Friday, February 28, 2025

Sword fighter's of thEpic.

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Claim - In my opinion the best sword fighter of that era was Dresthadyumna, not Nakula. But for the criteria of what needs to be considered a achievement (for swordsmanship & what shouldnt) my belief is that hurling, tossing or throwing a blade does not qualify as an achievement of swordsmanship. Since i already discussed the achievements and sword skills of Dresthadyumna in this post i will ignore his character for this post cause the objective is to focus on highlighting other swordsmen of Mahabharat instead of him.
If any reader is interested in Dresthadyumna's talent read this: https://logicastra.blogspot.com/2022/04/combat-feats-of-dhrishtadyumna.html
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Post begin's now.

Who the other swordsmen of Mahabharat were.
Jayadrath - Apart from his battle with abhimanyu on day 11 theirs no incident where Jayadratha used a blade at all.
Quote;
"The lances and axes and scimitars (hurled by his foes) Arjuna's son cut off by means of his sword or warded off by his shield. Thus showing unto all the warriors the strength of his own arms the mighty Abhimanyu, once more upraising his large and heavy sword as also his shield, proceeded towards Vriddhakshatra's son who was a sworn foe of his (Abhimanyu's) father, like a tiger proceeding against an elephant. Approaching they cheerfully attacked each other with their swords like a tiger and a lion with their claws and teeth. And none could notice any difference between those two lions among men as regards the whirl-strokes, and descent of their swords and shields. And as regards the descent and the whiz of their swords, and the warding off of each other's blows, it seemed there was no distinction between the two. Coursing, beautifully in outward and inward tracks, those two illustrious warriors seemed to be like two winged mountains."
"Then Jayadratha struck on the shield of the renowned Abhimanyu when the latter stretched his sword for making a pass at him. Then, O Bharata, Jayadratha's large sword sticking into Abhimanyu's shield covered with golden plate, broke, as the ruler of the Sindhus attempted to draw it off forcibly. Seeing his sword broken, Jayadratha hastily retreated six steps and was seen within a twinkle of the eye to be mounted on his own car. Then Arjuna's son also, that combat with the sword being over, ascended his own excellent car. Many kings, then, of the Kuru army, uniting together, surrounded him on all sides. The mighty son of Arjuna, however, eyeing Jayadratha, whirled his sword and shield, and uttered a loud shout. Having vanquished the ruler of the Sindhus, Subhadra's son, that slayer of hostile heroes, then began to scorch that division of the Kaurava army like Sun scorching the world."
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Sutasoma.
16th day:
"Sutasoma then, uplifting a scimitar of the hue of the blue lotus and equipped with an ivory handle, uttered a loud shout. That scimitar of the intelligent Sutasoma of the hue of the clear sky, as it was whirled by that hero, was regarded by Shakuni to be as fatal as the rod of Death. Armed with that scimitar he suddenly began to career in circles over the arena, displaying, O monarch, the fourteen different kinds of manoeuvres, endued as he was with skill and might. Indeed, he displayed in that battle all those motions such as wheeling about and whirling on high, and making side-thrusts and jumping forward and leaping on high and running above and rushing forward and rushing upwards. The valiant son of Subala then sped a number of arrows at his foe, but the latter quickly cut them off with that excellent scimitar of his as they coursed towards him. Filled with rage (at this), the son of Subala, O king, once more sped at Sutasoma a number of shafts that resembled snakes of virulent poison. Aided by his skill and might, Sutasoma cut off even these with his scimitar, displaying his great activity, and possessed as he was of prowess equal to that of Garuda himself."
"With a razor-headed arrow of great sharpness, Shakuni then, O king, cut off that bright scimitar of his adversary as the latter careered in circles before him. Thus cut off, (half of) that large scimitar suddenly fell down on the Earth, while half of it, O Bharata, continued in the grasp of Sutasoma. Seeing his sword cut off, the mighty car-warrior Sutasoma retreated six steps and then hurled that half (of the scimitar) which he had in his grasp at his foe. The fragment decked with gold and gems, cutting off the bow, with string, of the illustrious Shakuni, quickly fell down on the Earth. Then Sutasoma went to the great car of Srutakirti."
Logic - its clearly been written that he displayed 14 techniques, the man had variety. It is interesting to note that his blade was basically blue in color. But he showed his talent by using a sword in a defencive manner as if it were a shield instead. Unfortunately if i were to create a top ten list sutasoma would not be higher than 10 or 9 due to him not having any achievement besides this one.
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Abhimanyu - besides his day 11 duel, their were sword feats he had on day 13 itself.
Passage;
"Bowless and carless, with an eye, however, to his duty (as a warrior), handsome Abhimanyu, taking up a sword and a shield, jumped into the sky. Displaying great strength and great activity, and describing the tracks called Kausika and others, the son of Arjuna fiercely coursed through the sky, like the prince of winged creatures (viz., Garuda.) 'He may fall upon me sword in hand' with such thoughts, those mighty bowmen, were on the lookout for the laches of Abhimanyu, and began to pierce him in that battle, with their gaze turned upwards. Then Drona of mighty energy, that conqueror of foes with a sharp arrow quickly cut off the hilt, decked with gems, of Abhimanyu's sword."
Logic - despite carrying a shield with himself abhi could not prevent drona's arrow from touching the handle of his blade. A argument can be formed in his defence that abhimanyu had to focus on multiple warriors at once which is why he could not pay attention enough to use his shield to protect his blade when the shields main purpose is to defend his body. Very few characters ever used a shield to protect their bow, sword, blade or other weapon.
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Jarasandha, the reason he made the list/cut is cause he 86 battles, most likely he used the sword more often in his life/career than karna or bhishma had.
Him actually using a sword:
"At last when their arrows were exhausted and bows and swords were broken and they both became carless, they began, possessed of might as they were, to fight with bare arms."
Note - their sword encounter was not elaborated upon by the author/narrator (narada) here.

List of battles in his military career.
"A Kshatriya that dieth in battle is ever regarded with respect. Why shall we not, therefore, meet together and oppose Jarsandha in battle? He hath already brought eighty-six kings fourteen only are wanting to complete one hundred."
If i used puranic lore then Jarasandha conquered between 20,800 to 28 thousand kings, which is not believable or logical. Jarasandha still deserves a rank among the top ten swordsmen, i would put him above Sutasoma.

Bheem the swordfighter.
12th day; 'Bhima jumping down from his own car, like a second Garuda, slew with his excellent sword five and ten combatants amongst those that supported Karna.'
Day 17: "Drawing then his whetted sword of keen edge, and trembling with rage, he placed his foot upon the throat of Duhshasana, and ripping open the breast of his enemy stretched on the ground, quaffed his warm life-blood. Then throwing him down and cutting off, O king, with that sword the head of thy son, Bhima of great intelligence, desirous of accomplishing his vow, again quaffed his enemy's blood little by little, as if for enjoying its taste."
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Sreekandhee.
Day 7.
{Quote}
"Sikhandin, that scorcher of foes, jumping down from that car whose steeds had been slain, and taking up a sharp and polished scimitar and a shield, excited with rage, moved on the field with great activity like a hawk. And while moving with great activity, O king, on the field sword in hand, the son of Drona failed to find an opportunity (for striking him). And all this seemed highly wonderful. And then, O bull of Bharata's race, the highly wrathful son of Drona sent after Sikhandin in that battle many thousands of shafts. But Sikhandin, that foremost of mighty men, with his sharp sword cut that fierce shower of arrows coming towards him."
"Then the son of Drona cut into pieces that resplendent and beautiful shield decked with a hundred moons and then that sword also of Sikhandin. And he pierced the latter's person also, O king, with a large number of winged arrows. Then Sikhandin, whirling the fragment (in his hand) of that sword of his which had been cut off by Aswatthaman with his arrows and which resembled a blazing snake, quickly hurled it at him. The son of Drona however, displaying in that battle the lightness of his arms, cut off that (broken blade) coming impetuously towards him and resembling in splendour the fire that blazeth forth at the end of the Yuga. And he pierced Sikhandin himself with innumerable arrows made of iron."
Point; cutting off 1 thousand arrows thrown at you by using a sword is a good achievement. Especially when in yuddh kanda the overrated hanumana failed to deflect just 10 arrows fired at him.
Drona;
Based on the simple fact that he taught four of the best swordsmen (5 if bhima is included 6 if arjuna is in the list) its fair to assume that he knew multiple sword techniques.

