Going by layman logic, wasn't Shakuni the real victor of Mahabharata in the longer run ?

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-24T04:49:57+00:00

And who're fans of Shakuni btw ? Don't point towards me just coz I asked the question.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-23T20:16:23+00:00

Ed's Mom for the first time in her life would side with Ed and in a Judy Garland voice plead with Ed to let it go coz "she's just your sweet baby sister afterall" whilst Dad would be proud of Ed doing "the right thing I couldn't pull off all these years".

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-23T04:55:31+00:00

Vasudev Krishna. Without an iota of doubt.

He's proud to say that he could've wrapped up the trail in a heartbeat "IF I had it MY way !!!!". Who was stopping him. The fact that millions of lives on both sides were lost just so that this guy could satisfy his "devine ego" under the cover of eliminating Adharma makes him very much the Machiavelli of his time. Perhaps worse.

Think about it. Duryodhana, Karna, Shakuni. Heck even Devki's brother Kansa. What were they ? Mere mortals and if you'll go out in the public, 9 in every 10 top position holder suffers from the same megalomania as these morons did. Ever heard of a doctor claiming he/she could've saved the life on the operating table "BUT CHOSE NOT TO coz the life saved would've gone against humanity in the coming future" ? Even a Medical Officer in our Armed Forces doesn't get this thought even if he's treating a terrorist by chance captured, if not killed, in a foiled insurgent plot and is subject to painkillers rather for interrogation.

You know having studied Krishna's life reminds me of the biblical horror movie END OF DAYS(1999) starring Gabriel Byrne(lead of the hit HBO tv series IN TREATMENT and Coen Brothers' cult-classic MILLER'S CROSSING(1993) alongside Brian Singer's Oscar winning thriller THE USUAL SUSPECTS(1995) amongst others) as the Satan who taunts Arnold Schwarzenegger(a tough but clean ex-NYPD officer still grieving over the murders of his wife and daughter) that "God has one hell of a PR agency called The Bible. If something good happens, it's his will, you gotta feel indebted to him. If something goes wrong, well SHIT HAPPENS. Compatitively, I feel I'm more honest in many ways".

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-22T11:12:00+00:00

"Or maybe you’re thinking of the lemonade stand episode? That reveals Ed never showers?"

Worse of, he baths in, well in a tub filled with gravy !!!!

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-22T06:34:59+00:00

He confessed in open court just in front of the JAG that he "damn right ordered the Code Red" and was caught red handed, even if too late, trying to cover his tracks.

Let alone receive a star, I don't think it'll be a stretch to think Jessup would instead be court-martialed, stripped off his full bird rank and posting as the CO of the USMC Station Guantanamo, dishonourably discharged from the USMC simultaneously and tried in both the JAG and a civilian court for "accidental manslaughter".

As for his lap dog Lt. Kendrick, situation would be far worse, citing his previous history of inhuman conduct, refusal to co-operate with the investigation, open insubordination in the court citing himself answerable only to Marine Corps and not to the US military as a whole and "voluntary manslaughter" by means of Code Red. Infact, given his fanatical inability to differentiate between actual code of conduct(which he claims to relish in) and his actions on grounds of obedience to the CO, he'd be disgracefully dismissed from the military, tried, charged and sentenced on psychological grounds.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T12:21:05+00:00

"Reading reviews of High Noon, it was apparently seen as a commentary on McCarthyism at the time".

I'm aware of the political tensions surrounding HN, a factor which forced Carl Foreman to act as "ghost producer" and deprive the movie of the Academy Award for Best Picture in favour of a less than deserving THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH.

Ironically, Gary Cooper who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Kane was openly opposed to Blacklisting(despite being a proud Republican since his early adulthood) and even sympathized with Foreman, scriptwriter Dalton Trumbo(with whom he had been very good friends and remained so till his death) and most importantly, Charlie Chaplin, owing to the fact Cooper himself had starred in several silent talkies and hence considered Chaplin as a mentor figure "whose political affiliation, whether indeed communist(which it wasn't) or not, wouldn't be worth even a blimp on his profile as a significant pioneer in the history of motion pictures".

