Category:Warriors
Theme Analysis
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that the Vedic standard for a warrior is vastly different from the modern concept of a soldier. A true kṣatriya is specifically trained to protect the weak and fight strictly according to the principles of religion. They do not fight for personal sense gratification or material expansion. When modern nations train their youth merely as laborers (śūdras) rather than cultured kṣatriyas, society descends into chaos. Aggressive, materialistic warriors who become puffed up by their opulence and unnecessarily disturb world peace generate massive karma and are ultimately punished by the Supreme Lord. In the Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa reveals His universal form, demonstrating how He personally devours all such arrogant fighters. Conversely, a warrior who is a pure devotee, like Arjuna or Bhīṣmadeva, fights exclusively for the cause of the Lord. Because their actions are free from selfish motives, they are considered true renunciates (sannyāsīs) even while operating on the battlefield. The Supreme Lord always protects His devotees and arranges for them to take the credit for His divine victories. Ultimately, any warrior fortunate enough to see Kṛṣṇa on the battlefield has their dormant love of God awakened and is immediately promoted to the spiritual world.
- The Duty of a Kṣatriya: A genuine warrior fights on the principles of religion to protect the weak, not out of whimsy or for the sake of accumulating wealth and territory.
- Materialistic Arrogance: Kings and generals who become puffed up by their military prowess and aristocratic heritage are inevitably crushed by the Supreme Lord for disturbing world peace.
- The Devotion of Heroes: Great warriors like the Pāṇḍavas were cent percent dependent on Kṛṣṇa. Arjuna's willingness to sacrifice all personal sentiments for the Lord's order exemplifies real sannyāsa (renunciation) in action.
- The Supreme Prowess of Kṛṣṇa: The Lord effortlessly vanquishes the greatest armies and devours aggressive warriors through the agency of time. Yet, out of love, He allows His devotee to become the celebrated hero of the battle.
- The Ultimate Destination: Engaging in battle in the presence of the Supreme Lord is supremely purifying. Warriors who died appreciating the beauty of Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra attained immediate spiritual liberation.
- Explore the synthesized essence of this category in this Vanipedia article: Aggressive Materialistic Warriors Are Actually Punished by the Supreme Lord.
Subcategories
This category has the following 3 subcategories, out of 3 total.
Pages in category "Warriors"
The following 87 pages are in this category, out of 87 total.
A
- Abhimanyu, Arjuna's son, he went to fight in the battle. He was so great warrior. So seven big men required to kill him: Bhisma, Drona, Karna, Duryodhana, like that, all combined together. So there is no mercy
- Actually the members of the Kuru dynasty were very much puffed up due to their opulence, kingdom, aristocracy, family tradition, great warriors, family members and vast, expansive empire
- Aggressive materialistic warriors are actually punished by the Supreme Lord for their policy of unnecessarily disturbing world peace
- All of them (the great heroes of Dvaraka) were maha-rathis, great warriors able to fight with thousands of men. All were fully equipped with necessary weapons and assisted by hundreds and thousands of charioteers, elephants, horses and infantry soldiers
- All rsis are situated in the quality of goodness. All of them assembled there on hearing the news of the great warrior's impending death
- All the saintly brahmanas thus addressed Prthu Maharaja: O best of the warriors, O father of this globe, may you be blessed with a long life, for you have great devotion to the infallible SPG, who is the master of all the universe
- An enemy who does not resist is never killed by a warrior who knows the principles of religion. Formerly battles were fought on the principles of religion and not for the sake of sense gratification
- Arjuna might have been a very great warrior, a well-cultured member of the Kuru dynasty, but after all, he was an ordinary human being, whereas Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is the possessor of unlimited knowledge
- As the rivers flow into the sea, so all these great warriors enter Your blazing mouths and perish. BG 11.28 - 1972
- At least for the time being, they (warriors on the battlefield) knew that Krsna has come. Suppose a prominent man comes in a big meeting. Is not everyone conscious of that person?
