We are followers of battle parlances; true acolytes of scrip- tures written on wars, “If you survive the battle, you will rule the world. If you die on the battlefield, your soul will attain the bliss in heaven.” The soldiers from both the groups had fought vigorously last night, but the thirst for blood hasn’t vanished. Tiredness is not an obstacle to living the dreams of winning. Soon the battlefield gets covered with shrills and clangs. The chariot warriors take up their counterparts and the foot-sol- diers fight against their antagonists. The shower of arrows once again makes a thick cloud above the field. With great prowess, solicitous of vanquishing the other, the warriors cover each other with the thick layer of shafts. The arrows piercing the flesh sometimes leave deep wounds and sometimes steal the soul. A plethora of weapons being used and the earth is being
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painted red again. The pool of blood, shattered limbs, broken skulls, beheaded bodies, orphaned chariots, master-less ele- phants, and life-less bodies are enough to define the cruelty witnessed by the eyes each day. And today is no different. As the day will advance, this battlefield will witness a similar gory again. There is no space for emotions when the soldiers are present in the field. These hearts, tough as stones in the bat- tlefield, melt in the evening when we see the dead faces of our dear ones. Dichotomy!
Karna, Drona and Shakuni with their troops of thousands of soldiers surround Arjuna. Just like we decided to control Drona; with their strategy, it seems that they planned to seize Arjuna. A true master knows the next move of his disciple, and Drona proves it. Three great warriors of opponents have sur- rounded Arjuna. Bhima rushes to support his brother along with the young prince of Panchal, son of Dhrishtadyumna. The young blood is proving his worth every day. Drona has already taken up an avatar of a merciless warrior. He doesn’t care about the age of his opponents and in the wrath of his envy, he kills the young prince, son of Pandava Commander. Since the death of Abhimanyu, Guru Drona has left his morality. The day before yesterday, he commanded the death of the young son of Arjuna. Last night he killed a son of Dhrishtadyumna and this morning again he killed another young son of Dhrishtadyumna mercilessly. Drona becomes more perilous with every arrow released from his bow. He is invincible and unstoppable. Beholding the death of his son, Dhrishtadyumna roars in anger. The war is taking away a lot from the present and killing the future. The commander of the Pandava army commands his charioteer to move towards Drona. His reddened eyes fill with anger and tears. I can feel the pain in his heart as I am losing my loved ones too, and the agony is no different.
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Dhrishtadyumna rushes towards Drona. Arjuna knows Drona is a bulwark, can’t be broken with the feathered arrows of Dhrishtadyumna and therefore, he asks Krishna to take his chariot towards Drona as well. Yudhishthira asks Bhima to cover Arjuna from the attacks of Karna, Kripa and other brothers of Duryodhana. Bhima asks his charioteer to follow Arjuna. Satyaki and I cover both sides of Bhima’s chariot. Nakul and Sahadeva position themselves to support and protect the king from any sudden attack. The target for the day was already defined as Drona, but the death of the son of Dhrishtadyumna has added more fire to the desire. The sol- diers of Dhrishtadyumna commandant rush impetuously. For them, the command of their master is above all. If the apostles become your trusted warriors, victory is certain.
Bhima urges Arjuna to drive away the soldiers surrounding the Guru. “If the Kaurava army in the vicinity of Drona is away, Dhrishtadyumna might get a better aim on the preceptor.”, says Bhima.
Guru Drona is on his fifth day of the commandment, and his ruthlessness is growing every day. In the past five days, he never allowed Pandavas to overpower him. He has been contin- uously crushing the opponents with great celerity. Beholding the unparalleled prowess of Drona, Krishna advises Arjuna to make Drona cheerless.
“How?”, asks Arjuna.
“Talk something which makes him sorrowful.”
