Weapons of Ancient Hindu GODS

Weapons of Ancient Hindu GODS

The story goes like:-

 Once a Brahmin named Vrutra gave up his dharma – duty – of doing good to others. Instead he turned to violence.  Devas (GOD’S) opposed him. He was later known by the name of Vrutrasur.

Vritasur got a boon that he will be not killed by any weapon known till date, moreover he also got a boon that he will not be killed by any weapon made of Wood or metal. On getting such boons, his power and evil deeds increased. King of Devas Lord Indra lost a fight against him, and flees with no hope of gaining his kingdom back.

Losing all hopes, all Gods (Devas), semi Gods assembled in front of great Lord and great Lord advised him to make a weapon of bones of some great ascetic.

King Indra thought for long and asked the lord “Will anybody give up his body for such a purpose? Who would die to provide a weapon?” On this the accompanying demigods advised “O devas! Go to Dadhichi Rishi, make a weapon with his bones. Beg to him. He is a great saint. He will surely Go and help all.  Hence King Indra with all Devas Naimisharanya, the place where ashram of saint Dadichi is located, and after narrating the cause, begged for his bones to make a weapon for the benefit of all the universes.

Rishis and sadhus perform tapas for the benefit of mankind and all creation. They tolerate hardships, insults and perform austerities without any thought of personal gain Dadhichi was himself such a saint. He agreed to willingly offer his body to save the troubled Devas. The supreme donor is one who gives happily what is asked, without desiring any favour.

The great Rishi Dadhichi sat in meditation pose and meditated upon supreme soul. His pure soul left and left his body. The Devas collected his bones and went to Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma crafted large number of divine weapons from the bones. The most powerful and supreme weapons were:-

1.    Vajra – Created from the spine. This vajra was given to Devas king Lord Indra. Vajra was indestructible with the power of thunder and lightning. With this weapon, Indra was able to defeat Vritasura after a long battle which lasted for 365 days.

2.    Bow Sarang – This was the most powerful weapon made from the Rishi’s bones. The holder of this bow was invincible. Much more powerful than vajra, was given to Lord Vishnu to protect Dharma. Later Lord RAMA was given this bow during his incarnation. This powerful bow was used to slay the great Rakshsa Kumbhkarana and the Rakshsa King Ravana. Later lord Krishna had the same bow which helped him to protect Dharma.    

3.    Bow Pinak – This was also a very powerful bow made from Great Rishi’s bones. The holder of this bow was considered invincible. The bow itself withheld great power. The bow was taken by the Great Guru, the greatest archer and the Yogi Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva’s Pinak became so famous that Lord Shiva was named as Pinaki, The holder of Pinak. Rudri (in Rudraabhishekh) has verses praising Shiva powers and the destruction Shiva unleashed using his Pinak.  Later it was known as Shiv Dhanusha, and this Great Pinak was the Bow which was given to Parshurama, the great disciple of lord Shiva, by lord Shiva himself for restoring Dharma. Later it was given to King Janaka, kept in Mithila, worshipped there and then broken by lord RAMA. The breaking of this bow unleashed the great power which was transferred to Lord RAMA.  This Shiva power was necessary for the incarnation to get all the power required for that incarnation.   

Shree RAMA brakes SHBIV DHANUSH

However, according to some legends, Pinak or Vijaya (Much better bow than Arjuna’s Gandiv and Shree Krishna’s SARANG) travelled from lord Shiva to Parshurama and then to KARANA in Mahabharat era. The bow broken by Lord RAMA was not Pinakin but other Shiva Bow.    

karana with his Pinakin

4.    Bow Gandeev - This bow was also very powerful and the holder of this bow was considered invincible. The creator Lord Brahma becomes the holder of this Bow. Lord Brahma hold the bow for 1000 years, then was given to Prajapati, who retained it for 503 years. Indra for another 580 years, Varuna for 100 years before passing to Arjuna (Mahabharat). The bow had gold plated which reflected in sunlight, blinding the opponent, had radiant edges, 100 strings and sounded like thunder every time arrow (Missile) was fired from it. After the war Agani took the bow back from Arjuna.   

Arjuna wuth his Gandiva