Pashupatastra- Hindu ArtifactArtifact · Weapon"Weapon of Pashupati"
Also known as: Pashupata Astra, पाशुपतास्त्र, and Pāśupatāstra
Titles & Epithets
Domains
Symbols
Description
Shiva appeared to Arjuna as a hunter named Kirata and fought him over a slain boar. When the mortal held his ground against the god, Shiva revealed himself and granted the Pashupatastra — a weapon with no defense and no counter, capable of destroying creation itself. Arjuna never used it.
Mythology & Lore
The Kirata
During the Pandavas' exile, Arjuna performed severe austerities in the mountains to obtain divine weapons for the coming war. Shiva tested him by appearing as a Kirata, a mountain hunter, and the two quarreled over a slain boar. Each claimed the kill. Words became blows. Arjuna fought the stranger with every weapon he had and could not bring him down. The hunter could not bring Arjuna down either.
When Arjuna's arrows were spent and his bow broken, he wrestled the Kirata bare-handed. Shiva revealed himself. He had come not to destroy but to reward. He granted Arjuna the Pashupatastra, teaching him its invocation. The weapon could be called by thought, by word, or by the bow, and once released, nothing in creation could stop it. Shiva warned him: never use it against lesser beings. It was meant for cosmic threats alone.
The Weapon Undrawn
Arjuna carried the Pashupatastra through all eighteen days of the Kurukshetra War. He never used it. The war was won with the Gandiva bow, with Krishna's counsel, with lesser astras against lesser enemies. The weapon that could have ended everything stayed in its quiver.