The Astras, Part 6 – Vaishnava-astra
A survey of transcendental weaponry.
In the Drona Parva of the Mahabharata, Section 27 of Dronabhisheka Parva, there is a detailed description of the battle scene during which Bhagadatta deployed the Vaishnava-astra against Arjuna:
"Dhritarashtra said, 'Filled with rage, what did Partha, the son of Pandu, do to Bhagadatta? What also did the king of the Pragjyotishas do to Partha? Tell me all this, O Sanjaya!'
Sanjaya said, 'While Partha and Krishna were thus engaged with the ruler of the Pragjyotishas, all creatures regarded them to be very near the jaws of Death. Indeed, O monarch, from the neck of his elephant, Bhagadatta scattered showers of shafts on the two Krishnas, staying upon their car. He pierced Devaki's son with many arrows made wholly of black iron, equipped with wings of gold, whetted on stone, and shot from his bow, drawn to the fullest stretch. Those shafts whose touch resembled that of fire, equipped with beautiful feathers, and shot by Bhagadatta, passing through Devaki's son, entered the earth. Partha then cut off Bhagadatta's bow and slaying next the warrior that protected his elephant from the flank, began to fight with him as if in sport. Then Bhagadatta hurled at him fourteen lances of sharp points, that were bright as the rays of the sun. Arjuna, however, cut each of those lances into three fragments.
Then Indra's son cut open the armour in which that elephant was eased, by means of a thick shower of arrows. The armour thus cut off, fell down on the earth. Exceedingly afflicted with arrows shot by Arjuna, that elephant, deprived of its coat of mail, looked like a prince of mountains destitute of its cloudy robes and with streaks of water running down its breast. Then the ruler of the Pragjyotishas hurled at Vasudeva a dart made wholly of iron and decked with gold. That dart Arjuna cut in twain. Then cutting off the king's standard and umbrella by means of his arrows Arjuna quickly pierced that ruler of the mountainous realms with ten arrows, smiling all the while. Deeply pierced with those shafts of Arjuna, that were beautifully winged with Kanka feathers, Bhagadatta, O monarch, became incensed with the son of Pandu. He then hurled some lances at Arjuna's head and uttered a loud shout. In consequence of those lances Arjuna's diadem was displaced.
Arjuna, then, having placed his diadem properly, addressed the ruler of the Pragjyotishas, saying, 'Look well on this world!' Thus addressed by him, Bhagadatta became filled with rage, and taking up a bright bow showered upon both the Pandava and Govinda his arrowy down-pours. Partha then cutting off his bow and quivers, quickly struck him with two and seventy shafts, afflicting his vital limbs. Thus pierced, he was excessively pained. Filled then with rage, he with Mantras, turned his hook into the Vaishnava-astra and hurled it at Arjuna's breast. That all-slaying weapon, hurled by Bhagadatta, Kesava, covering Arjuna, received on his breast. Thereupon, that weapon became a triumphal garland on Kesava's breast.
Arjuna then cheerlessly addressed Kesava, saying, 'O sinless one, without battling thyself, thou art to only guide my steed! Thou hadst said so, O lotus-eyed one! Why then dost thou not adhere to thy promise? If I sink in distress, or become unable to baffle, or resist a foe or weapon, then mayst thou act so, but not when I am standing thus. Thou knowest that with my bow and arrows I am competent to vanquish these worlds with the gods, the Asuras, and men.'
Hearing these words of Arjuna, Vasudeva replied unto him, saying, 'Listen, O Partha, to this secret and ancient history as it is, O sinless one! I have four forms, eternally engaged as I am in protecting the worlds. Dividing my own Self, I ordain the good of the worlds. One form of mine, staying on the earth, is engaged in the practice of ascetic austerities. Another beholdeth the good and the evil deeds in the world. My third form, coming into the world of men, is engaged in action. My fourth form lieth down in sleep for a thousand years. The form of mine which awaketh from sleep at the end of a thousand years, granteth, upon awakening, excellent boons to persons deserving of them.
Krishna Battles the Armies of the Demon Naraka
Bhagavata Purana, Deli-Agra, c. 1525
The earth, knowing (on one occasion) that that time had come, asked of me a boon for (her son) Naraka. Hear, O Partha, what that boon was. Possessed of the Vaishnava-astra, let my son become incapable of being slain by the gods and the Asuras. It behoveth thee to grant me that weapon. Hearing this prayer, I then gave, in days of old, the supreme and infallible Vaishnava-astra to the Earth's son. I said also at that time these words, 'O Earth, let this weapon be infallible for the protection of Naraka. None will be able to slay him. Protected by this weapon, thy son will always, in all the worlds, be invincible and crush all hostile hosts.' Saying, So be it! the intelligent goddess went away, her wishes fulfilled. And Naraka also became invincible and always scorched his foes.
