The Sun was setting over the horizon , creating a splash of orange
and red , which strangely mirrored the river of blood that was drenching
the ground below - blood of the brave whose stench would be associated
with Kurushetra forever.
It had been fifteen days since the blood shed had begun ; fifteen never ending days where cousin had slain cousin ; teacher had maimed student - blood links broken by affiliations. Fifteen long days where his treacherous heart had fought a battle with his calculative mind and had conceded defeat.
As he gazed at the setting sun , he couldn't help but think about the day that had passed, a day which had started bleakly; ending in triumph, despair and loss. As he glanced at his rejoicing troops , he felt empty inside - an emptiness which was evident from the way he stood - legs apart ; shoulders drooped and eyes clouded. It was as if he was a mere mortal again - a mortal who would have to rub shoulders with his fellow brethren - a mortal privy to the ills and maladies that plagued men - a mortal who had fallen prey to greed and desperation - a mortal who had known what it was to be God and play with fate - and play he did with abandon until it all came crashing down.
The world saw in him an epitome of honesty and yudishtra had known , even at that tender age , that his image was one of the key factors that would play a role in making him king - king over what had belonged to his foster father once - king over what should have been his , had he been Pandu's blood.It was an image which he had been forced to adopt at a tender age of five , while his brothers had been let go scot free. It was an image that he'd adopted when he'd set foot at Hastinapur , an image which had put a fullstop to his childhood , an image so overwhelming that he had sometimes felt heavy , heavy as if hundreds of Bhima's iron statues were piled on his head and he'd have to navigate the mighty Ganges with that load . He had felt like Narayana the protector - who shouldered the Booloka , Swarga and the netherworlds. He had felt god like until it all came crashing down , until his image was shattered to pieces by his own words , shattered to defeat a man who had taught everything he'd known including his deceit , a man whose greatest weakness had been his son - a son whose revenge could prove costly to his side.
It had not taken Yudishtra a long time to determine that his Guru's claim of impartiality was nothing but a sham , a smokescreen created to appease his boss Bhishma , a bid to become rich by being appointed the mahaguru of the Kuru Princes. But it had been years later that he'd discovered the real reason behind the sham.
They had been sent to the river to fetch water for the Abhishek of Lord Shiva's moorthy and as boys of their age were wont to , they had all complained about the menial task when acharya had told them that the first to return would be rewarded - heavily , with knowledge of divine astras. While the others had grabbed their pots and were off to the river , Yudishtra had stopped to examine his brother Arjun's pot - Arjun who was the apple of Drona's eye and his greatest and most favorite pupil. He had been satisfied after a long time that day ; Arjun's pot had a narrow opening , very similar to the one he had , very similar to the one his brothers had. It was as if Drona was sensing the fact that they were equals - equals in stature , talent and determination. It had made him feel good , feel tingly all over , until he'd had a chance to look at a pot - a pot with a mouth wider than all others ; a pot which had been handed to Aswattama , Drona's son.
He had wanted to shout then - Shout at Arjun for believing his guru blindly when the man had claimed him as a favorite ; shout at Duryodhana who'd made Arjun his target due to the blatant favoritism that he had been shown; shout at the world in general where men like his guru thrived. He wanted to shout , shout until his voice was hoarse ; but he's kept quiet. He'd kept quiet despite the questioning glances Arjun had given , despite the fearful glances Drona had thrown. He had kept quite because he had an image to maintain - the image of Yudishtra , Dharmaputra who was honest to a fault and who wouldn't blame others based on his assumptions. He had kept quiet as he's managed to learn a secret that day - a secret that mighty Drona's weakness was his only son.
Just like rakshasas who's life was buried in an egg guarded in an island beyond the seven seas , Drona's life was his son , a son who Yudhistra had protected like one would protect a trump card in a gambling game - a trump card which once played would alter the course of the game - a trump card which might have won him the war today.
As he'd uttered the words "Aswattama hataha naro wa ? Kunjaro Wa" - he'd known that he'd played his trump , trump he'd held dear for years together , a trump which had shattered his image as another Harischandra , a trump which had made his chariot , hit the ground - a chariot which had always been four feet above the ground.
As he gazed at his men who were rejoicing ; he had a sense of foreboding ; foreboding that his actions today would result in terrible consequences , a foreboding which was washed away by the joyful cries of his men who were celebrating victory ; celebrating a death - the death of his Guru.
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PS : In order to defeat Drona , Krsna had come up with a plan to fake Aswattama's death. Drona's only weakness was his son and Krsna had wanted to use that to defeat the man. He had then colluded with Bhima and Yudishtra . Bhima killed an elephant named Aswattama and proclaimed that Aswattama had been killed. Drona had then asked Yudishtra , if it was the truth and Yudishtra had replied in the affirmative , adding in hushed tones that he was not sure if it was the man or the elephant. His hushed statement had been completely driven out by the sound of conches and drums by the Pandava Army and Drona , heartbroken had laid down his arms , only to be beheaded by Drishtadyumna - Drupada's son.
The above is my take on what Yudishtra would have felt then. Yudishtra had always been praised as a superb statesman and that has tempered my view somewhat.
