Krishna follows him, circumambulates the chariot, and inspects the armoury kept on the chariot. Satisfied with the loaded the chariot, he climbs on it and commands the steeds to rush towards the battlefield. The ape-bannered flag waves exhibiting the glory of an unparalleled warrior on the planet. Dhrishtadyumna commands the other soldiers to take their respective positions and advance towards the battleground.
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For the first time in thirteen days of battle, I am not excited. The flowering plants of the country are uprooted day by day, but the vermin is not exterminated. Each day I have seen several of my brothers die. Several of them were mercilessly killed, mutilated by the mighty Bhima. Whenever a brother takes a blow from Bhima, seemingly a part of my soul dies. I might have conquered the mind and made a logical decision to fight for Dharma, to fight for Yudhishthira, but my heart still beats for my brothers. But today it is completely differ- ent. Not for a single second, I could get rid of the thought of Dussala, the princess, the prestige of the Kuru dynasty. She was married to the ruler of Sindhu to expand the horizons of territory. The kingdom expanded, and the Kuru clan had placed the victorious pennants in remotest regions on both sides of river Yamuna. Ironically, today the two groups from the same lineage fight to claim the same sign of victory.
The positions are taken, and the combatants are ready with their weapons. I reach my post defined at the back of the array. I see Daruka, Krishna’s charioteer is also ready with his chariot filled with the ammunition as Krishna asked last night. I give him a smiling look. He smiles back, not knowing that I overheard their conversation last night. The ostlers have fed the horses, and the mahouts cleaned the wounds of the elephants. The cavalry is ready to advance. The warriors blare their conches to signal the readiness for the war. The death, loss, or agony, nothing super- sedes the commitment of the soldiers. The cavalry reaches the designated place in the field. I am anxious to know how Drona has placed the soldiers for today’s combat. Albeit I already know that his main goal for today is to protect the ruler of Sindhu, but it’s thrilling to judge how Guru can surprise his opponents.
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As we reach the centre of the field, my eyes cannot believe the sight. My mind and heart cannot come to terms with the array formation of the Kauravas. After Chakravyuh, this is Drona’s second-best array formation. Durmarshana is leading the array today with a large troop of elephant riders accom- panied by Dushasana and Vikarana. The two brothers are followed by Drona’s army of countless steeds, chariots and ele- phant-warriors. All these brave chariot-warriors are capable of single-handedly fighting against thousands of soldiers for hours. At the rear of the circular array, a lotus-shaped array is formed, controlled by Karna, Vrishasena, Ashwatthama, Salya, Kripa, and Kritavarman. Inside that lotus array, there is one needle-shaped array, governed by Duryodhana and his large retinue of invincible warriors. At the end of that needle stands Jayadratha. The mighty warriors of Guru Drona are protecting the ruler of Sindhu. The array is impenetrable from all the sides. The length and breadth of this arrangement are unimagined. As far as the naked eyes can see, the ocean of soldiers and war- riors are visible. Uncountable! All the men decked with pow- erful weapons like keen shafts, javelins, swords, lances, axes, mighty bows and arrows, and unimaginably tough armours. The array is so compact that there’s not even space of the width of a finger to penetrate. Guru Drona kept his promise and did the unthinkable, but again, he is good at performing grand acts beyond the wildest imagination of mere mortals like me! He ensured that Jayadratha is protected as he prom- ised to Duryodhana. I am astonished to see such calibre of the preceptor. He never fails to amaze the world.
Durmarshana proudly blares the conch standing amidst his strong army of a thousand chariot warriors and ten thou- sand foot-soldiers. It is quite evident that his arrogant boast- ing of countering Arjuna is nothing but an effort to cover the
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hollowness of his confidence. I smirk at my younger brother and his foolishness. Bhima answers his invitation by blaring his conch louder. The amplified sound resonates across the welkin. The soldiers in the field reciprocate the rhythm, and the entire battlefield reverberates with the thumping sound of energetic soldiers. Meantime, Krishna positions Arjuna’s chariot in front of our array. Arjuna blares his conch, the sound of victory echoes through the mortals.
