Kauravas  Generals  Strengths   Weakness  

•  Icha   mrityu-­‐cannot   be   killed  without  his  wish  

•  Invincible   warrior   and   archer  tutored   by   Parsurama   whom   he  defeated  in  war  

•  Genius  military  tac>cian  

   

•  Love   for   enemies   –   swore   not   to   kill  Pandavas  

•  Told  them  the  way  to  defeat  him  •  Jaded  and  >red  aCer  centuries  of  life  •  Divided   loyal>es   –  Wanted   to   fight   for  

Dharma  but  his  oath  prevented  him  

   

Bhisma  

•  He   was   an   invincible   warrior,  whom   no   person   on   earth   could  defeat.  

•    Had   weapons,   including   the   very  powe r f u l   Bh r amas t r a   f r on  Parsurama  

   

•  Love   for   enemies   –   Arjuna   was   his  favorite  pupil  

•  Blind  love  for  his  son  Aswathama.  •  Thirst   of   revenge   for   his   humila>on  by  

king  Drupad  that  led  to  his  downfall        

Drona  

•  Parashurama  trained  him  to  such  a  point  that  he  declared  Karna  to  be  equal   to   himself   in   the   art   of  warfare  and  archery.    

•  Protected  by  divine  armour  and  earings  and  later  Indrastra,Bhagravastra  

 

•  Danweer–  Will  donate  anythinh  if  approached  during  his  evening  prayer.  

•  Pandavas  elder  brother-­‐Vow  not  to  kill  pandavas  except  Arjun  

•  Curses-­‐  rendered  him  to  forget  all  teachings  and  his  chariot  wheel  stuck  

 

Karna  

Strengths   Weakness  

•  Shalya,   a   skilled   archer,a   powerful  mace   fighter   and   formidable  warrior.  

•  Shalya  was   an   incredibly   calm  and  deliberate   fighter,   which   why   he  was   such   a   good   charioteer   and  why   he   could   excel   at   mace-­‐figh>ng   despite   his   unimposing  bulk  

   

•  Was  tricked  to  join  Kauravas  •  Was  uncle  of  Nakul  and  Sahadev  •  Yudhishthira    had  extracted  a  vow  from  

Shalya   to   the   effect   that   Shalya  would  demoralize   Karna   and   dampen   his  spirits   whe   n   appointed   as   Karna’s  charioteer  

 

Salya  

•  Considered  as  the  greatest  archer  of  his  genera>on  with  exemplary  skill  and  talent  

•  Posses  various  divyasthras  and  Bharmasthra  

•  Had  krisna  as  charioteer  to  guide  him  

•  Had  great  affec>on  for  his  guru  Drona  and  Bhisma.  Hence  fought  half  heartedly  with  them.  

•  Prone  to  rash  and  hasty  decisions  like  the  vow  to  kill  Jayadratha  in  1  day  

Arjun  

Kauravas  Generals  

Pandavas  Generals  

War  Scenario  

•  The   Kuru   territories   were   divided   into  Kauravas’s   Has>napura   and   Pandavas  Indraprastha).    

             •  The   immediate   dispute   between   the   Kauravas  

and   the   Pandavas   arose   from   a   game   of   dice,  which  Duryodhana  won  by  deceit,   forcing  their  Pandava   cousins   to   transfer   their   en>re  territories  to  the  Kauravas  (to  Has>napura)  and  to  "go-­‐into-­‐exile"  for  thirteen  years  

   

War  Scenario  •  The   Pandavas   spend   thirteen   years   in   exile;  

They   spend   their   final   year   in   disguise   in   the  court  of  Virata,  and  are  discovered  just  aCer  the  end  of  the  year.  

•  At  the  end  of  their  exile,  they  try  to  nego>ate  a  return   to   Indraprastha.   However,   this   fails,   as  Duryodhana  objects   that   they  were  discovered  while   in   hiding,   and   that   no   return   of   their  kingdom  was  agreed.  War  becomes  inevitable.  

   •  As  a   last  a[empt  at  peace,  Krishna   traveled   to  

Has>napur  .  •    Krishna   asked   Duryodhana   to   give   back  

Indraprastha  or   if  not  at   least  five  villages,  one  for   each   of   the   pandavas,   but   Krishna's   peace  proposals  were  ignored  

Pandavas  Current  War  Strategy  

Leadership  

Pandavas : Distributed leadership. Seven commanders for the seven divisions.(1 man command 1 akshouhini each). •  Virat (King of Matsya). •  Drupad (King of Pancala). •  Sahadeva(King of Magadha). •  Dhrshtaketu (King of Chedi). •  Satyaki (Only warrior from Dwarka). •  Shikhandi (Prince of Pancala).

Dhrshtadymna – Commander in Chief. Arjuna –Supreme Commander.

Pandavas •  Panchala through Marriage with Darupadi. •  Dwarka through marriage with Arjuna and Subhadra. •  Magadh through marriage of Shadeva and Vijaya. •  Chedi through marriage of Nakula and Karenmayi. •  Kasi through marriage of Bhima and Balandhara.

•  Kekaya through marriage of Yudhisthira and Devika. •  Matsya through marriage of Abhimanyu and Uttara. •  The Rakshasas through marriage of Bhima and Hidimba. •  The Nagas through marriage of Arjuna and Uloopi.

Allies  

Kauravas  Current  War  Strategy  

Leadership  

•  Centralized leadership. •  One Head of Army at a time, who has supreme authority of 11 akshouhini of

army. Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Shalya and Ashwatthama.  

Allies  

•  Not many powerful allies, except from old relations from far off places like Gandhara(Shakuni), Sindhu(Jayadrath) and Kambodia(Camboja - Bhagadutt)

 

Kauravas  Alternate  War  Strategy  

Message-­‐  PR  

•  The  percep>on  in  Kaurava  camp  was  that    Kauravas  were  the  bad  guys  who  had  snatched  their  kingdom  and  had  tried  to  molest  their  wife  Draupat  

•  Pandhavas    were    touted  as  the  right  /  Dharma  

•  This  can  be  changed  to  ins>ll  confidence  and  commitment  to  Kauravas.  

•  Kaurava  can  do  this  using  strategies  

•   Draupa>    insulted  Duryodhana  by  telling  

•  “Andhe  ka  beta  andha”  

•  Yudhishtra    can  be  potrayed  as  someone  who  gives  his  wife  for  dice  games  

•  Showcase   the   injus>ce   that    was   done   to   Dhritarastra  when   his   kingdom  was   given   to  Pandu  due  to  his  blindness  

 

Abhimanyu  Death  

Scenario  •  Abhimanyu  know  the  way  in  the  Chakravyuh    and  

was  trapped  in  it  •  His  father  Arjuna  was  lured  away  from  ba[le  field  

by  King  Bhagada[a  of  Pragjyo>sha  •  His  uncles  were  engaged  for  the  day  by  Jayadratha  

Strategy    •  Instead  of  killing  Abhimanyu    the  Kauravas  could  

have  had  an  exchange  for  Arjuna  •  This  would  enable  Drona  to  capture  Yudhishtra  and  

end  the  war  in  day  13      

Jayadratha  Death  

Scenario    •  ACer   death   of   his   son   Arjuna     has   vowed   to   kill  

Jayadratha  and  if  he  fails  self  immolates      Strategy    •  Instead  of    Jayadratha  a  look  alike  can  be  placed  in  

the  war  protected  by  warriors  •  Dhrona   and   Arjuna   should   proceed   to   capture  

Yudhistra  

Outcome    •  Arjuna  will  fail  to  fulfill  his  promise  •  Yudhis[ra  will  be  captured