Arjuna, being a true disciple of Drona, negates the argu- ments of Krishna. He says he will not get into the war of
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words as he is capable of countering the attacks of his mentor. Krishna knows that the combat between the Guru and disci- ple will be endless and which is fruitless! Krishna then asks Bhima to kill an elephant with the name Ashwatthama. Bhima, without reasoning with Krishna, takes up his heaviest mace and strikes the forehead of that elephant. The giant pachy- derm loses its life in just a blow of Bhima. We are in dizzy, not knowing what Krishna is going to ask next. Krishna then asks Bhima to spread the news that Ashwatthama is dead. Bhima joyfully does so. The news of Ashwatthama’s death reaches Drona. He loses his cool. He knows that the calibre of his son is no less than his favourite disciple, Arjuna. Bhima jumps in joy in front of him and roars like an angry lion showing his authority over the son of the preceptor. Such immature acts of Bhima push Drona into a dilemma. He doesn’t agree with Bhima and wants to hear the same from Yudhishthira, the just. The world knows whatever the situation, the eldest of all Pandavas will never speak a lie.
Drona puts down his bow and advances towards Yudhishthira. He asks about the truth of Ashwatthama’s death. Yudhishthira too puts down his bow, looks at the help- less Guru and bows down to him. Everyone’s eyes are on the king. Arjuna knows his elder brother will never tell an untruth. Bhima doesn’t want to lose the opportunity to over- power the preceptor. Satyaki and I are mere spectators while Dhrishtadyumna is ready with his heaviest sword awaiting an opportunity to slay the enemy of his father. All ears are set on Yudhishthira.
Yudhishthira folds his hand before the Guru and speaks, “Ashwatthama is slain, but…” He silences himself before completing.
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The last few words couldn’t reach Drona’s ear. I understood it was a desperate attempt by Yudhishthira to tell a half-truth to Guru. Drona loses his cool; he loses his senses. The son whom he protected the entire life, whom he taught the secrets of warfare and whom he decked with the pearl as a mark of youthfulness is no more. While Guru here grieves for the loss of his son, in reality, his son Ashwatthama is engaged in the war, but far away. Thus, the news of his apparent death didn’t reach his ears. The cheerless Drona returns to his chariot and mounts on it. But to utter dismay to everyone picks his bow once again. His eyes become red, and the nerves swell. He picks the arrows, powers them with mantras, and showers on the troops of Pandavas. Everyone is surprised. The news, instead of breaking the rhythm of the mentor, strengthened him to fight against us. Seems, Krishna’s trick didn’t work. The Guru looks restless but more vengeful.
Dhrishtadyumna rushes towards Drona showering powerful arrows and missiles, but none could touch Drona. Guru is surely fighting half-heartedly but even then, overpowering him is not easy. The news of his son’s death gave him more strength to retaliate. The father in him is grieving, but the gladiator in him is avenging. Dhrishtadyumna looks at Bhima. Understanding the desire of the commander, Bhima gets down from his char- iot, reaches near the preceptor. He continues his boasting of slaying Ashwatthama and screams, “Abstention from injury of the creatures is the virtue of the high souls. You, O great mon- arch, are the Brahmana, the pinnacle of that virtue but still causing injuries to thousands of creatures. You are gifted with the unmatched weapons by your Guru on the condition of not becoming a slave of wealth. But arrested with the desires of
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wealth, you uprooted the condition of your master and took up the place of the grandmaster of the Kuru sons. You haven’t felt ashamed after uprooting the promises of your mentor. But why don’t you feel shame now when your desires have resulted in the death of your son? Why are you not ashamed, when the son for whom you won the kingdom of king Drupada, for whom you sided injustice, for whom you never countered the follies of Duryodhana, is now lying deprived of his life somewhere on this field. You, O master, have become a slave of the wealth, so much that you don’t grieve for your son’s death.” Bhima con- tinues shouting at the face of the preceptor uttering the cruel- lest words to perturb th
e master. Every word from him is no less than a shaft piercing the heart of Drona. He walks back towards his chariot but seems his words spread like poison in the blood of Drona.
