95. AVENGED :

"O, DURYODHANA, you are yet alive,

hear the news and rejoice! All the

Panchalas have been slaughtered. The

sons of the Pandavas have also been all

done to death. The entire army of theirs

has been destroyed. We made a night

attack on them when they were asleep.

There are only seven survivors now on the

Pandava side. On our side, Kripacharya,

Kritavarma and I remain."

Thus said Aswatthama to the dying

Duryodhana who, on hearing this, slowly

opened his eyes and, with struggling

breath, gasped out these words:

"Aswatthama, you have indeed done for

me what neither the great Bhishma nor the

valiant Karna could achieve! You have

gladdened my heart and I die happy."

Saying this, Duryodhana expired.

When he saw the unexpected destruction

of his army as a result of the attack during

sleep, Yudhishthira gave way to grief and

broke down:

"At the very moment of victory, we have

been totally defeated. The vanquished

have indeed triumphed. Draupadi's

children, who survived the onslaught of

the formidable Karna, have, by our

unwariness, been crushed and destroyed

like vermin. We have allowed ourselves to

be destroyed like a merchant ship which,

having successfully crossed the big seas,

returns home but capsizes in a ditch and is

lost."

Draupadi was overwhelmed by

inconsolable grief. She came to

Dharmaputra's side and wept. "Is there no

one to avenge my children's slaughter, by

destroying this great sinner Aswatthama?"

she cried.

When she said this, the Pandavas

immediately went out in search of the

murderer. They looked for him in all sorts

of places and found him, at last, on the

bank of the Ganga, hiding himself behind

Vyasa.

When he saw the Pandavas and Janardana

approaching, Aswatthama quietly took up

a blade of grass and charged it with the

mantra of destruction and sent it forward

saying: "May this destroy the race of the

Pandavas." And it went straight to the

womb of Uttara who bore in her the son of

Abhimanyu.

The race of the Pandavas would have been

destroyed thereby but for the intervention

of Sri Krishna who saved the child in the

mother's womb. This child was Parikshit

who was later crowned by Yudhishthira

when the Pandavas retired to the forest.

Aswatthama pried out the shining jewel

that was part of his head and gave it to

Bhima, acknowledging his defeat, and

went away to the forest. Bhima took the

great jewel and, going to Draupadi said:

"Angel of spotless purity, this is for you.

The man, who killed your beloved sons,

has been vanquished. Duryodhana has

been destroyed. I have drunk the blood of

Duhsasana. I have avenged the great

outrage and discharged my debts."

Draupadi took the jewel and, going up to

Yudhishthira bowed and said: "Faultless

king, it befits you to wear this in your

crown."

Next : 96. WHO CAN GIVE SOLACE?

Continues...