The War – Day 9 (Part 2)

Inroduction

The main purpose of Veda Vyasa in writing down the great epic, Mahabharatam, was, apparently, to highlight the horrors of war. The sage repeatedly writes about it in the context of each day’s fighting. We shall give a summary of it in this episode. Vyasa also brings out how all the rules and etiquettes that were originally agreed upon by both the parties soon got totally disregarded. We shall soon see several examples of it both from the Kauravas and Pandavas.

Duels on the ninth day

Arjuna met his dear teacher, Drona, in a straight combat that day. The Acharya fought without any consideration for his favourite disciple. Arjuna also ignored the usual deep respect with which he treated his teacher. This was war and for a warrior (Kshatriya) fighting at one’s best was all that mattered. The two fought all through the morning and it was difficult to judge in whose favour the balance tilted.

Bhagadatta attacked Bhima with a large army of elephants. The Pandava hero, Bhima, fought without bothering about his own safety. He destroyed a large number of elephants that day. The rest ran amok into the Kaurava army causing large scale destruction.

The horrors of war

The war grew in intensity. Great was the destruction it caused on every encounter. Chariots clashed against each other resulting in great number of deaths. In many cases the charioteers were killed in the conflicts and the horses ran out of control, thereby causing further destruction.
That was the same case with the elephant army. Wounded elephants and those with their mahouts killed ran their own way trampling on soldiers and other beasts of war all along their path. Thousands of elephants were also killed and their carcasses filled the battle field like mounds of rock.

Bodies of warriors were littered all through the vast ground. One could hear cries for help from those who were wounded and left to die in the field. One would also see scattered limbs of humans and beasts chopped off from the body by the enemies’ arrows or swords.

Blood oozing out of the thousands of dead and wounded flowed like a stream. Dead bodies of men floated on it like rafts in a river. Dead elephants resembled large mounds and chariots appeared like whirlpools. The head gear of soldiers floated like foam in the water.

Soldiers from either side were aghast looking at the scale of destruction and cursed Duryodhana for causing that.

Though some such comments reached the Kaurava prince, he continued to call on his men to fight even harder.

Bhishma in terrible form

The Pandavs closed down on the grandsire in the afternoon. He was the biggest obstacle on their way to victory. Duryodhana was always careful not to expose his grandfather to dangers. So, he sent Dussasana and Sakuni with a large army in support of Bhishma. The Kaurava warriors arrived, destroying the Pandava army that blocked their way. Yudhishthira and the sons of Madri went to check their onslaught. A fierce battle ensued between the two parties. The Pandavas inflicted heavy damage on the attacking Kauravas and blew on their conch shells claiming victory. The remaining Kauravas ran for their lives.

Duryodhana could not tolerate the defeat of his veteran fighters. He sent Salya to take revenge on the Pandavas. The king of Madra faced his own nephews in a terrible battle that lasted the whole of afternoon. Neither side had any decisive edge in that fight.

Bhishma was in a terrible form that day. He destroyed the Pandava army wherever he moved. The sound that emerged from his bow strings terrified the whole battle field. None could face the grandsire in that form in which he destroyed everything that came his way.

Krishna takes up arms

Krishna pointed out the trail of destruction caused by the formidable Kaurava to Arjuna. He said. “Arjuna, the time has come for you to discharge your duty. If you do not kill the grandsire now, he will leave none on our side alive.”

Krishna, then, drove the chariot to face Bhishma. The Pandava forces were encouraged by the move and came back to face the enemy with renewed vigour.

Arjuna fought hard against his grandfather. He cut several of his bows one by one and Bhishma applauded the skill displayed by his favourite grand nephew.

Then, he remembered his own promise to Duryodhana, to fight to the best of his ability. So, Bhishma started sending sharp arrows in quick succession. Arjuna was overwhelmed by the counter attack from the grandsire.

Krishna was angry that Arjuna was reluctant to fight against his grandfather. He jumped out of the chariot and rushed to Bhishma with his discus, Sudarshanam, in hand.

Bhishma was not worried to find Krishna rushing to kill him. He said. “Come, O! My Lord! I am ready to die at your hands. Then, I shall reach that world from which I will not have to return to earth again”.

Arjuna was aghast with the turn of events. He rushed after Krishna and somehow pulled him back. He said. “Krishna, please remember your word that you will not take up arms in this war. Please leave the fighting to me”.

Arjuna tried to fight against Bhishma with all his might. But, nothing worked against the Kaurava commander. Large was the destruction caused by him that day. It was clear to the Pandavas that, if Bhishma continued like that, there will be none to fight on their side. When the sun set in the western horizon the Pandavas were totally dispirited without knowing what they could against the grandsire.

The ninth day’s battle thus ended with heavy losses on the Pandava side. The Pandavas needed to do something drastic and that too quickly before it was too late.