Once again, Krishna came to Arjuna’s rescue. ‘You can kill yourself physically by harming your body or intellectually by praising yourself. For when a man praises himself, it is intellectual suicide.’
So Arjuna decided to kill himself intellectually. He praised himself as the greatest of archers. And having embarrassed himself so, he thanked Krishna for finding clever ways to overpower awkward situations.
Arjuna then apologized to his brother. Yudhishtira apologized too. Both realized they were overreacting to the situation. ‘Let us forget this ugly event. Let us focus on our duty. Let us restore justice. Let us kill Karna,’ they said. All issues resolved, the brothers returned to the battlefield ready to fight once more.
As the war progresses, stress takes it toll. Vyasa describes many arguments in both battle camps. Karna and Shalya abuse each other until Duryodhana intervenes. Satyaki argues with Dhrishtadyumna forcing Bhima to restrain both parties. Karna argues with Kripa and comes to blows with Ashwatthama.
This episode reveals Krishna’s ability to twist and turn the rules by looking at them from various angles. Here he divides the human body into physical, emotional and intellectual components and prescribes ways of killing each of these bodies. Insulting the other destroys the other’s emotional body; praising oneself destroys one’s intellectual body.
87
Wheel of Karna’s chariot
On the seventeenth day, all energies of the Pandava camp were directed against Karna. Arjuna shot dead Karna’s son, Vrishasena, hoping to make Karna feel the pain he experienced when Abhimanyu was killed. Other sons of Karna were also killed by other Pandava warriors. Karna refused to mourn for his sons; he continued battling, determined to do his duty, help his friend, and kill that one brother of his, the one who taunted him all his life, the one who he was determined to hate—Arjuna.
At long last, Karna came face to face with Arjuna. With his arrows, Arjuna was able to create a force that pushed Karna’s chariot back a hundred yards. Karna’s arrow was able to push Arjuna’s chariot barely ten yards and yet every time Karna did so, Krishna praised him ecstatically.
An envious Arjuna asked, ‘But why do you shower him with praises when I push his chariot back by a hundred yards while he pushes mine barely ten yards?’
Krishna replied, ‘Look carefully, Arjuna. On Karna’s chariot stand two men. But on your chariot sit Nara and Narayana and on your banner sits Hanuman. Surely pushing his chariot is easier than yours.’
Karna shot arrow after arrow at Arjuna. At one point a serpent entered his quiver. This was the Naga Ashwasena whose family had been killed by Arjuna when he set ablaze Khandava-prastha. Arjuna’s arrows had pierced his mother but he had survived, for he was then still in her womb. He was determined to avenge the killing of his family so he turned himself into an arrow in Karna’s quiver. Karna mounted this arrow and shot it at Arjuna. Realizing that this was no ordinary arrow, Krishna pressed his feet against the floor of the chariot causing it to sink to the ground. As a result, the arrow, which could have split Arjuna’s head, struck and split Arjuna’s crown. Arjuna was taken by surprise, as his beautiful crown fell to the ground. He wondered who was the greater archer—he or Karna? ‘It is not so much the archer as much as it was the arrow that caused your crown to fall,’ said Krishna reassuringly.
The Naga Ashwasena then ran to Karna and told him to shoot him again. Karna did not recognize the serpent. When he learnt that the serpent had taken the shape of his previous arrow, Karna said, ‘It is beneath my stature as warrior to shoot the same arrow twice. Find some other way to avenge your family. I do not need a Naga’s help to kill Arjuna.’
Rejected by Karna, Ashwasena rushed towards Arjuna to kill him on his own. But he was no match for the great archer and was killed by a single dart. Arjuna, his crown shattered, tied a white cloth around his head and resumed his battle with Karna.
The duel between Karna and Arjuna continued all day until just before the sun was about to set, Karna’s chariot wheel got stuck in the ground. At that moment, Karna knew he would soon die.
Long ago, Karna had incurred the wrath of Bhoo-devi, the earth goddess. He had come across a little girl who was crying as she had dropped her glass of milk on the ground. To make her happy, Karna collected the milk-soaked soil and squeezed the milk back into the glass. This cheered the little girl but Bhoo-devi was not amused. She cursed Karna that she would one day squeeze him just as he had squeezed milk out of her. And on that day, Karna would surely die.
