Tuesday, April 29, 2025

The Truth About Parshuram (chapter 3)

The post will be about many topic's all surrounding the character of parshuram. Like his duel against Raam (son of dashrath), how many brother's he actually had, what his character was like (ignoring his crime of slaying baby boys) also details of his chariot.

Intro; devotees of parshurama have lied to cover up his failure the same way fans of karna do. Among their BS claims is that they will choose to act like the fight between parshuram & shri raam never happened, they will say their was no fight between both warriors or characters/avtaars of vishnu.
Perhaps the biggest reason that parshuram bhakts deny this incident (the fight) is because they know deep down how embarrassing it is for parshurama.
=
Reason (behind why it is a big embarrassment/anti feat in parshuram's career):
Cause Raam's age was less than 12 during this incident & his battles with Khara, Wiradh & Tadka were much more difficult & challenging compared to his battle with Parshuram so it makes parshuram look weak.
Post begins:
A variety of sources prove their was a real fight which occurred between 2 vishnu avtars in treta yuga, it happened in between bala kandam & ayodhya kandam of Ramayan.

Quote from MB.
"And shot by the hand of Rama, that shalt, confounding by its energy the other Rama, came back blazing into Rama's hands. And Bhargava, who had thus been deprived of his senses, regaining consciousness and life, bowed unto Rama."
Logic - clearly parshuram was knocked out and anyone who knows what confound means will understand that parshuram lost here.

Before the fight began Ram could have killed Parashuram but spared him:
"Oh Rama of Bhaargava, even if you are a Brahman you are eliminable, but because of your relationship with Vishvamitra, and because you are a venerable one for me, I am disinclined to release this arrow that exterminates your life." [1-76-6]

Parshuram was a coward hiding his face from any public event;
"And commanded by Vishnu, he proceeded to the mountains of Mahendra. And thenceforth that great ascetic began to dwell there, in terror and shame."
Note; he went over their to hide as he feared Ram and other Kshatriyas, this guy felt ashamed of himself, he didnt do any tapasya in that mountain.

Even puranas aid this claim;
"He saw the son of Jamadagni on the way. Then, O king, a terrible battle unbearable even to the Devas to see ensued between them. After defeating Paraśurāma, Śrīrāma (the son of Daśaratha) came home accompanied by Sītā."
Conclusion: parshurama was a overrated donkey and not a decent warrior at all.
=
Parshuram getting a boon is a common achievement. Anyone could do it, even a blind animal had luck in getting a vardaan.
[start]
"That beast of prey, having undergone ascetic austerities, had obtained a boon and had become the cause of the destruction of all creatures. For this reason he was made blind by the Self-born. Having slain that animal which had resolved to slay all creatures, Valaka went to heaven."
Claim - so just cause he received boons that does not mean he was a special character, person or someone that deserves to be praised.
=
How many brothers did parshuram have?
Adi Parva says 3;
"Jamadagni had four sons. And the youngest of them all was Rama (Parasurama). And Rama was superior to all his brothers in the possession of good qualities. And he was skilful in all weapons, and became the slayer of the Kshatriyas. And he had his passions under complete control."
Logic - four in total means if u remove parshuram theirs 3 left.

Vana Parva said 4;
"At that very moment came in the eldest of Jamadagni's sons, Rumanvan; and then, Sushena, and then, Vasu, and likewise, Viswavasu. And the mighty saint directed them all one by one to put an end to the life of their mother." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03116.htm
Logic - So it is upto the reader to decide which quote is more believable compared to the other.

I think it makes more sense for Jamdagni to have 4 sons in total instead of 5 so i will go with adi parva instead. Also a issue with vana parva is that one of the sons was called vasu another is viswavasu, it is confusing & generic, most parents would want their sons to have their own identity instead of such a close name to another sibling.
=
Analyzing Parshuram's career as a mentor to many;
Point 1 - he did a good job with drona but he failed big time when training rukmi and malaydhwaj. My reasoning that proves they were failures is that malaydhwaj was inactive for most of kurukshetra & before kurukshetra he hadnt achieved anything to prove his capabilities. While Rukmi appears to have not won a single fight in his career.
Point 2 - he deserves no credit for teaching bhishma cause that character had multiple teachers, he was also trained by Indra Dev but hindus never credited Indra out of bias & possibly hatred. For Karna he learned nothing from Parshuram apart from 2 weapons, so karna received limited education from him.

Point 3 - parshuram trained many other characters who were irrelevant or never made a name for themselves, or never did anything that could enhance the reputation of their guru.
First example is Pravara;
[Quote]
"I am the disciple of Jamadagni’s son Rama, and my name is Pravara. I enjoy the friendship of the illustrious Sakra."
Basics - pravara was a character that never made a appearance in a single tv serial, he also does not appear to be involved in a major conflict related to hinduism, whether it be the battle against Kartavirya or the battle of kurukshetra or the invasions on Mathura, so what did he do with his life?

Conclusion: As a teacher he was not great, so his character should not get overrated by Hindus.
=
Parshuram's chariot.
1st description.
[Quote]
"Jamadagni's son stationed on a car equipped with every kind of excellent weapons! And the car he rode was exceedingly handsome and was of wonderful appearance."
[End]

2nd description.
[quote]
"Having duly equipped that triumphal car, the foremost of its kind, which resembled the vapoury mansions in the sky, Shalya presented it to Karna."
[pause]
"Karna, that foremost of car-warriors, duly worshipping that car which had in days of old been sanctified by a priest conversant with Brahma."
[paUse]
"Thereupon Shalya of mighty energy ascended that large, invincible, and foremost of cars."
[end]

3rd description.
[quoTe]
"This foremost of cars covered with tigerskins, with axle producing no sound equipped with a golden seat endued with trivenu made of silver, and unto which are yoked these foremost of steeds, Rama gave unto me. Behold, also, O Shalya, these beautiful bows, these standards, these maces, these shafts of fierce forms, this blazing sword, this mighty weapon, this white conch of fierce and loud blare."
"Riding upon this car decked with banners, its wheels producing a rattle deep as that of the thunder, having white steeds yoked unto it, and adorned with excellent quivers, I will, putting forth my might, slay in battle that bull among car-warriors, Arjuna."
[eNd]
Conclusion parashuram clearly had a chariot, and he used it in his duel with bhishma, the chariot was later owned by namard Karna (son of suryadev).
So this chariot elaboration was basically to disprove the claims of Parshuram fighting from the ground (while walking). Cause parshurama bhakts claim that parshuram never used a chariot.
=
MENTAL FAILURE OF PARSHURAMA.
Parshuram failed to tell the difference between a prince and a king.
[Quote]
"A truce to all crafty speech, O king! Take this bow."
[End]
Logic - he called Ram a king even though Dashrath was alive and ruling the throne of Ayodhya.

So not only did Parshuram fail to differentiate between sutas, kshatriya's, brahmins etc, he also failed to tell the differences between prince's and king's.
Conclusion is that Parshuram was not intelligent. Even before karna deceived him he already got fooled in his earlier days.
Points proven in this post are;
1 - he clearly lost against raam.
2 - he did not do any background checks before he accepted a student into his academy.
3 - he was a poorly skilled teacher/mentor.
4 - he got scared of a 12 yr old shri raam and had to hide for a unknown length of time.
5 - the place he chose to hide in was a mountain called Mahendra (named after Indra).
6 - it was harder for raam to fight against warriors like tadka, wiradh, khara & viswavasu, but a battle against parshuram was easy.
7 - he indeed had a vehicle/chariot, but his devotees are mostly unaware of such a fact.
8 - Him recieving a boon is not a praiseworthy achievement.

