Yudhishthira commanded the Pandava army at Kurukshetra and, on the fifteenth day, uttered the half-lie 'Ashwatthama is dead' — speaking truth about an elephant while letting Drona believe it was his son. The deception broke Drona's will to fight, and Yudhishthira's chariot, which had always hovered above the earth, touched the ground for the first and only time.
Arjuna received Krishna's divine teaching on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, forming the Bhagavad Gita, before fighting in the great war.
Ashwatthama fought at Kurukshetra as one of the Kaurava army's fiercest warriors, wielding the Narayanastra against the Pandava host and surviving to the war's bitter end as one of only three Kaurava survivors.
Bhima fought at Kurukshetra with savage fury, fulfilling his oath to drink Dushasana's blood on the fourteenth day and crushing Duryodhana's thighs with his mace in the war's final duel, ending the Kaurava line.
Bhishma commanded the Kaurava forces at Kurukshetra for the first ten days, fighting with terrible power while refusing to kill the Pandavas he had raised. On the tenth day, pierced by Arjuna's arrows from behind Shikhandi's shield, the grandsire fell onto a bed of shafts and lay waiting for an auspicious hour to die.
Dhrishtadyumna commanded the Pandava army at Kurukshetra and killed Drona, the Kaurava commander, by beheading him after Drona laid down his arms in grief. Born from a sacrificial fire specifically to slay Drona, he fulfilled his destined purpose on the battlefield.
Dhritarashtra, the blind king of Hastinapura, sanctioned the Kurukshetra War by failing to restrain his son Duryodhana. He received a divine narration of the entire battle from Sanjaya, who was granted celestial sight by Vyasa to describe the war in real time.
Ghatotkacha, the half-rakshasa son of Bhima, unleashed demonic powers at Kurukshetra during a devastating night assault that terrorized the Kaurava army. Karna was forced to spend the Shakti weapon Indra had given him to slay Ghatotkacha, losing the one weapon that could have killed Arjuna.
The Kurukshetra War was fought over the throne of Hastinapura. The Pandavas' victory on the battlefield restored their rightful claim to the Kuru capital, where Yudhishthira was crowned king after the war's devastating conclusion.
The Kauravas, led by Duryodhana and commanding the greater army, fought the eighteen-day war at Kurukshetra against their Pandava cousins. Every one of the hundred brothers perished on the battlefield, annihilating Dhritarashtra's line entirely.
Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, serving as his charioteer during the great war.
Nakula fought at Kurukshetra as one of the Pandava commanders, wielding his sword against the Kaurava ranks. He slew Karna's sons Chitrasena and Sushena in battle and survived all eighteen days of the war.
The Pandavas fought and won the eighteen-day war at Kurukshetra against their Kaurava cousins. Though victorious, their army was decimated and their victory came at the cost of nearly an entire generation of warriors.
Sahadeva fought at Kurukshetra alongside his Pandava brothers. Known for his wisdom and skill with the sword, he slew Shakuni, the architect of the dice game, on the eighteenth day of battle.
Sanjaya, granted divine sight by the sage Vyasa, narrated every blow and death of the Kurukshetra War to the blind king Dhritarashtra in the palace at Hastinapura, his voice carrying the horrors of the battlefield to a father who could not bear to hear them.
Shikhandi fought at Kurukshetra as the instrument of Bhishma's fall. On the tenth day, Shikhandi rode at the front of the Pandava formation; Bhishma refused to fight one born female, allowing Arjuna to pierce the grandsire with arrows.
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