WAR - 18th Day : DURYODHANA’s END
On the final day of Kurukshthra war,
Duryodhana takes out his anger by smashing open Chekitana's head. Chekitana was
from dwarka capital of yadavs with the Pandavas who
saved Nakula from the clutches of Duryodhanaon the fifteenth day
of Kurukshetra War. As Shalya is killed by Yudhishthira, Duryodhana's
paltry army-once eleven akshauhinis strong-breaks, and the army is
essentially routed.
Having lost his horse, Duryodhana
leaves the battlefield. He cools his body by entering a lake, all hope of
winning lost. Yet, he prepares for his final battle; for a death befitting a
warrior on the battlefield and hoping to reunite with his friends and relations
in the afterlife. He re-emerges from the lake
after Ashwatthama and Kripa counsel him to face his destiny
with courage. In some versions of the story, after Karna's death, Duryodhana
doesn't even join his army and instead heads immediately to the lake.
On the eighteenth day of the war, with
his army reduced to himself, Ashwatthama, Kripa and Kritvarma, Duryodhana goes
to meditate in a lake. When Pandavas and Krishna met him, Duryodhana tells them
that he wants to gift the kingdom to them, and retire to the
forest. Yudhishthira balks at the offer, telling him that Hastinapur is not Duryodhana's to gift.
Instead, he offers that Duryodhana may pick any of the Pandava brothers to
fight against one-to-one with a weapon of his choice, with the winner of the
conflict the victor of the war.
Despite his proposed advantage over
Yudhishthira, Arjuna, Nakula, or Sahadeva with the gada, Duryodhana picks his nemesis Bhima. Despite Bhima's physical advantage,
Duryodhana had the better technique due to his devotion to his craft. After a
long and brutal battle between the two disciples of Balarama, Duryodhana begins
to exhaust Bhima, and nearly makes Bhima faint.
At this point, Krishna, observing the
fight, calls out to Bhima and signals him by repeatedly clapping his own thigh
with his hand. As intended, Bhima was reminded of an oath he had
taken after the game of dice to crush Duryodhana's thighs. Bhima
victoriously attacks Duryodhana with his mace and strikes his thigh, mortally
wounding Duryodhana. After having his face insultingly kicked by Bhima,
Duryodhana bemoans that he was slain by unfair means, given that it was illegal
to attack below the waist in a mace fight.
Infuriated at the
violation, Balarama, the brother of Lord Krishna, raises his weapon to
attack. Lord Krishna consoles Balarama, by reminding him of Duryodhana's evil
deeds, and reprimands him for trying to influence a war he refused to
participate in.
Lying defeated, Duryodhana boasts to the
Pandavas about how he will die a glorious death, about how he got to enjoy
Hastinapur while the Pandavas were in exile, and about how he would now spend
the afterlife in the company of his friends and relatives. He again eviscerates
the Pandavas for all their chicanery during the war and decries their legacy.
Venerating his own character, Duryodhana proclaims he will die happily.
Much to the Pandavas' dismay, Krishna
confirms that through his powers of illusion and artifice, he was able to
enervate and weaken champions such as Bhishma, Karna, and Duryodhana,
confirming that Duryodhana's side was clearly stronger and that such tricks
were necessary to ensure the Pandavas' victory. The Pandavas, weeping, bemoan
their own actions and trickery, while the Gods shower flowers on a dying
Duryodhana, full of glory.
When the coast is
clear, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritvarma, having witnessed
the fight and not wanting to interrupt so as to rob Duryodhana of
his honor, come to Duryodhana's broken body. Duryodhana commands them to
take revenge on the Pandavas, and to specifically kill all the pandava brothers
and Panchalas. Using the blood from his body, Duryodhana
appoints Ashwatthama as the army's supreme commander.
Already angry at the deceitful killing of
his father Drona, Ashwatthama ambushes the Pandava camp at
night. After destroying the entire Pandava camp, Ashwatthama proceeds towards
Duryodhana.
According to the Mahabharata, after
entering the Svarga (heaven) with a human body on Indra's invitation, Yudhishthira witnessed
that Duryodhana "was seated on a beautiful throne and he shone
with the splendour of the sun and around him stood in attendance
the goddess of heroism and other entities of
righteousness". Yudhishthira found this insufferable and reminded the
dwellers of Svarga about his sinful deeds.
Following that, Narada smiled
at Yudhishthira and explained that Duryodhana had suffered for his sins, and
that ultimately, Duryodhana was a warrior who had defended
his dharma and fought bravely and valiantly, having been a great ruler,
a true friend, and a terrible foe.
200209 – 2020 February 09
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