13. Those eighteen days – Abhimanyu killed – Avoid guilt for uncontrollable events – Mahabharata wisdom

Podcast:

Video:

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna welcome back to the narration of those 18 days the Kurukshetra war and the dramatic incidents and the life lessons thereof on the 13th day one of the biggest acts of heroism and despotism and tragedy happened Yudhishthira was the target of Dronacharya and two successive days he had been baffled by Arjuna’s intervention so on the 13th day Dronacharya made a plan to use the chakra viva and only Arjuna knew how to break that formidable military formation chakra viva literally means a viva a military formation that is like a circle so there are multiple layers and multiple blockages so that it is almost impenetrable and as the formation moves forward it can just destroy the opposing army and if anybody can break into it they can be very terribly trapped inside it so Arjuna was sidetracked by the challenge of the Samchapatakas headed by Susharma along with the Trigartas and thus there was no one who could break into the chakra viva seeing that military formation Yudhishthira became thoughtful Arjuna had been taken quite a far distance away and he was busy fighting with a large number of forces so therefore Abhimanyu decided that he needed an alternative to be able to stop and the only person who could stop was Abhimanyu so how would Abhimanyu be able to stop because he knew how to enter the chakra viva long ago when Arjuna was explaining military formations to Subhadra Abhimanyu had heard it some traditions say that it is while he was in her womb he heard it and then she nodded off and Arjuna stopped speaking but the point was that he had heard only how to go inside he did not know how to come out so when he was called by Yudhishthira he said today our entire army will be destroyed and Drona will fulfil his vow to have me arrested if you can break into the chakra viva then our army can be saved today Abhimanyu looked hesitant he said I know of course how to go in but I do not know how to come out I will be trapped inside Yudhishthira said we will follow you right behind I and many other warriors Dhrishtadyumna and Nakula Sahadev we will all follow right behind you just break the chakra viva we will all come inside and from inside we will destroy this military formation and Bhima was nearby Bhima also heard and he said I will be with you Abhimanyu looked at the expectant faces of all his venerable uncles and other elders and he said it is my duty and my honour and my pleasure to be of service to you today I will exhibit a fight that has never been seen in the history of the world and these are ways in which Kshatriyas evoke their own martial spirits when they are fighting and Drona was at the head of the military formation and Abhimanyu charged toward it it was a fierce but brief fight as showers of arrows were being shot Abhimanyu was just waiting for the opportunity and the vulnerability while he was fighting with Drona he was observing the military formation and where he noticed vulnerability while fighting with Drona he shifted his arrows hurled dozens of arrows at that weak point and suddenly he also shot several arrows at Drona at rapid speed and stunned Drona and with a quick fainting moment he charged into the point where he had made a breach and such was his ferocity of the attack that the breach he had created by his early attack broke under his further attack and he raced into the Chakravyuha, Drona was stunned but he saw that Abhimanyu had already entered as the Pandavas followed and there was chaos in the Kaurava camp because this was a unstoppable military formation and they had expected victory they had not expected it to be broken and broken so easily and that too by a 16 year old lad while there was chaos the Pandavas took that opportunity to race right in but suddenly horrifyingly unexpected thing happened, Jaidrath suddenly came in between now he was ordinarily no match to the Pandavas even one of them what to speak of four of them and yet he single handedly held all of them back the Pandavas along with Drishtadyumna and other Kaurava Pandava warriors were all held back by Jaidrath and seeing this stunning feat the Kaurava warriors who had been broken apart by Abhimanyu’s penetration cheered and gathered their morale and gathered themselves again in the military formation, the Pandavas fought fiercely, desperately but in front of their terrified eyes they saw the bridge close and their beloved 16 year old nephew was trapped inside the chakra meanwhile Abhimanyu had rushed right into the middle of the enemy camp, enemy forces and he was fighting furiously, he soon noticed that there was no one following him but here was his opportunity for glory here was the necessity for him to fight at his best and fight he did none of the Kaurava warriors could stand against him, he was like the commander of the gods Skanda destroying the Asuras, the Kaurava army was devastated, it seemed as if it would be decimated, alarmed and enraged, Duryodhana charged