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The Stories of Mahabharata Retold

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by Sudipta Bhavmik

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Welcome dear friends to another episode

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of The Stories of

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Mahabharata In

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the last episode we heard how

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the Pandavas managed to kill Drona

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using a white lie from Yudhishthir

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The Story of Mahabharata When

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the 15th day of the war concluded with the

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sun setting in the western horizon Duryodhana

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returned to his chamber and called for an urgent

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meeting with his generals With

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the fall of Drona he knew he

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must now select a new commander in chief

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And this time he was determined

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not to pick anyone who sympathized

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with the Pandavas Although

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Bhishma and Drona were the best warriors of

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the Kaurava side they were old

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and always had special feelings for

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the five brothers

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This was their greatest weakness And

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that is what caused their fall They

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willingly gave away their lives to make sure

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the Pandavas win the war Today

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Duryodhana was determined not to

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lose his temper and not to pick

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someone just because of his age

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and experience

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He should select someone who

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is not only a gallant warrior but

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also hates the Pandavas from

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the core of his heart One

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by one, the generals assembled

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in Duryodhana's tent. Duryodhana

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looked at them and in a calm

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voice said, my

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dear friends, we

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all know what kind of a dire situation

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we are in, but

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it is still not too late. With

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your help, we can and

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we will defeat the Pandavas. I

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request you all to speak your mind and

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together let's figure out a plan to

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win this war.

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Aswatthama stood up and said, O

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King, both grandfather

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Bhishma and my father Dronewear, Calent

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warriors and they have done their part.

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We should not give up for with strong

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will and resolve, we

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can carve out a destiny. We

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still have many great warriors amongst

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us who can lead us to our victory.

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I suggest we appoint

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the great warrior and the King

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of Anga, our friend Karna,

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as the new commander in chief.

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Nobody can match his skills with weaponry

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and warfare. I'm sure he

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is the man who can easily defeat

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the enemy and make us victorious.

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Aswatthama, you

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spoke my mind, said Duryodhana,

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as he stood up and walked towards Karna.

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He looked at Karna and extended his arms

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towards him. My dear friend,

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you are the most capable warrior

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amongst us who can defeat the Pandavas.

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I know when Arjun finds you

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are leading our army, he'd leave the

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battlefield in fear and never come

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back.

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I request you to accept my offer to

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take over the Kaurava side as

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our commander in chief.

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Karna held Duryodhana's hand and said,

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my friend, my king, I accept

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your offer. You

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can be rest assured, tomorrow I will

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destroy the Pandavas once

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and for all and bring you victory.

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Duryodhan called

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the priests and formally consecrated

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Karna as the car of a commander

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in chief.

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On the 16th day morning, Karna

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appeared on the Kurukshetra battlefield on

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his heavily armed chariot drawn

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by four powerful horses. Karna

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arranged the car of army in the makara

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or crocodile formation with his

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chariot at the top. The

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other Kuru generals covered the rest

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of the vantage points.

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Yudhishthir watched the car of army and

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called upon Arjun. My

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dear brother, most of the

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gallant warriors of the Kauravas are dead.

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Now only the inferior ones

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are left, except

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for Karna. Kill

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Karna and victory

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will be ours. Arjun

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created the crescent moon formation with

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Bhim on the left, Drishtadyumna

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on the right and Yudhishthir in the center.

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Arjun, Nakul and Sahadev stood

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behind Yudhishthir to cover him. With

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the sound of the conch shells ringing out across

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the Kurukshetra, the two armies

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clashed for the sixteenth

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time. The soldiers pounced

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upon each other like fierce animals,

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and soon the battlefield was littered

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with body parts. Bhim

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rode on a huge elephant and

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attacked Khemadhuti, king

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of Kumur. Khemadhuti commanded

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his army to surround Bhim's end from

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all sides. Bhim's elephant trampled

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and killed them like ants. Bhim

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heard a huge mace at

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Khemadhuti and knocked him

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off his elephant. Ashwathama

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attacked Bhim from his chariot. Bhim got

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off the elephant and jumped into a chariot to

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match Ashwathama's speed. The

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two gallant warriors then engaged

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in a ferocious battle using the most fierce

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weapons. Warriors around stopped

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fighting and watched the amazing

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battle between the two giants and

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praised their gallantry. Soon

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both Bhim and Ashwathama were riddled

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with each other's arrows and fell

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unconscious on their respective chariards.