Sunday, April 27, 2025

Size of the army in virat yudh

Introduction - this post's motive/objective is to discover/unravel the truth about how many soldiers fought in the goharana battle (other name for virat yudh). Only soldiers that fought on hastinapur's side will be considered/counted and not any trigarta warrior.
=
Term division is mentioned.
Duryodhan says; "We also marching in two divisions, will seize thousands of excellent kine furnished with auspicious marks."
Size of a division:
"The mighty Bhima, with his mace, crushed those 21,000 foot-soldiers who were without cars and steeds and elephants. Having slain that strong division, Bhima, of prowess incapable of being baffled, showed himself with Dhrishtadyumna in his front."
Logic Basic math indicates that 2 times 21 thousand means 42,000 but its unlikely that the kauravas took only that much with them, So i assume their exists more than two divisions of their army.

Due to this quote it's been proven that their's way more than just 2 divisions.
{Begin}
"Arjuna who was advancing towards Duryodhana. And beholding their countless divisions firmly arrayed in order of battle with countless banners waving over them."
Division mentioned:
[Begin]
"Take me without delay to the van of Bhishma's division. I will cut off his very bow-string in the battle."
Analysis - his division had remained unscathed for a large portion of the goharana battle. They were basically inactive until arjuna choose to target them. Apart from this Kripacharya also had his own personal division of troops.
It is mentioned that the number of flags their was impossible to count hence the term innumerable is applied by the translator;
"Arjuna urged the steeds towards the Kuru army over which floated innumerable flags."
Basics - a flag is only ever on a chariot whenever a military group is mentioned in MB. If they brought an aukshouni that means the kauravas had 3 times as many cavalry compared to their chariot group and five times as much infantry.

They snatched upto 60 thousand cow's.
quote;
"The Kauravas, surrounding all sides with a multitude of cars, seized sixty thousands of kine."

Half abandoned the field during arjuna's entrance;
[passage of text]
"Proceed thou towards the capital, without loss of time, taking with thee a fourth part of the army. And let another fourth march, escorting the kine. With half the troops we will fight the Pandava. Myself and Drona, and Karna and Aswatthaman and Kripa will resolutely withstand Vibhatsu, or the king of the Matsyas, or Indra himself, if he approaches."
Basic's - 25 % monitored the cows, another 25 percent were the bodyguards of Suyodhan. While 50 % stay back to fight arjuna and ensure the conquest of matsya desh.
Calculation's; if one fourth is adequate to escort all cows its fair to assume that for each cow their was a soldier, so 60 thousand soldier's were their. Most likely the full army of the kauravas here was 240,000 then cause 1/4th is guarding the 60 thousand cows.
2ND SEGMENT OF THE POST.
A inconsistency of how much was with Duryodhan:
"That warrior who stayeth on his car, cased in golden mail and surrounded by a third part of the army consisting of the most efficient troops, and whose flag beareth the device of an elephant in a ground of gold, is the illustrious king Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra."
Comment: Basically first it was mentioned that he had a fourth, now due to arjuna's dialogue/statement its possible he actually had control of a full third of their army, or maybe arjuna was guessing (based on whatever he saw).

Description of army:
[begins] "And that large army of theirs looked like the vast sea or a forest of innumerable trees moving through the sky. And then was seen, O best among the Kurus, the dust raised by that moving army which reached the sky and obstructed the sight of all creatures. And beholding that mighty host abounding in elephants, horses and chariots, and protected by Karna and Duryodhana and Kripa and Santanu's son, and that intelligent and great bowman Drona." [completed]
Logic; no real amount is mentioned, just that its a massive army.

Possibility of other nations (besides trigarta/prasthala) supporting hastinapore in this war.
4 character's (most likely not relatives of kaurava royalty);
"Those mighty car-warriors, Chitrasena and Sangramajit and Satrusaha and Jaya, desirous of aiding Karna, rushed with arrows and long shafts, towards the advancing hero of Bharata's race. Then that foremost of men, inflamed with wrath, began to consume by means of fiery arrows shot from his bow, that array of cars belonging to those bulls among the Kurus, like a tremendous conflagration consuming a forest."
Evidence of their death's;
"Then the warriors that followed the son of Radha rushed in crowds at Arjuna, but Partha sent them all to the abode of Yama by means of arrows shot from the Gandiva."
[end]
Logic - it is entirely possible because maybe the kauravas wanted to fight a war without risking their own resources, they would rather ask other kingdoms (which they formerly conquered) to provide soldiers that they can lead into battle so hastinapore's army remains alive/unharmed and never decreased in size. Like how the british emprie made use of Indian sepoys.

MY CLAIM - i think their were at minimum 240,000 soldiers that were following the kauravas here, i do not believe their was more than that.

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Suyodhana final-respect-thread

The post here will be about more than just his combative talent as a fighter, it will also be about his lifetime accomplishments outside of the battlefield.
BEGIN
Duryodhan's hunting skill.
(Quote)
"The king, attended by all his followers, began also to slay hyenas and buffaloes and deer and gayals and bears and boars all around. And the king, piercing by his shafts those animals by thousands in deep forest, caused the deer to be caught in the more delightful parts of the woods."
(End).
Logic - the king here is duryodhan he fired a thousand arrows on a thousand animal's without getting fatigued himself.
Physical strength of Duryodhan.
[start]
"My son who was struck down possessed the strength of 10,000 elephants. In manhood's prime and possessed of an adamantine frame, he was not capable of being slain by any creature."
[end]
Logic; this could just be an exaggeration as its regular to praise a warrior after their death. But if taken literally then this confirms he has better physical strength than Bhishma pitamaha.
=
Suyodhan vs 13 warrior's:
[Quote]
Duryodhana pierced Bhimasena with ten arrows and each of the twins with three and king Yudhishthira with seven. And he pierced Virata and Drupada with six arrows, and Sikhandin with a hundred. And piercing Dhrishtadyumna with twenty arrows, he struck each of the five sons of Draupadi with three arrows. With his fierce shafts he cut off hundreds of other combatants in that battle, including elephants and car-warriors, like the Destroyer himself in wrath exterminating creatures."
"In consequence of his skill cultured by practice and of the power of his weapons, he seemed, as he was engaged in striking down his foes, to bend his bow incessantly drawn to a circle whether when aiming or letting off his shafts. Indeed, that formidable bow of his, the back of whose staff was decked with gold, was seen by people to be drawn into a perpetual circle as he was employed in slaying his enemies."
"Then king Yudhishthira, with a couple of broad-headed shafts, cut off the bow of thy son, O thou of Kuru's race, as the latter struggled in fight. And Yudhishthira also pierced him deeply with ten excellent and foremost of shafts. Those arrows, however, touching the armour of Duryodhana, quickly broke into pieces. Then the Parthas, filled with delight surrounded Yudhishthira."
Basic's - With due respect ramayan's lead protagonist Raam never had to fight off a group attack of more than six warriors, but here duryodhan handled more than double that number.
=
Duryodhan's later achievements.
17th afternoon.
[quote]
"When his army was thus broken, the Kuru king, O monarch, rushed against both friends and foes. Then Duryodhana challenged all the Pandavas to battle, O chief of Bharata's race, like the Asura Vali in days of yore challenging all the celestials. The Pandavas then, uniting together and filled with rage, upbraiding him repeatedly and shooting diverse weapons, rushed against the roaring Duryodhana. The latter, however, fearlessly smote his foes with shafts. The prowess that we then saw of thy son was exceedingly wonderful, since all the Pandavas together were unable to transgress him. At this time Duryodhana beheld, staying at a little distance from him, his troops, exceedingly mangled with shafts, and prepared to fly away. Rallying them then, O monarch, thy son, resolved on battle and desirous of gladdening them, addressed those warriors."
[end]
Logic - he only checked them but did not defeat any of them. After this Duryodhan went to go rally his forces. His retreat can be termed as a possible loss for him.
Most likely the other four pandavas were mild and only bhima used his full might against him cause duryodhan was his target.
=
Accolades for Suyodhana.
Quote;
"Who also can encounter Duryodhana in battle except Krishna, the son of Devaki, and Kripa, the son of Saradwan? Who also can overthrow in battle Salya, that first of mighty warriors, except the hero Valadeva or Vrikodara, the son of Pandu, or the heroic Duryodhana? Let us, therefore, desist from this fight with the Brahmanas."
Note: suyodhan was considered a elite.
Possibly due to mention of krishna here this's a hint that in a former incident duryodhan had a fight with krishna where krishna defeated him, likely a incident where jarasandha invades mathura.

