The Indian Dharma

We’re at a very important juncture wherein Abhimanyu is unleashing his full prowess against the Kaurava army on Day Thirteen of the Kurukshetra war. Abhimanyu’s exhibition of dazzling competence stuns even stalwarts like Guru Dhronachaarya as well, who has by far underestimated Abhimanyu due to his young age. Thus, as Abhimanyu gives Guru Dhronachaarya a run for his money, he is now advancing further into the “Chakra-Vyugam” by breaking it open. As planned, Yudishtra and Co. try to close in along with Abhimanyu as he enters, however, the youngster is extremely quick in cornering warrior after warrior, including Guru Dhronachaarya as he enters every layer. At one point, Guru Dhronachaarya himself could not contain Abhimanyu as he swirls full 360 degrees to kill thousands of warriors around him effortlessly. 

It is at this time, a very important incident occurs. Readers must remember one important thing here – Jayatrada, a key warrior in the Kaurava camp had obtained a boon earlier from Bhagawan Shiva – For one full day (24 hours), he can capture the four Paandava brothers (except Arjuna) and keep them as captives. We’ve to trace back a bit to understand the background of this boon. Once upon a time, Jayatrada fell in love with Draupati and eventually ended up abducting her. However, Arjuna was quick enough to understand this ploy from Jayatrada and chases him for a war. At the end of the fight, Arjuna successfully defeated Jayatrada and saves Draupati. Insulted by Arjuna in this way, Jayatrada launches a severe penance towards Bhagawan Shiva. Impressed by his penance, Bhagawan Shiva appears in front of him and requests him to ask for a boon. Jayatrada asks for a boon of being able to kill all the five Paandava brothers at a stretch. Even as Jayatrada asks for it, Bhagawan Shiva refuses to grant that boon. However, Bhagawan Shiva grants him a boon that excepting Arjuna, he can capture the remaining four Paandava brothers and keep them as captives for a single day. 

Thus, as Jayatrada is in the battlefield currently at Kurukshetra, he suddenly remembers this boon that Bhagawan Shiva had given him in the past. Hence, he quickly advances towards the four Paandava brothers who are trying to follow Abhimanyu into the “Chakra-Vyugam” and captures them! Thus, the bid of Yudishtra to follow Abhimanyu is foiled and as a result, Abhimanyu is now left alone inside the several layers of the “Chakra-Vyuga”! However, Abhimanyu is no less a warrior to fend for himself, even if it is going to be tough. He swirls and continues the war from all directions single-handedly and finishes off six important “Maharathis” on that day, including Duryodhana’s son. Adding to the thousand warriors, Abhimanyu’s ferocious attack made another nine-thousand warriors fall to death! Thus, a substantial portion of the Kaurava army had to meet its end because of Abhimanyu’s relentless attack. 

Now as Abhimanyu is in such a devastating mood, the plan of the Kaurava army changes – Rather than individually attacking Abhimanyu, the entire team of stalwarts in the Kaurava camp including the likes of Duryodhana, Ducchaasana, Sahuni, Karna, etc. along with Guru Dhronachaarya launch a scathing attack on Abhimanyu from all four directions together! One person is trying to sabotage Abhimanyu’s chariot and breaks its wheels. The chariot breaks down and Abhimanyu is pushed to the ground. Even then the youngster is relentless in his fight and continues his onslaught from the ground. Simultaneously another person from the Kaurava team breaks off Abhimanyu’s bow, however, Abhimanyu controls him with his sword! Once again Abhimanyu shows his expertise to the Kaurava army in an impeccable manner and he swirls 360 degrees to fight out the entire team single-handedly! Everybody in the Kaurava army get severely injured, including the likes of Duryodhana and Karna! Abhimanyu is in the peak of his form and is in no mood to relent! His onslaught continues and several important foot soldiers guarding the “Chakra-Vyugam” formation are falling dead continuously! 

Upon looking at this, Duryodhana quickly approaches Guru Dhronachaarya and says thus, “Oh Guru! With the way Abhimanyu is fighting, I don’t think we’re going to sustain even till this evening! All of us are going to be finished off very soon! Nobody is even able to get closer to him and moment after moment, his prowess is only increasing manifold! So we’ve to think out of the box! The strategies which we were employing till now are not going to work anymore! What do we do now?” As Duryodhana asks thus, Guru Dhronachaarya also is thoughtful about what can be done to contain Abhimanyu! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness what is the fresh strategy that Duryodhana and Guru Dhronachaarya are going to come up with! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had commenced witnessing the proceedings of Day Thirteen at Kurukshetra, wherein Abhimanyu (Arjuna’s son) is unleashing his full force on the Kaurava army. Arjuna is driven away smartly by Guru Dhronachaarya, who also is instrumental in formulating the “Chakra-Vyugam” to trap Abhimanyu. As planned on expected lines, Yudishtra instructs Abhimanyu to take the lead in breaking down the “Chakra-Vyugam” and the others like Bheemasena, King Drupata, Saatyaki, etc. will follow closely behind Abhimanyu as he breaches his way into the Kaurava army. Abhimanyu is successful by and large in opening up the “Chakra-Vyugam” and is involved in a fierce battle with all the Kaurava stalwarts including the likes of Karna, Duryodhana and the others. Guru Dhronachaarya is watching patiently from the other end and is amazed by Abhimanyu’s prowess! He is proving to be Arjuna’s apt son as he has almost the entire set of Arjuna’s prowess in him. As Guru Drhonachaarya is admiring Abhimanyu thus, Duryodhana barges in and fumes at him for his gross inaction against Abhimanyu! 