Parashurama, Karna’s guru, had taught Karna a magical formula that could make a chariot pull itself out from the earth. Karna could not remember this formula no matter how hard he tried. He then remembered the curse of his guru: ‘Because you duped me into teaching you, you will forget what I taught you the day you need it most.’
Karna asked Shalya to release the chariot wheel. Shalya refused saying that as a king he had never done such a chore. So Karna had no choice but to get down from the chariot and release the wheel himself. This was certain death for he would have to, in front of his enemy, lower his weapons and turn his back. ‘It is against the rule of war to strike an unarmed man in battle,’ said Karna before getting down to the task of releasing the wheel.
As soon as his back was turned, Krishna told Arjuna, ‘Shoot him. This is your only chance.’ Arjuna hesitated, knowing that it was dishonourable to kill an unarmed, helpless man. To force Arjuna to action, Krishna taunted, ‘He is surely not as helpless as Draupadi was when they disrobed her in public.’ Thus reminded of that fateful day, Arjuna released his arrow which ripped through Karna’s heart.
That day, it is said, the sun set faster to mourn for his son. Far away, in the Pandava battle camp, Kunti wept for her eldest son, the son she could never publicly acknowledge. The charioteers of the Pandava army and the charioteers of the Kaurava army, all stopped to mourn for that son of a charioteer who belonged nowhere. Duryodhana was inconsolable in his grief. Karna was dearer to him than his own brothers. He, who had not wept at the fall of Bhishma and Drona, broke down when he heard that his dear friend was no more. Even the death of his son was not as painful as the death of Karna. Suddenly, victory had no meaning. What was victory without Karna by his side?
The story of Ashwasena reminds us how Arjuna’s past deeds return to haunt him in the battlefield. He is saved because of Krishna. But his descendant Parikshit is not so lucky for the Naga Takshaka succeeds where the Naga Ashwasena did not.
Karna realizes the folly of having a king as charioteer when Shalya refuses to pull out the wheel claiming it to be beneath his royal dignity. Thus a decision taken to please the ego turns out to be dear in the long run.
It is ironical that Karna seeks to disown his charioteer legacy, and become a warrior, while Krishna embraces his role of charioteer whole-heartedly, refusing to become a warrior in Kuru-kshetra.
When Vishnu took the form of Ram, he took the side of Sugriva, son of Surya, and killed Vali, the son of Indra. As Krishna, Vishnu clearly sides with Arjuna, the son of Indra, against Karna, the son of Surya. Both Vali in the Ramayana and Karna in the Mahabharata are shot in the back. Thus balance is achieved across two lifetimes.
Just before Karna was about to die, Krishna came to him disguised as a priest and asked him to give him some gold. A dying Karna broke his jaw and gave his teeth to Krishna, saying his teeth were covered with gold caps. Thus till his dying breath, Karna remained daan-veer, the great hero of charity.
In Yakshagana, the bards say that in their previous life, Arjuna and Krishna were Nara and Narayana and they were called upon by the Devas to destroy an Asura who was blessed with a thousand impenetrable armours. To destroy each armour, one had to gather the strength of a thousand years of tapasya. It took another thousand years of fighting to actually break the armour. Nara and Narayana came up with a plan. While Nar meditated Narayana fought, and while Narayana meditated Nar fought. Thus, together they were able to destroy 999 armours of the demon. Before Nar could destro
y the final armour, the demon hid behind the sun. At that time, the world came to an end. When the world was reborn, the demon took birth on earth as Karna while Nara and Narayana took rebirth as Arjuna and Krishna. Arjuna had to complete the task left unfinished. He was obliged to use his arrow against Karna and finally destroy the 1000-armoured Asura. So it was ordained.
The three commanders of the Kaurava army—Bhishma, Drona and Karna—were students of Parashurama. They were killed on Krishna’s advice. Parashurama and Krishna were both forms of Vishnu on earth.
