01.Bheeshma:Angered by Duryodhana’s ill words on day 3 night after war,from day 4,dissected the Pandava army in and out for 6 days to Pandava’s fear.Defeated warriors like Abhimanyu,Arjuna,Ghatotkacha,Satyaki etc.,His wrath was formiddable that the Pandavas were forced to adapt advice from Bheeshma himself the way to victory over him.
02.Arjuna:The ‘one man army’ of Pandava army whose death would have forced Pandavas to lose in a single day.Killed/severed foremost of the warriors like Bheeshma,Bhagadatta,Karna and assisted in the death of Guru Drona and Bhurisravasa(killing deceitfully or not ,a win is a win and it is all that matters,so it gets counted to Arjuna’s performance).He was supremely powerful on day 14 which was his highest level of performance that he destroyed the mighty Kaurava army with no mercy.The son of Indra beheaded Jayadrata whilst the superior of warriors like Drona,Kripa,Karna,Ashwattama,Duryodhana stood helpless which I feel is the pinacle of his bravery and prowess.The most important part of him which I love the most is whilst we weigh Vaikartana high in our minds as the one who broke through the obstacles of his life with sheer hardwork and determination,there is Dhananjeya who kept himself low on his royalty and comforts unlike other Pandavas and Kauravas who usually showed their royal superiority one or the other way throughout the book.Arjuna always took pride on what he got by himself(his bravery,skill and knowledge which he achieved through hardwork,determination and divine faith following Dharma) rather than what’s gifted to him either by birth or other factors.This is an important life lesson to all of us especially to those star kids and luxurious brats.
03.Karna(my favorite):His prowess in ‘Archery’ was Arjuna’s match as we all know. It has been written that the damage he inflicted as commander-in-chief of Kaurava army in 2 days over Pandava army was more than that of Bheeshma and Drona combined[yet didn’t place him at first place since he managed to survive for only 7 days compared to Bheeshma(10 days)].Neutralized and won a lot of group attacks from warriors like Satyaki,Bhima,Dhrushtatyumna,Sahadeva,assisted in the death of Abhimanyu[its been clearly mentioned that on 13th day Abhimanyu was protected by Arjun’s Kavach knowledge obtained from Drona who in turn obtained it from his father Bharadwaja which prevented Abhimanyu from getting injured by Karna’s arrows who tries twice,fails,then retreats to Guru Drona who exposes the truth behind the invincibility of Abhimanyu and advises Karna to focus getting rid Abhimanyu off of his arsenal/weaponaries which Karna easily does after cutting Abhimanyu’s bowstring.So Karna defeated Abhimanyu fair and square unlike the popular folklore among Arjun and Abhimanyu fans.Not to forget the power of Rudra bow.I left the ‘ABHIMANYU’S BOON OF INVINCIBILITY’ on the last day of his life away since it demeans a warrior like Abhimanyu off his skills and I personally believe it an interpolation or later addition],killed Ghatotkach,rendered Kauravas out of 1000s of illusions of Ghatotkach before killing him,defeated Bhima to his embarassment,defeated the twins Nakula and Sahadeva,the king Yudhishtira,overpowered Arjuna on 17th day (nearly slained him),etc.,The most interesting aspect of his character is that he did everything spectacularly though mentally hindered by curses and truths about him&Pandavas.That’s the main reason he deserves one of the top 3 positions.Also it was only during his period of command,the Kauravas fought clean and good(tho the converse can’t be said to Pandava army at any point).
04.Drona:Though he was overshadowed by Bheeshma the first 10 days,it never prevented him from inflicting heavy damage to the Pandava army.His highest level of fighting display was on 15th day when he sent nearly 2 akshounis(highest by any in a day)of Pandava army to Lord Yama’s disposal.Only in two instances that Arjuna ever trembled with fear.One was during the 15th day of war whilst he witnessed his own Guru’s wrath(while the other being against Karna when he launched Bhargavastra).
