14. Those eighteen days – Arjuna’s vow – Do what we can & God will do what we can’t – Mahabharata wisdom

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna, welcome to the narration of those 14 days where we discuss day by day the events on the Kurukshetra war that is the climax of the Mahabharata today we discuss day 14 on the 13th day Abhimanyu was brutally slaughtered by six Kaurava warriors coming together when Arjuna returned on the 13th day, he could see and sense a deathly silence all around the Pandava camp there were no celebratory sounds when he entered into the tent his worst fears turned out to be true he had heard during the heat of the war someone saying that Drona had formed the Chakra Bewar and he had known that apart from him only his son Abhimanyu could penetrate into it but he couldn’t come out, surely he hadn’t been sent in as Arjuna was thinking like this and he entered into the tent where all the warriors would assemble before and after the war, his eyes straight went to the place where his son sit, that throne was empty while all other thrones were occupied his heart stopped, he looked up at Yudhishthira and all his brothers they looked dishevelled and devastated as Arjuna approached Yudhishthira Yudhishthira got up from his chariot and words filled with pain and remorse, Yudhishthira told of the situation by which Abhimanyu had ended up alone and helpless as Arjuna heard the descriptions of the situations he fell to the ground in agony, turning around he lashed out at everyone verbally, looked at his brothers and said are all your weapons just bangles could none of you protect my son Krishna walked up to Arjuna and put his shoulder around his arm and said O Partha calamities visit everyone in this world the wise are characterised by actions that decrease the distress amid calamities not increase the distress O Partha see your brothers are as afflicted as you are by the death of Abhimanyu pray don’t speak words that hurt them further as Arjuna continued to hear about the brutality with which Abhimanyu had been slaughtered, his agony gave way to fury and he resolved to get back at the Kauravas to set right the brutal wrong they had done when he heard about how the Pandavas had made a plan to support Abhimanyu and how that plan had been opportunistically thwarted by Jaidrat, Arjuna felt all his rage concentrate on that wild Sindhu king he was the cause of Abhimanyu’s death, quite often warriors may find themselves weakened but they were saved by their allies at that time to deliberately cut off a warrior from his allies was a malicious act and that too to this way endanger and trap a 16 year old lad was the vilest of demons, Jaidrat deserved to die Arjuna then and there raised his bow and took a vow tomorrow before sunset I will kill Jaidrat and if I can’t I will enter into fire and end my life on hearing Arjuna’s fearsome vow the mood in the Pandava camp changed from dread to anticipation Arjuna in this mood of fury driven by such a vow would be unstoppable the day of the Kauravas great victory and the Pandavas great loss would be followed by a day of stupendous triumph for the Pandavas thinking thus all the Pandava warriors started blowing their conches in a celebratory roar on the other side of the battlefield the Kauravas were celebrating the death of Abhimanyu and suddenly they heard the Pandavas also celebrating well they were surprised trying to figure out what had happened messengers came to them and said told them about Arjuna’s vow Jaidrat was panic struck he said no one can stop Partha when he is enraged his face became a mask of terror and he said oh prince assure me my protection or otherwise I’m fleeing to the Himalayas to hide in those mountains right away Duryodhana sensed an opportunity over here he said oh Sindhu king don’t worry tomorrow Drona will deploy our entire army to stop Arjuna Arjuna will never be able to reach you and will be forced to go to the place where his son has gone today fear not Drona will ensure your protection Drona looked at Duryodhana and Jaidrat in his mind he knew that Jaidrat was dead already he told Jaidrat tomorrow I will arrange my army in such a way that Arjuna will not be able to reach you while he was saying this he knew in his mind that Arjuna alone would not be able to reach Jaidrat but Arjuna was not alone Arjuna was with Krishna and the two of them together would not be stopped even by armies of the gods and the demons combined together yet Drona had a duty and the next morning he arranged his army in a formidable formation when Arjuna came forth to start the battle to fulfil his vow he saw that the Kaurava army was spread 20 miles across and almost double deep the observing sages and celestials from the skies this formation will devour the entire earth what to speak of the Pandava army Drona arranged for several formidable warriors Karna, Ashwatthama Shalya, Rupacharya, Vrishasena