When the sun rose every morning, it brought the Kauravas only sad tidings. At the end of each day, they found themselves sunk in despair. Still, Duryodhana refused to face the stark reality of his ultimate defeat. He was never tired of fantasizing that, with veterans like Bheeshma, Drona and Kripa on his side, he would finally emerge victorious.
As usual, Bheeshma planned a new formation for his army. This time it was to be the shape of a circle, a mandala, with its circumference held by his bravest soldiers so as to make it absolutely impenetrable. He himself took position right in front, his grey hair matching the silver of his chariot.
Arjuna saw his grandfather poised for another fierce attack on his army. But he was also determined to breach the mandala at the point of his own choice. Twanging his Gandiva, he unleashed a salvo of deadly arrows at a vulnerable segment of the mandala. So overwhelming was the impact of his attack that the Kaurava army began to flee in great disarray.
Bheeshma now drove his chariot to the spot where Arjuna stood mowing down the Kaurava soldiers. Then followed a fierce duel between the two. In the glow of the morning sun, everyone saw age pitted against youth. Spellbound, the soldiers from both sides stopped to watch the scene. The duel appeared to be fought in mid-air rather than down on the battlefield. Arrows from each side clashed in the air and were broken or twisted before they fell on the ground. At one point, Arjuna took his adversary by surprise by breaking his bow, but Bheeshma promptly picked up another bow to continue fighting. If Bheeshma shot an arrow that blazed a trajectory of flames, Arjuna responded with an arrow that ejected a jet stream of water to extinguish the fire. This was followed by a volley of arrows from either side that burst in the air like fireworks. The spectators now saw fireballs of diverse colours shooting across the sky, like meteors. But, surprisingly, both archers avoided engaging each other directly. In fact, whenever Arjuna released an arrow from his bow, Bheeshma was heard exclaiming: ‘Well done, my child!’
This enraged Duryodhana, who had by now joined the crowd of spectators. Were they fighting or playing games with each other, he asked himself. Why couldn’t his grandfather kill Arjuna straightaway? In disgust, he drove away.
On another front, Drona was engaged in combat with Virata. As Virata broke his bow and killed his charioteer, Drona was stung to avenge himself. In retaliation, he killed Virata’s charioteer. Virata then jumped onto his son Sankara’s chariot and continued fighting from there. As the duel continued, one of Drona’s arrows struck Sankara, who fell off the chariot, bleeding profusely to death. This shattered Virata, who was pained to see his third son slain brutally. Witnessing the brutal slaying of his son on the battlefield completely demolished Virata. Now utterly heartbroken, he drove away.
On yet another front, Drona’s son Asvatthama was fighting a duel with Sikhandi. As an arrow from Sikhandi’s bow hit Asvatthama and damaged his chariot, both combatants jumped off their chariots to fight with swords on the ground. They fought valiantly for a long time till they were both tired and they drove away.
As the sun reached its zenith, it saw Yudhishthira locked in a fierce fight with Srutayas, a veteran warrior in the Kaurava army. When one of Srutayas’s arrows landed on Yudhishthira’s armour, he lost his balance for a while. But he soon regained his composure and started shooting at his enemy with such vigour and anger that everyone was greatly surprised. This was because the Pandava king, known for his mildness, had never before been seen so wrathful. In a spurt of anger, Yudhishthira killed his enemy’s horses and sent him fleeing.
Back in his own ranks, Yudhishthira was pained to see Bheeshma causing panic among his soldiers with his deadly arrows. If he continued in this way, thought Yudhishthira, he would certainly kill hundreds of Pandava soldiers in no time. So when he saw Sikhandi’s chariot passing by, he stopped him and said: ‘I think the moment has come to remind you of your vow to eliminate that fearsome old warrior. You know very well that as soon as he faces you, he will put down his bow and arrows. And that will be the moment for you to eliminate him. So long as he is alive, doom will hover over us.’
In response, Sikhandi immediately directed his charioteer to take him to Bheeshma. But as his chariot drew close, Bheeshma darted a quick glance at him, smiled and drove away. A great moment lost, Yudhishthira said to himself.
The highlight of the day, however, was the duel between Ghatotkacha and Bhagadatta. Sitting on his great elephant, Bhagadatta was sure of trouncing his adversary who, however, stood before him like a mammoth rock. Although the combat started in a low key, it soon grew into a furious fight. Catching his enemy in an unguarded moment, Bhagadatta shot his horses and smashed his chariot. Now incensed like a wounded tiger, Ghatotkacha leapt with his sword at his enemy. But Bhagadatta’s elephant brandished its trunk like a whip and knocked Ghatotkacha to the ground. Finding himself in a precarious position, Ghatotkacha thought it prudent to beat a strategic retreat. ‘I will get him another time,’ he said to himself, and went away.
The sunset again came as relief to both armies.