In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra officially appointing Abhimanyu to be leading from the front, as the “Chakra-Vyugam” has to be breached. Guru Dhronachaarya has been extremely smart in this, as he has ensured that Arjuna is first driven away from the spot before the entire “Chakra-Vyugam” plan is executed. He knows that if the strategy is implemented in the presence of Arjuna & Bhagawan Krishna, it is going to be of no use to anybody. Thus, as the first step, Arjuna is successfully driven away and then the “Chakra-Vyugam” formulation is brought up, so that Arjuna has no role to play in this entire conspiracy. Secondly, we’ve also seen that even as Abhimanyu knows how to breach inside the “Chakra-Vyugam”, he will not be able to come out of it and the possibility of being trapped and killed is extremely high! He himself explains it to Yudishtra and Co. where he is assured by all of them that they will never leave him alone once he’s inside the “Chakra-Vyugam”.
Thus with all these planning and strategizing talks, the war on Day Thirteen makes a grand beginning. As discussed, Abhimanyu takes the lead and a huge war breaks out between the two camps! Sage Vyaasa has created “Adhyaaya” after “Adhyaaya” to explain young Abhimanyu’s extreme prowess in the battlefield. There was not even a single person (Main set of people) with whom Abhimanyu does not touch base at the Kaurava side. Everybody faces the wrath of Abhimanyu’s unique expertise in the battlefield. I’m going a bit faster here as it is merely a description of how each one of them picked up a fight with Abhimanyu. Karna came up to Abhimanyu first – He wasn’t even able to stand in front of Abhimanyu for ten minutes at a stretch! Abhimanyu made Karna run for his money! Duryodhana comes next and meets with the same fate! Abhimanyu nails his arrows all around Duryodhana and pins him on to his chariot, thus making him unable to move his body even an inch here and there! Upon seeing Duryodhana in this state, his son Lakshmana comes to fight Abhimanyu! Lakshmana and Abhimanyu fight for a while and there’s a huge war breaking out between them. Finally, Abhimanyu overpowers Lakshmana and kills him! This marks the first personal loss for Duryodhana as he loses his son to Abhimanyu.
Thus, whoever comes in front of Abhimanyu that day, meets the same fate! Upon seeing this from a distance, Guru Dhronachaarya is admiring the manner in which Abhimanyu is fighting! He is quite stunned and he did not expect Abhimanyu to have this amount of prowess in the battlefield! Of course, Abhimanyu has been completely mentored by his father Arjuna since childhood and Guru Dhronachaarya feels extremely proud of him. At one point when Abhimanyu is unleashing his full potential by swirling in all directions and fighting, Guru Dhronachaarya remarks thus, “Oh wow! What a warrior this Abhimanyu is turning out to be! I’ve seen great “Maharathis” in my life, but at this young age, I’ve never seen such a level of skill and expertise in any person! Abhimanyu is extremely talented and has a bright future as well!” As Guru Dhronachaarya says thus openly, Duryodhana immediately fumes with anger! He says thus, “Oh Guru! Today you’ve told me that you’ll kill someone very significant and you’ve given me assurance on this. However, you’re standing here and singing in praise of Abhimanyu! This is the problem with all of you. On one hand you say that you’re fighting for my cause, but on the other hand you are extremely considerate towards Yudishtra and Co. Why this double standard from you? Are you going to kill Abhimanyu or are you going to stand and sing praise of his prowess?”
As Duryodhana asks thus, Guru Dhronachaarya is going to give a reply which is very important for us to understand! So for today, let us join hands with Guru Dhronachaarya to appreciate young Abhimanyu’s great valour in the Kurukshetra battlefield and in the next episode, we shall witness what happens next! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 