But it is not made clear who he was fighting in the swayamvara, only tv serial's will portray it as a bheem vs duryodhan showdown when in truth bheem only dueled shalya nobody else, so the opponent of duryodhan remained unknown.
=
Kunti feared his potential.
(Quote)
"Meanwhile Kunti seeing that her sons were late in returning from their eleemosynary round, was filled with anxiety. She began to think of various evils having overtaken her sons. At one time she thought that the sons of Dhritarashtra having recognized her sons had slain them."
(End)
Logic - she knew duryodhan was capable, she feared him but she never had fear of karna or the other monarchs in the swayamvara.

14th day:
"Behold, O Dhananjaya, this Suyodhana who hath transgressed us! I regard this as highly wonderful. There is no car-warrior equal to him. His arrows are far-reaching. He is a great bowman. Accomplished as he is in weapons, it is exceedingly difficult to vanquish him in battle. The mighty son of Dhritarashtra strikes hard, and is conversant with all modes of warfare. Brought up in great luxury, he is much regarded by even the foremost of car-warriors. He is well-accomplished, and, O Partha, he always hates the Pandavas. For these reasons, O sinless one, I think, thou shouldst now fight with him. Upon him resteth, as upon a stake at dice, victory or the reverse."
=
Why he is a good human being/character.
He respected elderly people;
[quote]
"Duryodhana and other heroes, attired in robes dyed in yellow, formerly used, O king, to wait reverentially, with joined hands, on those old counsellors."
[ending]

He believed in fair play.
[quote]
"How will Gandhari endure such poignant grief, after she hears her son, who always fought fairly, slain unfairly by us?"
[ending]
Note - if you remove the incident with abhimanyu (which was done out of vengeance for laxman) then Suyodhan was a fair warrior.

Even when he did group attacks against other enemies then duryodhan did not aim for dealing a killing blow which is why Bhima survived a group attack of duryodhan.
=
Speech to Gavalgana's boy;
[begin]
"I have performed sacrifices, supported a large number of servants properly, governed the whole earth with her seas! I stayed on the heads of my living foes! I gave wealth to my kinsmen to the extent of my abilities, and I did what was agreeable to friends. I withstood all my foes. Who is there that is more fortunate than myself? I have made progresses through hostile kingdoms and commanded kings as slaves. I have acted handsomely towards all I loved and liked. Who is there more fortunate than myself? I honoured all my kinsmen and attended to the welfare of all my dependants. I have attended to the three ends of human existence, Religion, Profit, and Pleasure! Who is there more fortunate than myself? I laid my commands on great kings, and honour, unattainable by others, was mine, I always made my journeys on the very best of steeds. Who is there more fortunate than myself? I studied the Vedas and made gifts according to the ordinance. My life has passed in happiness. By observance of the duties of my own order, I have earned many regions of blessedness hereafter. Who is there more fortunate than myself? By good luck, I have not been vanquished in battle and subjected to the necessity of serving my foes as masters."
[end]
Logic - he lived a more honorable, better & noble life compared to bhishma, ganga, renuka, ahalya, hanuman, parshurama & karna.
=
Military Career;
{quote}
"Up to this day I have never been vanquished in fair fight on the field of battle! If you vanquish me by deceit, your infamy will certainly last for ever! That act of yours will, without doubt, be unrighteous and infamous!"
{done}
Suyodhan did win wars.
"I have conquered foreign kingdoms."
Logic - these wars and battle's were off screen conflicts not described or elaborated upon by the authors (Vaisampayana, Souti and Vyasa).

Yudisthir praised him:
"All men speak of thee in assemblies as a hero."
[end]

Stamina of bhagvan Duryodhan:
[quote]
"Standing in battle like a very lion, Duryodhana had no fear, no alarm, no pain, no anxiety."

Earth trembled from the lamentation of Suyodhan.
[begin]
"Thousands of men with eyes full of tears, fled away in all directions having heard these lamentations of the king. The whole Earth, with her forests & seas with mobile & immobile creatures, began to tremble violently & produce a loud noise. All the points of the compass became murky."
[completed]
Logic - fanclub's mention alot how Ravan's cries of pain (when the fake incident of kailash parvat or shivas toe happened) shook & trembled the universe but here authentic evidence has proven that Suyodhana's mere action in a moment where he is hurt can shake the whole planet by force.
=
Suyodhana's durability.
[Proof]
"Dhritarashtra's son, that foremost of heroes among the Kurus, recovering his senses, saw the son of Pritha."
Note - in virat war he was the first among arjuna's victims to recover, he got back to his senses before Guru Drona, karna, ashwathama, kripacharya etc.
=
What Suyodhana did AFTER Narayan Astra failed.
[begin]
"Perceiving partha staying on the field, thy son looking at his own army running away, rallied them with great courage. Having caused his divisions to take up their stand, thy son, O Bharata, relying on the might of his arms, fought for a long time with his foes, the Pandavas, who, having gained their end, were filled with joy and had been struggling for hours together. On the approach there of the evening twilight, he caused the troops to be withdrawn."
[done]
Note - this's from the 15th afternoon or close to the fifteenth night. The quote proves after drona's death suyodhan was brave enough to challenge all his enemies.

Apsaras found Suyodhan ATTRACTIVE not karna, hanuman or parshurama.
Quote;
"Upon the commencement of that passage-at-arms, various beings, with the gods, came there accompanied by the Apsaras, for beholding those foremost of men. Filled with joy, the Apsaras began to cover those foremost of men devoted to the duties of their order, with celestial garlands, with diverse kinds of celestial perfumes, and with diverse species of gems. Soft winds bore those excellent odours to the nostrils of all the foremost of warriors. Having smelt those perfumes in consequence of the action of the wind, the warriors once more engaged in battle, and striking one another began to fall down on the Earth."
=
Proof Duryodhan was considered a positive monarch.
Quote:
"The whole city, O tiger among men, including the very children, hearing of Duryodhana's death, sent forth notes of lamentation from every side."
Comment - one can say that children are ignorant/poor judges of character, but a mahabharat reader can not ignore that many adult's existed who held positive outlooks and views about Shri Duryodhan. It clearly says 'the WHOLE city' and that includes more than just widow's/orphans.

Suyodhan valued people's lives so he tried warning the human beings of madra nation from picking a fight with pandava emperor yudisther.
[begin]
Duryodhana riding upon an elephant gigantic as a hill, with an umbrella held over his head, and fanned the while with yak-tails, forbade the Madraka warriors, saying, "Do not proceed, Do not proceed!" Though repeatedly forbidden by Duryodhana, those heroes, desirous of slaying Yudhishthira, penetrated into the Pandava host. Those brave combatants, loyal to Duryodhana, twanging their bows loudly, fought with the Pandavas.
Another quote;
"Beholding, however, the heroic Pandavas, the brave warriors of thy army, O Bharata, though forbidden by thy son, still rushed against them. Duryodhana, speaking softly, sought to prevent those warriors from fighting with the foe. No great car-warrior, however, amongst them obeyed his behest."
Logic - their'd be more peace, less bloodshed, widow's and orphans if Duryodhan was the reigning monarch of our planet Earth.

Suyodhan's talent;
"Duryodhana stayeth in the midst of his cavalry, with the umbrella held over his head and himself flinging his glances all around! Having rearrayed the (remnant of his) army, he stayeth in the midst of his forces."
Point - he knew how organizing a army is done right, he arranged the final vyuha.

Duryodhan killed a fraction of the pandav army.
[Quote]
"Having slain a large number of thy troops in battle, the son of Dhritarashtra wears a proud aspect as if he believes that the Pandavas have been vanquished!"
Logic - one fraction of their army was bigger than double the number of homicides that Parshurama was involved in.

