Bhima In The Wake Of Satyaki
But that day it was not only the Pandavas who felt encouraged by the deeds of their heroes; on the other hand, Drona sowed death and terror like Arjuna and Satyaki. Among others the great master killed some of Dhristadyumna’s brothers.
Having witnessed that terrible death scene, the Pandava general rushed towards his predestined victim, assaulting Drona with such fury and effectiveness that he fell unconscious on the chariot. This was the occasion he had been waiting for so long: seeing him unconscious, the son of Drupada decided to end the life of the venerable guru, just as a voice had prophesied at the moment of his birth. With fury he unsheathed his sword and rushed at him with the intention of cutting off his head; but at the last moment Drona recovered, just in time to defend himself and avoid death.
With great difficulty he managed to get rid of Dhristadyumna and spur the charioteer in order to attack the battalion of the famous king Brihadakshatra, one of the Kekaya brothers and one of the most loyal allies of the Pandavas. That monarch earned general acclaim by fighting with great ardor and skill, but eventually, pierced by a spear, he fell dead to the ground.
But that day Brihadakshatra was not the only one of the dear friends of the Pandavas to succumb at the hands of Drona: the very strong Drishtaketu, son of Sishupala who, unlike his father, was not envious but loved and deeply respected Krishna and his devotees, perished in a duel against Drona and lay lifeless on the ground.
Knowing that he was deprived of the protection of Arjuna and Satyaki, the acharya continued his race towards Yudhisthira, comforted by the thought of thus putting an end to that enormous slaughter. And another maharatha, Kshatradharma, son of Dhristadyumna, fell.
The spectacle of those men, all as strong as a hundred lions, who lost their lives at the hands of a single fighter, made the ordinary soldiers lose heart.
“If Drishtaketu and others like him have fallen, what can we do?” many said. “The sacrifice of our lives is useless. Let’s withdraw.”
Fortunately for the Pandavas, Bhima was nearby and was able to cheer up his men with words full of wisdom; then personally he launched in pursuit of the enemy, who in the meantime had penetrated into the innermost areas of the array.
But Yudhisthira did not care much about the danger posed by General Kaurava: his heart was far away, far beyond the enemy lines, along with Arjuna. But time passed, and no one brought him news of what was happening.
“I haven’t felt our brother’s conchshell for a long time,” he said to Bhima who had reached him in the meantime, “and I don’t even hear panchajanya. I wonder why … what’s going on? He knows we’re worried about the outcome of his mission and it’s strange that he can’t find a way to get the latest news to us. Bhima, I can’t tolerate this anxiety. We have to help him.”
“Brother, Satyaki has long since left and will probably be almost there already. Don’t worry: Arjuna is invincible because Krishna is with him.”
“But why don’t they let us know something? No more is known about Satyaki, and I fear for his life. Please, run in their wake and help them.”
Bhima did not agree at all.
“But you know very well that Drona is around here, and he wants nothing more than for you to be without valid support. Don’t send me away. You need my presence more.”
“You don’t have to fear for me,” Yudhisthira replied. “Dhristadyumna is here and will help me in the event of a Drona attack. Run to Arjuna at full speed and help him kill Jayadratha.”
His insistence was worthless: Yudhisthira had now decided that Bhima should go and help his younger brother.
When Drona saw him leave with a great conviction, he sensed his intentions and was alarmed: it was not at all convenient to have three warriors like those within their ranks. He tried to block his way, but Bhima, without even deigning a glance, rushed past him.
It was spectacular to see him whizzing through the middle of the enemy line in his war chariot, brandishing the giant club, which had been given to him by Maya Danava, and roaring like an angry lion. And when the son of Vayu saw himself coming against a battalion led by Duhssasana and a number of his cousins, he grinned with an almost delirious air and hurled himself at the latter with his weapon raised to the sky. In a few minutes he killed seven.
Frightened by so much fury and dismayed by the loss of his brothers, Duhssasana felt desperate and abandoned himself to an angry cry: since the beginning of the war he had already lost thirty-one brothers and now he had seen these seven others die there, a few meters away, without any way to do anything.
Bhima, on the other hand, was happy, radiant. From the first morning, due to tactical needs, he had seen himself relegated to the most distant areas of the front: his task had been to protect his older brother; but it was not the proper job that best suited his fighting characteristics, nor obviously the one that made him feel totally satisfied. Bhima loved melee, furious hand-to-hand, duels with clubs, fights against elephants. So now he had started having fun, especially since he had clashed with the group of Dhritarastra’s children.
In the moments that followed, he killed three more.
