The way was now clear for Arjuna, Krishna and Satyaki to close in on Jayadratha. Bhurisravas’s death had shattered Duryodhana, who was now determined to guard Jayadratha in every possible way. Hidden away in the innermost circle of the Kaurava army, Jayadratha thought he was quite secure.
Since Duryodhana’s only remaining hope was Radheya, he turned to him for help. ‘O dear friend, we now stand at a critical juncture in this war, caught between life and death. But if you, Asvatthama and Kripa can join me in keeping Jayadratha away from Arjuna till sunset, victory will be ours. Because, if Arjuna fails to kill Jayadratha before sunset, he must leap into fire to immolate himself. Maybe destiny provoked Arjuna to take his vow in a moment of rashness – to help us win this war. With Arjuna gone, the Pandavas will lose their will to continue fighting. I will then ride in triumph to the throne of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. So while Drona engages Yudhishthira on another front, let us use Jayadratha’s inaccessibility as a weapon to destroy Arjuna, the most valiant of the Pandavas.’
Radheya listened intently to Duryodhana, but he did not respond very enthusiastically. ‘O Duryodhana, I am pledged to serving you in every way possible – anywhere, any time. Don’t forget, however, that I am a little battered after my duel with Bheema. But that does not mean that I will avoid fighting. Since Arjuna, I know, must be kept away from Jayadratha at all costs, we must act expeditiously.’
While they were talking, they heard the sound of Krishna’s Panchajanya, which signalled Arjuna’s arrival on the scene. Krishna now beckoned Satyaki to attack Radheya and keep him engaged at some distance. At once, Satyaki let his bow wreak havoc on his enemy. In just a short while, Radheya’s horses were wounded and his charioteer was thrown to the ground. Then, one of Satyaki’s arrows broke Radheya’s flagstaff into fragments. Finding himself thus handicapped, Radheya was left with no alternative except to seek shelter in Duryodhana’s chariot. Krishna’s strategy thus worked to keep Radheya away from Jayadratha.
Meanwhile, Arjuna had got close to where Jayadratha stood, guarded by Asvatthama, Kripa and several other stalwarts. As soon as he spotted his prey, blood surged in Arjuna’s veins. There stood in front of him the man who had been instrumental in his son’s murder. Being savyasachi, Arjuna now started shooting arrows with both hands, with the same ease and dexterity. So devastating was his assault that the Kaurava warriors felt that Yama himself, in the guise of Arjuna, was killing them.
When Jayadratha saw Arjuna, he was overcome with fear. But since there was no way out, he decided to defend himself with all his strength. While he was parrying Arjuna’s arrows, his eyes caught a glimpse of the deepening shadows on the horizon. He prayed to the gods to let the sun set as early as possible.
Duryodhana was on tenterhooks. If only the sun would now sink into the waters of time, he prayed, and let darkness take over.
Just then, as though the gods had responded to his wish, the battlefield was suddenly engulfed in darkness. Thick, dark clouds now spread across the sky, like a shroud covering a dead body. Several jubilant cries rose from the Kaurava ranks: ‘The gods have spoken!’ ‘We have won the war!’
Jayadratha also looked at the horizon, bowed to the sky and said to himself: ‘I have been pulled out of the jaws of death.’
Hearing these shouts, Arjuna sank into despair. He now conjured up the image of the flames that would turn him to ashes for failing to keep his word.
‘I am undone, O Lord,’ he said to Krishna, almost staggering on his feet.
But Krishna responded with a gracious smile on his lips: ‘Are you really undone?’ Then, taking a deep breath, he explained: ‘It is all my doing, O son of Indra. I caused this darkness by summoning the clouds in the sky.’ Then he added: ‘Listen, now that Jayadratha’s eyes are fixed on the horizon, gloating over the sunset, pick up your Gandiva and kill him. Kill him before the sun reappears.’
Arjuna’s face now brightened with happiness. As he was about to shoot an arrow at Jayadratha, Krishna asked him to first listen to him carefully. ‘You must ensure that his severed head does not fall on the ground. Your arrow should carry it in mid-air and let it drop only on the lap of his father, who is presently deep in meditation, out there in a forest. It is ordained by the gods that only then would his father’s skull burst into a hundred fragments. That would be the moment for both father and son to enter the abode of Yama.’
Arjuna carried out Krishna’s direction meticulously. As Jayadratha’s head dropped on his father’s lap, the sky rumbled with a loud explosion and fragments of both heads now lay strewn all over the ground.
It was on their way back to the camp that Krishna explained to Arjuna why he had asked him to perform that extraordinary feat of archery. In response to the prayers and austerities of Jayadratha’s father, he had won a boon from the gods that in case his son ever met his death at the hands of Arjuna, his head must not roll to the ground. But if it fell on the lap of his father, the head would split into a hundred pieces. So when the head dropped on the lap of Jaydratha’s father, who was absorbed in meditation under a tree, he let it rest there for a while. But as he stood up, his son’s head rolled to the ground, resulting in the death of both.
Now that Arjuna had carried out his vow, he twanged his Gandiva, which was followed by the sound of Krishna’s conch. So loud were these sounds that Yudhishthira heard them across a long distance. Instantly, he understood that Arjuna had redeemed his pledge, and Jayadratha had been slain. While there was jubilation in the Pandava army, the Kauravas saw the end of the fourteenth day as their doom. As Duryodhana stared blankly at the sky, which was still aglow with sunlight, he cursed the gods for letting him down. His dream of victory now came down crumbling like a house of sand.