Kurukshetra War

Kurukshetra War
File:Kurukshetrawar.jpg Fought for 18 days, the Battle of Kurukshetra was one of the great battles fought in ancient India. Shown here is Arjuna and his charioteer Krishna between the two warring armies.
Date Between 3200 and 3100 BCE Location Kurukshetra Result Pandava victory
Belligerents
Pandavas led by Dhristadyumna	Kauravas led by Bhishma
Commanders and leaders
Arjuna Bhima Yudhishthira Nakula Sahadeva	Bhishma Drona Karna Duryodhana

The Kurukshetra War forms an essential component of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. According to Mahabharata, a dynastic struggle between sibling clans of Kauravas and the Pandavas for the throne of Hastinapura resulted in a battle in which a number of ancient kingdoms participated as allies of the rival clans. The location of the battle was Kurukshetra in the modern state of Haryana in India. Attempts have been made to date this battle based on the various astronomical and literary information from Mahabharata. According to these theories, the Kurukshetra War took place around 3138 BCE.

Mahabharata states that the war lasted eighteen days during which vast armies from all over ancient India fought along the sides of the two rivals. The importance given to the narration of this war is evident from the fact that while the duration entire story of the epic lasts centuries dealing with a number of generations of the warring families, the narration of the war forming more than a quarter of the book deals with the events of a mere eighteen days.

Much of the narration describes the individual battles of the various heroes of both sides, the battle-field deaths of some of the prominent heroes, the military formations employed on each day by both armies, the war diplomacies, meetings and discussions among the heroes and commanders before the commencement of war on each day, the weapons used, etc. The chapters (Parvas) dealing with the war, from chapter six to ten, are considered amongst oldest in the entire Mahabharata. Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text of Hindu philosophy, is considered a later addition to Mahabharata is the conversation between the Pandava Arjuna and Krishna arising out of Arjuna's reluctance to fight members of his own family.

Background

Main article: Mahabharata

Mahabharata, one of the most important Hindu epics, is an account of the life and deeds of several generations of a ruling dynasty called the Kuru clan. Central to the epic is an account of a great war that took place between two sibling families belonging to this clan. Kurukshetra, literally land of the Kurus, was the battleground on which this war, known as the Kurukshetra War, was fought. Kurukshetra was also known as Dharamkshetra (the land of Dharma), or field of righteousness. Mahabharata tells that this site was chosen for the war because even a sin committed on this land was forgiven on account of the sanctity of this land.

The two sides to the war were the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The dispute between the Kauravas and the Pandavas arose out of a game of dice, which the Kauravas won by deceit, forcing their Pandava cousins to go into exile for thirteen years. The dispute degraded into a full scale war when Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, driven by jealousy, refused to restore the Pandavas to their throne even after the exile.

Prior to the war however, the Pandavas, advised by Krishna, tried to find a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the conflict. Balarama, Krishna's brother advised the Pandavas to send an emissary and to get the support of the elders of the family such as Bhishma, Dhritarashtra, Drona, Karna, and even Shakuni, saying "Let us avoid armed conflict by all means possible. Only that which is accrued in peace is worthwhile. Out of war, nothing but wrong can issue". While the emissary was in the Kaurava court, Pandavas continued their war preparations. They sent messages requesting assistance to a number of neighbouring kingdoms. However, their ambassador of peace was insulted and turned away by Duryodhana, who was intent on war, despite the counsel of elder's such as Bhishma. After some such attempts, war seemed inevitable. The Pandavas, however, tried one last attempt at peace, when Krishna Himself went to Hastinapur on a peace mission.

Krisna's Peace Mission

As a last attempt at peace, Krishna himself travelled to Hastinapur to persuade the Kauravas for peace. This is of important philosophical importance as it shows that the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself tried to avoid war at all costs. This aspect is sometimes ignored by those who claim Krishna coaxed Arjuna into violence in the war. At Hastinapur, Krishna took his meals and stayed at the house of the Prime Minister, Vidura, who was a religious person and a devotee of Krishna. Duryodhana hence felt insulted that Krishna turned down his invitation to eat with him and stay in his royal palace. Determined to ensure that the peace mission failed, Duryodhana plotted to arrest Krishna.

At the formal presentation of the peace proposal by Krishna at the court of Hastinapur, Krishna's peace proposals were ignored, and Duryodhana publically ordered his soldiers to arrest Krishna. Krishna laughed at his mortal attempts, and displayed his divine form, blinding the soldiers and everyone in court with his radiating light. The beautiful divine form of the Lord could be perceived only by those pure in heart, Bhishma, Drona, and Vidura. With his peace mission rejected by Duryodhana, Krishna returned to Upaplavya to inform the Pandavas that there was now no alternative to war for the upholding of the principles of virtue and righteousness.

