Here are listed some of the ways Shri Krushna neutralised the enemies of the Pandavas.
Person |
How they were neutralised
|
Jarasandha |
Early on, to achieve Yudhisthir’s Imperial ambition, Krushna
advised him to remove Jarasandha before starting any "Digvijayas". Having personally fought 17 conventional
wars with Jarasandha, Krushna knew the futility of following that course. Instead, to save lives and time, he
advised Yudhisthir to defeat him by one-to-one duel. Jarasandha chose to fight Bhima and lost. |
Subhadra |
* Marriages amongst princes are political alliances to cement
relationships and support during times of trouble.
* Balarama wanted to marry his sister Subhadra to Duryodhan to cement his friendship with the heir of Hastinapur. If this alliance was formalised, Shri Krushna could see the dangers of dividing Yadava loyalties between Kauravas and Pandavas through Kunti and Subhadra. * Instead, Krushna encouraged Arjun to kidnap / elope with Subhadra to bind the Yadavas more closely with the Pandavas. He also calmed the situation after the kidnapping and helped the Yadava court see the benefits of this new alliance. |
Sloth during the Exile |
* 12 years of exile were designed to dull Pandavas’s resolve to
rule as emperors. Isolated in forests,
these years were designed to weaken the alliances Pandavas had made with other
kings. * Shri Krushna advised the Pandavas to use these years to improve their chances to regaining the throne. He advised Arjun to seek celestial weapons, Bhima to carry on with his fighting practices and Yudhisthir to learn statistics and art of gambling from professionals. * He advised them to build up good relations with the sages, thus maintaining their credentials as moral and ethical Chakravartins of India. |
Balarama |
Knowing his elder brother’s softspot for Duryodhan, Shri Krushna declared early on the he sided with the Pandavas. Thus Balarama had no choice but to either side with Pandavas (and go against his own brother), or abstain from the war. Balarama decided to go on a "pilgrimage" thus legitimately being absent from the most important war of his lifetime.
|
Karna |
*
Krushna revealed to Karna his blood relation to the Pandavas.
* During the war, Shri Krushna saved Arjun from Karna's weapons and at the end advised him to kill Karna while he was trying to get his chariot out of the ground.
|
Bhishma |
*
Just as Duryodhan used Kuru elders as his human shields, Arjun was advised to
use Shikhandi.
*
On the 8th night of the battle, Bhishma empowered 5 lethal arrows to
kill the Pandavas.
Duryodhan
decided take them with him for safekeeping. Krushna asked Arjun to go get them from him in exchange for a boon that
was promised by Duryodhan.
|
Drona |
Guru Drona was fighting without consideration of dharma or morality.
|
Internal dissention |
Pandavas side was far more “united” than the Kauravas. Yet, they had their moments !
Perhaps the most dangerous moment was on the 17th day when Yudhisthir and Arjun nearly came to blows over Karna and Arjun was unable to defeat him as easily as he had once boasted. Shri Krushna stepped in at the right moment to stop Yudhisthir being killed or Arjun committing suicide ! |
Jayadratha |
Jayadratha’s father had sought a boon from Shiva to make sure his son’s killer would die. By having Jayadratha’s head fall in his own father’s lap, Krushna made sure that boon did not affect the Pandavas.
|
Takshak’s son Ashvasen |
Krushna knew a fatal arrow from Karna was actually Ashvasen in disguise (son of the Naga king Takshak), so he manoeuvred the chariot in such a way as to keep Arjun safe.
|
Dhritarashtra |
Post battle, Dhritarashtra sought to kill Bhima in his embrace and thus avenge the death of his sons. Krushna had Bhima replaced with a metal statue, thus saving the Pandava from his uncle’s wrath.
|
Gandhari |
*
Wishing her son to succeed, Gandhari hoped to make Duryodhan’s body invincible
in battle. She asked Duryodhan to
come to her naked so she could transfer her ascetic powers through her eyes. Krushna made sure Duryodhan wore a
loincloth to the occasion so that Duryodhan’s thighs would not be blessed with
Gandhari's gaze and hence be venerable to
attack.
|
Ashwashthama |
*
Advising the Pandavas to spend the night away from the camp saved them from the
murderous charge on the sleeping warriors by Ashwashthama, Kripacharya and
Krutavarma.
|
Celestial weapons during the war |
* During the war, Shri Krushna saved the Pandavas from several weapons,
including Vaishnavastra, which he absorbed himself.
|