Advanced software
helps unearth a deadly secret that lay trapped inside the chakravyuh for
centuries...
The truth’s finally out as to why Abhimanyu couldn’t make
his way out of the chakravyuh. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn’t because his
mother, Subhadra had fallen asleep when he was in her womb, listening to his
father, Arjuna demystify the unassailable military formation. Abhimanyu was
good enough to have gotten out of there in his sleep. The problem was more
complex – traffic diversions.
Research scientists have made use of ChakraView, a
Stellarium-based Astronomy Simulation Software that helps predict planetary
movements and configurations, and have figured out how and why Abhimanyu lost
the plot and his way when he was trying to exit the deadly formation.
One of their key findings reveals that technology was pretty
radical back then. Sanjaya’s ‘vision’ of the battle happening several miles
away was a classic demonstration of Augmented Reality. However, for snooping into
a family feud between two sets of brothers, he was cursed. “Will I never have
an idol built in my honour?” he asked. “Worse, your namesake will be on
American Idol. And if you really are as clairvoyant as they make you out to be,
you’ll know the rest,” the voice from yonder resonated, amidst guffaws.
From the pushpaka vimana to invisible cloaks, time travel
and out-of-body experiences, men had also perfected several futuristic ways of
travel that negated the need for flyovers or a metro rail network. This
explains why neither history nor mythology has thrown any light on traffic
diversions in the past. But the influx of armies warned the local authorities
at Kurukshetra of an imminent traffic jam. And that was how it all began.
Traffic proceeding straight towards Hastinapura was diverted
at Kurukshetra Junction to take the route via Anga and a detour south of
Bhadrika. The stretch from Indraprastha to the battlefield was made one-way,
with entry only for chariots and infantry from Dwaraka, and a no entry from the
Magadha-Kekaya Junction.
On the Assapura stretch, heavy vehicles like eight-wheeled
chariots and elephants were not allowed. Instead, they had to go via Vanga,
traverse the stretch between Pandya up to Kasi, and enter from Chedi, with a no
entry in the general direction of the Vidharba junction.
At a time when heat-seeker missile arrows, implosion-type
nuclear weapons and other hi-tech artillery were commonplace in war, finding
his way in and out of these traffic diversions was child’s play for the 16-year
old Abhimanyu. After all, he had GPS installed, which accounted for lane
closures, VIP convoys and of course, traffic modifications.
The Kauravas knew this and rushed to their commander
Dronacharya, who decided to juxtapose Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle with
the principles of warfare. While there’s uncertainty about everything in life
(except death and taxes, according to Benjamin Franklin), Heisenberg made
certain that he made a name out of his theory on uncertainty. He had famously
suggested that just as you figure out the route when travelling from point A to
point B, traffic will be redirected in a way that will leave you uncertain
about how to get there.
Applying this principle, Dronacharya brilliantly reversed
and revised the traffic schedule several times. The chaos that ensued altered the
celestial alignments of the stars and planets. This affected the satellites,
causing Abhimanyu’s GPS to fail. And the Pandavas, caught in the various
traffic diversions, failed to reach the spot on time.
Moral of the story: Even with the best of technology, don’t
attempt to fight your way out of a traffic diversion.
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