BOTH SIDES ACTED AGAINST DHARMA

Both sides of the battle committed unrighteous acts.
Both sides went against the kshatriya codes for warfare.
Both sides violated dharma.

The slaying of the son of Arjuna Abhimanyu was heinous.
He was simply butchered, alone and weaponless,
surrounded and slashed to pieces by all the powerful warriors.
They danced around his mangled body with shouts of glee.
Totally unacceptable. Simply barbaric behavior of the lowest order.

Of course there were all the nasty things Duryodhana
and company contrived against the Pandavas... before the war.
But during the war the Pandavas performed
much deceit and trickery.
Bhima on more than one occasion behaved like a rabid beast.

Dronacarya was tricked into believing his son Aswatthama
had been killed and so gave up his will to fight
and sat in meditation and prayer.
While in that position Dhristadumnya attacked him from behind slicing off his head. This served to further enrage Aswatthama
after the war was officially over unto perpetrating
further atrocities in retaliation.

While on the ground trying to fix the wheel of his chariot
Karna was slain by Arjuna He was not in combat
but was performing maintenance.

Duryodhana himself was mortally wounded by a blow
delivered by Bhima to the lower portion of his body,
unheard of for warrior combat. Bhima was seen to stomp
on Duyodhana's head while he lay crippled and dying in the field.

What to speak of Bhima's tearing Dhushasana's arm from his body
and drinking the blood that poured out in full view of everyone.
Drinking human blood is hardly civilized behavior even in warfare.

Krishna Himself bewildered everyone by making it appear
the sun had set so that Jayadratha would relax his guard
and Arjuna could access him shooting an arrow
that severed his head.

There were so many devious incidents. Long long list...
In the very beginning of the battle Bhisma was slain
due to trickery. There was no way to defeat Bhisma.
So Shikandhi was assigned to drive
Arjuna's chariot for that day instead of Krishna.
Shikhandi had been born female and by practice of
sever austerities was transformed into a male warrior.
Bhisma would not fight or even defend himself against
Arjuna since Shikhandi was born female. Bhisma was slain.

Duryodhana was tricked by Krishna to not appear
totally naked before his mother Gandhari
as she had requested him to. Intending to protect her son
by removing her blindfold, never before removed
and glancing over his complete body.
Krishna apprehended Duryodhana while he was on the way
to his mother and embarrassed him, that it was not proper. Duryodhana kept a cloth around his hips and thighs.
This was the only part of his body that Gandhari could not see
\and this was how Bhima killed him. Smashing his thighs.

It is long list of tricks and deceit used by the Pandavas.

In many ways the Battle of Kuruksetra marked
the end of the age of dharma.

Perhaps the significant difference in the awful behavior of the Pandavas and the awful behavior of the Kurus is that
Krishna sanctioned the bad behavior of the Pandavas.
Without the trickery and deceit...
they would not have been able to win the battle.

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