Action:
- Yudhistira is struck by his conscience and starts to think of ways to make peace with his kinsmen.
- Yudhistira is right to worry about Krishna’s safety if he goes to speak with Duryodhana. I really don’t understand how everybody seems to overlook how malicious he is, as if appealing to his reason might someday persuade him to make a logical decision. Duryodhana reminds me of Ravana. Surely he acknowledges hos reckless his actions are, but he won’t accept a peaceful conclusion.
- Vidura seems like a pretty rational character, too bad his advice has no influence on Dhritarashtra.
- Another thing that I don’t understand is how Duryodhana can expect a war against his cousins to end well for him. The Pandavas have proven time and time again that they are much better warriors and far more rational people, yet Duryodhana thinks that he can beat them in battle.
Hesitant Hero:
- So before the battle began, Yudhistira took off his armor and walked across the battle field to bow to Drona and touch the feet of Bhishma before returning to his side. The Kauravas thought that Yudhistira was coming to beg for mercy, but it seems that he did this as a sign of respect for his kinsmen and the other elders before they are slain in battle. I don’t know how this act ultimately made Yudhistira’s opponents feel, but it probably did not provide any boost to their morale.
- Arjuna does not wish to fight the members of Duryodhana’s army.
- The battle is said to last 18 days.
Delirium of Destruction:
- Arjuna basically uses a woman named Sikandi as a shield so that he can get close enough to kill Bhishma, who was taking quite a toll on the Pandavas’ army. When Bhishma realizes that Arjuna is hiding behind the woman, he attempts to throw a javelin at Arjuna but the spear is parried and Arjuna sticks several arrows in him. Both sides stop fighting when Bhishma falls.
- Apparently Duryodhana gets the bright idea that the solution to the war is capturing Yudhistira and challenging him to another round of dice so that he can be exiled for another 12 years. Not sure how that’s supposed to work… “Stop the war so we can play dice! Oh, looks like you lost at dice so now you’re exiled and the war cannot continue.” Doesn’t seem like a logical course of events…
- Is Aswathama truly invincible? We are first told that he cannot be vanquished, then they decide that they can still fool Drona into thinking that they killed his son. If this is the case, shouldn’t Drona be aware of his son’s invincibility, thus rendering him immune to their trickery? Regardless, the idea worked and Drona’s head was cut off.
- Even when Duryodhana’s entire army is falling, he refuses to pursue a peaceful conclusion.
- Bhima finally brought down Duryodhana, maybe everybody will go back to living in peace now!
Victory and Sorrow:
- Dhritarashtra is so furious that Bhima killed his son that he crushes an iron statue that resembles Bhima. Dhritarashtra does not appear to realize that it is only a statue but crushing it was enough to exhaust his rage, so that’s good.
- After a seemingly hopeless argument in which Yudhistira kept insisting on becoming a recluse, everybody finally convinced Yudhistira to become king.
- After advising Yudhistira on his duties as king, Bhishma finally allowed himself to die and Yudhistira went on to rule for 36 years.
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