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The use of deadly weapons is described in great detail. Including the description of how these weapons evolved through deep thought (mantra). A mantra literally means the power of thought. And other descriptions of the science of making weapons. Like, when an iron arrow or a ball are filled with such inflammable substances which when ignited will produce smoke, which in turn by coming in contact with air or the rays of the sun will catch fire. This is how the Agneyastra is created. Or, when a great hero discharges a Varunastra which is made of such materials whose smoke is converted into a cloud. The moment it comes in contact with air it converts the cloud to rain.
Described in the later parvas of Mahabharatha (and even in the middle ones, before the war starts - refer the warnings by the sage Vyasa to Dhritharashtra), the aftereffects of this war serve as a grim reminder that any war, even if it takes place to eradicate evil, has grim consequences. The sociological, cultural, geological, ecological and political effects of this war were immense. Even looking at a few of them will tell us why the war was not, in the end, as glorious as it seems. After the war.......
One day, while he was consulting with his ministers on some administrative issues, a soldier came in and said there was a visitor from a distant village. Yuyutsu asked him to be shown in. The visitor was brought in. He looked ashen and petrified. Yuyutsu asked him what the matter was. The visitor said simply that there were unnatural births in his village and the village was in total turmoil and confusion. Yuyutsu asked him what those births were. The visitor refused to describe further and requested that the king or Yuyutsu visit the village himself and see. Intrigued, Yuyutsu took the chief physician of the court and went with the visitor. After reaching the village, Yuyutsu camped and the chief physician went ahead to investigate the happenings. He returned a few hours later, totally shaken. Yuyutsu asked him why he was trembling. The old physician, after a lot of hesitation, said, "the women in this village have given birth to animals my lord. Some of them look like dogs, some of them like cats, some like calves and some totally deformed, like three hands and a tail and...", he stopped. He couldn't continue further. The women had indulged in bestiality, that is, sex with animals.
"Why was the war fought?" she shot, and continued, before Yuyutsu could respond, "to please the egos of a few arrogant individuals. To satisfy the greed of Duryodhana, to satisfy the revenge of Draupadi and her spineless husbands, to satisfy the lust of a few drunken princes". Yuyutsu, the old physician and the village elders were shocked. Yuyutsu thundered again, "woman, you have already committed a crime and now you are accusing great men? You deserve to die!"
Yuyutsu felt humiliated and ashamed. He turned to the village elders. They were all hanging their heads in shame too. Without saying a word, he turned; his eyes blinded by tears of anger, shame and frustration he left the village. After the war, many things had been changed in the palaces. One of them was the living quarters of the Kaurava widows. They had been shifted to a different palace. Yuyutsu had forgotten about the new arrangements and wandered into the Kaurava princesses' quarters one day by mistake. The women were initially shocked and began to rearrange their white dresses.
Yuyutsu, shamed, humiliated, ran out. He went to Draupadi and spoke to her distraughtly. "What could I do Maharani? So many of them are so young! And all of them wearing white widow dresses. Why Maharani, why did the war have to happen?” he wept in front Draupadi. Draupadi looked thunderstruck. She had no reply of course, she was one of the causes of the Great War. The use of weapons of mass destructions had wrought havoc. On the day of the great battle between Karna and Arjuna, Arjuna let loose the Agneyastra. The soldiers on the Kaurava side started burning, as their bodies are set aflame by the deadly astra. Karna, to counter that, let loose the Varunastra. For a few seconds the soldiers are suddenly happy as the water douses the flames and their bodies stop burning. Then the agony is intensified several times as the water touching the hot flames begins to tear the flesh away from the bodies of the soldiers. Everywhere there is the smell of open flesh hanging out of the bodies... The geological and the ecological effects of the war were also devastating. The weapons had destroyed forests, causing all the misery that such events result in. The soil was eroded, atmosphere was polluted, floods became common place, and famine became widespread. In many parts of the country, there were earthquakes. Crop was destroyed; palaces and dwelling places were burnt. Rivers became polluted due to poisonous combinations of weapons and dead bodies. In many instances, rivers and streams just dried up. Cattle died of hunger and poisoning. Children were killed in the wombs of mothers or born deformed due to the poisonous atmosphere and poisoned crops.
