The varrying metres in Karna - Arjuna climatic battle

 Karna - Arjuna battle in 17th day is overwhelmingly written in Tristubh shlokas but then has few Anustubh shlokas sprinkled in as well.

(Based on the critical edition)

Sections in Tristubh shlokas

A. Vrishasena fight with Nakula. Arjuna kills Vrishasena. Karna enraged advances against Arjuna.

B. All beings take sides of either Karna or Arjuna. Brahma and Shiva predicts the victory of Arjuna. Ashwatthama's plea to Duryodhana to stop the battle.

C. The start of the battle. Karna gains early advantage. Both Bhima and Krishna criticize Arjuna.

D. Arjuna routs the Kaurava army around Karna, forcing them to flee.

E. Karna fixing the snake arrow and Shalya criticizing his bad aim. The arrow destroys the diadem that Arjuna wore.

F. Arjuna slaying Ashwasena on Krishna's instructions.

G. The fight continues with Both Karna and Arjuna wounding each other.

H. Arjuna severely wounds Karna and destroys his earrings, armour and crown.

I. Curses start to manifest. Karna's chariot starts to whirl around and his weapons no longer appeared.

J. Karna laments about Dharma. Arjuna's arrows dislogue Karna's horses and chariot. Karna censures Dharma repeatedly.

K. Krishna says that it's fortunate that Karna is now remembering Dharma, asking him where his Dharma was when Draupadi was brought to the sabha.

L. Arjuna strikes down Karna's standard.

M. Arjuna takes the Anjalika arrow for Karna's death and fires it.

N. Karna is beheaded. Kaurava army flees away.

Sections in Anustubh shlokas

A. Karna and Arjuna face each other and both armies cheer them on.

B. Shalya promises to kill Arjuna and Krishna if karna is slain. Krishna promises to slay Karna if Arjuna is killed.

C. Krishna pressing down the chariot wheel to save Arjuna from the snake arrow.

D. Karna gaining advantage over Arjuna towards the end, repelling all his weapons and even cutting his bowstring.

E. Arjuna taking up Raudrastra and Karna's chariot wheel getting stuck in the ground.

F. Karna's plea asking Arjuna to wait till he picks out the chariot wheel.

G. Krishna questioning karna about deceiving Yudhishtira in dice game and Duhshasana opressing Draupadi.

H. Further fight between Karna and Arjuna using Brahmastra, Agneya, Varuna and Vayavya.

I. Further descriptions of Karna's death.

One interesting detail that can be noticed here is that the Tristubh shlokas alone tell a complete story of the battle. This do make me wonder that it's likely that originally the entire fight was composed in Tristubh only with the Anustubh shlokas being a later addition.

Who was the greater warrior, Karna or Arjuna, according to original phrases from the Mahabharata?

 Karna and Arjuna both were the most superior warriors of their age. Let's analyze their performances throughout life

Arjuna in Drona's gurukul was regarded as the only Atiratha. He was said to be skilled in the use of all weapons. There is no such mention of Karna in Drona's gurukul except that he was a student there. Drona denied Karna the Brahmastra and Karna left to learn from Parshurama. Fast forward many years. Rangbhoomi contest. Arjuna performs great archery feats and displays his celestial weapons. Karna barges in and performs the same feats with much more dexterity, skill and ease. Karna had just outclassed Arjuna here.

But this was the turning point of Arjuna's life. He realised that there still are better warriors and archers than him and if he really wants to become the best infallible archer, he has to come out of Drona's realm. While Karna relaxed himself with all the weapons obtained from Parshurama, Arjuna started to exert himself and pleased various Gods. Being Indra's son he also gained an advantage in learning those weapons. He pleaded Agni, Varuna, Yama, Rudra, Indra, the Gandharvas and many other celestials and obtained all possible weapons from them including Varuna's noose, Yama's mace and Kubera's Antardhana. But merely gaining weapons doesn't give u an upper hand. He obtained experience by fighting aquatic and monstrous demons and vanquished them. He fought with Gandharvas and other beings to increase his arsenal of weapons and experience. Karna too, carried out Digvijaya and defeated all the kings, including the mighty Jarasandha and Bhagadatta which was an extraordinary feat. But they were mere mortals. In the Ghosha Yatra, Karna's inability to counter the Gandharva illusions of Chitrasena showed how Arjuna has started gaining the upper hand over Karna. Yes, Karna vanquished Ghatotkacha's illusionary Yatudhanas and Paulomas but they were nothing compared to Nivatakavachas and Kalkeyas. Karna was an exceptionally good warrior , but Arjuna has started increasing his level exponentially.

