Drona Parva describes the events during the five days (days eleven to fifteen) when Drona was the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army. He advised Duryodhana to distract Arjuna and keep him away from Yudhistira to capture the elder Pandava brother. When Sanjaya was describing the day’s events, Dhritarashtra wanted to imagine the scenes in his mind. […]
Back on the Kurukshetra battlefield, both sides, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, were ready and facing each other. The warriors were dressed up in armours and stood on their chariots filled with weapons. Arjuna had Krishna as his charioteer. To signal their intention, Krishna and the Pandavas blew their conches loudly. The sounds reverberated throughout […]
After listening to the details of ill omens regarding the impending war, Dhritarashtra asked Vyasa to tell him about good omens that predicted victory in the war. Though he repeated that he accepted the fate of his sons and their destruction, he was still hopeful the results would favor Duryodhana somehow. Vyasa mentioned a few […]
Even a few hours before the war, Vyasa tried to convince Dhritarashtra to do the right thing (return Indraprastha to the Pandavas as per the terms of the agreement) and prevent the war from destroying many lives. However, Dhritarashtra said he couldn’t do it. Vyasa then offered to give him a temporary sight to witness […]
Before the war began, the Kauravas and Pandavas agreed upon a set of rules to follow on the battlefield. These were established according to the laws of dharma. However, charioteers were often victims when the warriors were engaged in a duel. They were safe when there was no warrior in the chariot or when the […]
The Pandavas and Kauravas set up camps on either side of the extensive Kurukshetra battlefield. On the night before the start of the war, Duryodhana asked Bhishma to rank the warriors on both sides. Bhishma did so and explained that he would not raise his weapons against Shikandin, Draupada’s eldest child. Bhishma revealed that Shikandin […]
Kunti narrated a conversation between Queen Vidula and her son to Krishna and asked him to share it with her sons, the Pandavas, to inspire them for the war. Krishna’s peace talks didn’t convince Duryodhana. In fact, Duryodhana and his trusted advisors (Karna, Shakuni, and Duhshasana) planned to imprison Krishna so that he wouldn’t help […]
Despite multiple rounds of advice, Duryodhana didn’t change his mind. Instead, he slapped his thigh to show he was capable of defeating anyone. To this, Narada said that it was rare for people to listen to well-wishers and their meaningful advice. He gave the example of how Galava faced defeat due to obstinacy. A long time […]
After Parasurama completed the story of King Dhambhodbhava, Rishi Kanva spoke about the greatness of Narayana. He told Duryodhana not to think he was the strongest of everyone and that the Pandavas were superior since they had other capabilities too. He narrated how Matali, Indra’s charioteer, found a worthy groom for his daughter and achieved […]
Find out how King Dambhodbhava was defeated by Nara and Narayana. Yudhistira asked Krishna to visit Hastinapura with a peace message as one last attempt before the war. Krishna agreed, saying he would rather try everything he could so that no one would blame him (yet, Gandhari did). When Krishna was at the sabha in […]
In the last part of the Aranyaka Parva, Rishi Vaisampayana narrated how Indra planned to take Karna’s golden armor. Surya Deva appeared in Karna’s dreams to warn him. When Karna didn’t listen, Surya Deva told him to ask Indra for the shakti missile in exchange for the armor. At this point, King Janamejaya asked Vaisampayana about […]
After Rishi Markandeya finished narrating Ramayana, Yudhistira said he didn’t grieve for himself but for his brothers and Draupadi. He then asked if the rishi knew of any woman who was as devoted to her husbands as Draupadi was. Rishi Markandeya shared the story of Savitri and how she convinced Yama Dharmaraja to return her husband’s […]