How powerful truly was Kripacharya as a warrior?

 Kripacharya: An underrated warrior

Kripacharya

• Class: Rathayuthapayuthapah (Leader among leaders of Car-Divisions)
• Weapon(s): Bow & Arrow, Sword
• Named Kills: 3

Feats/Facts

Kripacharya is the posterchild of an incredibly powerful warrior who gets underrated by Quorans a lot. Placing him below Dhrishtadyumna is objectively wrong. Let’s examines Kripacharya’s feats throughout the Kurukshetra War

Kripacharya is mentioned to have all types of Brahma, Divine, and Asura Weapons (He had Brahmastra)

The
four
parts
of
dhanurveda250
are
today
established
in
Bhishma,
Drona,
Kripa
and
Drona’s son.251
They
know
all
types
of
brahma,
divine
and
asura
weapons,
how
to
release
them
and
how
to
counter
them. They
know
the
use
of
all
weapons
and
how
to
counter
them.

Kripacharya humiliated and defeated Dhrishtadyumna with ease

O
king!
Kripa
countered
Dhrishtadyumna
in
the
battle,
like
a
sharabha242
in
a
forest,
advancing
and
fighting against
a
proud
elephant.
O
descendant
of
the
Bharata
lineage!
Parshata
was
checked
by
the
powerful
Goutama and
could
not
advance
a
single
step.
On
witnessing
Goutama’s
form
advancing
towards
Dhrishtadyumna’s
chariot, all
the
beings
were
terrified
and
thought
that
he243
was
confronting
destruction.
The
rathas
and
riders
were
distressed
in
their
minds
and
said,
‘The
immensely
energetic
Sharadvata,
supreme
among
men,
is
certainly
extremely enraged
at
Drona’s
killing.
He
is
intelligent
and
skilled
in
the
use
of
divine
weapons.
Will
Dhrishtadyumna
be
safe today
from
Goutama?
Will
this
entire
army
be
freed
from
this
great
danger?
The
brahmana
will
kill
all
of
us
together.
His
severe
form
is
seen
to
be
like
that
of
the
Destroyer.
In
this
encounter,
he
will
follow
the
footsteps
of Bharadvaja’s
son.
The
preceptor244
is
light
in
the
use
of
his
hands
and
is
always
victorious
in
battle.
He
possesses the
valour
of
weapons
and
is
angry
as
well.
It
can
be
seen
that
Parshata
is
now
extremely
reluctant
to
fight.’
These and
other
words
were
spoken
by
those
on
your
side
and
on
the
side
of
the
enemy.
O
king!
Kripa
Sharadvata breathed
angrily
and
enveloped
Parshata,
who
was
immobile,
in
all
his
inner
organs.
In
that
encounter,
he
was struck
by
the
great-souled
Goutama.
He
was
supremely
confounded
in
that
battle
and
did
not
know
what
he
should do.
His
charioteer
said,
‘O
Parshata!
Are
you
fine?
I
have
never
seen
you
face
such
a
difficulty
in
a
battle.
These arrows
shot
by
that
foremost
among
brahmanas
are
capable
of
penetrating
the
inner
organs
and
are
directed
at
your inner
organs.
It
is
sheer
fortune
that
you
have
escaped.
I
will
withdraw
the
chariot
from
the
spot,
like
the
force
of
a river
driven
back
by
the
ocean.
Your
valour
has
been
destroyed
by
this
brahmana
and
I
think
that
he
cannot
be killed.’
O
king!
At
this,
Dhrishtadyumna
gently
spoke
these
words.
‘O
son!245
My
mind
has
gone
numb
and
there is
sweat
on
my
body.
Behold!
My
body
is
overcome
by
lassitude
and
my
body
hair
is
standing
up.
O
charioteer! Abandon
the
brahmana
in
the
battle
and
slowly
go
to
the
spot
where
Achyuta,
Arjuna
and
Bhimasena
are,
so
that
I may
obtain
safety
in
the
battle.
In
my
view,
that
is
what
we
should
do.’
O
great
king!
At
this,
the
charioteer
urged the
horses
towards
the
spot
where
the
great
archer,
Bhima,
was
fighting
with
your
soldiers.
O
venerable
one!
On seeing
that
Dhrishtadyumna’s
chariot
was
going
away,
Goutama
followed
it
and
showered
hundreds
of
arrows.
The scorcher
of
enemies
repeatedly
blew
on
his
conch
shell.
He
drove
away
Parshata,
like
the
great
Indra
against Shambara.

