Krishna Avatar Part 54

By Nirooshitha Sethuram, Yogaratna

Graphics by Sheralee (Shambhavi) Hancherow

Both Arjuna and Duryodhana were in the room with Krishna, asking for the support in the war.

The choices were clear, Krishna would provide his army to one of them and his moral support and guidance to the other. But the question is, who gets to choose first?

Duryodhana was eager to go first, so he emphasized that he arrived earlier than Arjuna, thus he should get to choose first.

Krishna replied with a smile, saying, “Of course, you did arrive earlier than Arjuna. But when I woke up, I saw Arjuna first, as he was standing at my feet right in front of my face. In addition, as you know, it is customary that the younger ones have the right to choose first before the elders.” Saying this, Krishna turned to Arjuna and asked him to choose first.

Krishna also went on and on about the military strength and bravery of the mighty Yadava army, at the same time reminding Arjuna that Krishna himself would not take part in the war. He would only give his moral support and guidance. So he asked Arjuna to take his time to decide whether he wants just him, Krishna, who was not going to take part in the fight, or if he wanted his mighty army.

As soon as Krishna stopped speaking, Arjuna, without a blink of an eye, said, “Oh mighty Krishna. I want you and only you. All that I want is you to be with me in the war, not your powerful army. Without you they are nothing for me. You are all that I need.” With an approving smile, Krishna gave his promise to Arjuna to always be on his side.

Hearing this, Duryodhana was surprised and delighted, thinking how foolish Arjuna was, not to ask for the mighty Yadava army. He was relieved and full of joy for receiving Krishna’s army. Without even thanking Krishna, he rushed back to Hastinapura to share this wonderous news.

The Kauravas were very pleased with Duryodhana’s choice, except for Vidura, Grandsire Bhishma and Guru Drona, who understood the consequences of Duryodhana’s choice.

Krishna’s brother Balarama decided not to participate in the war at all, as he couldn’t choose one party over the other. He decided to adopt impartiality and went on a holy pilgrimage to avoid taking part in the war. Thus, Balarama got himself out of this epic bloody war.

The news of the war reached the ears of Shalya, the king of Madra Kingdom. He was the maternal uncle to the Pandavas, as the brother of Queen Madri, who was the second wife of the late King Pandu. Nakula and Sahadeva were born to Madri, who had become “sati,” meaning she threw herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

King Shalya immediately gathered his powerful army and started marching towards Upaplavya to join the Pandava army. The news of Shalya’s army marching towards the Upaplavya reached Duryodhana’s ears. He decided to somehow get King Shalya and his army to fight on his side. He immediately devised a plan to win over King Shalya in whatever ways he can.

With the help of Shakuni and Karna, he ordered his men to facilitate Shalya’s soldiers and serve them in every possible way when they passed through their area. Shakuni and Karna made sure of that. Their army kept the tents ready even before Shalya and his army arrived. They were ready to provide food, refreshments and other services.

When King Shalya arrived, he thought this was his nephew Yudhishthira’s work. Delighted by all this hospitality, Shalya asked the men to thank their king. He also asked in what way he can help their king? Promising whatever their King might ask, Shalya said he would deliver.

Poor Shalya was devastated to learn that the people who served him were none other than Duryodhana’s servants. Shalya was astounded, but he was compelled to fulfill his promise. He regretted his poor judgment.

Of course, Duryodhana wanted Shalya and his army to join the Kauravas. With a heavy heart Shalya agreed, but told Duryodhana that he had to go visit his nephews, especially after what they have gone through for so long. Shalya said it was his duty as an uncle to visit them and comfort them on their misfortunes.

When Shalya arrived at Upaplavya, all the Pandavas were so delighted to see him. They were thrilled about his visit and found comfort in his presence and kind words. They were so joyous, thinking that their uncle’s massive army could be a game changer for them. But their happiness didn’t last long, as Shalya explained to them how he was tricked by Duryodhana to fight the war on the side of the Kauravas.

