In search of Yudhishthira
It was the afternoon on the 17th day. Arjuna had succeeded in pushing Aswatthama off the field when the latter had posed a threat to all other Pandava warriors. He then spoke to Krishna.
“I do not find my brother, Yudhishthira, anywhere in the battle ground. I am worried on his account. Let us look for him”.
Accordingly, Krishna drove the chariot through the army. Seated on the chariot Krishna showed the horrors of war to his friend. Bodies of men lay all around. Many were dead and others had been incapacitated to move. A variety of weapons could be seen all through the battle ground, either held in the hands of the fallen men or knocked down on the field. Many hands could be seen, chopped off from the body, with the weapons, still held in them.
The bodies were in many cases pierced by sharp arrows. Others had been shattered by the blow from heavy maces. There were bodies with the heads chopped off by sword. Others had been crushed under the feet of elephants in their plight or knocked down by panicked horses. Many of those who were not yet dead were crying out for water.
Streams of blood could be seen flowing in all directions.
The war of Karna
Seated on the chariot of Arjuna, Krishna pointed out the battles fought by Karna to his friend. He had been inflicting heavy casualties on the Pandava side. Krishna urged Arjuna not to delay meeting Karna in a decisive battle and killing him at the end.
Krishna said. “You can hear Karna persuading other Kauravas to go after Yudhishthira. Why is that roar from among their midst? Is it possible that your brother has been killed or captured alive? Look, how Karna is destroying all your men, intent on demonstrating his skills to his friend, Duryodhana. He is sending glances in your direction in between, as though challenging you for a direct combat”
With these words and showing the battle scenes, Krishna proceeded with Arjuna towards the Pandava camp. They met Bhima on the way. He reported to them that his elder brother had left the battle field thoroughly beaten by Karna in combat.
Yudhishthira in bed
When Krishna and Arjuna reached the camp Yudhishthira was in bed recovering from wounds. He welcomed them beaming with happiness, thinking that Arjuna had come to report the killing of Karna. He said. “Tell me, Arjuna in detail, how you killed Karna in battle”.
Arjuna was embarrassed when he realized how mistaken his brother was. He answered timidly. “I have not managed to meet Karna long enough to fulfill my promise. I was busy with the Samsaptakas. Then, I came here to make sure that you are safe. I shall leave now and challenge Karna for a duel. I shall definitely kill him at the end”.
But, Yudhishthira was crestfallen when he realized that what he hoped desperately had not happened. Then, much unlike him, he started speaking harsh words to Arjuna. “You must have seen that our army has been thoroughly thrashed by the enemy. Bhima has been taking the brunt of the battle all alone. You left him behind out of sheer cowardice. Vain are the words that praised your superior skills in warfare. Our hopes in you have been proven wrong. You better hand your Gandiva over to someone else”.
Arjuna in a fury
The words of his brother enraged Arjuna in no small measure. He jumped forward with sword in hand towards his brother.
Krishna blocked him and said. “Why, what is the matter? I do not find an enemy for you to kill anywhere here!”
Arjuna hissed like a serpent and roared. “You know of my pledge that I would kill anyone who spoke belittling my handling of Gandiva”.
Krishna tried to pacify his friend. He said. “Arjuna, you are not aware of the ways of Dharma (right and wrong). That is why you are confused. You must understand first that hurting any living being (Himsa) with no good reason is a worse offence than telling a lie. You may have to tell a lie to save a difficult situation, such as marriages, in matters of sex, when life is in danger, when there is the risk of losing all that one possesses and for the sake of a Brahmin.
(Vivahakale, ratisamprayoge, pranaatyaye, sarva dhanaapahaare,
viprasya ca arthe hyanrutam vadeta panchaanrutaanyaahu rapaatakani).
Lies told on these five occasions are said to be not sinful”.
Krishna implied that killing Yudhishthira to keep his word would be a worse sin on the part of Arjuna. He, then, told the story of a naïve Brahmin who always told the truth unmindful of the consequences.
The story of the truthful Brahmin
A Brahmin used to do penance in a forest. One day some people came there trying to escape from enemies who were in their chase. Soon, others came in their hot pursuit. The new comers asked the Brahmin. “Did you, sir, find some people coming this way?” Being a man of truth he told them that they, indeed, did. As a result, those who took refuge in the forest were found out and mercilessly butchered.
Krishna, through this story, tried to impress on Arjuna that Ahimsa (non-violence) is a superior virtue in comparison to truthfulness. Even if Arjuna failed to keep his own words, he was saving himself from a much worse sin, of killing his own brother.
