The Gall of Gammon

Chapter 41

The Gall of Gammon

Disclaimer: This story is my humble attempt to write a fanfiction of the epic Mahabharata. My intention is not to hurt anyone's sentiment.

Aum Namah Shivay!!

Major Jayant Roy, SM is a fictitious character. Any similarity with any living person is merely a coincidence.

Chapter 41

Hastinapur, Dwapar Yuga

Bhishma POV

I was sitting alone in my room, thinking deeply. The Kuru Rajkumars had won the war against Panchal. They had given a humiliating defeat to Maharaja Drupad. Now, Panchal had lost half of its territory, which was now under the rule of Ashwatthama. The Rajkumars would come back tomorrow. After they came back into the city, we had to face a tough situation. We had to choose a Yuvraaja for the kingdom. The one, who became the Yuvraaja today, would ascend the throne tomorrow. Now we had to choose one from Yudhisthir and Duryodhana.

Yudhisthir was the eldest Kuru prince. He was righteous. He was a good warrior too. He would look after the people of the kingdom as his own children. But, as much as I understood Duryodhana, he would never accept Yudhisthir.

Now, Duryodhana claimed the throne of Hastinapur because he was the son of Maharaja Dhritarashtra. He was the eldest son of the reigning king. He was the fruit of each and every ambition of Dhritarashtra, who had only one goal in his life. The goal was to see his son on the throne. But still, Yudhisthir's claim on the throne was more justifiable, because Maharaja Pandu was properly coroneted as the ruler of Hastinapur, whereas Dhritarashtra was never properly coroneted.

I heaved a sigh. If I went to Duryodhana and said this logic to him, then he would directly reply that the five Pandavas were not the sons of the deceased king. Though Maharaja Pandu gave them his name, loved and nourished them with all of his love and knowledge, but it was the sad truth that sage Kindam's curse made him unable to have any children of his own. The five Pandavas were the blessings of devtas, but Duryodhana mocked them as half-devtas.

I was lost in my own thoughts when I saw a guard entering my room. He bowed to be and gave the news of Vidura and Kripacharya waiting outside. I ordered him to call them inside with proper respect. A few moments later, they entered the room.

The three of us started talking. Vidura needed both mine and Kripacharya's opinion in some royal affairs. Then the dreadful moment came.

"Tatshri, now the time has come to choose the Yuvraaja of Hastinapur.", Vidura said to me.

"Yes, Vidura, the time has come. The time has come for the war of succession." I heaved a sigh.

Vidura nodded silently. His face was glum.

"Tatshri, my spies just came back from Kampilya city. They told me that Maharaja Drupad had planned to capture the Rajkumars. First, he made a Krauncha Vyuha, and then ordered to change the formation into a Chakra Vyuha."

Now I was shocked. I had only got the news of the victory, but no detail news of the battle. Drupad had made a really cunning plan, first showing one Vyuha, and then changing it into another.

Vidura continued, "But Duryodhana outwitted him. He already had one hundred and seven mercenaries ready for use. The mercenaries charged at the Panchal army. Drupad thought them the Kuru Rajkumars and caught into Duryodhana's trap. He lost his surprise there. Then the Rajkumars attacked."

"But how did they defeat the Chakra Vyuha?" I couldn't mask my surprise anymore.

Vidura sighed. He was silent for a moment. After a moment, he spoke again,