Now moving on further, Guru Dhronachaarya has to reply to Duryodhana’s unnecessary fuming. So he says to Duryodhana thus, “Oh Duryodhana! The way you are fuming against me shows how cowardly you are! You do not have even a single iota of valour left in you! It does not matter whether Abhimanyu is going to be alive or dead after this war! However, the way in which Abhimanyu is fighting today – He has garnered a lot of pride and praise to your entire family! Oh Duryodhana! You’re asking me whether he would die or not. Let me tell you one thing clearly – It is not important whether a person is alive or dead! Everybody is going to die some day and it is only a matter of time. However, what has the person accomplished during his lifetime? This is extremely important! In the case of Abhimanyu, he has defied his age to accomplish something huge today, which I’ve never seen youngsters doing! He has single-handedly taken on almost all key people here with ease! Karna is struggling! Your son Lakshmana has been killed! You yourself have not been able to win over him! This is the prowess that I’m admiring in him! Oh Duryodhana! He has already accomplished what he has to! So even if you kill him now, the bad name will come to you only and not for him! After All he’s a youngster!” 

Saying thus, Guru Dhronachaarya is all in praise for Abhimanyu, and with a keen intent on testing his prowess, Guru Dhronachaarya decides to take on Abhimanyu. As both of them come in front of each other, Abhimanyu immediately bows down in respect towards the great teacher! He seeks Guru Dhronachaarya’s “Anugraha” and pays his respects towards him, which moves Guru Dhronachaarya! Even at such a young age and with such great prowess, the value system which Arjuna has built into his son is impeccable! Guru Dhronachaarya acknowledges Abhimanyu’s token of respect and with that, a marquee battle ensues between the two! The entire Kurukshetra battlefield stops for a while to witness this amazing display of warfare! Guru Dhronachaarya is unleashing his full potential by showering an array of arrows upon Abhimanyu, who in turn is extremely smart enough to navigate through all of them and advance further! Guru Dhronachaarya tries out several “Asthras” against Abhimanyu, only to see all of them getting neutralized within a split of a second! Abhimanyu is truly impeccable and invincible! Arjuna has trained him exceptionally well and it reflects in the battlefield in front of all the legendary warriors! 

Meanwhile, as Abhimanyu advances further into the “Chakra-Vyugam” layer after layer, he corners Guru Dhronachaarya with several arrows and with this, Guru Dhronachaarya is stalled without further movement! At one point, Abhimanyu makes Guru Dhronachaarya look like a fool in front of him! All his plans to corner Abhimanyu seem to have been thwarted quite easily! As the fight goes on, Abhimanyu is not just focusing on Guru Dhronachaarya, but is able to swirl and exhibit a 360 degree fight! As a result, thousands of warriors are getting killed all around! The “Chakra-Vyugam” has been completely breached by the youngster quite effortlessly! Now as Abhimanyu breaches through, other like Yudishtra, Bheemasena, Drishtadhyumna, Saatyaki etc. try to follow him as planned earlier. Abhimanyu is breaching layer after layer and is going inside extremely fast, even as Guru Dhronachaarya is struggling hard to contain him from one end! 

So for today, let us enjoy this extremely admirable warfare exhibited by the young Abhimanyu as the entire Kurukshetra battlefield is stunned to bits! We shall wait till the next episode to check out whether the others are able to follow Abhimanyu into the “Chakra-Vyugam” or are they going to get stalled somewhere and leave Abhimanyu all alone to fend for himself! Stay tuned for an important accord! 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Yudishtra officially appointing Abhimanyu to be leading from the front, as the “Chakra-Vyugam” has to be breached. Guru Dhronachaarya has been extremely smart in this, as he has ensured that Arjuna is first driven away from the spot before the entire “Chakra-Vyugam” plan is executed. He knows that if the strategy is implemented in the presence of Arjuna & Bhagawan Krishna, it is going to be of no use to anybody. Thus, as the first step, Arjuna is successfully driven away and then the “Chakra-Vyugam” formulation is brought up, so that Arjuna has no role to play in this entire conspiracy. Secondly, we’ve also seen that even as Abhimanyu knows how to breach inside the “Chakra-Vyugam”, he will not be able to come out of it and the possibility of being trapped and killed is extremely high! He himself explains it to Yudishtra and Co. where he is assured by all of them that they will never leave him alone once he’s inside the “Chakra-Vyugam”. 

