Without further argument, Arjuna first killed Supratika with a well placed arrow. Bhagadatta leaped off the dying beast before it hit the ground. Arjuna then severed the piece of cloth that kept the old man’s drooping eyelids held up. When he was thus blinded, Arjuna struck the fatal blow which claimed the life of the valiant son of Naraka.
This was not the only time Krishna saved Arjuna from certain death. He warned Arjuna when Ashwasena concealed himself in Karna’s arrow, hoping to avenge his mother’s death. Knowing that Karna had obtained a special weapon from Indra with the intention of using it on Arjuna, Krishna made sure that the weapon was used on another. When Abhimanyu died a hero’s death, Krishna mourned with his best friend, stood by his side, and helped him achieve the seemingly impossible task of revenge he set for himself, swearing to forfeit his life if he failed.
Arjuna considered himself the most fortunate man in the universe as he was the proud recipient of Krishna’s friendship. And he was right in thinking so, for the world has never known a more loving friend, a more courageous comrade-in-arms, or a wiser mentor.
14
Death Of A Hero
Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra, was believed to be an incarnation of the Moon God, Soma. The lad had inherited the best characteristics of the Pandavas and his maternal uncle Krishna, and was everybody’s favourite. Everyone, including step-mother Draupadi, adored him for his exemplary qualities. He was a devoted adherent of dharma like Yudhishthira, robust like Bheema, gallant and skilful like his father, handsome, gentle, smart, and witty like Nakula and Sahadeva, and as cheerful and savvy as Krishna.
Although the noble youth lived for only sixteen years, his heroic feats and tragic death made him immortal. He was like a shooting star that blazed across the heavens, bathing all in its brilliance, and then fading all too soon. In the battle of Kurukshetra, he proved his mettle and showed the world that he was truly his great father’s son.
When the Pandavas were sent into exile following Yudhishthira’s humiliating loss in the game of dice engineered by Shakuni, Krishna took Subhadra and Abhimanyu away with him. Though he was well looked after by his mother and uncle, the little boy missed his father deeply. Subhadra told him the ugly story and instilled in him a steely determination to win back for his father everything he had lost to the greed and guile of wicked men. He would confide in his uncle Krishna and promise in his childlike lisp that he would win back the Kingdom for his father and uncles. Krishna would smile and encourage him, knowing well what was written in his destiny.
The young Prince was a precocious child and quickly mastered the Vedas and martial arts – to the pride of his father and uncles. He grew up proud and strong and everyone agreed that he equalled his legendary father in terms of martial prowess. Arjuna arranged his marriage to Princess Uttara, daughter of King Virata, shortly before the great war. Their posthumous son, Parikshit, would be the perpetuator of the noble lineage.
Abhimanyu joined his father on the battlefield of Kurukshetra and distinguished himself from day one. He was but a mere stripling but he put hardened veterans to shame with his dazzling fighting skills. Few people could withstand his might and Bhishma’s eyes were laden with tears when he witnessed the young hero fight as if he were Arjuna himself. The Pandavas came to depend heavily on him and Abhimanyu rose to the challenge. He proved equal to every daunting task they threw his way, until a particularly heavy burden proved too much even for someone as valiant as he.
When Bhishma fell, Drona was given command over the Kaurava forces. Pleased with Duryodhana for the faith he had in him, the Acharya granted him a boon, and Duryodhana asked him to capture Yudhishthira alive in order to finish the war. Drona mistakenly thought that the Kuru Prince had finally come to his senses and wished to spare the life of his noble cousin, but was immeasurably saddened to discover that Duryodhana merely intended to challenge his rival for the throne through another game of dice and so send him back into exile. Sick with distaste, the Archarya agreed to the boon he had promised but stipulated: ‘I will do all in my power to capture Yudhishthira alive, but I must warn you that it will be a futile attempt if Arjuna is there to protect his brother. As his teacher, I have always known that there is none to equal him in straight combat. Therefore, if I am to carry out this task, something must be done to remove him from Yudhishthira’s side.’