Drona shouts aloud calling his son, “Ashwatthama… Ashwatthama…”
Tears from his eyes flow down, and the grief in his voice fills the entire field. He throws the weapons and sits on his chariot with his hands joined and eyes closed. He devotes himself to the ultimate one to seek peace. He sits calmly and the efful- gence coming out from his head is no less than the glowing sun in the firmament. The time seems to have paused, and each pair of eyes just want to witness the heavenly sight. Guru seems to have reached the pinnacle of his Yoga with no sense of outward desires. He dwells deeper into his meditation as he has forgotten about the battle. Dhrishtadyumna was waiting for such an opportunity. The time has come for him to avenge for every wrong deed of Drona on Panchal. The time has arrived to avenge the insult of his father and the death of his sons. Dhrishtadyumna picks his heaviest sword and rushes
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towards Drona sitting in a tranquil state. He raises his hand, and before Arjuna could utter a word to stop him, he strikes off Drona’s head. Dhrishtadyumna shouts a leonine roar as the fountain of blood bursts out. And the headless body of Drona falls at Dhrishtadyumna’s feet. Dhrishtadyumna finally achieves what he longed for years. He proves the worth of his birth, but how? Targeted a warrior, when his antagonist was weapon-less. Is that right? This war is continuously wit- nessing breach of almost all rules, and humility too. This holy land of Kurukshetra will remember the inhumane targeting of humans for thousands of years to come.
Beholding the sudden fall of their leader, the soldiers in Drona’s troop shout in anger and pain. The field gets filled with the loud cry of oh and alas. The radiant, puissant, supreme, ascetic, and a great preceptor leaves the earth. The soldiers bereft of their master start running in bewilder- ment. They aren’t able to accept the truth of Drona’s death. The battle pauses, and the striking stops to honour the death of the preceptor. While the grandsire Bhishma is lying on the bed of arrows not too far from the field, the other pillar of Kuru dynasty, the master who has created a strong future for Chandravanshis is also dead. Though death is the ultimate truth, how you die is never known to you! When the prowess becomes impenetrable by the power of arrows; it gets defeated by the strength of words. The wounds, caused by unwarranted speech, are more dangerous than the ones caused by shafts. And Bhima’s words today paved the path for Guru’s end. Whom to blame? Righteousness is already hiding behind the covetous hearts.
“Did Yudhishthira tell a lie or was it a coated truth,” I mumble. A lie can never be justified, but what about untruth,
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a half-truth or a hidden truth. Nobody knows if the last words of Yudhishthira while revealing the truth of Ashwatthama’s death were masked by celebrations of Bhima or by the king himself. Yudhishthira took the responsibility of telling the half- truth to Guru. He knew that it would not be easy to win the war if Drona was present on the field. Since day one of this war, Yudhishthira knew the secret of how to force Guru to put down his weapons. All these days, he was not getting an opportunity, and today Krishna showed him the path. Yudhishthira without missing an opportunity walked right into it. “Did Yudhishthira deliberately hide the truth?” It will remain a mystery within the heart of Yudhishthira forever.
Arjuna rushes towards his preceptor. He cries aloud, and his woebegone expressions explain his loss. He looks at Yudhishthira as if he blames the death of Drona on the king. He questions the truthfulness of the king. Arjuna says the son of the preceptor will now avenge the death of his father. “Is he fearful of Ashwatthama’s fury? What does he doubt?”
Arjuna’s sudden anger confuses me. While I try to decipher his fury, Arjuna turns to Yudhishthira and says, “The death of Drona can turn the battle in Kauravas’ favour.” He doubts that the furious son can use celestial weapons to slay everyone on the field. Satyaki too agrees to Arjuna’s words and engages in a war of words with Dhrishtadyumna.
“Had Satyaki never done anything unlawful?” I try to remember.
Dhrishtadyumna doesn’t pay any heed to Satyaki’s words and reminds him of the time when the latter killed weap- on-less Bhurisravas.
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“Nobody in this field is perfectly honest; not even myself,” I whisper, but Sudasa turns at me and smiles. The battle at this side of the field pauses. The news of Guru’s death must have reached Ashwatthama by now.
This battle is stealing righteousness from us, and our petty desires are killing the men and laws of the land. The ambition of winning sometimes obscures the intellect. The argument on the field seems never-ending. Arjuna blames Yudhishthira, Bhima opposes. Satyaki blames Dhrishtadyumna, and the latter opposes the former. The situation becomes dreadful when the threads of brotherhood get loosened on the grounds of arguments. When the trust in the blood weakens, the doors to victory shut. Finding no end to the arguments, Krishna intervenes. He reminds the warriors the reason for the battle. “Why are we gathered, and what are we fighting for?”, Krishna shouts suddenly. And all go quiet.
