Arjuna’s Penance - Pasupatastra

This bas-relief is called the descent of Ganga, and it seems like an apt depiction of that story. That is until you pay heed to another set of scholars who insist that this isn’t the story of Bhagiratha, Rama’s ancestor from the Ramayana, but the story of Arjuna from another literary epic called the Mahabharata. Here’s that story.

The great epic, the Mahabharata, is a story of a war between 5 good brothers – the Pandavas, and their 100 cousins – the Kauravas. At one point in the story, the Pandavas lost their kingdom to the Kauravas in a gambling match, and were banished from their own kingdom for 13 long years. One of these 5 brothers was Arjuna – the hero of this story depicted here. Arjuna was already the best archer in the world. He decided to use the exile period to hone his skills even further and upgrade his weaponry. He had his eyes set on a particular magical weapon called the Pasupatastra - THE MOST powerful weapon in the universe, a weapon so powerful that if used indiscriminately, could destroy the entire world.

The Pashupatastra was in the safe custody of Shiva who would only give it to the most deserving candidate. Arjuna believed that HE was a deserving candidate. So, he sat and prayed long and hard to Shiva. At the end of a very challenging and eventful penance, Shiva was convinced and awarded Arjuna the Pashupatastra.

Look at the relief once again. You can see Arjuna emaciated, because of his long penance. Shiva can be seen granting him the boon, while all the other figures are witnesses to Arjuna’s miraculous achievement.

So what did Arjuna do with the Pasupatastra? Nothing. He planned to use it only when it was really necessary. Arjuna went on to fight the mother of all battles, faced many, many challenges, and yet never once used the Pasupatastra. The mere possession of the weapon gave him the confidence to win battles. As they say, with great power comes great responsibility. Shiva had indeed chosen the best man to handle such a responsibility.