Thus with all these planning and strategizing talks, the war on Day Thirteen makes a grand beginning. As discussed, Abhimanyu takes the lead and a huge war breaks out between the two camps! Sage Vyaasa has created “Adhyaaya” after “Adhyaaya” to explain young Abhimanyu’s extreme prowess in the battlefield. There was not even a single person (Main set of people) with whom Abhimanyu does not touch base at the Kaurava side. Everybody faces the wrath of Abhimanyu’s unique expertise in the battlefield. I’m going a bit faster here as it is merely a description of how each one of them picked up a fight with Abhimanyu. Karna came up to Abhimanyu first – He wasn’t even able to stand in front of Abhimanyu for ten minutes at a stretch! Abhimanyu made Karna run for his money! Duryodhana comes next and meets with the same fate! Abhimanyu nails his arrows all around Duryodhana and pins him on to his chariot, thus making him unable to move his body even an inch here and there! Upon seeing Duryodhana in this state, his son Lakshmana comes to fight Abhimanyu! Lakshmana and Abhimanyu fight for a while and there’s a huge war breaking out between them. Finally, Abhimanyu overpowers Lakshmana and kills him! This marks the first personal loss for Duryodhana as he loses his son to Abhimanyu. 

Thus, whoever comes in front of Abhimanyu that day, meets the same fate! Upon seeing this from a distance, Guru Dhronachaarya is admiring the manner in which Abhimanyu is fighting! He is quite stunned and he did not expect Abhimanyu to have this amount of prowess in the battlefield! Of course, Abhimanyu has been completely mentored by his father Arjuna since childhood and Guru Dhronachaarya feels extremely proud of him. At one point when Abhimanyu is unleashing his full potential by swirling in all directions and fighting, Guru Dhronachaarya remarks thus, “Oh wow! What a warrior this Abhimanyu is turning out to be! I’ve seen great “Maharathis” in my life, but at this young age, I’ve never seen such a level of skill and expertise in any person! Abhimanyu is extremely talented and has a bright future as well!” As Guru Dhronachaarya says thus openly, Duryodhana immediately fumes with anger! He says thus, “Oh Guru! Today you’ve told me that you’ll kill someone very significant and you’ve given me assurance on this. However, you’re standing here and singing in praise of Abhimanyu! This is the problem with all of you. On one hand you say that you’re fighting for my cause, but on the other hand you are extremely considerate towards Yudishtra and Co. Why this double standard from you? Are you going to kill Abhimanyu or are you going to stand and sing praise of his prowess?” 

As Duryodhana asks thus, Guru Dhronachaarya is going to give a reply which is very important for us to understand! So for today, let us join hands with Guru Dhronachaarya to appreciate young Abhimanyu’s great valour in the Kurukshetra battlefield and in the next episode, we shall witness what happens next! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the commencement of Day Thirteen of the Kurukhshetra war wherein Guru Dhronachaarya has perfectly set up the “Chakra-Vyugam”. We’ve witnessed some technicalities of the “Chakra-Vyugam” yesterday and it obviously explains why it is extremely difficult for anybody to breach through it and enter inside. Earlier, we’ve seen several Vyugams like “Garuda Vyugam”, “Vajra Vyugam”, etc. during the initial days of the war. Those “Vyugams” aren’t so complicated as this and it was quite easy for the Paandava army to break through those. However here, not everybody has the expertise to break open the “Chakra-Vyuga” and enter, except for Arjuna, Abhimanyu, Bhagawan Krishna and Pradhyumna. Of course, Bhagawan Krishna and Pradhyumna are out of the equation now, and Arjuna is going to be driven away. Thus, the only option left with the Paandavas is to nominate Abhimanyu to lead the charge on Day Thirteen. 

Thus, as it stands, Yudishtra officially nominates Abhimanyu to be on the front, breaking open the “Chakra-Vyuga”, while the rest of the army will back him up as he proceeds further. As planned, Arjuna is being called for a second round of battle by the Trigatthas and hence, Arjuna obliges. Thus, Bhagawan Krishna steers Arjuna away from the main battlefield at Kurukshetra towards the southern direction towards the Trigatthas. Now as Arjuna has gone away, the only person to breach the Kaurava fortress for the day is Abhimanyu. In fact, if we’ve to look at the sequence of events, Guru Dhronachaarya is extremely smart. He first ensures that the Trigatthas call Arjuna for the battle early in the morning itself, and hence, Arjuna is moved away from that place even before the war commences. Thus, it is only after the departure of Arjuna, Guru Dhronachaarya is setting up the “Chakra-Vyugam”. Hence, we should understand here that Arjuna is completely unaware that such a setup is taking place at Kurukshetra. Perhaps if Arjuna would have known of this, he would have ditched the idea of fighting the Trigatthas and would have marked his presence here, because he also knows that only he can breach the “Chakra-Vyuga” successfully. Thus, because of the unavailability of Arjuna, Yudishtra also does not have another option but to depute Abhimanyu for the job. Thus, Guru Dhronachaarya’s calculated moves are out in the open for all of us to admire and appreciate, isn’t it? If there’s one person in this world who can be smart to this level, it can be none other than Guru Dhronachaarya! Thus, during this entire “Dhrona Parva”, the skills, expertise and his shrewd strategizing mindset would be discussed at each and every point until he meets an unfortunate and unexpected demise. 

As the time closes in, Yudishtra has a talk with Abhimanyu thus, “Oh Abhimanyu! Today is an important day where we’ve to breach the “Chakra-Vyugam”. Only you and three other people including Bhagawan Krishna can break it open. Given that the other three people aren’t here, you are the only person who can do it. All the remaining of us are incapable of breaching the fortress built by Guru Dhronachaarya. Hence, you’ve to take over the responsibility today in leading us from the front!” As Yudishtra says thus, Abhimanyu replies back – “Oh Father! Sure! Why not? Afterall I can do this for the sake of you and “Dharma”, isn’t it? I shall definitely lead the way and my father Arjuna has taught me how to break it open. However, after I enter inside, I do not know how to come out of it. My father did not teach me the strategy as to how to escape from there after getting inside and fighting the enemy. Hence, I do not have the “Upaayam” (Solution) to protect myself single handedly if I get trapped! I may be killed by them in this case!”