Karna was such a generous soul that it is said that he once broke down his house to provide wood to a man on a wet, rainy day so that the man could cremate his son.
88
Death of Shalya
Shalya, brother of Madri, maternal uncle of Nakula and Sahadeva, was tricked by Duryodhana into fighting for the Kauravas. He was further humiliated by being forced to serve Karna as a charioteer. Shalya did whatever he was told without protest, earning the respect of both the Pandavas and the Kauravas. Finally, on the eighteenth day, he was asked to lead the Kaurava forces. With a heavy heart, he took this responsibility but promised that his personal feelings would not come in the way of his duty.
Krishna told Arjuna that Yudhishtira must fight Shalya, the last great general of the Kaurava army, alone. ‘Why?’ asked Arjuna. Krishna did not reply.
Locked within Shalya’s body was a great demon whose strength kept multiplying when confronted by an aggressive being. The more aggressive the opponent, the stronger was Shalya’s demon.
Yudhishtira was, however, not an aggressive man, certainly not when it came to Shalya. On the final day of the battle, he came face to face with Shalya. Instead of approaching him violently, he approached with great love and affection. This caused Shalya’s demon to lose strength; faced with Yudhishtira’s gentleness, the demon kept dividing rather than multiplying itself. Finally, the demon ceased to exist. Shalya and Yudhishtira faced each other alone.
Yudhishtira then picked up his spear and with not a shred of anger or hatred in his heart, hurled it at Shalya and killed him on the spot. With this, the last great leader of the Kaurava army ceased to be. Victory now certainly belonged to the Pandavas.
Realizing that defeat was imminent, Shakuni came up with a plan. He realized that Bhima, Arjuna and Yudhishtira were all leading the army. The rear flanks were unprotected. He rallied his soldiers from Gandhara and ambushed the Pandava army from behind.
The sons of Kunti turned around on hearing the commotion and saw what the cunning Shakuni was up to. It was difficult for them to go to the rescue of the army at the rear. Yudhishtira shouted to the sons of Madri, who were stationed closer to the rear end of the army, ‘My brothers. I know you mourn your uncle who has just died. But we need you to wipe your tears and fight that wicked Shakuni who fights like a cowardly fox from the rear. Else all that is gained will be lost.’
Nakula and Sahadeva immediately raised their swords and attacked Shakuni. A great fight followed. In the end, Sahadeva, the youngest and most silent of the Pandava brothers, managed to strike down and kill Shakuni. Sahadeva was happy for the day which saw the killing of his maternal uncle also saw the killing of Duryodhana’s maternal uncle. And while his maternal uncle was innocent and had been duped to fight for the enemy side, Shakuni was no innocent—his skill with the dice had caused the Pandavas to lose their fortune over thirteen years ago.
Bhishma commands the Kaurava army for ten days. Drona commands it for half that, five days. Karna commands it for half Drona’s duration, that is two days. Shalya commands it for one day, that is half Karna’s. Thus, it is a downward spiral, evident quite mathematically.
The Pandavas have to fight father (Bhishma), teacher (Drona), brother (Karna) and uncle (Shalya) to defeat the Kauravas. They have to break free from all attachments that bind them.
The story of the demon in Shalya’s body that multiplied itself when confronted with an aggressive being comes from the Indonesian telling of the epic.
While in the Indian epic, Bhanumati, the wife of Duryodhana, is princess of Kalinga, she is the daughter of Shalya in the Indonesian epic. She was in love with Arjuna but Arjuna asked her to marry the man her father had promised her to—Duryodhana. As Shalya is the father-in-law of Duryodhana, he is obliged to fight on the side of the Kauravas.
After the death of Shalya and his son in the war, the kingdom of Madra is left with no ruler. In keeping with Shalya’s wishes, the kingdom is passed on to his nephews, Nakula and Sahadeva.
The sons of Madri do not play a significant role in the war except during the killing of Shakuni.
89
Fall of ninety-nine Kauravas
Bhima had made a vow on the day of the gambling match that he would kill each and every Kaurava. And he fulfilled this vow with a ferocity that scared all the gods and demons who witnessed the war on the battlefield of Kuru-kshetra.
