This is it. The event that this whole book set up for. The great war. The Maha-Bharat.
Following the humiliation of Draupadi, the Pandava brothers were all sent to exile once again. If they could stay in exile for 12 years and for the 13th year, hide their identities and live in plain sight without being recognized, they can regain their kingdom. During those 12 years, they started creating alliances. The Pandavas won the favor of countless kings and achieved possession of numerous celestial and human weapons that can be used to wage war. The brothers all went on numerous quests to train and strengthen their minds and bodies to prepare for the great war. Draupadi was practically salivating at getting revenge on the Kauravas who humiliated her in public.
During the 13th year, when they were hiding in plain sight in the King Virata's territory, Duryodhana waged war against King Virata because of a water resource. King Virata was looking for a charioteer who could man his chariot while he waged war against Prince Duryodhana. Prince Arjuna of the Pandavas was appointed as the charioteer. Arjuna, however, was still in hiding. With the help of Arjuna, King Virata won and kept his access to the water resource. He then learned of Arjuna's identity and promised his vast legions and armies to the Pandavas when the time came to fight.
King Dhritrirashtra visits Yudhisthra a few weeks before the war was scheduled to begin, and asked him to reconsider. The war would kill and destroy the lives of so many people, could it really be considered Dharma? (TL note: dharma is a way of life. a just way of life. it is also the duty and responsibility allotted to you in life. it's also the predestined path that one should take. it has a lot of meanings)
Yudhisthra answered that while it may not considered a universal dharma, waging this war is a personal dharma for him. He is doing it as a way to return to balance, pay back for all the wrongs that the Pandavas and Draupadi had suffered. The King left in sorrow.
On the battlefield, the two sides faced each other. Arjuna looked out at the other side and it was filled with all of his relatives and the people he had grown up with. And he had to grapple through the concepts of universal vs. personal dharma.
We get a really important flashback here. In the flashback, both Duryodhana and Arjuna approach Lord Krishna to ask him to join their side in the war. The benefit of having the help of a god would be tremendous. But when he was approached, Krishna noticed that only Arjuna made the correct and respectful approach of seeking blessings at his feet, instead of going directly and looking at Krishna in the eyes as Duryodhana did. So Krishna decided to offer Arjuna the choices first: Arjuna can either have 1) all of Lord Krishna's legions and armies and weapons or 2) Lord Krishna himself. Arjuna chose option 2, seeing as he valued the power and companionship that Krishna offered. Krishna, Arjuna, and Draupadi are all actually really good bros, they are tight, bffls. Duryodhana chose option 1 because all he wants is power.
This seems to have been the deciding factor in the war actually. Celestial and divine intervention is always key. Krishna helps Arjuna wrestle through his dharma dilemma by giving him a lecture. His words are now what we recognize as the Bhagavad Gita, the ethics handbook that all should follow if they want to achieve Bhraman.
The war begins, and Kaurava puts up what is known as "The ultimate defense line". So in return, the Pandavas have to put up "The ultimate attack formation". However, the secret to this formation has only been entrusted to Arjuna and Draupadi's 15 year old son Abhimanyu by Krishna. So Abhimanyu leads the troops to battle and fought bravely, but he was still killed in cold blood. Arjuna is heartbroken.
Arujna then proceeds to kill the guy who killed his son. The guy was one of King Drona's men. King Drona launches a new devastating attack, and the Pandavas know that the only way to get him to stop his attack is to trick him and distract him by saying that his son Ashwattama is dead. King Drona is so anguished that he threw down his weapons and started crying. Then, Draupadi's brother, Dhrishtadyumna seizes the chance and kills King Drona, as was prophesied before.
Arjuna and Karna have their final battle. They are both completely matched in terms of power, weapons, and skill. They are both master archers and amazing warriors. However, someone had cursed Karna earlier in his life. When he was a young boy, he disrespected a great sage and the sage cursed him by saying that "when the time comes to use your greatest weapon to save your life, you will not be able to draw that weapon and use it correctly to the full effect". And so when both Arjuna and Karna drew their greatest weapons to fight, Arjuna came out as the victor because of karma re-asserting its balance on the world by giving Karna what he had wrought upon himself.
Duryodhana died in a really sad way. Bhima struck him in his legs and left him paralyzed. Ashwattama was angry and then went to the Pandava camp in the middle of the night and killed off all of the little children of the Pandava armies. And when he came back to tell Duryodhana of this, Duryodhana just looked really sad, because those were the last heirs of the Kaurava-Pandava clan, and now they were all gone. He dies in great anguish at having caused the downfall of their entire royal lineage.
Having struck a decisive end by killing, Drona, Duryodhana, and Karna, the Pandavas established their victory. However, as they look around at the field to see the numerous corpses piling up, they are just tremendously sad.
Together, they establish a new set of ethics alongside Krishna. This war was foretold to be the first of many horrible, destructive wars. Perhaps a new set of ethics would help combat injustice.
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I loved this book so much. I can't wait to analyze it in the next half of the semester.
