Nārāyaṇāstra Moksha

After the death of Droṇa, Aśvatthāmā released the Nārāyaṇāstra against the whole Pāṇḍava army. This is a divine weapon given by Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa himself. It grows stronger against anyone who resists it, and it quiets only before those who give up their arms and bow.

Kṛshṇa told every warrior to lay down his weapons. All obeyed except Bhīmasena. Kṛshṇa and Arjuna held Bhīma down, and the weapon subsided. The Mahābhārata tells what followed: Aśvatthāmā’s refusal to use the weapon a second time, his use of the Āgneyāstra, Arjuna’s reply with the Brahmāstra, and Vyāsa’s explanation of why Kṛshṇa and Arjuna cannot be harmed by any weapon.

Aśvatthāmā’s anger and the invocation

Droṇācārya was killed by Dhṛshṭadyumna while the ācārya (teacher) sat without weapons in yoga-samādhi (deep meditation). His son Aśvatthāmā was full of grief and anger. He steadied the shaken Kaurava forces and rallied their formation. Then he made the most desperate choice of the war: to call up the Nārāyaṇāstra.

This is one of the most powerful weapons in the Mahābhārata. It was given by Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa himself. It grows fiercer against resistance and quiets only before those who surrender.

When Aśvatthāmā called it up, the sky filled with fire. Meteors fell. Thousands of missiles appeared at the same moment. Chariots burned. Elephants and horses fled in fear. The weapon burned through the Pāṇḍava formations as a fire burns dry grass, and its force turned most fiercely on any warrior who tried to fight back.

Kṛshṇa’s command

Śrī Kṛshṇa knew at once what the weapon was. He gave one command to the whole Pāṇḍava army: “Lay down your weapons. Come down from your chariots. Kneel and bow before this astra (missile weapon). A weapon born of Nārāyaṇa will not harm one who surrenders.”

Every warrior in the army obeyed: kings, mahārathas (great chariot-warriors) and foot soldiers alike. They came down from their elephants and chariots, put their weapons on the ground, and bowed before the moving wall of divine fire. The weapon passed over them. Its force went only against those who held weapons or showed defiance.

Bhīma refuses

Bhīmasena alone did not bow. He could not accept the thought of laying down his weapons and bowing before any weapon, however divine. He said he would not bow before any astra, any weapon, any force in the world. He stood in his chariot with his gadā (mace) and made up his mind to fight.

The result was immediate. The Nārāyaṇāstra turned its full force on Bhīma. Against him its power doubled and then tripled. The fire and missiles gathered on his chariot like sunlight focused through a lens. Bhīma stood firm even as the weapon grew more terrible around him.

Kṛshṇa and Arjuna hold Bhīma down

Seeing this, Śrī Kṛshṇa and Arjuna acted. Kṛshṇa came down from his chariot. Together he and Arjuna seized Bhīma and pulled him down from his chariot by force. They pushed him to the ground and held him there. Bhīma struggled but could not win against both of them. There were six steps in which Bhīma tried to break free. Then Arjuna found firm footing and held him down. Sahadeva also came and calmed Bhīma with gentle words. At last Bhīma, still furious, lay down.

At the moment Bhīma was brought down, the Nārāyaṇāstra subsided. The fire vanished. The sky cleared. The weapons dissolved.

The weapon cannot be used twice

Duryodhana saw that the Nārāyaṇāstra had been stopped. He went to Aśvatthāmā and begged him to call it up again. Aśvatthāmā refused completely. He said: “A divine weapon, once called up against an enemy and calmed, cannot be used a second time against the same enemy. If it is called up again, it will turn and destroy the side that releases it. I will not use it again.”

Duryodhana was left with no answer to the weapon he had hoped would end the war.

The Āgneyāstra and the Brahmāstra

Arjuna had spoken to Aśvatthāmā in bitter, scornful words. Aśvatthāmā was enraged and called up the Āgneyāstra, a fire weapon of terrible power. This time he aimed it at Kṛshṇa and Arjuna. He stood on his chariot, performed ācamana (the sipping of water for purity), and released the weapon with full intent.

The Āgneyāstra caused great destruction. The sky darkened. Clouds rained blood. Crows cried from every side. The five mahābhūtas (great elements) seemed to spin and lose their balance. The weapon rained thousands of missiles that moved with the speed of Garuḍa and the wind. Every warrior struck by them fell like a tree consumed by fire. Great war elephants cried out, burning, and collapsed. The whole Pāṇḍava akshauhiṇī (army division) was burned so completely that it could not be recognised. The Kauravas rejoiced, sure that Kṛshṇa and Arjuna were dead.

Arjuna answered with the Brahmāstra, which Brahmā made to destroy all other weapons. Within two ghaṭikās (about 48 minutes), the darkness and fire cleared and a cool wind began to blow. The sky became clear again. Then a wonderful sight appeared. Kṛshṇa and Arjuna stood in their chariot, unharmed. There was not a wound on their bodies. Their chariot, flag, horses and weapons were whole. They looked like twin suns coming out from behind a storm cloud.

The Pāṇḍavas broke into celebration. The Kauravas were crushed. Aśvatthāmā stared for two ghaṭikās in bewilderment and said: “How did this happen? Why did the astra fail?” He threw down his bow and jumped from his chariot. He declared, “All of this is illusion! All of it is false!” and fled from the battlefield.

Vyāsa explains Nara and Nārāyaṇa

Right after Aśvatthāmā fled, the great ṛshi Vyāsadeva appeared. Aśvatthāmā bowed before him and asked why the Āgneyāstra had failed.

Vyāsa’s answer explained everything. Kṛshṇa is Bhagavān Nārāyaṇa himself. He is not a mortal man but the eternal ādi-deva (first deva) and the cause of all creation. He performed tapas (austerity) for sixty-six thousand years on the Himālaya, and Viśveśvara (Mahādeva) appeared before him. No weapon made of fire, of the power of mantra, or of any element of prakṛti (nature) can touch the source of all the elements.

Arjuna, for his part, is the avatāra of the ṛshi Nara. Nara is the eternal companion of Nārāyaṇa. The two performed tapas together at Badarikāśrama from before this creation. The weapons of this age, however great, cannot overcome the eternal pair, Nara and Nārāyaṇa.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Droṇa Parva, Chapters 196–201