towards Abhimanyu and as Abhimanyu and Duryodhana fought with each other, Duryodhana’s anger was no match to Abhimanyu’s skill and as Duryodhana started getting wounded again and again, his pride would not allow him to retreat but Abhimanyu’s prowess would not allow him to stay seeing his predicament, several other Kaurava warriors came to assist him as others challenged Abhimanyu, Abhimanyu broke through all of them, either destroying them or scattering them and continuing on his relentless attack Karna challenged Abhimanyu, as Karna fought with Abhimanyu, he sensed that Abhimanyu seemed in every way to be equal to Arjuna he couldn’t find any weaknesses in Abhimanyu’s defences and such was Abhimanyu’s fierce fighting that Karna was severely wounded by a sudden and sharp set of arrows that Arjuna’s son shot at him Karna fell back wounded, seeing this Dronacharya charged towards Abhimanyu but Abhimanyu repulsed even the great teacher who was the teacher of his own father then Ashwatthama charged towards Abhimanyu, Abhimanyu knocked him down and he fell back Karna came forward again and again Arjuna’s son defeated Arjuna’s arch rival Dushasan seeing all the Kaurava warriors perplexed came forward to attack Dushasan often had more heroism than skills, yes he had skills he was a great warrior but he often overestimated his abilities and there would be whenever he would charge out of impulse into a fight for a brief while he would be able to hold his own against formidable Pandava warriors whether it be Arjuna or whether it be others, whether it be Bhima but after some time he would be overcome and he would fall back, the same thing happened every single one of the Kaurava warriors their prominent generals were all stunned and overpowered by Abhimanyu at that time a powerful Kaurava ally Ashimaka challenged Abhimanyu and they fought fiercely although Ashimaka was a great hero and he had enormous skill still this seemed to be Abhimanyu’s day, nobody could what to speak of defeat him even detect any weakness in him and right before the astounded and alarmed eyes of the Kaurava warriors Abhimanyu slew Ashimaka then Karna when second time he had been he had been overpowered one of Karna’s brothers another son of Adhiratha had charged towards Abhimanyu and although Abhimanyu bore no malice towards anyone seeing this warrior attack him fiercely Abhimanyu shot and killed him Karna was incensed while he was watching Shalya’s Shalya attacked, Shalya was very powerful warrior but Abhimanyu stunned him, wounded him and he fell back seeing his discomfiture Shalya’s brother Madra came forward to attack Abhimanyu and Abhimanyu fought with such ferocity that within a short while Madra met his end the Kauravas were at their wits end the day which was supposed to be their victory seemed to have turned into a nightmare the military formation which was supposed to be the key to their dominating their opponents had now become the cause of their opponent decimating them. The Kaurava warriors assembled with great alarm Jaikuni said there is no way we can kill him by fair means we have to use hook or crook Drona watched Abhimanyu fighting with admiration, open admiration he said oh warriors do you see any weaknesses in his defences how do you think we can defeat him I see that he is equal to Arjuna in every way and none of us will be able to defeat him Duryodhana was still seething at his being defeated by the 16 year old boy and all his generals being defeated by him and his entire army being destroyed still he somehow smiled somewhat sarcastically he said oh preceptor it is your partiality towards the Pandavas because of which you are exciting at his defeating our army you are our commander he at one level wanted to goad Drona but he was also afraid he might have gone too far and Drona might get so angry that he might not fight at all so immediately he changed his tone and said oh Acharya we are all at your mercy please guide us how we can defeat him Karna also said yes I too have seen his valour, I have felt the sting of his arrows it’s only because of my Kshatriya duty that I still stay on this battlefield after having been pestered by him twice oh Acharya you will surely know how we can defeat him Drona looked down and he suggested something he said none of us will be able to defeat him alone hear carefully oh Karna what you need to do there was tension always between Karna and Drona because Karna felt he had been unfairly refused education by Drona in his academy but here that same Karna was asking Drona for help and Drona felt that as he was the commander of the army he had a duty to protect that army he said oh Karna if you attack Abhimanyu and destroy his bow, the reins of his chariot and his chariot wheels at the same time Ashwatthama you destroy his charioteer and you Krutak Varma you kill his horses and if at the same time Drona I myself along with Krutak Varma and the king Drona if we attack him together we might be able to take him down all the Kaurava warriors knew this was horrendously unfair but they saw no alternative and their plan