We’re amidst an extremely important and a crucial day of the Kurukshetra war – Day Fourteen, wherein Arjuna is steadfast in his resolution to kill Jayatrada within sunset. With this savage resolution on Jayatrada, Arjuna continues his advancement into the “Chakra Vyugam” of the Kaurava army. On Day Fourteen, Arjuna’s onslaught on the Kaurava army is manifold as compared to the other previous days of the war. He had a tough contest with Guru Dhronachaarya and then with the key warriors like King Shalya, Ducchaasana, Karna and Duryodhana himself. The onslaught is so severe this time from Arjuna that none of them are able to stand in front of him even for a few minutes. Defeating whoever comes in front of him, Arjuna advances deeper into the Kaurava army in pursuit of the main target – Jayatrada.
By the time Arjuna breaks the shackles of the Kaurava army and advances deeper, it is already afternoon time and the sun has come to the middle of the spectrum. At this time, Bhagawan Krishna suddenly is unleashing a very interesting “Leela” here – He suddenly stops the chariot in between the entire battlefield even as everyone is looking with a lot of anxiety. As the chariot suddenly came to a grinding halt, Arjuna couldn’t understand anything! He immediately asks thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! What happened? Why did you suddenly stop? Is there anything wrong that you’re seeing anywhere?” For this, Bhagawan Krishna replies thus, “Oh Arjuna! It seems that the horses of our chariot are tired and they are struggling to move forward. They require some rest and maybe some water now before they can proceed further!” As Bhagawan says thus, Arjuna is puzzled! He doesn’t understand the intricate meaning behind why Bhagawan Krishna is doing this. So he asks back thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! We’re already in the afternoon time period. We still have less then five hours to finish the task. Is this the time to give rest to our horses? They can rest after our plan is finished, can’t they?” As Arjuna asks thus with a seemingly bit of a frustration, Bhagawan calms him down and says thus, “Oh Arjuna! Please do not be selfish! Horses are also living beings and they too have run so far without any rest or food. Hence, it is time for them to rest and let them have some water to drink as well. We shall proceed thereafter. Now do one thing – Employ your “Vaarunaasthram” and bring some water for these poor horses from the ground!”
As Bhagawan Krishna says thus, Arjuna obeys without talking a word back! Thus, a spring of water splashes from within the ground and with this, the horses are enjoying the water for a while! Because of extreme tiredness, the horses are rolling on the ground here and there amidst the watery surface and are trying to freshen up themselves. In return, Bhagawan Krishna too caresses all the horses one after the other and ensures that they are taken care of adequately. Also, because there is a water spring, the entire surrounding amidst the battlefield becomes a fertile land with Bhagawan Krishna’s divine “Anugraha”, with trees and plants within no time! Fruits and vegetables start growing and this acts as an instant food to the tired horses! Thus, Bhagawan nourishes them with all the required food, water, love and care and this takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour of time!
Now as the horses are up and running once again, Bhagawan Krishna looks at Arjuna and says thus – “Oh Arjuna! Please do not act against the laws of nature! Just like how your pledge is important, the well-being of these horses are equally important as well. So you should not be selfish to achieve your agenda and leave the others in totters. This is a wrong motive that you’re having!” Saying thus, as the horses are ready, Bhagawan Krishna ties them once again to the chariot and gets on it. Upon seeing Bhagawan Krishna ready, Arjuna also gets inside and the journey continues. Now the horses are fresh with a lot of vigour and they move the chariot at lightning speed! Once again, Arjuna is up on his feet and his onslaught continues! Whoever comes in front of Arjuna are either reduced to shambles or completely finished off in no time! Bhurishravas, one of the key warriors on the Kaurava camp, engages in a huge battle with Arjuna, but at the end, Arjuna kills him quite easily. Now as Arjuna advances even further, he is unable to spot Jayatrada anywhere! By this time, it is already evening and sunset is not very far off. Bhagawan Krishna too realizes that if Arjuna has to move forward with this pace, there is absolutely no possibility that he is going to reach the vicinity of Jayatrada. Still Sage Kripachaarya and Krita Varma are on the way and only if Arjuna defeated both of them, he will be able to spot Jayatrada!
So what does Bhagawan Krishna do now? Does He have a plan of action ready to be implemented? An interesting episode awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 