Duryodhana summoned his cohorts and they hatched a plan to separate the brothers. Susharma, King of the Trigartas, offered his services. Arjuna had crushed them when they had refused to submit to Yudhishthira prior to the Rajasuya Yajna and had forced the mutinous men to pay tribute. The defeat at Matsya, suffered at the hands of the Pandavas, when the Trigartas aided by the Kurus had sought to capture King Virata, had been yet another blow. Susharma and his brothers hated the Pandavas in general and Arjuna in particular, with a passion that bordered on lunacy. Seating themselves around the sacred fire and with Agni as their witness, they took the Samsaptaka oath, swearing to kill Arjuna in battle or be killed themselves. Thus, a formidable suicide squad bent on the destruction of Arjuna, came into being.
Duryodhana was jubilant with the vow made by the Trigarta brothers, as it could potentially turn the tide in their favour. In addition, the akshauhini of the Samsaptakas he had acquired from Krishna would keep Arjuna’s hands full, leaving the Acharya free to capture Yudhishthira. Delighted with his diabolic plan, Duryodhana sat back and wallowed in pleasurable anticipation of a heady victory on the morrow.
When the Pandavas heard from their spies about the plot to capture Yudhishthira, they were deeply distressed. Yudhishthira was the first to speak: ‘If the Acharya captures me alive, all is lost!’
‘Don’t worry, King Yudhishthira! While there is breath left in my body, Drona will not be able to lay a finger on you,’ said Arjuna confidently, though he had mixed feelings. He was annoyed and angered that his guru had decided to go after the noble Yudhishthira, but baulked at the prospect of harming the man who was his revered mentor.
An enraged Bheema spoke up with characteristic brusquerie.
‘I never understood why you are so fond of him, Arjuna. You keep saying that it was your fortune to have such a great teacher even when he was clearly partial to that lout he sired, Ashwatthama. And it is my belief that you would still be the best warrior of all time even if he had not taught you. It is about time we did something about him. How could he agree to such a craven request?’
‘They all give in to Duryodhana eventually out of some twisted sense of morality. Let us not worry about those things. Our job from this point onwards is to keep Yudhishthira safe from our teacher,’ Arjuna said, determined to avoid a quarrel with his belligerent brother on a subject they had argued about many times before.
‘But it is said that the Acharya is one of the best warriors of all time! And with Parashurama’s weapons, he is well nigh invincible. I tremble to think of the future now that he has me in his sights,’ Yudhishthira said in tones of despair.
‘Do not let that man worry you, my dear brother,’ Bheema said stoically. ‘Arjuna can trounce him on any given day of the week, his fine scruples notwithstanding. And we have Dhrishtadyumna on our side, and you know that he was born to slay the Acharya. It is only a matter of time before he pays the price for following his fool of a son and going over to Duryodhana’s side!’
Despite Bheema’s rousing words, a cloud of unease settled over the Pandava camp. It was as though Drona had cast a noose around their collective necks and was drawing it tighter and tighter to choke the life out of them. Determined to keep his promise to Duryodhana, Drona made several attempts to capture Yudhishthira. But he simply could not make it happen. Every time he neared the eldest Pandava, Arjuna would materialise at his side, as if telepathically sensing his elder brother’s need; and, eyes blazing with wrath, Arjuna would go on to repel his teacher with furious vigour. The Samsaptakas descended on Arjuna like a swarm of pestilential bees, but even their frenzied fury could not match the prowess of the
third Pandava brother. It was as if he had sprouted wings and could magically divine where he was needed most, and transport himself to that exact spot faster than the mind could conceive.
The allies of the Pandavas also threw themselves into the fray as they knew what was at stake and selflessly sacrificed their lives to keep Yudhishthira safe. Every time the Kauravas made inroads into the Pandava army, they were driven back by sheer force of will, even though the Pandavas were often hopelessly outnumbered. And Arjuna seemed to be everywhere at once. Drona was frustrated time and again in his attempts to capture Yudhishthira and it seemed there was little he could do to salvage the situation.
