 Rama – Dasaratha and Rama
On missiles and divine weapons
Viswamitra was happy beyond measure. Obviously. He who was just walking his way through the jungles and deserts with the brothers, and taught them nothing but the mystical mantras
balä and atibalä for the first time thought of empowering the princes with astras, or mystical missiles. I call them ‘mystical’ because it is the normal practice to do so. But the question of ‘mysticism’ does not seem to arise in the case of many of the astras that the epics – both the epics – describe. Most of them – save for a few – seem so real and lead one to believe that it is possible that such missiles could have been used, when one goes into the vivid descriptions lying scattered throughout the epics, especially during the war scenes.
Basically, an arrow differs from an
astra. An arrow is shot with a bow. An
astra is fired. Of course, the epics talk about calling them, empowering them with mantras dedicated to the presiding deity of that particular missile. But in almost all the places, the poets do mention that they were fired. When Indrajit narrates to Ravana about his firing of his Brahmastra, he says,
‘dhaLam malar kizavan thandha padaik kalm thazalin saarthi, aLavu iladhu amaya vittadhu irAmanai nIkki andrAl.’ It was not that I excluded Rama from the force of Brahmastra, when I
fired it. Notice the words ‘thazalin saarthi’. The simplest meaning is, ‘I lit it; put it on fire; activated it with fire.’ But the traditional commentators interpret the words to mean, ‘I worshipped the
astra with camphor lit as a matter of ritual.’ The word ‘camphor’ is non-existent in the text; but finds its way in the commentary in the manner of routine academic way of looking at it. This happens wherever the expression ‘the missile was
fired,’ is employed. It is my opinion that this needs the attention of persons more knowledgeable in the science of missiles.
There are missiles that needed to be fired and there are missiles that were just hurled with the mystical mantras. The
aisika astra for instance, which is employed through the medium of a reed or stem of grass. This missile is variedly known as
aisika astra, brahma siras, etc. This is the missile that Sri Rama receives from Viswamitra. We know that he empowered a reed with mystical power when he aimed it on Kakasura, (Jayanta, the son of Indra). And this is the missile that Aswatthama used on the Pandavas, which finally was redirected to the womb of Uttara, in an attempt to destroy the son of Abhimanyu, the only progeny of the Pandava family, Parikshit, who was saved by Lord Krishna. This
astra is referred to as brahma siras in the Book of War of Mahabharata. And as
aishika, when the Book begins with the laments of Dhritarashtra in the Adi
Parva.
Therefore, the list of
astras does contain many a missile that could be seen as a figment of imagination. But, there are
astras in the long list that Valmiki gives – a hundred and odd in number – which Viswamitra handed over to Rama, which have a flavour of reality about them. The
Mohana astra for instance, which sends the ranks and files of the enemy reeling in a swoon, which is a reality in our days. The
Sosana, which sucks up moisture from the air, the results of which are obvious. The
Santäpana, which generates excessive heat, scalding the enemy forces. The
Prasvapana or the sleep-inducer. The vilaapana or the weep-inducer, which can be related to the tear-gas of the present days.
And one has to read the apprehensions of Rama, in the Book of War, where he more than once insists on Lakshmana to refrain from the use of
astras, or missiles, which bring common destruction for all.
‘iindra andhaNan padaik kalam thodukkil iv ulagam mUndrayum sudum; oruvanAl mudigaladhu,’ he tells Lakshmana, at the commencement of the battle with Indrajit. ‘Do not resort to Brahmastra – or any divine weapon for that matter – for it brings destruction to all the three worlds. It is not easy for anyone to stop its after-effects. It requires expertise of the highest order to handle such weapons and direct them only at the enemy forces and restrict the spectrum of destruction.’ And this is the same reason why he postpones the use of Brahmastra in his last battle with Ravana, until the charioteer, Mätali insists that that is the only way left for them. And then compare his apprehensions with what Jawaharlal Nehru said, “If war comes, it tends to spread, and it may become a tremendous nuclear war in which the world would be practically destroyed. There can be no victory or defeat in a nuclear war. It brings common destruction for all.” (Speech on the occasion of his first visit to Goa, after it joined the rest of India. Jawaharlal Nehru’s Speeches, Vol. V). One can easily draw a tangent from the hoary past to the present.
A serious study of the missiles, without that wry, unbelieving smile may take us to some unknown historical fact. May be some of the
astras were nothing more than mere ideas. But then, every weapon was an idea in the beginning. The laser beam was nothing more than an idea in the ‘War of the Worlds’ of H G Wells, after all!
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