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The charioteers quickly drove them out of the

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battlefield to give them some time

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to recuperate. After

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a little rest, Ashwathama

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asked his charioteer to take him back into

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the battlefield.

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He saw June fighting the

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samsaktaks at a distance. He

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raised his voice and yelled at June, Leave

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those weaklings alone and fight me if you

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can. Let me see what you

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have learned from my father. Krishna

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turned the chariot and drove Arjuna close

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to Ashwathama. Ashwathama,

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I bring my friend Arjuna to you, said

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Krishna.

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Try to strike him hard and be prepared

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to be struck back equally hard.

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This is the time to pay back your Kuru masters

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to make the best use of it. Remember,

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brahmins fight with words, but

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you have chosen to pick up arms like

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a shatriya. So let your

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weapons decide your fate.

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Swobhit, said

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Ashwathama, and in quick succession

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struck both Krishna and Arjuna with his arrows.

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Arjuna laughed and rapidly shot

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hundreds of arrows at Ashwathama over

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one hand. Kings and warriors from

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Anga, Banga and Kalinga came

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on their elephants to attack Arjuna and help

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Ashwathama. But Arjuna's

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arrows were too much for them to handle

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and they soon gave up and fled the battle.

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Ashwathama, however,

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was not rattled by Arjuna's

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incessant attack. Using

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the skills he had learned from his father's drone,

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Ashwathama struck Arjuna and Krishna

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with some deadly weapons and forced

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them to retreat. Arjuna was

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reeling from Ashwathama's attack and was

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struggling to stand on his feet.

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Krishna circled his chariot back and

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said, Focus, Arjun, focus

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on Ashwathama. You have been

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taking him too lightly. Remember

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he is your guru-drone son and

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he is as skilled as you are. Ashwathama

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is vying for revenge and you

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must use all your power to stop him.

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Arjuna wiped off the blood from his face,

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engaged few of the fiercest weapons

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on his gandiver and aimed at

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Ashwathama.

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Within moments, Ashwathama's

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hands, his chest, his heads

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and his thighs were riddled with arrows.

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Arjuna struck Ashwathama's horses and

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the animals ran berserk, fragging

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the chagweed far away from the battlefield.

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On another section of the battlefield, Nakul

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was busy decimating the Kauravar.

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His sharp and deadly arrows killed

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thousands and the soldiers began to flee

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for their lives.

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When Karna, the commander in chief,

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heard of this news, he veered his

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chariot to face Nakul. Nakul

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welcomed Karna with a laugh and said, After

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a long time, the gods have granted

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me my wish and sent you here.

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You are the cause of all this mess. It

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is because of your ill-advised

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weak cousins are now fighting each other.

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The war won't end until you

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die. And today, I'll

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fulfill my duty by killing you. Colonel

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lifted his bow and said,

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My dear Nakul, only

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fools boast more than the fight.

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You stop babbling and fight

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me with all your might. Let's

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see what you've got. Nakul

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was furious. He pulled

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out his deadly weapons and hurled them at

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Karna while circling his chariot. Karna

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laughed and with a skillful use of his

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arrows, he intercepted all and

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destroyed them while in flight. Nakul

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kept shooting arrows at Karna and Karna

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kept dodging them. And then,

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Karna began to shoot at Nakul. The

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incessant flow of arrows from Karna's

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bow covered the sky like a

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dark cloud. Nakul was overwhelmed.

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He tried his best to deflect them but soon

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lost his horses and his charioteer. Karna's

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arrows shattered Nakul's chariot

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and Nakul fell to the ground. He grabbed

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his sword and stood up to defend himself. Karna

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shattered his sword. Nakul

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was scared. He began to run to

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save his life. Karna chased Nakul

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and soon caught up with him.

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Karna extended his arm and grabbed

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Nakul's neck with his bow. Nakul

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struggled to free himself.