The war begins!
Arjuna asks Krishna to move the chariot towards Durmarshana. He knows how to befool Durmarshana and pen- etrate the array. He didn’t take much time to uproot the strong army and broke the array, like a tide in ocean engulfs a small boat. Just minutes ago, the army which was looking resplen- dent is distorted by Arjuna now. He enters the second layer of Drona’s array. Here Dushasana takes the lead to counter the attacks of Arjuna.
On the other hand, we are slowly advancing towards Kauravas’ army, countering the attacks from multiple oppo- nents. Arjuna is cruising in the field with the speed of a storm. The whiz of his arrows guffaws at the fear of his opponents. The twang of Gandiva mixed with the grunts of tuskers and the rattle of chariots becomes formidable and scary. From a distance, I observe that Arjuna’s rage and fury are indomitable, and Krishna tranquilly commands the steeds through the ocean of Guru Drona’s men. It looks like he already knows the future! The clang of swords and whiz of arrows glorify Arjuna’s presence in the field. The ambidextrous Arjuna releases shafts at lightning speed. Within a blink of an eye, he picks multiple arrows, mounts them on his bow and releases them, killing
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soldiers in hundreds. Like a Makara, Arjuna penetrates the deep ocean of the soldiers. Soon he becomes invisible in the vast field. We can only hear the loud leonine shouts and roar of his conch.
Meantime, another group from the Kauravas army reached near to our array. The soldiers in hundreds and thousands are attacking their counterparts with great agility. Soon the entire field again starts to look like a river of blood and corpses. The ravine formed in the middle of land is full of dead bodies scat- tered like rocks. It has been the scene for the past thirteen days. Thousands of souls despatched to Yama’s abode seems to have become a daily routine. The ego, anger, and hatred are killing the brotherhood for the thirteen days without any sign of mercy. The river of blood flows on the battlefield with enmity sailing through it. Gradually, the sun reaches its peak and so the battle. As instructed, I am covering Yudhishthira’s army from the rear side of the array. The attacks here are under control. But it is a crucial place, in case we get shrouded by the enemies. The arrows cruise all over the field. The dense shower of arrows from both sides is visible all around the war- field. The cries and shrieks of soldiers in pain make the sight more harrowing as the day advances.
While Arjuna’s chariot breaches the layers of the array of Guru Drona, Bhima takes up the remaining army of Durmarshana and torments the array brutally. Durmarshana is in his target range, and in no time, Bhima released his soul from his body. The furious Bhima is no less than an angry lion pouncing on its prey ruthlessly. Durmarshana’s motion- less body lies on the field, and his remaining troop runs away to save their lives. Bhima celebrates his one more victory by blaring his conch, and it is one more prick in my heart!
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Durmarshana was my brother too. I look around to check for Arjuna, but not even the standard of his chariot is visible.
“He must have entered into the second layer of the array,” I respond to Sudasa’s inquisitiveness.
Penetrating array formation is not easy, but Arjuna is not an ordinary warrior. He knows all the tricks to break the pre- ceptor’s array. Arjuna has been using the skills taught by Guru Drona against him only for the past thirteen days and winning consistently. Paradoxical! I am sure Guru must be happy wit- nessing the unparalleled prowess of his favourite disciple. We hear the blare of his conch Devadatta in the middle of twangs of Gandiva, now and then. This sound of victory keeps the hopes alive of thousands of soldiers fighting for their master’s oath. Still, there is a long path to cover. J
ayadratha is no easy target today. Even Indra would find it difficult to break the layered array formed by Guru. Guru has kept his words.