The Pandavas couldn’t believe what they were hearing. They were shocked and heartbroken to hear about what took place. Shalya was embarrassed and remorseful about what had happened. He apologized for his mistake. He was so willing to help them in anyway except fighting for their side. The thought of Shalya fighting along with the Kauravas itself brought agony to all of the Pandavas, especially Nakula and Sahadeva.

Accepting the situation as it is, Yudhishthira had a request to Shalya. He humbly asked Shalya that, if there would ever be a situation during the war that he becomes close to Karna, for Shalya to praise Arjuna in order to infuriate Karna. Yudhishthira requested Shalya to keep telling Karna of the glory of Arjuna. Yudhishthira said that this itself would take care of the loss that they were incurring due to Duryodhana’s cunningness.

In preparation for the war, the Pandava army was divided into seven divisions. Each division had a General: Drupada, Dhrishtadyumna, Virata, Shikandi, Satyaki, Sekithanan, and Bheema. Now it became time to decide the Major General for the entire army. So they started discussing about it, with many names suggested. Some of the names suggested were Virata, Drupada, Dhrishtadyumna, Shikandi.

At the end Krishna was consulted. His choice was Dhrishtadyumna, which happened to be Arjuna’s choice as well. So King Drupada’s son Dhrishtadyumna was officially appointed as the Head of all Generals. He was the right choice as he was full of rage toward the Kauravas for insulting his sister Draupadi and sending her and the Pandavas to forest for thirteen years. His blood had been boiling for revenge for thirteen long years. When his appointment was announced the whole army made loud noises in appreciation. The elephants started to trumpet. All sorts of delightful instruments were played. It was indeed a celebration.

In Hastinapura, there was no question about who the Major General for the Kaurava army would be. Grandsire Bhishma was named as the Major General in no time. Because of the vow he had taken, Bhishma didn’t have a choice but to fight with the Kaurava army in favor of the Hastinapura kingdom.

Bhishma agreed to be the Major General, commander in chief for the Kaurava army with two conditions. He said to Duryodhana, “Listen Duryodhana, Dhritarashtra’s sons and Pandu’s sons are the same for me. Even though I am fighting with the Kaurava army, I will only kill the Pandava soldiers, I will not harm the five Pandavas at any cost. They will remain safe in my watch. The second condition is that Karna will not be allowed to enter the battlefield as long as I am in command.”

Bhishma gave the reason why Karna was not allowed to fight alongside him, that Karna never showed any respect to Bhishma or his opinions. Duryodhana was not too happy about this. But when Karna learned about this condition, he consoled Duryodhana and said he would never ever fight as a warrior in the Kaurava army while Bhishma was in command anyway.

Duryodhana didn’t have any choice but to accept both Bhishma’s and Karna’s demands. The Kaurava army started to march towards the battlefield of Kurukshetra.

Once both armies arrived at the battlefield of Kurukshetra, a code for the war was discussed and established. Both sides were expected to uphold the principles of dharma, righteousness, duty and integrity. Time limits were set. Fighting must begin at sunrise and end at sunset. At night, there should be no battles engaged at any cost. The troops could be friendly with each other after sun set.

In a duel, both warriors must have the same weapons and be on the same type of mount. One in a chariot could fight only with one who is in another chariot. If one is on a horse, he could only fight another on a horse. You could only fight with someone who is well as equipped as you. No one should attack a person who is bare handed.

Multiple warriors may not attack a single warrior. Protect the ones who surrender; no harm should be done to them. Do not injure or kill the ones who are leaving the battlefield. One should always strike an opponent only after warning him. They should never strike without warnings.

Do not attack those who carry weapons, supplies or other war material to the battlefield. Any medical personal should not be harmed while roaming in the battlefield or helping the wounded. Honor the campsite where the wounded soldiers were treated.

Both armies took their pledges to abide by the code of the war. Promising to respect the rules by indulging in a fair and moral battle.

More to come…

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