Kripacharya defeated Shikhandi and killed Suketu

Meanwhile,
in
the
encounter,
Sharadvata
Kripa
swiftly
dispatched
arrows
towards Shikhandi,
as
if
wishing
to
burn
him
down.
However,
with
his
sword,
he498
repeatedly
sliced
down
all
the
arrows that
were
embellished
with
gold
and
were
shot
at
him
from
all
directions,
while
they
were
still
in
mid-air.
At
this, Goutama
quickly
shattered
Parshata’s
shield,
which
was
decorated
with
the
marks
of
one
hundred
moons,
with
his arrows.
The
men
roared
loudly.
O
great
king!
Deprived
of
his
shield,
he
attacked
with
the
sword
in
his
hand.
But he
had
come
under
Kripa’s
control,
like
a
diseased
person
in
the
mouth
of
death.
The
immensely
strong
one
was afflicted
by
Sharadvata’s
fierce
arrows.
On
seeing
this,
Suketu,499
Chitraketu’s
son,
spiritedly
advanced.
In
the battle,
he
showered
the
brahmana
with
many
sharp
arrows.
The
one
whose
soul
was
immeasurable,
dashed
towards Goutama’s
chariot.
O
supreme
among
kings!
On
seeing
that
the
brahmana,
devoted
to
his
vows,
was
engaged
in
a fight
with
someone
else,
Shikhandi
quickly
withdrew.
O
king!
Suketu
struck
Goutama
with
nine
arrows,
pierced him
again
with
seventy,
and
struck
him
yet
again
with
three
arrows.
O
venerable
one!
He
next
severed
his500
bow, with
an
arrow
affixed
to
it.
With
another
arrow,
he
severely
struck
his
charioteer
in
the
inner
organs.
Goutama
became
angry
at
this
and
picked
up
another
new
bow
that
was
firm.
He
struck
Suketu
in
all
his
inner
organs
with
thirty
arrows.
All
his
limbs
were
weakened
and
he
wavered
on
that
supreme
chariot.
He
was
like
a
tree,
trembling
and moving
during
an
earthquake.
His
head
was
adorned
with
flaming
earrings.
It
had
a
headdress
and
a
helmet.
While he
was
moving,
he501
brought
it
down
with
a
kshurapra
arrow.
That
head
fell
down
on
the
ground,
like
a
piece
of meat
being
carried
by
a
hawk.
Thereafter,
the
head
was
dislodged
and
fell
down
on
the
ground.
O
great
king! When
he
was
slain,
those
who
followed
him
were
frightened.
They
abandoned
the
fight
with
Goutama
and
fled
in the
ten
directions.

Kripacharya defeated Shikhandi

Shikandi
sliced
down
Goutama’s
giant
bow
and
shot
many
arrows
at
him.
O
king!
Kripa
became angry
at
this
and
hurled
a
fierce
javelin.
The
shaft
was
golden
and
it
was
sharp
at
the
tip,
having
been
polished
by artisans.
As
it
descended,
Shikhandi
struck
it
down
with
many
arrows.
It
flamed
as
it
fell
down
on
the
ground,
dazzling
and
immensely
radiant.
O
great
king!
Goutama,
supreme
among
rathas,
picked
up
another
bow
and
shrouded Shikhandi
with
sharp
arrows.
Shikhandi,
supreme
among
rathas,
was
enveloped
in
that
encounter
by
the
illustrious Goutama
and
losing
his
senses,
sank
down
on
the
floor
of
his
chariot.
O
descendant
of
the
Bharata
lineage!
Beholding
that
he
had
become
unconscious
in
the
battle,
Sharadvata
Kripa
wished
to
kill
him
and
struck
him
with many
arrows.
Seeing
that
Yajnasena’s
maharatha
son
could
no
longer
fight
in
the
encounter,
the
Panchalas
and
the Somakas
surrounded
him
from
all
sides.