- At the last stage of his life, when Bhismadeva saw his most exalted grandsons, headed by Maharaja Yudhisthira, sitting very gently at his side, the great warrior-grandfather could not check his loving tears, which were automatically flowing from his eyes
B
- Balarama said, "King Ugrasena knows very well that you warriors of the Kuru dynasty improperly fought with the pious Samba, who was alone, and that with great difficulty and unrighteous tactics you have arrested him"
- Bhismadeva played the part of a valiant warrior, and he purposely pierced the body of the Lord so that to the common eyes it appeared that the Lord was wounded, but factually all this was to bewilder the nondevotees
- Bhismadeva was the foremost of all warriors. When he defeated Lord Parasurama in a fight, Lord Parasurama was very satisfied with him
- Bhismadeva was the foremost of all warriors. When he defeated Lord Parasurama in a fight, Lord Parasurama was very satisfied with him. By the semen of Santanu in the womb of Satyavati, the daughter of a fisherman, Citrangada took birth
F
- Five great warriors - Karna, Sala, Bhuri, Yajnaketu and Duryodhana, the father of the girl - who were all maha-rathis and who were guided by the great fighter Bhismadeva, attempted to arrest the boy Samba
- Following his (Pradyumna's) command, many warriors like Satyaki, Carudesna and Samba, all young brothers of Pradyumna, as well as Akrura, Krtavarma, Bhanuvinda, Gada, Suka and Sarana, all came out of the city to fight with Salva
H
- He (Arjuna) sacrificed all sentiments, all connection, everything for Krsna. That is called sannyasa, real sannyasa. Although he was a warrior, a fighter, a householder having more than dozen wives, but he was sannyasa
- He (Carudesna) was a great warrior like his brothers and father. He fought with Vivinidhaka and killed him in the fight
- He (Dhrtarastra) did not ask her (Gandhari) to follow him because he was at that time fully determined, like a great warrior who faces all kinds of dangers in the battlefield
- He (Krsna) belonged to a ksatriya (warrior) family, and the ksatriyas are meant to give protection to the weak
- Here (in SB 1.8.13) the word ananya-visayatmanam is significant. The Pandavas were cent percent dependent on the protection of the Lord, although they were all great warriors themselves
- Here at Kuruksetra You are dressed like a royal prince, accompanied by great warriors, but in Vrndavana You appeared just like an ordinary cowherd boy, accompanied only by Your beautiful flute
- His grandfather Arjuna had to fight with such great heroes as Bhisma, Drona, Karna & many others who were not ordinary fighters. Such warriors have been compared to the timingila fish in the ocean. The timingila fish can very easily swallow up big whales
I
- I have already killed the great warriors - Bhisma, Drona, Jayadratha, Karna & many other great generals. Do not worry. Fight & be famous as a great hero." (BG 11.32-34) Krsna always wants to see His devotee as the hero of some episode which He performs
- If one is an administrator, statesman, warrior, politician, etc., then one should try to establish the Lord's supremacy in statesmanship. Fight for the cause of the Lord as Sri Arjuna did
- In His original form, the Lord dresses like a cowherd boy and thinks Himself one. When He appears as Vasudeva, the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, His dress and consciousness are those of a ksatriya, a warrior
- In the Bhagavad-gita (BG 2.12) it was said by the Lord in the midst of the battlefield that the warriors standing in front of Arjuna, Arjuna himself, and even the Lord had all existed before, they were existing on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra
- It is mentioned here that Bhisma, who is supposed to be unconquerable, will also be smashed. So also Karna. Not only will the great warriors of the other party like Bhisma be smashed, but some of the great warriors of Arjuna's side also. BG 1972 purports
- It was Krsna's program that the warriors were all destined to die, and Krsna gave Arjuna the opportunity of taking the credit of conquering them
K
- Kamsa began to think in perplexity, "Shall I go immediately and surrender unto Him? But how can a great warrior do this?" The next moment he thought, "Why should I be afraid of Him? There are still so many wrestlers standing to support me"
- King Paundraka was a great warrior, and as soon as he heard of Krsna's attack, he came out of the city with two aksauhini divisions of soldiers. The King of Kasi also came out, with three aksauhini divisions
O
