How did Draupadi's role as a strong, independent woman shape the events of the Mahabharata?

 THE PURE CHARACTER OF YAAGYASENI DRAUPADI…

Draupadi was a very strong-willed woman. If you see, in any part of the Mahabharata, She never became weak. She had strong willpower and was a great devotee of Krishna. This devotion towards Krishna saved Her from a lot of incidents. Not only was She a strong-willed woman, but She was very sharp and intelligent. During Pandava Vanavasa, Krishna, along with Satyabhama, visited the Pandavas. There, Satyabhama and Draupadi had a conversation, wherein Draupadi Herself narrated how She used to know each one in all of Indraprastha.

The Pandavas had thousands of servants and maids. In that too, whose name is what, what is their designated work, who has taken a holiday, and for what reason, everything was known to Draupadi, without the help of anyone. She didn’t require an Excel sheet of all the servants and maids. All the Excel Sheet was in Her mind itself. That sharp, alert, and intelligent was Draupadi.

There is a misconception in the Mahabharata that, in Draupadi Svayamvara, Draupadi rejects Karna, saying that he is a Sootaputra. This is a later addition and is not authentic, because Draupadi’s brother Dhrishtadyumna himself declares that people from any caste can take part in the Svayamvara. If this is the case, then it is very illogical for Draupadi to tease Karna like this.

Another misconception about Draupadi is that, when Duryodhana, after the Raajasuya Yagya, came to Indraprastha Sabha, where Yudhishthira, Bheemasena, Arjuna, Krishna, Nakula and Sahadeva, Draupadi, and Krishna’s 16,108 queens were there. Duryodhana, due to a misconception, assuming the water design on the floor as solid floor, slipped and fell into the water. Draupadi laughs at Duryodhana, saying, “Andhe ka putra Andha.” Note that Draupadi NEVER said this thing. In reality, as Duryodhana slipped and fell into the water, Krishna, with His eye coordination, asked Bheemasena, Draupadi, and His 16,108 queens to laugh at Duryodhana. Thus, not just Draupadi, but Bheemasena, Draupadi, Krishna, and the other 16,108 queens of Krishna laughed at Duryodhana’s fall. The major plan behind this was that Krishna wanted Duryodhana to grow more hatred towards the Pandavas.

If intelligence is one strength of Draupadi, then another, and the main strength of Draupadi, was Her true and unwavering devotion towards Krishna. In the Dyuta Sabha, first Dharmaraja puts Draupadi on the stake, loses Her and then puts himself on the stake. He loses himself too in that game, and Duryodhana asks Pratikami (Duryodhana’s charioteer) to bring Draupadi. Pratikami came to Draupadi and told Her the whole incident. Draupadi didn’t cry. She asked, “Who gave Dharmaraja the right to put me on the stake?” At this, Pratikami came to Duryodhana and asked the same question. Duryodhana asks Pratikami to tell Draupadi to come here and ask the question. The second time too She doesn’t come.

This time Duryodhana sends Dushasana to bring Draupadi, dragging Her by Her hair. Dushasana comes to take Draupadi. He speaks very vulgarly to Draupadi. That’s why Lord Vedavyasa, in the Mahabharata, calls him ‘Paapinaam Chakravarti’. He chases Draupadi, even falls on Her, and then drags Her by Her hair. Draupadi was Rajasvala at that time (She was menstruating at that time). Plus, She was wearing one piece of cloth on Her body. In that case, this sinner, Dushasana, was dragging Her by Her hair and coming down into the Dyuta Sabha. He teased Draupadi, “Where is your Krishna? Call Him…call Him…let’s see how your Krishna helps you!” and laughed aloud.