War preparations

Krishna had one of the largest armies and was Himself a great warrior. Duryodhana and Arjuna thus both went to Krishna at Dwarka to ask for his help. This is a famous part of the story, especially dear to Krishna devotees. Duryodhana arrived first, and found Krishna asleep. Being arrogant and viewing himself as equal to Krishna (the Supreme Personality of Godhead in Hinduism), Duryodhana chose a seat at Krishna's head and waitied for him to rouse. Arjuna later arrived, and being a humble devotee of Krishna, chose to sit at wait at Krishna's feet. When Krishna woke up, He first saw Arjuna and gave him the right to first make his request. Krishna told Arjuna and Duryodhana that He would give His mighty Narayani sena,'opulent, Lordly army' to one side,and Himself, unarmed to the other. Since Arjuna was given the first opportunity to choose, Duryodhana was worried that Arjuna would choose the mighty army of Krishna. When given the choice of either Krishna's army or Krishna himself on their side, Arjuna on behalf of the Pandavas chose Krishna, unarmed on his own, relieving Duryodhana, who thought Arjuna to be the greatest fool. Later Arjuna requested Krisna to be his charioteer, and Krishna, being an intimate friend of Arjuna, agreed wholeheartedly, and hence became famous as Paarthasaarthy, or 'charioteer of the son of Prithaa'. Both Duryodhana and Arjuna returned satisfied.

While camping at a place called Upaplavya, in the territory of Virata, the Pandavas gathered their armies. Contingents arrived from all parts of the country and soon Pandavas had a large force of seven divisions. The Kauravas managed to raise an even larger army of eleven divisions. Many kingdsoms of ancient India such as Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandya and the Yadus of Mathura were allied with the Pandavas; while the allies of the Kauravas comprised of the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya, Sindhudesa, Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madras, Gandharas, Bahlikas, Kambojas (with Yavanas, Sakas, Tusharas etc) and many others.

When the war was decalared and the two armies were facing each other, Arjuna realised that he would have to kill his own dear grandfather, on whose lap they had played as a child, and his own respected teacher, who had held his hand and taught him to hold the bow and arrow, making him the greatest archer in the world. Arjuna hence felt weak and sickened at the prospect of killing his entire family, including his 100 cousins, and friends such as Ashvatthaamaa. Despondent and confused about what is religious, what is right and what is wrong, Arjuna turned to Krishna for divine advice and teachings. Krishna, who was chosen as the charioteer of Arjuna, advised him of his duty. This conversation forms the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most respected religious and philosophical texts.

Pandava army

A manuscript illustration of the Battle of Kurukshetra, fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas, recorded in the Mahabharata Epic.

Seeing that there was now no hope for peace, Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, asked his brothers to organize their army. The Pandava army was organized into seven divisions. Each of these divisions were led by Drupada, Virata, Dhristadyumna, Shikhandi, Satyaki, Chekitana and Bhima. After consulting his commanders, the Pandavas appointed Dhristadyumna as the supreme commander of the Pandava army. Mahabharata says that kingdoms from all over ancient India supplied troops or provided logistic support on the Pandava side. Some of these were: Kekaya, Pandya, Cholas, Keralas, Magadha, and many more.

Kaurava army

Duryodhana requested Bhishma to command the Kaurava army. Bhishma accepted on the condition that while he will fight the battle sincerely, he will however not harm the five Pandava brothers. He also said that Karna was opposed to his leadership and perhaps Duryodhana should consider making Karna the commander. Karna had declared that he will not fight under Bhishma and had withdrawn from the army. Duryodhana however agreed to Bhishma's conditions and made him the supreme commander of the Kaurava army. The army was divided into eleven divisions. Apart from the one hundred Kaurava brothers, headed by Duryodhana himself and his brother Dushasana, the second son of Dhritarashtra, the Kauravas were assisted in the battlefield by Drona and his son Ashwathama, the Brahmin Kripa, the evil Shakuni, and many more who were bound by their loyalty towards either Hastinapura or Dhritarashtra.

The kingdom of Vidarbha and its King Rukmi were the only neutrals in this war

Army divisions and weaponry

Each army consisted of several divisions; the Kauravas had 411 while the Pandavas controlled 207. A division (akshauhini) includes 21,870 chariots and chariot-riders, 21,870 elephants and riders, 65,610 horses and riders, and 109,350 foot-soldiers (in a ratio of 1:1:3:5). The combined number of warriors and soldiers in both armies was approximately 1.7 billion. Each Akshohini was under a commander or a general, apart from the Commander in chief or the generallisimo who was the head of the entire army. It should be noted also that in each of these large number groups (65,610, etc.), the digits add up to 18, making this a very significant number in the text. This number 18 is not only the number of days that the great war lasted, but it's also the total number of divisions fighting (7 Pandava divisions and 11 Kaurava divisions).