Cross-reference for his achievement;
"The forces of the Pandavas also, O Duryodhana, have all been slain by thee!"

Last segment of post:
Unknown secret's of Shri Suyodhana's family.
He had 2 son's or more than that.
Quote 1: "Wait, ye Pandavas! Like the sun destroying by his energy the light of all stars at dawn, I shall today, though weaponless and carless, destroy all of you possessed of cars and steeds! Today I shall free myself from the debt I owe to the many illustrious Kshatriyas (that have fallen for me), to Bahlika, the heroic Jayadratha and Bhagadatta, to Shalya the ruler of the Madras and Bhurishrava, to my sons." https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09032.htm
Quote 2: "Duryodhana, with his sons, brothers and kinsmen, was much to be pitied inasmuch as, moved by wrath, he made war with Hari and the wielder of Gandiva." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13b113.htm
Quote 3; "I tell thee truly and swear by the good acts I have performed, by the prowess I possess and by my sons, that slaying all the Panchalas with the Pandavas, I shall obtain peace of mind, or slain by them in battle I shall repair to those regions whither those allies of mine have gone."

Quote 4; "After having caused and witnessed the slaughter of thy sons and brothers and sires and relatives and friends and maternal uncles and kinsmen?"
Quote 5; "Having caused friends such as I had to be slain and even sons and brothers and sires, and seeing my kingdom wrested by you." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09031.htm

Quote 6: "Today I shall free myself from the debt I owe to the many illustrious Kshatriyas and to my sons, O chief of Bharata's race." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09032.htm
Quote 7; "Thy heroic brothers, as also thy sons, with all thy troops, have been slain! Other kings also, possessed of heroism, and never retreating from battle, have been slain." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09033.htm
=
Proof Duryodhan had more than 1 wife (so he was not a monogamist).
Quote 1: "O Karna, proceeding to the city of Kasi, alone with thy bow, thou hadst crushed the kings in battle for procuring a bride for the Kuru king!"
Basic's - this's one that can be considered shameful because this female was a long distant cousin of his own.
Quote 2:
"Duryodhana, however, of Kuru's race, could not tolerate that rejection of himself. Disregarding all the kings, he commanded the maiden to stop."
Duryodhan was married to Balram's daughter;
{begin} "I will not go near Duryodhana; or how, siding with the Pāṇḍavas, shall I slay king Duryodhana, my royal son-in-law and disciple? Therefore I will go neither to Arjuna nor to king Duryodhana."{end}
Logic - its entirely a possibility that balram gave away his daughter to suyodhan after being thrashed by him cause balram was a very weak warrior according to sanatan dharma.

Cross references indicating he had at minimum 2 wives.
1st: "O, why also hath Suyodhana with his wives been thus punished?"
2nd; "Here is king Duryodhana, the son of Dhritarashtra, who with his younger brothers and friends and wives is being led away a captive by the Gandharvas along the sky. Blest be ye. Liberate the king along with the women of the royal household!" https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03246.htm
3rd; "Then the protectors of the ladies, placing the wives of the king, as also those of his brothers, on vehicles, fled away in fear." https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09029.htm

Saturday, April 12, 2025

Which TV serial did the most justice to Arjuna's power?

Introduction - A easy answer could be BR Chopra's because hes the only one who did justice to virat yudh, while other tv serials barely came close, but a more keen look will tell a different story on which serial did true justice. So its possible that chopra will not be seen as the best.

The 7 serials i am considering:
Sanjay Khan's Jai Mahabharat (2001) & Maharathi Karna (2003).
Chopra's Mahabharat (1988).
Sagar's shri krishna series (1993).
Sony TV's suryaputr karn tv serial.
Karn Sangini - Kinshuk Vaidya was the guy who portrayed arjuna.

Jai hanuman was released in 1997, even for a little while it did focus on Mahabharat, they began with van parva & ended with kurukshetra, so i am counting it because they show arjuna fighting multiple times their.
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Why Starplus Mahabharat failed to do justice?
Answer - Because they showed arjuna losing to bhishma, even if arjuna is clearly holding back still i do not accept this. It was clearly unfair biased handling and writing. They showed that even when arjuna had his four brothers doing a group attack he would fail to win against bhishma.

So starplus mahabharat will not be considered as a option here. I will also exclude the 'Radha Krishna' tv serial aswell. And ekta kapoor too since she had not given arjuna enough scenes.

My GOAL in this post will be to answer which the question of which show did the most justice to his power, which tv serial made him the most capable? The first show i am discussing will be the one with hanuman's name in the title.
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JH - shows that he overpowered Karna before the curses kicked in (chariot wheel getting stuck):
Arjuna disarmed the kirata (Shiva in disguise):
They also showed that arjuna's arrow bridge could not be broken by hanumaan. But i will not provide a gif regarding that last achievement.

Explanation - The problem with his last 2 achievements is that they were done cause the characters were holding back, hanuman did not want arjuna to feel bad so he decided to not use his full power against that bridge of arrows. And shiva was dominating arjuna until hanuman appealed in front of him (with folded hands) to be mild which is why arjuna succeeded in disarming him their.

Apart from these 3 their's no achievement of arjuna in JH that is worth noting. Though the karna one was a fair achievement. Their were no defeats of Arjuna shown in JH because it was not focused on Mahabharat as the main/sole topic, and the character of arjuna did not have as many appearances as hanumana did. So JH's arjuna enjoys the factor of being the only one that never loses.
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Sanjay Khans Mahabharat (2001):
They showed him losing to Bhishma once.
GIF
However they also showed him defeating bhishma in virat yudh. So i guess it's balanced out.
They always portrayed him better than karna so no point in elaborating on that.

For Guru Drona their is one time where they show drona overpowering arjuna even if it is by just 1 percentage (on day 12). It looks like drona was holding back or arjuna was holding back too, its upto the interpretation of the audience but a cross reference existed in the show of Duryodhan claiming that their were many times where drona could have slayed arjuna but choose to not do so.
GIF
Conclusion - my opinion is that drona overpowers Arjuna here but he does not defeat arjuna. Because arjuna did not get injured or tossed off his chariot here. Though the bow he wielded fell from his grip so it does look bad for him on screen.
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SPK arjuna;
Had vaishnavastra, brahmastra & pashupatastra.
Also had fake astras (never shown in the book) like andhkar astra (used in rangbhoomi), and the bhaya astra (used to create fear).

The special astras they made him use in war itself, at day 2 he uses a illusionary type weapon which tricks ashwathama/duhsasana into fighting eachother. At day 14 he used nagastra on jayadrath.

His achievements without astras:
Rangbhoomi - built a throne of arrows for yudisther.
Guru Dakshina - cut off Drupad's bow.
Day 11 - injured karna in the stomach.
Kills a driver of Bhishma on day 2 of Kurukshetra Yudh;
Unarmed comparison with karna.
Karna (despite having kavach kundal) gets overpowered by Suyodhan:
Arjuna (on day 14) literally one shot's Suyodhan by throwing him back:
According to this tv serial duryodhan was also better than bheem with a mace (yet inferior to drupada) and bheem outmatched karna once in the same show. Using ABC logic arjun's achievement puts him far above karna (gautam rode).
Source - Ep 266 of spk
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KarnSangini;
They showed arjuna's variety as he defeated king Drupada by wrestling rather than the redundant style of archery.
Arjuna overpowers Karna himself in a fight (after tournament before lakshagrah):
[Gif]
Source - episode 11 of karn sangini.
No incident of Karna (aashim gulati) overpowering Arjuna existed in KarnSangini.
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Anti feats of arjuna khan [chopras arjun];
Loss to yudisther in tournament.
{gif that proved it}
Source - chopra's 24th episode.
The loss to yudisther brings chopra's arjun down alot.
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My opinion of 2 incidents which occur in the serial of Chopra:
Episode 84 - arjuna fought Drona & then avoids him.
Ep 88 - duhsasana dies, karna supposedly spared Arjuna.