Each day, like a restless lion, Bhima killed a few of the hundred brothers. As their numbers dwindled, the sons of Gandhari did their best to avoid Bhima, but like a relentless predator he found them, hiding behind chariots and elephants, and pounced on them and, ignoring their piteous pleas for mercy, smashed their heads with his mace.
The other Pandavas resisted the urge to strike down any son of Gandhari, even when presented with a suitable opportunity, so as to ensure Bhima fulfilled his terrible vow. And so as the war progressed, Gandhari and Dhritarashtra wept, as Sanjay informed them of the growing list of their dead sons.
Bhima found it quite difficult to kill Vikarna. Though a Kaurava, he had never agreed with Duryodhana and had openly opposed his brothers in the gambling hall. But when it was time to fight, he stood by his brothers out of a sense of loyalty. For that he was highly respected by the Pandavas. When Vikarna died, all the Pandavas wept. Krishna, however, did not weep. ‘Dharma must be valued over family or friends,’ he said.
Killing Dusshasana who had disrobed Draupadi in public gave Bhima the most pleasure. Bhima pinned him to the ground and ripped out his bowels with his bare hands. He then invited Draupadi to wash her hair with Dusshasana’s blood so that she could, in keeping with her vow of vengeance taken long ago, bind her hair.
Watching the blood-soaked Bhima washing Draupadi’s hair with blood, tying it with Dusshasana’s entrails, and decorating it with his heart, many concluded that Bhima was for Draupadi what Bhairava was for Shakti—the guardian who beheads all those who look upon the earth with eyes of lust. The heads of the Kauravas were his war trophies. Their blood, his warpaint.
On the eighteenth day, only one Kaurava was left to kill. The eldest, Duryodhana.
In parts of Tamil Nadu, such as Dindigul, where Draupadi is worshipped as a goddess, processions enacting various episodes of the Mahabharata are taken out over eighteen days of the Draupadi Amman festival. The sequence of events enacted follows the sequence found in the 13th century Tamil version of the Mahabharata written by Valliputtur Alwar. Along with the procession, there is a discourse by a storyteller as well as a grand sacred play called Terukkuttu which is very much like the Ramleela of North India, only based on the Mahabharata.
The epic does record the names of all the hundred Kauravas. They are (in no particular order):
Duryodhana (also called Suyodhana, before he turned villain, say some texts)
Dusshasana
Dussaha
Jalagandha
Sama
Saha
Vindha
Anuvinda
Durdharsha
Subahu
Dushpradarshan
Durmarshan
Durmukha
Dushkarn
Vivikarn
Vikarna
Salan
Sathwa
Sulochan
Chithra
Upachithra
Chitraksha
Charuchithra
Sarasana
Durmada
Durviga
Vivitsu
Viktana
Urnanabha
Sunabha
Nanda
Upananda
Chitrabana
Chitravarma
Suvarma
Durvimochan
Ayobahu
Mahabahu
Chitranga
Chitrakundala
Bhimvega
Bhimba
Balaki
Balvardhan
Ugrayudha
Sushena
Kundhadhara
Mahodara
Chithrayudha
Nishangi
Pashi
Vridaraka
Dridhavarma
Dridhakshatra
Somakirti
Anudara
Dridasandha
Jarasangha
Sathyasandha
Sadas
Suvak
Ugrasrava
Ugrasen
Senani
Dushparajai
Aparajit
Kundasai
Vishalaksh
Duradhara
Dridhahastha
Suhastha
Vatvega
Suvarcha
Aadiyaketu
Bahvasi
Nagaadat
Agrayayi
Kavachi
Kradhan
Kundi
Kundadhara
Dhanurdhara
Bhimaratha
Virabahu
Alolupa
Abhaya
Raudrakarma
Dhridarathasraya
Anaaghrushya
Kundhabhedi
Viravi
Chitrakundala
Dirghlochan
Pramathi
Veeryavan
Dirgharoma
Dirghabhu
Mahabahu
Kundashi
Virjasa
90
Below the belt