Rudrāstra

The Rudrāstra is a divyāstra (divine weapon) that carries the name and power of Rudra, the fierce form of Mahādeva (Bhagavān Śiva). An astra is called forth with mantra, and its force comes from the deva it is named after. The Rudrāstra holds the gathered destroying śakti (power) of Śiva as Rudra. It can wipe out a whole crowd of enemies who try to overpower its user by sheer numbers.

In the Sauptika Parva of the Mahābhārata, Aśvatthāmā uses it during his night attack on the camp. After he killed Dhṛshṭadyumna, many warriors gathered around him, and he turned their bodies into māṃsa-muddala (lumps of flesh).

Nature and Type

The Rudrāstra is named after Rudra and calls upon his power. Rudra is the fierce, frightening form of Bhagavān Śiva who rules over dissolution, the ending of things. Other astras are also named after devas, such as the Brahmāstra, Āgneyāstra and Varuṇāstra. Each one gathers the special śakti of its deva into the weapon’s strike. In Rudra’s case, this is the power of terrible destruction that spares no one. The text says the weapon turned its targets into lumps of flesh. This suggests it did not just wound or kill single warriors, but turned the whole mass of attackers into shapeless matter.

Weapons named after Rudra or Śiva appear throughout the Itihāsa and Purāṇa texts. The Pāśupatāstra is the highest of Śiva’s own weapons. It is given only to the greatest kshatriya (warrior) of each age, which in the Dvāpara Yuga was Arjuna. The Rudrāstra seems to be a lesser weapon of Śiva, but still a very powerful one. It can cause mass destruction, but it does not carry the world-ending power of the Pāśupatāstra.

Use in the Sauptika Parva

Chapter 8 of the Sauptika Parva tells of the night attack on the Pāñcāla camp. Aśvatthāmā first killed Dhṛshṭadyumna, the first death of that night. The other warriors in the camp woke up and rushed at him. Soon Aśvatthāmā was surrounded on every side by warriors raising their weapons against him.

At this moment Aśvatthāmā was under the full āveśa (divine possession) of Mahādeva, and the Pramatha-gaṇas, Śiva’s attendants, were with him, unseen. He called forth the Rudrāstra. The text says plainly: “With the Rudrāstra, he turned them into lumps of flesh.” The warriors around him were destroyed all together, their bodies left without form. Because of this, the awakened camp could not stop him. He went on through the night and killed the five upa-Pāṇḍavas (the sons of the Pāṇḍavas) and the remaining Pāñcāla warriors.

This use of the Rudrāstra is important. It is Rudra’s weapon, used by a warrior who at that very moment is possessed by Rudra himself. Both the weapon and the power of the one using it come from the same divine source.

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Sauptika Parva, Chapter 8