In anticipation of this war, the gods,
by a bit of trickery, had robbed Karna of his god-given armor and weapons.
However, neither celestial artifice, the arguments of Krishna, nor the
entreaties of Kunti were able to move Karna from what he considered the
path of duty, though he promised that while he would fight with all his
strength, he would not slay Yudhi-sthira, Bhima, and the twins.
The forces of the two armies were drawn up on the plain of Kuruk-shetra.
The army of the Kauravas was under the command of the terrible Bhishma,
the uncle of Pandu and Dhrita-rashtra, who had governed the country during
the minority of Pandu.
Each side was provided with billions and billions of infantry, cavalry,
and elephants; the warriors were supplied with weapons of the most
dangerous sort. The army of the Kauravas was surrounded by a deep trench
fortified by towers, and further protected by fireballs and jars full of
scorpions to be thrown at the assailants.
As night fell, before the battle, the moon's face was stained with blood,
earthquakes shook the land, and the images of the gods fell from their
places.
The next morning, when Arjuna, from his chariot, beheld the immense army,
he was appalled at the thought of the bloodshed to follow, and hesitated
to advance. Krishna insisted that it was unnecessary for him to lament,
setting forth his reasons in what is known as the Bhagavat-gita, the
divine song, in which he said it was no sin to slay a foe, since death is
but a transmigration from one form to another.
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