The Eighteenth Day
Shalya carefully analyzed his forces and the overwhelming ones of his opponents, then decided not to separate his troops and to go all out by attacking head-on. Personally stationed at the head of the militias, the king of Madra gave the signal to attack.
Having studied the disposition of the Kauravas, Dhristadyumna instead divided the army into three sections, and ordered to charge the enemy at the front and on both sides at the same time.
And on the eighteenth day of the Kurukshetra war, the fighting began.
Yudhisthira and Bhima directly attacked Shalya, who received the two brothers without any fear and, on the contrary, confronted them openly. Bhima had stood in front of him with the club in his hand, when Shalya got off the chariot and challenged him on foot: the physical clash between the two mighty bodies was grandiose, and the duel worthy of their fame; but it was the Pandava who prevailed.
Kripa rushed forward, and took the wounded man out of the camp. In a few minutes Shalya had already recovered and was able to fight back, descending like a fury unleashed on the enemies and spreading terror. But by now the Pandavas were anxious to end that great carnage and Yudhisthira, aided by Satyaki and Dhristadyumna, faced him, sure that if Shalya died, the battle would be over.
And so it was.
Centered by a large spear that had been thrown with fury by the first of the Pandavas, with his heart pierced, the great Shalya, so loved by his nephews, fell dead to the ground with his arms outstretched.
Yet despite the panic caused by Shalya’s demise, the fight did not stop. Duryodhana urged everyone to war, to revenge.
“Don’t worry about your lives,” he said. “The soul is eternal and no weapon can destroy it. And whoever dies fighting bravely on the battlefield reaches the celestial planets, while those who behave like a coward will be refused such delights at the moment of death.
Spurred on by those words, no one withdrew.
And in that immense cemetery the fray became furious. The dust rose up to the sky and blinded the warriors.
That day Duryodhana himself fought well, but could not protect his brothers from Bhima; left for last the brave Sudarshana, the Pandava finished exterminating all the sons of Dhritarastra. His vow had almost been fulfilled. He was drunk with joy.
“I killed ninety-nine,” he cried, improvising a kind of dance, “only one is missing, only the main sinner is missing, only Duryodhana is missing. And in a while he too will taste my delicious club.”
The camp no longer crowded as in the early days, Arjuna was without obstacles, sowing death and terror. In those conditions it was impossible to counter him.
Not far away, Shakuni fought valiantly alongside his last remaining son, Uluka. But soon, during a fight with Nakula, he also saw the latter die.
And not even having the time to cry over his misfortune, the angry Sahadeva, mindful of his oath, killed Shakuni.
For Duryodhana, the last hopes vanished with Shakuni. For a moment he stopped and looked around with deep anxiety, with tears in his eyes: only then did he really realize that he had lost the war, that he was practically alone, without his closest friends, without his own brothers. Of the 11 akshauhinis he had eighteen days before, he had only 200 chariots, 500 horses, 100 elephants and 3000 soldiers left: nothing for the great Pandava heroes.
In fact it was a matter of moments, and Arjuna, Bhima, Satyaki and all the others descended on the frightened soldiers; the effect was similar to a nuclear explosion.
Silence became total. There were four left: Duryodhana, Kripa, Asvatthama and Kritavarma.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 2”.
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