Introduction
The war last 18 days.
https://crackpot.substack.com/t/bhishma
Day 1
The fight begins.
Day 2
The old guard are a step slow.
Day 3
Crescent vs. Bird formation. More Arjuna dominance.
Day 4
A repeat of Day 3 - Bhishma mixes it up like taking the queenside gambit after eschewing it day 3, but gets a similar losing end game result.
Day 5
The great hero Bhurishrava proves to be the answer to Satyaki, killing ten of Satyaki’s sons and driving a beaten Satyaki before him from the battlefield.
Day 6
A day of heroism. Crazed with battle lust, Bhima penetrates into the guts of the Kuru vyuha alone. Dhrishtadyumna has to follow and save Bhima, who is wounded, exhausted, and surrounded when Dhrishtadyuma finds him. The next generation of unproven heroes is called into action (Arjuna cannot do everything!) to save Dhrishtadyumna and Bhima. Led by Abhimanyu, the five Upapandavas, five princes from Kekaya and Dhrishtaketu form a pointed formation and cut into the Kurua masses like a buzzsaw blade to come to their aid.
Day 7
A celestial themed lightning bolt vs. cloud vyuha battle.
Day 8
More hard fighting - Ghatotkacha begins to emerge from the pack as a significant, if unorthodox, warrior.
Day 9
More hard fighting.
Day 10
Bhishma is killed
Day 11
Drona’s first day as general. More hard fighting. Great staging as various heroes square off in the fight.
Day 12
Drona’s garuda formation. Arjuna begins messing with the Samshaptakas - warriors who have sworn to stand before Arjuna.
Day 13
The day Abhimanyu died. The chakravyuha.
Day 14
A day of vengeance and heroism. Similar to Bhima on day 6, Arjuna penetrates Drona’s vyuha alone. On this day Arjuna has sworn to kill Jayadratha, whom Arjuna blames for Abhimanyu’s death. Drona constructs a multilayered defensive vyuha to be impenetrable - with Jayadratha at the center. When Arjuna cracks the vyuha open like a clam shell, Satyaki follows Arjuna - similar to Dhrishtadyumna following Bhima on day 6. Bhima follows Arjuna as well in his own way - rather than going around Bhima shortcuts through an array of Kuru princes to finish the job. Satyaki has to face Bhurishrava - and is beaten again. Arjuna saves Satyaki from Bhurishrava then. After a brief exchange where Bhurishrava questions Arjuna’s blind side attack and Arjuna responds to ask if Bhurishrava objected to Abhimanyu’s unarmed, unarmored slaying, the great Bhurishrava, in his dying move, bows and offers his severed arm to Arjuna as a show of honor and respect.
Night 14
A whole day’s worth of fighting ensues. Ghatotkacha emerges - slaying Duryodhana’s onslaught of cannibal kings - and unnerving Karna. It is said that when Ghatotkacha is killed, he takes one akshouhini with him. One may read it as one may - my read is the army of man-eaters Ghatotkacha took the greenlight for one night of horror and hunted Duryodhana’s men ruthlessly throughout the night. Though a maneater, there is no text to support the idea Ghatotkacha in particular was also a manhunter. Many rakshasas flesh eaters were man hunters.
Day 15
A day of anti-heroism. The exhausted warriors pass out on the battle-field during night 14 and awake to a dust storm. The Pandavas kill Drona with psychological warfare. General Dhrishtadyumna and Arjuna almost come to blows. Ashvatthama unleashes the narayana.
Day 16
Karna’s first day as general.
Day 17
Karna’s last day as general.
Day 18
Pandavas mop up. The Kaurava warriors have nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
The 18th night is a night of infamy - Kripa, Kritavarma and Ashvatthama’s mad attack on the sleeping Pandava camp.