Why did Balram, Vidur, and Rukmi not participate in the Mahabharata War?

 Balarama: Balarama decided to stay neutral and not get involved in the war. Balarama's relationship with Pandavas and Kouravas were equal. He left for pilgrimage a few days later and returned on 18th day of war.

“O tiger among men! It is appropriate that you should know everything that I have said earlier in the kingdom of Virata, on the occasion of the wedding. O descendant of the Kuru lineage! It is for your sake that I sought to restrain Hrishikesha. O king! I said repeatedly that my relationship with both of you was equal. But Keshava did not accept the words that I had spoken. I cannot exist for an instant without Krishna. I will come to the aid of neither Partha, nor Duryodhana. After looking towards Vasudeva, this is the decision I have arrived at. You have been born in the Bharata lineage, one that is honoured by all the lords of the earth. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Go and fight in accordance with the dharma of the kshatriyas.”

Source: Mahabharata translated by Bibek Debroy Chapter 670(7)

Vidur: Vidur is not a trained fighter to participate in war. Vidur was a politician and was giving good advices to Dhritarashtra time to time. Vidur never participated in any war in his life time.

Rukmi: Rukmi was rejected by both sides due to his arrogance. First he arrived at the camp of Pandavas and said that if they are afraid of Kouravas then they can take his help.

“O Pandava! If you are afraid, I will stand as your aide on the field of battle. In the course of the war, I will help you so that your enemies will not be able to bear it. There is no man on this earth who is equal to me in valour. O Phalguna! When I have killed your enemies in battle, I will hand them over to you.”

Arjuna was not happy with arrogant nature of Rukmi and rejected him. After getting rejected by Arjuna, Rukmi went to Duryodhana and boosted about himself in the same manner and again got rejected by Duryodhana.

Rukmi then returned with that army, which was like an ocean. O bull among the Bharata lineage! In a similar fashion, he approached Duryodhana. Arriving there, that lord of the earth spoke in the same way. But since he prided himself on his valour, he was rebuffed there too.

Source: Mahabharata by Bibek Debroy Udyoga Parva Chapter 818(155)

Which side was the strongest in the Mahabharata War?

 Anyone with unbiased opinion can easily say that kauravas were definitely more powerful than Pandavas army .

• They had Drona and ashwattama who can easily kill the entire Pandava army (with the exception of Arjuna ). Literally no one can kill drona without plot armour .
• Narayanastra is definitely more useful than Pashupatastra . It can be invoked without destroying the planets or universe .
• Pashupatastra is a terror factor but if its invoked it would also kill all of the Pandavas and Arjuna. It's easy to say that it will neutralize every other weapon but no one can literally stop the deadly catastrophic effect. It took Brahma to stop the catastrophic effect of it in Banasur war and later sang the yajurveda hymn to pacify Krishna and Shiva
• If two Brahmashiras were such a deadly threat then imagine the other two .
• If Drona gad given the knowledge of Brahma kavach to capable warriors like ashwattama and karna instead of useless Duryodhana Pandavas would've been in big trouble .
• Though Arjuna wisely defeated Duryodhana by piercing palms of his hands . It was too powerful and can't be broken by Arjuna and Krishna together using any astras .
• Pandavas without Arjuna was a piece of cake to Ashwattama . He literally defeated the entire army of Pandavas and all the maharathas single handedly after his father's death .
• Kauravas were definitely more powerful than Pandavas but with krishna in Arjuna's side they'll still lose against Pandava army .

Hare Krishna 🙏🙏

What was the geographical spread of the Mahabharata War?

 A historical Kurukshetra war would have been focused on the Gangatic plain with some armies from the frontiers.

