In the previous episode, we had witnessed Duryodhana continuing to rant even when he was on the deathbed. Ashwatthama returns back to Duryodhana after finishing his assault on the Paandava camp wherein he has killed several frontline warriors like Drishtadhyumna, Shikhandi, Upa-Paandavas, etc. while they were fast asleep. Appreciating Ashwatthama’s “smart action”, Duryodhana opines that he had made a great mistake of not making Ashwatthama as the “Senapati” on Day One itself – Because, if this action would have been executed on that day, this war wouldn’t have been fought at all for the next eighteen days! However, better late than never, Duryodhana feels happy and satisfied that Yudishtra is left all alone in his pursuit of life from here on! He feels that he has satisfied his revenge upon Yudishtra for destroying his entire Kaurava clan. Just like how Duryodhana is alone, battling for his life, Yudishtra is also now left alone to fend for himself! This gives Duryodhana immense satisfaction, and with this, he declares that the winner of this Kurukshetra war is none other than Duryodhana himself!
As Duryodhana says thus, Ashwatthama consoles Duryodhana and with this, all the three of them – Ashwatthama, Sage Kripachaarya and Krita-Varma move out of this place. Duryodhana also breathes his last! As Duryodhana was almost dead, he bids farewell to Ashwatthama with the hope that he would meet Ashwatthama at the “Svarga Lokham” at an appropriate time. As Duryodhana breathes his last, Ashwatthama makes his way towards the banks of River Bhaageerati (River Ganga). On the other side, as Sanjaya is narrating this to King Dhritarashtra, Sanjaya says thus, “Oh King! Your son Duryodhana has died! He is no more now! With this, the story comes to an end, and also, the divine eyes that Sage Vyaasa had given me, have been revoked! I do not have that divine vision henceforth to see what is happening at Kurukshetra! Moving forward, if we’ve to know what is happening at Kurukshetra, we’ve to go there in person to find out. I’ve lost the power to visualize and convey whatever was happening there till now, but it has come to an end!”
As Sanjaya declares thus, we come to the end of the first “Upa-Parva” under the “Soutthuka Parva”. Next, we’re going to witness the “Upa-Parva” called “Isheeka Parva”. The word “Isheekam” in Sanskrit means a small thread or a “Dharba”. This “Isheeka Parva” is going to talk about Ashwatthama using a small thread to employ the powerful “Brahma-Asthram”, in a bid to destroy Arjuna! We might have witnessed till the previous paragraph that the rivalry between the two camps is over. However, it is not! Ashwatthama is still simmering with anger and frustration! Even though he killed several people including Drishtadhyumna in his sleep, Ashwatthama is not going to be satisfied! He is planning to unleash horror once again. So how is he going to do this? This is what we’re going to see in this “Isheeka-Parva”.
Moving into the “Isheeka Parva” thus, the story commences at a point wherein Drishtadhyumna’s charioteer understands that Drishtadhyumna and several others were killed overnight by Ashwatthama! Stunned by this gross “Adharmic” act from Ashwatthama, the charioteer runs towards the tents where Yudishtra & Co. are sleeping. It is to be remembered that Ashwatthama did not come to this place during the night. He only came to those tents where the Upa-Pandavas and the others were sleeping, and since there was a loud sound of panic, he had to escape swiftly from there itself, without coming towards Yudishtra. We’ve also seen till this point. Now, unable to understand what is going on, Yudishtra and his brothers look around them to gauge the situation. It is during this time, Drishtadhyumna’s charioteer is coming to Yudishtra and conveying the news.
As Yudishtra hears the story from Drishtadhyumna’s charioteer, he faints instantly on to the ground! Grief engulfs Yudishtra to such an extent that he’s unable to speak another word from his mouth! He cries profusely, rolling on the ground, even as Bhagawan Krishna and the others look on! All of them including Bhagawan Krishna are in shock! Nobody expected this sort of an “Adharma” to unfold, and that too so quickly within the split of a second! So for today, let us understand up to this point, and in the next episode, we shall continue this discussion further! Stay tuned!
The Indian Dharma 