Devavratha paused to think of his life till that day. He knew that the end was near; his whole 350 years of life was flashing before his eyes, his past life, the excesses as his existence as Prabhasa, his early life, his gurus Brihaspati, Vashishta and Parashuram , the ‘bhishana pratignjya’(terrible oath) made to Satyavati’s father and all the sad incidents that befell Hastinapur.
He had hoped it would end that day itself. A sacred end to a life of pain and sadness.
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Part 1: The night before the 9th day
Duruyodhana was furious and sad. He had lost 24 of his brothers that day to Bhima. Duruyodhana distraughtly looked at Karna. “The war is not going well. Bhishma is doing nothing against the Pandavas, he will never hurt them.”
“Life shall always end sometime, your brothers died like warriors. Talk to Bhishma, by oath he has to obey the throne of Hastinapur, just coax him a bit more. Victory shall always be ours.”
Karna did not believe his own words. He knew that their side was doomed to lose; they had to face the end with their heads held high. He owed a lot to Duruyodhana; when his own mother refused to acknowledge him, his friend had treated him with honor and respect; he would die for his friend without a second thought, for better or for worse.
Duruyodhana approached Bhishma in his tent. “Pitamaha, I lost 24 brothers today to Bhima, why do you not attack the Pandavas as you rightfully should. As commander you are duty bound to your army. As the chief commander you cannot let personal affection come in the way of your duty.”
Duruyodhana continued his assault, attacking Bhishma’s integrity. His sharp words were like needles piercing into soft skin. Bhishma was furious.
“Like ghee on the sacrificial fire I am pouring my life out for you. Why do you seek to mortify me, who have been doing my very utmost for you? You are now reaping the harvest of the hatred you deliberately sowed. It is not possible for me to fight Sikhandin, for I can never raise my hand against a woman. Nor can I with my hands kill the Pandavas, for my mind revolts against it. I will do everything barring these two and fight all the warriors opposed to you. Nothing is gained by losing heart. Fight as a Kshatriya should and honour will be yours whatever the events."
Duruyodhana appointed his brother Dushasana in charge of Bhsihma’s security. Shikhandin should never be allowed to come close to the grandsire and then Bhishma would be able to wreak havoc on the Pandavas.
Part 2: The 9th day of war
The brutal assault by Bhishma had begun. Bhishma commanded his army into an offensive formation and threw himself into the Pandava army. Nobody, human or god had defeated Bhishma in combat. He had defeated his own Guru Parashuram, the very same Parashuram who slew the entire clan of Kartavriyan. His prowess even at the age of 350 had not diminished. The Pandavan army ran helter skelter. The golden palm tree flag on top of Bhishma’s chariot was the last thing that most of them saw.
All five brothers had proceeded to stop Bhishma. Not even Arjuna and Bhima could do anything to stop the fury of the grandsire. “Do not hesitate to kill the grandsire. Remember the duty of a soldier.” urged Krishna to Arjuna.
“I would have continued to be an exile in the forest than kill the grandsire and the teachers whom I love, but I know what must be done.” Arjuna moved towards Bhishma, half heartedly preparing to fight. The fight between Arjuna and Bhishma raged on. Bhishma rained arrows on Arjuna; Krishna had to use every ounce of his skill to manoeuvre through the volley. Arjuna shot several arrows breaking Bhishma’s bow several times. But each time Bhishma just replaced his bow and fought with renewed vigour.
Arjuna’s half-hearted methods infuriated Krishna. Krishna realized that very soon only the Pandavas would remain standing, army less.
“To save a devotee, my own honour can be forgone.”, saying so, Krishna leapt off the chariot. The Lord leapt skyward changing into his furious Bhairavaroopa and in a brilliant flash summoned his Sudarshana Chakra. Armies on both sides stopped fighting, scared stiff seeing this display of sheer power. The brilliance blinded all, Krishna covered in blue fire with his eyes burning white with the deadly disc rotating on his raised palm.
Arjuna frantically ran to stop Krishna from killing Bhishma. Bhishma fell on his knees with tears of joy in his eye, seeing the sacred divine fury of the Lord.
"O, Kanjalochana, Blessed am I to be separated from the body by you! Come, come!” wept Bhishma in joy; his life of suffering on earth cannot get a more auspicious end.
Arjuna fell at the feet of Krishna praying and pleading with him. "Stop, Krishna," he cried. "Do not break your pledge. You have promised not to use weapons in this battle. This is my work. I shall not fail. I shall send my arrows and kill the beloved grandsire myself. Pray, mount the car and take the reins."
Krishna was pacified realizing Arjuna had come to his senses. He stopped and took up the reigns; his display had shaken both armies, and the sun set soon afterwards brining the day’s battle to an end.
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Bhishma realized that his end was near. He wished that the Lord had killed him that day itself. How much more pain was in store for him? , he thought.