Do share your thoughts on the same :-)
It had been fifteen days since the blood shed had begun ; fifteen never ending days where cousin had slain cousin ; teacher had maimed student - blood links broken by affiliations. Fifteen long days where his treacherous heart had fought a battle with his calculative mind and had conceded defeat.
As he gazed at the setting sun , he couldn't help but think about the day that had passed, a day which had started bleakly; ending in triumph, despair and loss. As he glanced at his rejoicing troops , he felt empty inside - an emptiness which was evident from the way he stood - legs apart ; shoulders drooped and eyes clouded. It was as if he was a mere mortal again - a mortal who would have to rub shoulders with his fellow brethren - a mortal privy to the ills and maladies that plagued men - a mortal who had fallen prey to greed and desperation - a mortal who had known what it was to be God and play with fate - and play he did with abandon until it all came crashing down.
The world saw in him an epitome of honesty and yudishtra had known , even at that tender age , that his image was one of the key factors that would play a role in making him king - king over what had belonged to his foster father once - king over what should have been his , had he been Pandu's blood.It was an image which he had been forced to adopt at a tender age of five , while his brothers had been let go scot free. It was an image that he'd adopted when he'd set foot at Hastinapur , an image which had put a fullstop to his childhood , an image so overwhelming that he had sometimes felt heavy , heavy as if hundreds of Bhima's iron statues were piled on his head and he'd have to navigate the mighty Ganges with that load . He had felt like Narayana the protector - who shouldered the Booloka , Swarga and the netherworlds. He had felt god like until it all came crashing down , until his image was shattered to pieces by his own words , shattered to defeat a man who had taught everything he'd known including his deceit , a man whose greatest weakness had been his son - a son whose revenge could prove costly to his side.
It had not taken Yudishtra a long time to determine that his Guru's claim of impartiality was nothing but a sham , a smokescreen created to appease his boss Bhishma , a bid to become rich by being appointed the mahaguru of the Kuru Princes. But it had been years later that he'd discovered the real reason behind the sham.
They had been sent to the river to fetch water for the Abhishek of Lord Shiva's moorthy and as boys of their age were wont to , they had all complained about the menial task when acharya had told them that the first to return would be rewarded - heavily , with knowledge of divine astras. While the others had grabbed their pots and were off to the river , Yudishtra had stopped to examine his brother Arjun's pot - Arjun who was the apple of Drona's eye and his greatest and most favorite pupil. He had been satisfied after a long time that day ; Arjun's pot had a narrow opening , very similar to the one he had , very similar to the one his brothers had. It was as if Drona was sensing the fact that they were equals - equals in stature , talent and determination. It had made him feel good , feel tingly all over , until he'd had a chance to look at a pot - a pot with a mouth wider than all others ; a pot which had been handed to Aswattama , Drona's son.
He had wanted to shout then - Shout at Arjun for believing his guru blindly when the man had claimed him as a favorite ; shout at Duryodhana who'd made Arjun his target due to the blatant favoritism that he had been shown; shout at the world in general where men like his guru thrived. He wanted to shout , shout until his voice was hoarse ; but he's kept quiet. He'd kept quiet despite the questioning glances Arjun had given , despite the fearful glances Drona had thrown. He had kept quite because he had an image to maintain - the image of Yudishtra , Dharmaputra who was honest to a fault and who wouldn't blame others based on his assumptions. He had kept quiet as he's managed to learn a secret that day - a secret that mighty Drona's weakness was his only son.
Just like rakshasas who's life was buried in an egg guarded in an island beyond the seven seas , Drona's life was his son , a son who Yudhistra had protected like one would protect a trump card in a gambling game - a trump card which once played would alter the course of the game - a trump card which might have won him the war today.
As he'd uttered the words "Aswattama hataha naro wa ? Kunjaro Wa" - he'd known that he'd played his trump , trump he'd held dear for years together , a trump which had shattered his image as another Harischandra , a trump which had made his chariot , hit the ground - a chariot which had always been four feet above the ground.
As he gazed at his men who were rejoicing ; he had a sense of foreboding ; foreboding that his actions today would result in terrible consequences , a foreboding which was washed away by the joyful cries of his men who were celebrating victory ; celebrating a death - the death of his Guru.
*************************************************************************
PS : In order to defeat Drona , Krsna had come up with a plan to fake Aswattama's death. Drona's only weakness was his son and Krsna had wanted to use that to defeat the man. He had then colluded with Bhima and Yudishtra . Bhima killed an elephant named Aswattama and proclaimed that Aswattama had been killed. Drona had then asked Yudishtra , if it was the truth and Yudishtra had replied in the affirmative , adding in hushed tones that he was not sure if it was the man or the elephant. His hushed statement had been completely driven out by the sound of conches and drums by the Pandava Army and Drona , heartbroken had laid down his arms , only to be beheaded by Drishtadyumna - Drupada's son.
The above is my take on what Yudishtra would have felt then. Yudishtra had always been praised as a superb statesman and that has tempered my view somewhat.
Do share your thoughts on the same :-)
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