My analysis; the drona fight cant be seen as a bad performance or a loss because arjuna was still able to destroy the chariot of drona & he only begins to run away from drona after drona switched chariots by taking another. Though arjuna did not win & drona did not lose still he overpowered him by destroying his chariot once.

Gif that proves it.
The 88th episode incident is what i consider the true anti-feat/embarrassment. But i have a semi counter to this one. My counterargument is that the fight began as arjuna dominating karna by injuring him with 3 arrows while karna pulled those out of his limbs & only started to gain a upperhand once he fired the snake weapon. After that arjuna doesnt fight in a calm, cool or collected manner instead he began shooting arrows recklessly which couldnt touch karna.
So Karna is able to then wound him with 2 arrows & use another arrow to pierce his gandiva bow in a way where its basically stuck on the chariot's axle.

Based on who injured who more its 3-2 a scoreboard in favor of arjuna, but based on the arrow attacks of karna (cutting crown, getting gandiva stuck) he would get 2 additional points making it 4 to 3 in favor of karna. The point i am making is that this was only possible due to arjuna losing self control over his emotions and still it was a very close match between both of them.

Even if the 16th day incident is a win for Karna then it can be rendered irrelevant because of the number of incidents where arjun defeated karna in that same show:
1st - swayamvara duel
2nd & 3rd - matsya battle
4th - sammohan astra
5th - day eleven
6th - day fourteen
All six duels were fair fights. Basically arjuna wins 6 fights karna won 1 fight, its 85 percent in arjuna's favor only not karnas.
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Maharathi Karna serial;
Over here the issue is it was a incomplete show and that arjuna really only had 3 action scenes, one was the incident of him capturing droopad:
Logic - this matters cause in this tv serials continuity droopad was a student of Parshuram like bhishma, drona & karna.
The 2nd incident was a duel against Karna which ends in a draw.
The 3rd is a duel against a Yaksha where he does win;
Logic - its possible that yaksha was Angaraparna (whose a gandharv warrior in adi parva) but his identity is upto speculation because it hasnt been mentioned what his name is.
Chopra's never shown a battle where arjuna fought a character that is deva, yaksh or gandharv, so when it comes to the VARIETY of enemies then MK did a slightly better job.
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Shri Krishna serial (1993).
I know their exists a incident where he killed bhishma, drona & suyodhana but what the audience doesnt realize is that it was a dream sequence, which was filled with internal thought's in arjuna's own mind, it was apart of the bhagavad geeta segement of this tv show. It does not count as an achievement here.

Sandeep Mohan was immune to fire-damage:
Arjuna kills Bhayasur (after subhadra-vivaha pre dice game);
Arjuna overpowered Bhishma (ep 163):
LogicalQuestion - who was more wounded afterward's?
Answer: its clearly bhishma who was in a worse condition after that fight.
Arjuna defeated guru Drona (ep 164);
Bonus - it's the only tv serial which knew theirs a difference between Brahmasheer & Brahmastra so they gave Sandeep Mohan the honor of being the only arjuna actor to possess the brahmashir astra.
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Difference between the representations of virat yudh.
Sagar's Shri Krishna - their are many cross references of it taking place but no presentation it was never shown on screen, also its implied only karna/kouravas participated no involvement of kripa, drona or bhishma or even ashwathama is mentioned.
Sanjay Khan's Jai Mahabharat - here they've shown that the battle happens onscreen but their was no sammohan astra, instead of beating karna twice they show arjuna defeated karna only once not twice, same with all other enemies.
And kripacharya was absent, one more difference is that they showed the army of matsya accompanying arjuna in the war, so the army of hastinapore fought matsya desh's army at the same time when arjuna was dueling the kaurav warriors.
Chopra's Mahabharat version does not need a introduction but its clear that chopra did the best work when it comes to virat yudh alone but this post is not meant to be specifically limited to just virat yudh only, its about arjuns power so all other things should be taken into account too.

Besides these 3 TV series none bothered to highlight or give attention to virat yudh except for SPK their they allow drona to lose against Arjuna but they do not allow karna to lose legitimately instead they make karna surrender to arjuna out of a vow to Kunti mata. While bhishma's character is white washed as not even fighting in the war yet being their to witness the battle.
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CONCLUSION; If its just about virat yudh then i believe that Chopra did the best work, if its about a win/loss ratio then JH did the best job cause their arjuna never loses, but if you consider the amount of different astras they show him using then SPK did the best job.
Cause in spk they gave arjuna the nagastra, vaishnav astra, tvashtrastra, brahmastra & pashupatastra. Along with fan made weapons like bhayastra/chakravaan astra.
He just didn't have brahmashir astra but sagar's arjuna (sandeep mohan) did have it. Sandeep Mohan did not use the same number of astras that navi bhangu did. A good thing about both of them is that they never lose to yudisther.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Curses [in epic's] do not work

The point of this post is to prove that curses do not have the power to change an outcome, reality or to affect a characters life. That curses were just words uttered out of frustration but no curse actually works. I will focus on 4 curses and explain how exactly they each failed.

Example 1 is from the ramayana era
Kuber cursed Ravan;
[Start]
Vaisravana cursed him, saying "This chariot shall never carry thee; it shall bear him who will slay thee in battle! And as thou hast insulted me, thy elder brother, thou shalt soon die!"
[End]
He overcame/counters the curse:
"Reaching his brother's house and entering the inner apartment, Kumbhakarna saw his worried brother sitting in Pushpaka, a self-moving aerial car."

Ravan mastered pushpakha;
Quote 1: "Then you promptly emplane this sky-flying chariot which is yoked with ghost-faced mules and adorned with gems along with me." Quote 2: Tataka's son Maareecha said "All right" to Ravana, and then both Ravana and Maareecha mounted the chariot as they would emplane an aircraft and swiftly journeyed from the surroundings of Maareecha's hermitage
Logic - the curse failed as Ravan ended up riding this vimana either way. Yes it did carry his killer (Rama son of Dashrath) later, but Kuber said that it would NEVER carry Ravan, yet it still clearly did.
2nd incident.
This depends on if the Punjiksthala crime happened first or if the rape of Rambha happened before, either way the result is the same that a curse failed. Cause Ravan just went onto commit the same crime he was cursed for earlier.

Shree Ravana speaks with MahaParshva [begin] "From today onwards, if you revel with any other woman forcibly, your head then undoubtedly will break asunder into a hundred pieces. Fearing the curse given in this manner by Brahama, I am not violently making Sita the daughter of Videha, to mount on my beautiful bed forcibly." {enD}

What did hanutati observe?
Passage; "Hanuma best among Vanaras, tiger among Vanaras, moving about saw Rakshas women, those who were sleeping near to Ravana."
Logic - Most likely they were not his daughter's but if they are not spouses they would be his daughter's if they are spouses then that means either they gave him consent or he raped them cause the curse of Brahma did not work.

Secondary curse that ravan faces;
"Since, despite your lack of love for him, he ravished you thus brutally, O Blessed One, on this account he will never be able to approach another youthful woman unless she shares his love; if, carried away by lust, he does violence to any woman who does not love him, his head will split into seven pieces."
How my point has been proven?
Answer - the curse of rambha's mate (nalkuver) proves my point because both of them negate the other, if brahma cursed ravan (due to rape of punjiksthala) that means the curse of nalkuver failed cause ravan rapes punjiksthala right afterwards. If the ramba incident happened after punjiksthala then again my point is proven cause that shows the curse of brahma failed to protect Rambha or harm Ravan.