Had the asi-blade of brahma - https://sacred-texts.com/hin/m12/m12a165.htm

Quote;
"Drona began to teach Arjuna the art of fighting on horse-back, on the back of elephants, on car, and on the ground. And the mighty Drona also instructed Arjuna in fighting with the mace, the sword, the lance, the spear, and the dart. And he also instructed him in using many weapons and fighting with many men at the same time."
Passage 'The twins excelled everybody in handling the sword.'

His other students: And having repeatedly displayed their skill and dexterity in the use of bows and arrows and in the management of cars, the mighty warriors took up their swords and bucklers, and began to range the lists, playing their weapons. The spectators saw (with wonder) their agility, the symmetry of their bodies, their grace, their calmness, the firmness of their grasp and their deftness in the use of sword and buckler.

Quote for 12th day: "Somadatta's son, for enhancing the glory of Drona, resisted king Manimat of great activity as the latter came to fight."
Logic - cause it said 'for enhancing the glory of Drona' that indicates a possibility of Drona being the teacher of Bhurishravas too.
Kripacharya;
He also had an asi-blade.

Had a actual sword-fight with chekitana.
"Chekitana, O Bharata, drawing his sabre from the sheath, rushed with great speed towards Gautama. Thereupon Gautama also, throwing away his bow, and taking up a polished sabre, rushed with great speed towards Chekitana. Both of them possessed of great strength, and both armed with excellent sabres, began to strike each other with those sharp-edged weapons of theirs."
"Then those bulls among men, struck with the force of each other's sabres, fell down on the earth, that (common) element of all creatures. Exhausted by the efforts they had made, the limbs of both were motionless in a swoon. Then Karakarsha impelled by friendship, quickly rushed to that spot."
"And that invincible warrior, beholding Chekitana in that plight, took him up on his car in the very sight of all troops. And so also the brave Sakuni, thy brother-in-law, O monarch, speedily caused Gautama, that foremost of car-warriors, to mount on his car."

Its my firm belief that here in this particular battle he did not use his divine blade (ASI). Still since Kripa was worthy enough to wield a divine blade while Chekitan was not its fair to claim that Kripa is the superior swordsman.
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Satyaki.
On day 16 & day 14 (battle with bhurishrava) he used a sword.

Quote I;
"Each slaying the other's steeds and cutting off the other's bow, those car-less combatants encountered each other with swords in a dreadful fight. Taking up two beautiful and large and bright shields made of bull's hide, and two naked swords, they careered on the field. Stalking in circles and in diverse other kinds of courses duly, those grinders of foes excited with rage, frequently struck each other. Armed with swords, clad in bright armour, decked with cuirass and Angadas, those two famous warriors showed diverse kinds of motion. They wheeled about on high and made side-thrusts, and ran about, and rushed forward and rushed upwards. And those chastisers of foes began to strike each other with their swords. And each of them looked eagerly for the dereliction of the other. And both of those heroes leapt beautifully and both showed their skill in that battle, began also to make skilful passes at each other, and having struck each other, O king, those heroes took rest for a moment in the sight of all the troops. Having with their swords cut in pieces each other's beautiful shield, O king, decked with a hundred moons, those tigers among men, engaged themselves in a wrestling encounter."

Quote II;
"Those two foremost of car-warriors, having each cut off the other's handsome bow in that encounter, and having each quickly slain the other's driver and steeds approached each other on foot for a fight with swords. Both endued with massive arms, they looked resplendent on that extensive arena, each having taken up a shield decked with a hundred moons, and each armed with an excellent sword, like Jambha and Sakra, both endued with great might, in the battle between the gods and the Asuras (of old). Both of them, in that great battle, then began to career in circles. And then they speedily encountered each other in battle, each approaching the other near."
"And each of them made great efforts for the destruction of the other. Then Satwata cut in twain the shield of Kaikeya. The latter also, O king, cut in twain the shield of Satyaki. Having cut off his antagonist's shield covered with centuries of stars, Kaikeya began to career in circles, advancing and receding (at times). Then the grandson of Sini, endued with great activity, cut off by a sidestroke the prince of the Kaikeyas thus careering in that great arena armed with excellent sword. Cased in armour that great bowman, the Kaikeya prince, O king, thus cut off in twain in that great battle, fell down like a hill riven with thunder. Having slain him in battle that foremost of car-warriors that scorcher of foes, the brave grandson of Sini quickly got upon the car of Yudhamanyu."
Arjuna - With due respect only 3 incidents exist where he fought without using the arrow style of combat. His 3 incidents are defeating Angaraparna, dueling Shiva & using his unarmed skills to beat samsaptakas their was no incident apart from those three.
Rangbhumi:
"Arjuna showed his profound skill in the use of sword, bow, and mace, walking over the lists in circles."
The 2nd time he used a sword (besides off screen training under GuruDrona) is his duel with Shiva but all thats mentioned is that his blade broke/tore.
Quote;
"Arjuna took up his sword, and wishing to end the conflict, rushed at his foe. And then the Kuru prince, with the whole might of his arms, struck that sharp weapon upon the head of the Kirata, a weapon that was incapable of being resisted even by solid rocks. But that first of swords, at touch of the Kirata's crown, broke into pieces."

Later when arjuna informed his brothers of the fight he doesnt mention a sword being used by himself at all;
So due to a severe lack of achievements it would be unfair to place him in the list of top ten swordsmen in mahabharat.
Of course arjuna did take up/raise a blue sword to kill yudisther but he changed his mind by putting it back in a scabbard. So its no achievement.

Bhurishravas achievement.
Passage - "The son of Somadatta then, bearing the device of the sacrificial stake on his standard, that slayer of foes, quickly jumping down from his car, cut off with his large swords, his antagonist with his steeds, charioteer, standard, and car. Re-ascending then upon his own car, and taking up another bow, and guiding his steeds himself, he began, O monarch, to consume the Pandava host."
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In no particular order this will be the top 10 list.
1 - Dresthadyumna
2 - Guru Drona
3 - Abhimanyu
4 - Jarasandha
5 - Kripa
6 - Arjuna
7 - Jayadratha
8 - Chekitana
9 - Srikandhi
10 - Sutasoma
11 - Bhima
12 - Satyaki
13 - Bhurishravas

Numbers 2 to 13 are not ranked as weakest to strongest. Just Dresthadyumn was on the top then every other sword fighter is one point below him.

For Radheya Karna this's my unbiased opinion that he never used a blade against any warrior (apart from Jarasandha). His desire/aim to learn from Parshurama was entirely based on learning brahmastra, he unintentionally gained knowledge of bhargavastra, ownership of vijaya bow & a divine chariot but he did not have access to any divine swords. He did not have as much physical strength as Arjuna either so his sword attacks don't have as much force as Arjunas.

Maybe Vivinsati could get a honorable mention but the only thing he did was rush to Bhima (on day 11) carrying a sword/shield, no action is elaborated upon the fight between him & Bhima was not given focus by Sanjaya.

I have refused to include Sahadeva or Nakula because though they have alot of hype and access to the divine sword (ASI) the other side of the coin is that both of them lack sword achievements. Besides decapitating a son of karna or murdering thousands of cavalrymen prince Nakula did not have any sword achievement. A incident made up by fans is that he prevented rainfall from touching his body through using a sword to deflect all rain drops but this is a fake fanmade tale that finds no mention in Mahabharat so its not a usable feat.
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Saturday, February 22, 2025

YudhisthiRespecThreaD

Introduction - i myself do not believe yudisther was a pure character a flawless character or a positive character, i consider him to be a grey character who had good qualities & bad qualities both. But i also believe if their is anyone that can be considered the main character of Mahabharat (besides arjuna) it would have to unfortunately be yudisther, cause he is in all eighteen books.

This post's purpose is only to show his achievements and credit him as a top ranked fighter. At night 14 it is true he held his own against Drona but he did not defeat Drona all he did was check his astras thats it. I will not count Yudisther killing Shalya to be an achievement because that happened only after shalya fought multiple warrior's already.

First i will explain his ocular power (which's related to vision/eyesight).
Him actually applying the power in battle;
"Thither where Pandu's son of virtuous soul cast his eyes with the desire of producing evil, thither thy army broke, O bull of Bharata's race."

