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The Greatest Warrior?
“I alone killed Aukshainis of soldiers! My arrows covered the sky and brought night during the day! I was undoubtedly the greatest soldier of Kurukshetra!”
“Of course Arjun, your feats are no joke. But I killed all hundred sons of Dhritarashtra all by myself! Even though they were crooks, they were warriors of great valour; yet I took every one of them down fulfilling my oath!”
“Well brother Bhim, if you talk about great warriors, brother Arjun took down mighty Aswathhama and Karna; he defeated countless kings such as that of the Kambojas, he took down the mighty Jayadhratha and even grandfather Bhisma!”
The sounds of conversations echoing through the air became louder and louder. The people who were discussing amongst themselves dwelled near.
“Well well well!” A raised voice was heard then, “This discussion will lead to nowhere! If you people truly want to know, who was the greatest warrior on the battlefield, why don’t we ask someone who saw it all?”
A man of dark complexion as that of the night sky was seen on the horizon and behind him five warriors; although old and dressed in simple clothes and scarred and blood bathed from the war, yet by essence alone one could say these were Kshatriyas.
“Who do we ask though, Krishna? An outsider who witnessed this Great War?”
“Why Yudhishthir?” Krishna walked towards the rock at the centre of the edge of the mountaintop. On it, a severed head was placed.
“We shall ask Barbarika, the grandchild of Bhim himself!”
Barbarika had severed his head some 18 days prior, accepting death and giving up his worldly shackles of duties. Yet for 18 days, his head retained consciousness by the Grace of the Gods, just for witnessing this great battle which was prophesied to bring the end to the dynasty of Kuru and the Bronze Age of Dwapara and with it.
“Who else is more qualified Dharmaraj? We shall ask him whether Savyasachi or Vrikodara or any other warrior for that matter holds the title of the greatest warrior in the war!”
So, turning to his grandnephew, Yudhishthir asked, “Barbarika, who according to you, fought the most fiercely yet most nobly, and can be called the greatest warrior who stood upon the holy lands of Kurukshetra?”
Before him, laid the great wastelands with countless corpses, carcasses and broken chariots and weapons. The history of Bharat, both the land and the dynasty, had never seen so many lives lost and kings and warriors fallen.
The land where centuries ago King Kuru attained liberation through penance, today reddened with Kshatriya blood. A field that will be regarded as the land for the holiest war of Dharmayudh for the centuries to come.
Looking upon this grim yet glorious scenery, tears fell from Barbarika’s eyes. He tried to find words to speak but felt that the vocabulary of all shastras wouldn’t be able to express his feelings.
Thus, he let a deep breath and said, “Oh Grandfathers! I can’t answer your question, for I have not seen anyone fight on the battlefield for the last 18 days!”
“What do you mean!?” Exclaimed the Sons of Pandu, “Did you not see the great bloodshed and loss of life that happened here over the last few days?”
“Lives lost? Weapons wielded? Battles fought? I heard 18 Aukshainis of soldiers had joined the war, but I’m afraid I saw none but one man. The only one who fought; the one to attack, and the one who attacked!”
“Except him, there was none else!”
“Who is this man you speak of?” They urged him.
Looking at the elders, he said, “I saw no one…no great war…nothing! All I saw was one! The sole actor and witness! Except him, there was none else to speak of! On all chariots and upon all horses and elephants, yielding swords, maces, bows and spears, he alone dwelled in the field! You may not believe it, but the one I saw was none else but Grandfather Vaasudev Krishna!
(Retelling of A Extra-Mahabharatin Legend)
© iamjusta_storyteller
“Of course Arjun, your feats are no joke. But I killed all hundred sons of Dhritarashtra all by myself! Even though they were crooks, they were warriors of great valour; yet I took every one of them down fulfilling my oath!”
“Well brother Bhim, if you talk about great warriors, brother Arjun took down mighty Aswathhama and Karna; he defeated countless kings such as that of the Kambojas, he took down the mighty Jayadhratha and even grandfather Bhisma!”
The sounds of conversations echoing through the air became louder and louder. The people who were discussing amongst themselves dwelled near.
“Well well well!” A raised voice was heard then, “This discussion will lead to nowhere! If you people truly want to know, who was the greatest warrior on the battlefield, why don’t we ask someone who saw it all?”
A man of dark complexion as that of the night sky was seen on the horizon and behind him five warriors; although old and dressed in simple clothes and scarred and blood bathed from the war, yet by essence alone one could say these were Kshatriyas.
“Who do we ask though, Krishna? An outsider who witnessed this Great War?”
“Why Yudhishthir?” Krishna walked towards the rock at the centre of the edge of the mountaintop. On it, a severed head was placed.
“We shall ask Barbarika, the grandchild of Bhim himself!”
Barbarika had severed his head some 18 days prior, accepting death and giving up his worldly shackles of duties. Yet for 18 days, his head retained consciousness by the Grace of the Gods, just for witnessing this great battle which was prophesied to bring the end to the dynasty of Kuru and the Bronze Age of Dwapara and with it.
“Who else is more qualified Dharmaraj? We shall ask him whether Savyasachi or Vrikodara or any other warrior for that matter holds the title of the greatest warrior in the war!”
So, turning to his grandnephew, Yudhishthir asked, “Barbarika, who according to you, fought the most fiercely yet most nobly, and can be called the greatest warrior who stood upon the holy lands of Kurukshetra?”
Before him, laid the great wastelands with countless corpses, carcasses and broken chariots and weapons. The history of Bharat, both the land and the dynasty, had never seen so many lives lost and kings and warriors fallen.
The land where centuries ago King Kuru attained liberation through penance, today reddened with Kshatriya blood. A field that will be regarded as the land for the holiest war of Dharmayudh for the centuries to come.
Looking upon this grim yet glorious scenery, tears fell from Barbarika’s eyes. He tried to find words to speak but felt that the vocabulary of all shastras wouldn’t be able to express his feelings.
Thus, he let a deep breath and said, “Oh Grandfathers! I can’t answer your question, for I have not seen anyone fight on the battlefield for the last 18 days!”
“What do you mean!?” Exclaimed the Sons of Pandu, “Did you not see the great bloodshed and loss of life that happened here over the last few days?”
“Lives lost? Weapons wielded? Battles fought? I heard 18 Aukshainis of soldiers had joined the war, but I’m afraid I saw none but one man. The only one who fought; the one to attack, and the one who attacked!”
“Except him, there was none else!”
“Who is this man you speak of?” They urged him.
Looking at the elders, he said, “I saw no one…no great war…nothing! All I saw was one! The sole actor and witness! Except him, there was none else to speak of! On all chariots and upon all horses and elephants, yielding swords, maces, bows and spears, he alone dwelled in the field! You may not believe it, but the one I saw was none else but Grandfather Vaasudev Krishna!
(Retelling of A Extra-Mahabharatin Legend)
© iamjusta_storyteller
