THE MYSTIC MISSILES

In the great epic Mahabharata, it is noted that during the Kurukshetra war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, astra or celestial weapons with fearsome supernatural powers were used as aids in the battle.

Yudhisthira was always preoccupied with discussions with the Brahmins on ethics and philosophy and allied subjects. Occasionally Draupadi and Bhima used to provoke Yudhisthira to lively debates pertaining to political problems. She pleaded with Yudhisthira, "The blind King has duped you. Old and greedy he banished you from the Kingdom. Your brothers inspite of their bravery and prowess, are rendered ineffective like lion cubs trapped in a cage. Bhima endorsed the view point of Draupadi and argued with Yudhisthira , "It is simply foolish on our part to live in the forests. The Kauravas have taken over our Kingdom by fraudulent right of conquest. Righteousness has become an obsession with you and you are not tired of repeating the same words like the ignorant Brahmin who gets the Vedas by heart without knowing their meaning. Yudhisthira was no doubt agitated many a time when he was confronted by the impatience of Draupadi and Bhima. But he always stood firm and said, "I cannot accept your dicta. Might is not right even in polity. Apart from the trite maxims of polity or piety we should never underestimate the strength of the enemy camp. The mighty Bhishma and the great preceptor Drona will fight for the Kauravas in spite of their affection and regard for us. Last but not the least to mention, Karna the born- hero blessed with the natural armour and earrings is their precious asset, and I am obliged to spend the night sleepless whenever I think of his superhuman prowess".

Intelligent Draupadi and brave Bhima, many a time advanced defiant arguments against the views of Yudhisthira very vehemently but in the end he always accepted his moral superiority, mildy and obediently without any mental reservations and finally were quite determined to redeem the pledge scrupulously. Yudhisthira knew that the war was inevitable. He had no illusions about the strength of the opponent. While he was pondering over the need to make advance preparations, Krishna Dvaipayana came to Dharmaputra and said, "I am happy that you are planning ahead. Let Arjuna acquire new weapons from Indira and Lord Shiva. In warfare victory more often than not is achieved by superior weapons rather than superlative valour since the dawn of creation.

Virtuous valour was always doomed to heroic martyrdom in the face of superior weapons. It is simply suicidal to go to war without up-to-date arms and effective equipment.You must concentrate on ultra-conventional weapons unknown to the opponents. One such is ‘Pasupata’ and let Arjuna get it from Shiva by performing penance. I am initiating you into an esoteric discipline of the mind called Pratismriti by which Arjuna can acquire new weapons by the grace of Indra and Siva. Yudhisthira in turn initiated Arjuna into "Pratismriti" and asked him to go and perform penance to obtain the Pasupata. Pasupata was the missile of universal destruction used by Siva at the time of Pralaya, the foreboded end of creation. Yudhisthira exhorted Arjuna, "Bhishma and Drona are endowed with divine missiles. They are sure to be arrayed against us. We have set our hopes on you. It is imperative for you to acquire the divine missiles from Indra and Pasupata from Siva. Make hay while the sun shines. The enforced leisure you are enjoying may be diverted for this purpose."


Arjuna started on his journey taking the Gandiva bow, the inexhaustible quiver, his sword, etc. Dharmaputra blessed him. Draupadi bode him farewell with long lingering looks of love and admiration in anticipation of his success. Arjuna crossed the Himalayas and went beyond the Gandhamadana mountains alone and reached Mount Indralika where he heard the words of caution, " Please stop don’t proceed further." When he looked around surprised, Arjuna saw an old Brahmin sitting under the shadow of a tree. The Brahmin, an emaciated figure with resplendent eyes told Arjuna, "This is a prohibited area for mortals. Here ascetics dedicated to austerities and penance come for meditation and self realization. This is a place for peace and supra-human tranquility. Your bows and arrows are incompatible with this atmosphere. Please throw them away." Arjuna remained undaunted and said, "In fact I have come here to acquire divine missiles gratifying the Gods with my penance. I do not like to leave my gandiva bow." The Brahmin was pleased with the stern determination and courageous outlook of Arjuna and manifested himself in his real shape as Indra, the god of thousand eyes. Indra said to Arjuna, " I will grant you any boon you ask, please mention your wish."

