ASTRA - अस्त्र
Brahmo tegham | Brahmo agne | Brahmo astram | Om namaho Shivoham ||
Astra were wepons or humans. Their were clans which were saviours and carries the astra in themselves but for now lets see wat is given in our ancient scripts.
Agni astra jo sabse astro ki surwat thi wo ek aadmi hai na ki vastu. Agni astra he brahmastra ke raaz khol sakta hai. Astra hum sab ke bichme kafi waqt se maojud the aur hai bhi. Kuch samudaye abhi bhi deviya takato ki raksha karti hai. Lekin kuch buri taakat hai jo brahamastra ko paane ke liye humesa badha bane hai.
Asie bohot saare samu daye hai jo apni chadiyo se shursti ke takato ko sambhal ke ralhe hue hai.
Aur agni un mei se ek hai jo pata nahi ab kaha aur kisme hai.
Lekin abho filal hum jo vedo mei diye gaye astra hai uske baareme kuch jaankari lete hai.
According to the Vedas, there are more than 3,300 unique weapons possessed by various incarnations of the Lord and the demigods. supernatural weapon, presided over by a specific deity. Later, it came to denote any weapon which was used by releasing it from one hands (e.g. an arrow, compared to keeping it one's hand e.g. a sword [shastra])
We will post on Trishul astra, in somedays.
Among the most celebrated of all divine weaponry are Sri Krsna's Sudarshan-chakra, Lord Brahma's Brahma-astra, Lord Siva's Pashupati-astra, and Lord Visnu's Vaishnava-astra. Lord Indra has his famous Indra-astra and Vajra thunderbolts, like the Hirany-astra, similar to Siva's lightening-bolt weapons. Mention is found in the Puranas of the Asura-astra, Pramohana-astra, Devi-astra, Shakti-astra, Trishul, Garuda-astra, Varuna-astra and Chakra-astra. The Marut-astra was the astra of the Maruts, and Agni-astra, belonged to Bhairava and Shakti.
Some astras have very specific purposes and realms of use, like the Vidyastra, a weapon of intellect, and the Virajaya-astra, a weapon for victory. The Agneya-astra was used to invoke fire upon the enemy, while the Varunastra is used to manifest water, to fight fire. The Naga-astra brings forth a torrent of poisonous snakes.
The bearer of the weapon is called Astradhari. To summon or use an astra required knowledge of a specific incantation/invocation, when armed. The deity invoked would then endow the weapon, making it impossible to counter through regular means. Specific conditions existed involving the usage of astras, the violation of which could be fatal. Because of the power involved, the knowledge involving an astra was passed in the Guru-shishya tradition from a Guru (teacher) to a Shishya (pupil) by word of mouth alone, and only following the establishment of the student's character. Certain astras had to be handed down from the deity involved directly, knowledge of the incantation being insufficient.
Astra
|
Deity
|
Effect
|
Lord Shiva's
Teen Baan (three infallible arrows)
|
Shiva, The
Destroyer
|
Lord Shiva gave Barbarika three
infallible arrows (Teen Baan). A single arrow was enough to destroy all
opponents in any war, and it would then return to Barbarika's quiver.
The first arrow is used to mark all the things that Barbarika wants
to destroy. On releasing the third arrow, it would destroy all the things
that are marked and will then return to Barbarika's quiver. If Barbarika uses
the second arrow, then the second arrow will mark all the things thatBarbarika wants
to save. On using the third arrow, it will destroy all the things that are
not marked. In other words, with one arrow Barbarika can fix all
his targets and with the other he can destroy them. Sri Krishna disguised
as a Brahmin stopped Barbarika to examine his strength.
When asked how many days he would take to finish the Kurukshetra War alone,
Barbarika answered that he could finish it in one minute. Barbarika came to
be known by the appellation Teen Baandhaari, the "Bearer of Three
Arrows".
Barbarika was
the son of Ghatotkacha, and a grandson of Bhima (second of the Pandavabrothers)
and Hidimbi.
|
Indraastra
|
Indra, god of
weather
|
Would bring
about a 'shower' of arrows from the sky.
|
Vasavi Shakti
|
Indra, god of
Weather
|
Magical dart
of Indra. Used by Karna against Ghatotkacha in the
Mahabharata war.
|
Agneyastra
|
Agni, god of
fire
|
The weapon
discharged would emit flames inextinguishable through normal means.
|
Varunastra
|
Varuna, god
of water
|
The weapon
discharged would release torrential volumes of water. This weapon is commonly
mentioned as used to counter the Agneyastra.