Kripacharya overpowered Dhrishtaketu

Dhrishtaketu
severed
the
many
kinds
of
arrows
Kripa
released
towards
him.
He
then
pierced
Kripa
with
seventy
arrows and
then
used
three
more
to
bring
down
the
sign
on
his
standard.
Kripa
countered
him
with
a
great
shower
of
arrows.
In
this
fashion,
in
that
battle,
the
brahmana78
countered
Dhrishtaketu

Kripacharya defeated Yudhamanyu

“Yudhamanyu
attacked
Kripa
and
quickly
severed
his
bow.
Kripa,
supreme
among
the
wielders
of
weapons, picked
up
another
bow.
He
brought
down
Yudhamanyu’s
standard,
charioteer,
umbrella
and
bow
on
the
ground. Maharatha
Yudhamanyu
withdrew
on
another
chariot.

Kripacharya overpowered Yudhishthira, killing his charioteer

‘
“At
this,
Kripa
used
six
arrows
to
slay
his (Yudhishthira’s)
charioteer,
who
fell
down
in
front
of
him.

Kripacharya most likely killed Vardhakshemi (It is mentioned that Kripa countered him, and this is the final mention of Vardhakshemi, with the next mention only mentioning him to be dead)

Sharadvata
Kripa
repulsed
Varshneya
Vardhakshemi
with
kshudraka
arrows,
as he
angrily
attacked
Drona
with
arrows.
Those
who
saw
Kripa
and
Varshneya
fight
in
that
wonderful
fashion
became
so
engrossed
in
that
encounter
that
they
forgot
about
doing
anything
else.

Kripacharya killed the son of Kuninda

The
elephants
were
beautifully
covered
with
nets
of
gold
and
looked
like
clouds
tinged
with
lightning.
Using ten
arrows
that
were
completely
made
out
of
iron,
the
son
of
Kuninda729
severely
struck
Kripa
and
his
charioteer. However,
slain
by
the
arrows
of
Sharadvata’s
son,
he
fell
down
on
the
ground,
together
with
his
elephant.

Kripacharya killed Abhimanyu’s wheel protectors

Bhoja115
killed
his
(Abhimanyu’s) horses
and
Goutama116
the
charioteers
who
guarded
his
flanks.

Verdict

We can conclude that Kripacharya is a level below warriors like Arjuna, Ghatotkacha, Satyaki, Bhima, and Abhimanyu, but a level above warriors like Yudhishthira, Dhrishtadyumna, etc.

Overall I don’t think he was really trying during the war at all. He is the only warrior to possess the brahmastra but never use it. He fought fairly throughout the war when compared to his fellow preceptor Drona and never abused Divyastras the way other major warriors did. He was holding back and revealed his true martial prowess by humiliating and easily defeating Dhrishtadyumna.

How powerful was Suta's son(Karna) as a warrior?

 Karna was one of the most powerful warriors of Dwapara Yuga, he is mostly remembered for his victories he earned in his military career.

In the listing of top 10 warriors of Mahabharata, he easily includes in the list.

