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.

Between Ashwathama and Karna, who is the better warrior?

 Both warriors were inconsistent and usually equal in terms of capabilities. But on an overall performance. Karna scores higher!

Points for my reasoning.

1. Karna might have slightly more defeats, but he also had far more victories.
2. He conquered the whole world, which is specifically mentioned in BORI CE as well.
3. He also defeated the entire might of the Bharatha Kings in the Kalinga swayambara. Thousands of kings from all over the world were casually defeated.
4. Ashvathma arguably performed better than Karna in Virata war. But at the end of the day, they both lost the overall battle.
5. Other than that, we don’t see Ashthama in a lot of action. He mostly remains neutral. So it’s hard to gauge his power before the Kurukshetra war.

Now in Kurukshetra war. There was one day where Ashvathma completely dominated the battle. On the 15th day.

Pandavas including Arjuna were dominated by Drona’s son, who remained unvanquished in battle.

But karna dominated both the 16th and the 17th day, as well as the 14th night.

• On the 16th day of the battle.

He possibly defeated Arjuna and the other Pandavas once and then he defeated them again infront of Arjuna while simultaneously fighting him.

Having severed Hardikya’s bow and standard and killed his horses, he cut down Duhshasana’s supreme bow and attacked Radheya. At this, Karna abandoned Satyaki and struck Arjuna with three arrows. He then pierced Krishna with twenty arrows and struck Partha with three more. However, Satyaki advanced against Karna and pierced him with sharp arrows, first with ninety-nine fierce arrows and yet again with one hundred. All the foremost among the Pandus oppressed Karna—Yudhamanyu, Shikhandi, Droupadi’s sons, the Prabhadrakas, Uttamouja, Yuyutsu, the twins and Parshata.

The Chedis, Karushas, Matsyas, Kekayas and their armies, the powerful Chekitana and Dharmaraja, excellent in his vows—these rathas, horses, elephants and foot soldiers who were fierce in their valour—surrounded Karna in that battle and released many kinds of weapons. All of them devoted themselves to killing Karna and addressed him in fierce and eloquent words. Karna used his sharp arrows to cut down those numerous showers of weapons. He destroyed all of them, like a wind breaks down trees. One saw Karna angrily use his storm of arrows to destroy rathas, elephants and their riders, horses and their riders. The Pandu forces were slaughtered by Karna’s energy. Most of them lost their weapons and their bodies were wounded. They retreated.

Source- karna Parva critical edition of Mahabharata.

He was the only one who was stated to be capable of countering Ghatotkacha in a night battle.

Granted Ashvathma did great against Ghatotkacha and defeated him, but Karna thrashed Ghatotkacha and defeated him several times. Caught his Rudra vajra with bare hands.

He aka defeated every single Pandava Maharatha and could have easily killed Yuddhistira and ended the war on the 17th day.

• He has also made Arjuna retreat from the battlefield. Something Ashvathma hasn't been able to do.

‘ “At this, Kunti’s son, Dhananjaya, spoke to Vasudeva. ‘Behold the extremely terrible bhargava weapon. O Krishna! O mighty-armed one! Behold the valour of the bhargava weapon.

There is no means of countering that weapon in a battle. O Krishna! Behold the angry son of a suta in the great battle. The brave one is like Yama and has performed a terrible deed. He is repeatedly casting extremely terrible glances towards me. I do not see any means of running away from Karna in this battle. If a man remains alive in a battle, there may be victory, or there may be defeat.

O Hrishikesha! For the sake of victory, how can one be victorious if one is dead?’ O venerable one! Janardana wished to leave to see Yudhishthira and thought that Karna would be overcome with exhaustion in the battle.

Karna Parva critical edition of Mahabharata.

As for Astras. Both were master of all the Brahma weapons. Both possessed the Brahmashira weapon, so that point is mute.

Ashvathma had the edge with his Narayana weapon, but it can only be used once and it can be countered if a warrior simply surrenders.

But even if all of this is ignored, there’s a direct answer on why Ashvathama despite having immense potential never managed to achieve many great feats. It’s his lack of control.

He used a supreme weapon in battle like Narayana astra in battle, infact he dared to use another supreme weapon aka the Brahmashira missile on pregnant women.

Warriors like Karna and Arjuna did use astras on warriors in battle. Arjuna previously used the Vajra on soldiers, Karna used the Brahmastra. But they still never used it on innocent people, only in war and out of desperation.

Karna while brash, kept his weapons under control and steadied his mind. Which is what allowed him to counter all of Arjuna's weapons in his final battle.

He performed so well thT even Shree Krishna offered his sudarshana chakra to Arjuna after looking at Karna's performance.