Draupadi was so weakened by that physically that She continuously kept saying, “O Dushasana, please leave me…it’s painful.” But Dushasana teased Her and brought Her to the Dyuta Sabha. But the most astonishing part was that nobody spoke. Only Vidura spoke, that ‘This is Adharma.’ But nobody responded. Karna over here calls Draupadi a Veshya and asks the Pandavas to remove their clothes, since they had lost everything. Karna further even tells Draupadi to remove Her clothes. Plus, all the four wicked people - Duryodhana, Dushasana, Karna, and Shakuni are laughing aloud like, ‘AHAHAHAHA’. On hearing Karna, this sinner Shakuni also supported him. Duryodhana even shows his thigh and asks Draupadi to come and sit on his left thigh. He even forgot the basic manners of how to treat his sister-in-law, and that too the queen of the whole Aryavarta.

After this, Dushasana does the Vastraharan of Draupadi. Generally, in TV serials, we do see that during Vastraharan, Draupadi rotates as Dushasana pulls Her saree. Actually, this is not true. Because Draupadi was wearing only one piece of cloth. But what really happened is that Draupadi, from the beginning, was remembering Krishna. She prayed to Krishna, ‘O Krishna! O resident of Dwarka! O beloved of the Gopis! Please save me, who is trapped in the dense forest of the Kauravas!” At this, Krishna gave Akshaya Vastra to Draupadi. How did this happen? When Dushasana pulled Her saree, another saree was immediately there on Her body. As he pulled that too, immediately another saree was there on Her body. Like this, without letting Her honor be destroyed, Krishna protected Draupadi’s honor.

Dushasana pulled an endless heap of sarees, what felt like lakhs of garments, and still couldn't remove Her clothes, and thus Draupadi’s honor was saved. Why am I saying this so vividly? Because you can notice how dangerous this situation was, but can you imagine how courageous and devoted Draupadi was? She was one of the top-tier devotees of Krishna. She had so much tapas shakti that She could burn the entire Kauravas, Karna, and Shakuni, just with one glance, due to Her Paativratya, but She didn’t do so. Even after the Vastraharana and Bheemasena made a pratigya to break Duryodhana’s thigh, Karna and Shakuni insisted that Dushasana take Draupadi to Duryodhana’s room.

That was the time when Bheemasena woke up and went towards Duryodhana. Vidura described this to Dhritarashtra, who was busy asking, “Kim Jitam? Kim Jitam?” (Who won? Who won?). Then Dhritarashtra realized that once Bheemasena woke up, none of the Kauravas would be alive. And then, Dhritarashtra stopped the Dyuta Krida and asked the Pandavas to return to Indraprastha. In that state, too, Draupadi was fearless at last and cursed them to be killed by the Pandavas. Because these sinful Kauravas won everything by cheating, Krishna, too, in the Mahabharata war, didn’t let any of them die happily. From the day Dushasana touched Draupadi’s hair, the Kauravas’ death count had begun.

So, you can imagine how patient, yet sharp and courageous Draupadi was. Even after all this, She bowed down to Bhishma Pitamaha, Dronacharya, Krupacharya, and Dhritarashtra. When Dhritarashtra asked Draupadi to ask for boons, Draupadi didn’t ask anything for Herself, but asked for the freedom of the Pandavas and to return everything that they lost in the gambling. This shows Her humility, devotion towards Her elders, and Her selflessness. After that, the Pandavas and Draupadi, who was unharmed by the Kauravas due to the grace and compassion of Krishna, returned to Indraprastha. She was the knower of Stree-Dharma. She is a great Pativrataa. That’s why She is remembered as the second in the list of the Pativrataa strees, and is remembered in the morning.

I have also seen some questions on Quora asking, ‘Was Draupadi an unchaste woman?’ So, for those who think Draupadi is unchaste, let me say one thing: ‘If you consider Draupadi as unchaste, then nobody’s mind is as unchaste as your own.’ Therefore, think before you say that. Read the Mahabharata. Because not only was She a Pativrataa, but She was also the queen of the whole Bhaarata. Draupadi Devi had the Panchapatitva within Her. This means there were 5 devis within Her, namely, Shyamala (wife of Yama), Bharati (the wife of Mukhyaprana Vayudeva), Umadevi (wife of Shiva), Shachi (wife of Indra), Usha (wife of Ashvini devatas). So, mainly, Draupadi is the incarnation of Bharati Devi (the wife of Mukhyaprana Vayudeva). Due to the curse of Brahma, the rest of the devis had to come into Draupadi.

