out in time, mace in hand, as the elephant overturned the chariot with his trunk. I saw Bhima disappear behind the elephant.

I shouted, ‘The bowmen. Kill them,’ and a platoon of foot archers gathered around me and fired into the pavilion, killing three of the archers.

Just as we were getting ready to begin work on the elephant, the beast sank on one of its hind feet. And then the other. I saw Bhima at its back, chopping away with his mace. The man in its pavilion was not laughing now.

The remaining archers in the pavilion were brought down by our arrows and Bhima climbed up the elephant triumphantly into the pavilion, holding his mace.

Satyaki’s chariot drew near me. He spoke quietly as Bhima lifted his mace and crushed the laughing man’s skull, nearly decapitating him with his strength. ‘Mlechcha, that one. A foreigner.’

‘Really? Where from?’

‘Far north. Great king in his land, they say. They call him, called him rather, Arangaa.’

I nodded as Bhima flung King Arangaa’s dead body into the dust and began to pound at the elephant’s head with his mace. The elephant’s head sank to the ground and its body went still.

Satyaki spoke again, ‘I didn’t even know that he or his sodding kingdom even existed until he tried to kill me…but I would like to go where they put anklets on elephants. Seems a peaceful kind of place, no?’

Satyaki had a talent for inane conversation so I smiled, but didn’t say anything to encourage him.

‘I’ve learned so much from this war. And fighting’s the least of it.’ He smiled brightly at me and went off.

Bhima beat his chest atop the elephant, drunk on victory. Suyodhana was forgotten for the moment.

And then the elephant toppled over onto its side, anklets jangling. Supritika had rammed into the elephant and was driving it towards our forces like a battering ram. I watched with horror as Bhima lost his footing and fell into the pavilion.

Bhima got up dazed, and before I could shout, he had gone under Supritika.

For the next few moments, I didn’t know how to react. My legs buckled and I sat heavily on the floor of my chariot, looking at that monstrosity pushing the elephant carcass into our men. I couldn’t think of anything coherent. A thought formed hazily out of a cloud that was my mind. I would have to get Bhima’s body. I don’t remember getting out of my chariot. I just remember walking blindly towards Supritika with someone pulling back at me. I couldn’t tell who.

B
hima went down like a lily bud in a whirlpool.

Truth is, I didn’t know how to feel. A few days back, if someone had told me that Bhima had been killed, I would have been the first at the scene to kick his dead body and spit on it. Maybe second, after Suyodhana.

But now, after my mother’s confession regarding my birth, something inside me told me I shouldn’t be happy. You aren’t supposed to be glad when a little brother dies, are you? But I had hated him for so long. To even begin liking him was shameful.

So, I felt guilt. First, for feeling sorrow, then for correcting my feelings, and trying to feel cheerful. Then, I felt guilty for feeling cheerful. Did I really feel grief at Bhima’s death, or was it something I was feeling because I was supposed to? Because it was something that family was supposed to do? Would I feel pain at Suyodhana’s death?

I stemmed the flow of questions and thought coldly. I still had to get Yudhishthira and end the war, regardless of Bhima’s death. Suyodhana’s life could yet be saved. I could still be king. I stopped my thoughts in their path again. It had been two days since my talk with Grandsire, and I realized I still wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea of becoming king of the Kurus and taking Suyodhana’s kingdom away from him.

King of the Kurus. Would Suyodhana forgive me? Could I forgive myself? Did I even want to become king? Did I want it so that the suta comments would stop? Was I using ‘millions of lives can be saved’ as an excuse to justify my ambition…?

I yanked my thoughts back again from their meanderings. It could all wait.

I would capture Yudhishthira first and then make a decision. From now, I would not allow myself to feel anything…neither remorse nor joy at any brother’s death.

I watched the Pandava morale sink into the blood of Kurukshetra as they tried to get out of Supritika and her dead-elephant-weapon’s way. I saw Yudhishthira up front, without a chariot, being held back by four men and Nakula. Now was the time to get him. I pointed my chariots towards the Pandava line and moved us a little distance behind Supritika.

I was about to launch the charge when a Pandava elephant charged at Supritika’s flank. Supritika was able to free herself from the elephant carcass just in time to meet the new threat.

The brief distraction made me lose sight of Yudhishthira. I held my chariots back and looked around for him.

The rival was good. He was wearing a simple bronze armour and didn’t look like he belonged to any royal family of note. His elephant pushed at Supritika, who pushed back with equal force. There were no feints or lunges or intricate manoeuvres, just tusk thrusts and head butts.

Bhagadatta soon tired of it and picked up a javelin and flung it at the mahout, who was impaled and thrown off the elephant. Old Bloodlust turned around and bowed wickedly. Every Kaurava there whistled and hooted. To throw a javelin was tough enough on land but it was near impossible on a bucking elephant in combat.

Supritika locked tusks and let the mahout-less elephant push at her. Then she took a step back, and let the beast overstep himself. He stumbled forward and she pierced him hard in the side with her tusks. The elephant stumbled and fell and Supritika began goring him in the belly. When she raised her head, entrails hung off her tusk and blood lined her mouth like face paint.

I spotted Yudhishthira in the Pandava ranks being taken back to safer ground. I was about to signal my chariots to move forward when I heard a roar on my right.

The cry of joy had erupted from the Pandava troops. They were holding up Bhima who waved his hand slowly to show that he was still alive.

