HELLO MAHABHARATA

67. Death

Death is inevitable.

It's destined when a person takes birth. Strangely so, Bhishma could decide the time of his death. How so strange, yet mystical. Krishna had said, "You must free your Pitamah from the loop of birth and death" And Arjun, nodded. He took a deep breath, his long fingers, bruised and tanned, in a melange of blood and sand tightened its grasp on his Gandiva. As he always does. But his eyes, those copper eyes, they were sensitive, vulnerable, tired, unwilling and questioning.

It is not easy for a grandson to kill his grandfather.

Parthajaya knew it, because of the sleepless nights her husband had after Krishna made it clear that Bhishma, the fortress of the Kaurava army must be killed.

The commander in chief of the Kaurava army, the grand sire of the Kuru, Devvrat Bhishma, was kaal himself on the battlefield. From eight days, he had been sending thousands of Pandava soldiers to the gates of Yamraj. He was slaying men like they were some mere ants. If not stopped, it was crystal clear, Pandavas will be defeated. Till now, the five brothers had a day of victory when Bhima killed some of the brothers of Duryodhan, climbing the mountain of his vows he made in the gruesome dice hall that day. They were not even over the mourning of Arjun's son Iravan's death, and the silence of Shwetavahan just screamed his grief as he fastened his arrows on his back. Uttara had lost her brother Uttar, day and night her knackered, barren eyes kept looking at the flag stained in his blood flying high. Vijaya pataka, of the first warrior who got martyrdom in the war.

The Pandava army completed their Mahakaali aarti and the dawn sky raged with the fierce red of her tongue. It was one of the many mornings of the war, but then it was not. She watched the men doing the drill. They filled their chariots with weapons, clad themselves in armour, still stained with blood now dried but ready to drink more and then close their eyes for a minute, as if praying for only two things - to breath and live for their mother, woman, country and if die, for their land and bravery.

Yudhisthir patted the trunk of his elephant, feeding the animal some fodder. Krishna and Bheem were surely plotting something, or perhaps at this grave moment she wasn't able to comprehend the stark difference between manipulation, plotting and just winning by any means necessary. The Madreya twins emerged from the one tent they went to each night, curing their soldiers with the celestial salves and medicines, something that worried the Kaurava as Shakuni had taunted her in her last visit to them as the seer.

She had announced that she will predict something again, and the young men of both the armies agreed to meet in the tents of the Kauravas.

That night was difficult as Arjun sat across her, his fingers tucked under his chin, restlessly rubbing his knuckles as he stared at his wife. She was calm, like the calmness of the sea before storm. She was as if meditating, chanting and most of all, fighting for her life. It was a gruesome and gore sight, her nose bled.

Had not Karna jolted her out of the trance spell by pouring water on her, gods know what would've happened. Arjun wanted it all to stop. He didn't want his wife to be a seer. But he didn't raise a finger because then he would've broken the promise he had given to her. "It's my gift. You'll never stop me. Never. Or maybe I can go, leave this body. And you know, I don't want to. I don't want to go."

They never told the others about this night. Neither the blood and Karna incident and nor the vision she saw. Krishan knew it all. She had screamed, when she saw those million arrows run as fast as a bolt of lightning towards his fortress like body and they pierced it. Blood oozed out, his pure white silks now smeared in the colour of pain. He slept on the bed of arrows. Bhishma.

"Parthajaya-?"
"Parthjaya? Are you even listening to me?"

Shikhandi's voice brought her back to present, who was now standing beside her. His face like the sun and determination like the Kailash parvat. "Where are you lost? I'm saying, today we will let victory fall on our side. I will kill Bhishma today." The woman from kaliyug forced a smile and then she pressed Shikhandi's hand, putting a kunkum tilak on his bright forehead. "You will get your justice today."