So, when Draupadi was with Dharmaraja, Shyamala was active in Draupadi, and the rest were inactive. When She was with Bheemasena, Bharati Devi was active, and the rest were inactive. When with Arjuna, Shachi was active within Her. When She was with Nakula-Sahadeva, Ushadevi was active within Her. She had the presence of Umadevi within Her. When King Drupada got to know that Draupadi was going to marry 5 Pandavas, he hesitated initially, but then Lord Vedavyasa gave him divine sight and showed Him Pandavas' devata svaroopa and their wives, and told the Panchapatitva concept to Drupada, and clarified that this won’t bring any harm to Her Paativratya. This Panchapatitva is also stated in the Garuda Purana and other Puranas too.

Thus, in a nutshell, I would like to say that Draupadi was a very strong and supportive character in the Mahabharata, and is like a backbone for the Pandavas. During the Akshaya Paatra incident too, Krishnaa’s devotion to Krishna was unwavering. Even after all this, Her devotion towards Her husbands, and mainly Her devotion towards Krishna, never wavered. This makes Her a top-tier devotee and a great personality.

Hope this helps!
Jai SriRam!
SriKrishnarpanamastu!

How strong was King Shalya?

 King Salya: An Underrated Warrior

This image fits Salya’s description in the text, as one of the strongest men in the world, and compared to the moon in his beauty (unlike the scrawny balding guy they showed him as in the Star Plus Mahabharata.)

King Salya

• Class: Atirathi
• Weapon(s) - Bow and Arrow, Gada

Feats

Salya is another incredibly powerful warrior who gets underrated by Quorans. Too often do I see him get placed low when in reality he’s a high-tier warrior. He is NOT below warriors like Bhurishrava or Dhrishtadyumna.

King Salya defeated Satyaki

“The
king
of
Madra
angrily struck
Satyaki
with
nine
arrows
and
pierced
him
again
with
seventy
arrows
with
drooping
tufts.
O
venerable
one! He
struck
down
the
bow
in
his93
hand,
with
an
arrow
affixed
to
it
and,
in
the
battle,
dispatched
his
four
horses
to the
land
of
the
dead.
Satyaki
was
deprived
of
his
chariot
by
the
immensely
strong
king
of
Madra,
who
struck
him with
one
hundred
arrows
from
every
direction.
O
Kouravya!
He
then
pierced
Madri’s
angry
sons,
Pandava
Bhimasena
and
Yudhishthira
with
ten
arrows
each.
We
witnessed
the
king
of
Madra’s
extraordinary
manliness.
Even though
they
were
together,
the
Parthas
could
not
counter
him
in
the
battle.”

King Salya cut the bow of Satyaki

“He
pierced
Yudhishthira
with
ten
sharp
arrows.
Satyaki
was
angry that
Dharma’s
son
was
thus
afflicted
by
arrows.
He
enveloped
the
brave
lord
of
Madra
with
torrents
of
arrows.
In Bhimasena’s
presence,
he
then
used
a
kshurapra
arrow
to
slice
down
Satyaki’s
large
bow
and
struck
him
with
three arrows.”

