The following are the top 5 handsome people in Mahabharata with the exception of Krishna:
1: PRADYUMNA:
Son of Krishna himself, + incarnation of kamadeva, i don't think i need to give anymore explanation for this.
2: KARNA:
The explanation i saved in the previous rank, will be used here as karna has the most haters and a lot of people are gonna cry about this,
- Karna was the biological son of surya himself, the offsprings of surya are often passed down the most elite genetics for looks, all the sons of surya were the most handsomest, ashwani kumars, son of surya are mentioned to be the most attractive in all 3 realms with a few exceptions of shiva, narayana. And their avtars, kartikeya and kamdeva, yama got cursed for ego he had in his handsomeness who was also the biological son of surya.
- Karna was often discribed exceedingly handsome by vyasa and Krishna himself.
- Reference: Karna parva section 72:
- He is eight ratnis in stature. His arms are large. His chest is broad. He is invincible. He is sensitive. He is a hero. He is, again, the foremost of heroes. He is exceedingly handsome. Possessed of every accomplishment of a warrior,
3. Along with all these characteristics, karna had a 8 ratnis body too, i.e anime/greek god physique which in the whole mahabharat only karna and Krishna are mentioned to have. One more common thing, both Krishna and karna were described to have lotus-like eye.
4. Karna is mentioned to have fair-golden complexion with radiating golden aura giving him a god like appearance and beauty
3: NAKULA:
Son of ashwani kumar (elite genetics for looks), is often mentioned as the handsomest being on the earth in ved vyas's authentic mahabharat. Nakula’s handsomeness often stood out and his looks were the thing he was most celebrated for.
4: SEHDEVA:
Sehdeva, also the son of ashwani Kumar (elite genetics for looks), sehdeva is also repeatedly mentioned as the handsomest in ved vyas's authentic mahabharat.
5: BHIMA:
Son of Vayu (great genetics for looks), vayu is in some texts contradictorily mentions vayu to be even better looking than surya thought that is a contradiction, muscularity of him also contributes well to his appearance.
SOURCES:
- KMG TRANSLATION OF VED VYAS'S AUTHENTIC MAHABHARAT
- VEDAS
- PURANAS