Karna was outclassed in the Virata war. There too, his vulnerability and Arjuna's superiority has started showcasing itself. His natural armour was taken away in exchange for an infallible dart Vasava Shakti. In the Kurukshetra war, Karna entered at the 11th day. Till then, Arjuna had acclimatized to the conditions and settled himself well. Karna started showcasing his superior prowess when on the 12th day he repelled a group attack by Arjuna, Bhima and Satyaki. But on the 13th day, he was vanquished by Abhimanyu not just once but 7 times. He did manage to cut of his bow and shield but then too, his losses were seen. His lack of concentration owing to his stopping his learning process and improvement of skills was clear. Abhimanyu was no match for Karna even at this stage. But simply being overpowered by Abhimanyu was certainly a blotch on Karna's military career. Karna lost to Bhima and Satyaki on the 14th day. He did manage to humiliate Bhima on that day, but before that he was defeated by Bhima. We can give him the benefit of doubt for fighting mildly. Whereas Arjuna had shown what destruction he was truly capable of on the 14th day when he literally crossed 3 arrays created by Drona, which included all the main Kaurava warriors, defeated them badly and achieved his goal of killing Jayadratha while Karna was rendered helpless.

A different Karna was seen from the 14th night when he started routing the Pandava and Panchala army and Lord Krishna had to send Ghatotkacha especially to stop him. Lord Krishna was clear that no one could have countered Karna in that night battle. Only he could stand in front of the Rakshasa. Karna with ease dispelled all the illusions of Ghatotkacha but was unable to kill him easily with his celestial weapons. Here again, a lack of more infallible weapons than Arjuna was seen when as a last resort he has to use the Vasava Shakti to kill Ghatotkacha.

When made Supreme Commander a more fierce Karna was seen when no one from the Pandava army could even stand in front of him. He also used his divine bow Vijaya for the first time on the day of his death. He routed everyone, repelled huge group attacks which included Arjuna, humiliated 4 Pandava brothers, used the deadly Bhargavastra and made Arjuna sweat in the last battle. He had won every heart with that performance. But his lack of patience, confidence and perseverance was seen in the last battle when he got tired and started to get overpowered by Arjuna later. He gave his best till his last breath and fought like the valiant Kshatriya he was. He was killed by the best warrior of his age after a brutal and extraordinary performance.

Arjuna excelled Karna in these skills. His concentration, experience, strategy, patience, perseverance helped him prevail over Karna. Both were extremely skilled archers but Arjuna never stopped learning even after his PhD whereas Karna remained content with graduation. This made the ultimate difference. Today, both warriors are remembered equally well and respected. But Arjuna is remembered as an ideal student. IIM Kozhikode has a statue of Arjuna to motivate its students to be a student like Arjuna.

Both gave us different lessons in life. While Karna taught never give up to circumstances, Arjuna taught to never be contented with ur progress and always aim to make ourselves better.

Considering all these points Arjuna was superior to Karna but Karna wasn't far behind.

Why was Arjuna jealous of Ekalavya and destroyed his life?

 Let us look at the difference (in skill and natural talent) between Ekalavya and Arjuna which reveals why Arjuna was extremely jealous of Ekalavya.

Arjuna received basic as well as advanced lessons of archery from Kripacharya. Upto the level of four advanced methods of archery. Pandu being an exceptional archer obviously would've taught him earlier.

