Yuyutsu - Rise of the last Kaurava

by Aniket Sharma

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  peak of his arrogance when he insulted Draupadi in the court- room of Dhritarashtra. I still remember him calling Draupadi, a harlot, for being married to five brothers. Karna didn’t stop there but flouted Draupadi even more.

  “You can enjoy the company of a hundred brothers and not only five. My friend, Duryodhana, owns you now.”

  That was extreme of his callousness. The friendship of Duryodhana blinded his intelligence, and he could not balance the dignity in the courtroom. Arjuna may, but I will never pardon him for that irrational behaviour.

  Here the Knight riders are engaged in the never-ending nocturnal encounters. Arjuna helped us in rescuing from Ashwatthama’s fury. Arjuna smites Ashwatthama so fiercely that he can’t stand against him for long and swoons on his chariot. Once Ashwatthama loses his senses, Arjuna looks towards Karna. Karna is getting furious and fierce. He strikes continuously and ruthlessly kill the soldiers of our camp.

  The need arises to stop Karna. Sensing the immediate danger, Yudhishthira in a loud voice commands Arjuna to control the wrath of Karna. Arjuna requests Krishna to move his chariot closer to Karna, but Krishna denies.

  “Partha! Wait for some more time.” I hear Krishna respond- ing to Arjuna.

  On the other hand, Karna is on full swing. In this pitch-dark night, death is silently riding on Karna’s arrows across the field. Arjuna is perplexed and requests again to Krishna, but the latter has some other plans. He speaks again, “O Arjuna!

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  Forget not that Karna possesses the most powerful missile called Shakti given to him by Indra. Karna has promised to use that against you in the battle. He will not use it against anyone but you. Before he is forced to use his missile against anyone else, I will not advise you to have a duel with him. A lot is riding on you, and I will not let the hopes of millions die.” I know what Krishna is talking about. He wants someone to fill fear in the heart of Duryodhana so that he forces Karna to use his most powerful missile. And there is nobody but Ghatotkacha, who can do it tonight. The Rakshasa clan hero can be perilous if he uses his full potential. I couldn’t believe my ears. Krishna asks Arjuna to command Ghatotkacha and send him against Karna. Shocking! What I heard was enough to send chills down my spine. But then this is war, and victory demands sacrifices! What Yudhishthira did yesterday, Krishna is asking Arjuna to do today. I introspect Arjuna and Bhima may be powerful; they lack the shrewdness of Krishna and Yudhishthira.

  Arjuna asks Ghatotkacha to combat against Karna and his troops. He readily agrees and advances towards Karna’s retinue. We follow him to support. Ghatotkacha, an expert illusionist, starts creating illusions on the field to the utter dismay of foes. The soldiers are already affrighted witnessing the giant mountainous non-human warrior on the field, and these illusions obstruct them to counteract. The thunderous roar and lightning strikes of Ghatotkacha are endless. He soon converts the part of the land into a pool of blood and corpses. The terrified soldiers run for their lives, but the illusions make it more difficult for the combatants. The leonine shouts in the dark pierce the eardrums deeper. When the illusions created by Ghatotkacha become difficult to break, Duryodhana shouts at Karna, “O Karna! Slay this Rakshasa immediately using your universal missile. Pierce his heart and send him to the world of

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  Yama or else he will consume everyone today. Bereft the earth of this gigantic being and save our lives. If the soldiers survive today, they will counter Arjuna but if this pothead consumes us all, who will remain to counter Arjuna tomorrow. Therefore, Karna, delay not and use your powerful weapon Shakti against him and save our soldiers in this nocturnal battle.”

  Karna’s face is expressionless. His desire for killing Arjuna in the battle will get killed if he uses his most powerful weapon against anyone else. He certainly doesn’t want to use it against Ghatotkacha. He pauses striking. He looks at the frightened and hurt soldiers amid the motionless bodies of thousands of other soldiers. He certainly stands on the edge of a sword with one side Duryodhana’s friendship and another side his aspirations. He has to choose one. I believe I know what he will select.

