Many people of this era including the non-vedic modern scholars have wrong ideas about the great epic "Mahabharatam" . They believe that, Pandavas have killed their key foes Bhisma , Drona, Karna and Duryodhana by unrighteous trickery . Let us look into these aspects .
First of all , we need to understand the invincibility of Arjuna who was protected by Sri Krishna , the God of Gods . Arjuna himself was the incarnation of the divine Saint Nara , a manifestation of Maha-Vishnu . Even after taking the human form , he possessed all his divine power ; and his supreme weapons like `Pasupatastra' could easily kill any non-godly opponent such as Bhishma , Drona , Karna or Duryodhana . As such , there was no necessity for him to use any unrighteous trickery in the war .
Bhishma
Bhishma ,son of Ganga devi was a pious person and an ardent devotee of Sri Krishna . He lived an auspicious life ; and his only blemish was his forced alliance to the unrighteous Kauravas . His one enemy (princess Amba) had received a boon from Lord Shiva that that in her next birth she could cause Bhishma's death . Accordingly , she incarnated as Sikhandi ( who was born as a girl but later changed to boy) .
In accordance with the mentioned boon , Sikhandi became the cause of Bhishma's death . Here, we can see Bhagavan Krishna's compassion to His Devotee Bhishma . Bhagavan mercifully glorified him in the concluding fight wherein Arjuna used light power against him . Had Bhagavan advised to use , a divine weapon like "Pasupathastra" on the first instant , Bhishma wouldn't have survived .
Drona
Drona , the incarnation of Deva Guru Brihaspati , was also a great Devotee of Sri Krishna . King Drupada, Drona's friend turned foe had begot from a Yajna a divine son Drishatadyumna who would kill Drona . Even after knowing this fact, Drona accepted Drishtadyumna as a disciple and taught him .
Later, because of this bad association with the evil Kauravas , Drona took part in the treacherous war against Abhimanyu and helped to kill him by cheating . Also he was guilty of using divine arrows against army men on foot . These crimes deserved death .
However, Bhagavan Krishna , as usual had a soft corner to His Devotee and therefore He glorified Drona in the final war . Instead of humiliating him by divine means , Bhagavan arranged Bhima to kill an elephant named Aswathama thereby enabling Yudhishtira to say " Aswathama is dead" . Upon hearing this , Drona willingly gave up his weapon and was killed by Drishtadyumna, thus fulfilling Drupada's boon .
Karna
Karna , the illegitimate son of Surya-deva , was an anti-hero . He had certain good qualities as well as bad traits . An impartial critic can compare Karna and Arjuna in a few words . Arjuna was a blessed disciple of His Guru whereas Karna was a cursed one . Arjuna had a perfect `dharmic' character whereas Karna excelled in charity and loyalty but failed to have humility as well as respect to elders .
In his personal life , Karna did lot of charity , but he did it in a mood of arrogance . His vengeance against the social system made him conspire with the evil minded Kauravas. Karna was cursed by his Guru Parasurama for cheating him . Also, he was cursed by a Brahmana for killing his cow . He was destined to die by becoming a victim of these curses .
However, he was lucky to have a well wisher in Sri Krishna . In his heart Karna respected Sri Krishna as the Supreme God . Knowing this hidden `bhakti' , Bhagavan glorified Karna's last moments disregarding his evil deeds such as his obscene public comments against Draupadi and his role in the unrighteous slaying of Abhimanyu .
Before, the Kurukshetra war whenever Arjuna and Karna fought each other , the former won convincingly . However, prior to the commencement of Kurukshetra war , the evil `Asuras' provided their combined power to Karna . This extra power boosted Karna's performance in the last war and Krishna had to intervene to nullify his "Naga-Astra" ( in which dwelled a venomous Demon-Snake hostile to Arjuna) .
When the curses worked on Karna ( he forgot what he learnt ) and his chariot got struck in earth , he reached a hopeless state . Any further war after that would have been meaningless as Arjuna could have easily killed the weaponless Karna . It was at this juncture that the merciful Sri Krishna out of consideration towards His secret devotee Karna decided to bless him by converting the unavoidable death to a heroic event that would bring eternal fame to him . Accordingly , Arjuna hesitatingly shot an arrow at Karna while he was lifting the chariot out of mud .
Duryodhana
Duryodhana was the dreadful incarnation of `Kali' . When he was born, numerous inauspicious omens appeared which revealed that this child would cause disaster. However, king Dritarashtra out of blind love to his son , decided not to abandon this horrible child .
Duryodhana was the symbol of evil . He did all types of `adharmic' ( unrighteous) acts that deserved capital punishment of death . When he tried to violate the modesty of Daupadi , she cursed him that , Bhima would kill him by breaking his thighs .
The cunning Duryodhana knew very well the infinite power of Sri Krishna . When Bhagavan arrived at Hastinapura for trying a last diplomatic effort to avoid the imminent war , Duroyodhana invited Him for dinner . But, Bhagavan refused by saying :
" Duryodhana , Pandavas are my Devotees and you have already harmed them . If I eat your food now , that will cause an obligation which you don't deserve " .
Duryodhana was an expert in black magic and other evil means of fighting . Furthermore , before the war , the `Asuras' had armed him with their demonic power . Also, he received from his mother Gandhari ( a Siva Devotee) a boon that made his entire body except thighs unbreakable .
There was no point in using righteous means against such an evil personality . And Bhagavan promptly instructed Bhima to break those sinful thighs which Duryodhana had exposed obscenely to Draupadi .
Bhagavan teaches the Vedic followers a precious lesson in this episode . After being struck down by Bhima , Duryodhana complained that he was felled by `adharmic' ( `unrighteous' ) means . And then Krishna replied to him :
" O Duryodhana ! Where was your `dharma' when you cheated the Pandavas, when you ordered Dushassana to disrobe Draupadi and when you killed Abhimanyu by cheating ?. An enemy who has violated `dharma' ; and who thus deserves capital punishment , should be destroyed at the first opportunity by any means" .
It is an absolute fact that , Bhagavan Sri Krishna's philosophy and instructions are eternal and for the benefit of those who follow Him . Bhagavan is absolutely 'Dharma' personified .
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!! !