The other regiment from Drona’s army marches further, blocking us from moving towards Arjuna’s direction. Satyaki, Bhima, Dhrishtadyumna, Nakul, and Sahadeva counter the attacks from the foes. I am still covering the tail of the array. Vikarana, furious with the death of Durmarshana, takes the other route and tries to attack our army ducking the hurdles of the frontiers. He is a learned chariot warrior and a skilled archer, after all, we are disciples of the same preceptor. Vikarana also had gone through the similar training of war strategies learn- ing the skills to break different arrays in the same gurukul. I see him advancing with his small entourage towards the tail of our array. A confident Vikarana careers towards the position which I am guarding. Before I raise my weapons against him, a series of memories flash through my eyes. It is the first time
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I will be fighting against him. The war games of breaking the arrays made up of mud-warriors as young adults have taken up the human form. Back then, we used to fight for each other and today we are fighting against each other. Once the broth- ers who used to break the arrays together are today trying to captivate and undoubtedly killing each other. There is no end to the mysteries in life. My one close friend, Bhima, is fighting with all my brothers at one end, and at the other end of the array, I am facing Vikarana. I remember that the Guru used to tell that Vikarana is the most sensible in the gang, but we never knew that one day I would have to face Vikarana in a duel and test it myself!
Vikarana reaches my line of sight. Perplexed, I look at him. We both have no hatred for each other. And the memories of our childhood don’t allow us to lift weapons against each other. I still remember the day of the dice game. Everybody became mute spectator before lascivious desires of Duryodhana, but Vikarana was the only one who voiced against the lunacy. Maybe his love for Duryodhana was more than mine which restricted him from moving out of Duryodhana’s camp. But they are extremely opposite in their thoughts and beliefs.
I smile looking at Vikarana; he smiles back. He also knows that the path we both follow will lead to the end of either or both of our lives. He picks his bow and hints to me to lift mine. I hold my bow on my shoulder and mount an arrow on it. Once a soldier decks himself with his armours, the emo- tions melt away. The learnings in the training camps have stoned the hearts and sublimated the emotions. The coun- trymen become the targets, and the relations become sour. I
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release multiple shafts towards him, few pierces his chariot, few pierce soldiers in his cavalry. He responds with a more brutal attack and decimates my soldiers in great numbers. Deliberately, we both avoid targeting each other. Somewhere we know that we are victims of the situation. We are never meant to be here on the field facing each other amid this deadliest war. In the middle of a shower of these arrows and the clangs of the swords, I hear a blare of a conch from the other part of the field. For a moment, we both pause the strikes. The sound seems not victorious. I look up. The sun is shining in the firmament, and there is no sign of it setting soon. The blare is not unknown. I look at Yudhishthira. He looks tensed from the place where I stand. I ask Sudasa to move the wagon towards Yudhishthira. Vikarana laughs at me and asks to finish the combat.
“Brother, are you scared?” Vikarana asks. I see his smiling face.
“I am not scared of you. You are not my enemy. If I walk away from the duel, my valour will not vanquish.” I reply politely.
He is visibly astonished and stops striking at me. I see Satyaki rushing back towards Yudhishthira as the blare echoes around the field. Bhima returns hurriedly too. They both must be familiar with the sound of the conch. I look at the tense face of the king trying to assume or gauge the situation. His eyebrows get tensed, and the lines on his forehead shrunk. Looking at Satyaki, Bhima and me, Yudhishthira says, “O Brothers! Have you heard this blare? Did you notice the sound in different frequency? It is not the sound of victory. It is from Krishna’s conch, and certainly, something is not going as per the morning plan. The sun has not set yet, and Arjuna is not
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visible too. Seems, they are trapped within the array of Guru Drona and finding no-way-out Krishna has blared the conch for our support.”
“What is your command, O King?”, asks Satyaki beholding the tense face of Yudhishthira. “O hero of the Vrishni race, O wielder of blessed weapons, O Satyaki! I command you to go and assess the situation. Satyaki, the hour has come when you have to return the debt of your mentor Arjuna. The time has come when you have to enter this deadliest formation to extend the support to Arjuna. This entire army is like an ocean, and we don’t know which part of the field Arjuna is trapped. I don’t know whether he is alive or not. He has penetrated the array all alone and now when Krishna is signalling me, I want you to go in the direction from where the sound is coming. They must be at that location.”, replies Yudhishthira to Satyaki.