He then taught Kripa the four branches of the science of arms, and various other branches of knowledge, including all their mysteries and recondite details. In a short time Kripa became an eminent professor of the science (of arms). And the hundred sons of Dhritarashtra, and the Pandavas along with the Yadavas, and the Vrishnis, and many other princes from various lands, began to receive lessons from him in that science.'"

Drona’s school focused on specialisations and advanced techniques like Vyuh knowledge, fighting with multiple persons and so on.

Arjun became a seasoned veteran warrior under Drona's guidance. His excellence as well as years worth of training is evident from the following verses.

'Thereafter 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.

And hearing reports of his skill, kings and princes, desirous of learning the science of arms, flocked to Drona by thousands. Amongst those that came there, O monarch, was a prince named Ekalavya, who was the son of Hiranyadhanus, king of the Nishadas (the lowest of the mixed orders).

Arjuna's skills enhanced his fame throughout the land and hearing about it princes from other lands came to Drona's schools to be as skilled as Arjun himself.. One amongst those was the Tribal prince named Ekalavya. But Drona rejected him due to some reasons..

So he left and created a statue of Drona and began practising archery by himself Without any aid or guidance. Let us look at Ekalavya’s skill at this point of time.

The Nishada prince, touching Drona's feet with bent head, wended his way into the forest, and there he made a clay-image of Drona, and began to worship it respectfully, as if it was his real preceptor, and practised weapons before it with the most rigid regularity. In consequence of his exceptional reverence for his preceptor and his devotion to his purpose, all the three processes of fixing arrows on the bowstring, aiming, and letting off became very easy for him.

It's said that due to his determination, fixing arrows, aiming and releasing became so easy for him. These are the very basics of archery and he wasn't even proficient in those.

The starting gap between Arjuna and Ekalavya is Humongous. Arjuna has years of training and experience, proficient in 4 types of archery, possessed all celestial weapons barring Brahamstra and a seasoned warrior skilled in fighting with multiple warriors and in multiple weapons too, a veteran warrior. On the other hand, Ekalavya wasn't even a noob archer at this point.

Few months or years later…

Pandas went for hunting with their Dog and it strayed and encountered the tribal prince there. Upon seeing his filthy form, it began to bark loud at him. Just by tracking it's sound(sonic archery aka sabda ved), Ekalavya sent 7 arrows to its mouth sealing it shut without killing the dog.

It dashed back to pandas and upon seeing the handicraft of the marksman who did it pandas including Arjuna were amazed as well as ashamed realising their inability to perform such a feat.

The dog, thus pierced with seven arrows, came back to the Pandavas. Those heroes, who beheld that sight, were filled with wonder, and, ashamed of their own skill, began to praise the lightness of hand and precision of aim by auricular precision (exhibited by the unknown archer).

They met him and got the details and went back to Drona's school. Arjun however became incredibly jealous of him and saw Drona in Private.

He said ekalavya was far superior to himself and began to cry about it remembering Drona's promise to him that Arjuan woudl be his best student..

'The Pandavas then, having made themselves acquainted with everything connected with him, returned (to the city), and going unto Drona, told him of that wonderful feat of archery which they had witnessed in the woods. Arjuna, in particular, thinking all the while, O king, Ekalavya, saw Drona in private and relying upon his preceptor's affection for him, said, 'Thou hadst lovingly told me, clasping me, to thy bosom, that no pupil of thine should be equal to me. Why then is there a pupil of thine, the mighty son of the Nishada king, superior to me?"

Drona saw no other option but to permanently impair his skills, and therefore asked his thumb.

'On hearing these words, Drona reflected for a moment, and resolving upon the course of action he should follow, took Arjuna with him and went unto the Nishada prince. And he beheld Ekalavya with body besmeared with filth, matted locks (on head), clad in rags, bearing a bow in hand and ceaselessly shooting arrows therefrom.