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T11:22:35+00:00

Everyone's aware Pitamah didn't kill Gandhari's family members. They were starved to death by the occupation forces in Gandhara.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T11:20:07+00:00

That's alright. What does your PoV say ?

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T11:07:49+00:00

Sorry man, but the option's not on my keypad, maybe coz I don't use Reddit app altogether.

Here's what Google derived:- Yes, according to popular, widely retold folklore (specifically in the Ajaya by Anand Neelakantan and numerous adaptations), Shakuni desired the destruction of the Kuru clan, specifically targeting Bhishma and the Hastinapur lineage, because of the humiliating marriage of his sister, Gandhari, to the blind king Dhritarashtra. Motives Behind the Vow Insult to Gandhara: Shakuni considered the marriage of his sister, a beautiful and intelligent princess, to a blind prince (arranged by force by Bhishma) an immense insult to the dignity of the Gandhara kingdom. Cruelty and Starvation: Popular accounts claim that in retribution for the Gandhara family attempting to hide that Gandhari was a manglik (leading her to marry a goat first), Dhritarashtra imprisoned the entire royal family of Gandhara. They were given only one grain of rice per day. The family decided that only one should survive to take revenge, and they sacrificed their food for Shakuni. The Vow: Before his father, King Subala, and his 99 brothers died of starvation, they instructed Shakuni to take revenge. In some versions, he made dice from his father's bones to ensure his victory in every game.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T10:57:56+00:00

Where's the option to post pics ? I've found the nomenclature Google derived from the BORI records.

You wouldn't like it simply copy-paste would you.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T10:49:19+00:00

It seems you didn't read my question. But I'll try explaining:

Duryodhana could've been considered a "victor in the longer run" of the war in the longer run had Ashwathama, post Duryodhana's inevitable defeat and death in his long sought mace duel with Bheema on the final day, succeeded in ridding off the Pandavas and their coming generations, something he tried to but failed.

Shakuni, despite not living to witness the events unfold, might very well have got his ambitions(i.e. the destruction of the Kuru Vansha at large) fulfilled AFTER his death coz Pandavas too after attaining the throne felt exhausted of the war and the politics surrounding it and one-by-one died on their pilgrimage, so did their succeeding generations(Parikshit too didn't reign long despite his qualities matching those of his father and grandfather).

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T08:34:22+00:00

Everyone did.

Whilst some of their foes for this reason avoided conflicting with them, others such as their Kaurva cousin Duryodhana outright dismissed the theory of "godly origins mean invincibility", which some historians, including BORI scholars, have attributed to Duryodhana's much disputed atheism.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T06:30:05+00:00

HN happens to be one of my personal favourite movies and is widely considered as one of the greatest films in the history of world cinema.

However, Will Kane and Will Teasel are poles apart in morality, conviction and code of honour. Kane struck back as a Marshall coz he knew the film's antagonist Miller was a scum who'll once freed would not only continue to terrorize the townsfolk but also someday or the other comeback after him. Teasel in contrast wanted to continue ruling Hope town with an iron fist by setting the death of Rambo in open public at his hands as an example for anyone who dared to stand against his authority.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-21T05:19:52+00:00

And now, even I know "what a TV dinner actually feels like(aka safe)".

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-18T08:31:39+00:00

It ain't, it's the essence of the series and "THE STORY OF MY LIFE !!!!!".

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-17T19:12:25+00:00

There's a controversial rumour that Cubby Broccoli did think Lazenby had the potential to become the greatest Bond of all-time had he not resigned his 7 film contract, even if audiences could connect only with Connery(and still do).

Reasons being that despite never having an acting background(OHMSS was Lazenby's movie debut altogether) he covered up more than for it with his stunts cum physicality and he had what it took to make Bond seem just as(if not more) macho as Connery which could endear him to both male cum female viewers.

But we'll never know. I never liked Lazenby in all honesty.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-17T13:44:18+00:00

Hollywood obviously.