Saying thus, Abhimanyu expresses both his strength and weakness to Yudishtra. As Abhimanyu says thus, Bheemasena and Co. reply emphatically – “Oh Abhimanyu! You do not need to worry about that. The moment you break open the “Chakra-Vyuga”, we will closely follow you and will manage to enter inside along with you. Hence, we shall ensure that you are not left alone to fend for yourself at any point in time. The only problem with us is that we cannot breach the fortress. Once you do it, we shall be around you and we will protect you from all directions!” 

Thus, the plan is made and Abhimanyu is positioned right in the front of everyone to take over the Kaurava army on Day Thirteen. The “Chakra Vyugam” is made and the entire Kaurava army takes its position as per Guru Dhronachaarya’s instructions. So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this discussion in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed an important juncture, wherein as part of the “Abhimanyu-Vadha-Parva”, Guru Dhronachaarya is involved in crafting a key strategy to somehow send Arjuna away from the battlefield once again, thereby getting an opportunity to kill a great warrior by name Abhimanyu. As we know, Abhimanyu is the son of Arjuna, who is equivalent to his father in the battlefield. However, Abhimanyu has certain weaknesses, which, Guru Dhronachaarya is trying to exploit here. To capture Abhimanyu, Guru Dhronachaarya proposes the “Chakra-Vyugam”. As expected, Abhimanyu’s strength is to break open the “Chakra-Vyugam” and enter inside the opponent’s bastion, however, he doesn’t know how to come out of it successfully! This is the weakness that Guru Dhronachaarya is targeting and with Duryodhana’s approval, the plan is made! 

Thus, with this, we commence the proceedings of Day thirteen of the Kurukshetra war. During the morning hours of the day, Guru Dhronachaarya gives assurance to Duryodhana thus, “Oh Duryodhana! Today is an important day! We’re going to form the “Chakra-Vyugam”, which only a very few people can break open to enter inside and fight. As far as I know, only Arjuna, Abhimanyu, Bhagawan Krishna and Pradyumna (Bhagawan Krishna’s son) are experts in breaking open the “Chakra-Vyugam”. Of course, Bhagawan Krishna is not going to fight the war and hence, possibility of Him coming inside it is nil. Pradhyumna is not part of the war at all. Arjuna is going to be isolated and taken away to fight the Trigatthas. Hence, the only possibility is Abhimanyu. Oh Duryodhana! Whatever things I’m telling you now is well known to Yudishtra and Co. Thus, if they’ve to break open the “Chakra-Vyugam”, they will not send anybody else from their camp, except Abhimanyu! The plan is very simple – If Arjuna is driven away from the battlefield, he will appoint Abhimanyu to shield Yudishtra. Now if Abhimanyu is drawn into the “Chakra-Vyugam”, Yudishtra will become isolated. We can somehow drive away Bheemasena and the others to different corners of the battlefield. Now the rest of our forces can capture Yudishtra alive as Abhimanyu is getting trapped into the “Chakra-Vyugam”. If Abhimanyu is unsuccessful, we shall kill him and with this, we can achieve two important things – One is of course, killing Abhimanyu and the other is to capture Yudishtra alive! Let us see how things pan out today!” 

As this is happening at Kurkukshetra, Sanjaya is telling King Dhritarashtra thus, “Oh King Dhritarashtra! The son of Arjuna, Abhimanyu is no more! He is dead! All the Paandava brothers are converging around his dead corpse and are weeping bitterly! Oh King Dhritarashtra! Do you like this now? Your grandson has fallen dead on the ground, thanks to your own family feud! You should also be weeping by now with a lot of pain in your heart!” As we know, Sanjaya has an expertise in narrating incidents – Yet again, he starts the day thirteen proceedings with the end-result of that day – Abhimanyu’s demise, and then going into the proceedings as to how it took place! Upon hearing the first news from Sanjaya, King Dhritarashtra replies back to him thus, “Oh no! Are you saying that my dear grandson Abhimanyu has died? How can this be possible? Who killed him? He is a child of great valour in the battlefield! How was he overcome in the battle? Narrate the whole incident to me!” 

Now as King Dhritarashtra asks, Sanjaya commences his detailed accord on the thirteenth day at Kurukshetra. Guru Dhronachaarya has arranged the “Chakra-Vyugam” to perfection! He himself is a master strategist and his plans are impeccable and unbreachable in nature! The “Chakra-Vyugam” is virtually impossible to break open by anybody. There will be several layers of “Chakra” (Circle) formations and each layer will be manned by a “Maharati” (Key warriors in the camp). For our convenience, we shall imagine this formation as several layers of concentric circles, one after the other. Hence, if Abhimanyu has to enter into the “Chakra-Vyugam”, he has to break open each layer of the concentric circles. As he breaks each layer, he has to fight with each of the “Maharathis” who are manning those layers. As he kills each of them, he can break open and enter inside! As each layer breaks up, Abhimanyu can enter into the centre portion, wherein all the key people like Duryodhana, Ducchaasana, Karna, Guru Dhronachaarya, etc. will be positioned. Abhimanyu has to fight with all these people put together, defeat / kill them and then make his way out of the “Chakra-Vyugam”. In this pursuit, if he gets trapped within any of the layers, possibility is extremely high that he might be killed by any of the “Maharathis” who are manning those layers! 