“The ultimate goal of this war is to defeat the injustice and to establish Dharma once again. O great monarchs! Do not forget the real reason for the war. Justice shouldn’t be obstructed, amidst the war of your words and emotions. Abstain from frivolous arguments and rise together, there is still a lot to go through in this war.”
The battle for the day stops in the honour of Drona. Both the sides are equally saddened. We stand surrounding the Guru, awaiting Ashwatthama.
I wonder, “What will happen when Ashwatthama comes to know the truth.” And while I was deeply engrossed, I saw
Ashwatthama’s chariot rushing towards the place where the dead body of Guru is lying. He gets down the chariot and breaks down. He wails. “Dhrishtadyumna, you coward…”, he shouts. Duryodhana comes near the son of the preceptor and tries to console. “These Pandavas have left all the principles of warfare.”, shouts my half-brother. Though, the word principle doesn’t fit him. His depravity is known to everyone.
“I, Ashwatthama, son of the great Drona, vow to avenge the death of my father. Dhrishtadyumna, your end is in my hands.”, roars Ashwatthama with anger rushing through his eyes. Duryodhana asks his troop to arrange the last rites of Guru. All other soldiers walk back.
We gather for the obsequies of Guru. The panegyrists glorify the past of the preceptor, and gradually the sun sinks into the western valley. The fifteen days of the war are over ending the lives of millions of soldiers and hundreds of warriors. And leaving behind many untreatable wounds in the hearts of struggling lives!
Chapter3
THE LAST FIGHT
Success follows when determination is not shrouded by greed and viciousness
KARNA
he death of Guru Drona has left an unfillable void in the empire of the Kuru dynasty. A Guru who cultivated
the pride of this dynasty with grandsire is no more. The man who taught Arjuna to fight in the dark has left all of us in darkness today. The Pandavas are joyfully saddened. They wanted to remove that bulwark but not at the cost of a dent on Yudhishthira’s truthfulness. The king who never uttered a lie has today minced his words and paved the way for Drona’s fall. While returning to our camp, I tried to look at Yudhishthira’s face to gauge his feelings, but I was surprised to see that it was placid. I’m unable to decipher whether he is morose or ecstatic or a mix of all. The eldest of the Pandavas has learnt to hide the truth with half-spoken words. The war teaches a lot!
The evening is becoming darker. The howls of jackals and barks of hundreds of canines penetrate the silence of darkness. The darkness has engulfed not only the battlefield but also the intellect of men walking on the same field. It is a constant cele- bration of killing peace and humility in the name of vengeance, power and wealth for fifteen days now. The carnivorous aerial creatures enjoy their daily treat of dead human desires in the form of warm
bloody flesh. With each passing day, we are our- selves ending the future of the Kuru empire. Who wins? Does it matter? Does anyone care? The victor will rule over the cries of wives and mothers of the dead soldiers. There will be nobody left to listen to the valour of the warriors laying their lives each
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day! It’s a futile exercise to continue this bloody game, but alas, my brothers won’t pay heed to my advice.
I dim the Mashaal in my tent, the buzzing of insects increases and my tiredness tries to overwhelm my eyes, but the sore muscles and pain of wounds don’t allow sleep to overpower. The whiz of the arrows and the clangs of the swords are still buzzing my ears. The massacre caused by the Guru today is still flashing in front of my closed eyes. The river of blood flowing with no source of origin. The pieces of flesh, the motionless bodies, the torn mails, the broken bows and amidst all this lying the headless body of the Guru. Everything is so clear in my head! There is no end to the deceit. Who is deceiving whom? There is no end to the dark shades of the apparent followers of righteousness. I can clearly understand that both the camps are breaking laws at rampant. Is this still a Dharmayudha? Life unfolds a new chapter each day.
Yuyutsu - Rise of the last Kaurava Page 9