EIGHTEEN
Bheeshma said to Duryodhana, "Karna had no right to insult Drona and Kripa. Pacify the Acharyas, Duryodhana. How will we face the enemy if we are already at war amongst ourselves?"
To Aswatthama, the patriarch said, "Don't be offended by Karna, he only wanted to put heart in our soldiers. Wise men's memories are short, Aswatthama and we must stand together against Arjuna."
Aswatthama said, "Let Drona forgive him and Kripa; and I will as well. But why should this man be so envious of Arjuna?"
Sensing a crisis on his hands, Duryodhana cried, "Acharyas, forgive me! I meant no offence and I beg your pardon."
He told his friend, "Karna, you should ask the Acharyas' pardon, too."
Immediately, Karna flashed an ambiguous smile. He said, "Forgive me, O masters. I meant no harm."
Drona said, "I have already put my anger behind me, let us forget that sharp words passed between us. I have something else to say; Duryodhana must not meet Arjuna in battle today. There is no telling what the Pandava might do if he sees you. I am also certain Arjuna has not shown himself like this before the ajnatavasa has ended. Let Bheeshma say if I am wrong."
Duryodhana turned pale. "Pitama, it isn't true! The year of the ajnatavasa is not over. I have counted the days."
But Bheeshma said, "Drona is right, my child. I consulted the astrologers before we left Hastinapura and their calculations are immaculate. They said to me, every five years that pass see two months of real time added to them. In thirteen years of the sun, five months and twelve days more than those years elapse: by the moon's orbit. The Pandavas have already spent five months more than they need have in exile. But Yudhishtira did not want to leave room for any doubt, so he waited until thirteen years of the sun passed."
Duryodhana's face seemed to crumble. He cried, "And by the count of the sun?"
"By the count of the sun, the ajnatavasa ended six days ago. If you do not believe me, ask Yudhishtira; even you know your cousin would never lie."
Bheeshma paused for a moment, looking at Duryodhana in some pity. He said, "Look at Arjuna, he won't be stopped today. And how much more terrible the Pandavas will be when five of them fight us together. Remember who they are, Duryodhana, besides being your cousins. They are Devaputras, men of destiny born to rule the earth. Make peace with them, my child, you cannot send them back into exile. Time does not obey one man's will; her wheel of fortune has come round, inexorably. Return their kingdom to the Pandavas and spare the earth such slaughter that you can't even dream of."
Duryodhana's face was grim. Tightly he said, "You say the Pandavas are Devaputras, Pitama. They may be; but they are no blood of mine and I will not give them what was never theirs in the first place. Let us have no more talk of peace, but of bloody war. I mean to fight today and later, as well. If I cannot banish them to the forest peaceably, I will kill them on the field. They came out of nowhere, like a plague into my life. They ruined my youth and stole my birthright from me. I have suffered them for too long. Let them either stay in the wilderness where they were born, or let them die. Pitama, don't talk to me anymore of peace with the Pandavas."
Bheeshma's eyes were moist, as he turned away to watch Arjuna's chariot paused in the distance.
Drona said, "Let our army be divided in three. Duryodhana, take a fourth part and ride back to Hastinapura. Let another fourth of our men drive the cattle after you. Half of us shall remain here to face Arjuna; Pitama, you command those that stay to fight. Hurry, Arjuna is tired of waiting: here he comes!"
Though his eyes flashed with disappointment, Duryodhana saw the wisdom of what Drona said. He took half the army and turned back toward Hastinapura. Bheeshma began to form the rest of his soldiers in battle array.
"Drona, keep yourself at the heart of our vyuha. Aswatthama, guard the left flank and Kripa, the right. Karna, your place is at the front of our army. You will have what you want and be the first to meet Arjuna. I will be at the rear."
The Kaurava force deployed itself. Across the open space separating them, Arjuna saw the Kuru army maneuver. He smiled and said to Uttara Kumara, "Look, the chandrakala: the phalanx of the crescent moon! Bheeshma is in command of the Kaurava army; he is a master of the vyuhas. Ride a little to the left, that is the weakest part of this formation."
As they forged ahead, Arjuna shaded his eyes and beyond the crescent, at its curve, he saw a crimson banner fluttering over a fine chariot: a banner that bore the emblem of a golden palm-tree. It was great Bheeshma's banner, which struck fear in his enemies' hearts.