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The war lasted
some time, but the Pandavas managed to turn the tide of the war
against their assailants without revealing their true identity.
When they finally revealed their true identity, the king of the
city as delighted, and offered his daughter's hand in marriage
to Arjuna's son.
However, things
would not be settled to easily. Once the Pandavas had finished
their thirteen year exile, war was starting to brew. Alliances
were quickly forged by both the Pandavas and the Kauravas, in
preparation of the huge war that was about to take place. One
important character in the midst of the recruitment was Lord Krishna,
who was in fact the incarnation of Vishnu, the preserver, himself.
Both sides
wanted his help, and eventually Krishna gave both sides the choice
in way of help. The Pandavas chose Krishna alone and unarmed,
whilst the Kauravas chose Krishna's army. Both sides were happy,
thinking they had gotten the better deal.
While the
tensions between the two parties rose, many people tried to strike
a peace deal between the two parties, including Krishna himself,
but time again, the peace envoys were turned down by Duryodhana,
who was confident about winning the war.
The long due
war had soon begun. Krishna advised Arjuna to pray to the goddess
Durga, and as Arjuna did so, the goddess herself appeared before
Arjuna, and granted him victory in the war, over the Kauravas.
But Arjuna looked out at the battlefield, and so many people he
knew on the enemy's side. He could not bear to kill any of them,
and eventually refused to fight. However, Krishna eventually managed
to convince Arjuna that it was in fact his duty to fight for the
Pandavas, and that it was the right thing to do, and so the war
began.
The battle
raged on for many days without end. Many people died in the bloody
war, as well as many old scores and rivalries being settled. Krishna
at many points intervened to change the course of the war, but
it was inevitable as the Pandavas won the eighteen day war, with
Bhima breaking Duryodhana's thigh bones. That night, the Kauravas
led a night attack on the Pandavas camp, killing many people there.
As fate dictated, Krishna had brought the Pandava brothers to
a victory celebration, saving them all from the massacre.
When the Pandavas
returned, they found almost everyone they knew, and everyone whom
had fought for them dead. In despair, they believed it was time
for them to leave the world too. They marched to the Himalayas
to the north, where the gate of heaven was. Draupadi was the first
who was not able to take the strain, and she died, whilst the
brothers walked on. It was not long before they could not take
it too, and started to fall before reaching the peak of the mountain.
Finally, only
the oldest brother, Yudhistira managed to make it to the gate
of heaven, along wth his dog. The dog revealed itself to be a
god, and he gave Yudhistira one last test. With all the Kauravas
in heaven, and the Pandavas in hell, he was given the choice of
where he wanted to go. He would rather go to hell, than desert
his brothers, and therefore chose to go to hell. Eventually, he
was finally told that his brothers were in fact in heaven, and
that it was only a test, which he had passed, and now he would
be admitted to the realm of eternal bliss.
Next:
Ramayana
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