Fridge Brilliance
The sheer number of events in this story that have complex explanations, boggles the mind
- The reason why Abhimanyu made his Heroic Last Stand and died, was a result of multiple events. Firstly, the reason why he knew how to infiltrate a chakravyuha formation but didn't know how to exfiltrate, was because he'd heard his father describe the tactics to his mother as a baby. However, his mother fell asleep, after which Arjuna stopped talking about it. Then there was Jayadratha, who after being tonsured and humiliated by Bheema and Arjuna for attempting to rape Draupadi, performed penance to the gods and asked for the ability to defeat the Pandavas in battle. The gods refused to give him that, but granted him the ability to Hold the Line against four of the Pandavas once. This prevented the Pandavas from coming to Abhimanyu's aid, while he was all alone.
- When Bheeshma is defeated, he isn't killed outright, but lies impaled on a bed of arrows until the Pandavas are victorious and Yudhishtira is crowned king. Why did he choose to die only at that moment? Because his oath to his father was that he wouldn't die until he felt the kingdom was secure and in good hands. All through the story, the kingdom wasn't secure - first, Sathyavathi's sons died early, causing a succession crisis. Then, there was the problem of Dhritharashtra being blind - although he abdicated to his younger brother Pandu, who was an effective King, there was always going to be a tussle between their respective sons for the kingdom. So, Bheeshma didn't die until this fight got resolved. He chose to die, not immediately after the Pandavas' victory, but only after Yudhishtira's coronation because up until that point, Dhritharashtra was still king, and therefore the possibility of conflict between him and the Pandavas still existed. This was borne out by the fact that Dhritharashtra attempted to Bear Hug Bheema to death. For the conflict to truly end, Dhritharashtra had to abdicate and depart the kingdom.
- Karna's death also took a lot of doing. His undoing began when his teacher Parshuram discovered that he was actually a Kshatriya, not a lowly chariot driver's son. Parshuram cursed him to forget how to use the Bhramhastra the ultimate weapon, when he needed it the most. That was why he couldn't use it against Arjuna. Karna was born with an Armor of Invincibility, but traded it to Indra for a different divine weapon - to compensate for his inability to use the Bhramhastra. So, his damage protection was lost. Then he had to use Indra's weapon against Ghattotgaja instead of Arjuna, to prevent his army from being completely devastated. This left him bereft of his best weapon and damage protection. Finally, his chariot got stuck in the mud, forcing Karna to dismount and extricate it, giving Arjuna the opportunity to execute him. This wasn't happenstance either - Karna had fired an arrow from his chariot in frustration after receiving Parshuram's curse - and ended up killing a different Brahmin's calf, prompting that Brahmin to curse him to die while vulnerable, bereft of his chariot.
- Balaram vehemently disagrees with Krishna over how Bheema killed Duryodhana by violating the rules of engagement and attacking his loins and thighs. Even Krishna's Patrick Stewart Speech about the greater morality doesn't mollify Balaram. Why is he this obstinate? Recall that Duryodhana's mother Gandhari had cursed Krishna that his clan would forever be plagued by infighting. This disagreement is that curse manifesting.
- Dhrishtadyumna's death had to happen due to the specific circumstance behind his existence. Yes, Ashwathama killing him for killing Drona was reason enough, but recall what spawned Dhrishtadyumna in the first place - Drupad's desire for a son who would kill Drona. Recall how Drona tried to hold Drupad to a promise he made as a very young child to be friends, that that Drupad would host him. Drupad's dismissal of Drona was callous, saying they couldn't be friends because Drupad was now king and Drona was a beggar, and he was incensed when Drona tried to hold him to it by conquering his kingdom. To get payback, Drupad made penance and asked for both a son who would kill Drona, and a daughter who would marry Arjuna. The former, was why Dhrishtadyumna executed Drona - that is the precise reason the gods made him. The latter wasn't just a case of Defeat Equals Friendship - Drupad took Drona's greatest champion Arjuna out of the equation by essentially forcing Arjuna to eventually ally with him against Drona. This removed an impediment to Dhrishtadyumna acting against Drona. And finally, Dhrishtadyumna had to die, because he had fulfilled his reason for existence.
- Perhaps the most devastating realisation (going all the way into Fridge Horror) comes in after seeing the original verse of Gandhari's curse to Krishna. The words used could easily translate to "Legacy" rather than "Family". The curse could essentially be read as "May your legacy be destroyed as mine was." The Fridge Horror in it? Gandhari's legacy was her family - and Krishna's legacy was the entire world. Or, in simple terms, the reason why our world is such a hellhole today is because of Gandhari's fury. Let that sink in for a moment.
