The War – Day 7

The heroes on both the sides who played important roles on the 7th day of war

Alambusha – A Demon of great strength and an important ally of the Kauravas
Bhagadatta – The king of Pragjyotisha who fought several famous battles on the
Kaurava side on his battle trained elephant
Iravan – a son of Arjuna, born of the Naga princess, Uloopi who fought on the
Pandava side
Kritavarma – A Yadava prince of the Vrishni clan on the Kaurava side
Vinda and Anuvinda – The princes of Avanti who joined the Kaurava side with an Akshauhini of
army

Duryodhana with Bhishma

Duryodhana was a shattered man, both physically and mentally, at the end of the sixth day’s war. He was badly mauled by Bhima in the straight fight between the two. The Kaurava army continued to be thrashed by the Pandava heroes. So, the Kaurava prince went to the grandsire again, as was his habit on the close of battle each day.

He said. "Sir, why is that our army faces defeat day after day at the hands of the Pandavas? We have the best of warriors like you, Drona, Kripa, Salya and so on. We tried different battle formations, thinking that we were safe in each. But, the enemy broke into our defenses each time with ease and inflicted heavy casualties on our side."

Bhishma consoled the prince with soothing words. He said. “Do not lose heart. All our heroes like me, Drona, Salya and Aswatthama are still fighting on your side. Be assured that I shall give my best for your sake.”

With these words the grandsire applied healing ointments to the wounds on Duryodhana’s body pierced by Bhima’s sharp arrows.

Battle formations

Bhishma arranged his army in a circulation formation (Mandala Vyuha) on the seventh day. The outer ring was packed with thousands of brave warriors, in chariots, elephants, horses and on foot. All the heroes stood firmly inside giving solid support from within.

The Pandavas knew of only one way to be affective against that, making a formation like the thunderbolt (Vajra Vyuha).

Arjuna starts the attack

Arjuna watched all the Kaurava heroes inside the Mandala Vyuha and asked Krishna to drive the chariot straight into the Kaurava army. The arrival of the middle Pandava (Arjuna) created terror in the Kaurava ranks. No one from among the kaurava side dared to face Arjuna with his Gandiva. Then, all saw Bhishma arriving himself on the scene to check the advance of Arjuna into his army ranks. The two fought fiercely against each other for a long time that day.

Virata against Drona

Elsewhere, Drona met the Matsya king, Virata in combat. Drona cut several bows of Virata one by one. Finally, he also killed the horses and charioteer of the Matsya. Virata found his son, Sankha nearby and jumped into his chariot. The two, father and son, then made a combined attack against the formidable Acharya. Drona sent a powerful arrow carefully targeting Sankha. The Matsya prince was killed instantaneously by the shaft that pierced his heart.

Virata was in anguish. Two of his sons, Sweta and Uttara, were already killed earlier. This was too much for him. He fled from the scene unable to face Drona any more. The Acharya used the opportunity to inflict heavy casualties on the Pandava army.

Sikhandi facing Aswatthama

The Panchala prince, Sikhandi, found himself pitched against Aswatthama, the formidable son of Drona. Sikhandi, faced the arrows boldly coming from the son of Drona in quick succession. Aswatthama cut all his bows into pieces. Finally, his horses and charioteer were also killed. Undaunted, Sikhandi jumped down and ran to his enemy with his sword held in hand. But, the son of Drona cut the sword of Sikhandi also into pieces. Satyaki was fighting nearby. Sikhandi had, then, to escape into Satyaki’s chariot to save himself from further harm.

Satyaki was fighting with the demon, Alambusha. At one stage, the demon used weapons that created illusion on Satyaki. But, the latter knew the secret of the weapon called Aindra (of Indra) that nullified the illusion created by Alambusha. From then on, Satyaki gave no respite to the demon from his arrows that were sent in quick succession. Finally, Alambusha fled in panic from the scene.

Dhrishtadyumna found himself paired against Duryodhana. The Panchala prince harassed the Kaurava and won a decisive battle against him. Similarly, Bhimasena defeated Krutavarma in a straight combat. The result of these defeats caused great damage in the Kaurava army.

(The 7th day’s war to continue in the next episode)