  In a short span, Ghatotkacha has done a lot of destruction in the opponent’s army. Pandavas are joyous seeing the bril- liance of son of Bhima. Kauravas seem terrified. I am amazed to witness Ghatotkacha fighting at night for the first time. Ghatotkacha is unstoppable, unparalleled, and invincible. Fury of the giant grows as the night careers. The unpar- alleled calibre of this giant creature has managed to stop the advancement of the Kaurava army. The lives of all the key-warriors of the Pandava army are safe, and the Kaurava camp is busy figuring out ways to overpower this monster. Gradually, Ghatotkacha grips the enemies in his clutches and burns the hopes of Duryodhana. Duryodhana pales beholding the helplessness of his army. His plans of defeating Pandavas in the darkness of night are crushed by the radiance of this

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  son of Bhima. With a dull face, he looks at his last hope, his friend Karna. It is evident; he wants Karna to kill this gigan- tic warrior and save the Kauravas and their troops from fur- ther annihilation. “Dear Friend! Protect us from this ruthless slayer else we will not see the dawn.”, shouts Duryodhana with dampness in his voice. Beholding no choice left, Karna takes out his hidden weapon, mounts it on his bow and releases it towards Ghatotkacha. As Shakti advances towards Rakshasa, the firmament gets filled with enormous illumination. The darkness vanishes in the glare of the weapon, Shakti. And that pointed arrow pierces the heart of Ghatotkacha. With a thundering strike, it hits Ghatotkacha and lifts him above the ground. Ghatotkacha struggles with the attack of the power- ful missile. He is in deep pain, and his loud shouts explain it all. He looks at the large regiment, a full Akshauhini army of Kauravas ready to attack Pandavas. He increases his size with all his might and thrusts himself on the foes while falling on the earth. He falls flat with the missile pierced deep into his body. Ghatotkacha dies.

  Karna chooses his friend’s wish over his desire. He buries his dream to defeat his greatest antagonist, Arjuna, in a duel and dismantles the fear of his friend. Karna kills his one hope to uplift the dimming hopes of his friend and proves that one relation which he cultivated throughout his life is above every- thing else. Duryodhana looks content, and the smirk on his face shows how stress-free he is. Karna walked on the edge of the sword balancing his emotions and desires. He kept aside the righteousness and favoured the injustice for the sake of his friendship with Duryodhana. But today he had to burn his desires on the pyre of Duryodhana’s fear. A man sometimes has to learn to balance the cries of personal aspirations with the wishes of others.

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  I look at Krishna. He is smiling as he always knew the fate of Shakti. He indirectly has saved Arjuna and the vows of Pandavas. There is nothing dearer to him than Arjuna and Draupadi. He will not let the Kauravas go without avenging the insults and injustices that happened years ago.

  Bhima rushes towards the dead body of his son, but before he could reach there, the power of the missile explodes the dead body of the Rakshasa prince. The son has paid the debt of his father. Tears roll down from Bhima’s eyes, and I notice that many other eyes are damp too. There is no winning at sight when the future is being defeated each passing day. Ghatotkacha is killed, but Karna certainly isn’t pleasant. The dullness on his face explains how he half-heartedly followed the command of his friend by using his most powerful weapon, certainly against his wishes. The battle pauses as the fall of Ghatotkacha has caused a heavy loss in both the groups. One side has lost a son, and the other lost one Akshauhini army. Arjuna tries to console Bhima, but he knows he is guilty of sending Ghatotkacha in the duel against Karna. Arjuna must be feeling the pain of Yudhishthira now. I know it was not easy for Yudhishthira to convince Abhimanyu to enter the most dreadful array, Chakravyuh. And I saw how reluctantly Arjuna asked Ghatotkacha to advance towards Karna. Yesterday, Arjuna was grieving and arguing with his elder brother for leaving his son all alone amid the cruel opponents, b
ut today he did the same. War is a manifestation of defeat and deceit, and of winning and living. Pain overpowers the celebration of victory. Pain doesn’t surface without the support of the ego. Ego generates selfishness and selfishness begets greed!