Pandava side

Panchalas (second most powerful kingdom of the Vedic period)

Matsyas

Vrishnis

Kaurava side

Kurus (the most powerful kingdom of the Vedic period)

Madras

Saindhavas (Jayadratha who is brother in law of Duryodhana)

Gandharas (probably a small army as marching a large army into the plains of Kurukshetra from north-west would have been a logistical nightmare)

Bhoja-Andhakas

Trigartas

The vast majority of the armies fighting in Kurukshetra would have been fielded by Kurus and Panchalas (the two strongest kingdoms of the Vedic period).

Distant kingdoms/tribes like Saindhavas and Gandharas would have only brought small armies due to geographical barriers and supply issues.

Who were the top 10 best performers in the Kurukshetra War?

 01.Bheeshma:Angered by Duryodhana’s ill words on day 3 night after war,from day 4,dissected the Pandava army in and out for 6 days to Pandava’s fear.Defeated warriors like Abhimanyu,Arjuna,Ghatotkacha,Satyaki etc.,His wrath was formiddable that the Pandavas were forced to adapt advice from Bheeshma himself the way to victory over him.

02.Arjuna:The ‘one man army’ of Pandava army whose death would have forced Pandavas to lose in a single day.Killed/severed foremost of the warriors like Bheeshma,Bhagadatta,Karna and assisted in the death of Guru Drona and Bhurisravasa(killing deceitfully or not ,a win is a win and it is all that matters,so it gets counted to Arjuna’s performance).He was supremely powerful on day 14 which was his highest level of performance that he destroyed the mighty Kaurava army with no mercy.The son of Indra beheaded Jayadrata whilst the superior of warriors like Drona,Kripa,Karna,Ashwattama,Duryodhana stood helpless which I feel is the pinacle of his bravery and prowess.The most important part of him which I love the most is whilst we weigh Vaikartana high in our minds as the one who broke through the obstacles of his life with sheer hardwork and determination,there is Dhananjeya who kept himself low on his royalty and comforts unlike other Pandavas and Kauravas who usually showed their royal superiority one or the other way throughout the book.Arjuna always took pride on what he got by himself(his bravery,skill and knowledge which he achieved through hardwork,determination and divine faith following Dharma) rather than what’s gifted to him either by birth or other factors.This is an important life lesson to all of us especially to those star kids and luxurious brats.

03.Karna(my favorite):His prowess in ‘Archery’ was Arjuna’s match as we all know. It has been written that the damage he inflicted as commander-in-chief of Kaurava army in 2 days over Pandava army was more than that of Bheeshma and Drona combined[yet didn’t place him at first place since he managed to survive for only 7 days compared to Bheeshma(10 days)].Neutralized and won a lot of group attacks from warriors like Satyaki,Bhima,Dhrushtatyumna,Sahadeva,assisted in the death of Abhimanyu[its been clearly mentioned that on 13th day Abhimanyu was protected by Arjun’s Kavach knowledge obtained from Drona who in turn obtained it from his father Bharadwaja which prevented Abhimanyu from getting injured by Karna’s arrows who tries twice,fails,then retreats to Guru Drona who exposes the truth behind the invincibility of Abhimanyu and advises Karna to focus getting rid Abhimanyu off of his arsenal/weaponaries which Karna easily does after cutting Abhimanyu’s bowstring.So Karna defeated Abhimanyu fair and square unlike the popular folklore among Arjun and Abhimanyu fans.Not to forget the power of Rudra bow.I left the ‘ABHIMANYU’S BOON OF INVINCIBILITY’ on the last day of his life away since it demeans a warrior like Abhimanyu off his skills and I personally believe it an interpolation or later addition],killed Ghatotkach,rendered Kauravas out of 1000s of illusions of Ghatotkach before killing him,defeated Bhima to his embarassment,defeated the twins Nakula and Sahadeva,the king Yudhishtira,overpowered Arjuna on 17th day (nearly slained him),etc.,The most interesting aspect of his character is that he did everything spectacularly though mentally hindered by curses and truths about him&Pandavas.That’s the main reason he deserves one of the top 3 positions.Also it was only during his period of command,the Kauravas fought clean and good(tho the converse can’t be said to Pandava army at any point).