Near the end of the battle. Arjuna's weapons were exhausted in battle and he was afflicted by Karna's weapons.

If Ashvathma learned to control himself, then he probably would have been better than both Arjuna and Karna. But this brash behaviour led to his downgrade.

Ashvathma started out better but Karna eventually surpassed him. The feats clearly reflect the overall growth.

Hence Karna proved himself to be the better warrior. Over time Karna learned to be better, and by the end ofwhile Ashvathama did not.

What were the abilities of Karna other than archery?

Karna is one of the most fascinating character of Mahabharata. His various deeds are mentioned throughout the epic. Some of his abilities are -

• Able enough to be chosen by gods to assist them in their plan.

Narration -

Therefore, listen to what happened in earlier times, about how the kshatriyas would be cleansed by weapons and would go to heaven. To engender that dissension, he was created in a virgin womb.

• Able enough to obtain all the weapons from Lord Parshuram. Able enough to win the hearts of gods, gandharvas and rakshasas.

Narration -

Karna resided on Mahendra, supreme among mountains, and met gandharvas, rakshasas, yakshas and gods there. There, in the proper way, he obtained all the weapons from the best of the Bhrigu lineage. Because of this, he was loved by the gods, the gandharvas and the rakshasas.

• Able enough to please his guru Lord Parshurama by his virtues.

Narration -

The tiger among the Bhrigu lineage was pleased with the strength of Karna’s arms, affection, self-control and the service he showed towards his preceptor. He was also excellent in austerities.

• Able enough to bear pain of a rakshasa disguised as a bug for his guru.

Narration -

Karna bore that pain with fortitude and ignored it. He did not tremble and continued to bear Bhargava. Eventually, the blood from the limbs touched the extender of the Bhrigu lineage.

• Able enough to defeat Jarasandha in a wrestling duel. Able enough to get administration of a city from Jarasandha purely on his valour and merit.

Narration -

While fighting with him in that terrible duel with bare arms, Karna was about to sever the two parts of the body that had been brought together by Jara. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing that his body was about to face this hardship, the king cast aside all enmity and spoke these affectionate words to Karna. ‘I am pleased.’ He gave Karna the city of Malini.

• Able enough to make Lord Surya (his ishtadeva) proclaim that he is Surya's greatest devotee. This is testimony of Karna's devotional ability. This is what Surya said to him -

Narration -

It is because you are devoted to me that I am telling you this for the sake of your own welfare. This is for the reason that all my devotees should be protected by me. O mighty-armed one! I know that this one here is my greatest devotee and is devoted towards me.

• Able enough to make Indra arrive as a mendicant on Earth.
• Able enough to smilingly cut his body to give away his divine armour and earrings. This feat was even acknowledged by gods.

Narration -

He grasped his sharp sword and began to cut up his entire body. On seeing Karna cut up his own body, the gods, humans, danavas and masses of siddhas began to roar, because despite the pain, there were no distortions on his face. Celestial drums were sounded and divine flowers were showered down from above, at the sight of Karna, the brave man, smiling repeatedly as he cut up his own body with the sword.

• Able enough to refuse the tempting offer of Krishna for his foster parents and Duryodhana.

Narration 1-

As soon as he saw me, the suta Adhiratha took me home. O Madhusudana! Out of affection towards me, he gave me to Radha. Out of affection towards me, milk flowed from Radha’s breasts. O Madhava! She accepted my urine and my excrement. How can someone like me ignore the ancestral oblations that are due to her? I am learned in dharma. I have always devoted myself to listening to the sacred texts of dharma. Suta Adhiratha thinks of me as a son. Out of affection towards him, I have always thought of him as a father.

Narration 2 -

O Janardana! I cannot be false to Dhritarashtra’s intelligent son because of death, bondage, fear or greed.

• Able enough to accept his mistake in front of Krishna.

Narration -

O Krishna! I regret the harsh words I used against the Pandavas to please Dhritarashtra’s son. I am now tormented by that deed. O Krishna! When you see me killed by Savyasachi, that will be the punashchiti.

• Able enough to grant boon to his estranged biological mother who casted him out during birth.

Narration -

However, your appeal to me will not be fruitless. Though I can counter and kill them, I will not kill all of your sons in battle—Yudhishthira, Bhima and the twins, everyone other than Arjuna.

• Able enough to earn the title Vrisha which is one amongst the Lord Vishnu's name. Able enough to receive praise from Krishna which is depicted below.

Narration -

He is devoted to brahmanas. He is truthful. He has engaged in austerities. He is devoted to his vows. He is compassionate towards his enemies. It is for these reasons that Karna is known as Vrisha.