- O warrior, the inquiry made by you (Vidura) is just befitting a devotee because it concerns the incarnation of the Personality of Godhead. He is the source of liberation from the chain of birth and death for all those who are otherwise destined to die
- Of all people, why did Sri Krsna select Arjuna as a recipient of this knowledge? Arjuna was not a great scholar at all, nor was he a yogi, meditator or a holy man. He was a warrior about to engage in battle
- Of the six warriors (Karna, Sala, Bhuri, Yajnaketu, Duryodhana and Bhismadeva), four took care to kill Samba's four horses, one struck down his chariot driver, and one managed to cut the string of Samba's bow so that he could no longer fight with them
- One can just imagine how little time must have elapsed while Bhagavad-gita was being spoken. All the warriors on both sides were poised to fight, so there was very little time indeed - at the utmost, one hour
- Out of loving ecstasy for Krsna, his friend, Arjuna is offering his respects from all sides. He is accepting that He is the master of all potencies and all prowess and far superior to all the great warriors assembled on the battlefield. BG 1972 purports
S
- Samba accepted the challenge (by Karna) and stood alone before them, but as soon as he did so he was overpowered by showers of arrows shot by all the great warriors
- Samba, the glorious son of the Yadu dynasty, endowed with inconceivable potencies as the son of Lord Krsna, became very angry at the warriors of the Kuru dynasty. A lion is never afraid of being chased by many wolves and jackals
- Sambara, Viduratha and Rukmi, as also great warriors like Kamboja, Matsya, Kuru, Srnjaya and Kekaya, would all fight vigorously, either with the Lord Hari directly or with Him under His names of Baladeva, Arjuna, Bhima, etc
- Sometimes I (Banasura) feel a great tendency to fight with my arms, and I go out to find a suitable warrior. Unfortunately, everyone flees, knowing my extraordinary power
- Sometimes the plane was visible and sometimes not visible, and the warriors of the Yadu dynasty were puzzled about the whereabouts of the peculiar airplane
T
- The Bhagavad-gita began with an inquiry of Dhrtarastra. He was hopeful of the victory of his sons, assisted by great warriors like Bhisma, Drona and Karna. He was hopeful that the victory would be on his side. BG 1972 purports
- The Blessed Lord said: All the great warriors-Drona, Bhisma, Jayadratha, Karna-are already destroyed. Simply fight, and you will vanquish your enemies. BG 11.34 - 1972
- The brahmanas (intelligentsia) emanate from the face (of God), the ksatriyas (warriors and administrators) emanate from the arms, the vaisyas (farmers and merchants) emanate from the thighs, and the sudras (laborers) emanate from the feet
- The chariot of Lord Krsna was marked with the flag bearing the insignia of Garuda, and as soon as the soldiers and warriors of the Yadu dynasty saw the flag, they could understand that Lord Krsna was on the battlefield
- The charioteer replied, "My dear sir (Pradyumna), you are completely competent in the battlefield. But it is the duty of the charioteer and the warrior to protect each other in a precarious condition"
- The demon Bhaumasura immediately released a weapon called Sataghni, by which he could kill hundreds of warriors with one stroke, and all his assistants simultaneously threw their respective weapons at the Supreme Personality of Godhead
- The great sage Maitreya addressed Vidura as a warrior not only because Vidura belonged to the Kuru family but because he was anxious to hear about the chivalrous activities of the Lord in His incarnations of Varaha and Nrsimha
- The great sage Narada immediately carried the news to the Yadu dynasty that Samba had been arrested and told them the whole story. The members of the Yadu dynasty became very angry at Samba's being arrested, and improperly so by six warriors
- The great sages meditated. Hot tears were in the eyes of Devaki and other motherly ladies, and hairs stood on the bodies of the expert warriors. There was astonishment in the hearts of demigods such as Indra
- The great warrior Bhima, who fought in the battle of Kuruksetra, was said to have strength ten thousand times that of an elephant
- The human beings live on earth and similar other planets in the Bhur and Bhuvar group of planets, but the demigods live in the Svar, or heavenly planets, and all of them knew Bhismadeva as a great warrior and devotee of the Lord
- The inhabitants of Vrndavana do not want You dressed like a prince, nor do they want You to associate with great warriors in a different country. They cannot leave the land of Vrndavana, and without Your presence, they are all dying