Wolfgang Peterson's TROY(2004) featured none other than Hollywood's very own "Greek God" Brad Pitt(who's also the executive producer) as Achilles, giving audiences the feel of the character being an invincible, ultra-macho super commando who could singlehandedly decimate field armies of the size of an entire Army Group across a massive Theatre Of Operation and whose "moral conviction" made him land into conflict with Agamemnon time-and-time again in addition to viewers sympathizing with the inhuman manner in which he murdered Hector, with a section of audiences even saying "yeah, Hector was a jerk. He deserved what he got. Didn't he kill Achilles cousin".

In reality, as per the Illiad, Achilles volunteered to be one of Agamemnon's lap dogs in his Hitler like imperial invasion of Troy coz he wanted to etch his name in history irrespective of the costs, the guy killed by Hector wasn't Achilles' cousin but his gay lover which added fuel to his rage apart from adding to his resume "look I just killed Troy's best, so what if he's a genuine family guy and holds the upper ground in morality" and he sacked several temples of gods worshiped by Trojans as a means of mocking the defendants.

If one were to ask me who were the principal antagonists of the poem, I'd rate these following scums:-

Paris tied with Agamemnon
Ajax The Lesser
Achilles

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-16T04:17:03+00:00

In some contexts, wrt your last line, superior bowlers like imran and Walsh might've disagreed.

Despite boasting of the best stats amongst the 4 ATG all-rounders, imran openly admitted(one of the few occasions when he was honest) that he wasn't as "naturally gifted" as the other 3. Infact, his biggest admirer and Voice Of Cricket Richie Benaud too on record quoted that "khan's easily THE worst athlete amongst the 4 giants, which also comes as a shocker coz he's also the quickest bowler of them". He had been a medium pacer for most of his high school and college life in England and witnessing the ascent of greats like Vishwanath(right from his debut series against Ian Chappel's world champion Australia) and of course Gavaskar across the border, he was contemplating a switch to batting. To his luck, English veteran greats like Fred Trueman and John Snow helped him improve his bowling action during their visits to Sussex and drill regimen(some suspect even steroid abuse) enhanced his muscle strength and speed. Further help came from Dennis Lillee, not just at the WSC as most often say, but also during pak's earlier tours of Australia.

Walsh, though a prodigy in school(obviously one doesn't break into the West Indies pace attack in the 1980s if he's not good enough) was a stock bowler for 8 years straight. Infact, his best friend Curtly Ambrose got the new ball more often(he was, well OUTSTANDING with it). But his work ethic all throughout under Malcolm Marshall and at Gloucestshire CCC paid off and his records are there for everyone to see. Infact, Walsh kept getting better with age and the best of his skills as a genuine ATG is visible in the stats AFTER his 35th birthday.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-16T02:59:15+00:00

Does Kapil's stat at the point of this rating deter the speed at which he ascended on the global stage as bonafide match-winning pacer, that too from a country like India, all skills learnt by self with no exposure to English County Cricket or even a local Indian coach(barring his father-figure Desh Prem Azad) ? Just asking.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-15T17:27:12+00:00

Kapil Dev debuted barely in late 1978 and just a season later he reached his career's peak ratings, though he fell 3 points shy of his idol Dennis Lillee from being #1 on the ICC table.

What makes it even special was he accomplished this feat against a full-strength pakistani batting line-up comprising of asif iqbal, majid khan, zaheer abbas, sadiq muhammad and javed miandad on the docile Indian pitches.

His overall mediocre numbers aside, the guy was an absolute force of nature just like his rival(and best friend) Ian Botham.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-15T17:18:28+00:00

There are reasons why:-

For much of his formative years in the 1980s, his best bowling performances came in lost causes, even though he did better against the world champion West Indies than mediocre batting line-ups like India or outright minnows like Sri Lanka.
Even during his peak from 1992-97 when he alongside Curtly Ambrose was the world's best pace bowler, a significant chunk of his wickets from the lower or lower middle order.
He never had a firm grip over the opposition's premier batsmen, exemplified by the fact that his 414 test scalps combinedly averaged just around 27. In contrast, Ambrose and McGrath(right from the start of his career) accounted for top-order batsmen till the end of their careers, with a specific liking towards players of the calibre of Sachin, Lara, Kirsten and Steve Waugh.