Seeing him fight like that, for fear that that very afternoon he would fulfill his vow to exterminate them all, the Kauravas fled hastily, without any restraint.
But while still fighting Dhritarastra’s sons, Bhima had noticed that Drona was on the way. So he had put his enemies to flight in order to better deal with him.
The clash between the two was titanic, but this time it was the elder who had the worst: when he had his cart destroyed and his horses killed, he had to flee on foot. And Bhima was free to penetrate decisively into the heart of the enemy vyuha.
If the path of Satyaki had been made easier by Arjuna, that of Bhima was even easier thanks to Satyaki himself.
As the Kaurava soldiers fled from his presence, Drona once again joined him, accompanied by a battalion of soldiers and elephants. Hearing the call of the guru, Bhima said:
“Vishoka, we haven’t gotten rid of our stubborn master yet. It seems he just doesn’t want to let us join our friends. Go back and face him. Then we’ll continue our run.”
Obeying the orders of his lord, the charioteer launched himself against the troops of Drona and cut them in two. When the Pandava emerged on the other side, the Kauravas realized that he had left behind a huge cemetery of men and animals. Bhima then abandoned the chariot, and running at the speed of lightning rushed at Drona. Roaring terribly, he grabbed his vehicle and started dragging it around just like a child has fun with a toy. Drona managed to jump off before his chariot was smashed to the ground. At that point, realizing the fit of destructive madness that had invaded Bhima, he ran away taking the terrified soldiers with him.
Bhima’s run was quite easy: anyone who met him fled to keep his life safe, no one dared to stop him. And he proceeded, attacking the fleeing enemies. Wherever he encountered long lines of human corpses, horses, elephants and chariot debris and piles of scattered weapons, he understood that Arjuna and Satyaki had passed that way.
It wasn’t long before he reached Satyaki. The two embraced with transport.
“I am happy to see you alive and still full of enthusiasm and strength,” he told him, “but now I have to look for my younger brother and Krishna; I want to see if they are okay and if they are getting closer to Jayadratha. We will see each other again soon.”
And he continued his march; but he had only covered a few hundred meters when he found himself in front of Arjuna engaged in combat; his enemies fell by the thousands and a light of glory shone around his face.
Seeing him safe and sound, Bhima felt relieved and immediately thought it best to express his joy with a mighty war cry that echoed from miles away. As soon as Yudhisthira heard those lion cries, he understood that Arjuna was well and resumed the battle with a refreshed soul.
For the Kauravas the situation had become worrying: Arjuna, Krishna, Satyaki and Bhima had long time ago entered their ranks, causing real disasters. They absolutely had to make sure that no one else could get to them to bring more help.
When he learned from a messenger what was happening on the most advanced fronts, Karna moved his army in the direction of Bhima and, reaching him, attacked him violently.
A continuous stream of arrows burst from his bow, and hit the Pandava in several places on the body. When he became aware of the hated enemy, Bhima roared like a furious lion and, ignoring the pain of his wounds, hurled himself at him. It was a singular and truly spectacular scene: Karna fought with a grace that contrasted dramatically with the power and fury of the impetuous opponent. Very soon, however, he had to abandon the mocking smile with which he had opened the duel and commit himself to the utmost; and when Bhima attacked him with the club, he barely managed to leave the chariot, just seconds before Bhima destroyed it completely. In the clamor of the battle, Karna jumped into his son Vrishasena’s vehicle and resumed the difficult struggle.
“Look how the great Karna withdraws in front of me,” meanwhile the Pandava was saying to his charioteer, “look how he can only barely parry my arrows. He doesn’t seem like that great champion we have been afraid of for so long. Now, to see him fight, he could be compared to a sixteenth part of Arjuna.”
Indeed Karna was fighting without his usual ardor, but Bhima could not know the reason; he had made a promise to Kunti, he had sworn to her that he would try to kill only one of her children. Certainly the fact that Bhima was his younger brother did not help him to increase the desire to kill him, a desire that in the past had supported him in the crucial moments of his life.
And while Karna was lost in thought, Bhima attacked him again and destroyed another chariot, putting him in a very difficult situation. Duryodhana, not far from the scene of the furious duel, ordered his brother Dussala to run to the aid of Karna, but after a furious battle he was killed, shot dead by Bhima’s club.
Duryodhana, who had witnessed the scene, was in despair: he had lost another of his brothers. What use could the bitter protests he made to Drona be? Bhima was unstoppable.
“If you want to save the lives of your brothers and friends,” the acharya replied, “and yours too, you must stop this war and make peace with the Pandavas. There is no other way.”
Duryodhana did not answer and went back to fight.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 2”.
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