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Chapter 5. Perseverance
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Mahabharata, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Dharma
Pursuing Enlightenment
Heroism and Warfare
Grief, Loss, and Mourning
Stories and Storytelling
Summary
Analysis
THE CREATION OF THE CONTINENT OF JAMBU. Janamejaya asks Vaiśampayana to tell him more about how the great heroes of the Kauravas and the Pandavas fought, so Vaiśampayana begins the story. Each side masses its forces in preparation for conflict. Vyasa comes to speak with Dhritarashtra, offering to give the blind king sight so that he can see the battle. Dhritarashtra says he has no desire to see kin killing kin. Instead, Samjaya will tell him about it.
In this striking passage, Dhritarashtra deliberately chooses to stay blind rather than witness the consequences of his decisions. This decision embodies how Dhritarashtra deliberately turns away from knowledge and enlightenment, preferring to remain ignorant. His flaw as a leader is that he refuses to accept responsibility for his actions, and so any regrets that he later offers ring false.
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THE EARTH. Dhritarashtra asks Samjaya to tell him more about the earth and the heavens. THE SERMON OF THE BLESSED LORD. After the first phase of battle, Samjaya tells Dhritarashtra that Bhishma has died. The death is a major blow to the Kaurava war effort. Samjaya begins the story in more detail.
This passage establishes the pattern that the next several books of the poem will follow. Samjaya narrates the events of each day’s battle to the blind king Dhritarashtra (which is inside the frame story of Vaiśampayana talking to Janamejaya, which is itself inside the frame story of Ugraśravas talking to Śaunaka).
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In Samjaya’s recount of the battle, Bhishma urged all his followers that it was dharma to fight to the death. It soon becomes clear that the Pandava force is bigger and stronger, with the Kauravas facing west and the Pandavas facing east. Despite his advantage, Yudhishthira despairs at the size of the Kaurava army, although Arjuna reassures him.
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Here begins the Bhagavadgita, a sacred Hindu text that is both a self-contained scripture as well as a portion of the larger Mahabharata narrative. In it, Samjaya tells Dhritarashtra about the moment when the two armies finally clash. As battle begins, Arjuna despairs at how many members of his friends and family he may soon lose, and he temporarily puts down his weapons, but Krishna encourages him to fight by saying that life doesn’t really begin or end, it just passes through different forms. He says it’s Arjuna’s dharma to fight, and so that’s what he must do.
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Arjuna is still confused, so Krishna explains in more detail. Krishna says there are two schools of thought: Samkhya philosophers who favor knowledge and yogis who favor action. He advises Arjuna that a distinguished person is one who has the discipline to perform all necessary actions with a sense of detachment. Those who become attached to their actions are deluded into thinking they have more agency than they actually do.
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Krishna continues, saying that every creature has its own nature, and it’s better to follow your own dharma than to try to achieve someone else’s dharma. Arjuna asks why anyone would ever commit sin and go against his dharma.
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Krishna then explains to Arjuna how he has been reincarnated on multiple occasions since the beginning of time. He says that, although it’s difficult, wise seers through the ages have been able to see inaction in action and action in inaction. A person who is free of attachments will have their karma “dissolved.” Sacrifice can be a way to find brahman.
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Krishna explains more, saying that it’s better to act than to renounce action, since brahman requires action. What’s more, inaction doesn’t create karma, and so it doesn’t help an individual achieve brahman. Therefore, detached action is better than complete non-action. To escape the cycle of birth and rebirth, Krishna advises Arjuna to always think of him, since a person who dies thinking of Krishna will “attain” him and escape rebirth. Krishna explains that he is the seed of all living things, and a part of him supports the entire universe.
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Arjuna asks if he can see Krishna’s true highest form. He does so, showing a form with many mouths and eyes, shining like the light of a thousand suns. Krishna explains that he is “Time, the destroyer of worlds” and that whether Arjuna intervenes or not, all the soldiers he sees on the battlefield will one day be dead. This whole display impresses Arjuna, who trembles and says it’s right for everyone to bow to Krishna. Krishna says that most men and even gods never see his supreme form and that Arjuna is lucky, and then he changes back to his normal mortal form.
Krishna explains many more topics to Arjuna, including how brahman is the womb into which he places his seed. He says all of worldly existence is like a tree. He once again describes renunciation and how a person shouldn’t renounce sacrifice but rather perform sacrifice with detachment. He ends the conversation by reminding Arjuna to fix his mind on Krishna alone. This ends the Bhagavadgita.
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THE KILLING OF BHISHMA. Samjaya continues narrating battle events to Dhritarashtra. In the story, Yudhishthira alarms his allies by leaving his chariot and walking right toward his enemies with no armor or weapons. Krishna understands, however: Yudhishthira needs to seek permission from his elders to fight, and Bhishma is his elder, even though he fights on the opposite side.
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Bhishma praises Yudhishthira for coming to see him before the battle. Yudhishthira asks if Bhishma has any advice for how to defeat him. Bhishma says he doesn’t know of how any man can beat him, since he has a boon that he can choose the time of his death and that time hasn’t arrived yet. Yudhishthira then goes on to speak with Drona and other elders on the enemy side, and they all praise him, despite their differences. Having done his duty, Yudhishthira heads back, put on his shining armor again, and gets back into his chariot.
