According to the Mahabharata, the legendary Gandiva bow was fashioned by Brahma, the Creator of the universe, for the noble purpose of safeguarding Dharma. This sacred weapon was then passed on to Lord Shiva, who held it for a millennium before it was entrusted to Prajapati for a period of five hundred and three years. Subsequently, Indra wielded the bow for five hundred and eighty years, followed by Soma for five centuries. Finally, Varuna held the bow for a hundred years before bestowing it upon Arjuna, the valiant warrior of the Pandava brothers.[3]
How Arjuna got the Gandivaedit
Agni, God of fire, wanted to devour the forest of Khandavaprastha, to regain his power and splendor. He had enlisted the help of the two heroes, Krishna and Arjuna. Arjuna was the best warrior and greatest archer of the world at that time and demanded from Agni a bow that would suit his strength, skill and the power of celestial weapons.
Agni then requested Varuna to bless the heroes with the desired weapons. Varuna gave the Gandiva bow to Arjuna, as well as two quivers which would provide an inexhaustible number of arrows.[4][5][6]
The weapon was dreaded by many during the Kurukshetra war, having defeated and killed many great warriors and the gods themselves.
Featuresedit
The Gandiva gives a wielder self confidence, self belief.[7] The bow consisted of 108 celestial string, was endowed with great energy and is believed to have the strength of one hundred thousand bows. Gandiva was indestructible and was worshiped by the celestials and the Gandharvas.[8]
Return to the godsedit
At the end of the Dvapara Yuga, Krishna departed the Earth and left for Vaikuntha. When Krishna was departing, he told Arjuna to rescue the people of Dwarika because he was submerging Dwarika under ocean. Arjuna temporarily could not string the bow, or remember the spells necessary in order to summon his celestial weapons when Dwarika was drowning. Arjuna knew that his time on earth was up as well, Vyasa had told him this event will happen and when it happens, Arjuna's work on earth is over. Later, the Pandavas retired and journeyed to the Himalayas. On their route, Agni came and asked Arjuna to return the Gandiva to Varuna, for it belonged to the gods. Arjuna obliged and dropped them in the waters of the sea. Thus the celestial bow was returned to the gods.[9]
Metaphysically, Gandiva is the “bow of self-control.” With it Arjuna was equipped for victory over “the sense soldiers of the blind king Mind.” “Charioteered by God, he must rally the army of emperor Discrimination with its forces of virtue and its allies of spiritual perception.” (Paramahansa Yogananda-ji’s commentary on XVIII:78)
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The Mahabharata
April 25, 2024
gandiva, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, september, 2022, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Gandiva news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Gandiva IAST Gaṇḍiva Sanskrit ग ण ड व is a divine bow of Arjuna one of the Pandavas from the Hindu epic Mahabharata The bow was made by Brahma 1 2 GandivaService historyUsed byArjunaProduction historyDesignerBrahmaSee also Gandiveshwar Sthan Contents 1 Story of Creation 2 How Arjuna got the Gandiva 3 Features 4 Return to the gods 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksStory of Creation editAccording to the Mahabharata the legendary Gandiva bow was fashioned by Brahma the Creator of the universe for the noble purpose of safeguarding Dharma This sacred weapon was then passed on to Lord Shiva who held it for a millennium before it was entrusted to Prajapati for a period of five hundred and three years Subsequently Indra wielded the bow for five hundred and eighty years followed by Soma for five centuries Finally Varuna held the bow for a hundred years before bestowing it upon Arjuna the valiant warrior of the Pandava brothers 3 How Arjuna got the Gandiva editAgni God of fire wanted to devour the forest of Khandavaprastha to regain his power and splendor He had enlisted the help of the two heroes Krishna and Arjuna Arjuna was the best warrior and greatest archer of the world at that time and demanded from Agni a bow that would suit his strength skill and the power of celestial weapons Agni then requested Varuna to bless the heroes with the desired weapons Varuna gave the Gandiva bow to Arjuna as well as two quivers which would provide an inexhaustible number of arrows 4 5 6 The weapon was dreaded by many during the Kurukshetra war having defeated and killed many great warriors and the gods themselves Features editThe Gandiva gives a wielder self confidence self belief 7 The bow consisted of 108 celestial string was endowed with great energy and is believed to have the strength of one hundred thousand bows Gandiva was indestructible and was worshiped by the celestials and the Gandharvas 8 Return to the gods editAt the end of the Dvapara Yuga Krishna departed the Earth and left for Vaikuntha When Krishna was departing he told Arjuna to rescue the people of Dwarika because he was submerging Dwarika under ocean Arjuna temporarily could not string the bow or remember the spells necessary in order to summon his celestial weapons when Dwarika was drowning Arjuna knew that his time on earth was up as well Vyasa had told him this event will happen and when it happens Arjuna s work on earth is over Later the Pandavas retired and journeyed to the Himalayas On their route Agni came and asked Arjuna to return the Gandiva to Varuna for it belonged to the gods Arjuna obliged and dropped them in the waters of the sea Thus the celestial bow was returned to the gods 9 See also editGandiveshwar Sthan Vijaya Sharanga PinakaReferences edit Vyasa s Mahabharatam Academic Publishers 2008 ISBN 9788189781682 The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Adi parva Sabha parva Bharata Press 1883 p 624 Gandiva The Mahabharata Book 4 Virata Parva Go harana Parva Section XLIII The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Adi parva Khandava daha Parva The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Adi parva Sabha parva Bharata Press 1883 p 623 Gandiva Vyasa s Mahabharatam Academic Publishers 2008 ISBN 9788189781682 Srivastava Diwaker Ikshit 2017 Decoding the Metaphor Mahabharata Leadstart Publishing PvtLtd ISBN 9789352010004 The Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa Adi parva Sabha parva Bharata Press 1883 p 624 Gandiva Vyasa s Mahabharatam Academic Publishers 2008 ISBN 9788189781682 Metaphysically Gandiva is the bow of self control With it Arjuna was equipped for victory over the sense soldiers of the blind king Mind Charioteered by God he must rally the army of emperor Discrimination with its forces of virtue and its allies of spiritual perception Paramahansa Yogananda ji s commentary on XVIII 78 External links edithttp www sacred texts com hin m01 m01228 htm http www sacred texts com hin m04 m04043 htm nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The Mahabharata Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gandiva amp oldid 1216840774, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