Only way the curses could make sense is if nalkuvera's curse was only if Ravan targeted younger woman, so possibly punjiksthala was a elderly female. Other than that i dont see anyway it could make sense or my claims could be proven wrong.
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Example 3 - Gautam's curse on Indra fails it was during the pre ramayana era.
[Quote]
The well-behaved Gautama furiously spoke these words on seeing the ill-behaved Thousand-eyed Indra who is donning the guise of a saint "Oh, dirty-minded Indra, taking hold of my form you have effectuated this unacceptable deed, whereby you shall become infecund." Thus, Gautama cursed Indra. When that great-souled sage Gautama spoke that way with rancour, the testicles of the cursed Thousand-eyed Indra fell down onto ground at that very moment.
Logic: the word 'infecund' means sterile, basically unable to impregnate a woman, yet Indra was the biological father of arjuna & vali. I assume the curse happened after the birth of Jayanta (his other son) but clearly indra had at minimum three sons together.

Indra became a daddy again; "Kunti, thus addressed by her lord, invoked Sakra (the king of the gods) who thereupon came unto her and begat him that was afterwards called Arjuna. And as soon as this child was born, an incorporeal voice, loud and deep as that of the clouds and."
Logic - obviously gautams curse failed.
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Example four.
Background - Its well known that fans of chutiya karna try to bring up parshuram's curse as an excuse for why fudhu karna failed in one battle in his life.
Quote for the curse;
"Since thou art not a Brahmana, truly this Brahma weapon shall not, up to the time of thy death, dwell in thee when thou shalt be engaged with a warrior equal to thyself!" http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12a003.htm
Evidence that it failed:
"Steadying himself by a powerful effort he invoked the brahmastra." https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08090.htm
"Karna, invoking the brahmastra, showered his shafts upon Dhananjaya and once more made an effort to extricate his chariot" https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08091.htm
Logic - this clearly supports my theory/claim that curses dont actually work they never become true.
Hopefully most people that read this get it now that curses fail more often than not. I agree their are rare cases where curses could work but most of the time they failed.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

Mace fighters of Mahabharat

This post shall detail all the mace fighters of the mahabharata except for Sahadeva/Sakuni, their is a incident where sakuni used the mace against Sahadeva on day 11, but clearly sakuni was not among the top ten. Drona trained many mace fighters even though he has the club of parshuram himself drona did not use it instead all he does is use a normal mace in day 14.
I shall also discuss the duryodhana vs bhima fight, a long time ago i made an elaborate post on it - https://logicastra.blogspot.com/2019/01/duryodhana-vs-bhima-analysis.html
But i did not discuss the five other points i desire to bring up regarding that fight and who was better than who. I also ignorantly considered bori ce to be a authentic source. I will not include balram cause i do not view him as a good warrior by anymeans.
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The variety of technique's it was used for:
[begins]
"The monarch was endued with wonderful prowess and a physical frame hard as the thunderbolt, so that he could, taking up the mountain Mandara with its forests and bushes, support it on his arms. And he was well-skilled in four kinds of encounters with the mace (hurling it at foes at a distance, striking at those that are near, whirling it in the midst of many, and driving the foe before)."
[end]
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Chekitan:
"The foremost of all wielders of the mace, Chekitana, with that hero-slaying mace of his, slew the steeds of Gautama and then felled his charioteer. Then Gautama, standing on the ground, shot sixteen arrows at Chekitana. Those arrows, piercing through that hero of the Satwata race, entered the earth. Thereat, Chekitana excited with rage, once more hurled his mace, desirous of slaying Gautama, like Purandara desirous of slaying Vritra. Then Gautama with many thousands of arrows checked that huge mace, endued with the strength of adamant, that was coursing towards him."
Logic - its impressive that he mustered the willpower to throw a mace at kripa despite having 16 arrows cut right over the skin of his chest. Especially when overrated hanuman was beaten down by just 10 arrows in yuddh kanda by meghanada.

Citra (kaurav warrior)
Quote; "Beholding that dart baffled, Citra, taking up a huge mace decked with a net-work of gold, hurled it at Prativindhya. That mace slew the latter's steeds and driver also in that great battle, and crushing, besides, his car, fell with great impetuosity on the Earth."
Logic - this citra character was not a son of dhritrashtra, but he was an ally of the kauravas.

Dresthadyumna's achievements.
He killed Karna’s horses with a mace; 'Then the valiant Dhrishtadyumna, deprived of car, steeds, and driver, quickly jumped down from his car and took up a mace. Though struck all the while with straight shafts by Karna, the Panchala prince, approaching Karna, slew the four steeds of the latter.'
He killed the elephant of Salwa (Mleccha king) on the 18th day; "The brave Pancala king then, taking up his mace which resembled the lofty crest of a mountain, appeared there. Fearlessly, O king, that hero, that smiter of foes, rushed with speed against the elephant. Endued with great activity, the prince of the Pancalas approached and began to strike with his mace that animal which was huge as a hill and which shed its secretions like a mighty mass of pouring clouds. Its frontal globes suddenly split open, and it uttered a loud cry; and vomiting a profuse quantity of blood, the animal, huge as a hill, suddenly fell down, even as a mountain falling down during an earthquake.
Conclusion: This may not be adequate to give him elite status but he still achieved more than karna did with a mace.
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The incidents where fudhu karna uses a mace in his gandu zindagi.
14th day; "Karna alighted from his car and taking up a mace in that battle wrathfully hurled it at Bhima. Beholding that mace, O king, impetuously coursing towards him, Vrikodara resisted it with his arrows in the sight of all thy troops."
15th day
[begin]
"Then the valiant son of Radha, taking up a mace, hurled it at Bhima's car. Bhima, however, broke it with the mace of his own."
Besides this their was no incident where he used one.

Overall the only thing Karna knows how to do with a mace is toss it like it's a spear or dart or basket ball, he never demonstrated the ability of using it in a two handed manner or in a close distance fight in close quarters.
Satyaki took up a club for ending the zindagi of Drestadyumna
[quotE]
With rage his eyes assumed the hue of copper. Keeping his bow then upon his car, he grasped his mace, sighing like a Snake. Rushing, then, towards the prince of the Panchalas, he said unto him in great wrath "I will not speak harshly to thee, but I will slay thee, deserving as thou art of slaughter." Seeing the mighty Satyaki rushing, from wrath and desire of revenge, at the Panchala prince, like Yama against one like his own self, the mighty Bhima, urged by Vasudeva, quickly jumped down from his car and seized him with his arms.
[End]
Logic - he would not own a mace if he did not have skill in its usage.

Compared to the incident where Karna tried to use a mace on Shalya;
"If, O ruler of the Madras, thou speakest such words again, I shall then crush thy head with my mace that is as hard as the thunder."
Comment - but here he did not rush toward shalya or get on his feet for walking closer to attack him so its not the same as Satyaki's action. Also satyaki was a more consistent fighter compared to karna so karna is inferior as a gada dhaari compared to satyaki. Another important fact is that karna's threat was baseless cause his threat clearly was not a honest threat, instead when shalya spoke words again all karna did was engage in a verbal conversation.
He believed words are more fatal than weapons, unlike satyaki who believed actions speak louder than words.

Satyaki's attempt:
[start] "The mighty car-warrior Satyaki, excited with wrath, laid aside that, taking up a huge mace, hurled it at the son of Bharadwaja. Drona, however, with many arrows of diverse forms, resisted that mace, made of iron and twined round with strings, as it coursed impetuously towards him."
Skill's of Jarasandha.
Jarasandha could hurl objects across the distance of 99 yojanas: "At that time Krishna of wonderful deeds was residing at Mathura. The handsome mace hurled by Jarasandha fell near Mathura at a distance of ninety-nine yojanas from Gririvraja The citizens beholding the circumstance well, went unto Krishna and informed him of the fall of the mace. The place where the mace fell is adjacent to Mathura and is called Gadavasan."
Logic; if jarasandha had existed in the ramayan era then nobody would rely on hanuman to cross the ocean that leads to lanka, instead jarasandha could throw a vanara to lanka easily.