King Salya tied Bhima in Gada-Yuddha

“The
club
of
the
king
of
Madra
struck
Bhima
on
the
left
and
the
right.
But
he
did not
waver,
like
a
mountain
that
has
been
struck.
Similarly,
the
immensely
strong
Bhima’s
club
struck
the
lord
of Madra.
But
he
bore
it
with
patience,
like
a
mountain
struck
by
the
vajra.
They
raised
their
giant
clubs
and
attacked each
other
with
great
force.
They
repeatedly
roamed
around,
executing
circular
motions.
They
approached
each other
by
eight
steps
and
suddenly
attacked
each
other
like
elephants
wishing
to
kill
each
other,
with
clubs
like
iron rods.
They
were
severely
wounded
from
the
force
of
each
other’s
clubs.
The
brave
ones
simultaneously
fell
down, like
shattered
poles
of
Indra.”

King Salya again fought equally with Bhima in Gada-Yuddha

“They
were
severely
struck
in
their
inner
organs
and
lost
their
senses.
Shalya,
bull
among
the Madras,
was
severely
struck
by
the
club
and
Kripa
used
his
chariot
to
swiftly
bear
him
away
from
the
field
of
battle.
Bhimasena
was
also
weakened
and
senseless.

King Salya overpowered Yudhishthira

‘“In the battle, the great archer, Yudhishthira, fought with the king of Madra. He was protected by a large army and oppressed him. In that encounter for the sake of Bhishma, the valiant king of Madra was enraged and afflicted the maharatha who was Dharma’s son

King Salya defeated Dhrishtadyumna, who was rescued by Abhimanyu

“Shalya
oppressed
Dhrishtadyumna
with nine
arrows.
He
was
enraged
and
oppressed
the
lord
of
Madra
with
iron
arrows.
We
then
witnessed
Parshata’s
extraordinary
valour,
as
he
swiftly
countered
Shalya,
the
adornment
of
assemblies.
As
they
engaged
in
battle,
no
gap could
be
seen
and
the
battle
between
the
two
seemed
to
last
only
for
an
instant.
O
great
king!
In
that
encounter, Shalya
sliced
down
Dhrishtadyumna’s
bow
with
a
broad-headed,
yellow
and
sharp
arrow.
O
descendant
of
the Bharata
lineage!
He
enveloped
him
with
a
shower
of
arrows
and
it
was
like
clouds
showering
down
rain
on
mountains
at
the
time
of
the
monsoon.
When
Dhrishtadyumna
was
thus
tormented,
Abhimanyu
became
angry.
With great
force,
he
dashed
towards
the
chariot
of
the
king
of
Madra.”

King Salya was toying with the Madreyas and while doing so defeated Nakula

Finding himself engaged in battle with his maternal uncle, Sahadeva repulsed him with a shower of arrows, like clouds shrouding the sun. Covered by that shower of arrows, he seemed to be happy.281 On account of their mother, the twins were also extremely delighted. O king! In that battle, smilingly, the maharatha282 used four supreme arrows to despatch Nakula’s four horses to Yama’s abode. With the horses slain, the maharatha283 quickly descended from his chariot and ascended onto his illustrious brother’s vehicle.

A chariotless, armorless Salya defeated Nakula with nothing but a sword and shield

“When
his
armour
was
severed
by
Bhimasena,
the
lord
of
Madra
picked up
a
shield
that
was
marked
with
the
signs
of
one
thousand
stars.
The
great-souled
one
jumped
down
from
his chariot.
Grasping
a
sword,
he
dashed
towards
Kunti’s
son.
Terrible
in
his
strength,
he
destroyed
Nakula’s
chariot and
advanced
towards
Yudhishthira.”

King Salya defeated Sahadeva

“When
the
horses
were
slain,
Pandu’s
descendant descended
from
his
chariot
and
fought
with
a
club
in
his
hand,
like
Yama
with
an
upraised
staff.
In
his
sight,
the king
of
Madra
slew
Sahadeva’s
horses”

King Salya killed Uttara Kumara and his elephant

Shalya countered it. However, that king of ele- phants was enraged. It placed its leg on the yoke of the chariot and killed the four large and well-trained horses. Though the horses were killed, the lord of Madra remained on his chariot. So as to kill Uttara, he hurled a lance that was like a serpent. His68 body and armour were pierced and he was submerged in great darkness.69 With the grip on goad and lance loosened, he fell down from the shoulder of the elephant. Shalya grasped a sword and descended from his supreme chariot. With great valour, he sliced off the great trunk of that king among elephants. With its inner parts pierced by showers of arrows and with its trunk severed, the elephant let out a terrible roar. It fell down on the ground and died.