|
Manavastra
|
Manu
(Hinduism), father of the human race
|
Could
overcome supernatural protections and carry the target hundreds of miles
away. Can inspire humane traits in an evil being. This weapon Was used by Sri Rama on
therakshasa(demon) Maricha.
|
Varunapasha
|
Varuna
|
A powerful
noose which not even other gods can escape from.
|
Bhaumastra
|
Bhūmi,
goddess of earth
|
The weapon
could create tunnels deep into the earth and summon jewels.
|
Bhargavastra
|
LordParashurama
|
Parashurama (an
avatara of Lord Vishnu) gave this astra to Karna. It caused great
damage to Pandavas army.It completely destroyed one Akshauhani of
Pandava army.This astra possesses Parashurama's skill in archery. Infallible.
It brings a shower of much more powerful weapons than the Indrastra and could
cause total destruction of a planet if not retracted.
|
Nagaastra
|
The Nagas
|
The weapon
would have an unerring aim and take on the form of a snake, proving deadly
upon impact. Used by Karna against Arjuna .In Ramayana, Ravana's son Indrajit used
it against Lord Rama.
Karna's
description of Nagastra, "I have this shaft, O Shalya, of keen mouth,
blood-drinking, lying alone within one quiver, equipped with wings,
well-steeped in oil and well-adorned. It lieth amid sandal dust, worshipped
by me for long years. Partaking of the nature and form of a snake, it is
poisonous, fierce and capable of killing large numbers of men and steeds and
elephants of terrible form; and exceedingly awful, it is capable of piercing
coats of mail and bones."
|
Nagapasha
|
The Nagas
|
Upon impact,
this weapon would bind the target in coils of living venomous snakes. In theRamayana,
it was used against Lord Rama and Lakshmana by Indrajit.
|
Garudastra
|
Garuda, the
vehicle ofVishnu
|
A weapon that
can defend against Nagaastra when attacked by the opponents. It was
used by Lord Rama in Ramayana.
|
Anjalika
Astra
|
Used by Arjuna to
kill weaponless and chariotless Karna from behind as Karna was
lifting his chariot's wheel from out of the ground. Karna, even when
unarmed and defenseless could not be killed by ordinary means.
|
|
Vayvayastra
|
Vayu, god of
wind
|
Bring about a
gale capable of lifting armies off the ground.
|
Suryastra
|
Surya, god of
the sun
|
Create a
dazzling light that would dispel any darkness about and dry up water bodies.
|
Vajra
|
Indra, god of
the skies
|
Target would
be struck with bolts of lightning (vajra referring to Indra's
thunderbolt).
|
Mohini Astra
|
Mohini, anAvatar ofVishnu
|
Dispel any
form of maya or sorcery in the vicinity.
|
Twashtar
Astra
|
Twashtri, the
heavenly builder
|
When used
against a group of opponents (such as an army), would cause them to mistake
each other for enemies and fight each other.
|
Sammohana/Pramohana
|
Would cause
entire hosts/armies to collapse in a trance.
|
|
Parvataastra
|
Would cause a
Parvata/mountain to fall on the target from the skies.
|
|
Brahmaastra
|
Brahma, the
Creator
|
Would destroy
entire hosts at once. Could also counter most other astras. In the epic
Mahabharata, it is said that the weapon manifest with the single head of Lord
Brahma as its tip. In Mahabharata era Parasurama, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Kripa, Ashwatthama, Arjuna,Yudhishtir and
several Maharathis possessed the knowledge to invoke this weapon. It is the
only weapon capable of piercing the Brahma Kavach (invincible armour of Lord
Brahma).Atikaya, one of Ravan's sons possessed the invincible armour of Lord
Brahma that could only be pierced by a Brahmastra and was killed by Lakshmana
(brother of Lord Rama) using a Brahmastra.
|
Brahmashirsha
astra
|
Brahma, the Creator
|
Capable of
killing devas. Was used by Ashwatthama on Parikshit. It
is thought that theBrahmashirsha astra is the evolution of the Brahmastra,
4 times stronger than Brahmastra. In the epic Mahabharata, it is
said that the weapon manifest with the four heads of Lord Brahmaas its
tip. In the Ramayana, Indrajit invoked the Brahmashira astra
and charged its power onto his chariot, bow and arrows. Aided by its
exceedingly destructive power, Indrajit was able to slay 670 million vanaras
in one day and managed to defeat Rama and Lakshmana (albeit invisibly). In Mahabharata era Parasurama, Bhishma, Drona, Karna, Ashwatthama, Arjunapossessed
the knowledge to invoke this weapon.
|
Brahmanda
astra
|
Brahma, the
Creator
|
A defensive
weapon . Capable of repelling the Brahmastra. Used by Vashishta againstVishwamitra.
