Epic / Puranic traditions
Brahmashirastraब्रह्मशिरास्त्र
Invoked divine weapon
A formidable Brahma weapon associated with the final confrontation of Arjuna and Ashwatthama.
STORY & TRADITION
The world of Brahmashirastra.
A formidable Brahma weapon associated with the final confrontation of Arjuna and Ashwatthama.
Astras
Details & context.
- Tradition dependence
- High; distinguish individual epic accounts.
- Astra class
- Invoked celestial weapon
- Associated deity
- Brahma
- Origin & transmission
- Not established in the cited passage; no additional claim is made here.
- Known wielders
- Arjuna; Ashwatthama in the Sauptika narrative.
- Invocation & withdrawal
- Epic accounts describe instruction, invocation and withdrawal. This entry does not supply a reconstructed mantra.
- Effects & destructive capability
- A formidable Brahma weapon associated with the final confrontation of Arjuna and Ashwatthama.
- Special properties
- Not established in the cited passage; no additional claim is made here.
- Restrictions
- Withdrawal and control are central to the narrative; destructive use is condemned.
- Counters & defenses
- Not established in the cited passage; no additional claim is made here.
- Recorded uses & battles
- Ashwatthama’s final Astra confrontation.
- Affected characters
- Not established in the cited passage; no additional claim is made here.
- Editorial power tier
- Supreme Astra — editorial grouping
- Editorial rarity
- Archive classification
- Tradition notes
- Names and accounts can vary by recension, region and commentary. This entry distinguishes attested details from identifications still requiring a passage-level source.
FOLLOW THE THREADS
Connected worlds.
6 connected profiles. Every path leads to an original record.
Characters & Cosmic Entities3
The final confrontation with Ashwatthama concerns withdrawal and control.
Mahabharata — Ganguli translationSauptika Parva: the confrontation following the night attack.
Mahabharata — Ganguli translationThe Sacred Library2
READ THE SOURCES
Texts & references.
Mahabharata — Ganguli translation
Complete epic, translated by K. M. Ganguli.
Mahabharata · Translations and numbering vary by edition. Separate the primary text from its commentary.Reference overview. Consult the identified text and passage; unestablished fields are explicitly marked.
Valmiki Ramayana — Vishvamitra’s weapons
Bala Kanda 1.27; compare 1.28 for withdrawal.
Ramayana · Translations and numbering vary by edition. Separate the primary text from its commentary.Reference overview. Consult the identified text and passage; unestablished fields are explicitly marked.