King Salya defeated Virata

‘“Virata advanced against Drona, powerfully and swiftly. But the king of Madra shrouded the archer with a torrent of arrows. In the battle, both of them were firm archers and a duel commenced between them. O king! It was like that between Jambha163 and Vasava in ancient times. O great king! Virata was the leader of an army and the king of Madra quickly struck him with a hundred sharp arrows with straight tufts. The king164 pierced him back with nine sharp arrows. He then struck him again with seventy-three arrows and yet again with one hundred. The king of Madra slew the four horses that were yoked to his chariot. In that encounter, he brought down his charioteer and his standard from his chariot.

King Salya defeated Shankha, son of Virata

Then
Shalya
grasped
a
club
in his
hand
and
descended
from
his
great
chariot.
O
bull
among
the
Bharata
lineage!
He
killed
Shankha’s
four
horses. When
his
horses
were
slain,
Shankha
alighted
from
his
chariot
and
grasping
a
sword,
ran
towards
Bibhatsu’s72 chariot.
Climbing
onto
it,
he
found
peace
again.

Verdict

I think Salya’s feats speak for themselves. He has only ever been defeated by the following warriors

• Arjuna
• Abhimanyu
• Bhima
• Yudhishthira
• Nakula
• Sahadeva (It was a 1v2 where both Madreyas fought Shalya)

Of these warriors he has also defeated Nakula and Sahadeva, and tbh he was described as smiling during his loss to Nakula and his loss to Sahadeva, and the circumstances under which he beat Nakula and Sahadeva are much more impressive. He has also overpowered Yudhishthira at one point but Yudhishthira is positive against Shalya record-wise. He has also beaten powerful warriors like SATYAKI, and Dhrishtadyumna.

Effective Ways to Become Mentally Strong Person

• Stay Positive: Focus on solutions and practice gratitude.
• Embrace Change: Try new things and accept what you can’t control.
• Set Goals: Write clear goals and celebrate small achievements.
• Understand Feelings: Recognize your emotions and practice mindfulness.
• Build Relationships: Connect with supportive people and learn from role models.
• Take Care of Your Body: Exercise, eat well, and get enough sleep.
• Keep Perspective: Remember tough times are temporary and learn from past challenges.

These tips can help you become mentally stronger!

Which birds are more strange than most people realize?

 I’m gonna have to go with hummingbirds. You may well have seen some firsthand, and while they are generally considered novel creatures, I don’t think many are aware of just how bizarre they really are.

First and foremost, there’s their metabolism. Hummingbirds have the fastest metabolic rate of any animal on Earth, except for some insects. Their hearts beat at a positively mind-blowing rate of 1,260 BPM during flight, and even at rest they have to take 250 breaths per minute. For comparison, the average person’s max heart rate and resting breathing rate are 180 and 12–20, respectively.

Having a breakneck metabolism brings with it many, many challenges. To prevent themselves from overheating, many hummingbird have featherless patches under their shoulders, on their wings, and around their eyes, where excess heat can dissipate efficiently.

That said, if a human were to have the same metabolic rate, despite being wholly hairless, they would surely perish. This is, of course, because we are much, much, much bigger than hummingbirds. In fact, hummingbirds are the world’s smallest birds by far.

In Cuba, you can find the aptly named bee hummingbird, whose size cannot be understated. The males can measure as little as 5 centimetres in length, and weigh a paltry 2 grams. Despite their tininess, bee hummingbirds are quite beautiful.