• He was possibly the greatest warrior after Drona, Bhishma, & Arjuna who fought in the Kurukshetra war. He defeated almost all the political dominions of aryavrata (the entire human civilization during the time of Mahabharata) along with their rulers as mentioned in Mahabharata.
• Karna defeated Shishupala, Jarasandha, Rukmi, Bhishmaka, Vakra, Nila, Srigala, Kapotaroman, and many other powerful kings of aryavrata including rulers from the mlechha tribes in archery during the swayamvara of Kalinga princess Bhanumati and helped his friend Duryodhana to wed the Kalinga princess Bhanumati (Shanti Parva).
• Karna defeated Jarasandha in a wrestling combat, and satisfied with Karna's valour, Jarasandha bestowed the city of Champa to Karna, and from that time onwards, Karna begun to rule Anga along with Champa, the modern region of West Bengal & parts of eastern Bihar (Shanti Parva).
• Karna defeated many kings of the northern, eastern, southern, and western direction of aryavrata for the Vaishnava sacrifice of his friend Duryodhana, thereby subjugating all those powerful kings of the earth at that time, namely, Bhagadatta, Drupada, all the kings of the Himalayas, Angas, Vangas, Kalingas, Mandikas, Magadhas, Karkakhandas, Avasiras, Yodhyas, Ahikshatras, demons in Batsabhumi, Kevali, Mrittikevali, Mohana, Patrana, Tripura, Konsa, Dakshinatya (all the kings of Deccan Plateau upto the Southern India), Rukmi, Pandya, Karala, Nila, son of Venudari, many kings of the Yadavas (Gujarat region), son of Sishupala and all the other kings surrounding him, Avantis, Vrishnis (the most important and powerful Yadava clan), Yavanas (Indo-Greeks), and finally the Varvaras on the seashore of Gujarat (Vana Parva).
• Karna defeated the Abhishahas, the Shurasenas, the Shibis, the Vasatis, the Machellakas, the Lalitthayas, the Kekayas, the Madrakas (kingdom of Shalya), the Narayanas, the Gopalas, and the Kambojas (modern day Afghanistan), for the political territorial expansion of Hastinapura (Udyoga Parva, Drona Parva).
• Karna defeated Rukmaratha princes from the mleccha tribe (Udyoga Parva).
• Karna defeated Nagnajit and many kings of Magadha (Udyoga Parva).
• Karna defeated the Kiratas and many tribes of the Himalayas (Udyoga Parva).
• Karnas's achievements in the Kurukshetra war include defeating the powerful opponent warriors like Bhima, Satyaki, Dhrishtadyumna, Yudhishthira, Shikandi, etc. on multiple occasions, and also overpowering Arjuna on some occasions.
• On the 11th day, Karna countered a group attack of the five opponent Kekaya princes who sided with the Pandavas.
• Karna defeated Bhima on the 14th day of Kurukshetra war and spared his life, after being beaten by Bhima earlier on five separate occasions. He also defeated Bhima on the 15th day and a number of times on the 17th day (Drona Parva, Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated Sahadeva on the 14th day and spared his life (Drona Parva).
• Karna defeated Dhristadyumna and the Panchalas multiple times on the 14th day (Drona Parva).
• Karna killed Ghatotkacha with the spear of Indra on the 14th day (Drona Parva).
• Karna routed the rakshasa division of Ghatotkacha consisting of Kalakeya demons with his weapons multiple times on the 14th day (Drona Parva).
• Karna defeated Nakula on the 16th day and spared his life (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated a group attack of Satyaki, Yudhishthira, Nakula, Sahadeva, Dhrishtadyumna and a large segment of Panchala warriors on the 16th day.
• Karna routed the powerful forces of the Pandava army, notably the Panchala divison, Chedi division, & the Srinjaya division, multiple times from the 11th day to the 17th day (Drona Parva, Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated Yudhishthira on the 17th day and spared his life, also he defeated Yudhishthira multiple times (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated Satyaki and rescued Duryodhana on the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated Shikhandi on the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• Karna killed notable Panchala warriors like Jishnu, Jishnukarman, Devapi, Chitra, Chitrayudha, Hari, Singhaketu, Rochamana and Salabha on the 17th day. (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated multiple group attacks consisting of Yudhishthira, Bhima, Nakula, Sahadeva, Satyaki, Shikandi, and Dhristadyumna on the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• Karna was responsible for Arjuna's sole retreat from the battlefield. Arjuna was unable to counter the Bhargavastra of Karna and accepted his inability to counter the weapon before leaving the battlefield to see Yudhishthira (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated Uttamouja on the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• Karna killed a son of Satyaki and a son of Dhrishtadyumna on the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated and killed Ugradhanva, the commander of the Kekayas, on the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• Karna defeated a Panchala group attack consisting of Dhristadyumna, Shikhandi, Uttamouja, Yudhamanyu and Janamejaya on the 17th day.
• In the final fight with Arjuna, Karna prevailed on some occasions, also overpowered Arjuna and pierced the divine armour of Shri Krishna with five powerful serpentine arrows, also crushed the celestial diadem of Arjuna with his serpentine shaft and the serpent known as Ashwasena, Shri Krishna pressed the chariot into the ground, thereby the shaft of Karna took away Arjuna's diadem, instead of the head, Karna was vulnerable to death due to the curse of Parashurama and the wheels of Karna's chariot plunging deep into the earth.
• In addition to that, Karna killed 1.5 Akshauhini of the Pandava forces (atleast 3.28 lakhs men, 1 akshauhini=218700 warriors including the archers, cavalry, elephant riders, & foot soilders) and many notable Panchala, Srinjaya, & Chedi warriors during his tenure as the general of the Kaurava forces on the 16th day & the 17th day (Karna Parva).
• As per Drona Parva & Karna Parva, Karna was equal to two maharathas (maharatha=a warrior capable of fighting atleast 7.2 lakh opponents simultaneously), only Drona, Bhishma, Arjuna, Ashwatthama, Bhima, & Satyaki were maharathas, or warriors greater than the maharatha class.
• Karna was in possession of powerful divine weapons such as Brahmastra, Rudrastra, Varunastra, Agneyastra, & Bhargavastra, which were feared by his opponents, only a handful of warriors who fought in the Kurukshetra war were in possession of celestial weapons, the likes of Arjuna, Drona, Bhishma, Ashwatthama, Bhima, Yudhishthira, Satyaki, Bhagadatta, Ghatotkacha, Abhimanyu, and a few others.