During the Kurukshetra War, several weapons were used. The weapons, and their most notable users, included the Bow and arrows, the weapon of choice for Arjuna, Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Abhimanyu, the Mace, chosen by Bhima and Duryodhana apart from the Spear and the Dagger / Sword.

This war was perhaps the bloodiest war in history as most of the warriors and soldiers perished during the brief period of only eighteen days. Arjuna, in a fit of extreme anger over the death of his son Abhimanyu, alone killed one akshauhini of Kaurava soldiers in a single day. The war left an extremely large number of widows and orphans and led to an economic depression and beginning of Kali Yuga.

Military formations

At various times during battle, the supreme commander of either army ordered special formations ("vyuhas"). Each formation had a specific purpose; some were defensive while others were offensive. Each formation had its specific strengths and weaknesses. Mahabharata list the following Krauncha vyuha (heron formation), Makara vyuha (crocodile formation), Kurma vyuha (tortoise or turtle formation), Trishula vyuha (the trident formation), Chakra vyuha (wheel or discus formation) and the Kamala vyuha or Padma vyuha (Lotus formation).

It is not clear what the formations actually indicate. They may be formations bearing resemblance to animals, or they may be names given to strategies and formations.

Rules of engagement

The two supreme commanders met and framed "rules of ethical conduct", dharmayuddha, for the war. The rules included:

• Fighting must begin no earlier than sunrise and end exactly at sunset.
• Multiple warriors may not attack a single warrior.
• Two warriors may "duel," or engage in prolonged personal combat, only if they carry the same weapons and they are on the same mount (no mount, a horse, an elephant, or a chariot).
• No warrior may kill or injure a warrior who has surrendered.
• One who surrenders becomes a prisoner of war and a slave.
• No warrior may kill or injure an unarmed warrior.
• No warrior may kill or injure an unconscious warrior.
• No warrior may kill or injure a person or animal not taking part in the war.
• No warrior may kill or injure a warrior whose back is turned away.
• No warrior may attack a woman.
• No warrior may strike an animal not considered a direct threat.
• The rules specific to each weapon must be followed. For example, it is prohibited to strike below the waist in mace warfare.
• Warriors may not engage in any "unfair" warfare whatsoever.

Most of these laws were broken at least once by both sides.

Course of war

The Kurukshetra War lasted eighteen days. The war was fought only during daylight hours and fighting ceased at sunset. The armies met on a vast field in Kurukshetra and each day of the battle was characterised by numerous indiviual combats as well as mass raids against entire enemy divisions. The victor or the vanquished on each day was determined not by any territories gained, but by the body count. This was a war to the death. The victor was the survivor.

Before the battle

File:Gita1.jpg

Krishna to Arjuna: Behold My mystic opulence!
Artwork © courtesy of The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust

On the first day of the war, as would be on all the other days as well, the Kaurava army stood facing west and the Pandava army stood facing east. The Kaurava army was formed such that it faced all sides: elephants formed its body; the kings, its head; and the steeds, its wings. Bhishma, in consultation with his commanders Drona, Bahlika and Kripa.

The Pandava army was organised by Yudhisthira and Arjuna in the Vajra formation. Because the Pandava army was smaller than the Kaurava's, they decided to employ the tactic of each warrior engaging as many enemies as possible. This involved an element of surprise with the bowmen showering arrows from hidden behind the frontal attackers. The attackers in the front were equipped with short-range weapons like the maces, battle-axes, swords, lances etc.

Ten divisions (Akshaunis) of the Kaurava army were arranged in a formidable phalanx. The eleventh was put under the immediate command of Bhishma, partly to protect him. The safety of the supreme commander Bhishma was centre to Duryodhana's strategy as he had placed all his hope on the great warrior's abilities. Dushasana, the brother of king Duryodhana, was the military officer in-charge for Bhishma's protection.