Thus, the “Chakra-Vyugam” is one of the toughest strategies to navigate through, and we are in for a great day of battle on day thirteen! So for today, let us understand up to this point and in the next episode, we shall witness the live proceedings at Kurukshetra on Day thirteen as to what is going to happen! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the conclusion of Day Twelve of the Kurukshetra war, which resulted in a great loss to Duryodhana and Co. in the form of Bhagadatta. As we’ve witnessed, Bhagadatta was overpowered by Arjuna, thanks to Bhagawan Krishna’s constant intervention – Firstly by neutralizing Bhagadatta’s “Vaishnava-Asthram” and secondly by giving Arjuna important clues about Bhagadatta’s poor vision due to his old age. Using all these tricks, Arjuna easily overcame Bhagadatta’s prowess and this resulted in a great shock for Duryodhana. At the end of the twelfth day of the war, Duryodhana and Guru Dhronachaarya sit down to discuss further proceedings wherein Guru Dhronachaarya is explaining to him that these kinds of one-to-one fights aren’t going to help any further. Guru Dhronachaarya stresses the need of a coordinated strategy amongst the entire Kaurava army and he feels the need to attack in unison. Upon hearing Guru Dhronachaarya’s “seemingly negative” words, Duryodhana fumes in anger! He feels that Guru Dhronachaarya has already given in to Yudishtra and is merely fighting this war for the sake of doing so! 

This language that Duryodhana uses upsets Guru Dhronachaarya beyond words. At a time when Guru Dhronachaarya is trying to formulate a strategy-related discussion, Duryodhana fumes at Guru Dhronachaarya without even understanding / making an attempt to understand the grave situation. This irks Guru Dhronachaarya, however, because of his past “Karma” with Duryodhana, Guru Dhronachaarya discards Duryodhana’s angry words. However, upon hearing these fuming and senseless words of Duryodhana, Guru Dhronachaarya has to reply something to him, doesn’t he? So he says harshly thus, “Oh Duryodhana! Please stop this tyranny of words! How many times have I told you in the past that it is impossible to beat Arjuna in this war? You never paid heed to my words even once and now when people in your camp are dying, you are comfortably putting the blame on me! How unfortunate is this! However, all said and done – I might not be able to kill Arjuna or any of the Paandava brothers, but definitely I will manage to kill a “Maharati” (An extremely talented warrior) on their side very soon. This will happen perhaps during tomorrow’s or day after’s war proceedings!”

As Guru Dhronachaarya says thus, his words are indicative of the “Maharati” by name “Abhimanyu”! We might have heard this name quite often in many places – Abhimanyu is the son of Arjuna and he is going to play a crucial role in the thirteenth day of the Kurukshetra war. With this, we now enter into the next “Upa Parva” called “Abhimanyu Vadha Parva”. Here we’re going to see how Abhimanyu unleashed his skill and expertise to break open the “Chakra-Vyugam” created by the Kaurava army and how eventually he had to succumb to the combined wrath of Duryodhana, Sahuni, Ducchaasana, etc. as he struggles to come out of the “Chakra-Vyugam”. This is going to be a very interesting and an important phase of the Kurukshetra battle as we begin the proceedings of the thirteenth day. 

So before we commence the thirteenth day proceedings, Guru Dhronachaarya creates a strategy. We’ve earlier seen that Bhagawan Krishna and Arjuna went towards the southern direction to fight the “Trigaathas” headed by Susharma. In that battle, three-fourth of the Trigatthas were destroyed on that eleventh day of the battle, however, one-fourth of them still remain. Hence, Guru Dhronachaarya once again calls Susharma and asks him to challenge Arjuna for one more round of war with him. He asks Susharma to drive Arjuna away once again towards the southern direction and ensure that he never enters the battlefield for a greater part of the thirteenth day proceedings. If Arjuna is away, Abhimanyu will be isolated and it is the best time that he can be cornered, surrounded and killed. Thus, the entire plan that Guru Dhronachaarya is making here is to somehow isolate Abhimanyu from Arjuna and kill him. For this, Guru Dhronachaarya proposes the “Chakra-Vyugam” to target Abhimanyu. Guru Dhronachaarya knows that of all the people that he has trained so far, the only person who knows how to break open the “Chakra-Vyugam”, fight with the enemy and once again get out of it is Arjuna! Nobody else can achieve this feat! As Abhimanyu is his son, Arjuna has trained him half-way to tackle the “Chakra-Vyuham”. In other words, Abhimanyu knows how to break it open, but he doesn’t have the expertise to come out of it! Guru Dhronachaarya spots this weakness in Abhimanyu and proposes this idea to Duryodhana, for which, Duryodhana readily agrees. 

