Formaciones superficiales

Strange news filtered into the city of Hastinapur one foggy morning. Kichaka, the dreaded brother-in-law of King Virata of Matsya and the commander-in-chief of his army, was found dead, murdered in the dancing hall at King Virata’s palace, his huge body pounded to a pulp. Rumours insisted he had been killed by an enraged Gandharva when he found out that Kichaka had tried to molest his wife.

What made the story exciting was not its unusual goriness but the dubious report that the mighty Kichaka was killed by an unknown superhuman.

Duryodhana and Karna refused to believe the story. Kichaka could not have been killed by any ordinary mortal or a superhuman. Only two people could have killed him and those were Duryodhana himself or Bhima. Duryodhana strongly suspected that Bhima was the ‘vengeful Gandharva’ who had killed Kichaka; the woman in question and the cause of the butchery could be Draupadi or one of the other Pandavas disguised as a woman. As his suspicion crystallized into certainty, Duryodhana knew he had tracked down the missing Pandavas, who were in their thirteenth year of exile, the stipulated last year to be spent incognito—the agyatavasa year.

From the start of the thirteenth year, the spies of Duryodhana, under his explicit orders, had scoured towns, cities and forests looking for the Pandavas, searching for all possible hiding places, but no one could find them. But now Duryodhana knew where they were. If he could unveil their hidden identity, he could force them into another period of exile or force them to forfeit their right to the throne. It was the best time to strike.

Uruvi found Karna preparing for battle that same evening. ‘Who is it this time?’ she asked quietly.

‘King Virata of the Matsya kingdom,’ Karna replied mechanically. Knowing that she was waiting for him to expand further, he explained, ‘Our ally, King Susharma of Trigarta, is Virata’s mortal enemy, and with Kichaka dead, this is the best chance to seize the opportunity to attack his kingdom.’

‘That’s just a political pretext. The real reason is to flush out the Pandavas whom you and the Kauravas believe have taken shelter in King Virata’s kingdom, is that not so?’

‘Yes, you’re right. I pray that it was Arjuna who was disguised as the dancing woman Brihanhala at King Virata’s palace.’

‘And that gives you the heaven-sent occasion to battle with Arjuna?’

‘Yes, again. For thirteen years, I have dreamt of this encounter. You have all the questions but you already know the answers. Am I being cross-examined?’

She ignored his sarcasm. ‘I heard about your argument with Ashwatthama—and it’s not very pleasant news. Karna, he is your friend.’

‘But that does not give him the right to insult me…’ Karna frowned darkly. ‘Uruvi, I would have taken harsh words, too, from a friend; after all, Ashwatthama is like a brother to me. But he was nasty to Duryodhana as well.’ He flushed angrily. ‘It all started when Guru Kripacharya mocked me, calling me stubborn and arrogant when I said that at last I had the chance to challenge Arjuna. He said that Arjuna was much superior to me. He was backed by Guru Dronacharya who, as expected, did not miss his chance to jeer at me. I know I spoke too strongly when I retaliated by telling Duryodhana, in front of the guru, that a brahmin’s advice should be taken if a yagna is held and not before a war. At that jibe at his father, Ashwatthama got rather angry with me. I kept silent as I had been curt with his

father but Ashwatthama then turned on Duryodhana and lambasted him. He angrily questioned his integrity as a kshatriya king and how he had usurped Indraprastha from the Pandavas through deceit.

Brahmins like his father, he argued, fight straight—not through devious games of dice. Duryodhana lost his temper and, had it not been for Bhishma Pitamaha, we would have got into a fight. The old man warned us that in the time of war, it’s best we stay united and show a common front to fight a dangerous enemy like Arjuna. To diffuse the situation, I apologized to the acharyas, our teachers, so I hope it calmed down Ashwatthama too. Does it make you feel less worried now, Uruvi?’

