The Fourteenth Day
Early in the morning, after they had done their devotions, the warriors got ready to organize themselves for another hard day of fighting, the fourteenth. The preparations, like every morning, were in full swing.
Meanwhile, the Pandavas’ generals had gathered in Yudhisthira’s tent to discuss the day’s plans.
Arjuna recounted the strange dream he had last night. Listening with emotion, everyone wanted to congratulate him on the fantastic opportunity he had been granted. Above all, he considered himself lucky because he could clearly remember how to use the Pashupata.
While he was telling of these things, Krishna and Satyaki also arrived. To the latter he said:
“My friend, I see that everyone is excited about my oath, and the soldiers expect great things from me today. Surely this is the last day of the vile Jayadratha’s life, because of which my son left us; but we must not forget that Drona is still on the other side, and that he too has an outstanding promise: the capture of Yudhisthira. We would do well not to underestimate the danger. Today I will be totally busy and I will not be able to stay in his vicinity. It is your duty to protect him; only you can do it. You are my disciple and also Krishna’s cousin; in battle you are no less than me and if your efforts are to the maximum, the acarya will not cross these lines.”
Satyaki smiled.
“Quietly accomplish your task; as long as I live, Drona won’t even be able to touch your brother.”
While the Pandavas planned strategies to resist enemy attacks and simultaneously help Arjuna get closer to Jayadratha, the Kauravas began the complex maneuvers to arrange their armies in a three-layered formation.
In the first layer, accompanied by 1,500 angry elephants and tens of thousands of soldiers, very brave and contemptuous of fear, the three sons of Dhritarastra were stationed: Durmarshana, Duhssasana and Vikarna. Drona, Duryodhana and Karna followed, accompanied by their battalions.
In the third layer, thousands of great heroes, including Asvatthama, Vrishasena, Shalya and Kripa, watched the inner paths. Jayadratha was behind everyone, nearly eighty kilometers from where the direct confrontation would take place. Seeing before him that immense ocean of men and animals, the king of Sindhu felt so safe that he became aware that Arjuna could already be considered dead.
No one believed that Arjuna or others would ever be able to reach their goal in a single day. But despite that certainty, when the Pandava’s chariot, which was driven by the Lord himself and protected by the fearless Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas, moved, no one on the side of the Kauravas managed to avoid a shiver of terror. Even Jayadratha when told that Arjuna had moved, despite being at a safe distance of about tens of kilometers and being protected by millions of strong warriors, had the same feeling; thinking of Arjuna was like thinking of the god of death himself.
And the big day began.
The third of Kunti’s sons, direct offspring of the king of the celestial planets, examined the master’s expert work. Then he said:
“Today Drona has outdone himself, and we too will have to. O Krishna, O Govinda, see? Protecting the first of the three wheel-shaped layers is Durmarshana, one of Duryodhana’s brothers. We will penetrate the enemy army starting out from there.”
Shri Krishna then, according to the wishes of his friend and devotee, spurred the horses in the direction of the elephant army of the Kaurava; when the Kaurava saw them arrive with great speed, the soldiers took courage among themselves and fought with great determination. But Arjuna’s impetus was equal to that of a hurricane: such a massacre ensued that no one had the strength to continue fighting; the survivors, including Durmarshana, had to make a hasty flight.
Seeing his brother fleeing without restraint and that the point of collision by now had became an immense cemetery, Duhssasana intervened, assisted by his army of elephants. But within seconds the air filled with Gandiva’s arrows, and the sound of the celestial bow became like a concert of stringed instruments; and the result was almost total destruction: Duhssasana himself, who had begun that duel with a mocking smile on his face, had to flee hastily. No one could hardly believe it, it was an absolutely incredible thing: in a few minutes Arjuna had managed to pass the first formation.
“Now that we have put our detestable cousin’s brothers on the run,” said the Pandava with a smile on his lips, “we will have to face Drona and his battalion who has arranged for padma-vyuha, the lotus flower of which Abhimanyu died. Friend, let’s not waste any more time, guide me to where our acharya is.”
As soon as he saw the venerable figure close enough, Arjuna brought the chariot to a halt and folded his hands in respect.
“O master, grant me your blessings. Only in this way will I be able to win this war. Having easily penetrated the first layer, I am now in front of you, and if you do not wish to, I will never be able to overcome you. Allow me to delve into the vyuha that you have built with so much wisdom. Let me proceed on my way.”
Drona felt full of admiration and at the same time surprised at the thought of how much humility and modesty could be present in the soul of such a valiant man.
“You cannot enter vyuha without first defeating me,” the acarya replied with a big smile. “I wish to fight against you.”
And the two led to another fantastic duel.
