Bhishma, the grandsire of both the Kauravas and the Pandavas, analyzed each warrior on both sides of the battle. He said there are 3 types of warriors. They are the Rathi, the Atirathi and the Maharathi. Based on his judgement and knowledge of the science of weapons he classified every warrior involved in the Mahabharata war. According to him the highest level of a warrior is the Maharathi.
He defined the three classifications as follows:
Rathi: A warrior capable of attacking 5,000 warriors simultaneously.
Atirathi: A warrior capable of contending with 12 Rathi class warriors or 60,000 warriors simultaneously.
Maharathi: A warrior capable of fighting 12 Atirathi class warriors or 720,000 warriors simultaneously, and having complete mastery of all forms of weapons and combat skills.
Classification of Warriors from the Kaurava Side:
Rathis:
Sudhakshina, the ruler of the Kamvojas
Sakuni, King of Gandhar and uncle of Kauravas
Duryodhana’s son Lakshmana and the son of Dushasana
Jayadrath, the king of the Sindhu and brother in law of Kauravas
All 99 brothers of Duryodhana, including Dushasan, are single Rathis
Duryodhana is classified as a warrior equal to 8 Rathis
Atirathis:
Bhoja chief Kritavarman
The ruler of Madras, Salya
Bhurisravas, the son of Somadatta
Kripa, also known as Kripacharya, the son of Saradwat
Maharathis:
Alambhusha, the Chief of Rakshasas
The ruler of Pragjyotisha, the brave Bhagadatta
Vrishasena, the son of Karna,
Guru Drona
Asvathama, the son of guru Drona and the avatar of Lord Shiva. (Even though he was classified as a Maharathi, in reality he was peerless and equal to Lord Shiva in battle according to Bhishma; but the only pre-condition is that Asvathama has to become extremely angry to unleash his full potential.)
Karna is equal to 2 Maharathi.
Bhishma, even though he never classified himself. Later it was revealed that Bhishma was equal to 2 Maharathi warriors.
Classification of Warriors from the Pandava Side:
Rathis:
Uttamaujas
Sikhandi, the son of the king of the Panchalas
Yudishtira the son of Pandu and Kunti, is a Rathi.
Nakul and Sahadeva are single Rathis
Bhima is regarded as equal to 8 Rathis.
Atirathis:
Satyaki of the Vrishni race,
Dhrishtadyumna the son of Drupuda
Kuntibhoja,the maternal uncle of Pandavas
Ghatotkacha, prince of Rakshasas and master of all illusions, son of Bhima and Hidimva.
Maharathis:
Virata King
Drupuda, King of Panchalas
Dhrishtaketu, the son of Sisupala, the king of the Chedis
All sons of Draupadi are Maharathis
Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna is equal to 2 Maharathi.
Arjuna is equal to 2 Maharathi warriors.
Articles are very educative.
Thank you for this detailed insight of the very important aspect from Mahabharata.
very informative
really very nice and useful for everybody with easy language. definitely we can able to teach about Bhishma the Pithamagh.
Very exciting. Should have mentioned Lord Krishna. too.
Excellent info. Will definitely share with my circle
Wonderful article.its truly Devine
Good
good to know all information
It was excellent to know the classification of warriors by BHISHMA. I had down loaded all the 287 episodes of MAHABHARATHA telecast by VIJAY TV & taken notes. Fascinated by the EPIC. Now reading the MAHABHARATHA by C RAJAGOPALACHARI. Suggest that these EPIC should be prescribed as syllabus for various classes, instead of the NOVELS by britsh.
Very nice information…It helps us to attach to divine knowledge
excellent information
very informative and educative.
i liked this article
Everything is true. A fascinating and brilliant article. We can understand Bhishma Pitamaha’s classification of warriors better in the context of modern hi-tech warfare where you have force multipliers and multiple attacking platforms and simultaneous attacking of multiple targets.
The Mahabharat and Ramayana are true accounts of events that really took place.
But Oh ! Where are those magnificent, daring, incredible warriors ?
More than at any other time, Bharatmata needs those heroes desperately and frantically NOW !
Really it is great to know about our Indian battle worriers and Bhishma pitamaha.But there are many politics in Mahabharata.
Bhishma pitamah the embodiment of truth,dharma,great scholar in shastras,Vedas,and warfare as he was the students of 3 brilliant teachers- Brahaspathi, surka acharya, and the geat warrior and incarnate lord Parasuraman.He himself self was one among 8 vasus group of Gods in heaven where Indra is the king (I mean devalokam) born as ahuman out of curse more over he got varadan from his father santhanu also God in devalokam born as human that was icha mrithyu He procure the celestial weapon paswathra used by vasus apart from other celestial weapons.He had to forght fiercely with his great teacher Parasuraman when later ordered him to do so . He aimed paswathra against him to counter his gurus mazhu but was stopped by Lord Siva. If he used it that marks the end of his teacher and the whole Bhramandam. Knowing that Lord himself blessed his student telling that infact he won the war hence equal or a step above him. Hence I feel Bhishma can be ranked as mahamaharathi
Hope my observation is acceptable
Thank you, but why not reveal the chapter and verse where one may further refer?