And when Ekalavya saw Drona approaching towards him, he went a few steps forward, and touched his feet and prostrated himself on the ground. And the son of the Nishada king worshipping Drona, duly represented himself as his pupil, and clasping his hands in reverence stood before him (awaiting his commands). Then Drona, O king, addressed Ekalavya, saying, 'If, O hero, thou art really my pupil, give me then my fees.' On hearing these words, Ekalavya was very much gratified, and said in reply, 'O illustrious preceptor, what shall I give? Command me; for there is nothing, O foremost of all persons conversant with the Vedas, that I may not give unto my preceptor.' Drona answered, 'O Ekalavya, if thou art really intent on making me a gift, I should like then to have the thumb of thy right hand.'

The reason for Arjuna's jealousy and Drona seeking the thumb are exactly the same, Arjuna was no match to Ekalavya.

And the gap was not even close. A professional warrior was easily outclassed by a tribal nobody in a matter of few months or years. Such tremendous rate of growth as an archer made him a huge threat to Arjuna's stature.. Had he continued to improve Arjuna woudl've been left in the dust. Arjuna knew it. So did Drona. Therefore Arjuan was happy on seeing Ekalavya deprived of thumb and his jealousy left him knowing that without a thumb he would never be as good as himself.

'Hearing these cruel words of Drona, who had asked of him his thumb as tuition-fee, Ekalavya, ever devoted to truth and desirous also of keeping his promise, with a cheerful face and an unafflicted heart cut off without ado his thumb, and gave it unto Drona.

After this, when the Nishada prince began once more to shoot with the help of his remaining fingers, he found, O king, that he had lost his former lightness of hand. And at this Arjuna became happy, the fever (of jealousy) having left him.

Arjuna cannot surpass or even come close to Ekalavya no matter the amount of practise he undergoes or advanced techniques he learnt, Ekalavya was simply built different. If the case were otherwise Arjuna woudl've focused on improving his skills instead of whining to Drona. And Drona would've focused on training him harder instead of asking for Ekalavya's thumb. The fact is clear from the text..

If Arjuna had entered the Chakravyuh instead of Abhimanyu, what would he have done differently to escape and/or avoid the combined assault of all Kaurava warriors?

 Chakravyuh is a brilliant military tactical approach that only few warriors such as Drona, Krishna and Arjun knew to breach and break it. It involved large army formation in multiple layers requiring highest surviving skills to prevail. The warrior entering the layer must ensure he creates gap as wide as possible so that other soldiers doesn’t fill the gap. The warrior entering Chakravuyh must be able to create as much as panic as possible before he reached the inner most circle where experienced warriors stay. This requires great skills to breach the layers and break the Chakravuyh.

On 13th Day, Dronacharya formed the Chakravuyh to capture Yudhistir and end the war. Since Arjun was not present at this moment, Abhimanyu entered Chakravuyh and got killed. He knew how to enter the Chakravuyh but couldn’t know how to come out of this. Though was able to breach the layers and reach innermost circle, the onslaught from Kauravas warriors were highly demanding and he was unable to break it. Besides, the 4 pandavas were successfully stopped by Jayadratha from supporting Abhimanyu, he had a supreme power from Lord Shiva to defeat any warrior expect Arjun for one day.

Let’s assume, Arjun, the great archer along with Krishna, the great strategist had entered the Chakravuyh, perhaps the battle would have been completed that day. Even Jayadratha who stopped 4 pandavas with blessing from Shiva couldn’t have stopped Arjun. Jayadratha had blessing from Shiva on any one day he will win any warrior expect Arjun. Arjun knew how to enter and break the Chakravyuh. Arjun had divya astras than any warriors giving him enough fire power to overcome the Kaurava Warriors. With Krishna as his Charioteer, he must received all the advises causing massive destruction to Kauravas. Since Chakravuyh utilized large number of resources to be formed, it would presented a opportunity for Arjun and Krishna to exploit entire Kaurava armies.

Dronacharya knew Arjun very well can break the Chakravuyh hence planned Chakravuyh in a way that Arjun and Krishna would not be able to participate and kept both of them away from the battle to annihilate Pandavas and leveraged the one time supreme power of Jayadratha to win the day for Kauravas. Had Arjun entered Chakravuyh with Krishna, day would have seen different outcome with possibility of many Kauravas Warriors perishing that day.

