A story · Mahabharata — Stories

The Fall of Duryodhana

Mahabharata, Shalya Parva 58

The story · English

As the battle raged, Arjuna asked Vasudeva who was the superior warrior between Bhima and Duryodhana. Vasudeva replied that while both had received equal instruction, Bhima possessed greater might, but Duryodhana had more skill and had labored harder. He warned Arjuna that if Bhima fought fairly, he would never win. However, if Bhima used deception, he could slay Duryodhana. Vasudeva noted that the gods had historically used deception to defeat the Asuras. He urged that Bhima use such means to fulfill the vow he had made at the gambling match, to break Duryodhana's thighs in battle. He argued that the Kuru king was himself full of deception, and relying solely on fair might would put King Yudhishthira in great danger.

Vasudeva continued by criticizing Yudhishthira for his folly in making the entire war depend on the outcome of a single combat. He warned that Duryodhana was a dangerous opponent because he was a hero who had been broken and driven into the depths of a lake. According to the teachings of Usanas, a hostile force that has flown away for its life but then rallies is to be feared above all, for they are firmly resolved and have but one purpose. Vasudeva reminded Arjuna that Duryodhana had spent thirteen years practicing with the mace with great resolution. If Bhima did not slay him through unfair means, Duryodhana would surely remain king.

Hearing this, Arjuna struck his own left thigh before Bhima's eyes. Understanding that sign, Bhima began to move with his uplifted mace, performing complex maneuvers to confuse his opponent. He used various patterns and motions to stupefy Duryodhana. In return, Duryodhana, who was well conversant in mace fighting, moved with great activity to slay Bhima. The two heroes, their maces smeared with perfumed unguents, fought like two angry gods of death or two Garudas fighting over the same snake. As their weapons clashed, sparks of fire were generated. They struck each other with equal force, resembling two oceans agitated by a tempest or two infuriated elephants whose clashes sounded like thunder.

The battle at close quarters was fierce and prolonged, and eventually, both warriors became fatigued. After resting for a while, they returned to the fight with renewed rage. The combat became unrestrained and dreadful as they mangled one another. Rushing at each other with eyes like bulls, they fought like two buffaloes in the mire. Both men were covered in blood from head to foot, their bruised limbs making them look like red flowers on the mountains. In the midst of this brutality, Bhima used a ruse, pretending to give Duryodhana an opening. Smiling, Duryodhana advanced forward to take the advantage, but Bhima suddenly hurled his mace at him.

Duryodhana managed to move away from the spot where the weapon fell, and he quickly struck Bhima back. The blow was so violent and drew so much blood that Bhima seemed stupefied. However, Bhima summoned all his patience and sustained himself. Duryodhana, unaware of how deeply afflicted Bhima was, believed him to be unmoved and ready to return the blow, so he did not strike again immediately. After resting for a short time, the valiant Bhima rushed furiously at Duryodhana. Seeking to baffle the attack, Duryodhana decided to use a maneuver called Avasthana, intending to jump upwards to beguile his opponent.

Bhima fully understood Duryodhana's intention. As the Kuru king jumped, Bhima let out a loud leonine roar and hurled his mace fiercely at Duryodhana's thighs. The force of the blow was like thunder, fracturing both of Duryodhana's thighs. The king fell to the earth with a crash that echoed through the land. As he fell, fierce winds blew and showers of dust descended. The earth, including its trees and mountains, began to tremble. Large meteors flashed across the sky and bloody showers fell from the heavens. The fall of the head of all monarchs triggered a series of terrifying omens across the world.

The air was filled with the loud noises of Yakshas, Rakshasas, and Pisachas, while thousands of animals and birds cried out in fright. The remaining horses, elephants, and humans in the Pandava host uttered loud cries. Within the earth, a terrific noise emerged. Headless beings with many legs and arms appeared, dancing across the land and inspiring dread in all who saw them. Warriors trembled in their places, lakes and wells vomited blood, and rivers flowed in opposite directions. At that hour, men seemed to look like women and women like men.

The Pandavas and Pancalas were filled with anxiety by these portents, while the gods and Gandharvas departed for their own regions, talking of that wonderful battle, and the Siddhas and Charanas went back applauding the two lions among men. Seeing Duryodhana felled like an uprooted tree, the Pandavas rejoiced. Bhima approached his fallen foe and reminded him of how he had laughed at the disrobed Draupadi in the assembly and called the Pandavas cows. Bhima then placed his left foot upon the head of the fallen king. He told Duryodhana that as his side had once danced at them crying 'Cow, Cow!', the Pandavas would now dance at them uttering the same words, for they relied on the might of their arms.

Bhima laughed and bragged to Yudhishthira and the others that the sons of Dhritarashtra, who had called them sesame seeds without kernels, were now slain. He stated that it mattered little whether they now went to heaven or hell. As he spoke, he again struck Duryodhana's head with his foot. Many of the righteous Somakas did not approve of this behavior. Yudhishthira, seeing Bhima dancing madly, told him to stop. He reminded Bhima that while the vow was accomplished, it was sinful to crush the head of a fallen king and kinsman with a foot, especially one who had lost all his friends, sons, and troops.

Yudhishthira, his voice choked with tears, approached the dying Duryodhana. He told him not to grieve, for this result was ordained by the Creator and caused by Duryodhana's own avarice and pride. He noted that while Duryodhana would now depart for heaven, the Pandavas would be pitied as they remained in a world reft of all their kin, likely to be cursed by the widows of the Kauravas. Yudhishthira lamented that Duryodhana was not to be pitied, for his death was enviable, while they themselves would drag on a miserable existence, suffering poignant grief.

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