So for today, let us understand up to this interesting point, and in the next episode we shall continue this discussion forward into the thirteenth day of the Kurukshetra war! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we were at an important juncture wherein Bhagadatta was killed. As we’ve seen, Bhagadatta employed the “Vaishnava-Asthram” in a bid to kill Arjuna, however, Bhagawan Krishna intervened at the right time to take it upon Himself. Thus, as the “Asthram” hits Bhagawan Krishna, it gets converted into a garland around His divine neck! Running out of weapons after this, Bhagadatta’s time was nearing to a close and with Bhagawan Krishna’s hint, Arjuna started showering Bhagadatta with his arrows around his eyes, so as to remove the cloth that was giving him good vision. Once Bhagadatta’s vision was disturbed, Arjuna easily had him on his plate! It was a mere cake-walk for Arjuna after that and Bhagadatta couldn’t withstand beyond a point. Eventually, Bhagadatta fell on the ground dead! 

Thus, Day Twelve of the Kurukshetra war marks the end of a great warrior who fought valiantly for Duryodhana’s cause. Even though Bhagadatta was extremely powerful, Bhagawan Krishna somehow overcame him with His tricks! This is how Bhagawan Krishna tricked each and every warrior of the Kaurava camp to fall prey for Arjuna and Co. Had Arjuna fought this war all by himself, he would have been killed on day one itself. However, the presence of Bhagawan Krishna makes all the difference here. For Bhishmachaarya’s downfall too, Bhagawan Krishna was the one who plotted it by bringing Shikhandi into the battlefield at the right time. Now, when Bhagadatta came up with the “Vaishnava-Asthram”, Bhagawan Krishna neutralized it. Hence, at every stage from now onwards, we’re going to see Bhagawan Krishna playing the role of a “Master Strategist” to thwart all the ploys that Duryodhana is trying to make! The war is now moving towards a very interesting phase now. 

Upon seeing Bhagadatta falling dead on the ground, the entire Kaurava army is shell-shocked! This was not expected from Bhagadatta, who had to succumb to Bhagawan Krishna’s sheer brilliance. As Bhagadatta falls, Arjuna quickly makes inroads into the Kaurava army and start destroying it by killing hundreds of people on the trot with his sharp arrows. This onslaught leads Guru Dhronachaarya to stop the war for the day and both the armies start retreating from each other! Thus, Day Twelve saw a great loss to the Kaurava army in the form of Bhagadatta and also, a major chunk of the Kaurava army got eliminated as well. This leads Guru Dhronachaarya into a deep thought. He realizes that mere fighting one-on-one with the Paandava brothers is not going to be enough. There is more that needs to be done. So he calls Duryodhana and says thus, “Oh Duryodhana! By the way in which this war is progressing, we are never going to win it! The Paandava camp is coming out with several plans and strategies to counter us, but we are just clueless about it! It seems to me that we’re just going and falling prey into the traps laid by Arjuna and Co. Bhagawan Krishna of course is spearheading the entire strategy formulation from their side. With this approach that we’re taking currently, it is virtually impossible to counter Bhagawan Krishna’s brilliance. We need to come up with plans and strategies and should make the Paandavas dance to our tunes!” 

As Guru Dhronachaarya says thus, Duryodhana gets angry very quickly! He fumes at Guru Dhronachaarya thus, “Oh Guru! Whatever you’re saying makes me laugh! You are the master strategist and you’re talking as if there’s nothing that you can do in the battlefield against them? This shows only one thing clearly – You do not have the intention to win the battle for me. You are giving into Bhagawan Krishna’s and Arjuna’s games. You are only giving excuses for not going for the kill against them. This clearly shows that you are concerned for them and not for me. Only for a name-sake you’re on my side but within your heart, you are in support of them. This is not expected from a high-profile person like you. Hence, it is your responsibility to somehow come up with a strategy to counter Yudishtra. I somehow want Yudishtra to be captured alive and as I had mentioned before, I want to play the gambling game once again with him and I will send him to the forest once more!” 

Saying thus, Duryodhana bursts out in anger upon Guru Dhronachaarya and for today, let us understand up to this point. We shall wait till the next episode to witness what is going to happen on Day Thirteen! Stay tuned! 🙂 

In the previous episode, we’ve witnessed a very important message that is being conveyed subtly by Bhagawan Krishna, not only to Arjuna, but for all of us. If we’re performing our actions sincerely with complete surrender to Bhagawan, He would ensure that none of the hurdles or dangers affect us in any way. This is exactly what is happening in Arjuna’s case. Arjuna is fighting this war for the sake of “Dharma” and with complete surrender to Bhagawan Krishna’s divine lotus feet. Hence, the danger in the form of the “Vaishnava-Asthram” from Bhagadatta is neutralized by Bhagawan Krishna Himself, who comes in front of Arjuna and takes it upon Himself. Had Bhagawan Krishna not done that, the “Vaishnava-Asthram” would have killed Arjuna then and there, as he doesn’t have a solution to counter it. However, as Bhagawan Krishna bears the brunt of it, Arjuna is not feeling great. He once again raises a question to Bhagawan Krishna that why (for the third time during this war) did He decide to participate in the war actively. For this, Bhagawan replies that there’s a secret behind His move, and He’s going to reveal the same to Arjuna now. Let us continue witnessing what Bhagawan has to say. 

