After the war ended on Day 15, not for a second did it cross Ashwathama’s mind that his father could be defeated. Duryodhana requests Kripato break the news to Ashwathama who does it gently by narrating how the Pandavas lied to Drona, and how even Yudhishtra forsake his Dharma and lied, and how Dhrishtadyumna lopped off his father’s head when he was sitting in Dhyana. Ashwathama was emotionless and in shock. He says quietly that there was no other way the Pandavas could have killed his father and requests Duryodhana to return to the war-field as he has an astra that neither Arjuna, Krishna, Bheema or Yudhishtra can counter.
The Pandavas hear the conches and horns. Ashwathama quickly summons Narayanastra which hangs like a star above the Pandava legions and keeps flashing down hundred thousand arrows killing as many lives. The Pandavas try shooting their arrows at the star, but it only blazes more fiercely with each arrow. The more you resisted, the more powerful it became. Lord Krishna then says that the Narayanastra grows fiercer when it is resisted. Lay down your weapons and worship it.
After this astra fails to kill pandavas, Ashwathama decides to face pandavas directly and then fights Dhristhdyumna first, who is then rescued by Satyaki and later by Pandavas.
When all his astras are nullified by Arjun, Ashwathama runs away from the field into the forests adjoining the Kurukshetra where he encounters the rishi Vyasa and on questioning him, Vyasa explains, that Arjuna and Krishna were Nara and Narayana and that no astra can do them anything.
Later the night/early morning, Karna is made the senapati of the Kaurav army.
When the war resumed on day 16, Karna assigned his army in the form of MakaraVyuh with him at the head of the crocodile. The eyes are Shakuni and Uluka. The crown of the makara’s head is Ashwathama. Duryodhana’s brothers are immediately behind Ashwathama. At the very heart of the phalanx is Duryodhana himself, protected by his forces. The forelegs of the beast are Kritavarman with the Narayana army and Kripa with his own men. The hindlegs are Karna’s son Sushena and the dependable Shalya and their soldiers.
For which the pandavas reply by forming a ChandrakalaVyuha, the half crescent. Bheema is the left point and Dhristadyumna at the right. At the heart of the vyuha is Arjuna with Yudhishtra, Nakula and Sahadeva around him.
Yudhisthir fights very valiantly and had it not been Drona’sarmour that Duryodhan wore, Yudhisthir might have won the war that day; Bheem and Arjun fought bravely as well, but Karna did inflict wounds on Arjun and Lord Krishna. Satyaki and Dhristhdyumna were injured too.
After the war, when Karna and Duryodhan met for discussing the strategies for the next day, Karna had the intuition that the next day its either him or Arjun who would stay alive.
By: Archa Dave
