Hinduism: Kurukshetra

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Kurukshetra

Kurukshetra is the name of a city in the present-day Indian state of Haryana. The name literally means

"Land of the Kurus" after the famous Kuru vansha (clan), but is also sometimes referred to as Dharam Kshetra meaning the "Land of Righteousness".

It purports to be the site of the Kurukshetra war, described in the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. Nevertheless, this place holds inestimable importance in Hinduism as this is where the Bhagavad Gita ("The Song Celestial") was recited to Arjuna amidst the battle field, just before the great war of Mahabharata.

A few kilometeres from Kurukshetra is the village, Amin where there are remnants of a fort and it is said to be Abhimanyu's fort.

Thanesar, a historical town is located adjacent to Kurukshetra city. "Kurukshetra" is in fact the name of a mythological battlefield, where the Mahabharata war was waged, the actual location of which is impossible to confirm. Local hearsay identifies the legendary "Kurukshetra" with a nearby obscure hamlet, and with the active abetment of the state government, it is presently experiencing a tourist boom.


In some ancient Hindu texts, the boundaries of Kurukshetra correspond roughly to the state of Haryana. Thus according to the Taittiriya Aranyaka 5.1.1., the Kurukshetra region is south of Turghna (Srughna/Sugh in Sirhind, Punjab), north of Khandava (Delhi and Mewat region), east of Maru (=desert) and west of Parin.


Mahabharat states that the war lasted eighteen days during which vast armies from all over ancient India fought along the sides of the two rivals. The importance given to the narration of this war is evident from the fact that while the duration entire story of the epic lasts centuries dealing with a number of generations of the warring families, the narration of the war forming more than a quarter of the book deals with the events of a mere eighteen days.

Much of the narration describes the individual battles of the various heroes of both sides, the battle-field deaths of some of the prominent heroes, the military formations employed on each day by both armies, the war diplomacies, meetings and discussions among the heroes and commanders before the commencement of war on each day, the weapons used, etc. The chapters (Parvas) dealing with the war, from chapter six to ten, are considered amongst oldest in the entire Mahabharata.

Bhagavad Gita, a sacred text of Hindu philosophy, is considered a later addition to Mahabharata is the conversation between the Pandava Arjuna and Krishna arising out of Arjuna's reluctance to fight members of his own family.

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Mahabharata, one of the most important Hindu epics, is an account of the life and deeds of several generations of a ruling dynasty called the Kuru clan. Central to the epic is an account of a great war that took place between two sibling families belonging to this clan. Kurukshetra, literally land of the Kurus, was the battleground on which this war, known as the Kurukshetra war, was fought.

Kurukshetra was also known as Dharamkshetra (the land of Dharma) after the righteous ruler of this region. Mahabharata tells that this site was chosen for the war because even a sin committed on this land was forgiven on account of good deeds of the king ruling this land.

The two sides to the war were the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The dispute between the Kauravas and the Pandavas arose out of a game of dice, which the Kauravas won by deceit, forcing their Pandava cousins to go into exile for thirteen years. The dispute degraded into a full scale war when Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, driven by jealousy, refused to restore the Pandavas to their throne even after the exile.

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War Preparations

The Pandavas tried one last attempt at diplomacy. Balarama, Krishna's brother advised the Pandavas to send an emissary and to get the support of the elders of the family such as Bhishma, Dhritarashtra, Drona, Karna, and even Shakuni, saying "Let us avoid armed conflict by all means possible. Only that which is accrued in peace is worthwhile. Out of war, nothing but wrong can issue".


While the emissary was in the Kaurava court, Pandavas continued their war preparations. They sent messages requesting assistance to a number of neighbouring kingdoms. Duryodhana and Arjuna both went to Krishna to ask for his help. When given the choice of either Krishna's army or Krishna himself on their side, Arjuna on behalf of the Pandavas chose Krishna on his own. Thus Krishna agreed to be the charioteer for Arjuna.

While camping at a place called Upaplavya, in the territory of Virata, the Pandavas gathered their armies. Contingents arrived from all parts of the country and soon Pandavas had a large force of seven divisions. The Kauravas managed to raise an even larger army of eleven divisions.