Nevertheless, the outcome was turning point in the war since Abhimanyu’s death angered Pandavas and they used treacherous ways to kill key Kauravas such as Drona, Karna and Duryodhan.

Why did Lord Krishna leave Arjuna after the war of Mahabharata?

 Krishna stayed in Hastinapura with the Pandavas for a long time after the Kurukshetra war.

Vaishampayana replied, ‘O lord of the earth! Having conquered the kingdom, the Pandaveyas were tranquil. Vasudeva and Dhananjaya were delighted. They sported in pleasure, like the lord of the gods in heaven. They progressively sported in colourful groves, the slopes of mountains, colourful valleys, lakes and rivers. They were like the two Ashvins in Nandana. The great-souled Krishna and Pandava found pleasure in Indraprastha. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! They entered the assembly hall and sported there. O king! They conversed and recounted the colourful stories of the war and tales of the hardships. They spoke about the lineages of the rishis and the gods. Those great-souled ones, the ancient and excellent rishis, were delighted.

• 15, Ashwamedhika parva, Mahabharata.

Krishna then briefly returned to Dwaraka. He returned soon after during which he brought Parikshit back to life. After that Krishna remained in Hastinapura during Yudhishtira's Ashwamedha Yajna.

These are the last descriptions of Krishna with the Pandavas

Delighted, the maharathas gave him large amounts of riches. In that way, the king (Yudhishtira) humbly presented himself before Krishna, the wielder of the chakra and the gada, like Pradyumna presenting himself before Govinda. Krishna honoured the king and gave him an extremely expensive chariot that was decorated with gold and was yoked to divine and supreme horses. Dharmaraja, Bhima, the twins and Phalguna separately honoured the one who deserved to be shown respect.

• 90, Ashwamedhika parva, Mahabharata.

However, he (Vyasa) again said, “You gave it to me. But I am giving it back to you. Give gold to the brahmanas and let the earth be yours.” Vasudeva then spoke to Dharmaraja Yudhishthira. “You should act as the illustrious Vyasa has said.” ‘Thus addressed, the best of the Kuru lineage and his brothers were delighted in their minds. They gave away crores and crores of coins, so that it was three times the normal dakshina at a sacrifice.

• 91, Ashwamedhika parva, Mahabharata.

After the Ashwamedha was completed, Yudhishtira was firmly in power in Kuru kingdom. Krishna's purpose with the Pandavas was over and so he returned to Dwaraka. There is no further description of Krishna ever meeting the Pandavas again.

Would Arjun had won the Mahabharata war without Krishna?

 Short answer- No

Without Krishna Arjuna and the Pandavas would never have won the Mahabharata war. This was confirmed by Krishna himself.

The Pandavas were distressed and immersed in thought. On seeing this, Krishna spoke these words, in a voice that rumbled like clouds and drums. ‘All of them were swift in the use of weapons and were maharathas. In a fair fight, even if we fought bravely, we were incapable of defeating them in the battle. That is the reason I thought of means to slay those lords of men. Otherwise, the Pandaveyas would never have obtained victory.

Mahabharat Gadda Yuddha Parva Chapter 60 By Bori Ce

Fact is clear from numerous events that Kuru warriors would have killed Arjuna if not for Krishna on his side. Most important thing is that he would get the knowledge of Bhagwad Gita from Krishna to win the war

