It is now the tenth day of war and the battles still appear to be evenly matched. Although many have died, there are still many powerful warriors to defeat. Bhishma, is the best warrior the Kaurava camp has and is essentially the barrier to their impending defeat. Bhishma and I have clashed many times on the battlefield, however I can sense that he shares the mutual feeling of not wanting to have to end each others' life. However, I'm sure after today, that there will be a conclusive ending to this war.
On the ninth day of war and after my ninth failed attempt at killing Bhishma, Krishna offered a suggestion to my brothers and I. In order to end this stalemate in war, we all visited Bhishma in order come to a solution. Bhishma explained to us that he knew in his heart that we brothers were good men with good intentions. In turn, Bhishma explained that in order to be defeated he must be faced in battle by the opposite gender.
As I look out across the massive expanse of war torn fields, I ponder what Bhishma must be thinking about on his last day. I feel an immense amount of shame and guilt for bringing a woman onto the dangerous fields of battle in order to kill a man that I never wanted to.
As I leave my tent I see that Shikandhi has already manned the chariot and soon we are racing off into the center of the battle. I quickly see Bhishma. He is fighting as fiercely as a lion, and is wiping out our soldiers with ease. Shikandhi begins to steer the chariot towards Bhisma. I ready my bow and aim it straight at Bhishma's heart. As we near Bishma's chariot, I close my eyes and feel immense feelings of guilt, and shame. I am so confused at a time where my senses should be completely aware. How foolish of me, I brush the tears out of my eyes and let every arrow in my inventory fly towards Bhishma. He sees Shikandhi and immediately becomes immobilized and drops his weapons. My rain of arrows envelopes and pierces Bhishma's entire body. He falls off of his chariot. Hundreds of arrows lay embedded in the grand, old warrior's body and creates a bed underneath him.
The many various battles going on across the large expanse of battlefield suddenly stop.
Suddenly, the skies clear and beautiful white lotus flowers float down across the battlefield. A truly beautiful sight, and an amazing way to honor the death of such a respectable man as Bhishma.
Author's Note: I felt like I was having such success writing stories through Arjuna's point-of-view that I would revisit the concept for a third time. I wrote this story through the eyes of Arjuna before the death of Bhishma. I left mostly all of the plot the same, and simply added what I think would be going through Arjuna's mind during the events of this part of the the epic. I also personally enjoyed writing the story through Arjuna's eyes so I thought a third time would not hurt.
Bibliography:
- Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.
Hey Avi. I hadn't read parts one and two, but I really enjoyed what you did here. The events in the Mahabharata can be quite confusing at times since there is always so much going on. However, by telling the story from Arjuna's perspective, you gave yourself the opportunity to tell the story at your own pace. It made the events of the story very easy to follow, and it also gave insight into the struggles Arjuna is feeling during this war. Good job! Keep it up!
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