It was from Naraka, O Partha, that the ruler of the Pragjyotishas got this weapon of mine. There is none, in all the world, O sire, including even Indra and Rudra, who is unslayable by this weapon. It was for thy sake, therefore, that I baffled it, violating my promise. The great Asura hath now been divested of that supreme weapon. Slay now, O Partha, that invincible foe of thine, viz., Bhagadatta, enemy of the gods, even as I formerly slew for the good of the worlds, the Asura Naraka.' Thus addressed by the high-souled Kesava, Partha suddenly overwhelmed Bhagadatta with clouds of whetted arrows. Then, the mighty-armed and high-souled Arjuna fearlessly struck a long arrow between the frontal globes of his enemy's elephant. That arrow, splitting the elephant like the thunder splitting a mountain, penetrated into its body to the very wings, like a snake penetrating into an ant-hill.
Though urged repeatedly then by Bhagadatta, the elephant refused to obey like a poor man's wife her lord. With limbs paralysed, it fell down, striking the earth with its tusks. Uttering a cry of distress, that huge elephant gave up the ghost. The son of Pandu then, with a straight shaft furnished with a crescent-shaped head, pierced the bosom of king Bhagadatta. His breast, being pierced through by the diadem-decked (Arjuna), king Bhagadatta, deprived of life, threw down his bow and arrows. Loosened from his head, the valuable piece of cloth that had served him for a turban, fell down, like a petal from a lotus when its stalk is violently struck.
And he himself, decked with golden garlands, fell down from his huge elephant adorned with golden housings, like flowering Kinsuka broken by the force of the wind from the mountain-top. The son of Indra then, having slain in battle that monarch who resembled Indra himself in prowess and who was Indra's friend, broke the other warriors of thy army inspired with hope of victory like the mighty wind breaking rows of trees.'
Replies
Among the most famous of all transcendental weapons is Lord Shiva's trishul-astra. This three-pointed astra is one of the symbols most commonly associated with Shiva in Vedic iconography.
The origin of the trishul-astra is described in the Vishnu Purana. Created in association with Lord Surya the Sun God, it is said to have been carved out of matter from Sun.
When Suryadev married Samjna, the daughter of Vishwakarma, his wife soon became unhappy with married life due to the unbearable heat of her husband Surya. She complained to Vishwakarma, who agreed to solve the problem. Her father came to an arrangement whereby Surya agreed to reduce his heat to accommodate Samjna.
The transcendental architect Vishwakarma devised a means to have excess energy apportioned off of Surya. Surya's heat was ground off on a grinding machine; the solar matter fell to the earth, reducing his heat by 1/8th. That material was then fashioned into the deadly trishul-astra.
Lord Shiva's trishul-astra, or trident, has come to be associated with numerous triad attributes. Held in Shiva's right hand, it represents the three gunas. The three prongs represent the three shaktis of Shiva: iccha (will), jnana (knowledge), and kriya (action). Trishul's points also symbolize three aspects of Shiva: paramashiva, parashakti (paranada or shiva-tattva) and parabindu (parameshvara or shakti-tattva).
Shiva is known as the Lord of Omkara (Omkareshvara), thus in transcendental sound, the three points of trishul-astra are associated with the three syllables of Omkara: A (akara), U (ukara) and M (makara).
Many more correspondences are attributed to trishul-astra by the Shaivites, but those mentioned above are most universally accepted.
Functioning as the primary weapon of Shiva the Destroyer, trishul-astra is said to be capable of destroying the three worlds. The astra was once used by Shiva to sever the original head of Ganesha – a pastime we will explore in a segment to come.
Like many other astras, the trishul-astra is known to be used by other divine personalities associated with Shiva. Durga Ma carries Trishula as one of her many weapons. Saturn is also found circumambulating Meru Parvatham with trishul-astra in hand, along with his bow.
Gosaikunda Lake, headwaters of Trishuli River, Nepal
In Lord Shiva's homelands, the great Himalayas, there is a place in Nepal called Gosaikunda Lake (or Gosain-kunda), which is said to have been formed by Shiva's trishul-astra. This took place as part of his pastime of drinking the poison ocean, or halahala from samudra-manthan (churning of the ocean). After drinking the poison, Shiva craved cold water to quench the overwhelming heat, and he came to the alpine freshwaters at Gosaikunda to get relief.
Located in Nepal's Rasuwa District, the kunda resides at an elevation of 14,370 feet (4,380 meters) above sea level. Remaining frozen half the year, when the lake thaws, it feeds the Trishuli River, whose waters no doubt intermingle with some of the 108 other sacred lakes in the area.