But still, as when Bhishma was present on the battlefield, the virtuous Pandava fought without enthusiasm, almost casually. In fact, a sense of disgust gripped his stomach at the thought of the atrocious acts that he was continually forced to commit. Only a few days earlier he had had to throw his weapons at the body of his beloved grandfather, and now he was fighting with his guru whom he respected and worshiped. Yet he understood that he had to shake off that sense of prostration; if in fact it would have been difficult to back off before, now it had become impossible. A long time passed for that duel.
“It’s getting late,” Krishna told him in alarm. “Drona is too strong and could keep you busy for hours. If this continues, you will not be able to get to Jayadratha before sunset. Give up the duel and enter the padma-vyuha.”
Taking the suggestion, Arjuna offered the master respectful obeisances, and told Krishna to spur the horses at their maximum speed; like lightning they entered the second layer, spreading death and destruction. He had to make up for the time lost in the duel with Drona, and for this the Pandava fought with doubled fury.
Seeing him in the midst of his army, Drona was preparing to pursue him just as three strong generals, Kritavarma, Sudakshina and Shrutayus, each backed by their respective battalions, reached and challenged him. Attacked at the same time, Arjuna preferred not to waste any more precious time in a normal fight and found himself forced to invoke the brahmashtra to shake off those troublesome enemies. The effect of that weapon was tremendous: Krishna’s cousin Kritavarma was badly injured, so much so that he fell unconscious in his chariot. Sudakshina, on the other hand, given the situation, preferred to flee.
It was then that the brave Shrutayudha, in possession of a club of divine origin, attacked the valiant Partha with all the anger in his body, and with his mind clouded by the desire to kill both opponents. This valiant monarch had received the weapon in exchange for numerous and difficult austerities, and with that no enemy could ever resist him, whoever he was; moreover, those who possessed it became practically invincible. Its only weak point consisted in the fact that it should never have been thrown at a man without weapons and that he was not involved in the fighting: this would have been fatal to its owner.
Shrutayudha fought with great ardor, but failing to get the better of Arjuna, he felt pervaded by anger and lost the light of reason. Thinking that Krishna was the source of the Pandava’s strength, he grabbed the club and threw it at him. But suddenly the weapon changed direction and darted towards him, hitting him to death. At the sight of Shrutayudha falling to the ground covered in blood, Sudakshina retraced his steps and fought bravely; but following a bitter duel he too lost his life.
After the two maharathas Shrutayus and Achyutayus also met death at the hands of the terrible Pandava, the soldiers who made up the padma-vyuha of Drona dispersed in terror. At that point Arjuna’s advance became smooth.
Seeing his cousin proceeding so swiftly, Duryodhana, alarmed, ran to the master.
“Look, Arjuna is heading towards Jayadratha with virtually no obstacles. Why did you allow him to enter our formations? Why didn’t you stop him? Or do you want Jayadratha to die?”
“I tried to do it,” he retorted trying to keep calm, “but his horses are too fast and I don’t have Krishna driving my chariot. What did you expect me to do? I am old now and I no longer have the strength and the agility of yesteryear. But you are young and you can go in my place. Or do you no longer want me to capture Yudhisthira? This could be the solution to this war”.
“Are you making fun of me? How can you think that I can stop Arjuna if you, who are much stronger than me, have not succeeded?”
“Don’t worry,” Drona replied. “I will make sure that the arrows of the Pandava do not penetrate your body. Take this armor: it is protected by Brahma, and any part of the body that it covers is not in danger of being reached by any weapon. When Indra found himself facing the great asura Vritra, he put it on, and could fight like the formidable enemy. Put it on now, and run to stop Arjuna.”
Not particularly enthusiastic about it, Duryodhana did as the master told him anyway.
When he sighted Arjuna, he had already traveled halfway to where Jayadratha was stationed.
In the meantime, the Pandava army led by Dhristadyumna, thanks to the breach opened by Arjuna, had overtaken the first vyuha and had arrived near Drona. At that point the clash raged with immense cruelty. In a few minutes the victims were in the thousands. Numerous were the single duels that the great heroes engaged among themselves. Overwhelmed by Drona’s fury and military science, Dhristadyumna got the worst of it. He was able to save himself only thanks to the help of Satyaki, who responded admirably to the attacks of the master, so much so that Drona himself could not believe his eyes when he saw him move like that on the battlefield.
“Look at Satyaki,” he said. “See how he fights. Is there anyone else in the world who can do what he does? I seem to see Bhishma himself, or his master Arjuna, or Parasurama or even the general of the Devas, the son of Shiva, Kartikeya.”
So Drona threw himself against that formidable warrior and the result was such a fascinating fight that even the beings who live on the celestial planets came to admire them. Until that extraordinary duel was interrupted by the arrival of reinforcements from both sides which unleashed a chaotic melee.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 2”.
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