Weapons - Astras

An Astra is a missile -type weapon which 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.

Devastras

- Brahmastra : imbibed with the mystical force of Creator Brahma , this is considered the most fearsome weapon in mythological works. The releaser of millions of missiles, great fires and a destructive potential capable of extinguishing all creation, if not used by and aimed only at a celestial fighter. Modern speculation has equated its destructive potential to a nuclear weapon .
- Shakti : the magical dart weapon of Indra , unfailing at executing its target. Indra granted it to Karna during the Mahabharata war.
- Vajra : the thunderbolt weapon of Indra , who is the God of Thunder and Lightning,
- Agneyastra : the fire weapon, incepted by God Agni , master of the flames.
- Varunastra : the water weapon, incepted by God Varuna , master of the oceans, rivers and lakes.
- Vayavastra : the wind weapon, incepted by God Vayu , master of wind.

Lord Vishnu's weapons

- Narayanastra : the personal missile weapon of Vishnu in his Narayana form, this astra lets loose a powerful tirade of millions of deadly missiles simultaneously. The intensity of the shower increases with resistance. The only solution is total submission before the missile, given which it will stop.
- Vaishnavastra : the personal missile weapon of Vishnu , once fired it cannot be thwarted by any means, save by the will of Vishnu Himself.
- Kaumodaki : the divine mace weapon of Vishnu; invincible and without parallel.
- Sudarshana Chakra : the magical chakra, a spinning discus with sharp outer spears. The Sudarshan flies at the command of Vishnu, spinning away to tear off the heads of His opponents, or to perform any function desired by Vishnu.

Lord Shiva's weapons

- Pashupata : discharged by the mind, eyes, words or a bow, the Pashupata is the irresistible and most destructive personal weapon of Siva. Never to be used against lesser enemies and by lesser warriors, the Pashupata is capable of destroying creation and vanquishing all beings.
- Trishula : the terrifying trident-staff of Siva

Traditional weapons

1) dhanu=bow
2) iShu=arrow
3) bhiNDipAla=A club hurled by the the arm or rope
4) shakti=spear (a speciality of kumAra)
5) drughaNa= a blade hurled by arm or rope
6) tomara= an axe hurled by the arm
8) nalikA= tube for hurling balls
9) laguDa= a weighted staff that is hurled
10) pAsha= a lasso (a speciality of varuNa)
11) chakra=discus (a speciality of viShNu)
12) dantakaNTaka = a harpoon or a barbed missile
13) bhusuNDi= spiked hammer hurled by a rope


The above are called muktAyudhas or hurled weapons

14) vajra=thunderbolt (a speciality of indra)
15) nishangi= a straight Aryan double-edged sword
15) parashu=battle axe (a speciality of ramo bhArgava)
16) goshIrSha= a cow headed mace for battery
17) asidhenu= a curved sword
18) lavitra= a large blade borne on pole
19) Astara= a chain mace
20) kunta= a lance
21) sthuNa=a knobed club (used by balarama against jarAsandha)\
22) prAsa= a spiked club
23) trishula=trident (speciality of rudra
24) gadA=mace
25) mudgara=mace with spikes on the surface
26) halAyudha= A plowshare
27) musala=pestle
28) paTTisha=halbred
29) maushTika= a weighted glove with spikes on the knucles
30) parigha=A large ball headed mace with a smooth surface
32) mayUkhI= an eletric rod ?
33) shataghnI= fire thrower


The above are amuktAyudhas used without discharge.

The above 33 are supposed to have emerged first from the vertebra and skull of the bhArgava Rishi dadhichi

The use of the Noose in warfare

The ancient hindus like Altaic tribes of central Asia used the noose or the pAsha with great proficiency. I shall provide below a brief description of the use of the noose as provided by the agni-dhanurveda

-The noose should be 10 cubits in length and round and held by the hand.
-It is made from karpasa (cotton), mu~nja (a grass fiber), hemp, sunflower fibers or hide.
-30 units of fiber are twined together to make the noose rope.
-It is gathered with the left hand and with the right hand. After having made a lasso it should be whirled around the head and thrown quickly.
-It is useful to bring down people with good armour and well-armed. It is typically deployed by a horse borne or chariot borne attacker on other cavalry warrior.
-Once the foe is brought down, he may clubbed to death with a rod.

-The acharya must teach the user the noose by placing targets on horseback.

Amongst the devas the noose was the weapon of varuNa and yama. Though by the paurANic period it was most commonly used by most deities.