04.Drona:Though he was overshadowed by Bheeshma the first 10 days,it never prevented him from inflicting heavy damage to the Pandava army.His highest level of fighting display was on 15th day when he sent nearly 2 akshounis(highest by any in a day)of Pandava army to Lord Yama’s disposal.Only in two instances that Arjuna ever trembled with fear.One was during the 15th day of war whilst he witnessed his own Guru’s wrath(while the other being against Karna when he launched Bhargavastra).

05.Bhima:Despite not being an extraordinary archer,he managed to send more than 1 akshouni of Kaurava sena to his step-dad’s abode,startled Karna that he passes out facing defeat in Vrihodar’s hands(also not to forget that Karna felt fear only once throughout the book and it was against Bhima when he severed Dushasan’s chest),killed 100 Kauravas especially Duryodhana,the King himself(as I already stated deceit or not,a victory is a victory).According to me killing not Bheeshma,not Karna,not Drona,not Bhagadatta matters or counts the most than killing Suyodhana himself. To simply put,Arjuna was like SACHIN TENDULKAR who places the team in comfort,while Bhima was like M S DHONI who takes the team home.

06.Ashwattama:The Guru Putra was extremely talented and powerful that his skills are comparable with Arjuna and Karna unlike shown in TV serials.He killed more than 1 akshouni of Pandava sena when he launched NARAYANASTRA hearing his father’s demisal that even Arjuna had to stay put without knowing what to do.This was the highest feat achieved by Ashwattama.Not to forget that he was one of the members who had beaten Abhimanyu to death.Tbh,he had to be above Bhima,but you know that Bhima has won the star value point by killing Duryodhana.

07.Abhimanyu:While the 16 year old me(4 years ago)don’t go pee alone in night,this young talent who descended the prowess of Arjuna forced Maharatis like Karna,Kripa and Ashwattama to retreat,defeated Duryodhana,Shakuni,Dushasana and even oppressed Guru Drona for a moment.He alone killed 1 akshouni of Kaurava army on 13th day,broke through Chakra Vyuha,faced a braveous death.

08.Bhagadatta:Known for his skills on elephant could be called an Arjun buster without any hesitation.He was the one warrior who Arjuna always was concerned about.He destroyed the Pandava army without mercy on his elephant Supratika.The damage he inflicted was more that can’t be borne by the Pandavas anyday.The damage was more of mentally than that of physically in Pandava army.The damage he produced was like ‘adding fuel to the fire’ for Pandavas who were already concerned about Bheeshma’s wrath.He killed more than 1 akshouni of Pandava army,defeated Abhimanyu,inflicted fear through his skills and valour on Bhima,Satyaki and Sahadeva while fighting against them who ran away for life later from Bhagadatta,launched Vaishnavastra against Arjuna to which the entire Pandava army even Arjuna had no counter,who had to watch helplessly whilst it killed mountains and mountains of Pandava army through the heat it produced,forced Arjuna to retreat for a moment(managed to kill Bhagadatta eventually).

09.Satyaki:The student/friend of Arjuna and charioteer of Lord Krishna was known for his valour and skills in archery.Though overshadowed by Partha himself,it never stopped him to express his valour then and there.He kept Bhurisravasa to check,eventually killed him on Arjuna’s assistance.However his highest feat was breaking Karna’s chariot flag and rendering Vaishya to pass out amidst the battle which forced the charioteer of the same to retreat.

10.Ghatotkacha:Son of Bhima who had been an underdog facing numerous defeats throughout the first 14 days,suddenly had become the talk of the night of the day 14.War at night with Ghatotkacha was like fighting a crocodile in water to the Kauravas provided Ghatotkacha was an Asura and warfare at night is like fighting in his home ground.He killed another asura ‘Alambusa’ from Kaurava side,inflicted heavy damage by falling over the Kaurava sena killing nearly an akshouni of Kaurava army while dying.

