The Night Before the War

This is part of my ongoing series on the Mahabharat, an epic poem of ancient India. For links to all previous Mahabharat posts go here. Or you can simply click on the Mahabharat page link above.


When war was finally declared between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, both sides and all their allies marched their armies to Kurukshetra, camping at opposite ends of the battlefield.

The Pandava army was seven million strong. The Kaurava army, eleven million. Significantly stronger.

All commanders met that evening in Bhishma's tent to lay down the laws of the war. With that deed completed, they retreated to their camps to rest.

The atmosphere of Kurukshetra was an uneasy calm, like the wind that stills before the onslaught of a hurricane.

Arjuna couldn't sleep. With one hand resting on his sword he sat before a fire in the Pandava camp. Staring into the flames, he thought of all the horrors that had brought his family to this point. How the Kauravas had conspired at Varnavat. How the Kauravas had divided the nation. How the Kauravas had poisoned Bhima.

His thoughts went on and on. The Kauravas had cheated in the gambling match. The Kauravas had stolen Indraprashta. The Kauravas had abused Draupadi. Arjuna's teeth clenched. He ground the sharp tip of his sword into the ground.

The fire crackled and his thoughts burned, leaping from one painful memory to another.

A deep voice spoke behind him. "Why are you sitting here all alone?"

Arjuna looked over his shoulder. "Krishna," he said, nodding at his best friend.

Krishna came forward. "You didn't answer my question."

Arjuna turned back to the flames. "I'm thinking of the past."

"Why?"

"So that my anger may strengthen me tomorrow. For years I have waited for vengence."

Krishna was silent for a moment. "Righteous anger can be an asset in a war. But not when it prevents you from thinking clearly."

Arjuna's hold on his sword loosened. "What do you mean?"

"If your anger controls you, Arjuna, then you'll be weakened by it, not strengthened."

"But my memories burn me, Krishna. What do I do with this torment?"

Krishna put his hand on Arjuna's shoulder. "Meditate on Mother Durga. She is Shakti, the divine power that energizes this world. All beings here have life and strength because of her grace. She will help you control your anger and focus your thoughts into a productive path. Pray for her blessing. Ask her to grant you victory for it is true that you cannot win this war without her."

Immediately Arjuna stood. He sought out a lonely corner of the battlefield. Sitting on the ground, Arjuna crossed his legs and relaxed his body into lotus position. He closed his eyes and, concentrating on the energy within him, he meditated on Mother Durga's name.

The hours of the night trickled by. Still Arjun meditated on her name and slowly the fire inside him changed from leaping about in orange display to controlled blue force that seared upwards towards eternity.

He concentrated on Durga, Shakti, the power within him. Then, in the darkest hour of the night:

"Arjuna," said a low feminine voice, vibrating like a rumble of the earth.

He opened his eyes. To his dying day, he never forgot the vision he beheld.

It was a woman. She radiated light into the darkness. Her face was golden, her eyes dark, her lips red. Her hair flowed like a black river over her shoulders and down her back. She was clad in a red sari that moulded to her curves with lush beauty. Her form seemed to move and shimmer, giving different angles of her gentle face and showing flashes of the weapons she carried in her many hands that appeared and disappeared at her will. A sword, a mace, a spear, an axe, a trident, a bow, an arrow. In one hand she carried a lotus that held such sweet intoxicating scent, permeating the air around her. One hand was empty, showing only the softness of her palm that was open in blessing. In one hand she carried a conch shell that emitted the primal sound Aum, making the air resonate and dance around her.

She was life. Power. Creation. As Durga she energized the world. As Lakshmi she made it bountiful. As Saraswati, she granted it knowledge.


Her feet held the foundation of the universe.

Arjuna prostrated himself before her. "Mother!"

"Arise, my son."

He raised himself to kneel so that he could look upon her exquisite face.

"Why do you call upon me, Arjuna?" she said, smiling softly.

He folded his palms. "Mother, you know that a war will begin tomorrow."

"Yes."

"And in this war there are two sides. The side of the Pandavas and the side of the Kauravas."

"Yes."

He took a deep breath. "It is also true that the Kaurava army is much larger than the Pandava army."

"Yes."

"Mother, bless me that the Pandavas may be victorious. Grant us your strength and wisdom, that we may protect the world from evil."

She gazed down at his face, seeing deep into his heart. "My son, be not afraid. Where there is dharma, there is Krishna. And where there is Krishna, there shall be victory."

And she disappeared.

Arjuna blinked into the darkness where her light had just shined. Then he touched his head to the earth where her feet had been.

"Thank you, Mother."


Before any struggle, Hindus call upon Mother Durga to give them strength. They believe that an important aspect of God is in the form of female energy.

One of the reasons why Hindus believe God has so many forms is because God assumes all these forms for the benefit of the devotee. Each form has a mood and reason, and depending on the devotee's particular needs on any given day, he or she may need a particular form of God to meditate upon. So when a Hindu wants to remove obstacles he calls upon Ganesh. When he needs the joy of love he calls upon Krishna. When he desires guidance in the dilemmas of life he calls upon Ram. And when he needs strength, he calls upon Durga.

Usually, there is one form that each person gravitates towards because they identify with that aspect of God most. This also is part of the Lord's mercy, that he appears to us in the particular form (and name) that we individually desire. Because of this, Hindus believe that the possibilities of God's forms are infinite.

But each of them are simply different sides of the same universal truth that is divinity.

On the eve of battle, Krishna told Arjuna to call upon Durga, not because he himself could not have eased Arjuna's anger and grief, but because he knew that Arjuna's feelings needed the soothing guidance of a mother's love. The feminine energy that is Shakti was necessary for Arjuna to focus his mind and ready himself for battle. The calm certainty that his fight was righteous needed to be fixed in Arjuna's heart, without the fires of vengence that were twisting his thoughts.

And how did Durga soothe Arjuna's mind? She reminded him of Krishna. Arjuna, due to the pain of his memories, had forgotten that Krishna was by his side. He'd become so engrossed in desiring vengence that he'd forgotten about truth.

Durga reminded Arjuna that this war was about dharma, righteousness, and that Krishna was present so that dharma would prevail. She was telling Arjuna that this war was not about Arjuna. It was not about vengence or a family feud. This war was about the victory of truth over falsehood, good over evil. Arjuna's role was merely to stand and fight for dharma as Krishna guided him to do.

By meditating upon Durga, Arjuna was able to return to these truths that he'd forgotten. He reestablished serenity within his mind and faced the coming struggle knowing that the Lord was with him.

This is the way to victory.


Go here for the next Mahabharat post entitled Krishna's Flute.

Go here for the previous Mahabharat post entitled How to Write a Love Letter Part II.

And go here for Part I of How the Write a Love Letter.