48

The Second Day

As the sun rose the next morning, Yudhishthira imagined its face broadening into a gracious smile. He took it as a good omen for the day. He also recalled Krishna’s words the previous day. So, with hope and courage in his heart, he walked over to Dhrishtadyumna’s tent to find out how he would deploy the Pandava army to meet Bheeshma’s challenge. He was pleased to learn that his commander-in-chief had chosen the krauncha formation to make it impregnable to any infiltration. While Kuntibhoja, Kunti’s foster-father, was asked to position his troops at the bird’s eyes, Satyaki’s soldiers were to place themselves at its neck. Furthermore, while Yudhishthira stationed himself at the bird’s tail, Bheema arranged his battalion as the wings of krauncha, supported by Dhrishtadyumna. Arjuna, with Krishna as his charioteer, was required to move freely all over the battlefield to come to the assistance of any warrior, whenever necessary.

From across the neutral ground, Duryodhana observed the Pandava army arranged in a new, formidable formation. In fear and anxiety, he walked over to Drona and Kripacharya to know how they proposed to confront the enemy.

‘I have no doubt,’ Duryodhana said, ‘that with stalwarts like you both, and my peerless grandfather, we will carry this day as well.’

Drona reassured him, saying that he understood the new strategy adopted by the Pandavas and he was quite capable of wedging into their ranks.

As Bheeshma blew his conch, responded by Dhrishtadyumna’s trumpet, the battle erupted in full fury. In just a couple of hours, the field was littered with the dead bodies of soldiers, and carcasses of elephants and horses lying in pools of blood.

In one sector of the battlefield, Bheeshma was engaged in a fierce fight with Abhimanyu, Bheema and Dhrishtadyumna. In spite of their combined forces, the Pandava army could not prevent the old warrior from breaching its defences. Krishna now steered Arjuna’s chariot towards Bheeshma to confront him. Seeing Bheeshma like a whirlwind sweeping across the battlefield, Krishna said to Arjuna:

‘I have noticed that, like yesterday, you seem to feel diffdent in taking on Bheeshma. Have you forgotten all that I said to you before the war began – that your primary task as a Kshatriya is to do your duty, regardless of who confronts you? Just see how your grandfather is ruthlessly destroying our soldiers. I tell you, he has become bloodthirsty. He would not hesitate to kill anyone – even you, Bheema or Yudhishthira.’ He paused. ‘Well, if you refuse to fight, I may feel constrained to break my word and battle with Bheeshma myself, with my Sudarsan chakra.’

Krishna had hardly finished speaking when one of Bheeshma’s arrows grazed past his left shoulder which started bleeding. On seeing him hurt, Arjuna sprang up like an incensed lion. Twanging his Gandiva, he shot off a volley of arrows at Bheeshma. Then ensued a fierce battle between Arjuna and the Kaurava commander-in-chief. It seemed as if this duel was taking place more in the air than on the ground, because each arrow from either side was countered by a corresponding arrow in mid-air. As the combat continued between the two invincible archers, soldiers from both armies stood by to watch the spectacle. Up in the sky one could see two celestial figures, Ganga and God Indra, each eager to see his or her child come out the winner on the ground. If Arjuna’s Gandiva demolished Bheeshma’s banner, Bheeshma’s arrows partially damaged Arjuna’s chariot. Arjuna’s spirits, however, did not sag as Krishna, his charioteer, never lost control of his white steeds. When the duel ran for a long time, Bheeshma appeared to lose his grip on his bow. Observing that the old warrior could not hold himself together in the face of his tireless adversary, Duryodhana ordered some of his soldiers to intervene and take his commander-in-chief away. But even while the old man was being carried away, Arjuna’s arrows continued to kill countless Kaurava soldiers. Duryodhana stood a little distance away, watching the scene heeplessly.

On another front was raging a single combat between Drona and Dhrishtadyumna, both skilled archers. The Pandava commander-inchief saw this as an opportunity to settle old scores with someone who had once humiliated his father in an open court. Each time Drona’s arrow was about to hit him, it was deflected by Dhrishtadyumna’s arrow. The battle took a serious turn when an arrow from Drona’s bow shot down Dhrishtadyumna’s charioteer. This enraged him so much that he leapt off his chariot with a mace in his right hand to attack Drona. But before he could reach his enemy, his mace had been knocked out of his hand. He then took up a sword to continue fighting. Just then, Bheema appeared on the scene, supported by Abhimanyu and Satyaki. Drona now found himself pitted against a host of stalwarts. As he was being harassed on all sides, the sun came to his rescue. The battlefield began to look dark, with the sun sinking on the horizon. Though Duryodhana felt relieved to see that a catastrophic situation had been averted, deep down in his heart he felt frustrated that he had lost the second day of the war.

On the other side, there were shouts of joy. Yudhishthira smiled to see that his warriors had carried the day.

As he was about to enter his tent for the night’s rest, a shadow loomed behind him. He turned around, and there stood Krishna.

‘How right you were, O Vasudeva,’ Yudhishthira said. ‘Let me tell you that I have learnt my lesson well: that one must never forsake patience, courage and hope.’

Krishna responded with a smile.

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