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Sri Krishna’s unsuccessful endeavor to stop the war
Lord Sri Krishna tried to stop the war by personally meeting Prince Duryodhan. Sri Krishna proposed in the royal court of the Kauravas that if Duryodhan would grant the Pandavas just 5 villages then the Pandavas would be ready for a truce & war could be completely avoided.
Imagine a battlefield where destiny unfolded, a stage where gods, warriors, and mortals alike played their part in a cosmic drama. The Mahabharata War, fought on the sacred land of Kurukshetra, was more than just a clash of arrows and swords—it was a profound confrontation of dharma (righteousness) and adharma (unrighteousness), a battle that would redefine the course of history and leave timeless lessons etched in the hearts of generations to come.
For 18 tumultuous days, this epic war wasn’t just a test of strength and strategy; it was a spiritual revelation, a philosophical discourse, and a moment of truth for humanity. With Shri Krishna guiding Arjuna through the Bhagavad Gita’s divine teachings, each sunrise brought a new chapter of valor, sacrifice, and the relentless pursuit of justice.
This isn’t just a story of heroes and villains; it’s a saga of choices, consequences, and the eternal struggle between good and evil. Step onto the soil of Kurukshetra with us as we unravel what truly transpired during those fateful 18 days, and uncover how this ancient war continues to echo its wisdom in today’s world. Brace yourself to relive the war that changed everything.
1st day of the Mahabharat war at Kurukshetra
On the first day, Krishna-Arjuna were standing between the armies with their chariot and Shri Krishna was giving Arjuna the sermons of Shrimad Bhagvad Gita. Bhishma Pitamah announced that the war was about to begin.
At this time, any warrior who wanted to change his camp was free to fight from whichever side he chose. After this announcement, Dhritarashtra’s son Yuyutsu went to the Pandavas camp, leaving the Kaurava playing the drums. After the preaching of Shri Krishna, Arjuna declared war by blowing a conch shell named Devadatta.
▪️Highlights
- 10 thousand soldiers died.
- Bhima attacked the Duhshashan & Abhimanyu cut Bhishma’s bow and flag on his chariot.
- The sons of Virat Naresh, North and White, were killed by Shalya and Bhishma respectively.
- Pandava’s army suffered heavy losses at the end of the first-day war.
2nd Day of Mahabharata War
There was a war between Arjuna and Bhishma, Dhrishtadyumna and Drona. Satyaki injured Bhishma’s charioteer. Dronacharya defeated Dhrishtadyumna several times and cut off many of his bows. Arjuna was injured many times by Bhishma.
But still, Arjun successfully kept confronting Bhishma and did not allow him to completely annihilate the army of the Pandavas. Bhim(Bheem) fought with Kalingas and Nishad and thousands of Kalinga soldiers and Nishad was killed by Bheem.
Kaurav army lost Kalingaraj Bhakti, Ketuman, and other Kalinga vali warriors. At the end of the 2nd day of the war, it was the Pandav army who was dominating the Kaurav Army contrary to the 1st day.
3rd Day of Mahabharat War
The Kauravas created Garuda Yuha (military formation) and the Pandavas created a Crescent moon-like Military formation. Bhim & his son Ghatotkacha were dominating Kaurav army. Seeing this, Bhishma caused horrific destruction on Pandav Army.
Shri Krishna asked Arjuna to kill Bhishma, but Arjuna denies. He says he can’t fight Bhishma as he respects Bhishma Pitamah very much. So Shri Krishna signifies that he is going to break his vow of not picking up a weapon in the battlefield & is going to kill Bheeshma by himself.
On seeing this, Arjun assures Sri Krishna that he will fight honestly & sincerely without bothering about whether the person going to take a fall as a result of his bows is his brother, uncle of Pitamah and then starts, killing the Kaurava army.
Arjun, by showering arrows, kills Prachya, Sauvir, Khudrakar and Malav warriors. Duryodhana was stunned by Bhima’s arrow and then his charioteer drove the chariot away to save his life.
3rd Day of War is once again dominated by Pandav army
4th Day of Mahabharata War
The Kaurava army tried to limit Arjuna with their arrows, but Arjuna drove everyone away by showering arrows. Bhima was running horror on the Kaurava army. So Duryodhana sent his Elephant army to kill Bhima, but with the help of son named Ghatotkacha, Bhima destroyed them all.