went as per what they had envisioned and soon Abhimanyu was left weaponless, chariotless charioteerless, horseless still remaining fearless Abhimanyu took up a sword and fought from his chariot his sword was broken within moments he picked up another sword and he picked up a mace and left off his motionless chariot and started charging towards the Kauravas but they all shot arrows towards him, he whirled round and round and round to whisk away all the arrows that were surging towards him but the attack was too much using his mystic powers he rose into the sky and from there he started swinging his sword in various ways exhibiting astonishing movements as he countered the weapons coming towards him looking up at Abhimanyu Abhimanyu took careful aim and while Abhimanyu was trying to parry other arrows with his sword, Drona cut off his sword simultaneously Karna took off his shield defenceless Abhimanyu came down and looked around nearby saw a wheel remembering how Krishna had used a wheel to charge towards Bhishma, he took that wheel and he charged towards Drona as he was charging with absolutely no trepidation, it was the Kaurava warriors who were stunned to see his unflinching heroism but they all shot arrows simultaneously at him and his wheel broke, enraged at this unfair and brutal assault Ashwathama looked around and he saw a mace, he picked up that mace and he saw nearby Ashwathama’s chariot he raced towards Ashwathama’s chariot and leapt into the air to smash that mace right on that chariot, such was the force at which he was following that Ashwathama realised he could not counter it, Ashwathama just left the front of his chariot and the entire chariot along with the charioteer and the horses were crushed by the force of Abhimanyu’s wheel Abhimanyu using that mace turned around started whirling it around, destroying whoever came in his way Shakuni’s brother Kalikeya tried to attack Abhimanyu and Abhimanyu destroyed him though he was in a very vulnerable situation yet he fought with such force and ferocity that he destroyed whoever approached him Dushasan’s son Durjaya on a big powerful chariot charged towards Abhimanyu, Abhimanyu using his mace raced towards that chariot and brought that mace smashing down on Durjaya’s chariot, the same way he had done for Ashwathama Durjaya leapt off the chariot in the nick of time grabbing a mace and then he turned around and challenged Abhimanyu they both fought fiercely normally Abhimanyu would have easily defeated Durjaya but here he was tired, his reflexes were slow still he held up against Durjaya’s attacks but as both of them were dodging blows both of them made a sudden motion and both of them hit each other and both of them went down after a few moments both of them got up, Durjaya got up sprang up and picked up his mace, Abhimanyu too got up but having fought for so long against so many warriors he was tired, he was slow in getting up and before he could use his mace to defend himself, Durjaya brought his mace, smashed it down upon Abhimanyu’s skull, his skull broke apart and that great warrior fell dead as the Kaurava warriors gathered around him, they saw that although there was a brutal wound on his skull but still his face remained serene, it was like a fully blossoming lotus in autumn, the Kaurava warriors cheered jubilant at having defeated the enemy who at their paw was undefeatable, as their shouts of celebration reverberated across the battlefield, they reached Pandavas from the moment they had seen the Chakraviva close, they had been waiting in agony, they tried again and again to break the Chakraviva but it was impossible Yudhishthira especially felt extremely remorseful, extremely guilty and then he sensed that Abhimanyu had been killed and then the news was confirmed he sank into his chariot in utter angst what had he done for the sake of his own life he had sent a sixteen year old boy to death, looking around he saw his brothers and other warriors distraught remembering his duty as a king he tried to pull himself together and he tried to console them, Abhimanyu fought and fearlessly fought like never before and he has surely attained a hero’s end he will attain auspicious abode in the next life we needn’t lament for him although he tried to console him he couldn’t prevent his grief from overwhelming him, he said he spoke out more to himself than to others although those others around him could hear him alas, that sixteen year old boy deserved all care, protection and comfort from me and yet for my own safety I send him to his death, how selfish I am, for my own interest I offered as a sacrificial lamb the son of Arjuna, indeed when he comes what will I speak to him how will I give this terribly inauspicious news to that auspicious lady Subhadra, her name was Subhadra but he had to give her an abhadra news an auspicious news I am a criminal to all of them to Arjuna, to Subhadra and to Krishna who was the uncle of a woman in the meanwhile the sun had sunk, the day’s war ended and the Pandavas went back to their tent in utter dejection as Yudhishthira was lamenting again