Taking into account the stand of Karna's destructive potential during his tenure for 7 days (11th day to the 17th day), it is easily discernable in total Karna nearly killed 2 Akshauhini (around 4.3 lakhs of Pandava forces) out of total 7 Akshauhini of Pandava forces who fought in the Kurukshetra war, and the most destructive warrior who fought in the Kurukshetra war after Arjuna and Drona.

Karna lost only to the best of warriors, namely, Arjuna, Bhima, Satyaki, & Abhimanyu, and was once overpowered by the gandharvas of Chitrasena (Ghosh Yatra Parva, Vana Parva).

Overall, Karna was a supreme warrior, in the same league as that of Drona, Arjuna, Bhishma, Ashwatthama, Bhima & Abhimanyu, and hardly any other warrior other than these warriors was really a match for Karna, throughout the entire Kurukshetra warrior, not a single warrior amongst the Panchalas (including Dhrishtadyumna & Shikandi), the Srinjayas, & the Chedis ever found any weakness in Karna's combat skills, they strived to defeat him with all their valour, sometimes even combining with each other in groups against Karna, however Karna vanquished them on every single occasion.

Had Karna been armed with his golden armour and earrings forged from the elixir of immortality (betterly known as amrita), and fought in the Kurukshetra war, the Pandavas would not have been able to win the Kurukshetra war.

Image courtesy : Google

Was the Mahabharata warrior Karna's Vijaya bow superior to the Arjuna's Gandiva bow?

 Rather than comparing statments. Let’s directly adress their feats.