‘Karna, Ashwatthama got angry at Duryodhana for your sake. He too believes that he is not the best friend for you. You oblige Duryodhana all the time. And Ashwatthama said what I have been saying all along—why aren’t you stopping Duryodhana in his destructive one-track path? He is not playing straight—no one wants the war except him. Why can’t he return the kingdom to the Pandavas?’ she pleaded. ‘There’s enough bad blood between them, let there be peace now. You know well enough by now that Duryodhana can dare to think of war with the Pandavas only at your expense. A kshatriya is one who fights only when provoked or when he cannot avoid battle. But here, Duryodhana is itching for trouble. He is deliberately starting a war. It’s not going to be King Susharma versus King Virata, it’s going to be the Kauravas versus the Pandavas. Let King Susharma battle with King Virata if he wants to. Why are you interfering in their feud?’

‘He is our ally, Uruvi. And more importantly, he is Queen Bhanumati’s brother and we owe him our support. We share a common enemy in Arjuna, who once attacked his kingdom during his victory march of north India. When King Susharma attacks King Virata from the south, Duryodhana, Bhishma Pitamaha, Guru Dronacharya, Ashwatthama and I plan to launch a surprise attack from the north to catch King Virata’s army unawares.’

‘So again, it’s Arjuna who is the thorn in your heart?’ she asked in exasperation. ‘Oh, why must you try to prove you can better Arjuna? He is years younger than you, Karna. Behave like an elder and let go of it.’

‘I cannot die till I battle Arjuna. And age has nothing to do with this; a warrior is not defined by his youth or age. A warrior is brave or incompetent, a winner or a loser.’

‘And by challenging Arjuna each time, you are going to prove you are the brave warrior, the mighty winner?’

Like he always did, Karna baffled her with his answer. He replied softly, ‘No, a loser trying to win his dignity.’

The following days saw King Susharma invade Matsya from the south and distract the army of King Virata. Meanwhile, Duryodhana, with his Kaurava army, launched a coup from the northern side, which was vulnerable as it was undefended. King Virata was soon captured and held captive by a victorious King Susharma—but not for long. The arrival of an extraordinary cook called Valala, spoilt the victory march. As Duryodhana had guessed right, the cook was none other than Bhima and the flashily-dressed dancing woman was not Brihanhala but Arjuna. It was Bhima who attacked the enemy ferociously, set King Virata free and captured King Susharma. This defeat enraged Duryodhana. In retaliation, his army then attacked the tender-faced young Prince Uttar Kumar, King Virata’s son, whose charioteer was Brihanhala. Dronacharya and Karna immediately recognized him as Arjuna and proceeded to attack, with Bhishma Pitamaha and Duryodhana at their side. The crimson

flag with its embossed golden palm tree—the banner of Bhishma Pitamaha—fluttered slowly, creating panic in the heart of the young prince. But the charioteer defended the prince magnificently, single-handedly tackling Karna, Bhishma Pitamaha, Dronacharya and Duryodhana. The Pandava used his weapons more skilfully than his master, Dronacharya. He stripped his most mortal enemy—Karna

—of his bow and arrow and forced him to accept defeat. And finally, Arjuna flashed his hidden ace

—he invoked the sammohanastra, the weapon of sleep. With his supernatural silver arrow, the Pandava prince shot a shower of the magical stardust on the Kuru heroes, their soldiers and the horsemen, and they slowly sank into a deep slumber, blissfully unaware of the ensuing battle. Some slipped on the ground, some slumped in their chariots. Arjuna watched the sea of sleeping men and told the awestruck Prince Uttar Kumar to fetch the mantles of the fallen Kuru heroes as mementos of their victory. Or better still, to deck up his sister Uttara’s dolls with them! And then he blew his conch—named Devdatta—to proclaim his glorious victory.

When the Kuru heroes woke up with their Kaurava army, they knew they had been beaten.

Bhishma Pitamaha declared, ‘We have been stripped of our mantles, our jewels and our honour.

Arjuna could have killed all of us right now, but he is too noble to kill sleeping men even if they are his enemies. We have earned enough shame to last a lifetime. Let us admit defeat and return to Hastinapur.’

A thwarted Duryodhana’s rage knew no bounds. He sent a letter to Yudhishthira, which read that the Pandavas needed to go into another thirteen-year exile as they had been recognized during their agyatavasa year, before the end of the thirteenth year. Yudhishthira’s answer was equally precise.

The Pandavas had completed their full thirteen years when Arjuna twanged his Gandiva bow while the Kaurava army slept through the battle in ignorance and ignominy.

