Gandhari decides to transfer to Duryodhana the power she has gained through strict adherence to pativrata dharma and harden his body to be as strong as a diamond. She asks Duryodhana to come naked before her, after taking bath in the morning. Krishna comes to know of Gandhari's plan. He takes the form of Dushala and appears before Duryodhana. Dushala tells Duryodhana that it is disgusting that an adult should appear naked before his mother and advises him to cover his loins with a banana leaf.
Gandhari, who has kept her eyes covered ever since her marriage, now opens her eyes. She gazes at Duryodhana starting from his head and lowers her eyes gradually. The light from her eyes make Duryodhana's body very strong. When her eyes rest upon his mid region she is shocked. She scolds Duryodhana for not following her instructions. Now Durdhana's body is left with portions vulnerable to attack. Duryodhana tells about Dushala's advice. Just then, the real Dushala comes and denies having seen Duryodhana. Gandhari understands it is Krishna's game. Duryodhana remains non-plussed; it is against rules to hit someone below the belt, so he believes himself to be safe.
On the eighteenth day, Yudhishtra kills his uncle Shalya. Sahadeva kills Shakuni and his son Uluka. Duryodhana holds Shakuni on his lap and cries. He has spent his childhood more on his lap than on his parents. The dying Shakuni advises him to make use of the Sanjeevani mantra taught to him by Sage Durvasa and make himself immortal.
Duryodhana immediately goes to a river and submerges himself under water and starts chanting the Sanjeevani mantra. A hunter notices Duryodhana and informs the Pandavas. All the Pandavas come to the place where Duryodhana is hiding under water. Krishna tells Pandavas to provoke Duryodhana with abusive words so that he is forced to stop chanting mantras and fight with them. Duryadhana is ready to return Hastinapura to them, but Yudhishtra doesn't want Hastinapura as a gift. He asks Duryodhana to choose anyone amongst them to fight. Krishna is angry with Yudhishtra for digging his own grave, but luckily for the Pandavas, Duryodhana says he won't deign to fight with anyone other than Bhima.
Krishna's brother Balarama, having heard that Bhima and Duryodhana are having a mace fight, arrives at the spot, eager to see how his disciple Duryodhana fares. As the fight drags on, Bhima finds that Duryodhana is totally uanffected by any of the blows Bhima showers on him. He is perplexed, being unaware of the magic that Gandhari has wrought on her son's body. Krishna knows that the only way to kill Duryodhana will be to hit him in the pelvis and the thighs. He tells Yudhishtra and Arjuna to signal Bhima to hit Duryodhana below the belt. Both of them do not want to adopt such a non-righteous tactic, so Krishna takes the task upon himself. He signals Bhima by slapping his own thigh. Bhima gets the hint; he also remembers the promise he has made at the time of Draupadi's vastra-haran. Bhima repeatedly hits Duryodhana's thighs and breaks it. He kicks at his face too. Yudhishtra chides Bhima for not respecting the emperor's dignity.
Balarama takes up the cudgels for Duryodhana and is ready to fight with Bhima. Krishna reminds his brother of the appalling act of Duryodhana in humiliating his own brother's wife by commanding her to sit on his thighs, at which Bhima had sworn to break Duryodhana's thighs. Sage Maitreya had also cursed Duryodhana that his death will occur by his thighs getting split. Listening to this Balarama becomes calm and leaves the place after blessing Duryodhana and all his relatives with attaining Heaven after death.
Duryodhana begs Bhima to kill and release him of the pain, but Bhima scoffs and refuses to do so. Pandavas and Krishna leave.
Duryodhana elects Ashwathama to be the Chief, and he promises to kill the Pandavas. Ashwathama, who is seething with rage, goes to the Pandava camp at night along with Kripacharya and Kritavarma (one of the Yadava warriors and chieftain of Krishna's Narayani Sena). and kills Drishtadhyumna and Shikhandi. He kills all the Upapandavas, believing them to be Pandavas. He then comes to Duryodhana and tells him that he has killed all the sons of the Pandavas. Duryodhana is not happy at this news (this is at variance with all the other versions of Mahabharatha). He regrets having been the cause for a Brahmin to do such heinus acts. He asks him to perform expiatory Yagna. With this, Duryodhana breathes his last.
When Krishna comes to see Dritharashtra and Gandhari who are totally shattered by the death of all their sons, Gandhari curses Krishna that just as all her hundred sons died, the entire Yadava clan will get obliterated in the next 36 years. Krishna accepts the curse with the equanimity of a yogi.
Pandavas come to know about Ashwattama killing their sons. An enraged Draupadi asks the Pandavas to pluck the chudamani (the diamond stud), a symbol of immortality, which is on Ashwattama’s forehead. Ashwattama fires the Brahmastra to destroy the Pandavas. In response, Arjuna also fires a Brahmastra. Narada and other gods request Arjuna and Ashwattama to withdraw their Brahmastra as it would destroy the entire universe. Arjuna agrees and withdraws his Brahmastra. But since Ashwattama doesn’t know the mantra to withdraw Brahmastra, he guides it to hit Uttara’s womb, where the successor of Pandavas is about to take birth. The Brahmastra hits Uttara’s womb and the baby dies in the womb. Lord Krishna curses Ashwattama that he will keep roaming like a mad man for the next 3,000 years, without any peace of mind. Ashwattama repents his action and accepts the curse. He offers the chudamani on his forehead to Krishna.
The Pandavas together request Krishna to save the baby in Uttara’s womb. Krishna again gives a new lease of life to the baby in Uttara’s womb and names the baby as “Parikshit”.
The Pandavas, Dritharashtra, Gandhari, Kripacharya and others visit Bhishma and seek his blessings. Bhishma tells them that he would leave his body after the Uttarayana (winter solstice) sets in. On the designated day, in the presence of the Pandavas, Gandhari and Dritarashtra, Bhishma brethes his last.
Yudhistra is crowned as the King of Hasthinapur and he rules the kingdom in accordance with Dharma.
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