If I didn’t know how to feel when I heard of his death, I was more confused now. So my brother was alive. Should I have been glad? Or upset? Now, getting to Yudhishthira would be as difficult as ever.

I sounded the charge and prayed that Bhima had been injured enough to stay away from the battlefield till we picked up Yudhishthira.

We formed a crescent and charged towards him. Infantry would slow us down, so I had mounted three spearmen on each chariot except mine to give us additional support. There were fifteen Anga chariots. The only ones left after the day’s carnage.

A loud trumpet sounded behind us and I saw Supritika coming up in support. A guard hastily made up of Shikhandi, Virata, Nakula and a few other Panchala princes on chariots surrounded Yudhishthira, along with some spearmen.

My chariots began duelling with the Pandava chariots. I killed two Panchala princes and was pierced in the chest by an arrow from Shikhandi.

Grandsire may have had his reservations about fighting women but I could see no wrong in it when the bitch was trying to kill me. Trust the old man to martyr himself for a belief as old as the mountains. I ducked as an arrow missed me narrowly and fired two in retaliation. One hit her on the helmet and the other in the centre of her chest, knocking her down.

Her death could wait. I looked for Yudhishthira, whose chariot lay empty. He had disappeared again. I moved my chariot away from Shikhandi who had still not gotten back on her feet. And began picking off soldiers, searching for Yudhishthira.

Supritika was next to us now and was goring away at a group of Pandava spearmen who were trying to push her back. The fool Satyaki tried to take her head-on and she picked up his chariot like a toy and flung it away, horses and all. Satyaki had the agility to jump off his chariot but his charioteer was not so quick and I heard his cries receding into the distance, ending with a dull crunch.

No sign of Yudhishthira. The Pandavas were growing in numbers around us. We had to move, but advancing towards them was suicide unless I could find him.

I had no choice but to sound a retreat.

I was about to blow the conch when the Pandava forces parted, and a chariot contingent came into view, led by a white chariot with white horses driven by a dark charioteer.

It was Arjuna and he went straight for Supritika who took a step back and swiped at his chariot with her trunk. The chariot swung violently on one wheel and turned away, missing the flailing limb of the elephant. The troops on both sides stood their ground as the chariot and the elephant began their duel.

The cowherd was good with horses. You didn’t need to be a charioteer to see that. He feinted in close to her and weaved out without as much as a scratch from her tusks. Frustrated, she snatched at the chariot which spun away. From its back, Arjuna shot arrows which bounced harmlessly off Supritika’s iron armour.

Supritika roared as one of Arjuna’s arrows found an unprotected spot between her shoulder and limbs. She charged behind him and tried to gore the fleeing chariot. Krishna swerved and Supritika nearly fell over. She turned around and an arrow hit her straight in her left eye.

I just gaped at Arjuna, who had already loaded another arrow. First Yudhishthira, now Arjuna. Were all the Pandavas targetting eyes today?

I watched dismayed as Supritika went on her knees briefly and whimpered. She got up again, roared and charged straight for the chariot that sped away. Arjuna was firing rapidly trying to find a weak spot.

Bhagadatta cursed and threw a javelin that missed Arjuna’s head by a hair’s breadth. He flung another one in the middle of the chariot’s path as it tried to escape. The chariot swerved around the javelin and went around to the elephant’s flank.

Supritika turned and followed. Arjuna fired four arrows, all at the head. His chariot turned away from her path again and Arjuna fired at the head once more.

I saw his plan. Supritika’s earlier combat with the war elephant had cracked her skull plate. Arjuna was trying to expose it, or put an arrow between it. I shouted at Bhagadatta, ‘The head! He’s going for the head!’

The old king didn’t hear me and picked up another javelin.

Arjuna continued to put arrows into Supritika’s skull till finally she stopped, exhausted.

A thin stream of blood was dripping to the ground from her head. Bhagadatta made her sit. She tried to pull out an arrow and nearly peeled off half the skull plate. The arrows were barbed and stuck firm to her skin and the plate. To remove the arrows was to remove the armour, which was already coming out in pieces.

While Supritika wrestled with the arrows, Bhagadatta brought out his bow and fired at Arjuna, who twisted away from the dart and fired back, shattering Bhagadatta’s bow and taking a finger.

The elephant king tied his hand calmly with a silk cloth and patted his elephant soothingly. The chariot charged at them again, Arjuna firing arrow after arrow into Supritika’s head. The armour was in tatters and hung limply on her forehead. The elephant struggled back on her feet and roared. She swung her head wildly from side to side and charged straight at the chariot. Krishna swerved the vehicle out of her path even as Arjuna fired an arrow that went clean through her eye.

Supritika fell.

Even in death she had the presence of mind to fall first on her knees and skid to a halt so that Bhagadatta wouldn’t be thrown off.

The chariot came around to face Bhagadatta. The old king was wiping the tears from his eyes and rubbing Supritika on the head to gently guide her passage into the next world. He saw the chariot and lowered his head in defeat. For a moment, both Arjuna and Krishna relaxed and Bhagadatta chose that moment to lift his elephant goad and throw it at Arjuna. Krishna stood up and took the blow on his chest. Bhagadatta brought out a javelin and threw it. Arjuna pushed Krishna out of the way and the javelin nicked Arjuna’s arm, bloodying his white-and-silver armour.