Before the battle began, Yudhisthira did something unexpected. He suddenly dropped his weapons, took off his armour and started walking towards the Kaurava army with folded hands in prayer. The Pandava brothers and the Kauravas looked on in disbelief, thinking Yudhisthira was surrendering even before the arrow was shot. Soon Yudhisthira's purpose was clear as he fell on Bhishma's feet to seek his blessing for his success. Bhishma, grandfather to both Pandavas and the Kauravas, blessed Yudhisthira. Yudhisthira returned to his chariot and the battle was ready to commence. Arjuna, seeing his kith and kin arrayed against him, suddenly felt remorse at having to fight and perhaps kill members of his own family. Krishna, his charioteer, advised him to do his duty and not worry about the consequences. Krishna then revealed his divine form and explained that he is born on earth in each eon, whenever evil rises its head. This portion of Mahabharata is the famous Bhagavad Gita and is one of the most important Hindu philosophical works.

Bhishma's havoc

When the battle commenced, Bhishma went through the Pandava army and wreaked havoc wherever he went. Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son, seeing this went straight at Bhishma, defeated Bhishma's bodyguards and directly attacked the commander of the Kaurava forces. The Pandavas suffered numerous losses and were defeated at the end of the first day. Virata's sons Uttara and Sweta were slain by Shalya and Bhishma. Krishna consoled the distraught Yudhisthira saying that eventually victory would be his.

Arjuna-Bhishma duel

The second day of the war commenced with a confident Kaurava army facing the Pandvas. Arjuna, realising that something needed to be done quickly to reverse the Pandava losses, decided that he must try and kill Bhishma. Krishna skillfully located Bhishma's chariot and steered Arjuna toward Bhishma. Arjuna tried to engage Bhishma in a duel, but the Kaurava soldiers placed around Bhishma to protect him attacked Arjuna to try and prevent him from directly engaging Bhishma. Arjuna and Bhishma fought a fierce battle and it raged for hours. Drona and Dhristadyumna similarly engaged in a duel and Drona broke Dhristadyumna's bow numerous times. Bhima intervened and rescued Dhristadyumna. Duryodhana sent the Kalinga forces to attack Bhima and most of them lost their lives at his hands. Bhishma immediately came to relive the battered Kalinga forces.Satyaki, who was assisting Bhima, shot at Bhishma's charioteer and killed him. Bhishma's horses, with no one to control them, bolted carrying Bhishma away from the battle field. The Kaurava army had suffered great losses at the end of the second day.

Krishna's anger

On the third day Bhishma arranged the Kaurava forces in the formation of an eagle with himself leading from the front while Duryodhana's forces protecting the rear. Bhishma wanted to be sure of avoiding any mishap. The Pandavas countered this by using the crescent formation with Bhima and Arjuna at the head of the right and the left horns respectively. The Kauravas concentrated their attack on Arjuna's position. Arjuna's chariot was soon covered with arrows and javelin. Arjuna with amazing skills built a fortification around his chariot with the unending stream of arrows from his bow. Abhimanyu and Satyaki combined to defeat the Gandhara forces of Shakuni. Bhima and his son Ghatotkacha attacked Duryodhana in the rear. Bhima's arrows hit Duryodhana who swooned in his chariot. His charioteer immediately drove them out of danger. Duryodhana's forces however saw their leader fleeing the battlefield soon scattered. Bhishma seeing this came to them and soon restored order, Duryodhana soon came back to lead the army. He was however angry at Bhishma at what he saw as leniency towards the five Pandava brothers and spoke harshly at his commander. Bhishma, stung by this unfair charge, fell on the Pandava army with renewed vigour. It was as if there were more than one Bhishma on the field. The Pandava army soon began to retreat in chaos.

Arjuna and Krishna attacked Bhishma trying to restore order. Arjuna and Bhishma again engaed in a fierce duel, however Arjuna's heart was not in the battle as he did not like the idea of attacking his grandfather. Krishna became very angry at this stalemate and said, "I cannot stand this any longer, I shall kill Bhishma myself," and took his discus and ran towards Bhishma. Arjuna ran after Krishna and prevented him from engaging in the battle. They both resumed their attack on the Kaurava forces and killed numerous soldiers

Bhima's valour

The fourth day battle was noted for the valour shown by Bhima. Bhishma commanded the Kaurava army to move on the offensive from the outset. Arjuna's son Abhimanyu was surrounded by a number of Kaurava princes and was attacked. Arjuna, joined the fray in aid of Abhimanyu. Bhima appeared on the scene at this juncture with his mace aloft and started attacking the Kauravas. Duryodhana seeing this sent a huge force of elephants at Bhima. When Bhima saw the mass of elephants approaching, he got down from his chariot and attacked them single handedly with his iron mace. They scattered and stampeded into the Kaurava forces killing many. Duryodhana seeing this ordered an all-out attack on Bhima. Bhima withstood all that was thrown at him and attacked Duryodhana's brothers and killed eight of them. He was however soon struck by an arrow on the chest and sat down in his chariot dazed. Ghatotkacha seeing this, fell upon the Kaurava army in anger. Bhishma realizing this no one could stand against the angry Ghatotkacha, sounded retreat. Duryodhana was distraught at the loss of his brothers.

