Ghatotkacha Displays His Valour:
The Eighth Day
Each sunrise on the battlefield saw a new formation, and the armies resolved afresh to defeat each other. But while every sunset found the Pandavas in an upbeat mood, it saw the Kauravas return to their tents downcast and humiliated.
The eighth day of the war followed a new pattern. While Dhrishtadyumna arranged his army in the singataka – the horn formation, the Kauravas chose the osrimi – the ocean formation. Then began yet another day of fierce battle. The first duel of the day was between Bheema and Bheeshma, each determined to eliminate the other. Bheema fired a volley of arrows at his grandfather, who defended himself valiantly. As Bheema killed the old warrior’s horses and charioteer, Duryodhana rushed to the spot with his brothers to protect his commander-in-chief. But the moment Bheema saw Duryodhana’s brothers, he leapt at them like a wild beast, saying to himself, ‘I have vowed to kill the whole lot of Dhritarashtra’s sons, not just a handful of them, for aren’t they the progeny of that cruel, unjust and greedy king?’
As Duryodhana saw in an instant the massacre of several of his brothers, he turned to his grandfather with an anguished look in his eyes and said, ‘O grandfather, I don’t understand why it is not possible for you to kill that man who is devouring my brothers like a hungry wolf. You know that only you can do it, not my soldiers who are fleeing in panic. But I have always suspected that you would not hurt any of the Pandavas. So I see myself trapped in a situation where my own commander-in-chief is indirectly helping my enemies.’
Bheeshma, however, responded with composure and dignity. ‘O dear child, I know you will never refrain from accusing me and Drona of partiality. If that is how you feel, you are free to say what you like. As for Drona and myself, we are doing our duty – otherwise, we could have easily refused to fight on your side.’ Then, after a brief pause, the old man added, with a palpable ring of sarcasm in his voice: ‘For a change, why don’t you blame yourself? Haven’t you also been one of Drona’s pupils? Surely if you had learnt the art of warfare from your guru like Bheema or Arjuna, you could have faced them gallantly, as you expect us to do. On the contrary, you keep sharpening your tongue like a sword – to attack your allies.’
Stung by Bheeshma’s barb, Duryodhana drove his chariot away.
In the palace, King Dhritarashtra said to Sanjaya, ‘Isn’t there some truth in what Bheeshma has just said? Why doesn’t my son fight with his mace or bow instead of blaming Bheeshma?’ Then the old king heaved a deep sigh. ‘Tonight, I will surely have another nightmare. My blind eyes would conjure up the image of my sons lying dead on the battlefield, like sundered logs of wood. And the worst is yet to come, I know. Sometimes, I feel I should ask you to stop reporting these events to me. My heart is filled with pain.’
‘Of course,’ responded Sanjaya. ‘Didn’t Vyasa forewarn you? But you are as obstinate and inflexible as your son.’
By now, the sun had climbed to its full height in the sky. What it witnessed was a battlefield strewn with countless dead bodies rotting in pools of blood.
As Bheeshma resumed his devastation of the Pandava army, there appeared on the scene Bheema’s son, Ghatotkacha, like a mountain peak overlooking a steep valley. As he began to bellow like a savage bull, the Kaurava soldiers felt their blood freeze in their veins. He confounded and terrified his enemies with his rakshasa antics. Like a strong tornado, he now swept across the battlefield, unchallenged. A wail rose from the Kaurava soldiers: ‘Who can confront this monster? We are doomed!’
Then Ghatotkacha swooped down upon Duryodhana and started tormenting him. He pounded his body with his mace and tossed him around like a cat playing with a mouse. Overpowered by his physical prowess, Duryodhana looked dazed. He lifted his mace to hit Ghatotkacha, but found it instantly knocked out of his hands. The next moment, Duryodhana lay on the ground, gasping for breath.
‘No, I would not trample you under my foot,’ snarled Ghatotkacha. ‘I must keep my vow to let my father smash your thighs. I would not kill my father’s prey.’
‘Wasn’t death a boon as compared to such mortifying humiliation,’ Duryodhana said to himself. He looked about helplessly, but nobody came to his rescue.
Just then, Bheeshma heard the commotion from a distance and rushed to the scene, accompanied by Drona, Asvatthama and Kripa. Ghatotkacha then turned around to face them all.
‘Do you all want to gang up against me? Or would any one of you step forward for a duel?’
‘I will fight you, O rakshasa,’ thundered Bheeshma, raising his bow.
Then began a duel between the two warriors. Ghatotkacha howled like a beast each time he attacked Bheeshma. Hearing his shouts, Yudhishthira thought that his nephew was being harassed by his enemies. Feeling concerned about his safety, he asked Bheema to go to his son’s aid, since Arjuna was busy fighting on another front. With the speed of lightning, Bheema drove to the spot and saw his son fighting a host of veterans, single-handed.
But before Bheema could reach the spot, Duryodhana had already sent word to Bhagadatta to confront Ghatotkacha, because he knew that no other warrior could stand up against this rakshasa. At once Bhagadatta arrived, riding his invincible elephant, Suprinika. It was now a furious battle between Ghatotkacha and Bhagadatta. To the spectators watching the scene, it seemed that this fight would continue till sunset. Ghatotkacha sprayed his arrows at the huge animal, but it simply swiped them away with its trunk, as if they were needless. Bhagadatta then jumped off his elephant and killed the horses of Ghatotkacha’s chariot. This sent Bheema’s son into intense rage. He aimed his javelin at his enemy but it was splintered by Bhagadatta. Exhausted, both warriors rode away, each to his tent.