Arjuna asked him to give the divine missiles. Indra said, " I am giving them to you but why do you want these transitory and earthly benefits. I am prepared to confer on you the citizenship of heaven and immortality ." Arjuna replied, "Divine father, I thank you. My brothers are rotting in the forest. I do not want selfish benefits. We must conquer our enemy and regain our prestige." Indra blessed him with his missiles and said, "If you want to be invincible you must perform penance and please Siva and get the Pasupata missile." So saying he disappeared.

Arjuna went to the Himalayas and performed penance concentrating on Lord Shiva. He was standing tiptoe for many days subsisting on air only. The heat generated by his penance formed into clouds of smoke and fire and enveloped the skies. The surprised sages reported to Siva, "Arjuna has surpassed us in penance and all living creature are agitated." Siva smiled and said, "I am pleased with his penance and I will settle the matter presently. So saying, Lord Siva took the guise of a barbarian hunter, and his consort Parvati transformed herself into a huntress. The retinue of Siva formed into a hunting party. They reached the spot where Arjuna was engaged in tapas. A demon named Muka at the behest of Lord Shiva took the form of a wild boar and came running towards in an aggressive mood. Arjuna took the Gandiva into his hands and shot an arrow at the wild boar. Simultaneously another arrow shot by the hunter hit the boar, and it fell on the ground circling round and round and disappeared. The surprised Arjuna saw a barbarian hunter followed by his retinue on the spot. Arjuna asked the hunter, "Who are you? How dare you shoot at the game already hit by me?" The hunter replied, "This is my forest and you are an intruder into our solitude from tender civilization. Your weak limbs and emaciated frame is incongruous to these surroundings. You better apologise and get out without risking your life."

Arjuna coud not put up with the affront and challenged the hunter to fight. The hunter smiled contemptuously and Arjuna shot showers of arrows at him in quick succession. The hunter stood firm like a mountain facing the rain. However, within a short time, the Pandava prince found the inexhaustible quiver presented by the God of fire empty. Undaunted he hit the hunter with the butt of his bow and the bow disappeared. Next Arjuna drew out his sword and struck at the hunter. The sword split into two and fell on the ground. Arjuna unrelenting began to hit at the hunter. He could discern the third eye on the forehead, the crescent moon shining over his locks of hair, the elephant skin robes, the garlands of serpents, the triad spear and his black throat and realized that the hunter was none other than Lord Siva. Immediately Arjuna fell at his feet begging pardon. Siva said, " I have come to you to test you and I am glad that you have come out of flying colours. Unrivalled hero, you have pleased me in every way. In your past life you were Nara, the compatriot of Lord Narayana. You have donned this mortal frame to fulfill the divine dispensation. Seek any boons, I will give."

Arjuna was overjoyed and said, "Lord of the universe, I want the Pasupata missile. I learn that it equals billions of arrows, maces, etc. of the conventional varieties of weapons in vogue, in hitting power and has infinite capacity for devastation and destruction." Siva gave the Pasupata to Arjuna and initiated him into its intricacies and inner working, release and recall. He cautioned Arjuna, "Great Hero, I have given the Pasupata to you. A supramortal missile in unworthy hands is like a sword in the possession of a baby. Beware, if used without justification and proper assessment, it will usher in universal destruction amounting to premature pralaya." Arjuna was happy that he could see Siva, the god with the third eye.

With the possession of Pasupata, Arjuna acquired the invisible fourth dimension to his personality. His radiant face was encircled with an awe-inspiring halo. Eversince, anybody approaching him, a demon or a divine being, was struck with terror, let alone mortals. Indra and all the divine rulers of different directions came to Arjuna, congratulated him on the attainment of Pasupata and presented him with their missiles.