Arjuna Returns to Gandhamādana

In Chapter 164 of the Vana Parva, Arjuna comes back to his brothers on Gandhamādana. He has spent five years in Indra’s realm and has learned to use divine weapons. The chapter lists the fourteen astras (weapons of mantra) that Arjuna had received. The Pāṇḍavas and their companions welcome him with great joy. This chapter also marks the end of the Yakshayuddha Parva.

The wait on Gandhamādana

The Pāṇḍavas had met Hanumān, gone after the Saugandhika flower, fought the rākshasa Jaṭāsura, and had the episode of Maṇimanta and Kubera. After these they had been waiting on Gandhamādana for some time. Kubera had told them that Arjuna would return soon. Lomaśa and Dhaumya were with them. The group lived under Kubera’s protection, and his servants supplied them, as they waited. This is from Chapters 163–164.

Arjuna’s five years in Indraloka

Arjuna had gone up to Indra’s realm to obtain divine weapons. This was the purpose of his long absence. He spent five years in Indraloka, learning under Indra himself and under various divine teachers. In that time he mastered an extraordinary range of divine astras. They are not weapons of metal but of mantra-force. They call on the power of the elemental devas and the cosmic principles that those devas stand for. This is from Chapter 164.

The fourteen astras

The text lists the weapons that Arjuna had received in his five years in the celestial realm:

  1. Āgneya, the fire weapon, from Agni
  2. Vāruṇa, the water weapon, from Varuṇa
  3. Saumya, the moon weapon, from Soma
  4. Vāyavya, the wind weapon, from Vāyu
  5. Vaishṇava, from Vishṇu
  6. Āindra, Indra’s own weapon
  7. Pāśupata, the supreme weapon of Śiva (Paśupati), received earlier from Śiva himself through tapas (austerity). Its power can destroy all creation.
  8. Brāhma, the weapon of Brahmā
  9. Pārameshṭha, from the supreme ruler
  10. Prājāpatya, from Prajāpati
  11. The astra of Yama, from the ruler of death
  12. Sūryāstra, the solar weapon
  13. The astra of Tvashṭā, from the divine craftsman
  14. The astra of Kubera, from the ruler of wealth

No single warrior had ever held such a set of weapons. This is from Chapter 164.

The reunion

Arjuna came down from Indra’s realm to Gandhamādana and joined his brothers and Draupadī again. The reunion was one of great joy after five years apart, with each side having gone through extraordinary experiences. The Pāṇḍavas embraced Arjuna, and he told them of his time in Indra’s realm. The group then got ready to go down from the heights of Gandhamādana to lower country, as the next stage of their forest exile. This is from Chapter 164.

At this point the text marks the end of the Yakshayuddha Parva, the part that deals with the Pāṇḍavas’ meeting with the yakshas on Gandhamādana.

Sources

  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapter 164
  • Mahābhārata, Vana Parva, Chapters 163–164 (the wait on Gandhamādana)