Can Karna defeat Bhisma?

Tywin Lannister

Our basic idea of warfare in ancient India is flawed.

When we think of a battle between two “Maharathis” we tend to think like this :

or this :

But we fail to understand, that two great warriors will never face each other one-to-one like this without their soldiers or guards.

There are battle plans, soldier formations & tactics of both.

Comparing from this perspective, Bhisma was the commander of the Kaurava army, which was respected & feared all throughout the country. His strategies both on & off the battlefield, forced Emperor Jarasandha (who ruled over a bigger land) to refrain from open war against Hastinapur.

The arch-rivals of Hastinapur, the Panchals, once demanded their throne during political turmoil in the Kaurava kingdom & asked them to hand over the queen, Satyavati to them.

Bhisma responded by killing the Panchala king in open battle.

The Pitamaha of Hastinapur was well adept in both “shastra” (knowledge) & “shostra” (weaponry). He marksmanship & anti-weaponry (knowledge of which weapon to use against which) was legendary.

Even Parashurama failed to defeat him.

On the other hand, Karna, whose real name was Brishasena, was a skilled warrior & a great archer, no doubt. He was considered equal to Arjuna (although never proved). In fact, he was hailed more by Duryodhana as an answer to Arjuna & made king of Anga. As per his armour, it was a good story !

We tend to be partial towards Karna, more because of his misery & good nature, than his prowess.

Hence in my opinion, Karna doesn’t stand a chance against Bhisma.

Meself

Tywin Lannister 20-4-2018 01:13 PM
The "Surya Kabach" was actually exaggerated. Have you ever seen any instance when Karna was saved  ...

Finally someone said it. That entire narrative around "Surya Kavach" and "Surya Kundal" is extremely exaggerated. If it indeed was a layer of protection for Karna, why don't we have any instance where it is mentioned that Karna is saved from a fatal attack?




Also of Karna was so great, why was he defeated during the "Viraat Yudh" by Arjun even with Bheeshma on his side?




Karna has been dubbed as some sort of a tragic hero when he wasn't. He had a fairly good life and became a king without doing anything more than befriending a prince. I don't see him worth comparing to any great warriors of the epic.

themaskeditor

Karana too was superior in all aspects, but you never know in such wars

kinimam

Karna was riddled with misfortunes but was a great warrior. he helped duryodhana to become ruler of the world by conquering across the continent.

6swamy

yes

Tywin Lannister

kinimam 18-4-2018 02:26 PM
Karna was riddled with misfortunes but was a great warrior. he helped duryodhana to become ruler of  ...

Yes. But could he match Bhisma in his prowess? More importantly, when the latter had superior weapons & greater experience? I think not...

Of course, it is my view, yours might differ.

Meself

Karna and Bheeshma in the same line is kind of an insult to Bheeshma. Bheeshma was the legendary warrior, Karna had no chnach against him. InfavI I'd say it was his luck that he didn't have to stand against Bheeshma.

krishnat

Karna has no chance to win over Bhisma. even Parshuram could not defeat Bhishma. So Karna could couldnt defeat him.Also Bhishma has got ICHHAMRITUYA . So he was invincible

jayyogeswarusa

Yes Karna can defeat Bhisma. Karna can't kill Bhisma but defensively karna can do what Arjuna did with bhisma. Pin Bhisma down. Bhisma was become old with some tricks definitely karna can defeat him in war but Bhisma is more wise so in wisdom and tactics karna can't defeat him.

somyajeet

Too true.

somyajeet

Too true.

soothsayer

Karna could never have defeated Bheeshma. The latter was superior in all respects . for that matter Bheeshma showed that his skills were better than Arjuna and but for Krishna the war would have been in favour of the kauravas thanks to Bheeshma.