Duryodhana was being driven to despair by the repeated failures and thwarted desires. ‘Why is it proving so hard to annihilate those scoundrels Karna? This battle should have been over long ago. Surely our superior eleven akshauhinis should have been sufficient to quell their measly seven? Why is victory proving to be so damn elusive?’
‘We knew it wouldn’t be easy Duryodhana...’ Karna said solemnly. ‘They fight to avenge the countless insults and wrongs done them. They fight with the fury of their biting humiliation and a deep-rooted desire for revenge. I think they got through the hard years of exile by fantasizing about how best to kill us. That she-devil, the enchantress Draupadi, has kept the flames of their wrath blazing with her constant reminders of what we did to her and them. It will not be easy to break them.’
‘Am I going to lose everything Karna? I would rather die than let those usurpers prevail over me!’ said Duryodhana, looking every inch the spoilt child he had always been, but still managing to endear himself to his best friend.
‘Don’t be depressed, Duryodhana! There is no need. I will destroy your enemies for you. Unlike your other allies, I am more than a match for the Pandava brothers. Bhishma and Drona are too soft. They fight on our side despite loving the Pandavas more. That is why Bhishma allowed himself to be rushed to his deathbed and Drona dithers over capturing Yudhishthira!’
‘I knew it! Those two old men have been thorns in my side for a long time! I shall shame the Acharya into giving me what I want!’ So saying, Duryodhana rushed off to harangue his guru.
Drona was already smarting over his failure to capture Yudhishthira. He knew that the men were sniggering behind his back and making snide remarks about his great age while questioning his suitability for the Kshatriya art of war. When Duryodhana came storming into his tent, demanding to know why he had not made good on his promise and accusing him of base treachery, he snapped: ‘I have done all in my power to serve your interests. You forced this war on us despite our repeated warning that Arjuna cannot be withstood in battle even when he is fighting all by himself. With Krishna as his charioteer, even Lord Shiva will be hard pressed to defeat them. But I swear to you that by sundown tomorrow, the Pandavas will lose one of their mightiest warriors. And believe me, they will feel his loss to their own dying days!”
On the next day, Arjuna was challenged by the Samsaptakas yet again, and he went to battle determined to finish them off once and for all. Drona arranged his army in the chakravyuha formation. This was a complex wheel-shaped formation that was virtually impossible to penetrate. Only four men alive knew how to break into it – Krishna, his son Pradyamuna, Arjuna, and Abhimanyu.
Drona used his deadly formation to slaughter the Pandava forces, all the while drawing closer to Yudhishthira. With Arjuna away, lured by the Samsaptakas to a remote corner of the battlefield, they were helpless. In desperation, Yudhishthira turned to young Abhimanyu, who had made himself indispensable to the Pandavas. ‘My child, I am afraid we have a heavy burden to place on your shoulders. This accursed formation of Drona’s is destroying us and I believe you know how to penetrate it. We need you to deliver us from this great evil. It shames me greatly to ask you to put your life at risk, but there is no other way.’
‘O King! You do me great honour by assigning a task of such magnitude. It is true that I know how to break the chakravyuha. When I was still in my mother’s womb, my father told her about this particular formation and the means to break into it. However, my mother fell asleep just when he started to explain how to escape from it, and I heard no more. It is too bad that my mother’s attention span about matters pertaining to warfare is so limited!’
‘Don’t worry, Abhimanyu! Once you have breached the chakravyuha, we will follow at your heels and together we will shatter it from within!’ Yudhishthira assured him.
‘I will also back you up, and so will Dhrishtadyumna and the Panchalas. We will tear apart the Acharya’s formation and when we are done, he will dare not show his face on the battlefield again!’ Bheema said, reiterating Yudhishthira’s assurance.
‘Give me your blessings, my uncles! Today I will perform feats the likes of which this world has never seen before. I will make my father and uncle Krishna proud of me!’ Abhimanyu cried out, and then commanded his charioteer to proceed.
‘Tread with caution Abhimanyu and make sure we are close behind. You are the best among us and we cannot afford to lose you!’ Yudhishthira entreated the retreating figure, tears filling his eyes. At that point he loathed himself and begged the Gods to keep the boy he loved more than his own sons, safe from harm. But on that day the Gods were not listening.
