The Thirteenth Day by Aditya Iyengar Read Free Book Online Page B

me.
    ‘Before we start, I would like to say that I have been out of the war far too long. And, it wouldn’t be right for me to take on command when veterans like Guruji are still around to lay waste to our enemies. I submit completely to Guruji’s authority and am here to serve the army in whatever capacity he wishes.’
    That said, I turned towards Guruji and bowed.
    I don’t know who was more surprised—Suyodhana, who thought that I was going to walk out of the council, never to return, if not given command, or Drona, who probably realized that he had not the slightest idea what game I was playing.
    Suyodhana gaped at me disbelievingly, and then clapped his massive hands together. ‘And so it shall be my friend, so it shall be! Allies of the house of Kuru, we have our commander!’ The allies herded around congratulating Drona who looked at me with a puzzled expression, not knowing what to make of this new development.
    Truth is, it would be a lot easier for me to go about capturing Yudhishthira without having to worry about deploying an entire army. Let Drona have his akshauhinis. I would have a kingdom. All that remained was getting everyone to decide on the plan.
    Drona separated himself from the crowd and sat casually on Bhishma’s seat on the platform.
    He spoke briskly, as if he was addressing a bunch of brats from his gurukul, something that reassured our allies no end. One even asked Drona whether they could bring their own couches in here tomorrow night, a comment which he ignored.
    ‘Let’s get down to business. We can’t let the Pandavas think they’ve won already, can we? Suyodhana, you mentioned something earlier about a plan?’
    Suyodhana nodded.
    ‘Well, tell us already.’
    Suyodhana gripped the Speaking Staff and addressed the sabha, ‘Before Grandsire Bhishma’s departure from the field, he had discussed a plan with me and Lord Shakuni of Gandhara. The plan can bring an end to the war in the next three days, if executed properly. It was still at a very raw stage of development when we had discussed it and the events of the day haven’t given me a chance to really flesh it out. But now, since Grandsire’s counsel is no longer with us, I feel the proper thing to do is to discuss this plan amongst ourselves and bring it to fruit. Grandsire had faith in this idea, and it would have been his desire to see us follow it through.’
    Now it was our allies’ turn to get surprised. Most of them probably didn’t expect a plan to come up so soon. To have a strategy in place for tomorrow’s battle, and that too sealed and approved with Grandsire’s blessings seemed almost too good to be true.
    Suyodhana continued, ‘As you all know, the cause of the Pandavas rests with the sons of Pandu. Over the past ten days, great warriors like Guruji and Grandsire and the likes of me, the Lords Sushasana, Bhagadatta and Kritavarma, have tried, unsuccessfully, to rid their army of one of them. Arjuna and Bhima are the most difficult to kill, surrounded as they are by the Indraprastha Chariot Corps. Each of you knows how formidable they are individually too. Nakula and Sahadeva are mostly placed in the reserve and come out for hit-and-run manoeuvres with the cavalry. To predict their movements and pin them down, again, would involve a lot of resources.’
    Our best chance of getting any one of the Pandavas therefore is Yudhishthira. He has proven quite comprehensively over the past ten days that he is the weakest link in their army. He has more troops around him than any of the other Pandavas, including two Panchala princes guarding his wheels at all times. He is normally placed near the centre of the army where the fighting is limited, where he can do no harm, and more importantly, where no harm comes to him. The plan that Grandsire Bhishma and myself were contemplating was to strike fast at Yudhishthira, during the thick of the battle, eliminate the people around him and take him prisoner.’
    He let the words