The Story of the Bow

[Guest guest]

dear bhagavatas,

 

Shri M.G. Vasudevan's postings on the Bow are indeed informative and

enjoyable. Here is some additional information on the Bow.

 

 

The Aruna Prasnam of the Taitiriya Aranyakam has an interesting tale

to narrate about Shiva’s bow. Once Devas were readying

themselves for battle with asuras. Rudra, with his magnificent bow

firmly planted in the ground, declared that none could equal him in

valour—neither deities, nor mortals, nor Agni, Indra nor Varuna

(“naiva dEvO na martya:, na rAjA VaruNO vibhu:, nAgni: na Indro

na PavamAna:, Madruk kacchana vidyatE”). The Shruti describes

the colossal nature of this bow, by pointing out that while its upper

end was far above in the skies, the lower one stood firmly rooted in

the ground (“divi asya EkA dhanu: Artni:, PrithivyAm aparA

shrtiA”). The gargantuan size of the bow, Rudra’s mood

and demeanour—all these were indeed terrifying to the entire

world, which watched the scene with great trepidation. To defuse the

situation, Indra came out with a strategy. He assumed the form of

termites and ate into the taut string connecting the two ends of the

bow—“tasya Indro vamri roopeNa, dhanu: jyAm acchinat

svayam”, thereby reducing the damage potential of the bow. When

Rudra drew back the string to equip the bow with a destructive arrow,

the predictable happened—the weakened string broke and, instead

of causing any damage, the bow, due to the force of the pull and its

own size, fell far into the sky—“tat Indra dhanu:

ityajyam, abhra varNEshu chakshaktE”. In a case of a

protagonist of violence becoming its victim, the broken bow, due the

force of its passage and release, struck Rudra’s head with

great power and shattered it into a thousand

pieces—“RudrasyatvEva dhanu: Artni:, shira

utpipEsha”. It is perhaps due to this event that the Rainbow,

which is formed in the sky, is known till date as the “Indra

Dhanus” or Indra’s Bow, commemorating his contribution in

saving the world from destruction. It is noteworthy that the Rainbow

resembles a bow, but without the drawstring. Sri Nampillai records

this tale in His Eedu, while commenting on the pasuram “Surar

arivaru nilai”—“tAn poottina nANi tan kazhuttai

arutthukkoNdu pOgAdu ozhiyum pOdum Isvaran antaryAmAvAi nirkka

vENum”.