Many kingdsoms of ancient India such as Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandya and the Yadus of Mathura were allied with the Pandavas; while the allies of the Kauravas comprised of the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya, Sindhudesa, Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madras, Gandharas, Bahlikas, Kambojas (with Yavanas, Sakas, Tusharas etc) and many others.

The Pandavas had to face their grand father Bhishma and their teacher Drona on the Kaurava's side due to their vow to serve the state of Hastinapur. This caused reluctance in Arjuna to fight members of his own family and those he held in high esteem. Krishna, who was chosen as the charioteer of Arjuna, advised him of his duty.

This conversation forms the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most respected religious and philosophical texts in Hinduism.

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Shri Krishna's peace mission

The Pandava's emissary was insulted at the Kaurava's court by Duryodhana and Karna, but king Dhritarashtra, father of Duryodhana, anxious to avoid bloodshed sent his trusted adviser Sanjaya to speak to the Pandavas.

The Pandavas insisted that they were not in favour of war if the territory that was rightfully theirs was returned to them. Though everyone encouraged the Pandavas to fight for their rights, Krishna advised them to give the Kauravas a last chance and declared that he himself would go on a final peace mission to Dhritarashtra's court. Krishna, ever optimistic, thought he would be able to convince the Kauravas.

Krishna told the Pandavas, that a war only causes havoc in the lives of everyone and should be resorted to only as the final resort when no solution is found to the problem at hand and that too in the name of justice. Unfortunately when Duryodhana was given the message by Krishna who went as an envoy of the Pandavas to Hastinapura, instead of trying to compromise, he (Duryodhana)declared, "Pandavas will not receive even a needle-point of territory". To add to this, Duryodhana and his cohorts plotted to capture Krishna.


Krishna then revealed his divine form and thwarted their attempt. Any hope of a negotiated settlement was extinguished by this episode and both parties hurled headlong into war

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Pandava Army

Seeing that there was now no hope for peace, Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, asked his brothers to organize their army.

The Pandava army was organized into seven divisions. Each of these divisions were led by Drupada, Virata, Dhristadyumna, Shikhandi, Satyaki, Chekitana and Bhima. After consulting his commanders, the Pandavas appointed Dhristadyumna as the supreme commander of the Pandava army.

Mahabharata says that kingdoms from all over ancient India supplied troops or provided logistic support on the Pandava side. Some of these were: Kekaya, Pandya, Cholas, Keralas, Magadha, and many more.

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Kaurava Army

Duryodhana requested Bhishma to command the Kaurava army. Bhishma accepted on the condition that while he will fight the battle sincerely, he will however not harm the five Pandava brothers. He also said that Karna was opposed to his leadership and perhaps Duryodhana should consider making Karna the commander.

Karna had declared that he will not fight under Bhishma and had withdrawn from the army. Duryodhana however agreed to Bhishma's conditions and made him the supreme commander of the Kaurava army. The army was divided into eleven divisions.

Apart from the one hundred Kaurava brothers, headed by Duryodhana himself and his brother Dushasana, the second son of Dhritarashtra, the Kauravas were assisted in the battlefield by Drona and his son Ashwathama, the Brahmin Kripa, the evil Shakuni, and many more who were bound by their loyalty towards either Hastinapura or Dhritarashtra.

The kingdom of Vidarbha and its King Rukmi were the only neutrals in this war

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Army Divisions and Weaponry

Each army consisted of several divisions; the Kauravas had eleven while the Pandavas controlled seven. A division (akshauhini) includes 21,870 chariots and chariot-riders, 21,870 elephants and riders, 65,610 horses and riders, and 109,350 foot-soldiers (in a ratio of 1:1:3:5). The combined number of warriors and soldiers in both armies was approximately four million.

Each Akshohini was under a commander or a general, apart from the Commander in chief or the generallisimo who was the head of the entire army. It should be noted also that in each of these large number groups (65,610, etc.), the digits add up to 18, making this a very significant number in the text. This number 18 is not only the number of days that the great war lasted, but it's also the total number of divisions fighting (7 Pandava divisions and 11 Kaurava divisions).

During the Kurukshetra war, several weapons were used. The weapons, and their most notable users, included the Bow and arrows, the weapon of choice for Arjuna, Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Abhimanyu, the Mace, chosen by Bhima and Duryodhana apart from the Spear and the Dagger / Sword.