to all personally guard Jaidrat and Drona said that he would stand at the front of the army to stop Arjuna from advancing so Krishna told Arjuna O Partha see how Drona has formed the army to foil you reaching Arjuna will be extremely difficult the previous night after Arjuna had made that vow when Krishna and Arjuna were privately together Krishna chided Arjuna You know Partha under the rush of emotions you made a hasty vow it will not be possible it will be very difficult to reach Jaidrat Arjuna was confident and almost nonchalant he said O Krishna I do not understand your anxiety you know my power and I know your power and more poignant words have rarely been spoken the lord knows the power of the devotee and the devotee knows the power of the lord in this case when Krishna reiterated his warning Arjuna and Krishna both remembered the previous night’s conversation they shared a private smile and as the conscious were blown to start the day’s fight Arjuna charged forward one of Duryodhana’s brothers Durmarshin came forward I will stop Arjuna today he fought furiously for a brief while they fought on but soon Arjuna destroyed all the soldiers and warriors supporting Durmarshin and then he wounded Durmarshin so severely his armour was destroyed his weapons were destroyed his chariot was destroyed his standard was knocked down with the next arrow Arjuna could have killed Durmarshin but remembering Bhima’s vow to kill all the Kaurava brothers Arjuna spared him Durmarshin fled then seeing this Dushasan came forward Dushasan too fought but it was just a brief flight Dushasan wounded and battered fled no one could stop Arjuna in this mood and Drona came forward Arjuna offered his respects to Drona and he said oh teacher oh Acharya please let me go ahead and fulfil my vow Dronacharya said that you will not be able to go without defeating me as teacher and disciple started fighting with each other the fight seemed to captivate the whole universe neither of them seemed to get the upper hand it was the early morning Drona though old was still fresh and he kept fighting all of Arjuna’s attempts to push us ahead Krishna reminded Arjuna Arjuna do not go gentle although he is your teacher you have to get past him you are wasting too much time reminded by Krishna’s sharp words Arjuna shot a series of arrows that overwhelmed Drona and while Drona was stunned by that volley Krishna shot Arjuna’s chariot past Drona by the time Drona recovered and turned around he called out oh Arjuna where are you going have you become afraid but Arjuna kept moving rapidly past Drona shot a series of arrows but Krishna moved Arjuna’s chariot so fast as it flowed through the Kaurava ranks that Drona’s arrows fell behind while Dhristaketu called out a challenge to Drona and Drona turned back and Arjuna’s rushed through then Arjuna was challenged by Krutavarman Krutavarman was among the few Yadus who was fighting on the Kurukshetra war Satyaki was one fighting on the Pandava side Krutavarman was another who was fighting on the Kaurava side he had gone with the Narayana Arjuna and Krutavarman were friends and they both fought fiercely yet Krutavarman matched Arjuna till Krishna reminded him forget your friendship with him you don’t have any moment to waste being reminded thus again Arjuna shot a series of arrows so fierce and forceful that Krutavarman was overwhelmed and before Krutavarman could recover from the attack and the wounds Arjuna shot past him he just raced through all the Kaurava warriors one by one by one nobody could stop him the army had seen Arjuna’s valour and skill on every day of the Kurukshetra war but on no day was he ever like this Arjuna enraged by the death of his son was utterly unstoppable the Kaurava soldiers screamed and fled seeing the panic in the army a powerful Kaurava ally Shrutayush challenged Arjuna they both fought fiercely Shrutayush was soon outclassed in the archery fight but he had a mace which was given by Varuna and that could destroy the strongest of enemies but knowing Shrutayush’s wicked tendencies Varuna while gifting that mace to him had warned him if you use this ever against somebody who is not fighting who is a non-combatant this mace will turn around and attack you and destroy you as Shrutayush charged toward Arjuna and Arjuna fought back and Shrutayush’s attacks had been not only countered by Arjuna but had been baffled by Krishna too so in the heat of the moment Shrutayush was somehow desperately wanting to score a hit against those who had thwarted him so when he neared Arjuna’s chariot through the storm of arrows that Arjuna was sending toward him he saw an opportunity to swing that mace at Krishna as he brought that mace down on Krishna Varuna’s prophetic words turned true the mace slipped from his hand and went back and hit him then two Kambhoja princes Vrinda and Anuvinda suddenly attacked Arjuna as he is charging through their combined