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  Ghatotkacha dies while serving his motherland. Hidimbaa will certainly be elated knowing her son has made her sit in the lines of Kshatriya mothers. Bhima must be proud of the achievements of his son. But at this grieving hour, Bhima couldn’t control his emotions. His eyes become red with the tears rolling down his cheeks. Yudhishthira gets down from his chariot and walks towards Bhima and tries to console him. Words of consolation are part of routine these days. Right from the first day of the battle, at each death, we perform the same act of paying homage and the next day assemble to kill again. Paradoxically entwined lives of warriors on the battlefield! Yudhishthira, after consoling grieving Bhima, turns to Arjuna and says, “Arjuna! Ghatotkacha sacrificed his life to protect you. But let that not perturb your mind, let it not derail you from advancing towards your goal. Gather all your courage and stay strong as hopes of thousands are on your shoulders. By slaying Jayadratha you have avenged your son’s death. You accomplished your vow, but Guru Drona is still the biggest hurdle in our path of victory. The time has come to rise above the emotions for our preceptor. Let us all focus on the moves of the Guru and check him from causing further damages to our army.”

  The king then commands the army to counter and control Drona. The night has reached its last quarter. The soldiers have been fighting continuously since the beginning of the day. The foot-soldiers, the chariot warriors, the elephant com- batants, everyone, is tired. The dense sleep is palpable in the eyes of the soldiers present in the field. The exhausted soldiers are unable to focus. Due to tiredness, they start missing the targets too. The troops look cheerless, and enthusiasm of sol- diers seems dying with every passing minute now. Anxiety and sore muscles overpower the army. Soldiers start putting down

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  their weapons and look for a place to sit and relax. Some of them lay on the back of the elephants and some on chariots. Few lay on the field under the open sky just wading away from the skirmish for a few moments. Beholding the cheerless and exhausted troop, Arjuna rises on his chariot and asks the sol- diers to fall back. He says, “O Brave men! You all have exceeded the expectations of the king. You have been fighting non-stop since the first ray of today’s sun. I can feel the pain and exer- tion in you. O dear ones I advise you all to leave the field and go back to your respective tents. It is the time to call off the battle for today.” Saying this, he blows off his conch signalling the sol- diers to return to their respective camps. The Kaurava army is also exhausted and seeing Arjuna calling his army back; they also urge Duryodhana to call off the battle for that day. Drona, understanding the plight of the soldiers, agrees to the demands of his troops, and signals the warriors to go back to their respective camps. There are few hours left in the night to get over when the battle stopped. It was a long day for all of us. Tomorrow, once the battle resumes, our target will be the pre- ceptor. Yudhishthira wants to break the spine of Duryodhana’s confidence by targeting Guru Drona.

  I reach my tent tired, exhausted and wounded. The war is getting horrendous, day by day. The armies are decimating hugely, but there is no stopping to the oaths taken every day. Arjuna succeeded in his feat today. He beheaded Jayadratha and avenged his son’s death. I could have gone with Satyaki to support him, but my heart didn’t allow me. The valour in me is undoubtedly not bigger than the love for Dussala. The world will never know the plight of Dussala. The joy of one more woman scrap to mere hopelessness and melancholy. Our childhood memories flash through my eyes. The giggle, laugh- ter, teasing, playful taunts with siblings, and the marriage of our

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  sister, the fragrance of all the joyous moments are still fresh in my mind. I might be the only one in Pandava camp, grieving for the death of Sindhu ruler. What a dichotomy! I have chosen the side of Yudhishthira and today on their success. I am morose. The sound of their celebration doesn’t excite me. I try to shut my eyes and close my ears, but my guilt is more powerful than my will. Am I guilty? If yes, of what? If not, why am I so confused? Sometimes I fight within to reinvent the purpose of my life. When the legitimate purpose of accomplishment gets blanketed by the fear of losing, self-pittance and guilt become the biggest antagonists of life. The mind becomes weak and heart morbid.

  There was not enough time to rest and treat wounds. The remaining hours of the night just vanished in the flashing thoughts of Dussala. And the sun rises with new hopes. I wake up in my tent and walk out to see Mother Nature at her most glorious moment. The crimson hue created by the soft rays of the dawn can bring ecstasy to any broken heart. The morning rays kiss the earth at the horizon, marking the start of a fresh day. The gentle rays of the sun paint the east in orange. The sky looks like a huge circular plate of gold.