On the 17th day. Karna and Arjuna both fought the toughest battle of their lives and guess what?

Only one of the bows snapped! It was Gandiva. Not the Vijaya bow.

Pandava’s bowstring was being drawn with great force and snapped, with a loud noise. At that moment, the son of a suta struck Partha with one hundred kshudraka arrows. He pierced Vasudeva with sixty sharp iron arrows that were washed in oil and were tufted with the feathers of birds. They were like snakes that had cast off their skins.

At this, the Somakas ran away. Partha became extremely angry. His body was mangled by Karna’s arrows.

Source: Karna Parva Mahabharata critical edition.

Karna also cut off several strings of Gandiva. Arjuna however never ever managed to do the same.

O Partha! Radheya is destroying your arrows. Release supreme weapons.’ Using mantras, Arjuna released brahmastra. With those radiant arrows, Arjuna shrouded Karna. But Karna used extremely energetic arrows to angrily sever his bowstring. Fixing another bowstring, Pandava enveloped Karna with thousands of fiery arrows.

In that battle, when Karna severed his bowstring, he fixed another one so quickly that no one could make this out. It was wonderful. Using his weapons, Radheya countered all of Savyasachi’s weapons. At that time, his valour seemed to be greater than that of Partha.

Now some Arjuna bhakts have lined up to claim that Karna lost against Bhima with the Vijaya bow.

First if that’s the case, then Arjuna was also struck unconscious by Susharma. Arjuna was defeated when he held the Gandiva.

Having used his own shower of great weapons to sever the shower of arrows, Vasava’s son, the destroyer of enemy heroes, remained stationed on his chariot in the field of battle. O King! Susharma used arrows with drooping tufts to pierce Arjuna in the chest and pierced Arjuna in the chest and pierced him again with three other arrows. Having been severely wounded and pained, he sank down on the floor of his chariot. When he regained his senses, the one with the white horses, immeasurable in his soul and with Sri Krishna as his charioteer, quickly invoked the Aindra weapon.

Karna Parva: Chapter 1187(37)

Arjuna and several other Maharathas attacked Dronacharya and were defeated on the 11th day of the Kurukshetra war.

.Arjuna and Parshata, with their followers, surrounded him, together with all the maharathas—the Kekayas, Bhimasena, Subhadra’s son, Ghatotkacha, Yudhishthira, the twins, Matsya, Drupada’s son, Droupadi’s cheerful sons, Dhrishtaketu, Satyaki, the enraged Chekitana and maharatha Yuyutsu. O king! There were many other kings who followed the Pandavas. In accordance with their lineage and their valour, they performed many deeds. On seeing that the army of the Pandavas was thus protected in battle, Bharadvaja’s son glanced at them, with anger in his eyes. He was stationed on his chariot, invincible in battle, and was overcome by terrible rage. He pierced the Pandava army, like the wind scattering clouds. He attacked the chariots, horses, men and elephants in every direction. Though he was old, Drona roamed around, like a mad young man. His horses were crimson in colour and were as fleet as the wind. They were covered in blood. O king! Those horses thus assumed a beautiful appearance. On seeing that angry one, rigid in his vows, descend like death, the Pandava warriors fled in every direction. Some fled in fright.

Drona Parva Mahabharata critical edition.

Both warriors were defeated with supreme bows. So that point simply doesn’t matter

Yes! Gandiva has more statments on it’s side. But by feats Arjuna has also faced more defeats with Gandiva. Karna only used the Vijaya once and perfomed better than the wielder of Gandiva on the 17th day.

But either way the bow doesn’t really define the warrior as much. Karna performed well because he prepared himself well which allowed him to baffle of Arjuna’s weapons and afflict him.

All my points are from Vyasa’s Mahabharata.

How strong was Ravana as a warrior?

 Ravana was the strongest rakshasa of Treta yug because of the boon he recieved from Brahma.

