Gadāyuddha

The Gadāyuddha is the mace fight between Bhīmasena and Duryodhana. It took place at Samantapañcaka, at Anirīṇa, south of the Sarasvatī, and it is the last single combat of the Kurukshetra war. It is told in Chapters 55-60 of the Śalya Parva. Duryodhana came out of Dvaipāyana lake, and the two great students of Balarāma faced each other with their maces. Balarāma himself watched. The fight went on for most of a day in even balance. At Kṛshṇa’s signal Bhīma struck Duryodhana’s thighs, a blow against the rules of mace combat. This kept the vow he had sworn at the dice game and brought Duryodhana down.

Background

Śalya, Śakuni and the last Kaurava warriors were dead, and Duryodhana was alone. He fled the battlefield. Using his knowledge of jalastambhana (the power to make water stand still), he hid inside Dvaipāyana lake. The Pāṇḍavas, led by hunters who had seen him, came to the lake and drew him out with sharp words. Duryodhana came out with his heavy mace and armour. He proposed to fight one Pāṇḍava at a time. Yudhishṭhira accepted these terms, and Bhīmasena stepped forward as the Pāṇḍava champion.

Balarāma had been on tīrtha-yātrā (a pilgrimage) along the Sarasvatī. He was at Kārapavana when Nārada brought him news of the coming fight. He arrived in time to see the combat between his two best students in mace fighting. The battle took place at Anirīṇa, a holy place south of the Sarasvatī, in the Samantapañcaka (Kurukshetra) region.

The combat

Arrival and challenge (Chapter 55)

The warriors moved to the chosen ground. Duryodhana, in good armour and carrying his mace, walked like a maddened elephant. Bhīma too took up his great mace. The two cousins faced each other in the space between the watchers: the Pāṇḍavas, the Pāñcālas, Kṛshṇa, Balarāma and the few Vṛishṇi warriors who remained.

They traded fierce taunts before the fight, each reminding the other of old wounds. Bhīma listed every humiliation the Pāṇḍavas had suffered: the house of lac at Vāraṇāvata, the dice hall, the dishonour of Draupadī and the years in the forest. He vowed to settle all accounts. Duryodhana answered with proud defiance.

An equal fight (Chapters 56-57)

The mace fight that followed matched the great combats of the ages, such as Indra against Prahlāda and the wars of the devas and asuras. Both warriors were Balarāma’s students and had trained in the art for thirteen years. The Mahābhārata names the mace techniques seen in their fight: advancing and drawing back, turning to both sides, whirling in circles (maṇḍala), leaping to strike from above, ducking blows, striking back in mid-air, and moving in gomūtraka patterns.

For hours neither could land a deciding blow. Their maces crashed together like thunderbolts and threw sparks that the watchers could see. Both were wounded, and blood ran from their bodies like streams from red mountains. When Duryodhana’s mace struck Bhīma’s chest with full force, Bhīma staggered for a moment. When Bhīma’s mace landed on Duryodhana’s sides, Duryodhana sank to one knee. Neither gave way. The devas, gandharvas and cāraṇas watched from the sky and could not tell which would win.

Kṛshṇa’s signal (Chapter 58)

Kṛshṇa watched the fight and told Arjuna that if Bhīma fought by the rules he could not win, because Duryodhana’s skill was greater than Bhīma’s strength. A blow against the rules, however, could succeed. Kṛshṇa recalled Bhīma’s old oath, sworn in the dice hall when Duryodhana had mocked the Pāṇḍavas, to break Duryodhana’s thighs with his mace. He also named Maitreya’s curse, that Bhīma would break Duryodhana’s thighs with his mace. Arjuna passed on the signal by slapping his own thigh. Bhīma understood.

Bhīma used a clever feint and drew Duryodhana into fast whirling movement. Duryodhana saw an opening and leapt up to deliver a crushing blow. Bhīma followed the arc of the leap, moved in, and brought his mace down hard on both of Duryodhana’s thighs while he was in the air. The blow shattered his thighs. Duryodhana fell with a sound like a great tree crashing in a storm. The earth shook.

Aftermath

Bhīma’s act of contempt (Chapter 59)

Bhīma went up to the fallen Duryodhana and kicked his head with his left foot. It was a deliberate act of contempt, recalling how Duryodhana had slapped his own thigh to mock Draupadī when she was dishonoured. Bhīma’s words over the fallen king were fierce. He reminded him of every wrong done to the Pāṇḍavas and declared the account settled.

Yudhishṭhira sharply rebuked Bhīma. He said that kicking a fallen king, their own cousin, now without army, brothers or sons and soon without life, was adharma. The dharmarāja (king of dharma) then went to Duryodhana and spoke to him with grief and with a mixed moral judgement. He said that Duryodhana’s death in the warrior’s way was itself honourable, even if the mistakes of his life had led to this disaster.

Balarāma’s anger and departure (Chapter 60)

Balarāma was furious. He declared that Bhīma’s blow to the thighs was against the rules of mace combat, since a blow below the navel is forbidden. He raised his plough-weapon, the lāṅgala, to strike Bhīma. Kṛshṇa held him back with both arms and spoke at length. He reminded Balarāma of Bhīma’s oath and of Maitreya’s curse. He spoke of the Pāṇḍavas’ ties of blood with the Vṛishṇis, since Arjuna was their kinsman by marriage. He said that when one fights those who are utterly beaten and have no allies, even Indra cannot hold to a strict rule.

Balarāma was partly persuaded but not fully satisfied, and he climbed into his chariot. Before leaving he declared in public that Duryodhana had fought rightly and died a warrior’s death, and would reach the excellent worlds. Bhīma, he said, had earned disgrace by his blow against the rules. With this declaration Balarāma left for Dvārakā.

Kṛshṇa then turned to the grief-stricken Yudhishṭhira and spoke words to make the matter of dharma clear. He acknowledged how hard the moment was, but affirmed that what had happened was necessary. Bhīmasena stood before his eldest brother with joined palms, his face shining with the end of the vow he had carried so long.

The threads that meet

• Bhīma’s oath. The vow sworn in the sabhā, “I will break your thighs,” was kept exactly as sworn.
• Maitreya’s curse. The ṛshi Maitreya had cursed Duryodhana, in the Vana Parva, that Bhīma would break his thighs with a mace.
• Kṛshṇa’s signal. Kṛshṇa told Arjuna that victory over Duryodhana needed a blow against the rules.
• Balarāma’s anger. He declared that Duryodhana had fought rightly and that Bhīma had earned disgrace.
• Yudhishṭhira’s grief. The dharmarāja grieved over a fallen enemy, his cousin, the man behind the war.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Śalya Parva, Chapters 55-60
• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva (Maitreya’s curse on Duryodhana)
• Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva (Bhīma’s oath in the dice hall)