Bhim & Escape velocity of Elephants
It is said that Bhim started hurling the elephants & throwing them in all directions. Some of those elephants which he had thrown upwards were thrown with such force that they escaped the gravitational field of earth. The momentum imparted to the elephants by the mighty Bhim was such that the elephants might still be travelling in some part of space, probably in some other distant galaxy.
Bhim killed 14 Kauravas too but later engaged in battle by King Bhagadatta(a Kaurav warrior) for quite some time. Later Bhishma was also fiercely challenged by Arjun and Bhim in the battle.
The 4th day of war was also dominated by Pandav Armies with unparallel bravery and courage of Bhima and Arjun.
5th Day of Mahabharata War
Arjun and Bhim fought fiercely. Satyaki kept Dronacharya busy & prevented him from committing complete destruction of Pandav army. Satyaki was banished from the battlefield by Bhishma. On this fateful day,10 sons of Satyaki were killed. 5th day was neutral for both armies of Kauravs and Pandavs.
6th Day of the Mahabharat War
6th Day war was about one military formation fighting against another military formation
- The Kauravas brought the Kronch Vyuh (Bird like military formation) and the Pandavas created the Makarvuh-shaped army in the battlefield Kurukshetra.
- Dronacharya lost his charioteer. and was getting too frustrated due to losses in the war
- Bhisma nearly eliminated the entire army of King Panchal who was an ally of the Pandav Camp. 6th Day both armies were fighting with each other very fiercely, but the day belonged to none
7th Day of the Mahabharata War
The Kaurav Army created a Mandal Vyuh(a kind of a specific military formation) & Pandavas answered it by forming Vajra Vyuh(a kind of specific military formation). Arjuna, by his own tactics, created a stampede and havoc in the Kaurava army.
Pandav army General Dhrishtadyumna defeated Duryodhana in battle. Kaurav warriors Vind and Anuvind were defeated by Arjuna’s son Iraavaan. Bhagadatta, Ghatotkacha and Nakula, Sahadeva together start dominating Kaurav armies.
On seeing this, Bhishma was enraged. He started to kill the Pandava army fiercely. Kaurava side suffered heavy losses due to the death of Virat’s son Shankh. On the 7th day of Mahabharata war, both sides keep fighting fiercely and detrimentally but no one was a clear winner of the day.
8th Day of the Mahabharat War
The Kauravas created a Kurma Vyuh(Tortoise military formation) and the Pandavas created a Three-Pronged Military formation (Tri Shul Vyuh). Bhima slaughtered eight Kauravas. The son of Arjuna’s second wife Ulupi, Iravan was slaughtered by Bakasur’s son, Aashtashrang.
Ghatotkacha used his supernatural power on Duryodhana, but King of Bang pushed Duryodhana away and faced this assault on himself. King of Bang dies due to this use of supernatural power of Ghatotkach.
Then on the orders of Bhishma, Bhagadatta defeats Ghatotkacha. By the end of the day, Bhim slays nine more Kaurav. Arjuna’s son Iraavaan was slaughtered by ambush. Total 17 Kaurav got killed on this very 8th-day war.
9th Day of the Mahabharat War
Krishna’s sermon to Pandavs lead to a fierce battle. Bhishma injured Arjuna and as a result of the arrows raining from Bhishma, Arjun’s chariot was broken.
On observing the half-hearted fight being offered by Arjun, Krishna broke his vow of not picking up a weapon during the Mahabharat war in order to stop the horrific destruction caused by Bhishma. Sri Krishna took a chariot wheel in hand and rushed towards Bhishma. Arjun screamed & requested Shri Krishna to calm down & come back. Arjun promised to kill Bhishma as soon as possible in the battle.
But Bhishma killed a big part of the armies of Pandavs on this day. 9th Day was clearly dominated by the Kaurav army due to the un-parallel bravery of Kaurav army’s General, Pitamah Bhishma. Pandavs were stunned & scared to some extent, as they witnessed such brutal slaughter of their soldiers.
The rest of the happenings from the 10th day to the 18th day at the Mahabharat war will be posted shortly…