That is, most of the 393,660 elephants, 1,180,980 horses (and possibly another 393660 horses at least because of the chariots that were destroyed) and almost two million soldiers. Mind you, these were just the direct deaths. Many more soldiers, horses and elephants perished in the Ashwamedha Yagna, the Rajsuya Yagna and other Yagnas performed by Yudhishthira, among other kings. Many more died due to hunger, sickness, suicides (frustrations, fear and desperation) in the minor battles leading to the great war. The figures are staggering. More so are the facts about the aftermath of this so-called Great War. In the end, was it all worth it? What right did the Kaurava and Pandava princes have to sacrifice so many lives just to satisfy their personal egos? Sameer Khanwalker Published on 06th Dec. 2002
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The Great Mahabharatha War seems to have been a great battle between the good and the evil. It all seems so glamorous. Great warriors fighting great battles. Releasing great
astras, slaying thousands, eradicating evil. How exciting! Tales of heroism are told and retold. Of the great battle between Bhishma and the
Pandavas, between Karna and Arjuna, between Dronacharya and the Pandavas, between Ghatothkacha and the
Kauravas. Great are the tales of heroism of Abhimanyu, the crafty work of Lord Krishna in the slaying of
Jayadrath, the revenge of Bheema against Duryodhana and Dushasana, among others.
Also well documented (millions of times) and very well known, are the brilliant strategies of mini battles and great wars. Like the one that killed
Jarasandh. Or the Chakravyuyha. Or the strategy of sending Ghatothkacha to force Karna to use the Shakti or using Shikhandi to mortally injure
Bhishma. Wonderful reading, heady stuff. How many of us know, however, about the deadly aftereffects of this Great War? The unimaginable horrors that the war unleashed actually cloud the glories completely and bring to focus the consequences of the use of weapons of mass destruction. 
Yuyutsu had taken over the reins of administration after the war. Yuyutsu was the only Kaurava prince who had switched to the side of the Pandavas after Yudhishthira issued his invitation (just before the war) to all those who wanted to be on the side of Dharma. Apparently, Yuyutsu guessed correctly that the Kauravas would lose the war since the Pandavas had Krishna with them.
Yuyutsu was shocked. He went out in anger. The village elders had gathered and the accused women, several of them were
standing defiantly in front of them. The Village Chief stepped forward and said to
Yuyutsu, "we are going to punish them my lord. They have committed shameful crimes and do not deserve to live". Turning to the women, with eyes flaming, Yuyutsu thundered, "what do you have to say to this, you pitiful lot of women? What makes you think you should not go unpunished?” At this, one of the women stepped forward. She stared at Yuyutsu and said, "may I say something my lord?" Yuyutsu was surprised at the belligerence and said yes, she could.
The woman, not afraid, thundered back, "what about all those hundreds of thousands of soldiers who were killed my lord? What was the cause? So that Draupadi could feel happy? So that the great Dharmaraja could claim his place in heaven? What about the hundreds and thousands of women like us who are all without husbands today? What about all those children who are without fathers? Can you justify their deaths? Can you bring back the husbands of all the widows in this country today? Do that and then punish us. First punish the Kaurava princes, the Pandava princes and their revengeful wife and then punish us!"
Then the comments began to fly thick and fast.
"Aaah, see the King! The great follower of Dharma". "See how he switched conveniently over to the Pandavas when he realized his brothers would lose the war. The coward". "Hey King, how is your wife? How lucky is she! She gets to see a man everyday." "Oh yes,
Yuyutsu, thanks for stopping by. We have seen a man after so many months".........
The Kauravas had an army of eleven Akshouhini and the Pandavas, seven Akshouhini. At the end of the war, most of the forces were destroyed, leaving behind just a handful. Considering that one Akshouhini comprises 21,870 elephants, 21,870 chariots, 65,610 horses and 109,350-foot soldiers, the total direct deaths were staggering.
