The Book of Karna
We start on the “Book of Karna (Karna Parvam)” here which has only one chapter, “the killing of Karna (Karna Vadha Parvam)”. Two day’s of battle are covered in the chapter.
At the end of each day’s battle Sanjaya used to report the events of the day to Dhritarshtra.
The narration of the next morning always would start with a dialogue between the two. This time it runs into several sections. The old king was disconsolate hearing about the killing of Karna (at the end of day 17). He laments about the death of all the veterans like Bhishma and Drona and asks Sanjaya to list all those who had been killed and those who survived on both the sides. Several sections of the chapter cover the list of those who died and those who survived so far.
Karna as the commander in chief
The death of Drona left a vacuum at the top of the Kaurava army. Great were the losses on their side already. What should be the next course of action? Duryodhana got his veterans together and posed the question to them.
Aswatthama spoke on behalf of the others. He said. “Victory and defeat are all part of war. True, that we have had several reverses. But, if we fight on with determination, we can still win this war. I suggest that Karna should lead our army henceforth”.
Duryodhana was greatly pleased with the suggestion. He always felt that both Bhishma and Drona favoured the Pandavas. But, he trusted Karna for his unwavering loyalty towards him. He, accordingly, requested Karna to take up the challenge which was readily accepted. Thus, the son of Radha was anointed as the great commander in chief of the vast Kaurava army. Under his command the Kaurava army marched forward on the sixteenth morning against the Pandavas.
The battles on day 16
The sixteenth day was relatively uneventful, though. True, there were quite a few battles between the veterans of either side. Among these, the ones by Karna and Aswatthama shined on the Kaurava side. The battles of Arjuna, Bhima and Satyaki are worth mentioning on the Pandava side.
Bhima killed a king by name Kshemadhoorthi of Kulootha kingdom after a fierce battle.
Satyaki killed two princes of Kekaya by name Vinda and Anuvinda.
There was a prolonged battle between Aswatthama and Bhima at the end of which both fell down unconscious. The son of Drona returned later and challenged Arjuna for a duel. The two dispatched several divine weapons against one another. Aswatthama had to escape from the scene totally defeated by the Pandava. Arjuna later took on the remaining suicide commandoes and killed most of them at the end.
Sahadeva fought against Dussasana and defeated his foe.
Karna against Nakula
There was a pitched battle between Karna and Nakula. The Pandava was totally defeated and was trying to escape from the scene. Karna caught hold of him with his bow and humiliated him saying, “henceforth, fight only against your equals. Let this be a lesson for you”. May be, Karna remembered the word he had given to Kunti that he would spare all her sons, except Arjuna.
Yudhishthira against Duryodhana
Towards the end of the sixteenth day Yudhishthira encountered Duryodhana in a fierce battle. Thousands of soldiers and animals perished in the battle. Duryodhana was thoroughly defeated by his foe at the end. Yudhishthira was about to kill his enemy at which time Bhima intervened. He said. “Do you not remember my vow to kill all the sons of Dhritarshtra myself? Please spare his life for me”.
Soon, the sun turned red in the western sky. The veterans on both the sides remembered the horrors of the battle on the fourteenth night and decided to pull their forces from the battle field.
That was how the battle ended on the sixteenth day, the first day under Karna’s command.