Now Bhagawan reveals to Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! I have four divine forms in total! One is at the “Ocean of Milk” where I’m in a reclining position. Second form is the one that you’re seeing me currently as Krishna. Third form of mine is inside the hearts of all “Jeevatmas” in the “Sookshama” (invisible) form. Finally, I’m in the “Archaa-Roopam” at the Badrinaata Kshetra (The Nara-Narayana combo). I protect this entire world through these four forms that I have. Now, when I was in the reclining position in the divine “Ocean of Milk”, I got up at the end of 1000 years of Bhagawan Brahma’s day time. At the time of me getting up, Goddess Bhooma-Devi requested me for a boon. She asked me for a divine weapon for her son, Narakaasura to defend and protect himself. Hence, I gave her this “Vaishnava-Asthram”, to be gifted to Narakasura. This “Asthram” is extremely powerful and it can never be destroyed / stopped by anybody in this world. This “Asthram” was obtained by this Bhagadatta from Narakasura at a later time period and he has been waiting to use it in this war. Oh Arjuna! This “Vaishnava-Asthram” is not as easy as you think to combat and fight against. You would have been finished had it hit you. This is why I had to come in the middle. Since it was gifted by me to Narakasura, the “Vaishnava-Asthram” will only obey my words. It cannot do anything to me, since it originated from me. This is why I shielded you immediately when Bhagadatta employed it!” 

Thus, moving further from here, now that the “Vaishnava Asthram” has been neutralized, Bhagadatta is running out of key weapons to fight! Bhagawan Krishna tells Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! Now is the time to kill this Bhagadatta! Show your prowess with your “Gaandeepa” and go for the kill! He has lost all his important weapons now and this is the right time to kill him!” As Bhagawan says thus, Arjuna starts unleashing his full fury on Bhagadatta. He showers Bhagadatta with his unending stream of arrows one after the other without a break for even a split of a second! However, Bhagadatta is extremely strong and capable of handling all these and he stands tall to neutralize all the arrows that come from Arjuna! 

Upon seeing this for a while, Bhagawan Krishna gives Arjuna another clue here. He says thus, “Oh Arjuna! Look at how Bhagadatta is fighting despite his old age! He’s not even able to see properly through his eyes, and to enable his vision, he has tied a cloth around his eyes to get accurate vision. Whereas you, being so young, are not able to neutralize him easily! What are you doing?” Saying thus, Bhagawan Krishna “outwardly” makes fun of Arjuna, and with this dialogue of Bhagawan Krishna, Arjuna gets the message! The only way to stop Bhagadatta from proceeding forward is to somehow glare up his vision! Hence, the next arrow from Arjuna’s “Gaandeepa” is targeted towards the cloth which has been tied to Bhagadatta’s eyes. Once the cloth tears and falls on the ground, Bhagadatta is unable to see things clearly in front of him! With this, Arjuna’s job gets easier now. He aims several arrows upon him subsequently and Bhagadatta is unable to trace from which direction the arrows are coming. As Bhagadatta looks around in search of the arrows, he is hit with multiple arrows and thus falls on the ground and dies! 

With this, a huge enemy from the Kaurava camp has been neutralized on Day Twelve, and for today, let us understand up to this point. We shall wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 

We are at a crucial juncture during Day Twelve at Kurukshetra wherein Bhagadatta is unleashing his extreme fury on Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna. Initially it was Bhagawan Krishna who had to bare the brunt of Bhagadatta’s arrows and powerful “Asthrams”, however, the scene turns around quickly. Arjuna gets furious as Bhagawan Krishna gets attacked and in turn he launches a scathing attack on Bhagadatta in a bid to try and neutralize him. Both of them are extremely powerful warriors and a huge war breaks out between the duo. At one point, Bhagadatta realizes that mere arrows and smaller “Asthrams” are not going to serve the purpose, as he unleashes his famed “Vaishnava-Asthram”, which is the leader of all “Asthrams”. For this particular “Asthram”, Arjuna doesn’t have a solution to neutralize it and as it makes its way thick and fast towards Arjuna, Bhagawan Krishna comes and stands in front of him and takes it on His divine physical form! Since Bhagawan Krishna is Bhagawan Vishnu Himself, the “Vaishnava-Asthram” loses its intensity in front of Him and thus, Arjuna is protected from the wrath of it! 

Now this is one among several instances during the entire Kurukshetra war wherein Bhagawan Krishna protects Arjuna from being killed. This justifies what Bhagawan Krishna says in the Bhagawad Gita, isn’t it? He’s advising Arjuna to perform his duty of fighting the war without expecting the outcome. No matter whatever might be the outcome, Bhagawan Krishna is there to protect us, isn’t it? This is exactly what happens here too. All of us know that the Paandava brothers are fighting for the sake of “Dharma” to win. They are not fighting this war for their own personal and moral victory. If “Dharma” has to win, Bhagawan Krishna will take over the outcome and He will ensure that victory for “Dharma” is assured. Having said thus, we should note here that the duty of fighting is being done by Arjuna and Co. only. Bhagawan Krishna is only facilitating the war to happen. However, when the sincere Bhakta is in any kind of danger while performing his duty, Bhagawan comes forward and takes the danger upon Himself and thereby neutralizes it! Thus, the message that Bhagawan is sending out to all of us is that, while we perform our duty, we should not worry about the dangers, hurdles and hardships that might be associated with it. Of course, dangers and hardships might come at any point, but if we perform our duty with complete surrender (“Sharanagati”) to Bhagawan and also for the sake of upholding our “Dharma”, it becomes an offering to Bhagawan and hence, He will protect and shield us from any kind of dangers that might arise during our journey. Hence, this is something that all of us need to ponder upon and instil in our minds as we perform our actions. 