00.’Paramathma’ Lord Krishna:The supreme of gods himself fought the whole KURUKSHETRA WAR as Pandavas and Kauravas him being the Pandavas and him being the Kauravas seeding Dharma to the world teaching us Bhagavad Gita.So literally every victory was his and every defeat was his.Jai Shri Krishna!

SPECIAL MENTION: Duryodhana(since centrally placed in the army throughout the war he had less chances to exhibit his prowess.Yet defeated Bhima forcing the same to swoon and flee on the 4th and 8th day of battle respectively.His fight on 18th day with Bhima speaks for himself that he nearly slained Vrihodara if not for timely intervention by Lord Krishna),

Susharma,Kritavarma,Kripacharya.

Which country in Europe has never been in a war?

 The closest answer is Liechtenstein, and the story of how a country that tiny survived every European war for 300 years is one of the more entertaining accidents in political history.

Switzerland gets cited constantly due to their very strong reputation of being neutral, but Switzerland has a deeply martial past. Before the 19th century, Swiss mercenaries were the most feared soldiers in Europe and the country was effectively in the business of renting them out to anyone who could pay.

San Marino is the other common answer, and San Marino is itself very interesting, founded in 301 AD as a mountaintop refuge by a stonemason fleeing Roman persecution, surviving Napoleon, surviving the unification of Italy, surviving everything. Except in 1944 it briefly got entangled in the war as the same mountains which made whomever occupied Italy opt to ignore it made it appealing to the German military to occupy and use as a defensive bulwark.

Liechtenstein was founded in 1719 for reasons that had nothing to do with the people living there or any romantic notion of independence. The House of Liechtenstein was one of the wealthiest noble families in Vienna. They owned vast estates across Austria and Bohemia and were significant creditors to the Holy Roman Emperor himself. The problem was that none of their land carried what was called Imperial Immediacy, meaning land that answered directly to the Emperor rather than to some intermediate duke or bishop. Without it you couldn't sit in the Imperial Diet, which was the parliament where real decisions got made.

So they sought out a loophole and found two small, impoverished, economically worthless territories on the Rhine whose previous rulers had gone bankrupt, bought them. They then petitioned the Emperor to unify them into a single principality named after the family. The Emperor agreed and the Liechtenstein family now had their seat in parliament.

Depsite the prestige it gave them, they still had no interest in the actual place. No Prince of Liechtenstein set foot in the country for the first 120 years of its existence. Because the territory was mountainous, landlocked, wedged in between Switzerland and Austria, and produced nothing anyone wanted, the great powers of Europe ignored it completely during the wars that followed. When the Holy Roman Empire collapsed under Napoleon, Liechtenstein was small enough and irrelevant enough that it simply continued existing while all the other state around it dissolved.

The country's one and only military deployment came in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War. Liechtenstein sent 80 soldiers to guard a mountain pass on the Italian border on behalf of their Austrian allies. They saw no combat. The pass was never threatened. When the war ended, the soldiers walked home, and they returned with 81 men because they had befriended an Austrian officer during the campaign and brought him back with them.

The government looked at this expedition and decided the army was an unnecessary expense. In 1868 Liechtenstein dissolved its military entirely. It has had no army since.

This turned out to be the right call, because the country that became their protector by default was Switzerland. In 1923, after World War I had economically devastated Liechtenstein through its ties to the collapsing Austro-Hungarian Empire, they signed a customs and monetary union with Switzerland, adopting the Swiss franc and outsourcing their borders and foreign policy to a much larger neutral neighbor.

When Germany annexed of Austria it put Liechtenstein right on their immediate border. Liechtenstein's own Nazi sympathizers tried to capitalize on this and staged a coup attempt in 1939 trying to hand the country over. It failed. But Germany decided against taking matters into their own hands. Liechtenstein was 160 square kilometers of mountains with no resources, no military value, and no railway lines worth having. Absorbing it would have created more paperwork than it was worth.