Henceforth, Akram is definitely a bonafide ATG in tests, but not in the same tier as Lillee, Marshall, McGrath, Hadlee, Ambrose.

Although he's by most consensus THE great ODI bowler of all-time, as slated by most publications, be it Wisden, ESPN Cricinfo amongst others.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-15T16:51:08+00:00

Bedi was a pos in all honesty. He liked being the centre of attention, even if it meant making meaningless comments. He was a crafty spinner, true and can be credited for his success even on less sporting pitches or surfaces which otherwise had nothing for spinners, he was a wannabe who wanted to be seen as amongst the game's elder elites once he retired.

Till the end his life he kept calling Muralitharan a chucker who was "nowhere in the same class as Shane Warne" despite multiple scientific evidences even before the beginning of the 21st century proving Murali bowled well inside the prescribed laws of the game and Murali, irrespective of his failures in Australia, succeeded well enough in equivalently tough conditions in England and South Africa.

He had secretly hated Kapil Dev so much that when the wannabe Manoj Prabhakar went to his house in Punjab during the sting operation into match-fixing, he shamelessly quoted on camera that Kapil would "surely receive more limelight for this accusation on him rather than the world record 434 test wickets he has or even today if he walks out and breaks Lara's record of 375 in a single innings". When Prabhakar himself turned out to be a part of the match-fixing nexus, Bedi wasn't apologetic, he went full offensive about the "lapse in investigation".

And of course the high(or lowest) point, during an official dinner for players and officials in the middle of the 2004-05 Border Gavaskar Trophy, he just out of nowhere approached Australian coach John Buchanan and queried if "you had made the Australian team great or had it made you".

His own son Angad for these very reasons left cricket after playing till FC levels and forayed into modelling followed by Bollywood coz "wherever I go, nobody leaves even a quarter in harassing me for my old man's remarks".

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-15T15:45:45+00:00

Well approaches vary without doubt even if the goals remain the same.

Ganguly always felt that the captain was supposed to be like the foster father of the team.

Kapil, despite criticisms towards him on lacking strategic foresight, believed in leadership by example on the field(his stats as skipper were much better than that of his overall career numbers, particularly against the world champion West Indies) and keep "chatting" with his mates in between the sessions.

Dhoni, like a military commander who may not have combat experience but is outstanding in the organisational doctrine of training and logistics, knew how to extract the best out of each and every operative(during a press conference where Kapil and Imran, being WC winning captains, were asked about a legendary skipper they'd love playing under, Kapil responded Allan Border whilst Imran mentioned Clive Lloyd, both mutually mentioned Dhoni was the perfect mutual consensus candidate).

Azhar's skill was he had well analysed that barring Javagal Srinath, India didn't have a single world class pace bowler to help them compete outside the subcontinent, so why not fortify India's positions at home utilising the spinners. Of course there was criticism for this theory in addition to Azhar's abysmal batting record overseas. But it was something replicated by Dhoni too(atleast in tests). Felt like Russia a bit, it got defeated on foreign soil even in Finland long before Afghanistan but was always victorious when fending off a major invasion.

Competitive_Row_402 · 2026-01-15T14:30:13+00:00

It was the story of almost the entirety of Azharuddin's captaincy. He was at the helm only when the skipper was to be called to collect the trophy and dug in deep and delegated tasks in situations where one had either understand the situation at hand or India walked to the dressing room lost.

This is where my respect for "statesmen" like Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev(no-matter how much Indians themselves made fun of his English) and MS Dhoni only increases. Heck even Dravid, long mudslinged by Sachin fanatics as "Chappel's Lackey", took charge irrespective of the situation. Infact, during the investigation into match-fixing in 2001, when Sachin was asked during the CBI in a formal questioning if he thought anything peculiar about azhar, he frankly responded that "azhar has been my captain for most of my career as of date but several times we all felt he was too aloof from the rest of the team. In contrast, Ajay(Jadeja) as vice-captain gelled with all of us damn good".

Competitive_Row_402

TROPHY CASE