Why Yudhisthir didn't burn anyone in the dice game.
Whilst I was tortured in the midst of the assembly by the wicked-souled sons of Dhritarashtra, my wrath, suddenly provoked, became cooled at sight of Karna. Even while listening to the harsh and bitter words of Karna himself on that occasion of our match at dice, to the words, that Karna uttered from desire of doing what was agreeable to Duryodhana, my wrath became cooled at sight of Karna's feet.
Logic - it was because of Karna having feet which looked like Yudhisthir's mothers. Otherwise he could have burned everyone to death. Being the son of Yamraj he can send them to yamlok/yamapuri.
Quote 1:
King Yudhishthira is always kind, O Bharata, to thy children. Though deprived of his kingdom and possessions by foul means, filled with wrath as he is, he doth not open eyes "I should not burn the people by looking at them with angry eyes" thinking so, the royal son of Pandu goeth covering his face.
Quote 2:
"Would not the Pandavas destroy us by looking down upon us with angry eyes? I know the royal sage Yudhishthira to be possessed of great ascetic power. Ye Brahmanas, I am afraid of men that are devoted to Hari."
Quote 3:
"Yudhishthira, having modesty for his ornament, doth not cast angry glances on thy troops, so let hostility cease."
Quote 4: As long as Yudhishthira with eyes burning in wrath doth not consume thy troops in battle, let peace, O sire, be made!
Quote 5: "The wrath, born of grief, of that Yudhishthira whose body hath been purified by the flames of penance, directed to the wicked-souled son of Dhritarashtra, is consuming this Bharata host."
Quote 6:
"That mighty-armed and intelligent and courageous prince of unbaffled prowess, who, unassisted by any one, can consume the entire host of Duryodhana by means of his terrible glances alone, that slayer by his sight, that one bent on winning victory, that bowman, that hero of unfading glory, that self-restrained monarch who is revered by the whole world, O, who were those heroes (of my army) that surrounded that warrior?"
Quote 7:
[Statement]
"As regards Yudhishthira also, he can, with angry eyes only, consume the whole world."
8th quote; Then Shalya addressed him, and said, "Do not, O Karna, seize this best of kings. As soon as thou seizest him, he will reduce both thee and me to ashes."
https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m08/m08049.htm
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He was an all rounder.
Skilled in lance warfare.
[Quote]
"Yudhishthira, striking Karna with four lances in his two arms and forehead and chest, repeatedly uttered loud shouts. Thereupon blood spouted forth from the wounds of Karna, and the latter, filled with rage and breathing like a snake."
[End]

High praise;
"Thou must know that Yudhishthira is constantly engaged in the study of the Vedas. He is inclined to the horse-sacrifice and the Rajasuya. Again, he rides horses and elephants, is arrayed in armour, mounts a car, and takes up the bow and all kinds of weapons."
Claim - if he rode a horse or a elephant it implies that he was trained to become a cavalry soldier or a elephant rider too.

Yudhisther's magic;
Thereupon, Yudhishthira made himself ponderous to the Rakshasa. And being oppressed with the weight, he could not proceed rapidly as before. Then addressing Draupadi, Nakula and Sahadeva, Yudhishthira said "Do ye not entertain any fear of this wretched Rakshasa, I have checked his speed. The mighty-armed son of the Wind-god may not be far away; and on Bhima coming up at the next moment, the Rakshasa will not live." O king, staring at the Rakshasa bereft of sense, Sahadeva addressed Yudhishthira.
Logic - he was capable of changing his own body weight by will. Their is no evidence that balram, hanuman or parshurama ever had such an ability.

Draupadi-haran yudh.
"And in that encounter, the king himself slew in the twinkling of an eye, a hundred of the best warriors of the Sauviras."
"Then the king of Trigartas, bow in hand descending from his great chariot, killed the four steeds of the king with his mace. But Kunti's son, king Yudhishthira the just, seeing the foe approach so near, and fighting on foot, pierced his breast with a crescent-shaped arrow. And that hero, thus wounded in the breast began to vomit blood, and fell down upon the ground besides Pritha's son, like an uprooted tree."
Bhishma Parva.
"Thereupon Yudhishthira, the son of Dharma, blazed up with wrath, like the fire that blazeth forth at the end of the Yuga for consuming creatures. Beholding the son of Pandu excited with rage, the gods, the Gandharvas, and the Rakshasas, trembled, O king, and the universe became agitated. And even this was the thought that arose in the minds of all creatures that king, excited with rage, would that day consume the three worlds. Indeed, when the son of Pandu was thus excited with wrath, the Rishis and the celestials prayed for the peace of the world."
Comment; Everyone feared him.

"Checking, however, that wrath with patience, that great bowman endued with high renown then cut off Srutayush's bow at the grasp. And then, in the very sight of all the troops, the king in that battle pierced Srutayush whose bow had been cut off, with a long arrow in the centre of the chest. And the mighty Yudhishthira then, O king, speedily slew with his arrows the steeds of Srutayush and then, without losing a moment, his charioteer. Beholding the prowess of the king, Srutayush leaving that car whose steeds had been slain, quickly fled away from battle. After that great bowman had been vanquished in combat by the son of Dharma, all the troops of Duryodhana, O king, turned their faces."
Logic - he was able to beat Srutayush.
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In bhishma parva yudisther did not really make drona/bhishma run away, what happened is that bheem was able to knock out duryodhan in a arrow duel this led to the kaurav army (not brothers) running away so the top two leaders (bhishma/drona) needed to go backwards to rally them so they can regroup. It hasn't been mentioned whether they were hit by arrows of yudisther or not.

Here's the full complete passage/quote;
"Duryodhana, afflicted by the violence of that blow, sat down on the terrace of his car and swooned away. And his charioteer then, beholding him senseless, speedily bore him away, O king, from battle. And then the troops that supported Duryodhana broke and fled. And thereupon Bhima, smiting that Kuru army thus flying away in all directions, with sharp-pointed shafts, pursued it behind. And Prishata's son (Dhrishtadyumna), that foremost of warriors, and Pandu's son king Yudhishthira, the just, in the very sight, O Bharata, of both Drona and Ganga's son, slew their army with sharp shafts capable of slaying hostile forces. That host of thy son, thus flying away in battle, those mighty car-warriors. Bhishma and Drona were incapable of checking. For though attempted to be checked by Bhishma and the high-souled Drona, that host fled away in the very sight of Drona and Bhishma."
As u can read he did not defeat drona or bhishma during day three.

Yudhisther was able to beat Duryodhan in the war but any victory against duryodhan is not praiseworthy because he has been beaten almost as many times as karna has been defeated, same reason why knocking out karna is not mentioned here either. So besides the incidents i quoted in the post Yudisther did not have any great achievements.
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Friday, February 21, 2025

Who did Abhimanyu kill?

Intro - The point of this post is not to highlight abhimanyu's power or give him a respect thread but instead the objective is for me to give a list of names for the characters that he killed.
Also i will start by listing the casualties for the 13th day after that it'll be back in time to day 1 until day eleven to see who he slayed.

On day 13.
Quote 1:
"Then with three other shafts of great sharpness, the mighty son of Arjuna, excited with rage, slew those three warriors, Sushena, Drighalochana, and Kundavedhin."
Quote 2:
"The younger brother of Salya, filled with wrath, advanced against Abhimanyu, scattering his shafts. Arjuna's son however endued with great lightness of hand, cut off his antagonist's head and charioteer, his triple bamboo-pole, his bed (on the car), his car-wheels, his yoke, and shafts and quiver, and car-bottom, by means of his arrows."
"So quick were his movements that none could obtain a sight of his person. Deprived of life, that foremost and chief of all ornaments of battle fell down on the earth, like a huge hill uprooted by a mighty tempest."
Quote 3:
"Then Abhimanyu, forcibly bending the bow and smiling the while, with one winged arrow cut off his antagonist's head. That head, severed from the trunk, fell down on the earth. Beholding his brother slain and overthrown, like a Karnikara tree shaken and thrown down by the wind from the mountain top, Karna, O monarch, was filled with pain."
[foster brother of karn]
Quote 4:
"Cased though he was in an iron coat of mail, the son of Subhadra pierced him in the chest with a far-reaching shaft. Thereupon Vasatiya fell down on the earth, deprived of life. Beholding Vasatiya slain, many bulls among Kshatriyas became filled with wrath, and surrounded thy grandson, O king, from a desire of slaying him."
Quote 5:
"Phalguni's son, however, cutting off his bow, his right and left arms, and his head adorned with beautiful eyes and eye-brows quickly felled them on the earth. Beholding Rukmaratha, the honoured son of Salya, slain by the illustrious son of Subhadra."

Quote 6:
"many princely friends of Salya's son, O king, accomplished in smiting and incapable of being easily defeated in battle, and owning standards decked with gold, (came up for the fight). Those mighty car-warriors, stretching their bows full six cubits long, surrounded the son of Arjuna, all pouring their arrowy showers upon him."
"Those hundred princes were slain and felled by Subhadra's son like a tope of five-year old mango-trees just on the point of bearing fruit (laid low by a tempest). Beholding those youthful princes brought up in every luxury, and resembling angry snakes of virulent poison, all slain by the single-handed Abhimanyu, Duryodhana was filled with fear."