Arjuna’s victory was like a stinging slap. Duryodhana fumed, Dushasana raged and King Dhritrashtra saw the crown slipping away again. The Pandavas were to return. And they wanted their kingdom back.

Uruvi saw Karna writhe in mental agony, forced to accept defeat by his mortal rival, Arjuna.

Possibly, his shorn-off kavach could have saved him from the weapon of sleep. But Uruvi knew further talk was pointless. Her lips were sealed; her silence would be anguished, her words stifled.

Karna had to see the truth for himself as the moment of his inevitable downfall was fast approaching;

the end seemed near. She would watch helplessly as their lives slowly crumbled, but she could not stop the disaster any longer, so her protests died down. Just like her dreams had.

If there was any glimmer of hope for a peaceful settlement between the warring cousins, it was doused with the failure of Lord Krishna to mediate. That morning when Uruvi went on her weekly visit to Kunti, she feared it would probably be the last one before the war began. It would be a war to the death. After completing their thirteen years of exile, the Pandavas had shifted to Upalavya, another city in the Matsya kingdom, which was to become a seat of political intrigue. They sent envoys to recall their friends, relatives and allies. And amongst those who arrived there was the young, handsome Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna and Subhadra. His arrival was doubly meaningful for he was to marry the Matsya princess, Uttara.

‘Is it the last good news we shall hear?’ Uruvi asked fearfully, turning to Vrushali in utter misery.

Kunti had left joyfully for the grand wedding to be solemnized at King Virata’s resplendent palace.

Uruvi prayed silently, ‘O, give me the strength to live through the coming days…’

In the same palace, which witnessed the fabulous wedding of the young Abhimanyu with the lovely Uttara, another important alliance took place. Lord Krishna, with his older brother Balarama and his cousin Satyaki, the Yadava warrior, held a conference with other Pandava allies—the Matsya kings and princes, the Kasi prince and the Saibya ruler. They were meeting to discuss the peace initiative by the Pandavas. Also present was King Drupad with his two sons, Dhrishtadyumna and Sikhandin, and his five grandsons from his daughter Draupadi—Prativindhya, the son of Yudhishthira, Srutasoma from Bhima, Srutakirti from Arjuna, Satanik from Nakul and Srutakarma from Sahadeva.

Abhimanyu was present too—his marriage did not stop him attending the important meeting.

At the same time, the Kauravas, too, held a conference to discuss preparations for war. They had spread the word and were acquiring new allies to assist them in the coming conflict. Uruvi wondered about her father and whom he would support. As an ally of the court of Hastinapur, he owed allegiance to the Kuru rulers but in principle, Uruvi knew he was for the Pandavas. Being the father-in-law of Karna made the situation more awkward for him. It would be assumed he would support his son-in-law.

‘I would like to stay neutral,’ he confided eventually to Uruvi.

‘You won’t be allowed to do so,’ Uruvi responded immediately. ‘One of them may attack our kingdom and we’ll be forced to retaliate.’

‘I like the way you say “we”, Uruvi,’ her father chuckled softly, though a trifle sadly. ‘Pukeya has always been yours. After me, it is you who will be declared as the queen of this kingdom. That’s why I am consulting you here right now!’ he said grimly. ‘I cannot be more diplomatic than this. I cannot bear to see the ruin of Hastinapur. Yet, I cannot take the side of the Kauravas to fight the Pandavas.

The Pandavas are not asking for anything unreasonable—they simply want their lost kingdom back.’

‘Yes, but some people like Karna and Balarama argue that they cannot ask for the return of something they lost as a stake. If as a king, Yudhishthira could gamble away his kingdom so carelessly, what right does he have over that same kingdom now? Does he have the moral right to be the ruler of a kingdom he so indifferently placed as a wager and eventually lost? Duryodhana has been a just king and has ruled his subjects well. They are not complaining against him. So then, why, they argue, should Duryodhana return what they lost in a wager?’

‘That is just a play on words,’ sighed the old king. ‘The Pandavas have been punished enough with the thirteen-year exile.’

‘Exactly! And that’s how the Kauravas see it. The fulfilment of the conditions of the exile means only personal freedom for the Pandavas and no claim for the kingdom.’

‘But the Pandavas were cheated out of their kingdom by foul means through a rigged dice game in the first place,’ King Vahusha expostulated. ‘This fight will lead nowhere, except to disaster!’

