Antardhāna and Prasvāpana Astras
An astra is a divine weapon, called up with a mantra (a sacred sound formula). The Antardhāna and Prasvāpana are two astras with very different powers. The Antardhāna brings concealment, and the Prasvāpana brings a deep sleep strong enough to leave whole armies unconscious.
Kubera, the deva of wealth, gave both to Arjuna on a Himālayan peak, when the lokapālas (the devas who guard the directions) appeared to him in the Vana Parva of the Mahābhārata. Both weapons had been used in the great battle that ended with the destruction of Tripura. The Prasvāpana appears again, separately, in the Ambopākhyāna of the Udyoga Parva. There the eight Vasus gave it to Bhīshma during his twenty-three-day battle with Paraśurāma and urged him to use it to break the deadlock. But Nārada Maharshi stepped in and stopped Bhīshma from using it.
The Two Astras
The Antardhāna Astra
Antardhāna means “concealment” or “disappearance”, from antar (within, hidden) and dhāna (placing). The Antardhāna astra gives the power of invisibility or hiding. Used against an enemy, it can make him invisible to his own forces, make him lose his sense of direction, or hide him from the battlefield so that he can no longer take part. It can also be used to hide one’s own forces.
The Prasvāpana Astra
Prasvāpana means “causing sleep”, from pra and svāpa (sleep). This astra puts enemies into a deep sleep. A whole army struck by the Prasvāpana would fall unconscious, so that it could be overcome without slaughter or made harmless. The Prasvāpana is a kind of power that does not need to kill: it can stop the other side without necessarily taking lives.
Their Earlier Use: The Destruction of Tripura
When he gave these weapons, Kubera said that the Antardhāna and Prasvāpana astras had been used in the great battle for the destruction of Tripura. Tripura was the three cities of the asuras (beings opposed to the devas), which Śiva finally destroyed with a single arrow. It was one of the great events in the history of the universe. The three cities, one of gold, one of silver and one of iron, had been built as fortresses that could not be broken. The devas won in the end through great preparations and Śiva’s supreme weapon (the mahāprabhu-astra). The Antardhāna and Prasvāpana astras each played their part in that war.
How Arjuna Received Them
Kubera came to the Himālayan peak as the third of the four lokapālas, after Yama and Varuṇa. The lord of wealth and guardian of the north honoured Arjuna’s tapas (spiritual discipline) and his victory in battle over the divine Kirāta (Śiva in the form of a hunter). He gave Arjuna the Antardhāna and Prasvāpana astras as weapons suited to the complex battles Arjuna would have to face.
The Prasvāpana Given to Bhīshma by the Eight Vasus
The Prasvāpana is handed on a second time in the Ambopākhyāna Parva of the Udyoga Parva. Bhīshma and Paraśurāma fought for twenty-three days at Kurukshetra, Paraśurāma fighting on behalf of Ambā. The battle reached a long deadlock. Neither warrior could clearly defeat the other.
The eight Vasus, divine beings who were Bhīshma’s brothers by birth through Gaṅgā, appeared to Bhīshma in a dream. They gave him the Prasvāpana astra and urged him to use it to end the battle. Bhīshma got ready to use it. But Nārada Maharshi stepped in and stopped him. He warned that using a weapon that makes a whole army unconscious against a brāhmaṇa in a righteous fight would go against dharma. The pitṛ-devatās (ancestor deities) of Paraśurāma’s family and Gaṅgā herself also asked for restraint. Paraśurāma withdrew, and the Prasvāpana was never used in that battle.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 41
- Mahābhārata, Udyoga Parva, Ambopākhyāna Parva