In the previous episode, we had witnessed the modus operandi behind Jayatrada’s killing. It was quite a complex task that Arjuna had to accomplish as Jayatrada had obtained enormous boons in the past from several “Devatas”. Moreover, his father, Vriddhakshatra had obtained a boon that if his son gets killed by another warrior on a battlefield, the head of the person who is killing him will break into a thousand pieces! This is where the complexity comes in and as per the boon, Arjuna’s head should have broken into a thousand pieces! However, thanks to Bhagawan Krishna’s astute calculations and smartness, Jayatrada’s head was perfectly placed on the lap of none other than Vriddhakshatra himself, and till that time wherein Jayatrada’s head travelled to Vriddhakshatra’s lap, Jayatrada was alive. However, unaware of what was happening, when Vriddhakshatra quickly gets up from his place, Jayatrada’s head falls on the ground and with this, Jayatrada breathes his last. Subsequently, since Jayatrada’s life came to an end from Vriddhakshatra’s lap, Vriddhakshatra’s head broke into a thousand pieces with a huge explosion! Thus, the father and son duo succumbed to their own boons and misdeeds and Arjuna’s head was saved by Bhagawan Krishna!
If we look deeper into these events in this way, we will be able to understand how Bhagawan Krishna’s small but subtle works like this have protected Arjuna big-time! Bhagawan Krishna may not have taken a weapon in His hand to fight this war, but from such events, it is evident that Bhagawan was fighting a “proxy” war on behalf of the Paandava brothers. Else, with the amount of resources that the Kaurava army had with them, especially veterans like Bhishmachaarya, Guru Dhronachaarya, Sage Kripachaarya, Karna, Jayatrada, etc. Duryodhana should have won the war within the first 4-5 days itself! However, since the war was beyond just the “test of strength” on both sides, and since the war was fought on the basis of “Dharma” vs. “Adharma”, the Paandavas always had the upper hand. Also, with Bhagawan Krishna always favouring the side wherein “Dharma” is present, the Kauravas were unable to withstand the tricks and counter-tricks that Bhagawan Krishna came up with!
Moving on further thus, with the demise of Jayatrada and his father during the evening sunset time, the war on the fourteenth day comes to a close. At the end of the fourteenth day, it is the Paandava army which has the upper edge, as the Kauravas have lost a great warrior called Jayatrada! As the Kaurava army learns about Jayatrada’s and his father’s deaths, shock and despair prevails everywhere. On the other hand, as the Paandava brothers and Bhagawan Krishna are back to their tents, Yudishtra comes forward immediately to Bhagawan Krishna with tears in his eyes and falls on His divine lotus feet! Yudishtra says to Bhagawan thus, “Oh Bhagawan Krishna! If you were not there today at a critical point, we would have lost Arjuna and with this, we would have lost this war by the end of today! All of us would have been destroyed easily by them! During the beginning of the day and during the course of the proceedings, I was on the constant lookout for Arjuna and you, because I was internally under a lot of fear as to how Arjuna is going to execute his pledge today. Jayatrada was not an easy opponent to counter and even though Arjuna had the capability to attack him fiercely, your divine presence made the difference! If you hadn’t guided Arjuna the way you did today, Arjuna would have been history! Oh Bhagawan Krishna! We salute you! You’ve been with us right from childhood! You’ve been with us through all the suffering that we had undergone and it is only because of you, we are here in this state today! Hence, Oh Bhagawan Krishna! I do not have adequate words to thank you enough! You’ve been such a rock-solid support to all of us at all times!”
Saying thus, Yudishtra falls on Bhagawan’s feet and pays his heart-felt respects to Him with tears in his eyes! Thus, with today’s episode, we’ve witnessed the culmination of one of Bhagawan Krishna’s very important “Leelas”! The way in which Bhagawan Krishna employed His “Chakra’Aayudha” to block the sun’s rays is “Stage One” of His “Leela”. Subsequently when Jayatrada exposed himself, the way in which Arjuna was guided in a manner that Jayatrada and his father bore the brunt of their own boons was the ultimate “Stage two” of this divine “Leela” and this goes down into the record books as one of the greatest miracles that Bhagawan Krishna has performed in this world! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall take this discussion forward! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 