These days Liechtenstein is one of the wealthiest countries per capita in the world, a global financial center and tax haven. It’s so important economically now that the Liechtenstein family actually lives there for once.

What exactly happened in the Virat War in Mahabharata? Did Arjuna defeat Karna?

 Yes. Arjuna vanquished Karna not just once, but multiple times in the Virat war.

Karna flees the first time

Vaikartana attacked Pandava with twelve arrows. He pierced the bodies of all the horses and that of Virata’s son with those arrows. It was like a king among elephants being struck by an elephant. He took out sharp arrows from his quiver and stretching the string of the bow right up to his ear, pierced the body of the suta’s son with his arrows. With arrows unleashed like lightning from his bow, the destroyer of enemies pierced him in battle, in the arms, the thighs, the head, the forehead, the neck and in all the parts of the chariot. Thus wounded by the arrows shot by Partha, and scorched by Pandava’s arrows, like a swift elephant that has been defeated by another elephant, Vaikartana fled from the forefront of the battle.

• 645 (49), Go-Grahana parva, Mahabharata.

Karna flees again

Having thus spoken to Karna, the unvanquised Bibhatsu attacked him and released arrows that could penetrate body armour. Karna countered with arrows that were like the crests of flames and rained down a great shower of arrows, like monsoon clouds. The terrible net of arrows covered every direction. They separately pierced his horses, arms and guards on his hands. Unable to tolerate this, he sliced off the strap of Karna’s quiver with a straight-tufted arrow, sharp at the tip. Grasping other arrows from his quiver, Karna pierced Pandava on the hand, so that his grip weakened. The mighty-armed Arjuna then sliced off Karna’s bow. He hurled a javelin at him, but Partha cut that down with arrows. Then Radheya’s large infantry attacked. But they were sent to Yama’s abode with arrows released from Gandiva. Bibhatsu then stretched his bow up to his ears and killed his horses with sharp arrows that could take a great weight. They fell down dead on the ground. The mighty-armed and valorous Kounteya took up another flaming arrow and pierced Karna in the chest. The arrow pierced his armour and penetrated his body. He was immersed in darkness and lost consciousness for some time. Suffering great pain, he left the field of battle in a northern direction.

• 651 (55), Go-Grahana parva, Mahabharata.

Karna launches a group attack on Arjuna but is repulsed again

‘Then Duryodhana, Karna, Duhshasana, Vivimshati, Drona and his son, and Kripa who was an atiratha in battle, returned angrily to the battle again, wishing to cause violence to Dhananjaya. They drew their sturdy and powerful bows. O great king! The one with the monkey on his banner went forward to meet them on a chariot that was as radiant as the sun, with his flag unfurled. Kripa, Karna and Drona, supreme among charioteers, immensely valorous and with great weapons, sought to repulse Dhananjaya. They released a flood of arrows, like rain from monsoon clouds. A shower of arrows descended on Kiriti. They stationed themselves nearby and with great determination in that field of battle, swiftly showered him with many arrows that possessed feathered shafts. Having been thus covered from every direction with divine weapons, not even a space of two fingers could be seen on him. But maharatha Bibhatsu laughed and fixed his divine Aindra weapon on Gandiva. It was as radiant as the sun. In that battle, the diademed and powerful Kounteya covered all the Kurus with arrows that burnt like the rays of the sun. Gandiva was like lightning in the clouds, like fire in the mountains and as long as Indra’s weapon. It was like Parjanya’s showers and like lightning in the sky. Like a bird, Gandiva enveloped the ten directions. All the charioteers were completely terrified and sought peace. They were bereft of their senses. Losing their consciousness, all the warriors lost heart in the battle. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Thus, all the soldiers were shattered and fled in all the directions. They lost hope that they would remain alive.’

• 654 (58), Go-Grahana parva, Mahabharata.

