The Fateful Evening...Arjun Draupadi OS Thread.3 - Page 2

Attacked at such close physical range, Arjun then hurled the NAGASTRA,

That slayer of hostile heroes, the son of Pandu, paralysed the legs of the samsaptakas by invoking, O monarch, the WEAPON called NAGA. Thus tied with those foot-tying bands by the high-souled son of Pandu, all of them stood motionless, O king, as if they had been petrified. Indeed, all these warriors had their lower LIMBS ENCIRCLED WITH SNAKES.'

Susharma, then invoked the Garuda-Astra (Sauparna) to pluck away the numerous serpents. By this time, Arjun had put enough distance between himself and samshaptakas to massacre them with AINDRASTRA.

This proves, beyond any doubt, that Arjun owned NAGASTRA.

II} NAGASTRA vs NAGAPASHA: Although in Ramayana, Indrajeet used a similar snake-emitting missile to paralyse and stupefy Ram & Laxman, it was named NAGAPASHA. Hanuman then evoked Garuda to nullify Nagapasha.

However, from the above Kurukshetra description, I can safely conclude that NAGASTRA = NAGAPASHA, since both produced multiple paralyzing serpents.

III} Now since Arjun knew Nagastra, by default, he knew GARUDA-ASTRA.

Have you ever heard of a warrior taught to use swords without learning how to use a shield? A warrior knowing archery without knowing how to effectively use an armor? A boxer taught how to attack without learning defense? Similarly, whenever Arjun was taught to invoke a celestial weapon, he was also taught the science of hurling, retracting AND nullifying it.

Garuda-Astra was not an attacking weapon. It was solely a nullifying weapon. The reason Arjun never needed to use Garuda-Astra, is b'cos he was never attacked with a Nagastra! Simple!

IV} ASHWASENA-Astra: No, this weapon is NOT the NAGASTRA! It held the poison of Ashwasena, but this was not Nagastra and NOT NAGAPASHA.

It is decribed as exceedingly keen, snake-mouthed and blazing shaft.' In Sanskrit as Sarpa-mukha (shaped like a snake's hood.) It RESEMBLED a snake, but was not a Nagastra.

It carried away Arjun's diadem, but it did NOT create any shower of leg-binding snakes. The only snake to emerge was Ashwasena, whom Arjuna cut into pieces. This was NOT Nagastra or Nagapasha. This was, for want of another name, an Ashwasena-astra. An arrow whose power and strength was Ashwasena's poisonous presence.

Thus we conclude that,

I} Arjun possessed Nagastra (Nagapasha)

II} By default, Arjun knew Garuda-Astra, but never needed to hurl it

III} Ashwasena-astra was NOT the Nagastra.