Moving forward thus, as the “Vaishnava-Asthram” hits Bhagawan Krishna, Sage Vyaasa beautifully explains that it got converted into a beautiful garland and clinged around His neck! Upon seeing Bhagawan Krishna taking the hit in the front, Arjuna is completely disappointed and upset. He is in tears of sorrow! As Bhagawan Krishna looks at him, Arjuna asks thus, “Oh Bhagawan! Initially at the start of the war you had taken a pledge not to lift any weapon during the entire duration of the war. However, because of my ignorance and incapability, you had to take the weapon twice in front of Bhishmachaarya and rush towards him with immense anger. Now for the third time, you’ve come in the front and taken the “Vaishnava-Asthram” upon yourself! Why is this happening? Am I incapable of handling these people by myself? Why are you making your words untrue every now and then like this? Why don’t you stick to your words?” 

As Arjuna asks thus, he is extremely disappointed and feeling bad within himself. However, Bhagawan Krishna is quick to console Arjuna once again, and all this happens in the midst of an intense war! Bhagawan Krishna replies back to Arjuna thus, “Oh Arjuna! You will not understand the logic behind my actions unless and until I let out a secret to you!” So what is the secret which Bhagawan is going to let out to Arjuna? Let us understand up to this point for today and in the next episode we shall witness Bhagawan Krishna’s important narrative to reply to Arjuna’s query. Stay tuned for an interesting accord! 🙂 

In the previous episode we’ve witnessed the proceedings of Day Twelve at Kurukshetra, wherein the ploy to isolate Yudishtra continues. Duryodhana is trying several methodologies to capture Yudishtra alive, with an intention that he will again make Yudishtra play the gambling game, make him lose and once again send him along with his brothers to the forest for another twelve years plus one year of “Agnyaatavasam”. Meanwhile, Duryodhana wants to “happily” rule Hastinapura by simultaneously “enjoying” the plight of the suffering that Yudishtra would experience. Guru Dhronachaarya is trying several tricks to execute Duryodhana’s plan but he has failed both on Days eleven and twelve. Now it is the turn of Bhagadatta to unleash his “Vaishnava Asthram” to create havoc in the Paandava camp, as Arjuna is driven away from the battlefield by Susharma and Co. Hearing the loud noise at the Kurukshetra battlefield, Arjuna and Bhagawan Krishna sense a great danger awaiting Yudishtra and both of them quickly hurry back to the main battle area. 

Now as Bhagawan Krishna and Arjuna arrive at the place where Bhagadatta is unleashing his fury, Bhagadatta is shocked! He did not expect Arjuna to come there all of a sudden. The plan was to isolate Arjuna and take somewhere else and in the meanwhile, capture Yudishtra! However, as Arjuna is back at an unexpected time, Bhagadatta’s fury increases further. Rather than attacking Arjuna straightaway, Bhagadatta attacks Bhagawan Krishna who is sitting below Arjuna in the chariot. As we’ve seen, Bhagadatta is fighting from the top of a very powerful elephant, he employs the powerful “Aagneya-Asthram” on Bhagawan Krishna, who takes it on His body! Blood starts flowing off Bhagawan Krishna’s divine physical form as Bhagadatta sharpens his attack on Him! Upon seeing Bhagawan Krishna getting injured, Arjuna gets furious at Bhagadatta. He unleashes his full force on Bhagadatta and an intense war breaks out between the duo. As the war proceeds further with such fury, Bhagadatta decides that the only way to stop Arjuna is by employing any “Asthra” with the appropriate “Mantras” being chanted upon it. Normally we might be knowing that “Asthras” can be extremely powerful because of the “Mantras” behind it and hence, Bhagadatta immediately decides to employ his “Vaishnava-Asthram” once more. 

Thus, Bhagadatta chants the “Mantra” behind the “Vaishnava-Asthram” and directs an arrow straight on to Arjuna! Upon seeing this, Bhagawan Krishna is stunned beyond words! He knows that if this “Vaishnava-Asthram” hits Arjuna, he will not be able to sustain the wrath of it, as Arjuna does not have a solution to neutralise it. Meanwhile the “Vaishnava Asthram” comes with enormous force and with fire raging from all directions. Upon understanding the severity of the situation, Bhagawan Krishna quickly gets up from the chariot and comes in front of Arjuna and stands! The Asthra comes straight upon Bhagawan Krishna and hits Him with full force, only to get neutralized then and there! Of course, Bhagawan Krishna is Bhagawan Vishnu Himself, and how can the “Vaishnava-Asthram” harm Bhagawan Vishnu? Hence, Bhagawan Krishna takes it upon Himself and neutralizes the “Vaishnava-Asthram”, thereby protecting Arjuna from the great danger! 

So for today, let us understand up to this point and we shall continue this unfolding scene in the next episode as well! Stay tuned! 🙂