Lord Shiva is said to reside here at Gosaikunda along with Gauri (Parvati). The glories of this place are mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, Mahabharata, and Ramayana regarding the samudra-manthan pastime. Thousands of pilgrims from Nepal and India come here to take bath in the holy waters during Gangadashahara, the sacred thread festival at Janai Purnima, when devotees worship Lord Shiva and his trishul-astra.
In our first segment on the vaishnava-astra, we mentioned that Sri Krsna killed the demon Naraka, father of Bhagadatta. In answer to Mother Bhumi's plea, Krsna then put her grandson Bhagadatta on the throne as the new ruler of Pragjyotisha (modern Myanmar, on the border of Assam). Bhagadatta was allowed to took the place of his demoniac father, so that the son's reputation would not be ruined by the father's bad acts.
Naraka was killed by Krsna for stealing a sacred bowl and earrings from the goddess Aditi, and other paraphernalia from the demigods. Mother Bhumi later returned these stolen items to Krsna, offering Him prayers and asking for Bhagadatta's seat of power.
It was Bhagadatta who later used the vaishnava-astra during the battle of Kurukshetra, employing it in an effort to kill Arjuna. Krsna intervened, taking the blow and neutralizing the astra's impact – an act only the Supreme Personality of Godhead could perform. Bhagadatta was eventually killed by one of Arjuna's arrows.
The pastime of Krsna killing Naraka, illustrated in the painting shown in the first segment, was discussed in some detail in an earlier Sun Feature critiquing curatorial remarks on the painting. That article mentioned some additional background on the activities of Naraka and Bhagadatta, and Krsna's pastime marrying 16,000 wives at Dwarka.
In reading about these pastimes in the Mahabharata, a question may arise about the timeline of events, i.e, when Naraka got the vaishnava-astra, when he passed it on to Bhagadatta, when it was used in the battle of Kurukshetra, and how these events relate to the time of Krsna's pastimes in Dwarka. In his book, Krishna: A Sourcebook, Edwin F. Bryant offers this explanation:
"During the epic's [Mahabharata's] seventh book, in which Drona marshals the Kaurava army, Krishna saves Arjuna by intercepting a weapon intended for him, receiving it on his chest. Arjuna protests that when Krishna agreed to drive Arjuna's chariot, he vowed to be a noncombatant. Krishna then explains his intervention by telling a "secret of old". This weapon just hurled by Bhagadatta, king of Pragjyotisha (Assam), was the Vaishnava weapon [vaishnava-astra], and no one else could have neutralized it. Bhagadatta got it from the former Pragjyotisa king Naraka Bhauma, "Naraka the son of Earth", who got it from Krishna's fourth [chaturthi] form [murti].
Prithivi (Earth) had requested the Vaishnava weapon for her son Naraka to make him invincible by gods and demons. After Krishna had killed Naraka, the weapon passed on to Bhagadatta, whom Arjuna, says Krishna, should now "divest of that supreme weapon as I formerly slew Naraka." (7.28-16-35).
Naraka Bhauma would thus seem to have gotten his weapon long, long ago; but when did Krishna kill him? If a sequence in the Narayaniya is to be taken as implying consecutiveness, Krishna killed Naraka after Krishna and his Yadava clan had moved to Dvaraka, and before the killing of Jarasandha, an event that occurs near the beginning of book 2. Krishna's slaying of Naraka is first recalled at the beginning of book 3.
When Krishna first visits the Pandavas in the forest and is enraged at their exile, Arjuna calms him by reciting his past deeds; among them are the following: "You slew Naraka Bhauma taking the two jeweled earrings [nihatya narakam bhauman ahritya manikundale] … The Mauravas and Pashas have been set down, Nisunda and Naraka slain; the road to Pragjyotisha city has again been made secure [kritah kshemah punah pantha puram Pragjyotisha pranti]" And this victory is soon recalled in other passages that laud Krishna's past deeds, three of them in book 5.
In addition to getting the Vaishnava weapon from his mother Earth, Naraka Bhauma thus stole Aditi's earrings, which Krishna killed him to retrieve. The epic does not say what Krishna did with these earrings. But in what appears to be the first full account in the Harivamsha (91.5-92), once Krishna slew her son Naraka, Bhumi (Earth) picked up the earrings and gave them to Krishna, saying, "Even given by you, Govinda, so this one is made to fall by you; as you desire, so you are like a child at play with his toys. Protect these two earrings, O God, and his children." Krishna then gave the earrings to Indra on Mount Meru, and he and Indra then return them to Aditi (HV 92.46-56)."
The author's point, as it relates to our study of vaishnava-astra, is that in carrying out His mission to settle the Yadavas in Dvaraka, Krishna must have slain Naraka and retrieved the earrings sometime after His childhood.