We’re at a crucial juncture of Day Seventeen at Kurukshetra wherein Karna has breathed his last! The intense battle that lasted for several hours together on the seventeenth day comes to a culmination wherein Arjuna brings down the flag on top of Karna’s chariot, which completely makes the latter lose interest in fighting the war any further. Till that point, Karna was relentless in his approach, even though he internally knew that he was going to be on the losing side. Karna attacked Arjuna with all his prowess, only for everything to be neutralized with Bhagawan Krishna’s timely intervention. This clearly indicates that “Deiva Balam” and “Deiva Sankalpam” were against Karna at all times during the war. Hence, even though Karna had several weapons in possession that could have easily killed Arjuna on any given day, Karna was not able to succeed in his pursuit. Thus finally, with one powerful arrow, an already demotivated and deflated Karna breathes his last as his head is chopped off! This sends shock waves across the Kaurava army, which runs amok and haywire with a lot of confusion and fear! Nobody knows what to do now, as their Senapati has been killed!
Moving on further thus, amidst the chaos, King Shalya comes back near Karna’s chariot once again. It is to be noted that he had deserted Karna a while ago and he left Karna to fend for himself all alone. Now he comes back to see Karna dead. With teary eyes, King Shalya moves Karna’s chariot with some effort and takes it back to Duryodhana. By the time this happens, the war has already come to an end on Day Seventeen. With a heavy heart, King Shalya takes the empty chariot to Duryodhana’s dwelling place. At this time, Duryodhana doesn’t know that Karna has died. King Shalya reaches Duryodhana’s tent and says thus, “Oh Duryodhana! You seem to be quite upbeat, but I’ve not come here to convey any good news. Rather, I’m going to convey something that can upset you to bits! You can even faint upon hearing what I’m going to tell you! Karna has died! Arjuna has killed him along with Bhagawan Krishna’s help! Karna’s chariot got stuck into the ground and he had to fend himself till the end without much support. Finally, Arjuna got the better of Karna and he killed Karna mercilessly!”
As King Shalya says thus, Duryodhana is stunned! He did not expect this to happen! He was so confident that Karna would turn it around for him single-handedly. Moreover, Karna was the last ray of hope for Duryodhana to somehow get the better of Yudishtra and Co. But now Karna has been killed too, Duryodhana is completely shattered! He replies thus, “Oh King Shalya! Oh Ashwatthama! I think there’s no point in fighting this war any further today! If Karna is not there with us any further, who else on this earth is going to defend me? So let us call off the war for today and we shall come back tomorrow afresh with something else!” Saying thus, Duryodhana instructs the war to be called off for the day from his tent itself. With this, the war on Day Seventeen is also over, along with the “Karna Parva” and the “Karna-Vadha Parva” within it.
Moving on further, as the war for the day is over, a satisfied Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna make their way to their respective tents. After freshening up for the evening, all of them once again assemble together. Yudishtra is extremely happy with Arjuna’s accomplishment of killing Karna. Yudishtra proclaims thus, “Oh Arjuna! Oh Bhagawan Krishna! On that fateful day when Draupati was publicly insulted and molested in front of everyone, it was Karna who was one of the chief architects for such an “Adharma” to unfold. He was the one who initiated the dialogue with Draupati in asking her to come and sit on Duryodhana’s lap as a “Daasi” (Servant). Today, it gives me immense satisfaction that Karna has got a befitting lesson for what he had committed earlier! Oh Bhagawan Krishna! It is only because of your divine presence with us, Arjuna was able to accomplish this feat. Without you, I’m sure Arjuna would have been powerless and killed by Karna and several others by now. However, your divine “Anugraha” and interventions ensured that victory is ours!”
Saying thus, Yudishtra hugs both Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna along with him with a lot of joy and satisfaction. This entire episode is being narrated by Sanjaya to King Dhritarashtra at Hastinapura palace. As King Dhritarashtra hears that Karna has been killed, he lets out a huge cry and literally falls on the ground! Why does King Dhritarashtra cry a lot upon hearing Karna’s demise? It is solely because Karna was the one who stood alongside Duryodhana at all times, wasn’t he? If Duryodhana could trust one person in this world for anything, it was Karna and not anybody else! Thus, if Karna has been killed, who on earth is going to protect Duryodhana anymore? With this thought, King Dhritarashtra almost collapses on the ground! So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall wait till the next episode to continue this further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 