In this series I outline the epic of the Mahabharata. The events that happened before and after the Bhagavad Gita.

For those that have not watched my Bhagavad Gita series you can find it on    • Bhagavad Gita Complete Summary  

For this series I have drawn inspiration from the works of
Sudipta Bhawmik and Avi Ziv in their series “Stories of the Mahabharata” https://shows.acast.com/thestoriesofm... as well as the illustrated “Mahabharata” by Manoj Publications www.manojpublications.com.

Many images are from the visually stunning Mahabharat by StarPlus available on Youtube

Music by ShidenBeatsMusic from Pixabay

Chapter 50 – WAR: The First Four Days

The first day of the war did not go well for the Pandavas. The two sons of King Virat, Uttar and Shweta were slain by the afternoon of the first day.
Arjuna was shaken. Despite his great skill, they were faced with an overwhelmingly larger army led by numerous formidable warriors. Foremost among them was Bhishma, their own grandfather, whose prowess on the battlefield was unmatched. Each day, he decimated legions of the Pandava forces with relentless ferocity.

By day 2 the Pandavas began making more headway. Among the fiercest of the Pandava army was the young Abimanyu, the valiant son of Arjuna and Subhadra, Lord Krishna’s younger sister. Oftentimes he engaged in battle with Grandfather Bhishma himself. Meanwhile, Bheem carved through scores of the kuru army smashing away thousands of enemies with his deadly mace.

Dhrishtadyumna engaged with Drona in battle on many occasions with no sure winner. While Arjuna at times was so magnificent in battle that armies on both sides stopped to witness the spectacle. To make matter worse for the Kuru army Bheem had summoned his son Ghatotkacha. A half human, half-demon hybrid. Ghatotkacha with his shapeshifting abilities wreaked havoc on Duryodhans army.

While Duryodhan had been pleased with the first day of the war, by the end of the third day he was distraught. Bheem's relentless assaults forced him to retreat on many occasions. He turned his frustrations on Grandfather Bhishma. “You have been too soft with the Pandava brothers. Your affection for Arjuna has allowed him to destroy vast battalions of our army with no answer! I would rather have chosen Karna as Supreme Commander!”

Grandfather Bhishma was greatly insulted and loudly declared “Tomorrow I swear to kill Arjuna in battle or force Lord Krishna to break his vow and take up arms.” The following day, Bhishma unleashed his full fury upon the battlefield, raining death upon thousands of Pandava soldiers. Arrows flew like torrents, targeting both Arjuna and Lord Krishna.

Arjuna could not bring himself to fight with full force against Bhishma, the man who he looked up to as a father. Knowing that if he did not intervene, the Prince Arjuna would lose his life that day, Lord Krishna stepped down from the chariot and picked up a displaced chariot wheel. Raising it into the air Lord Krishna charged at Bhishma. Having fulfilled his vow, of forcing Lord Krishna to take up arms, Bhishma laid down his weapons. Death at the hands of Lord Krishna would grant him instant access into the heavens. Arjuna, ashamed that his inability to fight Bhishma had forced Lord Krishna to break his vow, grabbed onto Lord Krishna’s leg and begged him to put down the wheel.

Lord Krishna relented as Arjuna recommitted himself to fight without restraint.