18 Days of the Mahabharatha War: A Summary

The Mahabharata/ Kurukshetra War was between two groups of feuding cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. They fought over the throne of Hastinapura in the Kuru kingdom.

 Kurukshetra’s current location is Haryana state. There are 18 chapters in the epic, and the war lasted 18 days, from sunrise to sunset.

 The great war began after Lord Krishna, who was Arjuna’s charioteer, blew the Panchjanya (conch).

 Day 1 – Pandavas Suffer Heavy Losses

Bhishma led the Kaurava armies against the Pandavas and caused a lot of havoc on the first day of battle. Uttara, Virata’s son, was killed by Shalya, King of Madra. Yudhishthira also lost his son in the battle. The Pandavas suffered terrible losses and were defeated by the end of the first day.

 Day 2 – Kaurava Army’s Losses

Arjuna decided to kill Bhishma, and the two fought a fierce battle that went on for hours. Satyaki killed Bhishma’s charioteer. Bhishma lost control of his horses, which carried him away from the battlefield. It was the Kaurava army’s turn to suffer great losses and face defeat.

 Day 3 – Use of Divine Weapons

Abhimanyu and Satyaki defeated the Gandhara army of Shakuni. Bhima and Ghatotkacha (his son) attacked Duryodhana. Bhima’s arrows hit Duryodhana, and he fainted. His charioteer drove him off to safety.

 Bhishma invoked celestial weapons and attacked the Pandava army on all sides. Arjuna used the Gandiva, sending arrows that sliced Bhishma’s bow in two. The Pandavas won on this day.

 Day 4 – Bhishma Advises Duryodhana to Seek a Truce

Duryodhana gave orders for an all-out attack on Bhima. Bhima attacked Duryodhana’s brothers and killed eight of them.

 An arrow struck Bhima in the chest, and he became dazed. The carnage continued unabated.

 Day 5 – Bhima Rescues Satyaki

The Pandava army suffered losses due to Bhishma’s attacks. Bhima fought a fierce but inconclusive duel with Bhishma. Satyaki could not withstand Drona’s attacks, but Bhima came to his rescue.

 Day 6 – The Defeat of the Kauravas

Drona took many lives on the Pandava’s side. Bhima penetrated the Kaurava formation and launched an attack on Duryodhana. Duryodhana was defeated, but others rescued him. The war halted with the Kauravas facing defeat.

 Day 7 – Victory of the Kauravas

Drona killed Sankha, Virata’s son. The battle ended with the Kauravas gaining victory.

 Day 8 – Kauravas Face a Crushing Defeat

Bhima killed 17 sons of Dhritarashtra. Iravan, who was born to Arjuna and the snake-princess Ulupi killed 5 brothers of Shakuni. Duryodhana sent Alamvusha, a Rakshasa fighter, to kill Iravan, but the Rakshasa lost his life. The Kauravas faced a crushing defeat.

 Day 9 – Shikhandi as a Shield

Krishna was annoyed that Arjuna could not defeat Bhishma. Knowing that the Pandavas would not win the war as long as Bhishma was fighting, Krishna suggested that they send a eunuch, Shikhandi, to face him, as Bhishma would not fight a eunuch.

 Day 10 – Death of Bhishma

Shikhandi rained arrows on Bhishma, who did not fight back. Arjuna sent his arrows at Bhishma using Shikhandi as a shield to protect himself from Bhishma.

 Soon, Bhishma fell from his chariot. His body was held aloft by the arrows in his body and did not touch the ground.

 Bhishma had promised King Shantanu (his father) that he would not die until Hastinapur was secured from all directions. So, he used the boon of ‘Ichchya Mrityu’ (self-wished death) that he received from his father.

 Once the war ended and Hastinapur became safe from all sides, after giving some lessons on politics and Vishnu Sahasranama to the Pandavas, Bhishma died on the first day of the Uttarayana period.

 Day 11 – Arjuna Defeats Drona

After Bhishma’s fall, Karna entered the battlefield, and Drona became the supreme commander of the Kaurava army.

 When Drona destroyed Yudhishthira’s bow, Arjuna rushed to help his brother, sending a rain of arrows and defeating Drona.

 Day 12 – Arjuna Fights Bhagadatta

Bhagadatta created panic among the Pandavas by defeating great fighters like Bhima, Abhimanyu, and Satyaki. He fought Arjuna, seated on his huge elephant, Supratika. After a fierce battle, Arjuna killed his opponent.

 Day 13 – Death of  Abhimanyu

Drona’s aim was to capture Yudhishthira. He arranged his troops in the Chakra Vyuha formation, which was complex and almost impenetrable. Only Arjuna and Krishna knew how to penetrate it. Arjuna was busy fighting the Samsaptakasa, so Yudhishthira told Abhimanyu (son of Arjuna and Subhadra) to break the Chakra Vyuha.