In the epic Mahabharata, it is said that the weapon manifest with the
all 5 heads of Lord Brahma as its tip. Brahma earlier
lost his fifth head in a fight when he fought with LordSiva. This weapon is
said to possess the power to destroy the entire solar systems or Brahmand,
the 14 realms according to Hindu cosmology. In Mahabharata era Parasurama,Bhishma, Drona, Karna possessed
the knowledge to invoke this weapon.
|
Narayanastra
|
Vishnu, the
Preserver
|
Would create
showers of arrows and discs. The astra's power would increase with the
resistance offered to it. This weapon had to be obtained from the Narayana
form Vishnudirectly, and could be used only once in a life time. If the
user were to attempt invoking it a second time, it would rebound on him, and
possibly, his troops.In Mahabharata era Lord Vishnu in his Narayana from
blessed Guru Drona and his son Ashwatthama and gifted the
knowledge about this weapon.In Mahabharata war Ashwatthama used
this weapon against Pandava army after the death of Drona. It destroyed one
Akshauhini of Pandava army completely. This astra fires a powerful tirade of
millions of deadly missiles simultaneously. The intensity of the shower
increases with resistance. The only way of defense towards this missile, is
to show total submission before the missiles hit. This in turn will cause
this weapon to stop and spare the target. When it was used, Ekadasha(Eleven)
Rudras appear in the sky to destroy the targets. Millions of types of weapons
like Chakra, Gadha, ultra sharp arrows appeared in rage to destroy the
target. Who ever tries to resist it will be destroyed.
|
Vaishnavastra
|
Vishnu, the
Preserver
|
Would destroy
target completely, irrespective of target's nature.Infallible.Had to be
obtained from. Lord Vishnu directly.
|
Kaumodaki
|
Vishnu, the
Preserver
|
Divine mace
of Vishnu. Would destroy whole armies. Infallible and without parallel.
LordKrishna slayed Demon Dantavakra with it.
|
Sudarshana
Chakra
|
Vishnu, the
Preserver
|
The legendary
discus of Lord Vishnu. Infallible . Flies at the command of only Lord Vishnu.
Cannot be stopped by anyone, except Lord Vishnu himself & Lord
Shiva. It is considered to be the most powerful of all weapons.[5] It
was used prominently by Krishna in the Mahabharata.
|
Sharanga (bow)
|
Vishnu, the
Preserver
|
The bow of
Lord Vishnu, also called as Vaishnav Dhanush was used by Sri Rama then
SriKrishna.
|
Nandaka
|
Vishnu, the
Preserver
|
The sacred
sword of Vishnu. It had a blade which was indestructible. It was used by
LordKrishna to kill countless demons.
|
Trishul
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
The Trident
of Lord Shiva. infallible and cannot be stopped by anyone. Said to be
the most powerful weapon without any parallel.
|
Vijaya (bow)
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
Also called
as Shiva Dhanush, the Vijaya Dhanusha was the personal
bow of Lord Shiva, which was regarded as the foremost of bows. Lord Shiva left
it in the care of Indra Dev who on instruction from Lord Shiva happily
gave it to Lord Parashurama. Lord Parashurama kept is as his
personal bow and being pleased with the devotion of his student Karna,
gave the Vijaya Dhanusha to Karna. The Sanskrit name ‘Vijaya’ means
‘victory’ and this bow is said to give sure victory to the possessor. The
string of Vijaya Dhanush cannot be broken by any kind of astra (weapon) or
divya astra (divine weapon), nor by anyone and it is so heavy that a normal
person in any yuga cannot not lift it. Every time an arrow is
released from this bow, it created a terrible twang, which is said to be loud
as thunder causing terrible fear in enemies and produces flashes of light as
brilliant as lightning, which blinds the enemy. Every time an arrow is aimed,
the energy of the arrow is amplified by multiple times as Vijaya Dhanush is charged
with sacred mantras. Vijaya Dhanush is unparalleled and except Lord Parasurama,Karna or
an equally or more powerful warrior, nobody can even lift it. No weapon, not
even the mighty Pashupatastra, can harm a warrior who has Vijaya Dhanush
in his hand, as the name Vijaya implies victory to the wielder.
