Jṛmbhaṇāstra
The Jṛmbhaṇāstra is a divine weapon (astra). The word jṛmbhaṇa means yawning, gaping, or causing to open wide. The weapon makes those it strikes fall into uncontrollable yawning and drowsiness. It can stop whole armies without killing them.
It belongs to Kṛshṇa, and to the arsenal of Bhagavān Vishṇu. The Mahābhārata names its best-known use at the battle of Śoṇitapura. There Kṛshṇa used it against Śiva’s whole army of gaṇas (his attendants). It stopped Śiva’s forces when they came to defend Bāṇāsura. Then Kṛshṇa could go against Bāṇāsura directly.
The battle of Śoṇitapura
Kṛshṇa, Balarāma and Pradyumna came to Śoṇitapura to free the imprisoned Aniruddha. Śiva himself arrived there to keep his promise to Bāṇāsura. He brought his whole gaṇa army, including Kārttikeya, Nandī, Mahākāla and all his divine forces. He fought Kṛshṇa directly.
Śiva used the Pāśupatāstra, one of the most powerful weapons of destruction in the three worlds. Kṛshṇa answered with the Jṛmbhaṇāstra. It did not destroy the Pāśupatāstra. It made all of Śiva’s gaṇa forces fall into helpless drowsiness. The armies collapsed in irresistible yawning and sleep. They could not fight, so they were stopped without being destroyed.
With Śiva’s forces asleep, Kṛshṇa was free to turn the Sudarśana Cakra on Bāṇāsura directly. The Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, tells this episode.
Why it matters
The use of the Jṛmbhaṇāstra against Śiva’s forces shows Kṛshṇa’s power over even Śiva’s armies, and shows it without destruction. The weapon is merciful in its effect. It does not kill. It only makes opponents unable to fight for a time. This fits the teaching that Kṛshṇa’s power does not need destruction. He can stop opposition with exactly measured divine weapons.
The weapon also shows how wide Bhagavān Vishṇu’s arsenal is. There are weapons of destruction, such as the Sudarśana Cakra. There is the Pāñcajanya, which gives a proclamation (it is his conch). And there are weapons that only disable for a time, such as the Jṛmbhaṇāstra, the Sammohana and others.
Sources
- Mahābhārata, Sabhā Parva, dākshiṇātya prati, Chapter 38