‘But I’ve heard both sides realize this…’ Uruvi looked pensive. ‘I have heard that the Pandavas did approach Duryodhana with a peace-offering through a brahmin of King Drupada’s court, after which Sanjay, King Dhritrashtra’s most trusted envoy, was sent to the Pandavas to give a reply. With the resulting impasse, Krishna offered to mediate and came down to Hastinapur. He said that all the Pandavas wanted was their lost kingdom—Indraprastha—and if not that, just five villages for the five brothers. Duryodhana flatly refused and declared he would not let go of even a needlepoint of territory. What option do the Pandavas have but to fight back? Duryodhana is cornering them so that they battle out the issue. It’s either quit or fight, win or lose.’

King Vahusha shook his head sadly. ‘How can a righteous war be wrong? There is no sin in defending oneself against an armed enemy. If the enemy provokes their opponents into a battle, the

opponents can either submit and be called cowards, or hit back with all their strength and convictions. There is no other way out.’

‘To give the Pandavas their share of the kingdom would be the safest bet—and that’s what the patriarchs like Bhishma Pitamaha, Vidura and Guru Dronacharya have been trying to convince both the father and the stubborn son to do,’ said Uruvi. ‘But Duryodhana wants the war—just like Draupadi does. She has her own reasons. She has warned her husbands that if they do not fight this battle, she will fight the Kauravas with the help of her sons, her brothers and her old father, to avenge her humiliation.’

‘And Karna? What does he say? He has nothing to gain. He is so close to Duryodhana—can he not convince him not to start the war? Frankly, he is the only one who can knock some sense into the Kuru king. Duryodhana will not listen to his father, Bhishma Pitamaha, Dronacharya or even his mother Gandhari. But with Karna, it’s a different matter. Why doesn’t Karna dissuade Duryodhana from fighting the war?’

‘The answer to all those questions, Father, would be the story of my life!’ Uruvi laughed bleakly.

‘Karna knows the war is doomed to end in destruction. He wants it simply because he believes it is the kshatriya way of solving the problem—to battle it out face-to-face and may the stronger side win.’

King Vahusha was about to retort that the sutaputra was a fine one to talk about the kshatriya code of conduct. Then he felt a momentary twinge of shame; he had stooped to call a true warrior a sutaputra, doing exactly what society had inflicted indiscriminately on his son-in-law.

He was troubled to see his daughter look so sad. ‘Have you advised your husband against this war?’ he asked her gently. ‘Have you pleaded with him to discourage his friend from pursuing this ultimate folly? He has the power to do so. Child, try again and again. It is your last chance for peace.’

‘I have, Father, oh, how I have,’ she replied tiredly, ‘…but I fear I have already lost!’

Peace negotiations were on, with some diehard optimists like Bhishma Pitamaha and Guru Dronacharya sincerely working for a compromise. But even as the talks continued, contingents were getting ready for war. Stealthy efforts to acquire fresh allies went on and emissaries were insidiously at work. The prime catch was Krishna, though most knew that it was the Pandavas he would support.

But wanting to be fair, he welcomed both Arjuna and Duryodhana when they visited him at Dwarka.

A sleeping Krishna woke up to find Arjuna at his feet and Duryodhana waiting for him to wake up. Duryodhana claimed he had reached first, demanding that he be heard first. Krishna gently reminded him that since it was Arjuna he had seen first on waking up, he would leave the first choice to Arjuna. The choice he gave for Arjuna and Duryodhana to pick was this: either it was him, Lord Krishna, on one side, on the conditions that he would not participate in the fighting nor pick up a weapon, or it would be the invincible power of Krishna’s huge army, including his tribesmen, the

A sleeping Krishna woke up to find Arjuna at his feet and Duryodhana waiting for him to wake up. Duryodhana claimed he had reached first, demanding that he be heard first. Krishna gently reminded him that since it was Arjuna he had seen first on waking up, he would leave the first choice to Arjuna. The choice he gave for Arjuna and Duryodhana to pick was this: either it was him, Lord Krishna, on one side, on the conditions that he would not participate in the fighting nor pick up a weapon, or it would be the invincible power of Krishna’s huge army, including his tribesmen, the