Who Abhimanyu killed before laxman;
"After Duryodhana was beaten back and a hundred princes slain, what course was pursued by the warriors of my army against the son of Subhadra?"
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Quote 7
"That shaft, sped by Abhimanyu's arms, cut off the beautiful head, decked with ear-rings, of Lakshmana, that was graced with a beautiful nose, beautiful eye-brows, and exceedingly good-looking curls. Beholding Lakshmana slain, thy troops uttered exclamations."
Quote 8:
"The latter's bow and shafts, and bracelets, and arms, and head decked with diadem, and umbrella, and standard, and charioteer, and steeds, were all cut off and felled by Abhimanyu. When Kratha's son, possessed of nobility of lineage, good behaviour, acquaintance with the scriptures, great strength, fame, and power of arms, was slain, the other heroic combatants almost all turned away."
Quote 9:
The mighty Abhimanyu, then, in the very sight of thy heroic sons, slew the brave Vrindaraka, that enhancer of the fame of the Kurus. While Abhimanyu was thus engaged in fearlessly slaying one after another the foremost warriors among his enemies
Quote 10
"Ruler of the Kosalas, then, thus deprived of his car, took up a sword and wished to sever from Abhimanyu's trunk his beautiful head, decked with ear-rings. Abhimanyu then pierced king Vrihadvala, the ruler of the Kosalas, in the chest, with a strong arrow. The latter then, with riven heart, fell down. Beholding this, ten thousand illustrious kings broke and fled. Those kings, armed with swords and bows, fled away"

"The son of Subhadra then slew six of Karna's brave counsellors, conversant with all modes of warfare, with their steeds and charioteers and cars."
"Slaying next the son of the ruler of the Magadhas, Abhimanyu, with six straight shafts, slew the youthful Aswaketu with his four steeds and charioteer."

"Then slaying, with a sharp razor-headed arrow, the Bhoja prince of Martikavata, bearing the device of an elephant (on his banner), the son of Arjuna uttered a loud shout and began to scatter his shafts on all sides."
"Abhimanyu then slew five warriors., named Satrunjaya, and Chandraketu, and Mahamegba, and Suvarchas, and Suryabhasa."

"Then that hero pressed Suvala's son, Kalikeya, down into the earth, and stew seven and seventy Gandhara followers of the latter. Next, he slew ten car-warriors of the Brahma-Vasatiya race, and then ten huge elephants."

Complete list (13th day).
1 - Suvarchas
2 - Suryabhasa
3 - Satrunjaya
4 - Chandraketu
5 - Mahamegba
6 - Kalikeya
7 - Martikavata's prince (descendant of same Citrarath who parshuram's mother renuka lusted after)

8 - Aswaketu
9 - Prince of magada.
10 - Vrihadvalh (king of Ram's land Koshal)
11 - karna's foster brother (adhirath putra)
12 - Vrindaraka
13 - son of Kratha
14 - Laxman
15 - Vasatiya
16 - Rukmarath
17 - Drighalochan
18 - Shalya's brother
19 - Kundavedhin
20 - Sushena
Bonus would be the 6 counselor's of hijda Karna & 100 kshatriya rajkumars that were friend's of Rukmaratha.

Who Kratha was?
[Quote]
"Then Bhima, without losing a moment, despatched Kratha to the abode of Yama, with a long arrow of keen point. Deprived of life, that prince fell down on the Earth."
[End]
Logic - Kratha was Duryodhana's brother, his son would be a nephew to Duryodhana & a grandson of Dhritrashtra.
=
Cross reference;
[Quote]
"Abhimanyu, he, having slain many thousands of men and steeds and elephants, and eight thousand cars, and once more nine hundred elephants, two thousand princes, and a large number of heroic warriors unknown to fame, and despatching in that battle king Vrihadvala also to heaven, at last, through ill luck, met with his own death. Thus hath occurred this event that so enhances our grief! That tiger among men hath even thus ascended to heaven!"
Logic - this indicates that he killed over 11 thousand warriors that day not a full aukshouni, half a aukshouni or 3/4ths of one. But its confirmed that at minimum 2 thousand of his victims were royal princes.
==
Now i will discuss who he slew on days 2 to 11.
I already read his performance on day 1, though he fought well he didn't slay a important warrior that day.

2nd day: he did not kill any great names. In this chapter link its stated many kings arrived with duryodhana to fight abhimanyu but all of them get killed by arjuna instead of abhimanyu (according to sanjaya) - https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m06/m06055.htm If you are to be realistic then maybe it can be assumed that sanjaya made a mistake or did not see all that happened so possibly one of those kings indeed got killed by abhimanyu instead of arjuna.

Day 3 - random nameless warriors belonging to sakuni's legion were murdered by abhimanyu.
Quote;
"Satyaki, abandoning that car of his, speedily mounted on Abhimanyu's car, O chastiser of foes. And those two, mounted on the same car, then began to speedily slaughter the army of Suvala's son with straight arrows of sharp points."
=
On day 4's early half it was mentioned that abhimanyu afflicted the kourav army but not whether he killed someone or not.
Quote;
"And seeing thy grandson, O king, thus afflicting thy host, thy warriors, O monarch, surrounded him on all sides. Then that smiter of foes, the son of Subhadra, depending upon his prowess and might, advanced with undepressed heart against the Dhartarashtra host. And while battling with the foe in that conflict, his mighty bow endued with the effulgence of the sun, was seen by all to be incessantly stretched for striking. And piercing the son of Drona with one shaft, and Salya with five, he overthrew the standard of Samyamani's son with eight shafts. And with another sharp-edged arrow he cut off the mighty dart of golden staff, resembling a snake, that was hurled at him by Somadatta's son. And the heir of Arjuna, baffling in the very sight of Salya, his hundreds of terrible shafts, slew his four steeds. Thereupon Bhurisravas, and Salya, and Drona's son and Samyamani, and Sala struck with the fear at the strength of arms displayed by Krishna's son could not stay before him."
Logic - here i removed the text which said said 'p. 158' also Sanjaya refers to abhimanyu as a grandson of dhritrashtra instead of pandu.

4th day ending.
{Passage}
"The ruler of the Magadhas, in that battle, urged his elephant resembling Airavata himself, towards the car of Subhadra's son. Beholding that mighty elephant advancing towards him, that slayer of hostile heroes, the brave son of Subhadra, slew it with a single shaft. And when the ruler of the Magadhas was thus deprived of his elephant, that conqueror of hostile cities, the son of Krishna, then struck off that king's head with a broad-headed shaft with silver wings."
Note: son of krishna here meant son of arjuna because he had another name like Krishna.
Krishna said: "Seven days have elapsed since the mighty Jayatsena, the ruler of the Magadhas, was slain in battle by Abhimanyu."
[end]
Comment - it could mean day 10 or even day 9.

Cross-reference:
[begin]
The mighty Jayatsena the son of Jarasandha, the prince of the Magadhas, O king, hath been slain in battle by the high-souled son of Subhadra."
[done]
Overall its unclear whether Jayatsena was a prince or king, its also not made clear whether his death was on day four, nine or ten.
=
Day 5;
"Satyaki and Chekitana, and the mighty son of Subhadra, proceeded against Salya and the Kaikeyas."
Logic - shalya dies cause of yudisther & the only 2 relevant kekaya warriors (vinda/anuvinda) were murdered by satyaki later. So clearly their killer isn't abhimanyu. All he does here is fight and injure not murder or slay.

Passage:
"Then the princes of thy army, all heroic and mighty car-warriors, excited with wrath and united together in that conflict, pierced him with sharp arrows. And Abhimanyu, acquainted with the mightiest weapons, smote them all with keen shafts. Beholding that feat of his, thy sons then surrounded the son of Arjuna, who was consuming thy army in that conflict like a swelling fire of blazing flames consuming a heap of dry grass in summer."
Explanation: Here a case can be made for important royalty being slaughtered by him except their names had not been given by Sanjaya, Souti, Vyaas, Vaisampayan etc. But the term consuming alludes to carnage.
=
Day 6;
"Yudhishthira the just, disposing all his own divisions properly despatched twelve mighty car-warriors including Abhimanyu and others to follow Bhimasena behind."

Day 7 - apart from his location in the army mode nothing much is mentioned of abhimanyu's actions that day, so him killing a relevant character or monarch is unlikely.

