Long and loud did Duryodhana mourn the death of his dear friends Karna, weeping inconsolably over his lifeless body, while his few remaining generals stood mutely around him. His world had come apart. Most of his brothers were slain by Bhima. Bhishma had been mortally wounded, and Drona foully murdered. And now Karna had been killed likewise, at the moment when he stood defenceless and unarmed!
On the eighteenth day, Duryodhana appointed Shalya the Commander and they went into battle again. But the doom was evident. Yudhishthira met Shalya and after a brave fight killed him, while, another front Sahadeva made short work of Shakuni, Duryodhana's evil uncle with the crafty, poisonous mind. And on the third front Bhima killed a number of the surviving brothers of Duryodhana, at the end of the day, only four warriors survived on the Kaurava side- Kripa, Ashwatthama, Kirtivarman and Duryodhana.
Then Duryodhana, sick and exhausted, fled and took refuge from his enemies among the water weeds, where moorhens and wild ducks nested. And there the Pandavas pursued him, crying out, "Come, Duryodhana, come and fight like a man or surrender. From his shelter, Duryodhana answered them wearily, "My friends, my brothers and all whom I held in esteem are dead, killed on the battlefield. What do I want with an empire now, alone and desolate as I am? Go, Yudhishthira, take my kingdom, take the world and rule it. I give it to you: a kingdom of dead and dying men, of weeping windows and orphaned children. Take this accursed kingdom and rule it."
But Yudhishthira laughed. "We have come this far," he said. "The struggle is nearly over. I do not need you to make me a gift of what I can easily seize from you. Come then and fight us or be forever branded a coward!"
Being challenged like that, Duryodhana emerged from the pool saying, "It was not out of fear that I entered the pool but to quench the fire that torments my body. Come now, and I shall fight each one of you." The fight between Duryodhana and Bhima began. Sparks flew when their maces clashed. They were both evenly matches and the battle raged fierce and long. Those who stood watching were in doubt about the outcome of the struggle. Krishna spoke to Arjuna, "Duryodhana is an expert in this kind of warfare. It may not be possible for Bhima to withstand him much longer. Now is the time to remind Bhima of his pledge."
Taking the hint, Arjuna slapped his thigh loudly. At once the memory of Duryodhana slapping his thigh while Draupadi was being humiliated some thirteen years earlier came flooding to Bhima's mind. He was also reminded of the vow he had taken at the time that he would break Duryodhana's thighs. Leaping into the air like a tiger, Bhima brought down his mace on Duryodhana's thighs. Being the weakest part of his body, they broke under the terrific blow. Bhima then jumped on his fallen enemy and viciously danced. Yudhishthira rebuked him, saying, "Do not trample upon him, Bhima, for Duryodhana is your cousin and a prince. Whatever his faults, whatever our suffering, your conduct is not worthy of a Kshatriya!"
Now the terrible Kurukshetra war was nearly over. Ashwatthama, bending over the dying Duryodhana, felt upset to see how he had been done to death. The memory of his father, Drona, murdered treacherously, of Bhishma and Karna and all who had fallen came to his mind. "I will avenge you!" whispered Ashwatthama fiercely. Duryodhana smiled and in his dying breath named him commander. That dark and sordid night, when all lay sleeping, Ashwatthama entered the Pandava camp and with his sword cut the throats of all who slept there-Dhrishtadyumna, his chief enemy, the five sons of Draupadi, and all those he found except the five Pandavas and Satyaki and Krishna, who were not in the camp. | |