Kurukshetra War
War described in the Hindu epic Mahabharata / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Kurukshetra War (Sanskrit: कुरुक्षेत्र युद्ध), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the Hindu epic poem Mahabharata, arising from a dynastic struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war is used as the context for the dialogues of the Bhagavad Gita.
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Kurukshetra War | |||||||
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c. 1700 watercolour from Mewar depicts the Pandava and Kaurava armies arrayed against each other. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Other allies | Other allies | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Overlord Yudhishthira Commander-in-chief Dhrishtadyumna (day 1-18) † Other-Commanders Arjuna Bhima Drupada † Virata † Abhimanyu † Upapandavas † Satyaki Shikhandi † Nakula Sahadeva Strategist Krishna |
Overlords Dhritrashtra Duryodhana † Commanders-in-chief Bhishma (day 1-10) † Drona (day 11-15) † Karna (day 16-17) † Shalya (day 18) † Ashwatthama (night raid) Other-Commanders Dushasana † Jayadratha † Kripa Kritavarma Bhurishravas † Bahlika † Bhagadatta † Sudakshina † Strategist Shakuni † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
7 Akshauhinis 153,090-100,300,000[1] chariots and chariot-riders 10,000 - 153,090 elephants and elephant-riders 459,270 - 1,000,000 horses and horse-riders 765,450 - 1,000,000,000 infantry [2] (total 1,530,900 soldiers-1,003,830,900) |
11 Akshauhinis 240,570 chariots and chariot-riders 240,570 elephants and elephant-riders 721,710 horses and horse-riders - 100,000,000 horses (mentioned possibly as a hyperbole)[3] 1,202,850 infantry 6,000,000 protecting elephants and chariots[4] 140,000,000 Pishachas 280,000,000 Rakshasa 420,000,000 Yaksha 100,000,000 Narayani Sena[5][6] (total 8,450,700 - 1,048,405,700 soldiers) | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Almost total (1,530,892 soldiers) only 8 known survivors - the Pandavas, Krishna, Satyaki, and Yuyutsu. |
Almost total (2,405,697 soldiers) only 3 known survivors - Ashwatthama, Kripa, and Kritavarma | ||||||
Yudhishthira gives a different number which is 1,660,020,000 dead and 24,165 missing.[7] |
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