We’re at a very important juncture of Day seventeen at Kurukshetra, wherein the feud between Yudishtra and Arjuna comes to an end and Arjuna is once again back on the battlefield with a new rigour! He is on a savage resolution to take down Karna. Bhagawan Krishna also comes to a conclusion that this is the right time to make Arjuna face Karna face-to-face. We’ve seen earlier that from the eleventh day onwards till today, Karna and Arjuna never came in front of each other even once for a full-fledged confrontation. Bhagawan Krishna was somehow steering Arjuna away from Karna all these days, but today, as Karna’s strength in terms of the “Asthras” and weapons has come down, Bhagawan Krishna decides that Arjuna should take on Karna now! Hence, the stage is set for a spectacular battle to begin. As Arjuna approaches Karna’s vicinity quickly, King Shalya senses it and informs Karna. However, as usual, the “Shalya-Saarathyam” has its own role to play. King Shalya once again gives a very demotivating accord to Karna thus, “Oh Karna! Look at how all the good omens are appearing in the sky! This signifies that Arjuna isn’t far away from where we are. He is coming towards you! Now let me see whether you will have the will power and guts to fight him down. Till now you were talking about so many things, weren’t you? Now let me see how you put all your words into action! You were boasting about yourself unwantedly, weren’t you? Now it is time to prove every single word that you had spoken!”
King Shalya continues further thus, “Oh Karna! Even now it is not too late! Listen to my words – Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna combine is very difficult to win over! Rather than indulging in this useless act of fighting against them, it is better to go and surrender at Bhagawan’s divine lotus feet. This will save not only your life, but also the Kaurava clan to a great extent. You are thinking that you’re doing good to Duryodhana by fighting against Arjuna. But please understand that you’re only creating more and more disaster for him. If you surrender to Bhagawan now, He will not only protect you, but also the Kaurava clan including Duryodhana. This is my opinion. I’m sure you won’t listen to my words. Hence, start the fight if you really want to move ahead with it!”
As King Shalya says thus in a very demotivating and an irritating manner, Karna is feeling angry on one side. However, he’s also feeling disgusted with the situation in which he is in right now! He also knows that this is a useless war and this is going to result in his demise. King Shalya is right. But Karna still thinks that his words are more damaging to him rather than a piece of advice which he can follow! The way King Shalya put forth his opinion has hurt Karna beyond limits! It is at this stage, Arjuna comes in front of Karna – For the first time in seventeen days! This is the beginning of one of the most important marquee battles at the Kurukshetra battlefield! The war begins and a huge fight breaks out between the duo! As Arjuna attacks Karna more and more, Karna’s son Vrishasena comes to his father’s defence. Now Arjuna has to fight a duel battle – One with Karna and the other with his son, Vrishasena. Now, Arjuna decides that if Karna should be defeated, his resolve and will power should be broken! Hence, he turns his attention towards Vrishasena, ignoring Karna for a while! A huge battle breaks out between Arjuna and Vrishasena. Vrishasena is equally powerful, but at the end, Arjuna manages to kill Vrishasena in front of Karna’s eyes!
As Vrishasena breathes his last, Karna struggles to contain his agony. He bursts into tears and cries over the corpse of his son, right at the middle of the battlefield! This is a very sad event wherein a father loses his son right in front of his eyes. Karna is now experiencing an untold misery and this hurts him beyond limits. This breaks Karna’s confidence big-time! As Karna cries in agony, Arjuna says thus, “Oh Karna! Why are you crying now? Did you think the same way when my son Abhimanyu was murdered brutally by all of you together? At that time you joined Duryodhana’s gang and laughed at Abhimanyu’s corpse, didn’t you? Now it is time for the payback! You should experience the same agony that I experienced a few days ago! Now do you understand the pain?”
These words from Arjuna irks Karna to the core! He is in extreme anger on one side and in extreme pain on the other! How is Karna going to tackle this situation? It is to be remembered that Arjuna is still right in front of him in the battlefield, calling him for a fight! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness how Karna is going to buckle himself up for the next round of the marquee battle! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 