- The invincible King Jarasandha is as strong as ten thousand elephants. Indeed, other powerful warriors cannot defeat him. Only Bhima is equal to him in strength
- The Lord (Krsna) neglects even the greatest warriors and also vanquishes them in no time
- The Lord wanted that at the last stage of his material existence the great warrior Bhismadeva see Him personally and see his beloved grandchildren, King Yudhisthira, etc., now situated on the throne, and thus pass away very peacefully
- The remaining Yaksas who somehow or other were not killed had their limbs cut to pieces by the arrows of the great warrior Dhruva Maharaja. Thus they began to flee, just as elephants flee when defeated by a lion
- The serpent with five hoods became very weak because he had to fight alone with so many soldiers, all of whom were great warriors. Seeing that his most intimate friend was weakening, King Puranjana and his friends all became very anxious
- The striking of their (Bhima's and Jarasandha's) fists sounded like the striking of iron bars or like the sound of thunderbolts, and the two warriors appeared to be like two elephants fighting
- The Supreme Lord, the maintainer of every living entity, devours everything at the time of annihilation. This was confirmed in the Eleventh Chapter when the Lord said that He has come to devour all the warriors assembled at Kuruksetra. BG 1972 purports
- The tribulations were so severe that even Bhismadeva, who was both a lifelong brahmacari and a great warrior, would sometimes shed tears thinking of them
- The warriors of the Kuru dynasty (Karna, Sala, Bhuri, Yajnaketu, Duryodhana and Bhismadeva) accepted their great victory and took their daughter, Laksmana, away from him (Samba). Thereafter, they entered the city of Hastinapura in great triumph
- The warriors were like many ferocious aquatic animals. But by the grace of Krsna, my grandfather Arjuna crossed over this ocean very easily
- The word ratha means "chariot." So if a warrior could fight against one chariot, he was called eka-ratha, and if he could fight against thousands of chariots he was called maha-ratha
- There are four varnas, namely, the brahmanas (priests and intellectuals), the ksatriyas (warriors and statesmen), the vaisyas (businessmen and farmers) and the sudras (laborers and servants)
- There are the mighty Yudhamanyu, the very powerful Uttamauja, the son of Subhadra and the sons of Draupadi. All these warriors are great chariot fighters. BG 1.6 - 1972
- There was no need to come before Bhismadeva with blood and wounds. But He (Krsna) did so because the warrior devotee wanted to see the transcendental beauty of the Lord decorated with wounds created by a pure devotee
- This passing away of the great warrior (Bhismadeva) attracted the attention of all the contemporary elites, and all of them assembled there to show their feelings of love, respect and affection for the great soul
- Those warriors who appreciated the lotus feet of the Lord (Krsna) and saw His face at the front had their dormant love of God awakened, and thus they were transferred at once to Vaikunthaloka not to the impersonal state of brahmajyoti as was Sisupala
- To please King Yudhisthira, Lord Krsna remained in the city of Hastinapura for several months. During His stay, He enjoyed strolling here and there. He used to drive on chariots with Arjuna, and many warriors and soldiers used to follow them
U
- Uddhava said, "King Jarasandha is not an ordinary man. He has proved a stumbling block even to great warriors because his bodily strength is equal to the strength of ten thousand elephants"
- Uddhava seemingly lamented that his own position was less than that of the warriors on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra because they had attained to Vaikuntha whereas he remained to lament the disappearance of the Lord - Krsna
W
- When one compares the beauty, opulence, sweetness and intellectual pastimes of Vasudeva, the warrior, to Krsna, the cowherd boy, son of Nanda Maharaja, one sees that Krsna's attributes are more pleasant
- When the respective warriors of both camps, namely the Kauravas and the Pandavas, were killed on the Battlefield of Kuruksetra and the dead warriors obtained their deserved destinations
- When the warriors from the other side of the battlefield saw Lord Krsna at the front, they appreciated His beauty, & their dormant instinct of love of God was awakened. Sisupala saw the Lord also, but he saw Him as his enemy, & his love was not awakened
- While Samba so diligently fought alone with the six great warriors, they all appreciated the boy's inconceivable potency. Even in the midst of the fighting they admitted frankly that this boy Samba was wonderful