and again and nobody could console him the other Pandavas themselves were distraught but even all the Pandava warriors were distraught because of his cheerful and lively disposition and his heroism Agamanyu had become a favourite among all the Kaurava warriors and they all lamented his death as Yudhishthira was lamenting, sitting in his tent, suddenly at that time Vyasadeva came over there seeing him, Yudhishthira got off his chariot got off his seat, pulled himself together offered him his obeisances and he said O sage, we are all shattered because Subhadra’s son has been killed Vyasadeva looked at him gravely and he said, O king, men of superior wisdom like you do not lament the death that is inevitable kings far greater than Abhimanyu both greater in valour and virtue have also met their death sooner or later, no living being in this world can violate the law of death Yudhishthira said, seeing how many people have been killed in this war we have realised the reality and the gravity of death why O sage, does death exist as Yudhishthira asked this question he felt himself moving to a comfortable ground he was always happy and comfortable discussing philosophy, now philosophy was not just a comfort but a shelter for him as his own guilt was afflicting him, Vyasadeva’s words provided him solace as he explained the origin of death in the misidentification of the immortal soul with the mortal body as Vyasadeva continued his narration Yudhishthira felt his his heart was still heavy but the grip of grief on his heart he felt and then as Vyasadeva continued his narration he said O king, grief achieves nothing but to sap the energy of those who indulge in it, as Yudhishthira pondered these words, he asked the question that was there on all the Pandavas’ minds, how was Jaidrath able to stop all of us, he said Jaidrath had a vow from Lord Shiva that one day he would be able to stop all of you except Arjuna and he used that vow today Bhima punched his face in frustration although there was an explanation but there was no release of the one who was still dead Vyasadeva looked with kind eyes at all the Pandavas and again he fixed his eyes on Yudhishthira and he said O king, do not lament the inscrutable will of the Lord surely could well be the affair of everyone if you do his will, you will realise that in due course, offering consoling and comforting words to Yudhishthira along with words of profound wisdom Vyasadeva got up to depart Yudhishthira got up, his heart was somewhat lightened after hearing Vyasadeva’s words but still he dreaded the task of telling Arjuna what had happened, he knew none of the soldiers and warriors would tell him that burden lay on him and all, here we see that Yudhishthira, was he guilty? he was not in one sense he had sent Abhimanyu but they had a plan and as per that plan they would have been able to not only protect Abhimanyu but protect their entire army and defeat them sometimes we make plan with the best of the intentions and the best of the information that we have but sometimes factors beyond our control factors beyond our knowledge come into play with all of us, now the action that we start may lead to a disaster but we can’t beat ourselves down with guilt because of what has happened because of what is not our mistake so Yudhishthira was consoled by the words of Vyasadeva, guilt is a very disempowering, distressing and even degrading emotion by degrading because of guilt especially guilt that is false guilt for having done something which we didn’t intend to do, something which happened because of factors beyond our control that guilt discourages us from doing the right thing and thus puts us into the clutches of illusion of self-deception and then what we can do right now, we don’t even do that so sometimes when we act in our life there are terrible consequences that come probably we will never have to bear the kind of consequence that Yudhishthira had to bear to have his nephew killed because of his decision not just his decision, his request but he knew that Vyasadeva’s word destiny was supreme, his destiny is will that Jayadratha was there at that time when Avinu penetrated and he blocked her, so knowing that if we did our best effort whatever was possible for us in that situation and despite that things go wrong, we don’t have to blame ourselves for things that are beyond our control, if we blame ourselves, we disempower ourselves and we disempower ourselves then we can’t do what is in our control but if we take responsibility for ourselves that means if it was our mistake, we acknowledge that it was not our mistake then we move on, either way the important thing is of what can I do right now, that is the key why things happen, asking that question can be very disempowering, sometimes it can give us some answers but it only leads to bafflement and discouragement put aside that question and don’t let guilt disempower us, take responsibility not for the wrongs of the past that were not in our control, take responsibility for doing the right that is right now in our control thank you, Hare Krishna