‘This is an awesome burden that you have been asked to carry. It poses a terrible risk to your life. You don’t seem to realise the gravity of the situation because in your youth, the most hazardous tasks seems possible. Perhaps you should think carefully before accepting...’ cautioned Sumitra, his charioteer.
‘I am my father’s son. He has trained me for moments like these. There is no way I’ll let him down by denying this request. How do you think he would have acted in the same situation? Would he have feared for his life or put his brother’s safety before his own? Men who tremble when it is time to test their mettle, are fit only for suckling at their mothers’ breast! Let us proceed without delay and talk no more about caution, which for me is usually synonymous with cowardice. Take me forward! Victory and everlasting glory shall be ours!’ So saying, Abhimanyu urged his charioteer forward.
At breakneck speed, Abhimanyu charged at the tremendous forces arrayed against him without batting an eyelid and fought with a ferocity that belied his tender years. Within seconds, he tore through the Kaurava ranks like a battering ram and forced an opening that allowed him to enter the dreaded chakravyuha. Without losing momentum, he charged through the ranks, forcing the enemy to give way. The soldiers who threw themselves at him to stop his headlong charge were dead in an instant.
Meanwhile, the Pandavas attempted to follow Abhimanyu, even as the Kaurava forces rushed to stop them. Jayadratha, the King of Sindhu and husband of Duhshala, sister of the Kauravas, fought like a demon and held back the Pandavas while sealing off the breach Abhimanyu had opened up. Led by Bheema, who fought with maniacal desperation, the remaining army fought to find their way to the young Prince who was trapped within, but to no avail.
Jayadratha held firm, and when he saw the Pandavas’ eyes fill with dreadful fear as they worried helplessly over their beloved Abhimanyu’s fate, he smiled with savage satisfaction and thought to himself, ‘I have had my revenge against the Pandavas. It feels even better than the best sensual delight! Such a pity that Draupadi is not around to witness the humiliation of her useless husbands. But she will hear about the role I played today and wish she had given herself to me!’
The King of Sindhu allowed his thoughts to travel back to the day that had ended in abject humiliation for himself. He fought all the harder as he revisited that old wound to his pride and pried it open to feed his fury... One day, during their exile, the Pandavas had gone to hunt for food, leaving Draupadi behind with sage Dhaumya. Jayadratha happened to be passing that way and like many men before him, was captivated by her ravishing beauty. Realizing that she was alone, he decided to carry her away by force. Ignoring her enraged cries of protest and Dhaumya’s frantic injunctions to do the rig
ht thing, he dragged her to his chariot and drove swiftly away. Her nails tore open deep furrows on his arms but he only laughed at her and urged his horses on, shouting to his men to fight off the Pandavas should they give chase.
When the Pandavas returned, they realised what had happened and went after her captor with lightning speed. Swiftly covering the distance between them, they dispatched the rear guard with ease and closed in on Jayadratha. Fearing for his life, despicable coward that he was, Jayadratha left Draupadi behind and gave the horses their head. Arjuna handed a weeping Draupadi over to Yudhishthira and bade him return while he himself set off in pursuit of the abductor with Bheema by his side. As they set off, Yudhishthira entreated them not to slay the blackguard for the sake of their cousin, Duhshala, who was the sister of the Kauravas and the wife of Jayadratha.
Soon, the duo caught up with Jayadratha. As if sensing the presence of the mighty warriors, his horses bolted. The King of Sindhu leapt off the chariot and took to his heels. In his haste, he lost his balance and fell hard. Bheema caught up with him and grabbing him by the hair, dragged him to his feet. ‘You dastardly rogue! How dare you carry away a helpless lady and a married woman at that, by force? And when confronted by a real man, you run like a frightened little mouse!’
‘Did you say she was a lady? She sleeps with five men already so I thought one more would not make much of a difference!’ Jayadratha spat out, humiliation and anger unloosening his tongue. Seeing the look of rage that convulsed the faces of the brothers who stood towering over him, he hurriedly shut his mouth and tried to run away.
Arjuna Page 17