Ravana had a boon from Brahma that no god or demon can defeat him in fight

Ravana replied, ‘May I never suffer defeat at the hands of gandharvas, gods, asuras, yakshas, rakshasas, serpents, kinnaras and demons.’

Indra , Vayu and Yama fled away from his mere presence .

Scared of being oppressed, they assumed the forms of other species. Indra turned into a peacock, Dharmaraja into a crow, the lord of treasures into a lizard and Varuna into a swan. Ravana, the lord of the rakshasas, approached the king and said, “Give me a fight or say that you have been vanquished by me.”

Ravana overpowered Indra in archery and broke his bow

Shakra stretched his large bow, which emitted an extremely large sound. The sound of it being twanged resounded in the ten directions. Indra stretched that great bow and brought down arrows that were as radiant as the sun on Ravana’s head. However, the mighty-armed Dashagriva remained there. He showered down arrows and dislodged Shakra’s bow. They fought against each other and showered down arrows in every direction. Nothing could be discerned then. Everything was covered in darkness.’

most people quote Sage Agastya,’s statement of Meghnad being powerful than Ravana and Kumbhkarana. but statements can never be taken literally.

If Meghnad was more powerful than Ravana then why did Vishnu take birth as Lord Rama to kill Ravana.

And the very point of Sri Rama’s birth was to kill Ravana and not his son. Sri Vishnu and Devas did not even care for the elimination of Indrajit or Kumbhkarana. Their aim was to kill Ravana only.

तत्र त्वं मानुषो भूत्वा प्रवृद्धं लोककण्टकम् || १-१५-२१
अवध्यं दैवतैर्विष्णो समरे जहि रावणम् |

"Oh! Vishnu, on your taking birth as human through the wives of Dasharatha you eliminate Ravana in war, who has become exacerbating and thorny to all worlds, and who is otherwise not eliminable for gods. [1-15-21b, 22a]

- Valmiki Ramayana, Bala Khanda.

this alone proves how powerful Ravana was. Vishnu himself had to incarnate as Rama to kill him and Lord Rama was the strongest warrior of Ramayana.

Ravana was powerful enough to lift the three worlds. A feat that Adikavi Valmiki himself mentions.

हिमवान् मन्दरो मेरुस्त्रैलोक्यम् वा सहामरैः |
शक्यम् भुजाभ्यामुद्दर्तुम् न शक्यो भरतानुजः || ६-५९-१११

Though he was able to lift up Himavat, Mandara and Meru mountains as also the Three Worlds with the Gods, he could not raise Lakshmana the younger brother of Bharata.

- Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Khanda, Sarga 59.

Apart from this Ravana lifted the Kailasha mountain along with Lord Shiva and Parvati as per Uttar Kand.

Ravana had all the missiles and Valmiki Ji himself mentions it in Aranya Khanda.

सर्व दिव्य अस्त्र योक्तारम् यज्ञ विघ्न करम् सदा |
पुरीम् भोगवतीम् गत्वा पराजित्य च वासुकिम् || ३-३२-१३
तक्षकस्य प्रियाम् भार्याम् पराजित्य जहार यः |

He who is a marksman of every divine missile, and an ever interdictor of Vedic-rituals, and who on going to the city named Bhogavati, the capital of Naga-s, and on defeating Vasuki, the King of Serpents, has abducted the dear wife of Taksha on molesting her, and Shuurpanakha saw such a molester of others wives. [3-32-13, 14a]

- Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Khanda, Sarga 32.

Ravana,’s Brahma armour was able to tank the Sudharsana chakra of Vishnu and Vajrastra of Indra dev

He also observed the two outstretched arms of the gigantic lord of ogres, which were adorned with armlets of gold and resembled a pair of flags raised in honour of Indra which bore scars of wounds sustained in combat with the ends of the tusks of Airåvata, the carrier of Indra, nay, whose fleshy shoulders had been lacerated by the thunderbolt of Indra and which had been injured by the discus of Lord Visnu; which were fleshy and culminated in uniform and well-formed shoulders, were tough-jointed and powerful, bore auspicious marks on their nails and thumbs and were characterized by shapely fingers and palms.

