In the previous episode, we had witnessed a spectacular plan being implemented by Bhagawan Krishna, in a bid to trap Jayatrada alive in front of Arjuna. We’ve witnessed Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna going after Jayatrada, however, he eludes both of them by seeking protection from the rest of the Kaurava army. Guru Dhronachaarya too had arranged several “Vyugams” (Patterns) to protect Jayatrada in such a way that Arjuna will not be able to come closer to him. However, as we’ve seen, Arjuna is in a savage resolution and somehow makes his way into the “Vyugams” in search of Jayatrada. On his way, he defeats whoever comes in front, and on the fourteenth day, Arjuna’s onslaught is at an entirely different level altogether. None including Guru Dhronachaarya could stop Arjuna’s advancement. However, by the time Arjuna defeats everyone and penetrates the army patterns, it is almost time for sunset and Arjuna is only half way into it! Sensing this urgency, Bhagawan Krishna plays a trick here – He artificially creates a sunset by employing His “Chakra-Aayudham” in front of the sun, which blocks its rays from reaching the earth! Hence, for a moment everything goes dark and the entire Kaurava army including Jayatrada concludes that the war for the day has come to a close!
Upon seeing the sunset and the darkness, Jayatrada erupts in joy that he has been saved for the day! With this joy he comes forward in front of Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna and starts making fun of Arjuna! Little does Jayatrada know that this is a divine ploy of Bhagawan Krishna and this “sunset” is not the real sunset for the day! Unaware of this trick, Jayatrada starts taunting and tormenting Arjuna that he had failed in his pursuit and it is time to kill himself! Meanwhile, the Paandava camp including Yudishtra is also surprised to see the sudden and abrupt sunset for the day! Yudishtra starts shaking with fear and thinks thus, “Oh my God! Arjuna had taken a pledge to finish Jayatrada off by today evening. Has he accomplished it? Or, is he going to breathe his last today? Yesterday we lost Abhimanyu and today are we going to lose his father as well?” As the Paandava camp starts panicking and as Jayatrada comes out with absolute confidence that he’s safe, Bhagawan Krishna uses this flash point and removes His “Chakra-Aayudham” from its position. Now as the “Chakra-Aayudham” once again comes to Bhagawan Krishna’s hands, the sun starts shining bright again! Jayatrada could not believe what was happening! Until this point when the sun rays were blocked, the Kaurava army was making fun of Arjuna and now it is Arjuna’s turn to give it back with interest!
Upon seeing the sun shining again, Bhagawan Krishna says to Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! Now you can see the sun shining bright! It’s not sunset time yet! Also, here you see Jayatrada in front of you! This is the moment you were waiting for, weren’t you? Now take your Gaandeepa and do the needful! Here’s your opportunity now! It’s either now or never!” As Bhagawan Krishna says thus, Arjuna immediately holds his “Gaandeepa” bow tightly in his hands with a renewed vigour! He says to Jayatrada thus, “Oh Jayatrada! Now where are you going to run? Face the reality now! If you have the guts, fight with me today! Yesterday you were the principal orchestrator of my son’s death, weren’t you? Now let me avenge you for the heinous crime that you committed on the battlefield! Take your weapons and start fighting!”
As Arjuna says thus, Bhagawan Krishna hints at another important point to him thus, “Oh Arjuna! When you’re fighting, please ensure that Jayatrada’s head is chopped off with your arrow. After chopping off his head, you should ensure that the arrow will carry his head to his father’s lap. His father is sitting just outside the Kurukshetra battlefield, performing his evening Sandhyavandanam. Your arrow should carry Jayatrada’s head carefully without a drop of blood spilling on the ground and should drop it on his father’s lap. Only if you’re successfully doing this, Jayatrada will be dead! Else, if you keep fighting and chopping off his head repeatedly, his head will rejoin his body again and again!”
As Bhagawan Krishna says thus, Arjuna is puzzled! This is a complex thing to do, and time is running out as well! This has to be accomplished before sunset and Jayatrada on the other side is up for a big showdown! However, Arjuna’s skill and prowess, as all of us know, is exceptional and Bhagawan Krishna also knows this. It is for this reason, Bhagawan wants Arjuna to do this job, out of all the others! Listening to Bhagawan’s words carefully, Arjuna succeeds in chopping off Jayatrada’s head with a sharp arrow! Now with this, “Step 1” is achieved! As part of “Step 2”, Arjuna ensures that this arrow carefully carries Jayatrada’s head towards the direction where his father is seated, and successfully drops it on his father’s lap! The moment Jayatrada’s head falls on his father’s lap, there is a huge explosion and both the father and son die on the spot! Thus, with this, Jayatrada is history and the entire Paandava army is rejoicing! Yudishtra is extremely happy that Arjuna has finally managed to fulfil his pledge!
So for today, let us join hands with Arjuna and Co. to celebrate this victorious moment and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 