The Broken Thigh
Duryodhana Vadha
The war ends with a mace duel between Bhima and Duryodhana. Bhima fulfills his vow by striking Duryodhana's thigh, ending the 18-day carnage.
The war ends with a mace duel between Bhima and Duryodhana. Matches in strength, the duel drags on. Krishna reminds Bhima of his vowing. Bhima strikes Duryodhana on the thigh (against the rules) to fulfill his oath, ending the war but leaving a bitter taste.
Key Takeaways
- The end of a cycle often requires breaking patterns
- Vows must be fulfilled, even if the method is harsh
- Pride leads to a fall
Chapter 25 - The Broken Thigh
Common questions and insights about this chapter
Most of the armies were destroyed. Duryodhana, the last major Kaurava warrior, fled to a lake. The Pandavas found him, and Yudhishthira foolishly offered that Duryodhana could pick any weapon and fight any one Pandava. He chose the mace and Bhima.
In mace warfare, hitting below the waist is forbidden. However, Bhima had vowed to break Duryodhana's thigh because Duryodhana had slapped his thigh and invited Draupadi to sit on it during the dice game. Krishna reminded Bhima of this vow, signaling him to strike.
Balarama, the guru of both Bhima and Duryodhana in mace fighting, was furious at the foul play. He raised his plow to kill Bhima, but Krishna intervened, reminding him of Duryodhana's many sins and the inevitability of the age of Kali.
Chapter 25 Quiz
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