attack was so forceful that Arjuna was stunned in fact their arrows hit Arjuna so severely that Arjuna swooned Krishna expertly manoeuvred Arjuna’s chariot out of danger while Arjuna gathered his wits back once Arjuna was standing again on his chariot he bit his left and glared angrily at these two princes and shooting a fierce shower of arrows decimated their army and then destroyed both of them Arjuna charged relentlessly moving through the Kaurava ranks seeing his advance from a distance Duryodhana became alarmed he begged to Drona Drona please do something Arjuna will destroy our entire army today all by himself Drona thought carefully the Pandavas had planned their strategy well while Arjuna was flowing through the Kaurava ranks other Pandava warriors were strategically engaged with other Kaurava heroes and he didn’t want to send ahead any of the Kaurava heroes who were deputed to defend Jaidrath he told Duryodhana there is no one at present who can stop Arjuna I do not want to leave Jaidrath lest Arjuna slip through and fulfil his vow before I can stop him the only person who is there now is you O Prince Duryodhana was taken aback he said I might be able to defeat Indra but I cannot defeat Indra’s son when he is in this mood Drona nodded and he said I will not offer you O Prince as a sacrificial lamp to Arjuna when he is in this mood but I can empower him I have an armour that is impenetrable it is a mystical armour and I will put that on you normally I would not risk you but this is an emergency with this armour even Arjuna’s Gandiva won’t be able to injure you hearing this Duryodhana felt inflated after Drona had put on that mystical armour around him by chanting mantras he charged towards where Arjuna was rampaging through his forces he challenged Arjuna now just before this Arjuna actually had done something even more astonishing Krishna had told that Arjuna our horses have become tired such has been the force of the fight and the exertion in racing so far so fast they need rest, they need water, they need grass so Arjuna had jumped off the chariot and shot some mystic arrows and created a lake along with water and grass and Krishna had taken the horses there bravo well done Krishna told Arjuna seeing Arjuna chariotless the Kauravas sensed an opportunity and charged towards him but Arjuna moving round and round in circle shooting arrows continuously stopped all of them, those Kauravas who tried to charge towards him were stopped as if by a wall of arrows and after resting and feeding the horses Krishna came back, Arjuna leapt out of the chariot and both of them had continued Arjuna was fresh and Arjuna Arjuna’s horses were fresh and energised as he was breaking through the Kaurava ranks Duryodhana came, so initially Krishna and Arjuna were both surprised and the Kaurava soldiers were alarmed to see Duryodhana challenging Arjuna but when Arjuna shot his arrows and none of them had any effect the Kaurava warriors supporting Duryodhana became jubilant bravo, bravo, they started cheering him Krishna again chided Arjuna this is not the time to lose touch what is happening your arrows which could penetrate even the earth are falling harmlessly on hitting Duryodhana, Arjuna thought carefully and he said I know what is happening Drona has given his impenetrable armour to him but I know what to do he knew that the armour covered the entire body but not the tips of the fingers while Duryodhana was proudly milking in all the praise he said oh Partha is that your best shoot all your arrows and then I will destroy you and your arrogance he was arrogant and he was literally living in not borrowed plumes borrowed armour, Arjuna smiled aiming carefully he shot arrows rapidly at all the fingertips of Arjuna of Duryodhana, Duryodhana shrieked in pain and dropped his bow and arrow and seeing him writhing and crying like that Krishna and Arjuna laughed and charged past him as Arjuna went deeper and deeper into the Kaurava rank at the base Yudhishthir started becoming anxious yesterday Abhimanyu had been trapped in the Kaurava ranks what if Arjuna was trapped today he turned around to Satyaki who was a student of Arjuna and requested him please go and help your teacher today Satyaki after ensuring that there were other warriors to protect Yudhishthir raced in he saw the trail of destruction that Arjuna had brought while charging through the Kaurava ranks and he followed through and after Satyaki had disappeared deep into the Kaurava ranks, Yudhishthir Satyaki was not much older than Abhimanyu he turned toward Bhima and he said what if Satyaki is trapped please oh Bhima go ahead go into the Kaurava ranks and help Satyaki and your brother gladly Bhima had been engaging with some warriors on the outer rims of the war he was itching to be in the thick of action he jumped at the opportunity that Yudhishthir had provided and he moved through the Kaurava ranks and with just a few