05.Bhima:Despite not being an extraordinary archer,he managed to send more than 1 akshouni of Kaurava sena to his step-dad’s abode,startled Karna that he passes out facing defeat in Vrihodar’s hands(also not to forget that Karna felt fear only once throughout the book and it was against Bhima when he severed Dushasan’s chest),killed 100 Kauravas especially Duryodhana,the King himself(as I already stated deceit or not,a victory is a victory).According to me killing not Bheeshma,not Karna,not Drona,not Bhagadatta matters or counts the most than killing Suyodhana himself. To simply put,Arjuna was like SACHIN TENDULKAR who places the team in comfort,while Bhima was like M S DHONI who takes the team home.
06.Ashwattama:The Guru Putra was extremely talented and powerful that his skills are comparable with Arjuna and Karna unlike shown in TV serials.He killed more than 1 akshouni of Pandava sena when he launched NARAYANASTRA hearing his father’s demisal that even Arjuna had to stay put without knowing what to do.This was the highest feat achieved by Ashwattama.Not to forget that he was one of the members who had beaten Abhimanyu to death.Tbh,he had to be above Bhima,but you know that Bhima has won the star value point by killing Duryodhana.
07.Abhimanyu:While the 16 year old me(4 years ago)don’t go pee alone in night,this young talent who descended the prowess of Arjuna forced Maharatis like Karna,Kripa and Ashwattama to retreat,defeated Duryodhana,Shakuni,Dushasana and even oppressed Guru Drona for a moment.He alone killed 1 akshouni of Kaurava army on 13th day,broke through Chakra Vyuha,faced a braveous death.
08.Bhagadatta:Known for his skills on elephant could be called an Arjun buster without any hesitation.He was the one warrior who Arjuna always was concerned about.He destroyed the Pandava army without mercy on his elephant Supratika.The damage he inflicted was more that can’t be borne by the Pandavas anyday.The damage was more of mentally than that of physically in Pandava army.The damage he produced was like ‘adding fuel to the fire’ for Pandavas who were already concerned about Bheeshma’s wrath.He killed more than 1 akshouni of Pandava army,defeated Abhimanyu,inflicted fear through his skills and valour on Bhima,Satyaki and Sahadeva while fighting against them who ran away for life later from Bhagadatta,launched Vaishnavastra against Arjuna to which the entire Pandava army even Arjuna had no counter,who had to watch helplessly whilst it killed mountains and mountains of Pandava army through the heat it produced,forced Arjuna to retreat for a moment(managed to kill Bhagadatta eventually).
09.Satyaki:The student/friend of Arjuna and charioteer of Lord Krishna was known for his valour and skills in archery.Though overshadowed by Partha himself,it never stopped him to express his valour then and there.He kept Bhurisravasa to check,eventually killed him on Arjuna’s assistance.However his highest feat was breaking Karna’s chariot flag and rendering Vaishya to pass out amidst the battle which forced the charioteer of the same to retreat.
10.Ghatotkacha:Son of Bhima who had been an underdog facing numerous defeats throughout the first 14 days,suddenly had become the talk of the night of the day 14.War at night with Ghatotkacha was like fighting a crocodile in water to the Kauravas provided Ghatotkacha was an Asura and warfare at night is like fighting in his home ground.He killed another asura ‘Alambusa’ from Kaurava side,inflicted heavy damage by falling over the Kaurava sena killing nearly an akshouni of Kaurava army while dying.
00.’Paramathma’ Lord Krishna:The supreme of gods himself fought the whole KURUKSHETRA WAR as Pandavas and Kauravas him being the Pandavas and him being the Kauravas seeding Dharma to the world teaching us Bhagavad Gita.So literally every victory was his and every defeat was his.Jai Shri Krishna!
SPECIAL MENTION: Duryodhana(since centrally placed in the army throughout the war he had less chances to exhibit his prowess.Yet defeated Bhima forcing the same to swoon and flee on the 4th and 8th day of battle respectively.His fight on 18th day with Bhima speaks for himself that he nearly slained Vrihodara if not for timely intervention by Lord Krishna),
Susharma,Kritavarma,Kripacharya.