  The mornings are the most beautiful part of these gory days. The serene mornings with cooing birds and gentle breeze take my heart away from this morass. Each morning my heart wants to fly far in the sky, forget this violence and sing along these chirping birds. The memories of those happy days are still fresh in my mind when Swastika and I used to run behind similar birds in the gardens of the palace. Those childhood memories are the reason, I am still breathing amid this blood and vehemence.

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  We have entered the fifteenth day of the war. A lot… a lot is lost. Tens of my Kaurava brothers, thousands of warriors and millions of soldiers along with countless quadrupeds have been sacrificed in the war, but still, the ego hasn’t sublimated. Chaos, confusions, oaths, merciless slaughter, and revenge; these fourteen days have witnessed it all. Dressed up in my mail and decked with shields and swords; I walk towards the place of morning huddle. The sons of Uncle Pandu and the sons of Draupadi, along with Dhrishtadyumna, are already out of their respective tents. All the pairs of eyes are red, surely, due to lack of sleep.

  I am busy adjusting my headgears and sword while walking, and suddenly a heart-soothing tune falls on my ears. I look around. In one corner, I see Krishna playing with his flute. Amidst all these thoughts of killings and revenge, the soulful sound creates its magic. The tune calms the restless minds, and the body feels more energetic. The tiredness of yesterday vanishes with the calming melody being played by him. The chirping birds resonate the rhythm of the flute. The neighing steeds and the grunting elephants follow suit and the entire camp fills with heavenly melodies. I stop and close my eyes as I get engrossed in the ambience created by the mystic. In my mind, I have already reached another world, far from the war field, a world without pain, sorrow and mourning. I am lost in the melody of a heavenly tune when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I open my eyes. Krishna stands in front of me. I did not notice when the tune stopped as I had lost track of time.

  “Where are you lost… Yuyutsu?” he asks smilingly. “Listening to your flute.”

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  “Flute… but nobody is playing the flute here.”

  “I was listening to your heartful tunes… Krishna!” “Yuyutsu… wake up! This is a battlefield. And I have stopped

  playing the flute, the time I left Gokul.” He smiles again and walks towards the King’s tent.

  Bemused! I stare at him. Was it just Maya, or was he playing the flute? Only he knows what he means. I smile within and follow him without pondering much. A deep smile on his face always hides a lot of mystery. Nobody, not even Arjuna, knows the mysterious Krishna’s real emotions. He turns at me, pauses, nods his head, smiles and walks away. He must be aware of my feelings about the loss of Kaurava brothers and their troops. He must be feeling the same way when he sees the dying soldiers of his army of Gopas. The army which was chosen by Duryodhana for the battle. When Arjuna and Duryodhana both went to ask for Krishna’s support, he left the decision on them. Krishna declared that he would not fight the war, but Arjuna chose him over an Akshauhini army of Gopas. His a
rmy is being decimated every day. His people whom he saved from the wrath of his uncle Kansa; he gave to Duryodhana. Even after knowing the consequences of the war, he fulfilled the wish of Duryodhana. Saviour became the cause of the death of his people. It is too perplexing!

  Yudhishthira asks Dhrishtadyumna to share today’s strat- egy and array formation. He had already declared last night that we would be fighting against the Guru primarily. Guru Drona is getting ruthless and lawless with each passing day on the field engulfed with his intentions of captivating the King

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  Yudhishthira. Duryodhana wants him to seize Yudhishthira from the day Guru Drona took the role of commander.

  Dhrishtadyumna explains the array formation and shares our respective positions. The meeting disperses, and we prepare for the battle. The conches blare, and the drums beat to mark the start of the day’s war. Both the groups are once again ready to combat. The tirelessness on the faces of the sol- diers has vanquished. The energetic and enthusiastic soldiers of both the groups march in synergy to face their foes once again. The entire field gets filled with the cloud of mud and the sound of conches and cymbals. We reach the field and posi- tion ourselves to form the array. For today the aim is to target Drona and seize his dreadful attacks. The soldiers wait for the final signal as soon as the conch blares, both the groups rush impetuously towards each other. The conch doesn’t signal just the start of the day’s battle but signals the inception of killing and butchering each other ruthlessly.