• Bhishma proved too difficult to be beaten by the Pandavas and could be brought down only when Shikhandi stood before him. It was Krishna who planned that the best way to defeat him is to ask him else killing Bhishma would be impossible.
• If not for Krishna Bhagadatta would have killed Arjuna twice on 12th day. His infalliable Vaishnavastra would have killed Arjuna had Krishna not stopped it. And his elephant Supratika would have trampled him had Krishna not skillfully guided the chariot.
• Without Krishna Arjuna would not have been able to complete his pledge of killing Jyadratha. It was Krishna who suggested Arjuna to obtain a boon from Shiva before 14th day as he was not supposed to fight in the war.
• Shrutayudh with his infalliable mace would have quite easily killed Partha on 14th day if not for Krishna present there.
• Would have been killed had Krishna not informed him of Jyadratha,’ s boon by his father that The person who fights with Jyadratha in an encounter and brings his head down on the ground his head will shatter into a hundred fragments.
• Karna with his infalliable Vasavi shakti could have killed Arjuna but it was Krishna who used his illusions to make Karna forget from using Vasavi shakti and send Ghatotkacha against Karna on 14th night so that the spear be wasted.
• Drona was unstoppable on 15th day after Duryodhana,’ s taunts of him fighting mildly against the Pandavas. All the Pandavas including Arjuna were scared to death and Krishna planned to use treachery to bring him down as others were incapable of stopping him that day.
• Narayanastra of Ashwathama would have consumed the entire Pandava army including Arjuna but it was Krishna who revealed the secret of countering Narayanastra only then the Pandavas managed to escape from the wrath of the weapon.
• The supreme Agneyastra of Ashwathama would have again killed Arjuna and the entire Pandava army but was rendered futile due to Krishna as revealed by Vyasa to Ashwathama.
• He failed to counter the Brahmastras of Drona and Karna which resulted in blasting of his chariot but he was saved by Hanuman and Krishna.
• Nagastra of Karna would have beheaded Arjuna on 17th day but Krishna pressed down the chariot and prevented the arrow from hitting Arjuna,’ s neck.
• Arjuna accepted his inability to counter Bhargavastra and claims how can a dead man be victorious indicating had he been in the range of Bhargavastra he would be killed. It was Krishna who suggested Arjuna to retreat to the camp hoping Karna would be exhausted giving Arjuna a better chance to fight him.

However there is no scope of these events occuring. Because without Krishna Arjuna would have been kiolled by Bhagadatta on the 12th day.

But Krishna was not the only one protecting Arjuna. In case of Ashwamedha Yagya Jyadratha foot soldiers would have killed him but Saptarishis Saved him from certain death. There were Invisible forces protecting Arjuna because of him being on side of dharma. This plot Armour might give him an edge.

How many marriages did Arjuna have in the Mahabharata?

 Arjuna totally had 5 wives.

Draupadi

Princess of Panchala kingdom and daughter of Drupada. Together they had a son named Srutakriti.

Ulupi

Arjuna was dragged by Ullupi to the bottom of the sea. Ullupi was the daughter of the king of the Nagas. Ullupi also threatened Arjuna that if he doesn’t accept her then she will commit suicide. They spent one night together and in the next morning, Arjuna left. While leaving, Ullupi granted Arjuna a boon making him invincible in water. They had a son named Iravan. Though they did not marry according to vedic formalities, Arjuna regarded her as his wife. After Ashwamedha sacrifice, Ullupi lived in Hastinapur.

[1]

Chitrangada

The King of Manipur,Chitravahana had a beautiful daughter named Chitrangada. Seeing the beauty of Chitrangada, Arjuna asked the king to give his daughter to him. They married and had a son named Babruvahana.

[2]

Subadra

Subadra was the beloved sister of Krishna and last wife of Arjuna. Subadra was extremely beautiful and Arjuna desired to posses her. On the advice of Krishna, Arjuna eloped with her. They married in Dwarka. On completion of 12 years exile, Arjuna took her to Indraprasta.

Unnamed sister of Vasuki

After Khandava daha, Arjuna married the sister of Vasuki. Her name is not mentioned in Mahabharata.

Yudhishthira said, "And what office will be performed by that mighty descendant of the Kurus, Dhananjaya, the son of Kunti, that foremost of men possessed of long arms, invincible in fight, and before whom, while he was staying with Krishna, the divine Agni himself desirous of consuming the forest of Khandava had formerly appeared in the guise of a Brahmana? What office will be performed by that best of warriors, Arjuna, who proceeded to that forest and gratified Agni, vanquishing on a single car and slaying huge Nagas and Rakshasas, and who married the sister of Vasuki himself, the king of the Nagas?