8th day - here abhimanyu defeated king Amvastha but himself did a group attack on Bhagadatta which led to him losing to bhagadatta, not a single character had been slain by abhimanyu today.
Quote;
"Abhimanyu also, with his shafts, deprived that renowned and foremost of car-warriors, viz., king Amvashta, of his car. Deprived of his car and about to be slain by the celebrated son of Subhadra, that king quickly jumped down from his car."
Logic - maybe abhimanyu killed his driver but its confirmed that this king did not die.

9th day:
"Death-dealing shafts, O king, shot by him in that battle, despatched many heroic Kshatriyas to the regions of the king of the departed spirits. Indeed, excited with wrath Subhadra's son in that battle shot fierce and blazing arrows in profusion that resembled snakes of virulent poison or rods of death himself. And Phalguni's son speedily split into fragments car-warriors with their cars, steeds with their riders, and elephant-warriors along with the huge animals they rode."
"And the rulers of the earth, filled with joy, applauded those mighty feats in battle and praised him also that achieved them. And the son of Subhadra, O Bharata, tossed those divisions (of the Kaurava army) like the tempest tossing a heap of cotton on all sides in the welkin. Routed by him, O Bharata, the troops failed to find a protector, like elephants sunk in a slough. Then, O best of men, having routed all troops, Abhimanyu stood, O king, like a blazing fire without a curl of smoke."
Size of a division: "25,000 foot-soldiers proceeded towards Partha and surrounded him. Then that mighty car-warrior amongst the Pancalas with Bhimasena at his head, speedily slew that brave division and stood triumphant." https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m09/m09003.htm

The driver of Chitrasena died:
"Son of Subhadra, having slain his antagonist's steeds and charioteer with nine arrows, uttered a loud shout. Thereupon that mighty car-warrior, (viz., Chitrasena), quickly jumping down from that car whose steed had been slain, mounted, O king, without delay, the car of Durmukha."
=
Day 10.
Suyodhana's quote;
"Satyaki, and Chekitana, and the twin sons of Madri, and the valiant Abhimanyu,--these also are routing my troops."

11th day.
He kills the charioteer of paurava king (ancestor to porus):
"Mounting next upon his car, he seized Paurava by the hair, and slaying meanwhile with a kick, the latter's driver, he felled his standard with a stroke of his sword. And as regards Paurava himself, Abhimanyu raised him up, like the Garuda raising a snake from the bottom of the sea agitating the waters."
That ends it all now.
=
List:
1 - Jayatsena
2 - driver of king Amvastha
3 - charioteer of prince Chitrasena
4 - nameless warriors
5 - multiple divisions (each consisted of 25 thousand men)
6 - sarathi of king paurava.
The reason i am not including day 12 is cause its made obviously clear he did not kill anyone during that day in particular.
Puzzle:
- Name of Kundavedhin (murdered by Abhimanyu) has only one difference with the brother of Duryodhan whose name is Kundabhedin. That is the v & b so it is possible he was the same brother of Duryodhan that Bheem pledged to kill. Possibly the person who abhimanyu killed was actually a son of kundavedhin instead so a upa kourava who shared the name of his father/sire.

Overall abhimanyu is highly underestimated by bhishma tards & karna bhakts. But whats more important is that he has a higher list of kills/casualties than both karna/bhishma combined. Naming even four people killed by either bhishma or karna is difficult but naming abhimanyus casualties is not hard at all.
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Sunday, February 16, 2025

Yavanas are not Greek

Explanation - Their have been claims for years that Greek meant "Yavan" in the sanskrit language or at the very least the clan of yavanas (mentioned in Ramayan/Mahabharat) were actually ancient greek people. In my opinion this's a false claim that originated out of ignorance.

Post begin's;
The 1st time these people were mentioned is in Ramayan's Bala Kanda when Vishwamitra's tale had been narrated at that point a cow under the ownership of Vashisth somehow used magic to spawn or bring to life a race called "Yavana" they also receive mention in adi parva of mahabharat.

{Quote}
"On seeing the subdual of hundreds of Pahlava-s by Vishvamitra, then the Sacred Cow again generated deadly Shaka-s hobnobbed with Yavana-s through her mooing."
Mahabharat passage:
"From her womb, an army of Yavanas, and from her dung, an army of Savaras; and from her urine, an army of Kanchis; and from her sides, an army of Savaras. And from the froth of her mouth came out hosts of Paundras and Kiratas, Yavanas and Sinhalas, and the barbarous tribes of Khasas and Chivukas and Pulindas and Chinas and Hunas with Keralas, and numerous other Mlechchhas."
Logic - the cow had magic that resulted in the summoning of yavanas. But its not made clear whether these were the first yavanas in existence or if their were never any yavana warriors before the incident in this verse.

Cross reference during kurukshetra suggested they were born out of a cow;
"And many terrible Yavanas and Paradas and Sakas and Valhikas, and Mlecchas born of the cow (belonging to Vasishtha), of fierce eyes, accomplished in smiting looking like messengers of Death, and all conversant with the deceptive powers of the Asuras."
Logic - even if the text in parenthesis gets removed still the word 'COW' got mentioned outside of it, so it has to be genuine not a interpolation.
Shishir Parvaath
[quote]
"You strive hard in the island of Yava, which will be splendorous with seven kingdoms, like that even in Golden and Silver islands that are enwreathed with gold-mines, in and around Yava islands. On crossing over Yava Island, there is a mountain named Shishira, which touches heaven with its peak, and which gods and demons adore. You shall collectively rake through all the impassable mountains, waterfalls, and forests in these islands for the glorious wife of Rama."
[end]
Comment; it is entirely possible that the YAVANAS came from here and not greece, its more likely for them to be from a island close to India's proximity like Yava.
=
Mini respect Thread for kalyavana.
Fought Sri Krishna to a standstill even making him back off;
[quote]
"Seeing his army killed, that mighty Kālayavana, the lord of Yavanas, fought with Kṛṣṇa, with a mace. Seeing that great havoc (done) by him for a long time, the lotus-eyed Kṛṣṇa too, turning away from the battle, retreated. (Kālayavana) very speedily followed him."
[finish]
                            Image is of Nikitin Dheer in the role of Kalyavana.
Of course apart from this theirs no achievement of Kaalyavan but it can be assumed he was a gada-dhaari so he preferred doing club warfare/mace-combat. I dont know if krishna just pretended to lose by slackening his attack on purpose or if his defeat was genuine. The reason being cause even though krishna was an avatar of Vishnu he still was not infallible, his power is inferior to his source (vishnu himself) & he has shown that he has limited power multiple times.
Like on day 12 (Kurukshetra) when he was knocked out due to the weapon of a samsaptaka warrior. Also krishna had made love with many spouses this action depleted his internal reservoir of spirit energy cause of the amount of intercourse he had in life.

ReaLife athlete's quote;
"While not strictly adhering to celibacy, Ali believed in conserving energy during training and fight preparations."
So although krishna was powerful he remained inferior to the other avatars of vishnu and was himself vulnerable to many people.
=
What MB (Mahabharat) say's about yavana origins.
1st:
[begin]
"The sons of Turvasu have come to be called the Yavanas."
[done]
Note - Turvasu is the name of a Kshatriya caste king in arya varth. Turvasu was the second son to "Yayati" an earlier king of aryans.
=
A character with a unique name:
"In this region, O Brahmana, Manu and Yavakrita's son together set a limit which Surya can never overstep."
Logic - notice that the word 'yava' is in it, that shows a similarity with yavana, so most likely the original meaning of yava was not greek, foreigner, mleccha etc.
=
Also i think that its worth noting that Ravan had a family member called "Malyavan" but nowhere did anyone consider him a mleccha, foreigner, barbarian or greek/macedonian.

Real-sanskrit verse;
{begin}
parivR^ittaakSaH = rolling his eyes; dmarSaat = in fury; abraviit = spoke; atha = then; maalyavantam = to Malyavan
{completed}
Here his name was referenced as "Malyavantam" instead of Malyavan.

Verse 15;
maalyavaan = Malyavan
Here they got his name correct, but still my main point is that the phrase/term [yavan] is within his name yet hes not considered a foreigner, mleccha or greek.
So yavanas most likely were not greeks or macedonians or europeans.
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Saturday, February 15, 2025

Ashwathama vs Ghatotkaca

Obviously this post is dedicated to analyzing the fight between these 2 characters from a unbiased angle but i choose to also upload 1 edited image of ashwathama (using the face of Chopra's actor as a base) wearing armor, just to test my editing skills.

