Bows and arrows were amongst the most loved weapons of the warriors. Many battles were fought in the ancient world and won by the army having sharp shooting archers. The ability to shoot an arrow over long distance with accuracy and maximum damage made this weapon a predominant choice of warriors.
In ancient Hindu history, the capabilities of different celestial bows are mentioned in ancient scriptures. These celestial bows were guarded by sacred mantras and possessed enormous power.
They were created for a specific purpose by its creator. A true devotee and an exceptional warrior truly capable of using these bows could receive these bows by proving their devotion to the lord.
Mere possession of these bows made the warrior stand out amongst the enemy. A simple twang from the bow produced a large thundering sound enough to scare the enemy soldiers. The arrows shot from these celestial bows had enormous power to destroy even the greatest warrior of the enemy.
Check out the top 5 celestial bows (Dhanush) in ancient Hindu history:
Top 5 Celestial Bows
Govardhan Dhanush: This Dhanush belonged to Lord Vishnu, one of the trinity in ancient Hindu history. This Dhanush could not be destroyed by any weapon. This Dhanush was presented by Lord Krishna, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu himself to one of the great warrior and great devotee, Vidhur to protect the female and children’s during the battle of Mahabharata.
Vidhur apart from being a great warrior was also an able administrator and was respected by both Pandavas and Kauravas. During the time of peace negotiation before the start of the battle of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna stayed at the place of Vidhur.
This annoyed Duryodhana the eldest son of Dhritarashtra to such an extent that he abused Vidhur in the court, for taking the side of Pandavas and planning against the Kauravas.
Lord Krishna knew about the power the Dhanush presented by him to Vidhur, so he intervened and pacified Vidhur and requested him to take the pledge not to take part in the battle of Mahabharata from any side. Vidhur accepted the request and pledged not to participate in the battle.
Pinaka Dhanush: This Dhanush belongs to Lord Shiva, one of the trinity in ancient Hindu history. This Dhanush was created, by Vishwakarma, the god of architecture and is also known as Shiva Dhanush. This Dhanush was created for destruction, and possessed enormous power.
The twang of this Dhanush was louder than the thunder. Lord Shiva used this Dhanush to kill the demons. The arrows fired from this Dhanush could not be intercepted by any means.
This Dhanush was so heavy that even the greatest warriors could not even lift it. Ravana, who was one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva and a great warrior himself, was not able to even lift, the Dhanush. This Dhanush was broken by Lord Ram who was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu as the condition to marry Sita.
The demons were afraid of the Dhanush, as this Dhanush could shoot a wide range of arrows (astras) with so much power that they don’t stand a chance. The string of this Dhanush could not be broken by any type of weapons.
Sharanga Dhanush: This Dhanush belongs to Lord Vishnu, one of the trinity in ancient Hindu history. This Dhanush was created, by Lord Vishwakarma, the god of architecture and is also known as Vishnu Dhanush. This Dhanush has a reputation of being a fierce Dhanush and can take down any warrior no matter how much strength that warrior holds.
The breaking of Pinaka Dhanush by Lord Ram annoyed Parshuram one of the greatest devotees of Lord Shiva. Parshuram arrives and challenges Lord Ram to lift this Dhanush and fight a duel with him. Lord Ram agreed and easily lifted the Dhanush and aimed straight at the heart of Parshuram and asked him humbly, which target he should hit.
Parshuram became devoid of all his powers, quickly recognises that Lord Ram was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He gifted this great Dhanush to Lord Ram, and this Dhanush was used by Lord Ram to kill great warriors like Kumbhakaran and Ravana.
This Dhanush was heavy and can only be held and used by a warrior and a true devotee. The arrows from this Dhanush were unstoppable and possessed immense power. The Dhanush was secured by sacred mantras and was virtually indestructible.
Gandiva Dhanush: This Dhanush was created, by Lord Brahma one of the trinity in ancient Hindu history to protect and fight for Dharma or truth. Lord Brahma gave it to Lord Shiva, this Dhanush was blessed, with sacred mantras and only the bravest of the brave warrior can attain this Dhanush by his devotion.
The arrows shot from this Dhanush were of such high intensity that they were practically unstoppable. This Dhanush has 108 bowstrings, and each bowstring was equally capable of causing the same menace.
In the battle of Mahabharata, Arjuna wielded this Dhanush. Arjuna was a true warrior and an expert archer. He was capable of shooting down any target just by hearing the sound of it. Arjuna received this celestial Dhanush by worshipping Lord Agni the god of fire.
This Dhanush was capable of shooting multiple arrows at the same time. Embossed with gold and jewels the twang of this Dhanush produced lightning thunder so loud to spread fear amongst the most battle-hardened enemy.
The mere possession of this Dhanush was enough to spread fear in enemy ranks. Arjuna was an expert archer, and possession of this bow made him invincible. This celestial bow came with its arrow quiver. The arrow quiver was blessed with mantras that can never become empty. This bow was capable of firing a different kind of astras towards the enemy.
Vijay Dhanush: As the name itself suggests, this Dhanush means victory. This Dhanush was created, by Lord Vishwakarma, the god of architecture for Lord Shiva to destroy the city build by the sons of demon Tarkasura. Only a true warrior can wield this weapon, created with sacred mantras this Dhanush created a barrier around the wielder and shielded them from all kind of weapons.
The wielder of this bow cannot be defeated, by any weapon irrespective of its power, thus making the wielder of this bow becomes practically invincible and victorious. This bow created a ring of protection layer around the wielder and no celestial weapon can break the bowstring of this bow.
Lord Indra king of gods, used this Dhanush to destroy numerous attacks on gods by demons. This Dhanush was passed to Parshuram one of the greatest devotee of Lord Shiva. This Dhanush can only be wielded by the expert warrior who possess extreme archery skills and yet remains humble and devoted. The twang of this bow was like a lightning thunder producing sound along with lightning flash to blind the opponent.
Karna an expert archer and a disciple of Parshuram wielded this bow at the battle of Mahabharata. On the 17th day of the battle of Mahabharata, Karna and Arjuna were at the opposite ends. They both had celestial bows in their hand, but it was the possession of this bow that made Karna withstand the fierce arrows of Arjuna with an advantage.
The arrows shot from this bow by Karna broke the strings of Arjuna’s Gandiva Dhanush many times. The ferocity of the arrows shot by Karna can easily be judged, by the fact that Lord Krishna was amazed and appreciated the skills of Karna.
The ferocity of arrow shot from Gandiv Dhanush that Arjuna was carrying, pushed the entire chariot of Karna back by 10 feet. The ferocity of arrows shot by Karna pushed back the chariot of Arjuna by 2 feet.
Praise of Karna by Lord Krishna annoyed Arjuna, he asked humbly to Lord Krishna that my arrows are so fierce that it pushes back the chariot of Karna by 10 feet, and the arrows from Karna, just pushed back our chariot by a mere 2 feet and still, you praise ferocity of Karna’s arrows.
To this Lord Krishna smiled and replied that in your chariot, you have Lord Hanuman sitting at the top protecting your chariot with its entire weight then there is me who is sitting in your chariot carrying the weight of the universe and still ferocity of Karna’s arrow can push our chariot elaborates the ferocity of Karna’s arrows. Arjuna realised his mistake.
Lord Krishna knew Karna could not be defeated as long as Karna is in the custody of this Dhanush, and Arjuna could never defeat Karna rather Karna will earn his victory.
Lord Krishna instigated Arjuna to aim and shoot an arrow at Karna when the wheel of his chariot got stuck in the mud and he was forced to leave his Dhanush in the chariot to push the wheel of the chariot out of the mud, thus killing him.
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