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On the first day of fighting, the battles begin in an orderly fashion before turning into chaos, with everyone on the field of battle. Uttara dies in battle, killed by an elephant, and the first day ends with the Kauravas forcing the Pandavas to retreat. Bhishma and his arrows cause particular damage. The second day is less conclusive, but Bhishma continues to be a powerful force on the battlefield. On the third day, the Pandava army once again experiences major losses, and Krishna decides to kill Bhishma himself, but Arjuna stops him, saying that he will carry out the deed himself.
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Arjuna goes on the attack, filling the whole horizon with arrows from his mighty bow. His attacks cause a river of blood and marrow to flow. That evening, the Kauravas lament how many Arjuna has killed.
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On the fourth day of battle, Bhishma leads the attack against Arjuna. Meanwhile, Bhima slays so many elephants with his deadly club that he’s covered in blood and fat. Duryodhana responds by sending all his troops toward Bhima. The day once again ends with an advantage to the Pandavas. Dhritarashtra interrupts the story to ask Samjaya why things are going so poorly, and Samjaya simply says it was unwise for Dhritarashtra to start this war in the first place.
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On the fifth day of battle, the fighting resumes, even more noisy and violent than before. Both sides experience massive bloodshed, with Arjuna killing 25,000 charioteers near the end of the day. The sixth day is similarly destructive. Dhritarashtra wonders why his strong, capable army is failing to make better progress. Samjaya says yet again that it’s Dhritarashtra’s fault for starting the war and that it all goes back to Duryodhana’s gambling scheme with Yudhishthira.
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Samjaya describes to Dhritarashtra what happened on the battlefield, including the fierce rivalry between Drona and Drupada. Drupada gets injured and has to leave, and Drona continues to terrorize all of the Pandavas. Meanwhile, Bhima and Duryodhana clash in battle.
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The seventh day begins with more violence. Bhishma and Yudhishthira lead formations against each other. Arjuna uses the special celestial weapon he got from Indra to slay many foes. Meanwhile, Virata and Drona fight each other. Drona fires a poison arrow that hits Virata’s son Śankha, killing him. After the death of Uttara earlier, Virata has no sons left. Drona’s son Aśvatthaman fights with Sikhandin.
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The fighting continues throughout the seventh day. In the afternoon, Arjuna kills many of Bhishma’s supporters and heads for Bhishma himself. Bhishma responds later in the day by killing Yudhishthira’s horses.
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As the eighth day begins, the battle continues to be a stalemate, with each side killing many from the other side, but neither gaining a decisive advantage. A Rakshasa who is still mad about Bhima killing Baka sends illusory horses into battle to confuse the Pandavas. Meanwhile, on the opposite side, Bhima’s Rakshasa son, Ghatotkaca, fights against the Kauravas and Duryodhana, but the day again ends in a stalemate.
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On the ninth day of battle, the fighting remains intense, with Bhishma and Arjuna being two of the deadliest on the battlefield. Bhishma manages to shower Arjuna’s chariot with arrows, but both Arjuna and his charioteer, Krishna, survive the onslaught. Both Bhishma and Arjuna are seriously injured. But while Arjuna fights with restraint, Bhishma is wildly going all out. At last, Krishna gets tired of waiting and jumps out of the chariot to fight Bhishma bare-handed. Arjuna chases after Krishna and tries to restrain him so that Krishna doesn’t break his promise not to fight. Reluctantly, Krishna goes back into their chariot. Night falls again.
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The Pandavas debate how to defeat the formidable Bhishma. At last, Yudhishthira suggests that they should approach Bhishma himself and ask him how he can be killed. The Pandavas visit Bhishma, paying him honor, and he greets them respectfully in return. They tell him he seems to have no weak spot, and they ask him how he can possibly be defeated. Bhishma tells the Pandavas that they’ll never win the war while he’s alive, and so they must strike at him quickly—he gives them permission to kill him.
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Bhishma adds that he can’t be defeated in battle but can be defeated after he lays down his weapons. Another option would be for Arjuna to place someone else between him and Bhishma—that way, when Arjuna slays the other person, he can also hit Bhishma.
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The tenth day of battle begins. Bhishma and Sikhandin fight—Arjuna urges Sikhandin to slay Bhishma, but he isn’t able to. Bhishma strikes back and kills hundreds of thousands of Pandava allies. Drona senses that Arjuna is going to use Sikhandin to kill Bhishma.
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After ten days of slaughtering Pandava forces, Bhishma becomes tired of living. He calls to Yudhishthira and tells him to place Arjuna in front of him so that Arjuna can try to kill him. But as Sikhandin and Arjuna attack Bhishma, he continues to stay strong and even slays a brother of Virata. Eventually, Arjuna manages to sever Bhishma’s bow, angering him. He then severs Bhishma’s spear. Arjuna and the rest of his army continue to pierce Bhishma with arrows until they fill his entire body. At last, Bhishma falls from his chariot, although he doesn’t allow himself to die yet because it’s an unlucky time of year.
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The Pandavas celebrate and the Kauravas mourn the downfall of mighty Bhishma. That evening, both sides gather to pay respects to Bhishma, who is still alive and welcomes all of them. He says he has no need for doctors and sends them away. Eventually, both armies go back to their camps for the evening, then come back the next morning, putting aside their weapons to pay Bhishma respect. To honor Bhishma, Arjuna offers him water, splitting the ground with an arrow and giving him water from the purest spring.
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On his deathbed, but still not quite dead, Bhishma laments how Duryodhana’s foolishness will be the downfall of the Kauravas. Later, however, Karna (who promised not to fight while Bhishma was alive) asks permission of Bhishma to fight on behalf of Duryodhana, and Bhishma grants it to him.
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