Gandiva- Hindu ArtifactArtifact · Weapon"The Divine Bow"

Divine Lineage and Gift to Arjuna

Gandiva was created by Brahma, who kept it for a thousand years before passing it to Prajapati, then to Indra, then to Soma, and finally to Varuna, the god of waters. Arjuna received Gandiva when he and Krishna aided the fire god Agni in consuming the Khandava forest. Agni had been unable to burn the forest because Indra, protecting his friend Takshaka who dwelt there, sent rain to douse the flames each time. Arjuna used his archery to create a canopy of arrows that blocked Indra's storms, allowing the fire to consume the forest. In gratitude, Agni presented Arjuna with Gandiva from Varuna's keeping, along with two inexhaustible quivers of divine arrows.

Properties and Feats

Gandiva was indestructible and eternally taut. When Arjuna drew its string, the bow produced a sound like thunder that terrified enemies across the battlefield. It multiplied the power of any arrow shot from it, and its bowstring could never be severed. With Gandiva, Arjuna defeated the entire Kaurava army single-handedly during the Virata campaign while still in disguise, and held off entire divisions at Kurukshetra throughout the eighteen-day war.

Return to the Waters

After the Kurukshetra War and the destruction of the Yadava dynasty at Prabhasa, Arjuna found that Gandiva had lost its divine power. The celestial weapons no longer answered his call. When the Pandavas undertook their final journey toward Mount Meru, Arjuna returned Gandiva and the inexhaustible quivers to the ocean, restoring the weapon to the waters from which Agni had first retrieved it.