Tactical withdrawal!

 

As Bhurisravā encountered Sātyaki, Duryodhana, his brothers as well as many Pāndava warriors entered the fray. Bhima turned to face Dhārtarāshtrās & they in turn showered arrows upon him. At that time a chariot arrived for him & so Bhima mounted it and rushed at Dhārtarāshtrās. When he saw Duryodhana afflicting his driver, Bhima became furious & broke Kaurava King’s bow in half

 

Duryodhana angrily picked up another bow & pierced Bhima in the chest with a powerful arrow, making him faint onto floor of his chariot. Bhima quickly recovered & after piercing Duryodhana, he attacked Salya so severely that he had to be carried away from battlefield

 

14 Dhārtarāshtrās ganged up on Bhima. Although he was certainly pained by their onslaught of arrows, Bhima pounced upon sons of Dhritrāshtra, just as Garuda attacks many snakes. In the matter of minutes Bhima killed 8 of Dhritrāshtrā’s sons while rest quickly fled in fear

 

Bhisma ordered Kaurava warriors to seize Bhima & so Bhagdatta, the King of Prāgjyotisas, led the attack while riding his gigantic elephant. Bhagadatta struck Bhima in the chest with a mighty arrow, causing him to collapse onto his seat while supporting himself by holding a flagpole. At this Ghatotkaca, became highly agitated with rage. After making himself invisible, he created magical illusions that were very fearful to all warriors

 

Ghatotkaca suddenly reappeared in a fierce form, riding upon Airāvata, one of the dig-gajās that he had created with his mystic power of illusion. Behind Ghatotkaca were more Rāksasās, riding upon other 3 dig-gajās. These 4 elephants attacked Bhagadatta’s carrier, piercing it on all sides with their sharp tusks

 

Bhisma ordered great heroes of the Kaurava army to go & rescue Bhagadatta. When Drona & others responded, many Pāndava warriors followed them. As the Kaurava army advanced toward him, Ghatotkaca roared ferociously. Upon seeing his great eagerness for battle, Bhisma turned to Drona & said: It’ll not be fruitful for us to fight with Bhima’s son now, for now he is unconquerable. The day is ending & our army is fatigued. Let us retire our forces & resume the next morning when we are fresh

 

Thus, being afraid of Ghatotkaca, Bhisma ordered withdrawal of the Kaurava army under pretext of impending nightfall. The Kaurava warriors were terrified at the thought of approaching Ghatotkaca & so they happily obeyed Bhisma’s command. When the Pāndavā warriors saw that the Kaurava army was giving up the fight, they shouted with joy & triumphantly blew their conch shells. Kauravas felt ashamed for their defeat as they returned to their camp

 

Tactical withdrawal is also a part of a winning strategy. Sometimes the only way to win is to withdraw at the right moment. When we retreat from a position or area or a thought process to gain a strategic advantage, it allows us to regroup, resupply or reposition our energies to launch a new attack

 

Do we. Thoughts? #gameoflife


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Image
  Victory! It was early in morning as both sides awaited the rising of Sun, a brisk wind carried drops of water & thunder was heard, although not a cloud was seen in sky. After some time, the wind picked up so that not only was there a dust storm, but even small pebbles were blown here & there. Meteors fell from the sky & earth trembled. When the Sun rose, it lacked its usual splendor. And yet both armies looked magnificent & all warriors appeared jubilant in anticipation When Maharaj Yudhisthira saw the vast Kaurava army with Bhisma in its midst, he became disheartened & his face became pale. He said to his brother Arjun: I don’t think that we have a chance for victory. The vast army containing so many illustrious warriors appears impenetrable Arjun said: Dear brother, you must remain confident, knowing that even though we are inferior in numbers, victory is always with the righteous. You have forgotten that Lord Krsna is protecting us? Sri Krsna is the Supreme...
Read more
Image
Emotions! As R āksasās led by Ghatotkaca attacked, only Asvattāma remained firm & dispelled their illusions. Ghatotkaca rushed at Asvattāma, but the son of Drona drove him back with a forceful stream of arrows. The son of Ghatotkaca, named Anjanaparva joined the fray, showering his arrows upon Asvattāma, but Drona’s son quickly retaliated by knocking down his flag, killing his two drivers, breaking his bow & at last killing his horses   Anjanaparva flew into the sky & began showering trees upon Asvattāma. In retaliation the son of Drona afflicted him so severely that the Rāksasā soon had to return to the shelter of his chariot. Asvattāma discharged a fierce arrow that took away Anjanaparva’s life & then continued to slaughter many other Pāndava warriors   Ghatotkaca became terribly aggrieved seeing the death of his son & so he rushed at Asvattāma while challenging him. In the spectacular duel that followed the entire sky became lit up by the spark...
Read more
Image
  Emotional outburst – It hurts!   Hearing Bhima’s roar, all Pāndava warriors triumphantly blew conch shells & shouted with joy. Duryodhana went to Drona on a swift chariot. With great anger he said: O Preceptor! Arjun, Sātyaki & Bhima have approached Jayadratha after vanquishing our soldiers. How could you let them defeat you & then pass right thro’ your army? Do you not know that all our warriors harshly criticize you for this grievous lapse? Anyways, let us forget what has passed. Now pls instruct me about what should be done for Jayadratha’s protection?   Drona replied: To protect Jayadratha is certainly our foremost duty, but I wish to remind you that all our present sufferings were brought about because you made Sakuni challenge Yudhisthira to gamble at the dice board. That dice game was the preliminary contest, but this war is the real gambling match wherein Jayadratha has become the stake & the deadly arrows are the dice. Go now, my dear Du...
Read more