Its even implied that if their was a mace fight between them than Jarasandha would've dominated/beaten Vrikodar Bhima.
Quote;
"Deprived of his mace in that great battle, Jarasandha was afterwards slain by Bhimasena in thy presence, O Dhananjaya. If the valiant Jarasandha had stood armed with his mace, the very gods with Indra at their head could not have slain him in battle."
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Arjuna's club combat skills:
[quote]
"And the mighty Drona also instructed Arjuna in fighting with the mace, the sword, the lance, the spear, and the dart." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01135.htm
[quote]
"Arjuna showed his profound skill in the use of sword, bow, and mace, walking over the lists in circles." https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m01/m01138.htm
He also had heavy maces in his chariot. So it makes sense for him to have a basic understanding of their usage.

Guru Drona's mace dueling ability:
[quote]
"And the mighty Drona also instructed Arjuna in fighting with the mace, the sword, the lance, the spear, and the dart."
Logic - He was clearly the man who trains Bhima, Duryodhan, Satyaki etc, so whatever achievement Bhima had (before getting training from Balram) could in theory be credited to Drona as well, possibly drona could also kill segments of the panchal army by using a mace.

Day 14;
"Drona, that grinder of Kshatriyas, throwing aside that broken bow, hurled with great force, O sire, a mace at the son of Dharma. Beholding that mace impetuously coursing towards him, Yudhishthira, O chastiser of foes, filled with rage, took up a mace."
"Then those two maces, both hurled with great force, encountering each other in mid-air, produced by their collision sparks of fire and then fell down on the earth."
Comment: This's the only time a warrior who is in the category of seniors/elders dared to toss a mace or club, drona never tries to do it before or after this moment. The other senior characters (Vahika, Bhishma, Somadatta) have never tried to toss a mace, they were all above Shalya in age.
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Abhimanyu the boss of mace wielders.

At the sight of Abhimanyu armed with a mace in his hands Aswathamman ran away;
"Beholding that mace upraised, which looked like the blazing thunderbolt, Aswatthaman, that tiger among men, rapidly alighted from his car and took three (long) leaps (for avoiding Abhimanyu). Killed Aswathamman's horses and charioteers."
Quote; 'Slaying Aswatthaman's steeds and two Parshni charioteers with that mace of his, Subhadra's son, pierced all over with arrows, looked like a porcupine.'

Knocked out the son of Dussasana: "Proceeding next towards the car of Duhsasana's son, he crushed the latter's car and steeds, pressing them down into the earth."
"Struck with the other's mace-ends fell down on the earth, like two uprooted standards erected to the honour of Indra."
Quote; Then that hero pressed Suvala's son, Kalikeya, down into the earth, and slew seven and seventy Gandhara followers of the latter.
Logic - Killed 77 Gandhara warriors and pressed down Kalikeya (brother of Sakuni as both are sons of Suvala)

Quote - Next, he slew ten car-warriors of the Brahma-Vasatiya race, and then ten huge elephants.
Logic; Slayed 10 Rathas & ten more Elephants.
Accolades dedicated to Abhimanyu;
Quote:
All those noble qualities that are in Krishna, all those that are in the Pandavas, all that assemblage of qualities was to be found in Abhimanyu alone. In firmness, he was equal to Yudhishthira, and in conduct to Krishna; in feats, he was the equal to Bhimasena of terrible deeds, in beauty of person, in prowess, and in knowledge of scriptures he was the equal to Dhananjaya. In humility, he was equal to Sahadeva and Nakula.
[End]
Logic: He had the qualities of all Pandavas and Krishna so it's possible he was equal to Bhima.

Got the bow of bhadwa Balram:
"That excellent and best of bows, called the Raudra, which Rohini's son (Valadeva) had obtained, the latter gave unto the high-souled son of Subhadra, having been gratified with him." http://sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07023.htm
Comment - possibly he might have defeated the clown balraam in a mace fight.

Overall he had more achievements than dresthadyumna, karna & even satyaki when it comes to mace combat.
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Susharma's skill with a mace - his power is underrated, he was 1 of the best mace duelists in MB.
Arjuna praised Susharma but never hanuman.
Quote:
The son of Kunti then, having come up to those kings that were protecting Bhishma, (first) addressed Susarman, O king, and said these words, 'I know thee to be foremost in battle, and a dire enemy (of ours) of old. Behold to-day the terrible fruit of that evil behaviour (of thine). I will today cause thee to visit the manes of thy ancestors.' That leader of car-divisions, Susarman, however, hearing these harsh words uttered by that slayer of foes Vibhatsu, told him nothing (in reply).
With just the help of 1 brother Susharma vanquished the full army of king Virat;
[Passage]
"Trigarta's lord, Susarman with his younger brother, and accompanied by all his cars, rushed towards the king of Matsya. And descending from their cars, those bulls among Kshatriyas, the (royal) brothers, mace in hand, rushed furiously towards the cars of the foe. And the hostile hosts fiercely assailed each other with maces and swords and scimitars, battle-axes and bearded darts with keen edges and points of excellent temper."
"And king Susarman, the lord of the Trigartas having by his energy oppressed and defeated the whole army of the Matsyas, impetuously rushed towards Virata himself endued with great energy. And the two brothers having severally slain Virata's two steeds and his charioteer, as also those soldiers that protected his rear, took him captive alive, when deprived of his car."
"Then afflicting him sorely, like a lustful man afflicting a defenceless damsel, Susarman placed Virata on his own car, and speedily rushed out of the field. And when the powerful Virata, deprived of his car, was taken captive, the Matsyas, harrassed solely by the Trigartas, began to flee in fear in all directions."
Size of his victims army; Elephants mounted by trained warriors skilled in fight, followed the king like unto moving hills. And the principal warriors of Matsya who cheerfully followed the king had eight thousand cars, a thousand elephants and sixty thousand horses. https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m04/m04031.htm
Total is 67 thousand not even Bhima ever did that.

Yudhisther's only mace fighting incident.
[begin]
"Beholding that mace impetuously coursing towards him, Yudhishthira, O chastiser of foes, filled with rage, took up a mace. Then those two maces, both hurled with great force, encountering each other in mid-air, produced by their collision sparks of fire and then fell down on the earth." https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m07/m07102.htm
Logic - since yudisther also granted suyodhan the option of picking his opponent in a mace fight i think its fair to claim that yudisther had at least above average skill in mace fighting. Though its also correct he was inferior to duryodhan, bhima, shalya etc.
Bhima vs Duryodhana.
In the rangbhoomi their was not a single fight between duryodhan and bheem, as they approached eachother it was shown they hated eachothers guts so before they could touch eachother Ashwathama restrained them both.
[Quote]
"Vrikodara and Suyodhana, internally delighted (at the prospect of fight), entered the arena, mace in hand, like two single-peaked mountains. And those mighty-armed warriors braced their loins, and summoning all their energy, roared like two infuriate elephants contending for a cow-elephant; and like two infuriated elephants those mighty heroes faultlessly (in consonance with the dictates of the science of arm) careered right and left, circling the lists. And Vidura described to Dhritarashtra and the mother of the Pandavas (Kunti) and Gandhari, all the feats of the princes."
Quote; Upon the Kuru king and Bhima, the foremost of all endued with strength, having entered the arena, the spectators were divided into two parties in consequence of the partiality swaying their affections. Some cried, 'Behold the heroic king of the Kurus!' some 'Behold Bhima!' And on account of these cries, there was, all on a sudden, a loud uproar.
And seeing the place become like a troubled ocean, the intelligent Bharadwaja said unto his dear son, Aswatthaman, 'Restrain both these mighty warriors so proficient in arms. Let not the ire of the assembly be provoked by this combat of Bhima and Duryodhana.' Vaisampayana continued, 'Then the son of the preceptor of the princes restrained those combatants with their maces uplifted and resembling two swollen oceans agitated by the winds that blow at the universal dissolution. And Drona himself entering the yard of the arena commanded the musicians to stop.

