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[[File:Ashwatthama uses Narayanastra.jpg|thumb|Ashwathama uses Narayanastra]]<br />
The '''Narayanastra''' ({{Lang-sa|नारायणास्त्र|translit={{IAST|nārāyaṇastra}}}}) (or Narainastra) was the personal weapon of Lord [[Vishnu]] in his [[Narayana]] form. This [[Astra (weapon)|astra]] ("weapon" in Sanskrit) fired a volley of millions of deadly missiles simultaneously, the intensity of which rises in proportion to the resistance of the target.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Menon|first=Ramesh|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uA-2_WMhpzoC&q=narayanastra&pg=PA353|title=The Mahabharata: A Modern Rendering|date=2006|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-40188-8|pages=352–6|language=en}}</ref> The only way to defend against the narayanastra was therefore to show total submission before the missiles hit, which would cause them to stop and spare the target. It was one of the six 'Mantramukta' weapons that could not be resisted.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Oppert|first1=Gustav Salomon|url=https://archive.org/details/onweaponsarmyor00oppegoog|title=On the Weapons, Army Organisation, and Political Maxims of the Ancient Hindus: With Special Reference to Gunpowder and Firearms|publisher=Higginbotham|year=1880}}</ref> It was also said that it could be used only once in a war; if one tried to use it twice, it would devour the user's own army.<ref name=":0" /> <br />
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[[Ashwathama]], a warrior in the epic [[Mahabharata]], came into possession of it and used it against the [[Pandava]] forces.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Sarkar|first=Rabindra Nath|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8G03cs7AVhgC&q=Narayanastra|title=An Episodic Interpretation of the Mahabharata|date=1989|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distri|language=en}}</ref> Lord [[Krishna]], an [[avatar]] of Vishnu, told the Pandavas and their warriors to drop their weapons and lie down on the ground if they wished to survive the astra.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}} When it was used, Ekadasha (Eleven) [[Rudras]] appeared in the sky to destroy the Pandavas. Millions of weapons such as Chakras, [[Gada (mace)|Gadhas]], and ultra-sharp arrows appeared and moved to destroy them; all those who resisted were killed. Shri Krishna, who knew how to stop the Narayanastra, advised the Pandavas and their army to immediately drop their weapons and utterly surrender to the great astra of Lord Vishnu.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}<br />
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When targeted, the Pandava hero [[Bhima]] refused to surrender, considering it an act of cowardice, and attacked the downpour of fiery arrows. The Narayana weapon concentrated its shower on him, and he gradually became exhausted. However, he was not killed as Krishna and his brothers eventually restrained him.{{Citation needed|date=May 2020}}<br />
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In [[Ramayana]], only Lord [[Rama]] possessed this weapon.<ref>http://www.valmikiramayan.net/utf8/baala/sarga56/bala_56_frame.htm </ref><br />
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{{HinduMythology}}<br />
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==References==<br />
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[[Category:Weapons in Hindu mythology]]<br />
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