Continuing carnage

Duryodhana, overwhelmed by sorrow at the loss of his brothers, went to Bhishma at the end of day four of the battle, and asked his commander how could Pandavas facing a superior force against them, still prevail and win. Bhishma replied saying that the Pandavas had justice on their side and advised Duryodhana to seek peace. When the battle resumed on the fifth day, the slaughter continued. Pandava army again suffered against Bhishma's attacks. Bhima was at the head of the Pandava army with Shikhandi and Dhristadyumna at his sides. Satyaki bore the brunt of Drona's attacks and soon could not withstand it. Bhima went to his aid leaving Shikhandi to attack Bhishma. As Shikhandi was once a woman, Bhishma refused to fight him and turned away. This was to prove to be cause for Bhishma's ultimate death in the battlefield. Elsewhere Satyaki destroyed a large army sent to attack him. A battle soon ensued between him and Bhurisravas and Satyaki was soon in distress. Bhima soon drove by and rescued Satyaki. Arjuna fought and killed thousands of soldiers sent by Duryodhana to attack him.

The unimaginable carnage continued during the ensuing days of the battle. The sixth day was especially marked by a prodigious slaughter. Drona caused immeasurable loss of life on the Pandava side. The formations of both the armies were broken. On the eighth day Bhima killed eight of Dhritarashtra's sons. Arjuna's son Iravan was killed by the Kauravas. On the ninth day Krishna once again overcome by anger at the apparent inability of Arjuna to defeat Bhishma, rushed towards the Kaurava commander. Arjuna again stopped Krishna.

Bhishma's end

File:The Death of Bhisma.jpg

Bhishma on a deathbed of arrows, from a collection of the Smithsonian Institute

On the tenth day the Pandavas, unable to withstand Bhishma's prowess, decided to put Shikhandi in front of Bhishma, as Bhishma has taken a vow not to attack Shikhandi as he was once a woman, Shikhandi's arrows fell on Bhishma without hindrance. Arjuna positioned himself behind Shikhandi, thus protecting himself from Bhishma's attack, aimed his arrows at the weak points on Bhishma's armour. Soon with arrows sticking from every part of his body, the great warrior fell from his chariot. His body did not touch the ground held aloft by the arrowheads from his body. Both the Kauravas and Pandavas gathered around him. On Bhishma's request Arjuna placed three arrows under Bhisma's head to support it. Bhishma would live on for a few more days and see the destruction of the Kaurava forces.

Attempts to capture Yudhisthira

With Bhishma down, Karna returned to the battle field, much to Duryodhna's joy. He made Drona the supreme commanders of the Kaurava forces. Karna and Duryodhana wanted to capture Yudhisthira alive. Killing Yudhisthira in battle would only enrage the Pandavas more, whereas with Yudhisthira as a hostage would be strategically more useful to them. Drona formulated his battle plans for the eleventh day to this aim. He cut down Yudhisthira's bow and the Pandava army feared that their leader was taken prisoner. Arjuna came on the scene and with a flood of arrows made Drona retreat.

With his attempts to capture Yudhisthira failed, Drona confided to Duryodhna that as long as Arjuna was around. The king of Trigartadesa with his brother fighting on the Kaurava's side made a pact that they would kill Arjuna or die. They went into the battle field on the twelfth day and challenged Arjuna. Arjuna gave them a fierce fight in which the brothers fell dead after fighting a brave fight. Drona continued to try and capture Yudhisthira. The Pandavas however faught hard and delivered severe blows to the Kaurava army.

Historicity of the Kurukshetra War

Attempts have been made to find the exact date for the occurrence of this war based on astronomical and literary evidence from Mahabharata and later literature. There have been a number of theories put forward:

• Dr. S. Balakrishna concluded a date of 2559 BCE using consecutive lunar eclipses.
• Prof. I.N. Iyengar concluded a date of 1478 BCE using double eclipses and Saturn+Jupiter conjunctions.
• Dr. B.N. Achar states a date of 3067 BCE using planetary positions listed in the Mahabharata.
• Shri P.V. Holey states a date of November 13, 3143 BCE using planetary positions and calendar systems.
• Dr. P.V.Vartak calculates a date of October 16, 5561 BCE using planetary positions(The Scientific Dating of the Mahabharat War).

External links

• Kurukshetra (town)
• Dating the Kurukshetra War