Death of various great warriors in Mahabharata war

Mahabharata was was fought over for eighteen days. The major part saw the prowess of Bhishma. He was on the verge of decimating pandavas army single-handedly, before Shikhandi came to the rescue of Pandavas. Following is a brief on how the great warriors were neutralized and killed.

End of Duryodhana

Bhima vowed that he would avenge Draupadi’s insult by breaking his thighs. Also, due to a boon from Gandhari, his body became invulnerable except for thighs. During his duel with Duryodhana in mahabharata war, Bhima broke Duryodhana’s thighs. Balrama fiercely protested but calmed by Krishna.

Bhima killed all the Kaurava’s, most notable of those were of Duryodhana’s and Dushashana’s.

Drona’s Death

Drona was proving too much for the pandava’s army on the fifteenth day of the mahabharata war. In a desperate bid  to be saved from the onslaught, they resorted to some less than wanted tactic. On advise of Shri Krishna, Bhima claimed that his son, Ashwaththama is slain. Drona clarified this from Yudhishthira and went into meditation. He was killed by Dhrishtdyumna, son of Drupad.

End of Bhishma

Bhishma was the son of Shantanu and Ganges. He was the supreme commander of Kauravas in the mahabharata war. He himself let pandavas know the secret of his downfall. Otherwise, he was proving to be too much for pandavas and got Sri Krishna agitated as well.

Abhimanyu’s unjust killing

Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Subhadra and was a great warrior. His unjust killing in mahabarata led to the killing of Kauravas.

Only Abhimanyu had the knowledge of penetrating a chakravyuha. Drona plans a chakravyuha to capture Yudhishthira, but Abhimanyu was there for his rescue. But the boy did not know how to come out of that and though he was surrounded by all warriors including Duryodhana, Karna and others, yet he was proving difficult to overcome. At last, against the rules of war, he was killed by son of Dushashana after a mace fight.

Karna – a death due to curses

In the war of kurukshetra, Karna’s chariot got stuck in the mud. He was unable to fight due to a curse from his teacher, Parshurama.

Arjuna killed him with the weapon anjalika while he was trying to retrieve the wheel. At this point of time, he was sans any weapon, which was against the rules of the war.

Dushashana for his wrongdoing

During Draupadi’s cheerharan, Dushashan dragged her in the courtroom by holding her hair. Draupadi vowed that she would not tie her hair until they are wet with the blood of Dushashan heart. She asked Bhim to bring the blood of Dushashana after killing him. Bhima obliged.

Jayadratha by Arjuna – Shri Krishna’s masterstroke

Jayadrath was Duryodhana’s brother in law. He was once insulted by Pandavas when he tried to abduct Draupadi. After severe penance, he obtained a boon from Lord Shiva. Due to this, he became the reason of Abhimanyu’s death. Arjuna vowed and killed him on the next day of the war. Of course, with help of Shri Krishna.