Vedic Wisdom Talks

Surrender! As Arjun shot an arrow smashing Bhisma's bow to pieces, the grandsire quickly strung another bow but it was cut into pieces as well. Bhisma applauded this feat & after picking up another bow, continued showering arrows upon Sri Krsna & Arjuna Krsna could see that Arjuna fought very mildly & because of this indifference Bhisma was able to slaughter many Pandava warriors. Indeed, Sri Krsna could not tolerate Arjuna's passivity. All of a sudden Krsna jumped from chariot, whip in hand. Roaring repeatedly, He rushed at Bhisma, desiring to kill him. Upon seeing this, all who were in vicinity were struck with wonder & exclaimed: Now Bhisma is slain! Bhisma reverently addressed onrushing Krsna: O lotus-eyed Lord, I bow down to You, the supreme master of all demigods, headed by Lord Brahmä & Lord Siva. Pls come & strike me as You wish, for I'm Your eternal servant & am confident that after being killed by You I'll attain highest destination...

  Tolerate! Susarma & the Trigartas came to assist Drona, sending torrents of arrows. In retaliation Arjuna invoked a vayavya weapon that created such strong winds that not only were many gigantic trees felled, but numerous Trigarta warriors were killed & rest fearfully retreated. Drona counteracted vayavya weapon with Saila weapon to calm things Duryodhana sent a huge elephant division against Bhima, who then picked up his mace & jumped from chariot. As he exterminated elephants, the huge beasts panicked & in stampede that followed they crushed to death many Kaurava soldiers At noon, Bhisma flared up with great energy & began killing Pandava soldiers by thousands. To check him, all great Pandava chariot warriors rushed upon the scene & so all leading Kaurava heroes also joined the fray. In that great conflict the carnage became so gruesome that many warriors exclaimed: To hell with Duryodhana, for he is causing the destruction of all ksatriyas on earth! Dur...

  Affection! 9th day of war After listening to Duryodhana's lamentations, Bhisma thought seriously about fighting with Arjuna. Understanding this, next morning, Kaurava king ordered all great warriors give special protection to Grandsire, especially against attacks of Sikhandi, so that he would be free to kill the Pandavas. Arjuna came to learn of this & he ordered Dhrstadyumna to have Sikhandi attack Bhisma under his protection From the onset Abhimanyu inflicted heavy losses upon Kaurava army while checking other great warriors. Duryodhana ordered Alambusa to confront Subhadra's son. While rushing to attack him, the Raksasa killed a great number of enemy soldiers, causing Pandava army to retreat Indeed, simply by hearing the Raksasa's ferocious roars, many soldiers fell to ground, deprived of their lives due to fear. Draupadi's sons rushed at Alambusa, showering arrows so forcefully that the wounded Raksasa began to fall unconscious. Alambusa quickly recovered ...

Scape-goat! Drona & Dhārtarāstras rushed at Bhima, while Bhisma, Krpa & many others attacked Arjuna. Bhima soon killed 9 of Dhritrāstra's sons, causing the rest to fearfully run away. Drona tried to check Bhima but the Pāndava hero simultaneously resisted his attack & drove away Dhārtarāstras in his presence The sun sank below the western horizon & the two armies retired for the night. In Kaurava camp, Duryodhana, Sakuni, Duhsasana & Karna consulted one another to ascertain means by which Pandavas could be defeated Duryodhana said: It is my opinion that our army is being exterminated because Bhisma, Drona, Krpa, Salya & Bhagadatta don't want to fight whole-heartedly with Pandavas Karna said: O King, you should go to Bhisma & request him to step aside. In that way I'll be free to enter the battlefield and kill the Pāndavas & allies. I think that the Grandsire is very fond of fighting & so he doesn't want to kill Pandavas and thus bring...