Devi, you can tell the Pandavas
that I am not satiated still.
The one who died was a weak elephant.
Aswhatthama did not die.
Ashwatthama did not die.
Mahabharat.
The story of the righteous against the unrighteous
which every child remembers even today.
By heart.
They say, that history
is written in favor of the victorious.
Is this story truly
about the war between the righteous and the unrighteous?
Or is this merely a perception
which has been passing for the truth for years?
Because if we look closer
the lines between righteous and unrighteous
seem just as blurred
as the decisions
made by both sides in this war.
Were the Kauravas completely unrighteous?
And the Pandavas were the guardians of good?
Was deceit used by only one faction?
Were the Pandavas completely absolved of sin?
These are some of the questions
which must be answered
and this show will seek them.
Mahabharata.
The end or the beginning.
Dhrishtadyumna was the commander of the Pandavas.
He was born just to kill Dronacharya.
When Ashwatthama was a child
he used to apply
flour on his lips.
He would tell his friends
I have drunk milk, too.
This is the foam from the milk I drank.
When his father Dronacharya learnt of this
he was ashamed of his extreme poverty.
Since he didn't even have a cow
to provide milk for his son.
He remembered that king Drupada
had promised him once
that he can take half the kingdom whenever he wants.
Dronacharya went to King Drupada.
He said to the king.
Now it is time for you
to give me half your kingdom as per the promise.
But king Drupada
had already changed his mind.
He turned his back on his promise.
And he said he would offer him wealth and cattle.
But he refused to give Drona half the kingdom.
Dronacharya was a self respecting man.
He considered this an insult
and went away without taking any gifts.
In future, Dronacharya
became the teacher of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
Then, with the help of his students
he attacked Drupada.
He held Drupada captive.
He took away half of Drupada's kingdom.
To avenge this act
Drupada conducted an oblation.
The oblation resulted in the birth of a youth and young woman.
The young woman was Panchali, the primary consort of the Pandavas.
The youth was Dhrishtadyumna.
During the Mahabharata war
he led the Pandava army as the commander.
During the Mahabharata war when
he heard of the fake news of his son Ashwatthama's death
Dronacharya set down his weapons
and knelt on the ground with eyes closed
in an attitude of mourning.
That was when Dhrishtadyumna
leaped down from his chariot
and used his sword to behead him.
After that, Ashwatthama
kept looking for a chance to kill Dhrishtadyumna.
After reaching the Pandava camp
Ashwatthama requested the clan guru Kripacharya
and Kritaverma
to stay at the gates.
They should not allow anyone to get out alive.
He went ahead alone
into the Pandava camp.
Consider this irony of fate.
Even Krishna made a mistake today.
He forgot to blow into the conch
after the sunset.
Both of you
stay at this gate.
No matter what happens
you can let people in.
But don't let anyone go out.
Your hair was let loose and reached the shoulders.
Your forehead was crowned by jewels.
Your eyes shone.
Your sword lashed out and gleamed.
The first blow was bloodless.
You bludgeoned a head in with the handle.
Bhishma was still alive
Shikhandi breathed his last.
Ashwatthama's first blow was on Shikhandi.
Since the deceit of the Pandavas in the Mahabharata war
began with him.
But Ashwatthama did not wish
that his sword should be used to kill a transgender person.
That is why he used the grip of his sword
and killed Shikhandi first of all.
After that, he moved on to Dhrishtadyumna.
Dhrishtadyumna was lying unconscious in a drunken stupor.
He was holding on to an empty goblet.
With one lightning strike
you chopped off his arm.
He killed the guru be deceit.
Now the son of the guru was confronting him.
You grabbed hold of his throat
You let out a terrible roar.
He was the commander of the Pandava army.
But it wasn't a war, it was a massacre.
The oblation fire gave him a corporeal body.
He died of strangulation.
Now all the soldiers were alerted.
All the camps were filled with movement.
The singing and music stopped.
The weaponry was in chaos.
You emerged from the camp
and Uttamaujas challenged you.
Yudhamanyu used all his might
to hurl a spear at you.
All those present there
attacked you with their arrows.
With one swipe of your sword
you killed them all.
Exceptional speed and unmatched rhythm.
Your sword was destructive and took lives.
The river of blood that flowed
was the stream of death.
The dance of destruction you performed later
was the wrath of Chandi conducting a massacre.
Around you there were strewn
bodies and mangled remains.
Shrutasen was killed Sutasom was killed.
Kshatanik and Kshutakarma died as well.
Pratidinya leapt to the gate
where Kritaverma was lying in wait.
No one survived.
This was a unique method of waging war.
There were corpses lying all over the place
and Goddess Kali was watching it all.
"Devi, you can tell the Pandavas"
"that I am not satiated still."
"The one who died was a weak elephant."
"Aswhatthama did not die."
That was the end of another chapter
of the great epic
wherein reside a million other stories.
But this is the beginning of an attempt
to perceive this epic
from a truthful perspective.
To gauge for oneself
which side we are on.
The righteous?
Or the unrighteous?
Or perhaps...
Keep watching. Mahabharata.
The end or the beginning.