Bodhayana amavasya

The Mahabharata war was at hand. Battle lines had been drawn and sides had been taken.
The huge armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas had gathered on opposite sides.
Duryodhana, the instigator of all the problems, was in conference with his generals, Bheeshma, Drona and Karna.
“Well, the time is at hand,” said Duryodhana. “I want to find an auspicious day for us to start so we can be sure
of victory.”Drona said, “Duryodhana, listen carefully to me.
Sahadeva, the twin brother of Nakula and son of Madri, is a fount of knowledge.
He will be able to help you best with this. If you ask him to help you right after his morning bath and prayers
he cannot refuse you.”
Duryodhana said, “Drona, you are asking me to ask my enemy to help me? Sahadeva is a Pandava.
How can I trust his word?”
Drona reassured Duryodhana and said, “Don’t worry about that. Sahadeva will not utter a lie.
You can trust his word absolutely.”
So the next morning Duryodhana arranged to meet Sahadeva right after his prayers.
“Sahadeva, I know we are enemies,” said Duryodhana. “But I have come to ask you something.
You are duty-bound to tell me the truth.”
“What is it you want?” asked Sahadeva.
“Well”, said Duryodhana, “I would like you to consult the stars and tell me the best time to start battle so that our
armies may be victorious.”
Sahadeva agreed to help him and told him the right time to start the war for the Kauravas would be the coming
amavasya which was only a week away.
Duryodhana thanked him and went away. Now, Krishna overheard the entire conversation and was outraged.
“Sahadeva!” he said. “How can you help our enemies? Why didn’t you tell him a wrong day or refuse to help him
outright?”
Sahadeva said, “Krishna, you know I have to grant whatever one asks of me after my prayers.
And I will only speak the truth.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Krishna walked away wracking his brain for an idea to save the day.
As he entered his tent, it struck him. Rushing out, he called the Pandavas to his tent.
There he said, “Sahadeva here has gone and told Duryodhana an auspicious time for the start of war.
If we allow them that, they will definitely win. No thanks to you Sahadeva!!!”
The Pandavas were understandably upset and Arjuna asked, “Isn’t there someting you can do, Krishna, to avert this?”
Krishna smiled and said, “I have an idea but I cannot tell you because then Sahadeva will be bound by his promise
to reveal it to Duryodhana. So just follow me implicitly.”
The next morning, Krishna took the Pandavas to the riverside and asked them to pray for their
deceased father (tarpanam). Now the Pandavas were confused.
Yudhisthira said, ‘Krishna why are you asking us to perform this ceremony today? It is not amavasya
when this is usually done.”
Krishna said, “I asked you to trust me. So do as I say.”
So the Pandavas started performing all the rites that were due for their father.
As they started praying, the gods in heaven were confused and started conferring among themselves.
The most confused, of course, were Surya (the sun god) and Chandra (the moon god).
Wondering what Krishna was doing and why, they decided to come down to ask him the reason for this strange
behaviour. The two came down together and asked Krishna, “What is the meaning of this?
Why are you performing these rites when it is not yet amavasya?”
Krishna smiled and said, “No it was not amavasya till the two of you came down together over here.
And now it IS amavasya since the moon and the sun are together. The battle can start today instead!!”
Heartened by this, the Pandavas declared the war had begun and an
outmanoeuvred Duryodhana was forced into battle before it was time. With clever manipulation,
Krishna had managed to keep Sahadeva’s prediction intact and yet make the war unwinnable for the Kauravas.
And because the sun and the moon had rushed down together out of their usual cycle,
there is an extra amavasya called the bodhayana amavasya