Key points ignored about the mace fight on day eighteen in Kurukshetra;
1 - Bheem had more difficulties than Duryodhan, his mace weighed 50 percent more. For example if duryodhans mace was 10 pounds then Bheems was 15 pounds it is much harder to swing that around, every move is taxing on your hands, muscles & causes a strain on your body. Wielding this type of object as a weapon is extremely difficult, so Bheem did not have the same comfort & speed that Duryodhan did it was due to a disadvantage of equipment.
2 - In the earlier portions of the day both characters (duryodhan and bheem) had archery battles though bheem had many more than duryodhan. Bheem suffered numberless wounds by the arrows of Shalya mostly, a few by Sakuni's bow, the kaurava princes that were still alive had hit bhima with arrows too and so did mlecch raaj Salwa. Duryodhan did not have to deal with such injuries and issues prior to the mace battle. Hundreds of arrows touched the body of bhima that day not duryodhana's body.
If duryodhan had suffered a single relevant injury then it was healed due to his action of immersing himself within the lake, which cooled, nourished & refreshed his body.
Logic - cold water helps decrease pain and make your body more alert.
Conclusion - Basically Duryodhan even if injured was more fresh than Bheem, he had not depleted much of his strength.

3 - Bhima had a mace battle with Shalya that caused not just shalya but even bhima to get unconscious, that takes a big toll on your body, brain & mind. Duryodhan did not go through this but Bhima did. All duryodhana did in the morning was kill Chekitana which is not comparable to killing a dozen or more kaurava princes or fighting with a warrior of Shalya's caliber (two actions done by Bhima that morning) so its obvious who was more active and who would be more drained.

4 - If Duryodhan truly had better skills with the mace then it does not make sense that Duryodhan would let so many of his brothers, friends, allies & commanders die in front of his eyes. He never thought of challenging anyone to a mace fight even after Jayadrathas death (a incident which made him really angry). He has never gone on foot leading an infantry like Bhima did, not even in battles before kurukshetra. According to Mahabharat bhima went down from his chariot & used a club to slaughter many elephants but Duryodhan failed to ever do the same.
5 - When Maitreya cursed Suyodhana, no member of Hastinapurs court mentioned that striking below the belt is a crime, a sin, a part of unethical warfare. Their was no big uproar, huge outburst made, no one claims that striking below the waist/belt is adharma or illegal when Bheem made his vow of breaking Duryodhan's thighs either. So this makes the incident suspicious, possibly it being considered a unfair move was a interpolation.
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1 of his most recent conflicts:
"The mighty Bhima, with his mace, crushed those 21,000 foot-soldiers who were without cars and steeds and elephants."
Logic - that was from the 18th day after shalya vadh, think how strained bhima would have been before fighting suyodhana.
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Other times where Bheem uses a mace (excluding his encounters with Duryodhan/Shalya).
Kaling Kumar's death:
"Bhimasena, staying on his car whose steeds had been slain, hurled at Sakradeva a mace made of the hardest iron. And slain by that mace, O king, the son of the ruler of the Kalingas, from his car, fell down on the ground, with his standard and charioteer. Then that mighty car-warrior, the king of the Kalingas beholding his own son slain, surrounded Bhima on all sides with many thousands of cars."
[End]
Killed over 2,700 opponents;
"That mighty warrior then took up his mace and jumped down (from his car) with great speed. 1 And Bhima then despatched seven hundred heroes to Yama's abode. And that grinder of foes despatched, in addition, two thousand Kalingas to the region of death. And that feat seemed highly wonderful. And it was thus that the heroic Bhima of terrible prowess repeatedly felled in battle large bands of the Kalingas. And elephants deprived by Pandu's son, in that battle, of their riders, and afflicted with arrows wandered on the field, treading down their own ranks and uttering loud roars like masses of clouds driven by the wind."

Day 14
{Quote}
"Bhima, with eyes red in wrath, hurled without a moment's reflection, at the Suta's son, a heavy six-sided mace, adorned with gold measuring full four cubits in length, and resembling the bolt of Indra in force. Indeed, like Indra slaying the Asuras with his thunderbolt, that hero of Bharata's race, excited with wrath, slew with that mace the well-trained steeds of the foremost breed, of Adhiratha's son."

15th day;
"So near were they that they could not easily shoot their shafts at each other. Thereupon, an encounter with maces happened. Bhimasena speedily broke with his mace the Kuvara of Karna's car. That feat of his, O king, seemed highly wonderful."
Day 15: "The valiant son of Radha, taking up a mace, hurled it at Bhima's car. Bhima, however, broke it with the mace of his own."
"Bhima, filled with rage, took up a mace and crushed the bow, standard, and driver of his antagonist in that encounter. The mighty Bhima also broke one of the wheels of Karna's car."
17th day;
"The mighty-armed Bhima of great strength, taking up a terrible parigha, twined round with hempen cords and decked with gold and resembling a second bludgeon of Death himself, and desiring to slay Karna outright, hurled it at him with a loud roar. Karna, however, with a number of arrows resembling snakes of virulent poison, cut off into many fragments that spiked mace as it coursed towards him."

Slaughtering pancala units:
"Bhima, mace in hand, first rushed towards the array of elephants in the hostile force, while Arjuna, proficient in battle, assailed that force with the prowess of his arms. And Bhima, like the great Destroyer himself, began to slay those elephants with his mace. Those huge animals, like unto mountains, struck with Bhima's mace, had their heads broken into pieces."
"Covered with stream of blood, they began to fall upon the ground like cliffs loosened by thunder. And the Pandavas prostrated on the ground elephants and horses and cars by thousands and slew many foot-soldiers and many car-warriors. Indeed, as a herdsman in the woods driveth before him with his staff countless cattle with ease, so did Vrikodara drive before him the chariots and elephants of the hostile force."
Though bheem is not the best fighter he was at least more active than duryodhan he used the mace much more often than he did.
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Accolades (related to bheems character).
Balarama's opinion; "There is not throughout the whole world a single soul who can boast of strength and prowess equal to his. And his body, alas! is emaciated with cold, and heat and winds. But when he will stand up for fight, he will not leave a single man out of his foes."
Bhishma's opinion;
'In an encounter with the mace or even with arrows, there is none equal to him. Endued with the strength of ten thousand elephants, and filled with pride, in energy he is superhuman.'

Conclusion: i do not respect or value the opinions of either of those 2 characters (bhishma/balram) but i know very well that those two are overrated by their fanclubs, so their opinions have been used in this post for supporting my claims of duryodhan being inferior to bhima.
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Shalya was a better club-fighter than Duryodhan:
I believe considering all things the performance of Shalya was better. He is more skilled, experienced, versatile and powerful as a mace fighter and complete warrior (skilled in all weapons) than Duryodhan. Bheem had 2 mace fights with Shalya & a wrestling encounter (swayamvara parva), but Duryodhan only had 1 mace battle against Bheem.
Even if duryodhan had better skill than Bhima he clearly was inferior when it came to intelligence. I would rate him as inferior to Shalya & Bhima both.
Despite being past his own physical prime and not having any divine background (no genetics of a devta) a pure human like Shalya is able to hold his own against a fresh Bheem & capably match him in a mace duel. Imagine how capable a prime Shalya would have been when he's younger and possesses better stamina/endurance?
Such is not the case with ganga's son Bhishma, he had a divine background and genetics of a devta, he also had semen retention, Shalya did not have such advantages, so you cant say bhishma was past his prime.
The past prime argument only works for characters like Vahika, Drupada, Somadatta & Shalya.
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Other mace warrior.
Samba's gadha achievement;
"The heroic Samva, of prowess incapable of being baffled, whirling a quickly-going mace, hurled it speedily at Vegavat! And, O king, struck with that mace, Vegavat fell down on the ground, like a weather-beaten and faded lord of the forest of decayed roots! And on that heroic Asura of mighty energy, being slain with the mace."
The top 9 mace warrior's (in no particular order) are Drona, Arjuna, Jarasandha, Bhima, Shalya, Duryodhan, Abhimanyu, Dresthadyumna. Susharma.
The tenth place spot can be given to both Chekitan & the son of Duhsasana. Cause karna is overrated & never had a mace duel while satyaki does not have enough achievements to reach the list this time.