The Gall of Gammon

Chapter 42

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 42

Hastinapur, Dwapar Yuga

Jayant/ Duryodhana POV

I was sitting on my room on a couch, with my eyes closed. The thoughts made a cobweb in my mind.

Balance of power.

These were three little, but impactful words. Everything in the world of politics was done to achieve this balance of power. In Dwapar Yuga, there was also a balance of power at first. As much as I understood Mahabharata, I had come to some conclusions and theories of my own.

In India, there were two large blocks or alliances of power. The eastern part of the country had a combination of allied kingdoms. They were Magadha under the rule of Jarasandha, Chedi under the rule of Sishupal, Karusha under the rule of Dantavakra, Poundra kingdom under the rule of Poundraka Vasudev, the fake imposter of Sri Krishna, Avanti kingdom under Vindha and Anuvindha, Vidarbha kingdom under Rukmi and Pragjyotishpur under the rule of Bhagadutta. In the western side of the country, there was another alliance. They were Kuru Kingdom, Gandhar, Trigarta Kingdom, Bahlika kingom, Anga Kingdom and Madra Kingdom. The ruler of Bahlika kingdom was Maharaja Bahlika, who was the brother of Maharaja Shantanu. Bahlika was killed in Kurukshetra war, by Bheem. After the war with Drupad, northern Panchal under Ashwatthama also entered into this alliance.

These two axes of power co-existed peacefully, but politics was playing its own games. The kingdom of Anga shared its border with Magadha. Now Jarasandha wanted an ally in the western part. He found his ally in Mathura. Jarasandha's two daughters got married to Kansa, the tyrant prince of Mathura. Jarasandha sent his army in the disguise of the wedding procession, and imprisoned Maharaja Ugrasena, the father of Kansa. Then Kansa became the king of Mathura, and Jarasandha got an ally in the west.

Then, the greatest politician and tactician of the world entered into this scenario. He was the one and only Vasudev Sri Krishna. His plan was simple, to disrupt this balance of power and unify the country under one centre of power.

I did not claim to understand the avatar of Narayana, because this was impossible. But I still could not understand one thing. In the Virata war, Arjun had no problem while fighting with Bhishma, Dronacharya, Kripacharya, Duryodhana and the Kauravas. Karna was his nemesis, so Arjun didn't have any hesitation to fight him. But why did he lose his nerve in Kurukshetra? Sri Krishna then gave him the knowledge of 'The Bhagawat Gita', and motivated Arjun to fight.

"Where there is Dharma, there is Krishna. Where there is Krishna, there is victory." I muttered the verse of Bhagwat Gita.

The first step taken by Sri Krishna was to kill Kansa. In a brilliant political masterstroke, he reinstated Ugrasena again into the throne of Mathura. Sri Krishna and Balrama were raised in the village of cowherds, so in the societies eyes, they lacked the proper qualification for a king. Jarasandha was enraged after the killing of Kansa, so he attacked Mathura. His army of 23 Akshauhini was defeated by Sri Krishna and Balrama. Jarasandha attacked Mathura 17 times, but each and every time, he was defeated. The Kuru Kingdom had a marital alliance with the Yadavas, but they probably turned neutral in those wars.

Sri Krishna then made another brilliant strategy. He left Mathura and went to Dwarka, a city in the western coast. Jarasandha had tasted defeat 17 times, but he was still adamant for revenge. But, the city of Dwarka was way far from Magadha, thus a tactical disadvantage for him. So he started planning a human sacrifice of hundred kings imprisoned by him. He wanted to please Mahadev by this foolish way, but no Devta could be pleased ever with the blood of innocent, be it animals or humans.