The only time Karna ever
fought using the Vijaya Dhanusha was on the 17th day of the Kurukshetra war
when he fought against and overpowered Arjuna who was using Gandivabow. Karna came
to be known by the name 'Vijayadhari' meaning 'wielder of the Vijaya bow'.
|
Pinaka (bow)
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
Also called
as Shiva Dhanush, was the bow of Lord Shiva, which he used to
kill countless Asuras in battle (The city of Tripura was destroyed by Lord Shiva using
the Pinaka). Was given to Parashurama By Lord Shiva,
which was passed down to King Janaka, the father of Devi Sita, and was broken
by Lord Ram in her swayamvara.
|
Maheshwarastra
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
Contains the
power of Shiva's third eye. Shoots a really fast fiery beam which can
turn even celestial beings to complete ashes. Infallible and unstoppable.It
has the power to turn the entire creation to ashes
|
Rudra Astra
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
Contains the
power of a Rudra. When it is used, it invokes the power of a Rudra out
of the Ekadasha (Eleven) Rudras and destroys the target. In Mahabharata era Parashurama,Bhishma and Karna know
about this weapon. In the Kurukshetra war Karna invoked Rudra astra
against Arjuna and this astra hit Arjuna on his chest piercing the
mantra Siva kavach(armour). Arjuna lost his grip on his bow, Gandiva,
which fell down from his hand for the first time and Arjuna fell down in a
swoon.[6]
The mantra
for the Siva kavach(armour) was weakened by the rudra astra, while
simultaneously much of the energy of the rudra astra was expended
in penetrating the Siva kavach(armour). Had Arjuna been hit by the rudra
astra at full strength he would've been instantly killed.
|
Pashupatastra
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
Would destroy
target completely, irrespective of target's nature. When released, the weapon
summons several monsters and a huge spirit which personifies the weapon.
Sometimes it can cause a catastrophic explosion similar to a hydrogen bomb.
Each time the weapon is summoned, its head is never the same This weapon had
to be obtained from Shiva directly. It is Infallible and without
any parallel which cannot be stopped by anyone except by Lord Shiva.
|
Parashu (axe)
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
The Parashu
(axe) was an unconquerable and indestructible divine weapon given to LordParashurama by
his Guru Lord Shiva along with other divine weapons due to the
extreme devotion of Lord Parashurama. Lord Parashurama later
gave this axe to Lord Ganesha.Parashurama means Rama who wields the
axe as Rama was the name Lord Parashuramawas known by till he acquired
the axe from Lord Shiva.
|
Chandrahas
|
Shiva, the
Destroyer
|
The divine
sword Chandrahas (Chandra-Moon, Has-laugh, literally 'the laughter of the
moon' but referring to the shape formed by a crescent moon which resembles a
smile) was given to Raavan with a warning that if it was used for unjust
causes, it would return to the three-eyed Lord Shiva and Ravana's
days would be numbered.
|
Gandiva (bow)
|
This bow was
created by Brahma, the Creator of universe. Brahma held it
first for a thousand years, then Prajapati held it for five hundred
and three years, Indra, for five hundred and eighty years, and Soma for
five hundred years. After that Varuna held it for a hundred years
before handing it to Arjuna along with a Kapi/Hanuman bannered
chariot, and two inexhaustible quivers, as requested by Agni during
the Khandava-daha Parva. The bow was decorated with hundreds of
gold bosses, and had radiant ends. The bow was worshiped byDevas, Gandharvas and Danavas.
No ordinary person could wield the Gandiva bow. When fired, the bow
made the sound of thunder. It has special qualities like being
indestructible, having 100 bow strings, etc. which always gave the wielder a
heavy advantage over his opponent. Arjuna always used this bow
since he acquired it, which gave him a heavy advantage over his opponents.
After the death of Krishna Arjuna found it difficult to wield theGandiva bow.
|
|
Sabda-veda
astra
|
This weapon
prevents an opponent from turning invisible. Used by Arjuna against the
Ghandarva king Chitrasena.
|
Sudarshan Chakra
An astra is a missile-type weapon that is to be hurled at an enemy. Examples include arrows from bows. A shastra is a personal weapon, like swords and maces, that must be constantly operated by the warrior.
The three potential astras are Vaishnavastra, Pashupatastra and Brahmanda astra. However, these astras cannot harm five principle gods i.e. Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha and Devi as they are the supreme manifestation of the divine. Especially, these astras cannot harm Vishnu, the greatest of all gods, Shiva, the god of gods and the destroyer himself, and Shakti, both Supreme Being and the original energy behind all astras. With these five gods, the astras also can not harm Hanuman, the son of god vayu, as he obtained vardhanas (boons) from several gods.
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