Sainyanirjāṇa Parva

The Sainyanirjāṇa Parva is the opening sub-parva of the last part of the Udyoga Parva of the Mahābhārata (Chapters 101–159). It tells how both armies gather at Kurukshetra, how each side chooses its commanders, how Balarāma leaves for a pilgrimage instead of joining a war between kinsmen, how Rukmī’s offer of the Vijaya bow is refused, and how Dhṛtarāshṭra laments as the two forces take their places.

The Pāṇḍava army at Kurukshetra (Chapters 151–152)

Kṛshṇa’s embassy had failed, and every effort for peace was spent. The Pāṇḍava army began its march to Kurukshetra. Kṛshṇa formally named Dhṛshṭadyumna as the supreme commander (mahāsenāpati) of the Pāṇḍava force of seven akshauhiṇīs (great army divisions). The camp was set up by the river Hiraṇvatī, a place of pure water and good ground for so large a host.

Yudhishṭhira and Kṛshṇa then spoke together about whether the war was right (Chapter 154). Kṛshṇa said that the Pāṇḍavas’ cause was just, and that the war, however terrible, was needed.

Duryodhana’s eleven commanders (Chapter 155)

Duryodhana divided his army of eleven akshauhiṇīs among eleven commanders.

  1. Kṛpa, son of Śaradvān, the royal teacher.
  2. Droṇa, the supreme master of archery.
  3. Śalya, king of Madra.
  4. Jayadratha, king of Sindhu.
  5. Sudakshiṇa, king of Kāmboja, known for his cavalry.
  6. Kṛtavarman, a Yādava warrior who sided with the Kauravas.
  7. Aśvatthāman, Droṇa’s son, master of the Brahmāstra.
  8. Karṇa, king of Aṅga, the foremost Kaurava warrior.
  9. Bhūriśravas, son of Somadatta, an elder of the Kuru house.
  10. Śakuni, king of Gāndhāra, who planned the deceit in the dice game.
  11. Bāhlīka, a Kuru patriarch, great-uncle of Bhīshma.

Bhīshma as supreme commander (Chapter 156)

Bhīshma was named mahāsenāpati, supreme commander, of the whole Kaurava force. The appointment was made with full ceremony. At that moment Karṇa made his well-known declaration. He would not take up arms while Bhīshma commanded, because he could not fight under a man who had often shown him disrespect. Karṇa’s vow held until the tenth day, when Bhīshma fell. After that, Karṇa entered the war.

The Kaurava army then marched toward Kurukshetra, with all its banners, drums and war instruments.

Yudhishṭhira’s seven commanders (Chapter 157)

Yudhishṭhira named seven commanders to lead the seven Pāṇḍava akshauhiṇīs.

  1. Drupada, king of Pāñcāla.
  2. Virāṭa, king of Matsya.
  3. Sātyaki, a Yādava warrior and Arjuna’s pupil.
  4. Dhṛshṭadyumna, son of Drupada, born to kill Droṇa, named as supreme commander.
  5. Dhṛshṭaketu, king of Cedi, son of Śiśupāla.
  6. Śikhaṇḍī, son of Drupada, born to be the one who kills Bhīshma.
  7. Sahadeva of Magadha (Jayatsena, son of Jarāsandha).

Balarāma’s departure

In the same chapter, Balarāma came to the Pāṇḍava camp with a company of Vṛshṇi heroes. They included Akrūra, Gada, Sāmba, Uddhava, Pradyumna, Cārudeshṇa and other Yādava warriors.

Balarāma could not choose between his younger brother Kṛshṇa, who stood with the Pāṇḍavas, and Duryodhana, his pupil in gadā-yuddha (mace fighting). He did not want to take part in the killing of kinsmen. So he announced that he would spend the war on tīrtha-yātrā (a pilgrimage to holy places). He left on his pilgrimage and did not return until after the eighteenth day.

Rukmī’s refused offer (Chapter 158)

Rukmī, king of Bhojakuṭa and elder brother of Rukmiṇī, marched to the war with his own forces and with the Vijaya bow. This divine bow was given by Mahendra (Indra) and is equal in power to the Gāṇḍīva itself. Rukmī offered his service to the Pāṇḍavas first.

Arjuna refused him, and named Rukmī’s past. At the svayaṃvara of Rukmiṇī, Rukmī had sworn to defeat Kṛshṇa or not return to Vidarbha. He was defeated and was spared only because Rukmiṇī pleaded for him, and he left to found Bhojakuṭa. Arjuna judged him an unreliable ally, whose own rivalry with Kṛshṇa would harm the alliance.

Rukmī then went to Duryodhana, who also refused him. Duryodhana saw that Rukmī’s aim was his own gain and not loyalty to the Kaurava cause. Rukmī left without fighting for either side. His great Vijaya bow was never drawn in this war.

This chapter speaks of the three divine bows of the world: the Gāṇḍīva of Varuṇa, the Vijaya of Mahendra, and the Śārṅga of Vishṇu-Kṛshṇa.

Dhṛtarāshṭra’s lament (Chapter 159)

As the armies took their final places, Dhṛtarāshṭra, blind and helpless in Hastināpura, lamented to Sañjaya. He could hear the distant drums, and he knew how great the coming war would be.

Sañjaya answered him plainly. The roots of this disaster lay in Dhṛtarāshṭra’s own partiality, in the dice game he allowed, in the exile he did not prevent, and in the insult to Draupadī that he did not stop. The war was the karma of those choices now coming to fruit.

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Chapters 101–159 (this account covers Chapters 151–159)