The Greatest Indian Epic - Mahabharath

DAY 16 CONTINUES :

ARJUNA KILLS KARNA

The great battle continued with Karna & Arjuna matching arrow by arrow .

As the fight reaches a very sensitive stage, the earth began to devour the left wheel of Karna’s car. This is in consequence of the curse of a Brahmana & the wheel sunks deep into the earth.

Karna tries to invoke Bramastra now but unfortunately, now Sri Parasurama’s curse affects him & he is unable to recollect the divine mantras that will enable invoking the mighty Bramastra.

Arjuna fires Aindra weapon with sacred mantras spelt properly but Karna baffles it with his skilful archery.

Arjuna tries to apply Bramastra now but Karna manages to cut the strings 11 times ! .

However , the great warrior that he was, Arjuna quickly fixes the strings at a lightening speed & this feat seemed to be exceedingly wonderful.

Krishna now asks Arjuna to strike Karna more vigorously.

As the fight progressed further, Karna finds it extremely difficult to counter Arjuna’s arrows at a single stranded position of his car as it sunk very deep.

Karna shouts to Arjuna :

Partha, wait for a moment. Let me take the wheel up first. Brave warriors that are observant of the practices of the righteous, never shoot their weapons at persons with dishevelled hair, or at those that have turned their faces from battle, or at a Brahmana, or at him who joins his palms, or at him who yields himself up or beg for quarter or at one who has put up his weapon, or at one whose arrows are exhausted, or at one whose armour is displaced, or at one whose weapon has fallen off or been broken. You are the bravest of man in the world. U are well-acquainted with the rules of battle. For these reasons, excuse me for a moment, that is, till I extricate my wheel, from the earth.

Krishna now :

By good luck it is, that U remember virtue. It is generally seen that they that are mean, when they sink into distress, rail at Providence but never at their own misdeeds. U along with ur men , had caused Draupadi, clad in a single piece of raiment, to be brought into the midst of the assembly. On that occasion, O Karna, this virtue of U did not manifest itself.
When the Pandava house at Varanavata was set for burning to death, what were U doing ?
boy Abhimanyu in battle, slew him, whither had this virtue of thine then gone? If this virtue that thou now invokest was nowhere on those occasions, what is the use then And what happened with ur virtue when U all surrounded a single Abimanyu & slayed him by unfair means.

Karna’s head hung down in shame on hearing the words of Krishna & did not utter anything.

In rage, he continues to fight with Arjuna.

Arjuna fires Agneya astra again which gets baffled by Karna’s Varuna astra.

Karna now shoots a very powerful arrow which hits Arjuna’s chest & stunned by the velocity of the arrow, Arjuna drops his Gandiva & sits back.

Availing himself of that opportunity, Karna jumped down from his car seizing the wheel with his two arms he endeavoured to drag it up, but though possessed of great strength, he failed in his efforts, as destiny would have it.

Meanwhile Arjuna, recovering his senses, took up a shaft, fatal as the rod of Death, and called anjalika.

Krishna now tells Arjuna :

Cut off with Ur arrow, the head of this enemy of Urs. before he succeeds in getting upon his car.

AND ULTIMALY, ARJUNA WITH THAT RAZOR HEADED SHAFT SHOOTS IT WHICH SPEEDILY FLIES & CUTS OFF THE HEAD OF KARNA WHILE KARNA WAS TRYING TO LIFT THE WHEEL.

There were loud calls , of "Oh" and "Alas" arose from the Kuru army.

Thus cut off with that Anjalika, the trunk of Karna fell down on the earth.

Then from that body of the fallen Karna a light passing through the welkin penetrated the sun. This wonderful sight, was beheld by the human warriors after the fall of Karna. Then the Pandavas, beholding Karna slain by Arjuna, loudly blew their conchs. Similarly, Krishna and Arjuna also, filled with delight, and losing no time, blew their conchs.

THUS ENDS THE LIFE OF ILLUSTRIOUS DHAN VEER SURA KARNA WHO GAVE HIS HEART AND SOLE TO DURYODHANA.

THE MANNER IN WHICH ARJUNA KILLED KARNA WAS TOTALLY AGAINST THE WAR CODE THAT PREVAILED DURING THE MAHABARATH TIMES & ALSO AGAINST THE HONOUR OF A SKILLFUL WARRIOR WHOSE NAME WAS KNOWN WORLDWIDE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS & FOR HAVING PRACTICED FAIR METHODS

Observations :

What puzzles me is the picturisation of Karna's end in the tamil movie Karnan :shock:

The movie shows Karnan getting severely wounded by Arjuna while he was trying to lift his chariot wheel & falls down wrything in pain.

And Karna is not dead by now as all arrows of Arjuna fall on Karna like garlands & flowers !!. The justification shown here was that due to his noble deeds , his life gets an extension thus by God of Dharma !

Now Krishna in disguise asks for his life as a dhaan which Karna gives immediately. After this, an arrow shot by Arjuna kills him.

I tried my best searching all documents but no where I could see this cinema version . Wonder how did they picturise it like this !!

