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A celestial weapon (astra in Sanskrit) is a type of powerful weapon that the gods bestow upon some of the mortal heroes of the Mahabharata, and these weapons represent the power of the gods—and, more broadly, the benefits of living a religious life. In general, the characters who get to use the celestial weapons are among the most devout in the story. The most prolific user of celestial weapons is Arjuna, who has a close relationship with the gods: in addition to being the biological son of Indra, he is a close friend of Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu). Arjuna carefully considers the moral and religious implications of fighting, most notably during a conversation he has with Krishna called the Bhagavadgita. As a reward for his devout behavior, the gods gift Arjuna their weapons and protection, making him an even more formidable warrior than he already is.
But while the gods generally favor the Pandavas, some of the opposing Kauravas also unleash celestial weapons during battle. Karna, for example, is allied with the Kauravas but uses his celestial weapon to kill Ghatotkaca (Bhima’s son). The moment is a mixed success for Karna, since he stops the powerful warrior Ghatotkaca but loses his ability to use his weapon against Arjuna, who eventually kills him. The occasional support of the gods to the Kauravas in the form of celestial weapons shows how morality in war isn’t black and white and sometimes noble people can exist on both sides. Nevertheless, the ultimate failure of the Kauravas in battle reaffirms how the stronger faith of the Pandavas, embodied by the celestial weapons, makes them better able to confront whatever challenges come their way.
Celestial Weapons Quotes in Mahabharata
The Mahabharata quotes below all refer to the symbol of Celestial Weapons. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 7. Drona
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And he performed this last find and astonishing foe-slaying feat: at the time he was pierced in the heart by the Spear, he appeared, O king, huge as a cloud, or a mountain; then that Rakshasa prince fell headlong to earth from on high, body torn, limbs stilled, lifeless and speechless, but gigantic in form. Bhima’s son Ghatotkaca, doer of fearful deeds, fell with the terrifying, fearful form he had assumed; and thus even in death he smashed on whole section of your army, bringing terror to the Kauravas.
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Chapter 8. Karna
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‘Karna, if you challenge Arjuna to battle, you are a hare challenging a mighty elephant with tusks like plough-shafts, its temporal glands bursting with rut. If you want to fight the son of Kunti, you are a silly child poking with a stick a deadly poisonous king cobra in its hole, its hood expanded.’
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The glorious standard of Karna the mighty chariot-fighter was now destroyed by the noble wearer of the diadem with a razor-edged, gold-shafted arrow that he shot with the greatest of care; and with the fall of that standard there fell too the Kurus’ fame and dharma, and their hopes of victory, sir, and all that they held dear, and their very hearts.
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Get the entire Mahabharata LitChart as a printable PDF.
Celestial Weapons Symbol Timeline in Mahabharata
The timeline below shows where the symbol Celestial Weapons appears in Mahabharata. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1. Beginnings
...option). Eventually, when the fire recedes, Indra offers Arjuna and Krishna boons. Arjuna asks for celestial weapon s, while Krishna requests Indra’s friendship.
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Chapter 3. The Forest
...After a tough battle, Śiva wins, but he praises Arjuna’s efforts and offers him a celestial weapon : the Paśupata. Śiva warns Arjuna that if he’s irresponsible with the weapon, he could...
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...benefits of going on a pilgrimage. Yudhishthira also hears about Arjuna’s recent acquisition of a celestial weapon .
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...he’s going to hand over the earrings, he should at least try to get a celestial weapon : a special Spear that will kill all his enemies.
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...says he’ll give Karna a boon in exchange for the earrings. He offers Karna a celestial weapon : a Spear that can kill hundreds of enemies and then return to his hand...
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Chapter 6. Bhishma
...with more violence. Bhishma and Yudhishthira lead formations against each other. Arjuna uses the special celestial weapon he got from Indra to slay many foes. Meanwhile, Virata and Drona fight each other....
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Chapter 7. Drona
The destruction around Karna seems so great that many encourage him to use his special celestial weapon Spear from Indra. Although Karna has been saving the Spear for Arjuna, at last he...
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...Samjaya tells the story. After hearing of his father’s death, Aśvatthaman wants to use the celestial weapon that Drona received as a boon from Narayana (a form of Vishnu). He uses the...
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Chapter 10. The Night-Raid
...he, Krishna, and Arjuna hop in a chariot to follow him. Aśvatthaman has a special celestial weapon called Brahma’s Head, which can take many shapes but always has four heads, like Brahma....
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Arjuna withdraws his celestial weapon , but Aśvatthaman’s weapon is so powerful that he physically can’t withdraw it, so he...
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Krishna says that Aśvatthaman’s release of his celestial weapon into the Pandava wombs fulfills a prophecy—when the Kuru lineage fails, Virata’s daughter (and the...
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Chapter 14. The Horse Sacrifice
...to a son called Parikshit who dies right away (due to Aśvatthaman’s use of the celestial weapon Brahma’s Head). But to everyone’s delight, Krishna offers to revive Parikshit.
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