Introduction
Let us recollect the story of the three Kasi princes, Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, whom Bhishma took by force for his step brother, Vichitravirya. Dhritarashtra was born to Ambika and Pandu to Ambalika.
The eldest princess, Amba, was neither accepted by Vichitravirya nor by her lover, the king Salva of Soubha. She, finally, took her own life vowing that she would take revenge on Bhishma in the next birth for ruining her life. She was born as a daughter to king Drupada and, by a change of sex, became a male with name Sikhandi. It was widely known that sikhandi’s mission in life was to kill Bhishma. Let us remember that Drupada already had a son by name Dhrishtadyumna as a result of his prayers to avenge for the insult he received from Drona.
It is also useful to know of the composition of a standard army division deployed those days. It was called an Akshouhini and it comprised 21870 soldiers in chariots, as many on elephants, thrice that number on horse back and five times the number on foot. It has its sub-divisions starting from as few as ten soldiers with the same composition as in an Akshouhini bearing names like Patti, Senamukham, Gulmam and so on.
Krishna back in Upaplavya
Krishna returned empty handed from the Kauravas, though he tried all means to avoid war. He reported the matter to Yudhishthira and told him that war with the Kauravas was the only recourse.
Yudhishthira anticipated this. So, did the other Pandavas. The urgent need of the occasion was to organize the army at their disposal in battle array. There were seven divisions (Akshouhinis) ready to fight on the Pandava side. Yudhishthira suggested the names of Drupada, Virata, Dhrishtadyumna, Sikhandi, Chekitana, Satyaki and Bhimasena to command them. Chekitana was a prominent Yadava of the same Vrishni clan to which Krishna belonged.
The Pandava General
There were no two opinions on the choice of the commanders. Each of them was outstanding in his own right. Who should be the general of the entire army? Yudhishthira sought the opinion of each of his brothers on this. Each suggested differently finding special qualities in the candidate of his choice. Arjuna suggested Dhrishtadyumna. Yudhishthira asked Krishna about his preference. Krishna agreed with Arjuna that it was the Panchala prince who had an edge over the others for the overall command of the army. That sealed the matter and Dhrishtadyumna was appointed the commander in chief of the Pandava army.
The announcement of war and of the name of the army commanders was welcomed by the soldiers waiting for action with shouts of joy. They blew trumpets and beat on drums and raised battle cries. The veterans like Arjuna and Krishna blew their conch shells. The commanders ordered the divisions to move to Kurukshetra, a vast flat ground near Hastinapura. The river, Hiranvati, flowed nearby. The army moved like a big sea of soldiers engulfing the whole area it passed through.
Yudhishthira asked master craftsmen to prepare suitable temporary shelters for the kings and the ordinay soldiers and for their attendants. Krishna ordered a moat to be dug all around the army camp.
Then, all got into the task of getting their weapons sharpened and ready for action.
We shall learn about the Kaurava preparations in the next episode.