Finally, Arjuna knocked out the entire Kaurava army unconscious with the blowing of Devadutta, twanging of Gandiva and Sammohanastra

The wielder of the Gandiva used weapons to counter the weapons of the bulls among the Kurus. The destroyer of enemies then made the weapon named sammohana appear. This was impossible to counter. He covered all the directions and all the smaller directions with sharp arrows that had fine tips and fine shafts. With the roar of the Gandiva, the immensely strong one struck terror in their minds. He then grasped the giant conch shell in both his hands, one that had a deep and trembling sound. Partha, the destroyer of enemies, used this to make the sound echo in the directions, the smaller directions, the sky and the earth. At the roar of the conch shell blown by Partha, the foremost among the Kurus fell down unconscious. They gave up their invincible bows and all of them resorted to peace.

• 657 (61), Go-Grahana parva, Mahabharata.

It was a dominant victory and really showed how far Arjuna had progressed after training with the devas for 5 years.

How good was Karna at 15 days of the Mahabharata War?

 Karna during first 10 days hadn,’t participated in Kurukshetra war due to Bhishma. It was after Bhishma,’ s fall that Karna had entered Kurukshetra war from day 11. He countered many group attacks and defeated Bhima and Satyaki. He even stalemated Arjuna a few times.

Feats of Karna during first five days before becoming commander of Kaurava army.

• Defeated Sahadeva on 14th night and spared his life due to his promise to Kunti.

Sanjaya said, “O lord of the earth! Sahadeva wished to advance against Drona. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In that battle, Vaikartana Karna countered him. Sahadeva pierced Radheya with nine swift arrows. He again pierced him with ten sharp arrows with straight tufts. Karna pierced him back with one hundred arrows with straight tufts. Displaying the lightness of his hands, he quickly severed his bow. Madri’s powerful son picked up another bow. He pierced Karna with twenty arrows and it was extraordinary. Karna killed his horses with arrows with straight tufts. With a broad-headed arrow, he swiftly conveyed his charioteer to Yama’s eternal abode. Deprived of his chariot, Sahadeva grasped a sword and a shield. But Karna struck these down with his arrows and laughed. He then grasped an extremely terrible and extremely large club that was heavy and decorated with gold. In that battle, he hurled it towards Vaikartana’s chariot. It was violently released by Sahadeva and descended. Karna shattered it with his arrows and made it fall down on the ground. On seeing that the club had been destroyed, Sahadeva swiftly hurled a lance towards Karna. But it was struck down by the arrows. O great king! On seeing that Karna was stationed before him, Sahadeva was filled with rage and descended from his chariot. He picked up the wheel of a chariot and hurled it towards Adhiratha’s son. It descended powerfully, like an upraised wheel of time. The son of a suta shattered it with thousands of arrows. Having rendered the wheel unsuccessful, the great-souled Sahadeva was restrained with arrows and left the battle. O bull among the Bharata lineage! For a short while, Radheya followed him. O lord of the earth! He laughed and spoke these words to Sahadeva. ‘O brave one! In a battle, do not fight with rathas who are superior. O son of Madri! Fight with those who are your equals. Do not entertain any doubt about my words.’ He then touched him with the tip of his bow and again spoke these words. ‘In the battle there, Arjuna is endeavouring to fight with the Kurus. O son of Madri! Go there. Or if you wish, go home.’ Having spoken those words, Karna, supreme among rathas, laughed. On his chariot, he proceeded towards the Panchala and Pandu soldiers. O king! The maharatha was devoted to the truth and remembered the words that he had given to Kunti.162 Though the destroyer of enemies could have killed Madri’s son in the battle, he did not slay him.

• Drona and Karna together fought against Satyaki and Dhrishtadyumna and defeated them along with the Panchalas.

On seeing that the Panchalas were shattered and routed in every way, Janardana was distressed and addressed Phalguna. ‘Parshata and Satyaki, together with the Panchalas, advanced against the great archers, Drona and Karna, and are being killed through fierce arrows. Those maharathas have shattered them with their shower of arrows. O Kounteya! The army should be restrained.

