It is quite evident at this point in the story that the reason the births of the many sons of the Pandanvas and the Kauravas were all mentioned throughout the Mahabharata was so they could all be killed off during this great battle. This way, the extreme battle can impact the main characters of the Mahabharata without actually killing the very vital characters.
"Death of Drona" by Sister Nivedita: Source
I found this story exceptionally entertaining- Drona's love for his son was what had kept him alive throughout the battle. Bhima killed an elephant with the same name as his son and claimed to have killed Drona's son. No one told Drona that Bhima had killed an elephant rather than his son. Distraught, he was unable to summon his celestial weapons to defend himself. Dhrishtadyumna killed Drona by chopping off his head.
This sort of ridiculous, but plausible story, makes me wonder if some sort of comparable situation could be used in one of my stories about Vali for my project.
"Arjuna and Karna" by Donald A Mackenzie: Source
Arjuna and Karna battle with their bows and arrows. Arjuna's string breaks. He yells that Karna needs to give him the chance to fix his bow string so they can fight with honor. Karna continues to shoot arrows at Arjuna. Krishna talks to Karna about how his recent actions have lacked any sort of honor, especially cornering and killing Arjuna's son. At the mention of his son's name, Arjuna shoots Karna's head with an arrow.
"The Pandavas and Bhishma" by John Mandeville Macfie: Source
After an eventful evening during which Ashwatthaman attacks the Pandava camp, the Pandavas visit the dying Bhishma. He gives advice on how to rule now that they control everything.
This feels like a redemption story to me, and I really like the Bhishma got that ending.
"The Forest and its Ghosts" by Donald A. Mackenzie: Source
Vyasa revives all of the warriors who died in battle, allowing them to have final words with their families. Vyasa allows widows to follow their husbands to the afterlife if they so choose. All of these warriors disappear as the sun rises.
This is what I imagine the returning warriors took a form comparable to this.
On top of this, we see the main characters sort of give up living to pass on to the afterlife. I thought this was unique to Rama and Sita, but I now feel that this death is possible for any main character of an Indian story.
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