For the quotes i will rely solely on KMG mahabharat not bori ce, gita press, dakshinatya, indonesian MB or kashidasi.
=
Their very 1st battle was on day eight.
Quote:
"He then struck the chariot of Vivingsati and Aswatthaman. These fell down on the front of their cars, relinquishing the reins of the steeds. With another crescent-shaped shaft he overthrew the standard of Jayadratha bearing the device of a boar and decked with gold. And with a second arrow he cut off the latter's bow. And with eyes red in wrath, he slew with four shafts the four steeds of the high-souled king of Avanti. And with another arrow, O king, well-tempered and sharp, and shot from his bow drawn to its fullest stretch, he pierced king Vrihadvala. Deeply pierced and exceedingly pained, the latter sat down on the terrace of his car."
Event's made simple - bhishma orders people including Ashwathama to protect Duryodhan from ghatotkaca, seeing him approach ghatotkaca chose to hit him with arrows, ashwathama failed to retaliate & counter attack.

After this Yudisther told Bhima to lead a contingent of warriors to accompany or help Ghatotkaca because in his POV (point of view) Ghatotkaca was slowly losing the fight:
"Those mighty car-warriors, drawing their bows that measured full six cubits long, and uttering loud roars like a herd of lions, all rushed together against that single warrior. And surrounding him on all sides, they covered him with their arrowy showers like the clouds covering the mountain-breast with torrents of rain in autumn. Deeply pierced with those arrows and much pained, he resembled then an elephant pierced with the hook. Quickly then he soared up into the firmament like Garuda. And (while there) he uttered many loud roars like the autumnal clouds, making the welkin and all the points of the compass, cardinal and subsidiary, resounded with those fierce cries."
Logic - but in my opinion even if he was losing then still its not embarrassing because ghatotkaca was alone against a group of many people, ashwathama did a group attack like a coward.

Round 2:
"Beholding king Nila, who looked like a mass of blue clouds, in a swoon, Ghatotkacha, filled with wrath and surrounded by his kinsmen, rushed impetuously towards Drona's son, that ornament of battle. Similarly many other Rakshasas, incapable of being easily defeated in battle, rushed at Aswatthaman. Beholding then that Rakshasa of terrible mien coming towards him, the valiant son of Bharadwaja impetuously rushed towards him. Filled with wrath he slew many Rakshasas of formidable visage, that is, those wrathful ones amongst them who were in Ghatotkacha's van. Beholding them repulsed from the encounter by means of the shafts shot from the bow of Drona's son, Bhimasena's son Ghatotkacha of gigantic size was filled with rage. He then exhibited a fierce and awful illusion. Therewith that prince of the Rakshasas, endued with extraordinary powers of illusion, confounded the son of Drona in that battle."
Logic; the incident here is extremely difficult to decipher/understand. A list of nameless rakshasas were also with ghatotkaca, they had been killed in ways undescribed or not narrated by Sanjaya. I suppose that Ashwathama should be hailed for being able to slay multiple warriors infront of ghatotkaca. But after their deaths the thing is Ghatotkaca used a magic trick which is confusing.
Did ashwathama lose?
{Begin}
All thy troops, in consequence of that illusion, turned their backs upon the field. They beheld one another cut down and lying prostrate on the surface of the earth, writhing convulsively, perfectly helpless, and bathed in blood. Drona and Duryodhana and Salya and Aswatthaman, and other great bowmen that were regarded as foremost among the Kauravas, also seemed to fly away. All the car-warriors seemed to be crushed, and all the kings seemed to be slain. And horses and horse-riders seemed to be cut down in thousands. Beholding all this, thy troops fled away towards their tents. And although, O king, both myself and Devavrata cried out at the top of our voices, saying "Fight, do not fly away, all this is Rakshasa illusion in battle, applied by Ghatotkacha." Yet they stopped not, their senses having been confounded. Although both of us said so, still struck with panic, they gave no credit to our words.
{End}
Logic - i believe that Ghatotkaca manifested a illusionary/fake scene of drona & ashwathama running away, which is possible cause if he is able to use magic to produce rakshasas then he should also be capable of manifesting fake clones of ashwathama/drona. The same way Ravan created fake clones of laxman/raam in vana parva of mahabharat (according to Markandeya).

In the following chapter the above incident was considered a loss by Duryodhan himself, but what readers do not understand is that he had to accept defeat because his army fled from the field not cause a warrior lost. One clue is that the real Drona was mentioned fighting a different character but for Ashwathama's character their was unfortunately no mention of his actions after the magic trick of Ghatotkaca. So in conclusion Ghatotkaca probably defeated ashwathama (cause no action of ashwathama is mentioned afterwards) but not Drona.
SCORE BOARD - Ghatotkaca forced ashwathama to retreat 2 times, ashwathama failed.
=
Important point to be noted;
During the conversation between ghatotkaca & ashwathama (night 14) he called ghatotkaca the word "son" affectionately. This not only showed that ashwathama had no discrimination/bias in his heart for rakshasas but it also showed his positive nature and qualities. It was before drona's death so its before ashwathama's heart went dark & he became a negative villain type character. Since ashwathama was pro pandava (but fought for kauravas) a theory can be made that on day 8 he purposely decided to not use his full power against Ghatotkaca which is why he lost against him during day time.
=
The 14th night is when they have their next meeting between eachother.

Background quote:
"Then in the very sight of Karna, of Aswatthaman, of Duryodhana, of Kripa, of Somadatta, and of Valhika, the son of Pandu, that chastiser of foes, by a stamp of his foot, caused that car of the heroic Durmada and Dushkarna to sink into the earth."
Note - this quote is placed here to show what ashwathama was doing before his fight vs Ghatotkaca, while guru Drona defeated Ghatotkaca before the ashwathama vs ghatotkaca fight it seems like their was nothing relevant done by ashwathama this night before he faced Ghatotkaca. So Ghatotkaca began his duel (vs Ashwathama) being injured while Ashwathama started out fresh.

Ghatotkaca moved to challenge Ashwathama:
"Seeing him rush in that battle against the car of Sini's grandson, Bhimasena's son, the gigantic Rakshasa, Ghatotkacha, endued with great strength, rushed at him, riding on a huge and terrible car made of black iron covered with bear-skins."

Battle begin's;
"Only the proud son of Drona, ever boastful of his might in arms, stood fearlessly. And he soon dispelled that illusion that had been created by Ghatotkacha. Upon the destruction of his illusion, Ghatotkacha in rage sped fierce shafts (Aswatthaman). These pierced the son of Drona, like angry snakes speedily piercing through an ant-hill. Those arrows, having pierced through the body of Aswatthaman, dyed with blood and quickly entered the earth."
Logic; Here the different rakshasas on the field & the other beasts were considered to be merely illusions (not-real-creatures-or-being's), which is why when they die then Sanjaya referred to their deaths as "a illusion dispelled"

Ashwathama's counter-attack;
"Aswatthaman, however, of great prowess, filled with wrath, pierced Ghatotkacha with ten arrows. Ghatotkacha, deeply pierced in his vital parts by Drona's son, and feeling great pain, took up a wheel having a thousand spokes. Its edge was sharp as a razor, and it was resplendent as the rising sun. And it was decked with diverse gems and diamonds. Desirous of slaying him, the son of Bhimasena hurled that wheel at Aswatthaman. And as that wheel coursed swiftly towards Drona's son, the latter cut it into fragments by means of his shafts. Baffled, it fell down on the earth, like the hope cherished by an unfortunate man."
"Beholding his wheel baffled, Ghatotkacha quickly covered the son of Drona with his shafts, like Rahu swallowing the sun. Meanwhile, Ghatotkacha's son endued with great splendour and looking like a mass of antimony, checked the advancing son of Drona like the king of mountain checking the wind. Afflicted with showers of shafts by Bhimasena's grandson, the brave Anjanaparvan, Aswatthaman looked like the mountain Meru bearing a torrent of rain from a mighty cloud."
Logic - I removed the parenthesis-text and the page number to make it easier to read. But clearly in this round its Ashwathama who had the upper hand against Ghatotkaca.
SCORE-BOARD; Ashwathama has 1 point but Ghatotkaca maintains 2 points [due to his victory on day 8].