This war was perhaps the bloodiest war in history as most of the warriors and soldiers perished during the brief period of only eighteen days. Arjuna, in a fit of extreme anger over the death of his son Abhimanyu, alone killed one akshauhini of Kaurava soldiers in a single day. The war left an extremely large number of widows and orphans and led to an economic depression and beginning of Kali Yuga.

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Military formations

At various times during battle, the supreme commander of either army ordered special formations ("vyuhas"). Each formation had a specific purpose; some were defensive while others were offensive.

Each formation had its specific strengths and weaknesses. Mahabharata list the following Krauncha vyuha (heron formation), Makara vyuha (crocodile formation), Kurma vyuha (tortoise or turtle formation), Trishula vyuha (the trident formation), Chakra vyuha (wheel or discus formation) and the Kamala vyuha or Padma vyuha (Lotus formation).

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Rules of engagement

The two supreme commanders met and framed "rules of ethical conduct", dharmayuddha, for the war. The rules included:

Fighting must begin no earlier than sunrise and end exactly at sunset.

Multiple warriors may not attack a single warrior.

Two warriors may "duel," or engage in prolonged personal combat, only if they carry the same weapons and they are on the same mount (no mount, a horse, an elephant, or a chariot).

No warrior may kill or injure a warrior who has surrendered.

One who surrenders becomes a prisoner of war and a slave.

No warrior may kill or injure an unarmed warrior.

No warrior may kill or injure an unconscious warrior.

No warrior may kill or injure a person or animal not taking part in the war.

No warrior may kill or injure a warrior whose back is turned away.

No warrior may attack a woman.

No warrior may strike an animal not considered a direct threat.

The rules specific to each weapon must be followed. For example, it is prohibited
to strike below the waist in mace warfare.


Warriors may not engage in any "unfair" warfare whatsoever.

Most of these laws were broken at least once by both sides.

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Course of war

The Kurukshetra war lasted eighteen days. The war was fought only during daylight hours and fighting ceased at sunset. The armies met on a vast field in Kurukshetra and each day of the battle was characterised by numerous indiviual combats as well as mass raids against entire enemy divisions. The victor or the vanquished on each day was determined not by any territories gained, but by the body count. This was a war to the death. The victor was the survivor.



Before the battle


On the first day of the war, as would be on all the other days as well, the Kaurava army stood facing west and the Pandava army stood facing east. The Kaurava army was formed such that it faced all sides: elephants formed its body; the kings, its head; and the steeds, its wings. Bhishma, in consultation with his commanders Drona, Bahlika and Kripa.

The Pandava army was organised by Yudhisthira and Arjuna in the Vajra formation. Because the Pandava army was smaller than the Kaurava's, they decided to employ the tactic of each warrior engaging as many enemies as possible. This involved an element of surprise with the bowmen showering arrows from hidden behind the frontal attackers. The attackers in the front were equipped with short-range weapons like the maces, battle-axes, swords, lances etc.


Ten divisions (Akshaunis) of the Kaurava army were arranged in a formidable phalanx. The eleventh was put under the immediate command of Bhishma, partly to protect him. The safety of the supreme commander Bhishma was centre to Duryodhana's strategy as he had placed all his hope on the great warrior's abilities. Dushasana, the brother of king Duryodhana, was the military officer in-charge for Bhishma's protection.


Before the battle began, Yudhisthira did something unexpected. He suddenly dropped his weapons, took off his armour and started walking towards the Kaurava army with folded hands in prayer. The Pandava brothers and the Kauravas looked on in disbelief, thinking Yudhisthira was surrendering even before the arrow was shot. Soon Yudhisthira's purpose was clear as he fell on Bhishma's feet to seek his blessing for his success. Bhishma, grandfather to both Pandavas and the Kauravas, blessed Yudhisthira.


Yudhisthira returned to his chariot and the battle was ready to commence. Arjuna, seeing his kith and kin arrayed against him, suddenly felt remorse at having to fight and perhaps kill members of his own family.

Krishna, his charioteer, advised him to do his duty and not worry about the consequences. Krishna then revealed his divine form and explained that he is born on earth in each eon, whenever evil rises its head.


This portion of Mahabharata is the famous Bhagavad Gita and is one of the most important Hindu philosophical works