Could be pure melodrama , a way to glorify that character .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nakeeran

Observations :

What puzzles me is the picturisation of Karna's end in the tamil movie Karnan :shock:

The movie shows Karnan getting severely wounded by Arjuna while he was trying to lift his chariot wheel & falls down wrything in pain.

And Karna is not dead by now as all arrows of Arjuna fall on Karna like garlands & flowers !!. The justification shown here was that due to his noble deeds , his life gets an extension thus by God of Dharma !

Now Krishna in disguise asks for his life as a dhaan which Karna gives immediately. After this, an arrow shot by Arjuna kills him.

I tried my best searching all documents but no where I could see this cinema version . Wonder how did they picturise it like this !!

Could be pure melodrama , a way to glorify that character .

---

No , NakeeraRe, this was beautifully shown in Ramanand Saagar's Krishna, there were loads of episodes of Karna in his serial :)

AFTER KARNA's DEATH :

When Duryodhana heard the news of Karna’s death, his eyes bathed in tears, repeatedly sighed .

A grief sticken Salya narrates the whole story to Duryodhana :

I have never seen a wonderful battle like today . Karna had powerfully assailed the two Krishnas today and all others who are Ur foes. Destiny, however, has certainly flowed, controlled by Arjuna.

Upon the fall of Karna no warrior of Kauravas set his heart on rallying the troops or putting forth his prowess. Consequently, the Kauravas faced huge losses & were virtually reduced to bare minimum after Karna died .

Duryodhana, deeply afflicted and deprived of his senses, and with eyes bathed in tears, wept for Karna , saying, "Karna! Oh Karna!" Then all the kings headed by Drona's son, repeatedly comforted Duryodhana.

Duryodhana found the loss of Karna much more than Bhishma or Drona .

Seeing the plight of Duryodhana, Kripacharya speaks some kind words about those great warriors who had given their lives during the war & there is no need to shed tears as they will definitely attain moksha & also pursued him to make peace with the Pandavas & end the war atleast now.

But Duryodhana was not for this advice. He says :

All these years, I have manifested only enemity & wrath on the Pandavas & the manner we tried to disrobe Draupadhi & other sins & also for having killed Abimanyu, they will never forgive me. Besides, Having also enjoyed the sovereignty of this earth bounded by the ocean, how shall I be able to enjoy, under favour of the Pandavas, a kingdom in peace? Having shone like the Sun upon the heads of all the kings, how shall I walk behind Yudhishthira like a slave?
Having enjoyed all enjoyable articles and shown great compassion, how shall I lead a miserable life now, with miserable men as my companions? I do not hate those mild and beneficial words that thou hast spoken. I, however, do not think that this is the time for peace.
To fight righteously is what I regard to be good policy. This is not the time for acting like a eunuch. On the other hand, that is time for the battle. I have performed many sacrifices. I have given away Dakshinas to Brahmanas, I have obtained the attainment of all my wishes. I have listened to Vedic recitations. I have walked upon the heads of my foes. My servants have all been well cherished by me. I have relieved people in distress. I dare not, address such humble words to the Pandavas. I have conquered foreign kingdoms. I have properly governed my own kingdom.
I have paid off my debt to the Pitris and to Kshatriya duty. Certainly, there is no happiness here. What becomes of kingdom, and what of good name? Fame is all that one should acquire here. That fame can be obtained by battle, and by no other means. The death that a Kshatriya meets with at home is censurable. Death on one's bed at home is highly sinful. The man who casts away his body in the woods or in battle after having performed sacrifices, obtains great glory. He is no man who dies miserably weeping in pain, afflicted by disease and decay, in the midst of crying kinsmen. Abandoning diverse objects of enjoyment, I shall now, by righteous battle, proceed to the regions of heaven obtaining the companionship of those that have attained to the highest end.
I will follow the path of our venerable grandsire, by the preceptor endued with great intelligence, by Jayadratha, by Karna, and by Duhshasana. Many brave kings, who had exerted themselves vigorously for my sake in this battle, have been slain. Mangled with arrows and their limbs bathed in blood, they lie now on the bare Earth. Possessed of great courage and conversant with excellent weapons, those kings, who had, again, performed sacrifices as ordained in the scriptures, having cast off their life breaths in the discharge of their duties, have now become the denizens of Indra's abode.
Remembering with gratitude the feats of those heroes that have died for me, I desire to pay off the debt I owe them, instead of fixing my heart upon kingdom. If, having caused my friends and brothers and grandsires to be slain, I save my own life, the world will without doubt, censure me. What kind of sovereignty will that be which I will enjoy, destitute of kinsmen and friends and well-wishers, and bowing down unto the son of Pandu? I, who have lorded it over the universe in that way, will now acquire heaven by fair fight.

Hearing those words of Duryodhana, all the Kshatriyas there applauded that speech and cheered the king, saying, "Excellent, Excellent." Without at all grieving for their defeat, and firmly resolved upon displaying their prowess, all of them, being determined to fight, became filled with enthusiasm.

Having groomed their animals, the Kauravas, delighting at the prospect of battle, took up their quarters for the night

The surviving group of Duryodhana, Kripacharya, Aswathama & Kritavarma , after a brief discussion, make Salya as their Commander for the next day.

