Karna as the new senapati of the Kaurava army with King Shalya as his charioteer, ride onto the battle-field to face pandavas. Shalya, remembering his promise to Yudhisthir, his nehew that he will try disheartening kauravas, takes up this opportunity to try to dishearten Karna, who simply says he knows what he has to do.
Karna defeats Yudhisthir, Bhim, Nakul and Sahdev and spares their life because his promised his mother, Kunti that he will spare lives of his brothers except Arjun, and also promises that he wont use any of his weapons twice on Arjun.
Meanwhile, Bheem and Dushashan have a mace fight, where Bheem recollects everything that happened during the game of dice and how
Dushashan tried to un-dress Draupadi and pulled her by her hair. He fights Dushashan and renders him semi-conscious; then he says “I have your Dushasana in my hands like a sparrow in the eagle’s talons. Is there anybody who wants a piece of him ? The man who touched my Draupadi with filthy hands ? You touched her sanctified hair, did you not Dushasana ? Do you know that she has not braided her hair for all these years for want of your blood ? And today, she shall braid her hair.’ He quickly opens a gash on Dushasana’s chest, ‘With your blood.’
Saying that, he first pulls out one of his hand- the one which he used to pull her hairs. Then sitting on Dushashan’s chest, using his fingers, he tears open Dushashan’s chest which caused the blood to gush out. The whole battle field was a spectacle of this, everyone too stunned to speak out or react. Bheem then screams out loud to Panchali that he avenged her and asks her to come to battlefield to fulfill her promise- to wash her tresses from Dushashan’s blood to purify it.
After Bheem washes Draupadi’s hair with Dushashan’s blood, Panchali with a wicked gleam in his eyes and a wicked smile nods at Lord Krishna who acknowledges her.
After Bheem kills 10 more brothers of Duryodhan in the battle-field that day, Duryodhan faints out of shock, and Ashwathama and Kripacharya console him. Arjun and Karna face to face, seeing which Ashwathama requests Duryodhan to make peace with Pandavas as many people already lost their lives, and Pandavas will not reject a peace offer even now; to which Duryodhan replies it’s late for peace and that this war had to be fought till either Yudhisthir dies or He dies.
War came to a stand-still near the 2 archers- Arjun and Karna. Arjun fighting for peace, justice and dharma with Lord Krishna at his side and Karna, fighting for what he believes is right and bearing the weight of 3 curses which will be the reason for his death. Karna and Arjun fight valiantly; Karna then uses Nagastra- the serpent and aims it at Partha’s neck without realizing that Lord Krishna is his charioteer, Krishna sees the nagastra even before Karna starts chanting the mantra, he makes his gandharva horses kneel just as karna shoots the arrow, and as the horses kneel, the arrow is at the same level that karna shot which is a hand’s length above where Karna’s neck is- the nagastrahits the bejeweled crown of Arjun and flies away with it, without a scratch on Arjun- relieving everybody on the Pandavas.
The duel turned more intense, with the ground turning soft causing his chariot wheels stuck in the soft earth; bringing the first curse into motion- “When you face your greatest enemy, your chariot wheel will be mired in the earth.”
Karna realizes that this was his first curse and is in despair. He then he forgets all the mantras and the act of warfare while trying to memorize a mantra to shoot an arrow at Arjun, realizing he would not remember the mantras; thereby bringing Lord Parshuram’s curse into action- “When you most need an astra to save your life, you will forget the mantras I have taught you.”
Karna then jumps down from his chariot, and puts back the chariot wheel on the solid ground which promptly sinks again. Arjun waited till Karna was back as it is adharma to shoot/fight the opponent when he was helpless and weaponless.
To which Krishna reminds Arjun of all those times when Karna insulted Panchali and his brothers. Prodded by Krishna, Arjun shoots Karna thereby Killing him.
Kunti is heart-broken and runs to the battle field, seeing their mother on the field near to the dying Karna, Pandavas reach there as well and it is then that everyone comes to know that Karna was actually a Kaunteya, the eldest of Pandavas and it was his promise to their mother that he spared lives of Yudhisthir, Bheem, Nakul and Sahdev. After realizing that he killed his elder brother, Arjun is disappointed and Yudhisthir is distraught. It is then that he cursed all the women in the world that they wont be able to keep secrets anymore.
By: Archa Dave
