THE LIVING ARCHIVE
About Vasavi Shakti
Vasavi connects the weapon with Vasava, another name of Indra, the ruler of the gods. Shakti here means a dart or spear-like missile. It names a particular weapon with stated conditions, rather than the Goddess's divine power or every spear used in the epic.
Karna fights for the Kauravas, the cousins opposed to the five Pandava brothers. Arjuna is the Pandava archer he most wants to defeat. Indra warns Karna that Krishna protects Arjuna, so even possession of the dart does not settle the outcome of their rivalry.
More About Vasavi Shakti
Indra gives Karna a single-use dart in exchange for his natural armour and earrings. Karna uses it against Ghatotkacha.
AT A GLANCE
Identity & Context
- Identity
- Weapon
- Form
- Divine spear / dart
- Tradition
- Epic / Puranic traditions
THE STORY
Origins & Stories
ROLE & ESSENCE
Attributes & Significance
The dart changes the war because Karna cannot use it twice. Its immediate value to his army conflicts with his plan to defeat Arjuna later. Krishna's explanation connects the exchange of armour and earrings with this later decision: Karna has now lost both his extraordinary protection and the weapon received in return.
Weapon Type
Divine spear / dart
Original Owner
Powers & Combat Abilities
Indra gives Karna a single-use dart in exchange for his natural armour and earrings. Karna uses it against Ghatotkacha.
Limitations
In Karna’s hand it kills one powerful opponent and returns to Indra. The exchange also carries conditions of use.
Famous Uses
Karna kills Ghatotkacha in the night battle at Kurukshetra.
Victims / Opponents
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.
Archive Classification Notes
Original archive annotations are retained here. The current playable classification is shown in the side panel.
- Tradition Dependence
- High — compare the identified textual or regional account.
- Creator
- Not established in the passage; no additional claim is made here.
- Materials / Divine Origin
- Not established in the passage; no additional claim is made here.
- Editorial Power Tier
- Unassigned — weapons are not placed in the 700-being ranking.
- Editorial Rarity
- Divine armament
TRADITION & MEANING
Traditions & Interpretations
The bargain places limits on Karna's new weapon from the beginning. Indra allows one fatal attack and warns that Arjuna has Krishna's protection. Karna accepts these terms because he wants a weapon capable of killing that particular rival.
Ghatotkacha's attack makes waiting dangerous for Karna's allies. His choice wins the current battle at the cost of the advantage he hoped to preserve for a future encounter. The weapon's importance lies in that specific change to the war.
Indra explicitly excludes his thunderbolt, the Vajra, from the exchange. Vasavi Shakti is a different weapon, and its single-use condition belongs to the gift made to Karna.
Names and accounts can vary by recension, region and commentary. This entry distinguishes attested details from identifications still requiring a passage-level source.
From the Sacred Texts
Explore the sacred texts behind these stories in the Suvarnaveda library.
FOLLOW THE THREADS
Connected Cards
8 connected profiles. Every path leads to an original record.
Characters & Cosmic Entities3
Indra grants the dart under stated conditions.
Karna receives and finally uses the weapon.
The dart kills Ghatotkacha during the night battle.
The Sacred Library1
Artifacts, Divine Treasures & Relics2
Indra gives the Vasavi dart in exchange.