Drona Parva CHAPTER 1124(147)

• On 14th night of war Karna caused heavy destruction to the Pandava army. The Panchalas and Srinjayas ran away from him.

Radheya afflicted the maharatha Panchalas with his arrows, like clouds raining down on a mountain. The large army of the Panchalas was afflicted by Karna. They fled in fright, like deer assailed by a lion. Horses and elephants fell down on the ground. Here and there, men were seen to swiftly fall down from their chariots. In the great battle, Karna killed the fleeing warriors with his kshurapra arrows and severed arms and heads, still adorned with earrings. O lord of the earth! O venerable one! The thighs of those who were astride elephants, those who were on the backs of horses and those who were on the ground, were severed. But as they fled in the battle, many maharathas did not feel that their limbs or their mounts were severed by arrows. Slaughtered in the battle, the Panchalas and the Srinjayas thought that even the stirring of a blade of grass was the son of the suta. As they were frightened and fled in the battle, the warriors were deprived of their senses and took those on their own side to be Karna and fled in fright. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! As the shattered army fled, Karna quickly pursued it from the rear, showering arrows. They glanced at each other, unconscious and bereft of their senses. They were incapable of standing before the great-souled one, who was like Death. O king! The Panchalas were struck by Karna’s supreme arrows. Others glanced towards Drona and fled in all the directions. ‘“King Yudhishthira saw that his own army was running away.

• Karna made Satyaki tremble along with Yudhmanyu, Uttamuja, Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi and defeated them forcing them to flee from the fight.

BORI CE- Ghatotkach vadh Parv, Chapter 1131(154)

the mighty-armed Karna had attacked the Panchalas. He drew his firm bow all the way back and releasing arrows with drooping tufts, pierced Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi with ten arrows each. The supreme among rathas used other iron arrows and made Yudhamanyu, Uttamouja and Satyaki tremble. O lord of men! Both on the left and on the right, all their bows could be seen, drawn into circles as they fought. There was the twang of bowstrings, the slapping of palms and the clatter of chariot wheels. During the night, these sounds were tumultuous, like that of clouds at the end of the summer. O king! The battle was beautiful, as if between clouds. The twang of bowstrings and the clatter of wheels were the roar. The bows were drawn into circles. The standards were like peaks. The torrent of arrows was like rain. Vaikartana was like a mountain that did not tremble. He had the essence of a large mountain. O Indra among men! In that battle, the scorcher of a large number of enemies repulsed that hail of arrows and it was wonderful. His sharp arrows were gold-tufted and colourful. They possessed the force of thunder. In that encounter, the great-souled one struck the enemy. Vaikartana was engaged in ensuring the welfare of your sons. The standards of some were brought down. The bodies of others were mangled by the arrows. Some lost their charioteers. Others lost their horses. Achieving this quickly, Vaikartana was resplendent. In that battle, many were severely afflicted and went and joined Yudhishthira’s army. ‘“On seeing that they were shattered and routed, Ghatotkacha became angry.

• Karna countered 1000 illusions of Ghatotkacha and killed him with Vasavi shakti.

• Caught the Asani Vajra of Ghatotkacha and hurled it back at him destroying his chariot.

Has Iran shattered the illusion that Dubai is safe?

Dubai became a target in the ongoing Iran- US war.

Iranian drones attacked famous landmarks of Dubai , i.e.. Burj Khalifa

But, experts claim , it is among the safest cities in the United Arab Emirates.

USA : Dubai is a part of the United Arab Emirates.

The USA has given major defense partner status to the UAE.

Well, the USA is bound to take of the defense needs of this global city.

Defense : United Arab Emirates reportedly possesses robust defense system.

Its armed forces are trained and well- equipped by the USA.

Its multilayered air defense system neutralized many Iranian drones.

It has been hit , but doesn’t stop.

Fact : It is still safe and sound.

Pic Credits : Google Images/ Web