“I failed to keep my judgement clear about Guru Drona today and allowed Arjuna to go alone inside the array. The powerful vow of Arjuna obscured my vision to look beyond the melan- choly of his heart, and I allowed him to go alone. Both Arjuna and Krishna are dear to you as well like me. I urge you not to delay any moment and make a move towards the direction of the sound. You are certainly as skilled as Arjuna who can counter the attacks of Guru. You are a ray of hope for us who cannot be baffled witnessing the wicked intentions of the sons of Dhritarashtra.”, Yudhishthira continues.
I look at Yudhishthira with a confused look. I am a son of Dhritarashtra too. For a moment, I forgot that I chose the side of Pandavas when Yudhishthira mentioned wicked sons of Dhritarashtra. Yudhishthira notices my bewildered expression
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and signals me to keep calm. I refocus my energy on assessing the current situation and notice the confusion on the face of Satyaki. Arjuna had anointed Satyaki as the protector of the king for today, and thus scepticism of Satyaki is evident. He doesn’t want to overrule the order of his master, and neither does he want to refuse the command of Yudhishthira.
He says, “O Elder! I understand your concern but worry not about the whereabouts of Arjuna. He is the greatest warrior, and there is no weapon in the world which can hurt the wielder of Gandiva. He alone can defeat millions of combat- ants. He owns numerous universal missiles, which fire on his command and above all Krishna is with him. Contrary, if I leave this place, the soldiers of Drona, who are waiting for an oppor- tunity to captivate you, will leave no moment to captivate you.”
“O, the follower of true Dharma! The only intention of the wicked Duryodhana is to seize you and force the other Pandu sons to bow down before him. Knowing this, Arjuna has made me your protector and when I am gone who will be your pro- tector. O senior of Pandavas! I urge you to understand the gravity, judge the situation with your intelligence and then tell me what should be right for me. I will follow your command with full commitment.” He continues.
Satyaki has spoken the truth. I know how furious Guru Drona could be if he is not controlled. Undoubtedly, other than Arjuna, the one who can counter Guru’s attacks is Satyaki. The preceptor knows the weaknesses of his disciples, and accordingly, he devises the plans. Above all, one Akshauhini of the army is waiting behind Drona to counter any attack. And stop any sudden advancement of Pandavas towards the ruler of Sindhu.
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I look at Yudhishthira as he speaks, “Satyaki! O superior in Vrishni race! O true friend of Krishna! The sun rays have started softening. The day will end soon, and we have no clue if Arjuna is trapped. Arjuna has chosen you as my protector as he knows the only person who can be determined and calm in the tense hours will be you. I, the eldest of the Pandavas and elder to you too, advise you to take the lead and penetrate the array formed by Drona to protect the atrocious ruler of Sindhu. You are my hope and hope of the thousands of soldiers stand- ing behind me. At this moment of danger, our prime responsi- bility is to save
Arjuna and save the countrymen from entering into the profound darkness of hopelessness. O great warrior, do you know that during our exile, Arjuna mentioned your name several times and always admired your intelligence and prowess in our discussions. You are the best fit for the task. Hence, O Braveheart! Delay not a second and advance to the place where the two Krishnas are.”
Satyaki looks half convinced. “My major concern is your safety!”, says Satyaki.
Yudhishthira then replies that for his protection, Bhima and Dhrishtadyumna will be enough and if Drona sends more troops towards us, the twin brothers and I will be able to counter the attacks. I calmly listen to each and every word uttered by Yudhishthira. The realization of why suddenly hits me! I smile within, understanding the intelligence of Yudhishthira. He knows that one of his brothers is already shrouded by the millions of men and might be in trouble. Hence, he doesn’t want to send any of his other brothers to support Arjuna. He tactfully convinces Satyaki to take up this heavy responsibility. He knows if Satyaki fails, he will be in no direct loss! The readiness to sacrifice an individual for the
Yuyutsu - Rise of the last Kaurava Page 5