You would think these minuscule birds wouldn’t eat much food, but - bearing in mind their metabolism - that is far from the case. Every day, a typical hummingbird will suck nectar from roughly 2,000 flowers, in addition to eating plenty of small insects, consuming triple their bodyweight in food total. They have to eat once every 10–15 minutes.

They also take in a huge amount of water, up to five times their bodyweight daily. That would be equivalent to me downing more than 1,600 glasses in a single day, i.e. a few glasses in every minute I’m awake. Because of this massive influx of hydration, their kidneys have evolved to precisely filter the levels of water and electrolytes in the body.

You might also be wondering how hummingbirds cope with lean times, given that they need so much food just to survive. If there is a shortage of nutrition, they take extreme measures - that is, they enter a hibernation-like state of torpor in order to save energy. The heartbeat slows down to 1/25th of its normal pace, and their body temperature more than halves.

Rather adorably, hummingbirds hang upside down while they are torpid!

The hummingbird metabolism means that the mitochondria in their cells must produce energy as quickly and efficiently as possible. So, instead of performing glycolysis - breaking glucose down into pyruvic acid and using the resulting free energy to form molecules like ATP - like normal organisms, they have the amazing ability to instantly convert glucose into energy, by simply oxidizing it.

What’s even more interesting is that they can do the same thing to another sugar, fructose. As well as being high in glucose, flower nectar contains plenty of fructose, so by being able to immediately metabolize it they get a lot more fuel out of their food.

Speaking of nectar, hummingbirds ingest this sweet liquid using one of the most fascinating tongues in the animal world. This tongue is so long that it coils around the skull when retracted, and has two twin tubes. When the tongue is ejected, the tubes split apart, and a row of flaps unfurls on each side.

Droplets catch on these flaps, which snap shut as the tongue is drawn back into the mouth, trapping the nectar. This repeats in incredibly rapid succession, as the hummingbird flicks their tongue in and out of the flower with a pumping action.

Another cool adaptation one species has for nectarivory is an absurdly long beak. The sword-billed hummingbird of the Andes has the proportionally longest bill of any bird in the world; at more than 15 cm, it even exceeds the body length.

This allows the species to access flowers which have very deep corollas (petal tubes), which are out of reach to all of their would-be competitors.

While we’re on the topic of odd and novel species of hummingbird, I should also mention a couple of types which have beautiful plumage. Specifically, the long-tailed sylph:

And the white-booted racket tail:

The former has extraordinarily long tail feathers, and the latter has a very interesting sexual display feature. Male racket-tails get their name from the two little oval-shaped flags which trail behind them, used for attracting females. Both sexes also have lovely fluffy pom poms on their legs - hence “white-booted”.

Lastly, hummingbird behaviour is almost as fascinating as their diet and metabolism. Take flight, for example Hummingbirds are perhaps the most skilled aviators in nature (insects aside); their aerial acrobatics are simply jaw-dropping. They can fly in any direction, including backwards and sideways, and can hover on the spot.

To perform these feats, they beat their wings at an unimaginably fast pace of 80 times per second!

Focusing one’s eyes with so much rapid aerial movement is also highly challenging; in order to refine their vision, the optic tract of the hummingbird brain is greatly enlarged. In addition to that, they are tetrachromatic; they have four types of colour receptor cells, in comparison to our three. This enables them to perceive five extra colours which are “invisible” to us humans.

Not only do they have enhanced vision - they appear to have enhanced intelligence, too. Relative to their body size, hummingbirds have the biggest brain of any bird - they account for nearly 5% of the mass, whereas our brains are around 2% of our total body weight.

Of course, we have to keep in mind that this is partially because they’re so small - brain size does not scale directly proportionally to body weight. However, hummingbirds show behavioural signs of intelligence as well: they are one of only three bird groups which have vocal learning abilities, i.e. listening to, imitating and reproducing the sound of others.

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.