Today, I had the absolute pleasure of watching “Chakravyuh,” directed by Atul Kaushik. It tells the tale of the 13th day of the Mahabharata. Nitish Bhardwaj played Krishna. What a play.

The play begins on the night of the 12th day, when Krishna asks the bloodied soil of Kurukshetra if it is still not satiated with the blood it has drunk for so many days. He says again that tomorrow, more blood will be there. He thinks of Abhimanyu.

On the other hand, Abhimanyu can’t wait to be part of the battlefield. His wife Uttara, asks him not to go, but he still does.

Abhimanyu dies. But before dying, he says that, “I am not afraid of dying, death sat with me in the chariot as I entered the Chakravyuh. But I am laughing at you all because killing me so unethically will stay as a blot to the Kauravas, and Bharat will talk about it even centuries later.” He dies.

Bhisma laments. Uttara asks Yudhisthir why he did not send his brothers to the Chakravyuh, which they could have easily broken. Why Abhimanyu. Yudhisthir looks at Krishna. Krishna looks at Uttara, who is devastated. Uttara asks Krishna again, now that Abhimanyu is dead, who will raise her son. She says that this is the destiny of the Pandavas. Kunti raised her sons alone, Subhadra raised Abhimanyu alone- Arjuna was in exile. And now she has to raise her son alone.

Krishna answers profoundly, no one is completely masculine or feminine. We all are a combination of both. In the future, women will choose to be single mothers because they will be able to. Uttara is the first of those women. My heart bled at what Krishna said. Cried a little.

Draupadi is angry and complains why Yudhisthir could not send one of her sons to the Chakravuyh. Now Abhimanyu has become a martyr whose tales will be shared through centuries and the sacrifice of his mother, Subhadra. Why couldn’t it be Draupadi? Krishna says, Abhimanyu paid his debt. It was his destiny. And Draupadi will also lose a lot until the war ends.

Arjuna questions Krishna why he didn’t teach Abhimanyu how to break the Chakravyuh. That is when Krishna speaks-

“ I can be Abhimanyu’s teacher, Mama, and Guru, but you were the father; you didn’t teach your son how to do it. You only taught him in half. If fathers were responsible enough, Kurukshetra wouldn’t have happened. Dhritarastra failed Duryodhana. Had there been better Fathers, this war wouldn’t have happened.”

And the last monologue, when Arjun swears to kill Jayadrath before dusk the next day, Krishna says. “This war happened because all of you swore on something. Bhisma Pitamah swore never to marry or sit on the throne. Draupadi swore to bathe her hair with the blood of Dushashan. Bhim swore to break the thighs of Duryodhana, and now you swore to kill Jayadrath. So Abhimanyu could have killed Duryodhana today, but he wouldn’t. If he had, the war would have ended, and Bhim’s oath would have gone in vain. Abhimanyu gave his life for that oath. I was sent as the Shanti Dhoot to the Kauravas- I knew it would fail. Otherwise, how would Draupadi’s vow be fulfilled? This is Chakravuyh, we all know how to get inside. No one knows how to get out.

I had to take birth, become a cowherd, get humiliated by Duryodhana, become a charioteer to Arjuna, so that justice can be restored. Even I had to enter this Chakravuyh. This is Karma. We all have to enter. The only way out is to surrender your deeds unto me. He goes on to say the sloka from the Karma Yoga of the Bhagwat Gita.

What a play. What profound wisdom. What struck me most was the loneliness of Krishna. Everyone blamed him and questioned him. He stood quiet most of the time and when he spoke, Arjuna kneeled before him. That’s Madhava. A God so human, that he is rightfully called- Sakha for centuries. The one who stays when everyone abandons.

If you ever get a chance, please watch. I cried and clapped after every dialogue. You will too. I promise.

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