Reading Diary B Week 13: The Battle

For part B of week 13 I continue with the reading of Buck's Mahabharata. This part of the diary will cover from page 247 to page 305. This week picked up with the looming battle . Vyasa goes to Hastinapura to warn Dhritarashtra of the preparations being taken. We then see Dhritarashtra admit to Vyasa that he has now ability to control his sons and they will do as they please even if he disagrees with them. Sanjay, who had been bestowed with great vision in order to see the entire battle, narrates the entire battle to Dhritarashtra. Duryodhana has a much larger army than that of Yudhishthira. The major event that happens next is when Bhishma is struck with so many arrows he falls from his chariot. The battle immediately comes to a halt as flowers begin to fall from heaven. Bhishma has the ability to choose the exact moment of his death and decides to wait until the winter solstice which is the shortest day of the year. Krishna places Bhishma into a peaceful sleep so that he feels no pain. Duryodhana promotes Drona to take Bhishma's place and orders him to capture Yudhishthira alive. Arjuna's young friend Uttara asthenia trapped behind enemy lines and killed by the Kauravas. Arjuna in return slaughters Jayadartha and causes Jayadartha's fathers head to explode due to his very own curse. Dona kills Drupada during battle but then finds out his very own son has been killed. Although it is not actually his son that his dead, he believes it is and falls into despair leading to his very own death. Karna and Arjuna then battle each other. Arjuna is able to kill Karna who is attempting to kill all of the Pandavas. The lone survivors on the side of Duryodhana go to find him hiding in a lake. However, the Pandavas hear of this and go to the lake forcing all of the survivors to hide while they confront Duryodhana.

Arjuna and Karna

Source: Wikipedia