Day 14: The Vow on Jayadratha

Arjuna has promised a death by sunset. The Kauravas hide Jayadratha behind ranks meant to waste the day. Krishna’s handling of the light — the usual telling is a darkness that draws the Sindhu king out — is how the vow is kept.

Jayadratha falls. The rim of yesterday’s wheel is paid for. The day does not end. Night fighting begins, and Krishna pushes Ghatotkacha forward until Karna must spend the Vasavi Shakti, the dart meant for Arjuna.

Two deaths sit on this date: a king who held a formation shut, and a rakshasa son spent so the seventeenth day can still happen.

Source notes

Mahabharata, Drona Parva, Ganguli. Last reviewed 12 September 2026.