• Able enough to stick to his vows. Even when his biological brothers killed his sons and foster brothers, for keeping his vow to Kunti, he left four Pandavas alive.
• Able enough to earn fame as a great donor. His charity has been praised on multiple occasions by various characters in the epic.
• Able enough to seize Rudra constructed vajra with his bare hands. This feat of Karna was applauded even by the Gods.

Narration -

He hurled a vajra towards the son of a suta. That vajra was extremely terrible and possessed eight wheels. It had been constructed by Rudra. As it descended, Karna placed his bow on his chariot and seized it. He hurled it back.

• Able enough to receive praise from Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma which is depicted below.

Narration -

Karna, foremost in the worlds, is a bull among men. Vaikartana is brave and valiant. But let the two Krishnas be victorious. With Drona and Bhishma, let him obtain the great world of heaven and the worlds of the Vasus and the Maruts.

• Able enough to be killed by deceit even though he had a lot of disadvantages (contrary to his enemy who had umpteenth number of advantages).

Narration -

On hearing that Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Bhurishrava had been slain through adharma, they grieved and wept in sorrow. The Pandavas were distressed and immersed in thought.

• Able enough to agitate the nature's flow after his death. It seems mother Earth felt that she had lost a jewel after Karna died.

Narration -

When Karna was killed, the rivers stopped flowing. The sun was tainted and set. The blazing planets coursed in a diagonal direction. O king! Yama’s son arose.The sky seemed to divide into two parts. The earth seemed to shriek. Extremely harsh and forceful winds began to blow. The directions seemed to blaze fiercely, with a lot of smoke. The giant oceans were agitated and roared loudly. O venerable one! The groves, mountains and large numbers of beings were distressed and trembled. Brihaspati afflicted Rohini and assumed the complexion of the moon and the sun. When Karna was killed, the directions were covered in darkness and could not be distinguished. The firmament and the earth seemed to move. Flaming meteors showered down.

• Able enough to attain supreme success after his death.

Narration -

The great archer, Karna, was supreme among those who wielded all kinds of weapons. You are tormented on his account. But he has obtained supreme success. O lord! Look at that tiger among men, the son of the sun. He has obtained his own station.

The references and quotations used in the answer have been taken from the BORI critical edition of Mahabharata.

What are some common misconceptions about Bhishma and Karna's abilities in the Mahabharata?

 A really common Misconception about Bhisma is that He alone fought Lord Prashuram, Which is false. In reality He was being protected by Godess Ganga, Otherwise he wouldn’t have survived the clash.

He then beheld his mother Ganga, that foremost of the rivers, stationed on his car. Indeed, it was that great river-goddess who had controlled Bhishma’s steeds in the combat (after his charioteer's fall)! Worshipping then the feet of his mother and of the spirits of his ancestors, Bhishma ascended his car. His mother then protected his car, steeds, and all the implements of battle.

Coming to Karna, People have a Misconception about him that He can't shoot Arrows from the both the Hands and low ball him. However, The epic says otherwise.

"While employed with his hands in taking up an arrow, fixing it on the bow-string, stretching the string and letting it off, none could notice any interval between those acts. And while Karna was thus engaged in shooting his arrows right and left, his bow incessantly drawn to a circle, like a terrible circle of fire. The keen pointed arrows, equipped with wings of gold, shot from Karna's bow, covered, O king, all the points of the compass, darkening the very light of the sun.

Karna is effectively ambidextrous as described in the Epic. Majority of the people think that only Arjuna is ambidextrous cause it is one of his permanent epithet is wrong.

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My Answer is based on Mahabharat epic and refers to authentic versions including

• English translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli (KMG)
• Neelkanth edition Sanskrit Hindi version of Gita Press

Who is more powerful, Karna or Arjun?

Karna Vs Arjuna

The debate over who was stronger between Karna and Arjuna is one of the most fascinating aspects of the Mahabharata. Both warriors were matchless archers, divine sons of powerful deities, and possessed extraordinary skills, making them almost equal rivals on the battlefield. To understand who was truly stronger, we have to examine their individual achievements, their unique qualities, and the ultimate circumstances of their final clash at Kurukshetra.

Karna, the son of the Sun God Surya, was born with divine armor and earrings that made him virtually invincible. His strength was not just physical, but also lay in his mental resilience and his legendary generosity. He was known as Danveer Karna because he could never refuse anyone who asked for charity. His absolute confidence and power are evident from the fact that he willingly cut off his own birthright protection, the Kavacha and Kundala, and gifted them to Indra, knowing it would make him vulnerable.

