O bull among the Pandava lineage! On your words, the mighty-armed one went out for weapons. Partha has obtained from Rudra a great and unrivalled weapon. It is known as Brahmashira and Rudra obtained it after great austerities. That terrible weapon arose with the ambrosia and Savyasachi has now obtained it, together with the mantras for withdrawing, repulsing and releasing it.
~ Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Tirtha-Yatra Parva, Chapter 386(89)
So “Maha Pashupatastra” itself emerged out of the Samudra Manthan and the gods might have given it to Rudra later just like they gave Kaustubha to Vishnu etc. That being said, it definitely is the most hyped and praised weapon.
The illustrious god said, “O Pandava! I will give you the great pashupata weapon, dear to me. You will be capable of bearing, releasing and withdrawing it. The great Indra, Yama, the king of the yakshas, Varuna and Vayu do not know it. How can it be known to humans? O Partha! But it must not be suddenly released at any man. If it is released at someone who lacks in energy, it will destroy the entire universe. There is no one in the three worlds, mobile or immobile, who cannot be killed by it. It can be released through thought, eyes, words or the bow.
~ Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Kairata Parva, Chapter 338(41)
And also it’s clear that Roudrastra is another name of this “Maha Pashupatastra”
The illustrious Tryambaka told me, ‘I will give. O Pandava! My own weapon, roudra, will always be present before you.’ Satisfied, the lord granted me that pashupata weapon. Having given me that eternal weapon, Mahadeva told me, ‘This should never be used against humans. O Dhananjaya! This powerful weapon should only be used if you are hard-pressed. It can be used to counter all other weapons.’
~ Mahabharata, Vana Parva, Yaksha-Yuddha Parva, Chapter 460(163)
Destroying the entire universe implies destroying the person who used it, right? So the critique some people made on Narayanastra that it kills the user if used again, stands flat as using Pashupatastra on lesser ones destroys the universe which means even the one who used it. (Atleast as per the statement).
But it’s feats do not even reflect what have been claimed about this weapon. Arjuna used it against Kalakeyas and Paulomas and killed 60,000 demons and also destroyed their city with it. Shiva used it against Tripurasuras. The arrow he used was made from the energy of Vishnu, Agni and Soma. Also he charged the arrow with his anger, anger of sages like Bhrigu and Angiras as well
He made the night that destroys men the undecaying bowstring. Vishnu, Agni and Soma were the arrows. Agni and Soma constitute the entire universe and it is said that Vishnu is the universe. Vishnu is the illustrious one’s soul and Bhava’s infinite energy. That is the reason they could not bear the touch of Hara’s bowstring. On that arrow, the lord released his fierce and virulent fire of anger, generated from the intolerable wrath of Bhrigu and Angirasa.
~ Mahabharata, Karna Parva, Chapter 1174(24)
So the thing that must be kept in mind is that the arrow he used was charged with the energies of Vishnu, Soma, Agni, anger of Shiva, anger of Bhrigu and anger of Angiras. On this arrow he invoked the “Maha Pashupatastra”
Sharva strung the bow and affixed the arrow. He affixed the pashupata weapon and thought of Tripura. O king! Having stationed himself there, he angrily stretched his bow. At that point, the cities united and became one. The three cities united and became one and a tumultuous sound of delight arose among the great-souled gods. All the masses of gods, siddhas and supreme rishis became full of joy and uttered words of praise, signifying victory. Tripura manifested itself before the one who wanted to slay the asuras, the god whose form was indescribable and fierce and whose energy was intolerable. The illustrious one, the lord of the worlds, drew his celestial bow. The one who is the essence of the three worlds released the arrow towards Tripura. He consumed the large numbers of asuras and flung them into the western ocean. Thus, Tripura was burnt and the remaining danavas scorched by the angry Maheshvara for the welfare of the three worlds.
~ Mahabharata, Karna Parva, Chapter 1174(24)
In the Ramayana, Rama used it on Kumbhakarna but it just injured him a lot and didn’t kill him
As if causing an earthquake, he rushed towards Rama. Rama, Dasharatha’s son, invoked the roudra weapon and shot sharp arrows towards Kumbhakarna’s chest. As he violently rushed towards Rama, he was pierced by him. He became so angry that flames mixed with coal started to emerge from his mouth. Arrows tufted with the feathers of peacocks were embedded in his chest. The giant club was dislodged from his hand and fell down on the ground. The immensely strong one thought that he had been deprived of all his weapons. He created great carnage with his fists and his feet. His limbs were struck by arrows and blood started to flow. He oozed out blood, like waterfalls in a mountain.
~ Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Chapter 6(55)
Rama used it on Ravana and it didn’t even scratch his armor
Ravana, the one who made the worlds shriek, was skillful in the use of his hands. He shot a garland of iron arrows towards Rama’s forehead. They were shot from a terrible bow and possessed the complexion of dark lotuses. However, Rama bore it on his head and was not pained. Rama was filled with anger. He affixed an arrow, chanted mantras on it and invoked roudrastra on it. The immensely energetic and valiant one released those arrows. Those arrows descended on his armor, which was like a giant cloud. However, because the Indra among rakshasas could not be killed, these did not lead to any pain in him.
~ Ramayana, Yuddha Kanda, Chapter 6(87)
And there goes the claim that it is capable of destroying the worlds. Even the Roudrastra released by Shiva and empowered by Vishnu, Soma, Agni, Shiva, Bhrigu and Angiras, is limited to destroying Tripura and not burning the entire universe. So by feats, it is limited to destroying a single city and a 60,000 Kalakeyas and Paulomas when released by Arjuna and three cities when used by Shiva and injuring Kumbhakarna and not even being able to scratch Ravana’s armor when released by Rama.
Now coming to Narayanastra, this is what Vishnu says while giving it to Drona
My father asked for the supreme narayana weapon. O king! The illustrious one, supreme among the gods, told him, “There will never be another man who will be as great a warrior as you. O brahmana! However, you must never use this suddenly. This weapon never returns without killing the enemy at whom it has been aimed. O lord! But it is impossible to know whom it will not kill. It might even slay those who should not be killed. Therefore, it should not be used. O scorcher of enemies! In a battle, this great weapon must not be used to kill those who are running away, those who have cast aside their weapons, enemies who have yielded and those who have sought refuge. In a battle, if it is used to kill those who should not be slain, it will always oppress the user himself.
~ Mahabharata, Drona Parva, Narayanastra-Moksha Parva, Chapter 1143(166)
As per the statement, Narayanastra if used will kill anyone onto whom it is used and there is no one whom it doesn’t kill. Also the more you resist it, the more powerful it becomes. Once released it doesn’t come back without killing the enemy. When it was invoked the gods became scared (which is mentioned nowhere for the Pashupatastra). The fact that Arjuna himself was distressed and literally told Yudhisthira to face the result of half lie he has spoken proves that he doesn’t know how to counter Narayanastra. The only reason why Pandavas survived was only due to Krishna who was the only one who knew how to counter the Narayanastra and seeing this Yudhisthira decides to abandon the war and jump into fire and then Krishna tells the way to counter this weapon
When Kounteya had spoken in this way, Dasharha waved his arms and quickly restrained the soldiers from running away. ‘“He spoke these words. ‘Swiftly lay down your weapons and descend from your mounts and your horses. This is the method of countering, decreed by the great-souled one. All of you descend from the elephants, the horses and the chariots onto the ground. If you are on the ground and without weapons, this weapon will not kill you. Wherever warriors fight against the strength of this weapon, in those spots, the Kouravas will become stronger. But those men who fling away their weapons and descend from their mounts, will not be slain by this weapon in the battle. But all those who seek to counter it, even in their minds, will be killed, even if they descend to the nether regions.’
~ Mahabharata, Drona Parva, Narayanastra-Moksha Parva, Chapter 1147(170)
Now some people called it undependable for this reason but ignore the fact that this secret was known only to Krishna due to whom the Pandavas got saved. Or else the war would’ve been ended right after Drona died. And coming to the claim that it can’t be used for the second time, that’s again a misconception. As per the condition itself the weapon must not be used on the ones who already surrendered and that’s confirmed by Ashwathama again
Ashvatthama sighed in great distress and spoke to the king. ‘O king! This weapon cannot be brought back. It cannot be used a second time. If brought back, there is no doubt that it will kill the person who uses it. O lord of men! Vasudeva devised the means for repulsing the weapon. Otherwise, it would have slain the enemy in the battle. There can be defeat or death. But death is superior to defeat. Having been defeated and forced to cast aside their weapons, they are as good as dead.’
~ Mahabharata, Drona Parva, Narayanastra-Moksha Parva, Chapter 1147(171)
Ashwathama clearly says that it can be used again but doing so would kill him as it’d be trying to use it on the ones who already surrendered and defeated meaning the Pandavas are as good as dead. Narayanastra is consistent with the condition mentioned by Vishnu unlike the Pashupatastra. Rama had it but didn’t even think of using it on the army of Ravana but used the so called weapon capable of killing Brahma and Vishnu, many times.
So Narayanastra is the most powerful weapon among the two going by feats and provided the enemy doesn’t know how to counter it. Whereas Pashupatastra can be countered and it’s scope of damage is very much limited.
|| Namō Veṅkaṭeśāya || 🛞 U 🐚