Shalya Parva in Mahabharata

The Shalya Parva is the ninth of the 18 books of Mahabharata. The Shalya Parva is named after Shalya, the fourth commander in-chief of the Kaurava army. This book describes the appointment of Shalya as the commander in-chief and also the eighteenth day of the war. This Parva consists of 4 upaparvas and 64 chapters. The subparvas of the Shalya Parva are:

1. Shalya-vadha Parva, consisting of 22 chapters
2. Shalya Parva, consisting of 5 chapters
3. Hradapraveca Parva, consisting of 2 chapters
4. Gadayuddha Parva, consisting of 35 chapters

The summary of the Shalya Parva is:

This Parva consists of 22 chapters. After the death of Karna in the hands of Arjuna, Duryodhana was shattered as he understood that nothing could stop his defeat now. Dismay and despair spread through the entire ranks of the Kaurava army. All the warriors, alliance kings and the relatives of the Kauravas were convinced that war was virtually won by the Pandavas army. However, Duryodhana was a warrior and believed that he and his army should fight till the last breath. Seeing his warriors in despair, Duryodhana boosted them by giving them a long speech on the duties of a warrior. He said that all the sacrifice of the seventeen days would go futile if they choose to run away without giving it all. Hearing at the enigmatic speech of Duryodhana, all the warriors and kings decided to fight again the next day. They decided to appoint a new commander in-chief after the death of Karna, and after a lot of deliberations Shalya was chosen, as he was a very famous and virtuous warrior in the ranks of the Kuru army. Shalya vowed to kill the Pandavas or die in his attempt to do so. On the Pandavas side, Krishna knew the merits and powers of Shalya. He told his army that it would be a difficult task to defeat Shalya as he was one of the fiercest warriors alive. The word of caution by Krishna made Yudhishthira and the other brothers mentally prepared to face Shalya as the commander of the Kuru army.

The eighteenth day of battle started with fierce cries of war, even though the soldiers had been fighting since seventeen long days. Nakula engaged in a fierce battle with Chitrasena, Karna’s son who was hungry to avenge his father’s death. Chitrasena had successfully destroyed Nakula’s chariot, and Nakula attacked Chitrasena and cut his head off using his sword. Nakula then killed Chirasena’s two brothers, Satyasena and Sushena, who fiercely attacked Nakula after he killed Chitrasena. Nakula had killed both of them using his arrows.

Shalya was dominating the war and the Pandavas army were not being able to mve forwad as Shalya had spread across the battlefield like a lion ad was showering the Pandavas with arrows from all sides. The Pandavas had to take a step back after witnessing the sheer power of Shalya. He was proving his merits and the fact that he deserved to be the commander in-chief of the Kaurava army.

Meanwhile Duryodhana killed Chitekana from the Pandavas army, and Yudhishthira killed Chndrasena and Drumasena from the Kauravas’ army. Thereafter, fierce battles took place between Duryodhana and Drshtadyumna, and between Ashwatthama and Arjuna. The most terrific battle took place between Shalya and Yudhishthira. Shalya had successful managed to kill the charioteer and horses of Yudhishthira. Yudhishthira was left with no option than to use his Brahmaastra to kill the skillful and powerful Shalya. The weapon Sakti was given to him by Lord Shiva. He released his magical weapon, Sakti on him and chanted the hymns for it to be effective. The weapon pierced through the chest of Shalya and he fell to the ground and died as one of the bravest warriors to have fought with Yudhishthira. After the death of Shalya, his brothers sought revenge and attacked Yudhishthira and he killed his brothers using his arrows.

Bhima killed eleven brothers of Duryoodhana, namely, Srutaantha, Duurmarshna, Jaitra, Ravi, Satrunaasha, Bhooribala, Jayatsena, Sujata, Dushpradharsha and Durvimochana. Thereafter, Arjuna killed Susarma, the king of Trigatha. Sahadeva and Bhima fought with Shakuni and his son Uluka. They killed them both after a long fight.

Almost all the best warriors of Duryodhana’s army had been defeated or killed by the Pandavas army. Duryodhana finally accepted defeat and ran away to a lake to meditate. After killing all the warriors of the Kaurava army, the Pandavas started looking for Duryodhana. However, three more warriors of the army were left, namely, Ashvatthama, Krpacharya and Krtavarma. Even they joined Duryodhana after he convinced them to not waste their efforts against the large Pandava army.

The Pandavas found Duryodhana meditating in the lake. Yudhishthira and the brothers, and Krishna asked Duryodhana to fight like a warrior and not give up. Yudhisthira told Duryidhana to pick any one of the Pandava brothers and engage in a one on one battle with him. Duryodhana chose to fight Bhima in the final battle of the 18 day long Kurukshetra War. This faceoff between them is also one of the closest fights in the history of Hindu Mythology. It is also one of the longest face offs in all of ancient texts. During the battle, Bhima recalled his vow that he would destroy the thighs of Duryodhana and hence he attacked on his thighs with his mace. Hitting below the navel was not allowed in a battle, but after the ill deeds done by Duryodhana, Bhima did not hesitate in breaking a rule to vanquish Duryodhana. Even Duryodhana, who was brutally injured after the attack, cursed Bhima for having attacked him on his thigh. Bhima had even hit the head of Duryodhana with his legs, which made Balarama and Yudhishthira angry. However, Krishna explained the reasons why Bhima did not blink an eye while doing so, as they had witnessed and suffered because of the cunning and disloyal actions of Duryodhana. So much so, that even the most powerful warrior Bhima, did not feel guilty too break the rules of battle once against the evil minded Duryodhana.

Ashvatthama, Krtavarma and Krpacharya, who were not present there during the battle of Bhima and Duryodhana, were informed by a messenger about the cunning deed of Bhima and the condition of Duryodhana. They went to see Duryodhana and were filled with rage and wanted to avenge the Pandava brothers. Ashvatthama vowed to Duryodhana that he would kill the Pandava brothers in presence of Lord Krishna.