DAY 17th OF THE WAR :

SALYA DIES

Lets have a look at how many remained on 17th day

KAURAVAS :

11,000 cars, 10,700 elephants, 200,000 horses, and three millions of foot, composed the strength

PANDAVAS :

6,000 cars, 6,000 elephants, 10,000 horses & 1 million foot soldiers remained.

Under the leadership of Salya, the Kauravas faced the 17th day of the war.

At this moment, the Kaurava chiefs had – Salya, Duryodhana,Shakuni , Aswathama, Kritavarma & Kripacharya , supported by some small kings.

While the Pandavas head count was strong except that they had lost – Abimanyu, Gatotkacha, Hiravan , Drupadha & Virata.

Seeing Salya in the front, Yudhishtira says to Krishna :

Bhishma, and Drona, and Karna, and the other kings, that put forth their prowess for the sake of the Kauravas, have all perished in battle. You all have exerted your valour according to your courage and in respect of the shares allotted to you.
Only one share, mine remains & I wish to contribute on Salya.

Saying this, Yudhishtira himself leads the war for Pandavas & fights with venom & aggression.

The fight went on in a very interesting manner & both sides lost heavily but finally Yudishitira hurls a dart on Salya. It was a divine weapon fired with sacred mantras duly chanted.

As it penetrated deep in to Salya’s body, he also falls dead .

Salya was the brother of Madri & uncle of Nakula & Sahadeva. When he hears about the great war , he with his armymen while passing by to reach Yudhishtira come across another group of armymen who treat him with all respect & provide excellent hospitality.

Salya immensely pleased with this, seeks to meet the host & wished to reciprocate for the gesture . When finally Duryodhana emerged from his tent, Salya realized that he had been smartly outdone by Duryodhana .

Duryodhana requests Salya to be part of his army which he out of gratitude accepts.

However, when Yudhishtira hears the outcome, he gets upset with
Salya but Salya assures him that though he will be with Kauravas, his moral support will be with the Pandavas & will do that part which will irritate the Kauravas. Salya applied this frustration on Karna in the war.

Ultimately, Salya gives a whole hearted support on 17th day r & dies

By the end of Day 17, the Kaurava army consisted :

500 horses

200 Chariots

100 elephants

3000 Foot soldiers

Shakuni faced Sahadeva.

Sahadeva addressed him:

U rejoiced greatly in the midst of the assembly, while gambling with dice. Receive now, the fruit of that act. All those wicked-souled ones that had ridiculed us then have perished. Only that wretch of his race, Duryodhana, is still alive, and U.

The fight was terrible to watch as both were badly wounded . Finally,a powerful weapon of Sahadeva cuts off Sakuni’s head.
Destitute of troops with only few men around, a tired Duryodhana looked like an orphan and he badly needed some rest to quench .

While the Pandavas had the following by the end of the war :

2,000 chariots

700 elephants

5000 horses

10000 foot soldiers

Pitiable was the condition of Duryodhana at this moment as he saw virtually not a single warrior on his side.

And only Aswathama, Kripa & Kritavarma were alive but Duryodhana was unaware that these 3 are still around to support him.

Abandoning his chariot, Duryodhana moved eastwards taking up his mace, on foot towards a lake. While he proceeded far on foot, Duryodhana also recalls the wise words of Vidura & he admires his vision about the disaster.

A totally exhausted Duryodhana, badly in need of rest & feeling thirsty, also the whole body scorched by the weapons & above all aggrieved by the great loss of his dear brothers & friends .

With heart burning in grief at having witnessed the extermination of his army, desired to penetrate into the depths of that lake with an intention to cool himself for sometime

NakeerarE,

After Angaraj Karna, it was Aswathama who was appointed as the Commander not salya .

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raghu

NakeerarE,

After Angaraj Karna, it was Aswathama who was appointed as the Commander not salya .

---

Raghuji

Porumai Porumai pls :D

Aswathama will be appointed as commander after Duryodhana falls & Duryodhana uses his blood to take sankalpa for making him the charge de affairs :D

I will be covering that soon !

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nakeeran

With heart burning in grief at having witnessed the extermination of his army, desired to penetrate into the depths of that lake with an intention to cool himself for sometime [/font]

---

and to hide away from the Pandavas, he freezes the lake by chanting some Mantras and make him self invisible from the Pandavas..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raghu

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nakeeran

With heart burning in grief at having witnessed the extermination of his army, desired to penetrate into the depths of that lake with an intention to cool himself for sometime [/font]

---

and to hide away from the Pandavas, he freezes the lake by chanting some Mantras and make him self invisible from the Pandavas..

---

It was not actually an intention to run away from the war but to take some badly needed rest & cool himself for a brief moment so that he would be better prepared for a final do or die .

Duryodhana , if he had wished, he could have fled after Karna was killed. With limited resources he still continued to fight.

Please read the comments of Duryodhana above when Kripa advises him to make peace with Pandavas . His views get wholehearted support from the remaining Kauravas and thats how they resume battle with Salya as their head :D