hours remaining for the sunset he reached Arjuna Satyaki was already with him and reaching Arjuna he blew his conch, his coin which was so loud and so resonant that the sound reached back to Yudhishthir thereby reassuring him that he was safe and he had reached Arjuna and Arjuna welcomed Bhima and he said that with you and Satyaki assisting me I don’t think the Kauravas have a chance yet they knew that a grim task lay ahead they were now very close to Jaidrath, there was a last line of defence which was there Karna came forward and as Karna charged toward Arjuna, Bhima challenged him and as Arjuna left Karna aside, he knew that he had placed a huge burden on Bhima Karna was no mediocre warrior yet Arjuna had more pressing concerns Arjuna pressed on with great fury, Bhima while keeping Karna engaged also started destroying the warriors supporting him, he killed one after another several of Duryodhana’s brothers as Duryodhana watched on in horror he saw that Bhima had killed 20 of his brothers Arjuna was unstoppable, Satyaki was single handedly destroying the Trigarta army thought are these all divinely aided how is it possible that we can’t stop them as he was panicking look at the sun, the sun was so close to the horizon just a short while, surely if we all come together we will be able to stop Arjuna and he ordered all his warriors to simultaneously attack Arjuna, Arjuna could now see Jaidrath’s chariot with its standard on top of it and yet suddenly he felt he found himself attacked by arrows from all sides it was like a dark cloud of arrows that had descended around him leaving him with practically no sight Arjuna’s bow was stretched almost in a circle as he was discharging arrows continuously but the sheer volume of the attack was such that Arjuna could barely move ahead so close and yet so far Arjuna started despairing and Krishna noticed his friend’s predicament, using his mystic powers Krishna summoned the Sudarshan chakra that was his mystical weapon and as it appeared on his finger the Sudarshan chakra flew into the sky and covered the sun, as the sun disappeared the Kaurava warriors started celebrating Arjuna is dead and as they started thumping their chests and patting each other on the back, Jaidrath emerged jeering at Arjuna should I light your sacrificial fire that seemed his expression Arjuna lowered his bow in consternation Krishna in an urgent voice told him there is still time Arjuna place the Brahmastra on your bow and point it to Jaidrath’s head Arjuna knew that Krishna must be having a plan this was not the time to ask any questions he promptly did as he was told Krishna told him Jaidrath’s father has given him a benediction that anybody who causes Jaidrath’s son Jaidrath’s head to fall on the ground will himself have his head smashed into a thousand crack into a thousand pieces Vrdakshatra, Jaidrath’s father is performing austerities in the Simantpachak mountains some distance away from him shoot the Brahmastra and knock off Jaidrath’s head in such a way that head flies to the air and falls in Vrdakshatra’s lap as Arjuna brought his bow forward to shoot Jaidrath Krishna removes Darshan Chakra the last few rays of the sun still remained and while the Kauravas watched bewildered, Arjuna’s arrow sailed through the sky right in front of their eyes and before Jaidrath could do anything to either defend or dodge the arrow came with blinding speed and knocked off his head and flew high into the sky Vrdakshatra was meditating in the hills and suddenly he felt something fall on his lap, he saw a bloody skull in shock he got up and knocked it down and as that head fell on the ground by the benediction that he had sought his own head cracked into pieces on the battlefield as Jaidrath’s headless body crashed to the ground the Pandavas, Krishna and Arjuna embraced each other, the Kauravas lamented and Arjuna had achieved a stupendous victory this was a race against time and Arjuna had won it by his effort and Krishna’s grace, this story illustrates how we when we do our best exerting to our fullest effort we can leave the rest to the lord that if we do all that we can God will do what we can’t when Arjuna took a vow he did not ask that Krishna fulfil that vow for him when we do something worthwhile, something virtuous something ambitious we can’t expect God to make all the arrangements and make the road easy for us we need to exert, we need to use all the abilities and energies and resources that we have been given by God and when we do our best if still our best falls short as it often may in this world where everything can be incredibly challenging especially everything worthwhile or wonderful at that time whatever we fall short of God will compensate that is the lesson that is dramatically illustrated by Arjuna’s conquest over Jaidrath we do our best and then what if we do our best, if we do all that we can, God will do whatever we can’t. Thank you