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71.THE EIGHTH DAY
All these things appertaining to ancient
war, however interesting, will have to be
in the realm of the unknown in spite of the
vivid narrative we have in the
Mahabharata epic.
Bhima killed eight of Dhritarashtra's sons
early in the battle that day. Duryodhana's
heart lost courage before this. It seemed to
his friends as if Bhimasena would
complete his revenge this very day, even
as he swore in the assembly ball, where
the great outrage was enacted.
Arjuna had a great bereavement in this
day's battle. His dear son Iravan was
killed. This son of Arjuna by his Naga
wife had come and joined the Pandava
forces at Kurukshetra. Duryodhana sent
his friend, the Rakshasa Alambasa, to
oppose the Naga warrior.
Iravan was slain after a fierce fight. When
Arjuna heard this, he broke down
completely. Said he turning to Vasudeva:
"Vidura had indeed told us plainly that
both sides would be plunged in grief
unbearable. What are we doing all this
wretched destruction up on one another
for? Just for the sake of property. After all
this killing, what joy are we or they likely
to find in the end? O Madhusudana, I now
see why the far seeing Yudhishthira said
he would be content if Duryodhana would
give five villages to us, keeping
everything else to himself and he would
not resort to fighting if that were agreed
to. Duryodhana, in his obstinate folly,
refused to give even these five villages
and so, these great sins have to be
committed on both sides. I continue
fighting only because men would
otherwise think me a coward, who could
submit tamely to wrong. When I see the
dead warriors lying on the field, my heart
is filled with unbearable anguish. Oh, how
wicked we are to carry on in this
miserable, sinful way."
Seeing Iravan killed, Ghatotkacha uttered
a loud war-cry which made all the
assembled soldiers tremble. And with his
division, he fell upon the Kaurava army
ferociously. So great was the destruction
he wrought that at many points the
Kaurava formation was broken.
Seeing this, Duryodhana personally led an
attack on Bhima's son.
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