 Abhimanyu knew how to enter the Chakra Vyuha but not how to exit it. Inside the Chakra Vyuha, Abhimanyu killed many warriors. As Jayadratha managed to keep the other Pandavas occupied, none of them could help Abhimanyu. He finally engaged Dushasana’s son, an expert mace fighter, Durmashana, who succeeded in killing the exhausted Abhimanyu.

 On hearing this, Arjuna vowed to kill Jayadratha before the battle ended at sunset.

 Day 14 – Karna Loses Vasavi Shakti

Karna, Drona, Ashwathama, and Duryodhana surrounded Arjuna to prevent him from attacking Jayadratha. The fight continued until the Sun was about to set.

But Krishna eclipsed the Sun, creating the impression that the Sun had set. Thinking that the Sun had set, the Kauravas let down their guard.

 Arjuna, taking advantage of the deception, killed Jayadratha just as the eclipse ended and the Sun came out again. Realizing that the Pandavas had tricked them, the Kauravas were filled with sorrow and anger.

 Meanwhile, Gathokacha, Bhima’s Rakshasa son, was killed by the Vasavi Shakti, a weapon that Indra had given Karna. The weapon can be used only once.

 The two armies call a truce.

 Day 15 – Dhrishtadyumna Kills Drona

Drona kills Virata and Drupada. Krishna recommends using deceit to kill Drona.

Yudhishthira agrees reluctantly. Bhima kills an elephant named Ashwathama and loudly proclaims that Ashwathama is dead.

 Drona asks Yudhisthara if it is true and gets an affirmative answer.

 In anguish, Drona drops his weapons, and Dhrishtadyumna , who had sworn to avenge his father’s death, kills him.

 The real Ashwathama fired Narayanastra. Krishna orders everyone to lay down their weapons and lie on the ground. It is the only way to escape the weapon.

Kunti asks Karna to join the Pandavas, revealing that he is her eldest son. But Karna refuses, saying that he will spare all the Pandavas except Arjuna.

 Day 16 – Bhima Kills Dushasana

Karna becomes the supreme commander of the Kuru army. Shalya is his charioteer.

 Bhima shatters Dushasana’s chariot, seizes Dushasana, rips his right hand from his shoulder, and kills him. He also tears open his chest, drinks his blood, and smears some blood on Draupadi’s untied hair, thus fulfilling the vow he made when Dushasana humiliated Draupadi.

 Day 17 – Arjuna Kills Karna

On the 17th day, Karna defeated Nakula, Sahadeva, and Yudhishthira in battle but did not take their lives.

 Karna and Arjuna engage in a ferocious fight. Parashurama’s curse comes true, and Karna’s chariot wheel sinks to the ground. Karna asks to pause the fighting, but Arjuna shoots his arrow and decapitates Karna. Before the battle, Indra received Karna’s sacred armor (‘Kavacha’) and earrings (‘Kundala’) as alms, so Karna had no protection from Arjuna’s arrows. The Pandavas perform his funeral ceremony.

 Day 18 – Death of Duryodhana

On the last day, Shalya becomes the commander of the Kauravas. Yudhishthira kills him, while Sahadeva kills Shakuni. Only Ashwathama, Duryodhana Kripacharya, and Kritavarma survived the war.

 Duryodhana goes to a lake to cool down his body. Bhima forces him to come out of the lake and fight a mace battle, Duryodhana is invincible thanks to his mother Gandhari’s boon.

 But Bhima breaks the rules (under Krishna’s advice) and strikes Duryodhana beneath the waist. A mortally wounded Duryodhana is left to die by the Pandavas.

 Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, and Kritavarma visit Duryodhana on his deathbed and vow to avenge Bhima's actions. Later that night, they attacked the Pandavas’ camp and tried to kill all the Pandavas. However, the dead included Dhrishtadyumna, Shikhandi, Uttamaujas, and the children of Draupadi. The killers mistook them for the Pandava brothers.

 The Aftermath

The five Pandavas, Krishna, Satyaki, Ashwatthama, Kripacharya, Yuyutsu, Vrishakethu, and Kritvarma, survived the Kurukshetra war. Yudhishthira became the king of Hastinapur. After ruling for 36 years, he renounced the throne. Arjuna’s grandson, King Parikshit, became the king after Krishna’s death.

 Yudhishthira, Draupadi, and his brothers left for the Himalayas to find heaven. Draupadi, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva died on the way. Dharma allowed Yudhishthira, the lone survivor, to enter the heavens as a mortal due to his virtues and pious heart.

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