The Mohana astra sends the ranks and files of the enemy reeling in a swoon..(Described as Sanmohana astra in the MBH and was used by Arjuna in the Virata war)

The Sosana, which sucks up moisture from the air, the results of which are obvious.
The Santäpana, which generates excessive heat, scalding the enemy forces.
The Prasvapana or the sleep-inducer.
The vilaapana or the weep-inducer, which can be related to the tear-gas of the present days.

There are missiles that needed to be fired and there are missiles that were just hurled with the mystical mantras. The aisika astra for instance, which is employed through the medium of a reed or stem of grass. This missile is variedly known as aisika astra, brahma siras, etc. This is the missile that Sri Rama receives from Viswamitra. We know that he empowered a reed with mystical power when he aimed it on Kakasura, (Jayanta, the son of Indra). And this is the missile that Aswatthama used on the Pandavas, which finally was redirected to the womb of Uttara, in an attempt to destroy the son of Abhimanyu, the only progeny of the Pandava family, Parikshit, who was saved by Lord Krishna. This astra is referred to as brahma siras in the Book of War of Mahabharata. And as aishika, when the Book begins with the laments of Dhritarashtra in the Adi Parva.


The making of the bow is discussed in dhanurveda

It states that a bow should have 3 material: iron, horn and wood and should be 4 cubits in length. The Bow string is supposed to be made of bamboo fiber, hide or bark fiber. The middle part is recommended to have grip for the hand. The shape should be that of the "eye brows of a beautiful damsel" . A good bow is supposed to be made of a composite of horn, metal and wood. The good horns for a bow were said to be those of the buffalo, the rohisha deer and the recommended trees for the wood are the sAl, chandana, cane, dhavala or kakubha.. The tips of the bow termed Artni were made from horn reinforced with iron. The body was made with a combination of wood and horn or iron and horn. Additionally, Hindus also made an all iron or all bronze bow. From the hymns of the atharva veda one may infer that a composite bow was being refered to. The all metal bow could be perpetually kept strung and used a ready weapon for assault . The Hindus also appear to have wielded the bow with a thumb ring and used a leather guard called the hastaghana to protect agains the bow string abrading the hand.

http://www.atarn.org/india/dhanurveda_eng.htm

The Mohana astra sends the ranks and files of the enemy reeling in a swoon..(Described as Sanmohana astra in the MBH and was used by Arjuna in the Virata war)

The Sosana, which sucks up moisture from the air, the results of which are obvious.
The Santäpana, which generates excessive heat, scalding the enemy forces.
The Prasvapana or the sleep-inducer.
The vilaapana or the weep-inducer, which can be related to the tear-gas of the present days.

There are missiles that needed to be fired and there are missiles that were just hurled with the mystical mantras. The aisika astra for instance, which is employed through the medium of a reed or stem of grass. This missile is variedly known as aisika astra, brahma siras, etc. This is the missile that Sri Rama receives from Viswamitra. We know that he empowered a reed with mystical power when he aimed it on Kakasura, (Jayanta, the son of Indra). And this is the missile that Aswatthama used on the Pandavas, which finally was redirected to the womb of Uttara, in an attempt to destroy the son of Abhimanyu, the only progeny of the Pandava family, Parikshit, who was saved by Lord Krishna. This astra is referred to as brahma siras in the Book of War of Mahabharata. And as aishika, when the Book begins with the laments of Dhritarashtra in the Adi Parva.

In Shrimad Bhagwat , Lord Krishna used the 'NarayaNjwar' which produces very low temperature and is the answer of lord Shiva's 'Shivjwar' which produces very high temperature(12 times the temperature of Sun).
by the way, can u explain what following astras do?
1) Bhargavastra (karna got from Parshuram)
2) Mahendrastra (arjuna)
3) VaishNavastra

BRAHMADANDA
The reason why Drona proved unconquerable on the 15th day of the Mahabharata war at Kurukshetra was because he used the BRAHMADANDA for the 1st time ever in his life. Brahmadanda was Brahmarishi Vashistha's best weapon and it contained the spiritual powers of the 7 greatest sages of Hinduism. As Drona had not imparted knowledge of this secret weapon to either Arjuna or Ashwattama, therefore no Pandava, Yadava or Panchala MAHA-RATHI/ATHI-RATHI could handle Drona on the 15th day of battle. Therefore the Pandavas were forced to do cheating to kill Drona.

Arjuna used ANJALIKA, a divine weapon which was Indra's 2nd strongest weapon after SHAKTI.This ANJALIKA was used to kill Karna.Arjuna used the PASHUPATASTRA to kill Jayadratha. He also used MAHENDRA weapon to kill Sudakshina and Shrutayu.The irrestible weapon BRAHMASURIVAS was used by Arjuna to kill the divine snake,Ashwasen, who tried to help Karna in his battle against Arjuna