~Sundara Kanda , 10

He defeated the entite army of vanaras using Tamastra

Ravana overpowered Hanuman in wrestling fight and defeated Lakshmana twice using infalliable weapons in fight.

Ravana had defeated almost every warrior from Rama,’ s army except Lord Rama and Hanuman

Ravana equipped with his Brahma armour fought with Lord Rama for seven days non stop.

At one point of time, Rama was said to be eclipsed by Ravana’s valor and momentarily was so overwhelmed that he couldn't even fit the arrows to his bow.

He tore the standard of Indra’s chariot with a single arrow aimed at it, and having felled the golden ensign from the top of the chariot down to the seat of the chariot,

Råvana struck Indra’s horses as well with a series of arrows. Seeing Råma afflicted, the gods, Gandharvas (celestial musicians) and Cåranas (celestial bards) alongwith the devils as also the Siddhas (a class of demigods endowed with mystic powers by virtue of their very birth) and the foremost Rishis became despondent; while monkey chiefs alongwith Vibhishana felt troubled.

Seeing the moon in the shape of Råma eclipsed by the planet Råhu in the shape of Råvana, the planet Mercury stood assailing the constellation Rohini presided over by the god Prajåpati (the lord of creation), the beloved of the moon, spelling disaster to all created beings. Burning as it were in fury, the ocean rose high at that time as though it was going to touch the sun, its mist-wreathed waves turning round.

Looking ashy in colour and assuming a stern aspect, its rays grown faint, the sun appeared with a headless trunk in its lap and united with a comet. The planet Mars too evidently stood assailing in the heavens the constellation Visåkhå, presided over by the gods, Indra and Agni (the god of fire), which is propitious to the kings of Kosala. A bow held tightly in his hands, Råvana, the ten-headed monster, with his ten faces and twenty arms looked like the Mainåka mountain.

Being overwhelmed by the ten-headed ogre, Råma for his part could not even set his arrows to his bow in the forefront of the battle. Knitting his brows, his eyes turned slightly crimson, he gave way to a fierce rage as though he would consume the ogres. Casting their eyes at the countenance of the sagacious Råma, who was provoked to anger, all created beings were seized with terror and the earth began to quake.

Ravan was also shown to compete with Lord Rama himself in archery without the aid of Brahma armour

Seeing him deploying increasing efforts in the struggle, Kakutstha, as if smiling, took up his sharp arrows and loosed them in hundreds and thousands. Observing them fall, Ravana, with his shafts, covered the entire sky and, on account of that rain of dazzling missiles loosed by those two antagonists, it seemed as if a second heaven of weapons had been created and, amongst them, there was not one that did not attain its target, not one, that did not pierce another and not one, that was loosed in vain; and, having collided with one another, they fell to the ground.

Thus Rama and Ravana fought with an increasing supply of weapons and, in the struggle, they showered down their spears without pause to right and left, so that these formidable weapons covered the firmament; Rama striking Ravana’s steeds and Ravana striking those belonging to Rama; thus, both exchanged blow for blow and both, in the height of anger, entered upon a tremendous duel causing the hair to stand on end. Then with sharpened arrows Rama and Ravana continued their combat and, contemplating his broken standard, Ravana was consumed with rage.

Ravana (with his Brahma armour) was the strongest warrior from Ramayana after Lord Rama.

even after his death he was praised by Lord Rama for his bravery

अधर्मानृतसन्युक्तः काममेष निशाचरः || ६-१११-१००
तेजस्वी बलवाञ्शूरः सङ्ग्रामेषु च नित्यशः |

"This demon may be full of unrighteousness and falsehood. But, he was brilliant, strong and ever a brave warrior in battles."

- Valmiki Ramayana, Yuddha Khanda, Sarga 111.