When the sun rose on the ninth day, it looked like a ball of fire. Even before reaching its noontime heat and glow, it appeared to throw javelins of fire all over the battlefield. As if to match its fury, Bheeshma decided to demonstrate his destructive power as he had never done before. Although he had threatened to withdraw from the battlefront, he had chosen to display his mettle on this day.
For his formation, Bheeshma chose the sarvatobhadra pattern – ‘secure in all directions’ – hoping that this time the enemy would not be able to penetrate his army from any quarter. Bheeshma offered to guard the front line himself, supported by Kripa, Sakuni and Jayadratha. But both Dhrishtadyumna and Arjuna had already planned their strategy for taking the enemy by surprise. Watching his formation and the deadly expression on his grandfather’s face, Duryodhana was reassured that the ninth day would turn the tables against the Pandavas. To his brother Duhsasana, he said, ‘I gave our grandfather a piece of my mind last night, and it seems to have worked.’ But he also cautioned him against the danger of the old warrior coming face-to-face with Sikhandi. He would then lay down his bow and arrows and let this woman, reborn as a man, put him out of action. So it would be better not to allow Sikhandi to get anywhere near him on the battlefield today. He must be guarded all the time, everywhere.’
As for Bheeshma, he was like the blazing sun on this day. His bow and arrows spread a blaze of terror among the Pandava soldiers. They panicked and started fleeing the battlefield. Like a river of lava, the old warrior seemed determined to reduce everything to ashes.
Seeing him advancing like an avalanche, unimpeded, Krishna asked Arjuna to honour his word to eliminate Bheeshma, who had already slain more than half of the Pandava army.
‘This is the moment,’ said Krishna to Arjuna. ‘If you brace yourself for the fight, I will steer you to him.’
But Arjuna looked perplexed.
‘O Vasudeva,’ he responded, ‘my hands seem to falter once again, and my Gandiva is slipping from my fingers. Remember, I was the one to ask you to threaten Duryodhana with war if your mission for peace failed. But now I feel that war is an evil thing because both the winner and the vanquished ultimately end up as losers. Every war, I feel, leaves in its wake only disaster.’
Krishna darted an angry glance at him.
‘You seem to be speaking the language of a sage, not that of a Kshatriya. But the reality is that once again you have lapsed into despondency and cowardice. Don’t you know that Bheeshma is now acting as Yama to our soldiers? This dreadful man, who talks of truth and justice, is now butchering our soldiers mercilessly. I tell you that he has on his hands the blood of thousands of our soldiers who have fought for a just cause.
‘Let me tell you bluntly, for this is no time for polemics, that since you have turned a coward, I must jump into the battle myself once again. I have decided to use my chakra to kill this old man. You may just stand around and watch as an idle spectator.’
Krishna then threw off the reins and jumped out of the chariot. He had hardly landed on the ground when his Sudarsan chakra appeared on his right index finger. Brandishing it menacingly above his head, he advanced towards Bheeshma. But the old man again dropped his bow and arrows at Krishna’s feet.
‘O Krishna, don’t let this task remain undone this time. Kill me immediately, for dying at your hands would release me from the agony of my earthly existence. All my life, I have seen nothing but pain and deprivation – never a moment of peace! I know I have been under a curse since my birth. Now I fear I am completely, tired and forsaken. So kill me, O Vasudeva, and send me back to my mother, Ganga, who must be waiting up there to receive her eighth child.’
His anguished words mellowed Krishna. At his back stood Arjuna, tugging at the hem of his robe. ‘O Lord,’ he said, ‘leave to me the painful task of eliminating him, as I don’t want you to break your vow. This is the second time I have forced you into this situation. I pledge that there will be no third time, for my hands will not falter as I raise my Gandiva against my grandfather. This, I know, will bring the war to an end.’
As Krishna let the divine discus vanish from his hand, Arjuna trained his arrow at Bheeshma. But just then, a messenger brought them word that Abhimanyu had been surrounded by Drona, Asvatthama, Duryodhana and Duhsasana. Leaving Bheeshma there, both Krishna and Arjuna jumped back into their chariot and rode towards the spot where Abhimanyu was being harassed by a large number of Kaurava veterans. As soon as their chariot appeared on the scene, Arjuna was thrilled to see his son fighting, his golden bow stretched almost to a circle, like a swan’s arched neck. There he was, shooting his arrows, his face radiant in the midday sun. On his face was the glow of his father’s valour.
Arjuna’s arrows now began to rain on Abhimanyu’s enemies. So fierce was his onslaught that Drona advised his companions to retreat.
As the sunset brought to close the ninth day, Yudhishthira realized for the first time that so long as Bheeshma was active on the battlefield,
The Pandavas Seek Bheeshma’s Advice there was no hope of victory. They would have to suffer enormous losses in this war, which had become a festering wound. What if they scored occasional successes, he thought… A battle won now and then did not ensure the final victory. So, he must forge some strategy to eliminate Bheeshma. He decided to convene a meeting of his close allies in his tent – his four brothers, Dhrishtadyumna, Drupada, Abhimanyu and Satyaki, with Krishna as their chief counsellor.