Indra disguised as Bhikshu

Beyond his charity, Karna defeated powerful warriors like Bhima, Sahadeva, and Nakula during the war, sparing their lives only due to a promise made to his mother, Kunti. He also possessed the deadly Vasavi Shakti dart, which was capable of killing any enemy, and was a master of divine weapons.

On the other hand, Arjuna, the son of Indra, was the ultimate personification of focus, discipline, and devotion to archery. Under the guidance of Dronacharya, Arjuna became a flawless warrior who excelled in every form of combat. His achievements were monumental: he defeated the entire Kuru army single-handedly during the Virata war, won the hand of Draupadi by piercing the eye of a rotating fish just by looking at its reflection, and even pleased Lord Shiva in combat to obtain the Pashupatastra. Arjuna possessed the Gandiva bow, a celestial weapon that never failed, and two inexhaustible quivers. His focus was so sharp that he could shoot arrows with equal precision using both hands, earning him the name Savyasachi.

When comparing them face-to-face, their skills were beautifully matched, and throughout the war, they countered each other’s finest attacks. However, during their final duel on the seventeenth day of the Kurukshetra war, multiple curses and a tragic twist of fate caught up with Karna. The earth swallowed the wheel of Karna's chariot due to an old curse. As his chariot sank, the intense stress caused him to forget the incantations for his most powerful weapons, which was another curse from his guru, Parashurama.

Karna stepped down from his chariot, put his weapons aside, and bowed down to lift the heavy wheel out of the mud. He appealed to Arjuna’s sense of Kshatriya dharma, asking him not to strike an unarmed warrior who was grounded. Arjuna hesitated, knowing that attacking an unarmed man went against the codes of righteous warfare.

At this critical moment, Lord Krishna intervened. Krishna reminded Arjuna of the multiple occasions where dharma had been completely abandoned by Karna and his allies. Krishna asked where Karna's sense of righteousness was when Abhimanyu was brutally surrounded and killed by multiple warriors, or when Draupadi was humiliated in the royal court. Krishna explained that Karna had actively supported those unrighteous acts, and therefore, cosmic justice demanded his end. Prompted by Krishna's words about restoring balance and punishing past wrongdoings, Arjuna released the fatal Anjalika weapon, which struck Karna while he was still trying to free his chariot wheel.

Ultimately, deciding who was stronger depends on how strength is measured. If physical invincibility and dealing with constant misfortune are the criteria, Karna stands out as a tragic hero who fought against fate itself. If supreme focus, divine blessings, and fighting on the path of righteousness are the measures, Arjuna proved himself to be the ultimate victor. Their legendary rivalry remains perfectly balanced because while Arjuna won the battle, Karna won eternal glory for his unmatched bravery and sacrifice.

Apart from Karna, which other warrior in the war was a direct descendant of Surya?

 All the Pandavas and Kauravas were direct descendents of Surya.

King Kuru, from whom the dynasty got its name is the son of Tapati, daughter of Surya

Through Tapati, the daughter of Surya, Samvarana had a son named Kuru. Since Kuru was learned in the way of dharma, all the subjects instated him as their king. It is after his name that Kurujangala has become so famous in the world.

• 89, Sambhava parva, Mahabharata.

Gandharva chitraratha says to Arjuna

“O Partha! This is the story of the greatly fortunate Tapati of ancient times. She was the daughter of Vivasvat (Surya) and it is after her that you are named Tapatya. O Arjuna! O greatest among those who scorch! On Tapati, King Samvarana had a son named Kuru. Born in that lineage of Tapati, you are known as Tapatya.”

• 163, Chaitraratha parva, Mahabharata.

​Why did Karna refuse to join the Pandavas even after Krishna revealed he was the eldest brother?

 The Krishna-karna conversation in Udyoga parva might be interpolated. Therefore let's look at Karna's conversation with Kunti to see his reasoning.

Karna says that people will think that he switched sides because he is afraid of Arjuna

Who does not suffer when Dhananjaya is aided by Krsna? If I now go over to the Parthas, who will not think that I am frightened?

• 144, Karna Upanivada parva, Mahabharata.

Karna says that he can't abandon the Kauravas suddenly after they have given everything to him and after he had given them hopes of victory

The sons of Dhritarashtra have given me a share in every object of desire. They have honoured me and given me every kind of happiness. How can I act counter to that now?They have always served me and have always bowed down before me, like the Vasus before Vasava. They now confront a feud with an enemy. They think that with my life, they can withstand the enemies. How can I act against the desire that is there in their minds?

• 144, Karna Upanivada parva, Mahabharata.

So his two reasons were -

A. Fear of being called a coward.

B. Wanting to repay the Kauravas for their helps.