We’re amidst a very important juncture during Day Thirteen at Kurukshetra wherein we’re witnessing one of the most marquee battles that is being fought – Abhimanyu vs. the entire Kaurava army! Abhimanyu is on fire as he swirls 360-degrees to fight from all directions single-handedly. The intensity of Abhimanyu is extremely severe that even Guru Dhronachaarya was given a run for his money! All the main “Maharathis” including Karna, Duryodhana, Ducchaasana, etc. are having a tough time with Abhimanyu, even as he finishes several great “Maharatis” effortlessly! This sends shockwaves amidst the Kaurava camp, which now strategizes to finish off Abhimanyu by hook or crook, even if it is not through the path of “Yuddha-Dharma”. As per the suggestion given by Guru Dhronachaarya, Karna hits Abhimanyu from behind, which shocks Abhimanyu! Till this moment, Abhimanyu backed himself up even if he was trapped alone, because he expected the Kauravas to fight with him legitimately. However, now, the Kauravas are showing their real “Adharmic” face – They will go to any extent to finish him off! This sends shockwaves into Abhimanyu, but that is not going to deter the brave youngster from putting up a huge show of strength!
As he is attacked from all sides now, Abhimanyu loses one weapon after the other. Finally he is now fighting with his “Gadha”, which again sends several people packing! During this time, the famed “Kaalakeyas” from the Shubala Desha and great warriors from the Gaandhaara Desha meet their ends in the hands of Abhimanyu! Now it is time for Ducchaasana to have a go at Abhimanyu, however, Ducchaasana is no match to Abhimanyu’s fortress! Abhimanyu, with his “Gadha”, is almost at the verge of killing Ducchaasana single-handedly, however, his son comes in the middle and rescues him. However, when Ducchaasana’s son attacks Abhimanyu with his “Gadha”, a brief fight ensues and Abhimanyu is now tired and bruised by several arrows that have pierced his body for all this while! He couldn’t live up to the expectation during this final phase of the fight! Upon seeing Abhimanyu sulking for the first time, Ducchaasana’s son sees this as an opportunity to inflict a heavy blow on him, which makes him fall on to the ground. As per the “Yuddha-Neethi” (Rules and regulations), if a person is falling on to the ground, he has to be given a few minutes to compose himself and get up before giving the next blow. However, Ducchaasana’s son is not willing to give that split of a second to Abhimanyu to get up and compose himself. He progresses forward and hits Abhimanyu on his head, which becomes a fatal blow for him!
Thus, as Ducchaasana’s son hits Abhimanyu in this “Adharmic” way, Abhimanyu could not get up any further as he starts bleeding heavily from his head! Unable to bear this fatal blow, poor Abhimanyu falls down – Once and forever! Ducchaasana’s son should not have done this. Abhimanyu should have been given time to get up and once again take his “Gadha” in his hand before restarting the fight. However, he wanted to kill Abhimanyu by hook or crook and hence, he resorted to the path of “Adharma” to kill Abhimanyu on the spot, without even giving him an opportunity to stand up and compose himself!
This incident of “Adharma” sends shockwaves across the entire Kurukshetra battlefield! The Kauravas start celebrating in a big way, which makes the alarm bells ringing in Yudishtra’s mind. As Yudishtra comes to know that Abhimanyu is no more, he is stunned to bits and slowly gets to know the truth of how the Kauravas spearheaded by Guru Dhronachaarya have trapped Abhimanyu unethically and killed him! On one hand, Yudishtra could not control his emotions, as he let out a loud cry of shock, frustration and pain! On the other hand, Arjuna hasn’t come back yet! If Arjuna comes back and understands that his son is no more, what will he answer to Arjuna? Yudishtra is now clearly caught in a fix! So for today, let us understand up to this point. Along with Yudishtra and Co. let us join to mourn the death of a great wearrior called Abhimanyu! Meanwhile, we’ve to also remember that Abhimanyu has been killed in the most unethical way possible. Given that such a thing has happened, what is the approach that the Paandavas are going to take? What is going to be Bhagawan Krishna’s next move from here on? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 