AnjanParva Mrityu:
"With one shaft he cut off the standard of Anjanaparvan. With two others, his two drivers, and with three others, his Trivenuka. And he cut off the Rakshasa's bow with one arrow, and his four steeds with four other arrows. Made carless, Anjanaparvan took up a scimitar. With another keen shaft, Aswatthaman cut off in two fragments that scimitar, decked with golden stars, in the Rakshasa's hand. The grandson of Hidimva then, O king, whirling a gold adorned mace, quickly hurled it at Aswatthaman. Drona's son, however, striking it with his shafts, caused it to fall down on the earth. Soaring up then into the sky, Anjanaparvan began to roar like a cloud. And from the welkin he showered trees upon his foe."
"Like the sun piercing a mass of clouds with his rays, Aswatthaman then began to pierce with his shafts the son of Ghatotkacha, that receptacle of illusions, in the welkin. Gifted with great energy, the Rakshasa once more came down on his gold decked car. He then looked like a high and beautiful hill of antimony on the surface of the earth. The son of Drona then slew that son of Bhima's son, Anjanaparvan, cased in an iron coat of mail, even as Mahadeva had slain in days of yore the Asura Andhaka. Beholding his mighty son slain by Aswatthaman, Ghatotkacha, coming unto the son of Drona, fearlessly addressed the heroic son of Saradwata's daughter, who was then consuming the Pandava troops like a raging forest-conflagration, in these words."
Comment - I wonder why ghatotkatch stood silently as a mute spectator while his innocent unpopular son fought bravely? Regardless this moment counts as a embarassment for Ghatotkaca but it is not a defeat because the person who ashwathama dueled is ghatotkaca's son not ghatotkaca himself.

They fight again;
"Ghatotkacha began to shower upon that bull among car-warriors, Drona'sson, shafts of the measure of Aksha of battle car, like a cloud pouring torrents of rain. Drona's son however, with his own shafts, checked that arrowy shower before it could reach him. At that time, it seemed that another encounter was taking place in the welkin between shafts (as the combatants). The welkin, then, during the night, shone resplendent with the sparks caused by the clash of those weapons, as if with (myriads of) flies. Observing that his illusion was dispelled by Drona's son, proud of his prowess in battle, Ghatotkacha, once more making himself invisible, created an illusion. He assumed the form of a high mountain, crowded with cliffs and trees, and possessing fountains from which ceaselessly flowed spears and lances and swords and heavy clubs. Beholding that mountain-like mass of antimony, with countless weapons falling from it, Drona's son was not at all moved. The latter invoked into existence the Vajra weapon. The prince of mountains, then, struck with that weapon, was quickly destroyed."
"Then the Rakshasa, becoming a mass of blue clouds in the firmament, decked with rainbow, began furiously to shower upon Drona's son in that battle a downpour of stones and rocks. Then that foremost of all persons acquainted with weapons,  Aswatthaman, aiming the Vayavya weapon, destroyed that blue cloud which had risen on the firmament. Drona's son, that foremost of men, covering then all the points of the compass with his shafts, slew a hundred thousand car-warriors. He then beheld Ghatotkacha fearlessly coming towards him with bent bow and accompanied by a large number of Rakshasas that resembled lions or infuriated elephants of great strength, some riding on elephants, some on cars, and some on steeds. The son of Hidimva was accompanied by those fierce followers of his, with frightful faces and heads and necks. Those Rakshasas consisted of both Paulastyas and Yatudhanas. Their prowess was equal to that of Indra himself. They were armed with diverse kinds of weapons and were cased in diverse kinds of armour. Of terrible visage, they swelled with rage. Ghatotkacha came to battle, accompanied by those Rakshasas, who were, indeed, incapable of being easily defeated in battle. Beholding them, thy son, Duryodhana, became exceedingly cheerless."
Comment - after this ashwathama had a conversation with duryodhan, so whatever ghatotkaca was doing during that time period had not been reported (to dhritrashtra or any audience) by sanjaya.
SCORE BOARD stayed the same here.

Though ghatotkaca was clearly being overpowered/beaten the fact is he had not run away yet so the outcome of this fight is undecided so far. Whats interesting is that the narrative here states ghatotkaca killed over 100,000 warrior's, that might lead readers to believe maybe ghatotkaca was doing a group attack against him.
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Continuation;
Ghatotkacha, filled with rage, struck Drona's son in the chest with ten powerful shafts fierce as poison or fire. Deeply pierced with those shafts by the son of Bhimasena, Aswatthaman trembled on the terrace of his car like a tall tree shaken by the tempest. Once more Ghatotkacha, with a broad-headed shaft, quickly cut off the bright bow that was in the hands of Drona's son. The latter, then, taking up another bow capable of bearing of great strain, showered keen arrows (upon his foe) like a cloud pouring torrents of rain. Then the son of Saradwat's daughter, O Bharata, sped many sky-ranging and foe-slaying arrows, winged with gold, towards the sky-ranging Rakshasa. Afflicted with those shafts of Aswatthaman, that vast force of broad-chested Rakshasas looked like a herd of infuriated elephants afflicted by lions. Consuming with his arrows those Rakshasas with their steeds, drivers, and elephants, he blazed forth like the adorable Agni while consuming creatures at the end of the Yuga. Having burnt with his shafts a full Akshauhini of Rakshasa troops, Aswatthaman shone resplendent like the divine Maheswara in heaven after the burning of the triple city. That foremost of victors, Drona's son, having burnt thy foes, shone brilliantly like the blazing Yuga-fire after having burnt all creatures at the end of the Yuga. Then Ghatotkacha, filled with rage, urged that vast Rakshasa force on, saying "Slay the son of Drona!" That command of Ghatotkacha was obeyed by those terrible Rakshasa of bright teeth, large faces, frightful aspects, gaping mouths, long tongues and eyes blazing with wrath. Causing the earth to be filled with their loud leonine roars, and armed with diverse kinds of weapons, they rushed against the son of Drona for slaying him.
Logic - its impressive that Ghatotkaca was able to disarm ashwathama briefly but what makes no sense is that when ashwathama was busy focused on fighting 218,700 rakshasas then ghatotkaca was just twiddling his thumb, which is unrealistic because he's supposed to be fighting with a intention of vengeance in his mind. Why would he fail to take an action or just allow Ashwathama to fight with them freely, why would he not interfere?
ScoreBoard- Though ghatotkaca behaved like a coward (sending others to fight on his behalf, not getting involved etc) he still did not run away so here he was not defeated.

Ghatotkaca uses the famed asani weapon;
{quote}
Indeed, amongst those thousands of kings and those Pandavas, O Bharata, there was none, except that mighty prince of the Rakshasa, the heroic Ghatotkacha, capable of even looking at the son of Drona in that battle, who was thus employed in consuming their ranks with his shafts, resembling snakes of virulent poison. The Rakshasa, O chief of the Bharatas, with eyes rolling in wrath, striking his palms, and biting his (nether) lip, addressed his own driver, saying "Bear me towards the son of Drona." Riding on that formidable car equipped with triumphal banners, that slayer of foes once more proceeded against Drona's son, desirous of a single combat with the latter.
Endued with terrible prowess, the Rakshasa, uttering a loud leonine roar, hurled in that encounter at Drona's son, having whirled it (previously), a terrible Asani of celestial workmanship, and equipped with eight bells. Drona's son, however, jumping down from his car, having left his bow thereon, seized it and hurled it back at Ghatotkacha himself. Ghatotkacha, meanwhile, had quickly alighted from his car. That formidable Asani, of dazzling effulgence, having reduced to ashes the Rakshasa's vehicle with steeds and drivers and standard, entered the earth, having pierced her through. Beholding that feat of Drona's son, his having jumped down and seized that terrible Asani of celestial workmanship, all creatures applauded it.

Yudisther had a weapon similar to Ghatotkaca's
[Quote]
"King Yudhishthira the just, took up a dart whose handle was adorned with gold and gems and whose effulgence was as bright as that of gold. Rolling his eyes that were wide open, he cast his glances on the ruler of the Madras, his heart filled with rage. Thus looked at, O god among men, by that king of cleansed soul and sins all washed away, the ruler of the Madras was not reduced to ashes. This appeared to us to be exceedingly wonderful, O monarch. The illustrious chief of the Kurus then hurled with great force at the king of the Madras that blazing dart of beautiful and fierce handle and effulgent with gems and corals. All the Kauravas beheld that blazing dart emitting sparks of fire as it coursed through the welkin after having been hurled with great force."
"Even like a large meteor falling from the skies at the end of the Yuga. King Yudhishthira the just, in that battle, carefully hurled that dart which resembled kala-ratri (the Death Night) armed with the fatal noose or the foster-mother of fearful aspect of Yama himself, and which like the Brahmana's curse, was incapable of being baffled. Carefully the sons of Pandu had always worshipped that weapon with perfumes and garlands and foremost of seats and the best kinds of viands and drinks. That weapon seemed to blaze like Samvartaka-fire and was as fierce as a rite performed according to the Atharvan of Agnirasa. Created by Tvashtri (the celestial artificer) for the use of Ishana, it was a consumer of the life-breaths and the bodies of all foes."
"It was capable of destroying by its force the Earth and the welkin and all the receptacles of water and creatures of every kind. Adorned with bells and banners and gems and diamonds and decked with stones of lapis lazuli and equipped with a golden handle, Tvashtri himself had forged it with great care after having observed many vows. Unerringly fatal, it was destructive of all haters of Brahma. Having carefully inspired it with many fierce mantras, and endued it with terrible velocity by the exercise of great might and great care, king Yudhishthira hurled it along the best of tracks for the destruction of the ruler of the Madras."

