Brahmaśiras Astra

The Brahmaśiras (“the head of Brahmā”) is one of the most powerful and destructive divyāstras (divine weapons) in the Mahābhārata. An astra is a weapon called forth by a mantra. The Vana Parva tells how Arjuna gained the Brahmaśiras in the realm of Indra. Lomaśa Ṛṣi reported to the Pāṇḍavas that Arjuna had received it, along with the Raudra astra, from Śiva, and had also received other astras from Yama, Kubera, Varuṇa and Indra himself.

The Brahmaśiras is thought of as a weapon of mass destruction. It can destroy whole armies, or even larger parts of creation. For this reason, dharma places the strictest limits on its use.

How Arjuna Gained It

Lomaśa came to the Pāṇḍavas’ forest camp from Indra’s svarga. He brought news of how Arjuna was doing in the realm of the devas. He reported that Arjuna had obtained the Brahmaśiras and the Raudra astra from Śiva, weapons of the very highest class. Arjuna also received astras from the other lokapālas (guardians of the worlds): Yama, Kubera, Varuṇa and Indra. This store of divine weapons would become the basis of Arjuna’s ability to win in the end in the Kurukṣetra war.

The Nature of the Brahmaśiras

The Mahābhārata speaks of the Brahmaśiras in several places as a weapon of total destructive power. It belongs to the same family as the Brahmāstra but is even greater. The Brahmāstra can wipe out armies and whole regions, while the Brahmaśiras is said in some places to be able to destroy the earth itself.

So its use is strictly governed by dharma. The Mahābhārata makes clear that such weapons must never be used except in the most urgent need, and never out of personal anger or for small ends. The Brahmaśiras was given to Arjuna on the understanding that he would use it only in the gravest possible situation.

In the Sauptika Parva: The Final Clash

The Sauptika Parva gives the Mahābhārata’s fullest account of the Brahmaśiras in action. For this episode, the weapon passed from Agastya to Droṇa and then to Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son. Arjuna had separately received it from Śiva, as told in the Vana Parva. So both sides in the last act of the war held this weapon.

The Attempted Exchange

During the years of the Pāṇḍavas’ exile, Aśvatthāmā visited Dvārakā. He offered Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Brahmaśiras in exchange for the Sudarśana Cakra, Kṛṣṇa’s discus. Kṛṣṇa answered with his usual grace. He freely offered all his weapons and told Aśvatthāmā to take whichever was strongest. Aśvatthāmā reached for the Sudarśana Cakra but could not lift it, even with both hands. The exchange never took place. Aśvatthāmā went home without the Cakra, still holding the Brahmaśiras.

Aśvatthāmā Fires the Brahmaśiras

After his night attack on the sleeping camp, Aśvatthāmā was cornered on the bank of the Bhāgīrathī (the Gaṅgā) by the Pāṇḍavas, who were chasing him. He picked up a blade of grass (iṣīkā) and charged it with the mantra of the Brahmaśiras. He released it with the words “Apa-Pāṇḍavam bhavatu”: “Let there be no more Pāṇḍavas.”

The name of this section of the book, the Aiṣīka Parva, comes from this act: the Brahmaśiras was fired from a blade of grass rather than from an ordinary arrow. This shows the true nature of the weapon. What makes it the Brahmaśiras is not the object that is thrown, but the power of the mantra and the knowledge of how to call it forth.

Arjuna’s Answer and the Rule of Recall

On Kṛṣṇa’s instruction, Arjuna stepped down from his chariot. He bowed in respect to his teachers and to Droṇa’s son, and released his own Brahmaśiras against Aśvatthāmā’s. The two weapons met, and the fire between them threatened to burn up all existence. At that moment Vyāsa and Nārada appeared between the two astras.

When Arjuna saw these great souls, he at once withdrew his weapon. The Sauptika Parva says plainly why Arjuna could do this and Aśvatthāmā could not. Only a man of complete brahmacarya (self-discipline and celibacy), who has kept the strictest vows for many years, can both call forth the Brahmaśiras and call it back. Anyone else who tries to withdraw it will have his own head split. Arjuna had both the discipline and the knowledge, and he recalled his weapon unharmed.

Aśvatthāmā’s Confession and the Weapon Turned Aside

Vyāsa asked Aśvatthāmā to withdraw his weapon. Aśvatthāmā openly admitted that he had fired it out of fear for his life, afraid of Bhīma’s fury, and that he did not know enough to withdraw it. He could not call it back.

Vyāsa then told him to turn it aside, so that it would not fall on the whole world. He was to direct it only at the wombs of the Pāṇḍava women. Aśvatthāmā agreed and turned the astra toward the womb of Uttarā, which carried Parīkṣit, the last heir of the Pāṇḍavas. Kṛṣṇa then stepped in and protected the child by the power of his truth (satya-vīrya) and the power of his tapas (tapas-vīrya).

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 91
• Mahābhārata, Sauptika Parva, Chapters 12–15