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But Karna held him tight and said,

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Now tell me what you were

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saying then.

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You wanted to kill me, right? Nakul

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couldn't speak. Karna

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pulled him close and said, My boy,

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you picked the wrong person to show your

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prowess. You should only

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fight those who are equal to you and avoid

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me.

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the mighty coward of our warriors. I

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can kill you now, but I

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won't. Go back

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to your tend and tend to your injuries. Karna

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released Nakul as remembered

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his promise to Kunti. Except

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Arjun, he won't kill any

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of the remaining four Pandava brothers. Freed

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from Karna's goal, Nakul tried to

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catch his breath while he jumped up on a

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chariot and left the battlefield.

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The Sanjupa-taks continued their mission

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of keeping Arjun engaged in a battle with

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them. Thus sparing the other

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Kaurava warriors from his arms. Arjun

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kept on killing them and they kept on

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attacking him in hoards. It

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seemed they were bent upon dying in

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the hands of Arjun.

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Susharma's brother Satya Sen hurled

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a spear at Krishna. The spear

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pierced Krishna's left arm and

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the reins dropped off his hand. Arjun

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was furious. He pulled out a

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fierce weapon from his chariot and

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with a loud cry hurled

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it at Satya Sen. The weapon struck

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Satya Sen and killed him instantly. He

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then engaged the deadly Indra-stron,

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his Gandev, chanted the activating

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mantra and released it. The weapon

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went

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high into the sky and split

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up into thousands of deadly arrows and

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dove down to strike the enemy soldiers

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and kill them all.

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On the other section of the battlefield, Duryodhana

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was engaged in an intense battle with

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Yudhishthir. Yudhishthir

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was at his best and demonstrated that he

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was no less than his brothers, Bhim

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and Arjun. He attacked

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Duryodhana with such fury that

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the Kaurava king found it difficult

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to keep up. Yudhishthir's

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arrows killed Duryodhana's chariot here and

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the spare horses.

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shattered his bow and his chariot passed.

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Duryodhana couldn't keep his balance. He stumbled

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onto the ground. Karna, Aswatama,

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Sripa saw their king in distress and

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came to save him from Yudhishthir's onslaught.

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Watching Yudhishthir being outnumbered, the

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Pandava brothers surrounded Yudhishthir

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to protect him. A fierce battle

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broke out between the greatest of

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warriors on both sides. Duryodhana

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didn't give up. He jumped up on

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an empty chariot and bounced upon Yudhishthir

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and riddled

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him with arrows. Yudhishthir laughed

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and said, Duryodhana, your arrows

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feel nothing more than pinpricks.

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Don't you have anything more powerful?

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Duryodhana growled in anger and

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looked for more fierce weapons from the chariot.

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Yudhishthir took this opportunity and

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hit him with a volley of arrows that cut

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through his armor. And Duryodhana

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began to bleed. Duryodhana

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knew bows and arrows are not

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his forebear. He picked up his favorite

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weapon, the mace and jumped off

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the chariot. With a huge roar,

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he swirled his mace over his head and ran

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towards Yudhishthir. Yudhishthir

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engaged a fierce weapon

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that glowed like a red hot iron

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and fired it at Duryodhana. The

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weapon shot through the air like a blazing

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meteor and struck Duryodhana on his

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chest and knocked him out. Yudhishthir

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pulled out his sword

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and jumped off the chariot to finish off

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his arch enemy when Bhim

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blocked him on his chariot. Stop!

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Don't slay Duryodhana. He is not

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for you to kill. I have promised

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to kill Duryodhana and I will do so

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when the time comes.

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Till then, you must leave him

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alone and help me keep my promise.

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Yudhishthir remembered the ill-fated day

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of the game of Thais when

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a furious Bhim vowed to crush

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Duryodhana's thigh and kill him.

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I looked at Bhim and said Thank

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you for reminding me. I'll

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live to you then for you. Yudhishthi

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stepped back into this chariot and

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drove away. As

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the sun began to dip behind the western

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horizon, the corn shells

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rang out announcing the end of the sixteenth

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day of the battle,

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and the exhausted soldiers dropped

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their weapons and lay down

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on the ground in relief.

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