In the entire Mahabharata, we see that the rules of war were being broken. The most blatant example of this was the killing of Abhimanyu. After that, the war entered into a free-fall situation. This, in fact, is the inevitable result of every war. We see this in the episode of Meghanad Vadh in the Ramayana itself. In fact, we can say that it is the dharma of war to make effective strategies to win, which include diversionary tactics to turn the opponent’s attention away. This is exactly what was done by the Kauravas by drawing Arjuna far away from the battlefield in a mock contest and thereby trapping Abhimanyu. The Mother herself led Hitler to his own destruction by assuming the form of the being who guided him. When asked, Sri Aurobindo used the term Divine Diplomacy. One could very well categorize Sri Krishna’s action as that.
The Kurukshetra was not an ordinary war. Its outcome was to decide the fate of Aryavarta, the line it would take in the future. The whole ground of morality changes then. By whatever means, it was important to remove Bhisma, Drona and Karna who stood in the way of the fulfillment of the Divine Will. In simple words, fulfilling the Divine Will transcends human ethics and morality. These inferior substitutes have their place in the evolution of mankind from the animal and the brute. But for all the good they do to tame the animal in us, they are yet limited by the human ignorance. To make them or any human virtue an absolute is a travesty of the Divine Truth that is seeking to manifest upon earth. Hence, Sri Krishna doing what he did to remove Dronacharya (and other gigantic egos) guarding the throne of falsehood and standing against the manifestation of Truth. Though even there, he did it with a finesse typical of Sri Krishna, using a technical truth (Aswathhama is dead…..not the human but the elephant) for the triumph and manifestation of a greater Truth. Though even otherwise it could be seen as part of a war strategy to divert Dronacharya’s mind and use his emotional weakness for his own fall.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