Analysis; Overall its interesting how Ghatotkaca despite being a expert wizard failed to use magic to stop the asani from being tossed backward at him, why did he need to abandon his chariot? Why would a wizard need to avoid contact with a weapon like that? Is their not another way to counter it?

Score Board: Since his chariot was destroyed & he avoided the weapon thrown by his enemy i would say ghatotkaca lost here, so its 2 points for ashwathama & him, so far they've beaten eachother a equal amount of times.
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Ghatotkaca teamed up with Dresthadyumna;
Quote
"Proceeding then, O king, to Dhrishtadyumna's car, Bhimasena's son, taking up a terrible bow that resembled the large bow of Indra himself, once more shot many keen shafts at the illustrious son of Drona. Dhrishtadyumna also fearlessly shot at Aswatthaman's chest many foremost of shafts, equipped with wings of gold and resembling snakes of virulent poison. Then Drona's son shot arrows and long shafts by thousands. These two heroes, however, Ghatotkacha and Dhrishtadyumna, struck and baffled Aswatthaman's shafts by means of their own shafts whose touch resembled that of fire."
"The battle then that took place between those two lions among men (Ghatotkacha on the one side) and the son of Drona (on the other) became fierce in the extreme and gladdened all the combatants, O bull of Bharata's race! Then, accompanied by a thousand cars, three hundred elephants, and six thousand horses, Bhimasena arrived at that spot. The virtuous son of Drona, however, endued as he was with prowess that knew no fatigue, continued to fight with the heroic son of Bhima and with Dhrishtadyumna supported by his followers."
"The prowess then that Drona's son displayed on that occasion was exceedingly wonderful, in as much as, O Bharata, none else amongst all creatures is capable of accomplishing such feats. Within the twinkling of an eye, he destroyed, by means of his sharp shafts, a full Akshauhini of Rakshasa troops with steeds, drivers, cars, and elephants, in the very sight of Bhimasena and Hidimva's son and Prishata's son and the twins and Dharma's son and Vijaya and Achyuta."
Logic - Possibly the mention of yet another aukshouni being slain is fake or its just a reminder (by Sanjaya) to dhritrashtra of ashwathama killing an aukshouni earlier during their battle that night. But the incident mentioned [in the text above the link] is without a doubt a unfair group attack on ashwathama so both bhima & dresthadyumna should feel ashamed of themselves.
Still the guy with the upper hand here was clearly ashwathama but nobody among the main three ran away (Dresthadyumna, Ghatotkaca & Ashwathama) so its not a defeat or win for either side. The score board does not change.
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Ashwathama finally defeated Ghatotkaca:
"That mighty shaft, equipped with beautiful wings, passing through the chest of that Rakshasa, O lord of the earth, entered the earth, piercing through it, Ghatotkacha thereupon fell down on the car. Beholding him fallen down and believing him to be dead, the mighty car-warrior Dhrishtadyumna took him away from the presence of Drona's son and caused him to be placed upon another car. Thus, O king, that car-force of Yudhishthira turned away from the fight. The heroic son of Drona having vanquished his foes, uttered a loud roar."
Logic - to me ashwathama's fight with ghatotkaca (at night 14) shared many similarities to the lengthy bhima vs karna duel (on day 14), where the winner (Bhima) killed many allies of the loser (Karna).
SCORE BOARD now is 3 for Ashwathama 2 for Ghatotkaca.

However this's not the end of their full battle cause they will face eachother again. After he knocked out ghatotkaca then ashwathama overheard the argument going on between Kripa/Karna, this caused him to get involved in drama/discussion. But Ghatotkaca was busy recovering while Ashwathama would advance further, he defeated Dresthadyumna & murders multiple unnamed warriors. The kaurav army also regrouped eventually lighting lamps near their chariot's to make the battlefield & opposing armies more visible to eachother.
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Ashwathama end's up fighting Drupada instead;
"Drona's son covered the, ruler of the Panchalas, and Drona himself covered the Srinjaya, with showers of straight shafts in that battle."
Opponents switch now;
"Aswatthaman, O monarch, resisted Bhimasena's son, Rakshasa (Ghatotkacha) acquainted with a hundred kinds of illusion, as the latter advanced. Vrishasena. in that battle resisted the mighty Drupada with his troops and followers as the latter advanced for getting at Drona."

It has not been explained how or why it happened [the choice of who fight's who] but at least ghatotkaca has recovered now so the saga of his battles with ashwathama can end.
SCOREBOARD maintained 2 to 3.
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FINAL battle.
Quote;
"Ghatotkacha sped at his foe shafts of the measure of the Aksha of a car, and covered that bull among car-warriors therewith, like clouds pouring torrents of rain. With his own shafts resembling snakes of virulent poison, Drona's son, however, in that battle, quickly dispelled that arrowy shower before it could reach him. He then pierced that chastiser of foes, Ghatotkacha, that prince of the Rakshasas, with hundreds of keen and swift-coursing arrows, all capable of penetrating into the very vitals. Thus pierced with those shafts by Aswatthaman, that Rakshasas, on the field of battle, looked beautiful, O monarch, like a porcupine with quills erect on its body."
"Then the valiant son of Bhimasena, filled with rage, mangled the son of Drona with many fierce arrows, whizzing through the air with the roar of thunder. And he rained on Aswatthaman a perfect shower of arrows of diverse kinds; some, equipped with heads like razors; some, shaped as the crescent; some, only pointed; some, frog-faced; some, with heads resembling the boar's ear; some, barbed; and some of other species. Like the wind dispersing mighty masses of clouds, Drona's son, O king, without his senses being agitated, destroyed with his own terrible arrows, inspired by mantras with the force of celestial weapons, that fierce, unbearable and unrivalled shower of weapons, whose sound resembled the roar of thunder, and which fell incessantly upon him."
"It seemed then that another encounter was taking place in the welkin between weapons (as the combatants), which was terrible, and which, O king, filled the warriors with awe. With the sparks all around, generated by the clash of the weapons, shot by those two warriors, the welkin looked beautiful as illumined by myriads of fire-flies in the evening. Drona's son then, filling all the points of the compass with his shafts, shrouded the Rakshasa himself, for doing what was agreeable to thy sons. Then commenced a battle once more between Drona's son and the Rakshasa on that night of thick darkness, which resembled the encounter between Sakra and Prahlada."
"Then Ghatotkacha, filled with rage, struck Drona's son, in that battle, on the chest with ten shafts, each resembling the Yuga-fire, Deeply pierced the Rakshasa, the mighty son of Drona began to tremble in that battle like a tall tree shaken by the wind. Supporting himself by holding the flagstaff, he swooned away. Then all thy troops, O king, uttered cries of Oh and Alas. Indeed, O monarch, all thy warriors then regarded Drona's son as slain. Beholding Aswatthaman in that plight, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas in that battle uttered leonine roars. Then that crusher of foes, the mighty car-warrior Aswatthaman, recovering his senses, forcibly drawing the bow with his left hand, stretching the bowstring to his ear, quickly shot a terrible shaft resembling the rod of Yama himself, aiming at Ghatotkacha. That excellent shafts, fierce and equipped with golden wings, piercing through the chest of the Rakshasa, entered the earth, O king."
"Deeply pierced, O monarch, by Drona's son who was proud of his prowess in battle, that prince of Rakshasas, endued with great strength, sat down on the terrace of his car. Beholding Hidimva's son deprived of his senses, his charioteer, inspired with fear, speedily removed him from the field, bearing him away from the presence of Drona's son. Having pierced that prince of Rakshasas, Ghatotkacha, in that encounter thus, Drona's son, that mighty car-warrior, uttered a loud roar. Worshipped by thy sons as also by all thy warriors, O Bharata, Aswatthaman's body blazed up like the midday sun."
Logic - Ashwathama was knocked out first but later so was Ghatotkaca, he basically returned the favor to him. Overall both warrior's performed equally in this fight so no point lost or gained.

After that incident Ashwathama ends up gaining a anti feat which is a bad performance against Dresthadyumna due to losing to him despite having a group attack advantage. But little to no action is done by Ghatotkaca until Jatasura's son made his entrance.
CONCLUSION - the better fighter was indeed Ashwathama but it was not a giant mismatch.
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