[3]

Image (s) Courtesy: Pinterest

What are some lesser-known feats of Arjuna that prove his prowess in battle?

 In the Arjuna‑vanavasa Parva, there is a tale of celestial apsaras, Varga and her friends, cursed into being crocodiles by a brahmana. Arjuna delivers them from their curse and hence are transformed to their original self,

“Hearing what had happened the Rishi said, 'In the low-lands bordering on the southern ocean, there are five regions of sacred water. They are delightful and eminently holy. Go ye thither without delay. That tiger among men, Dhananjaya, the son of Pandu of pure soul, will soon deliver you, without doubt, from this sad plight.' O hero, hearing the Rishi's words, all of us came hither. O sinless one, true it is that I have today been delivered by thee. But those four friends of mine are still within the other waters here. O hero, do a good deed by delivering them also.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Then, O monarch, that foremost of the Pandavas, endued with great prowess, cheerfully delivered all of them from that curse. Rising from the waters they all regained their own forms. Those Apsaras then, O king, all looked as before. Freeing those sacred waters (from the danger for which they had been notorious), and giving the Apsaras leave to go where they chose”,

SECTION CCXIX Arjuna-vanavasa Parva K M Ganguli’s Mahabharat

Slaughter of Gandharvas

In Vana Parva, there is an episode where Arjuna fights the Gandharvas, celestial beings, in battle and uses several astra (celestial weapons) to great effect. He traps them in arrows, cuts off their weapons, and uses powerful divine astras to check their attack and then counterattacks.

“Then Arjuna of the Kuru race shot his well-known weapons called Sthunakarna, Indrajala, Saura, Agneya and Saumya. And the Gandharvas consumed by the fiery weapons of Kunti's son, began to suffer heavily, like the sons of Diti, while being scorched by Sakra's thunder-bolt. And when they attacked Arjuna from above, they were checked by his net of arrows. And while they attacked him from all sides on the surface of the earth, they were checked by his crescent-shaped arrows. And beholding the Gandharvas put in fear by Kunti's son, Chitrasena rushed, O Bharata, at Dhananjaya, armed with a mace. And as the king of the Gandharvas was rushing at Arjuna from above with that mace in hand, the latter cut with his arrows that mace wholly made of iron into seven pieces. And beholding that mace of his cut into many pieces by Arjuna of great activity, with his arrows, Chitrasena, by means of his science, concealed himself from the view of the Pandava and began to fight with him.”

SECTION CCXLIII Vana Parva K M Ganguli’s Mahabharat

Another one less remarked upon is during the Swayamvara of Draupadi. Arjuna fights Karna. Their duel is notable for how fiercely they match each other, and how Arjuna’s strength of arms, energy, and stamina are praised even by Karna.

“Then the illustrious Arjuna beholding Karna, the son of Vikartana (Surya), advancing towards him, drew his tough bow and pieced him with his sharp arrows. And the impetus of those whetted arrows furnished with fierce energy made Radheya (Karna) faint. Recovering consciousness Karna attacked Arjuna with greater care than before. Then Karna and Arjuna, both foremost of victorious warriors, desirous of vanquishing each other, fought madly on. And such was the lightness of hand they both displayed that (each enveloped by the other's shower of arrows) they both became invisible (unto the spectators of their encounter). 'Behold the strength of my arms.'--'Mark, how I have counteracted that feat,'--those were the words--intelligible to heroes alone--in which they addressed each other. And incensed at finding the strength and energy of Arjuna's arms unequalled on the earth, Karna, the son of Surya, fought with greater vigour. And parrying all those impetuous arrows shot at him by Arjuna, Karna sent up a loud shout. And this feat of his was applauded by all the warriors. Then addressing his antagonist, Karna said, 'O thou foremost of Brahmanas, I am gratified to observe the energy of thy arms that knoweth no relaxation in battle and thy weapons themselves fit for achieving victory. Art thou the embodiment of the science of weapons, or art thou Rama that best of Brahmanas, or Indra himself, or Indra's younger brother Vishnu called also Achyuta, who for disguising himself hath assumed the form of a Brahmana and mustering such energy of arms fighteth with me? No other person except the husband himself of Sachi or Kiriti, the son of Pandu, is capable of fighting with me when I am angry on the field of battle.' Then hearing those words of his, Phalguna replied, saying, 'O Karna, I am neither the science of arms (personified), nor Rama endued with superhuman powers. I am only a Brahmana who is the foremost of all warriors and all wielders of weapons. By the grace of my preceptor I have become accomplished in the Brahma and the Paurandara weapons. I am here to vanquish thee in battle. Therefore, O hero, wait a little.'

"Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed (by Arjuna), Karna the adopted son of Radha desisted from the fight, for that mighty chariot-fighter thought that Brahma energy is ever invincible.”

SECTION CLXLII Swayamvara Parva K M Ganguli’s mahabharat

Indra tells Arjuna that he had acquired invincible prowess. He challenges him to slay the Nivatakavachas, the demons who lived in the womb of the ocean. That would be his guru dakshina,

“Nothing is there in the three worlds that is not in your power (to achieve) My enemies, those Danavas, named, Nivata-Kavacas dwell in the womb of the ocean. And they number thirty million and are notorious, and all of equal forms and strength and splendour. Do you slay them there, O Kuntis son; and that will be your preceptor’s fee.”

Section CLXVII : Tirtha-yatra Parva K M Ganguli’s Mahabharat

Arjun not only annihilates the invincible demons but also destroys their city,

“Thereupon, O Bharata, in this matter the Lord commanded (Indra), saying, 'O slayer of foes, in another body, even thou shalt be (the destroyer of the Danavas).' Then, in order to slaughter them, Sakra rendered unto thee those weapons. The gods had been unable to slay these, who have been slain by thee. O Bharata, in the fullness of time, hadst thou come hither, in order to destroy them and thou hast done so. O foremost of men, with the object that the demons might be killed, Mahendra had conferred on thee the excellent prime energy of these weapons.'

"Arjuna continued, 'After having destroyed the Danavas, and also subdued that city, with Matali I again went to that abode of the celestials.'"

SECTION CLXXI Tirtha-yatra Parva K M Ganguli’s Mahabharat

In the Karna Parva, Arjuna slays younger brother of Sudakshina of the Kamboja tribe,

“Repairing to that further wing which was protected by the Kambojas, Partha began to grind it forcibly with his arrows like Vasava grinding the Danavas. With broad-headed arrows he began to quickly cut off the arms, with weapons in grasp, and also the heads of foes longing to slay him. Deprived of diverse limbs, and of weapons, they began to fall down on the Earth, like trees of many boughs broken by a hurricane. While he was engaged in thus slaughtering elephants and steeds and car-warriors and foot-soldiers, the younger brother of Sudakshina (the chief of the Kambojas) began to pour showers of arrows on him. With a couple of crescent-shaped arrows, Arjuna cut off the two arms, looking like spiked maces, of his striking assailant, and then his head graced with a face as beautiful as the full moon, with a razor-headed arrow. Deprived of life, he fell down from his vehicle, his body bathed in blood, like the thunder-riven summit of a mountain of red arsenic. Indeed, people saw the tall and exceedingly handsome younger brother of Sudakshina, the chief of the Kambojas, of eyes resembling lotus petals, slain and fall down like a column of gold or like a summit of the golden Sumeru. Then commenced a battle there once more that was fierce and exceedingly wonderful. The condition of the struggling combatants varied repeatedly. Each slain with a single arrow, and combatants of the Kamboja, the Yavana, and the Saka races, fell down bathed in blood, upon which the whole field of battle became one expanse of red, O monarch”.

Section 56 Karna Parva K M Ganguli’s Mahabharat

---

While in exile, Arjuna and Kirata (a disguised Lord Shiva) combat. Totally in awe of the Pandav’s skill, Lord Shiva bestows the Pashupata weapon on him.