The Vijaya dhanush was given to Karna by Parashurama. What had happened to the bow after Karna's death?
Say No To Censorship
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asked Jun 29, 2016 at 5:58
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You mean where is the bow now or who took it immediately after the Mahabharatha war?– Say No To CensorshipCommented Jun 30, 2016 at 15:30
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@sv:Yes, I want to know what had happened to the bow after Karna's death.– Indu Bhusan NathCommented Jul 1, 2016 at 4:58
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1 Answer
The Vijaya bow was created by Vishvakarman, the royal architect of gods or deva's as per the order of Lord Shiva for the purpose of killing demons called Tripurasuras. Lord Shiva defeated demons by using arrows fired from Vijaya Page on bow.as the Sanskrit name Vijaya means Victory, this bow is said to give sure victory to the possessor. Later Lord Shiva gifted this bow to Lord Indra, the ruler of heaven.Lord Indra gifted this bow to Parasurama and later Parasuram gave Vijaya to his student Karna,who already had terriffic skill, making him virtually invincible. Lord Krishna devised a plan to kill karna, and asked Arjun to kill Karna when he was weaponless trying to lift his sunken chariot wheel, even though it was highly prohibited or against the rules of engagements in war, to kill an unarmed warrior.
Due to a misunderstanding, Lord Parasharam cursed Karna to forget the mantra to invoke Brahmastra at the time of his greatest need. But repenting about the curse and Karna being a diligent and worthy student Lord Parasuram blessed Karna. Lord Parasuram gifted him a unique and of the most powerful of celestial weapons, which nobody else possessed called Bhargavastra and his personal bow called Vijaya. The Bhargavastra along with Vijaya and Kavach-Kundal makes Karna one of the most fearsome and powerful warrior in the universe.
And here comes the most interesting part:
Karna only used Vijaya bow once in lifetime during the Kurukshetra war as per the instruction given by his guru, Lord Parshuram.
With this bow Karna overpowered equally skilled Arjuna. Learning that Karna with Vijaya bow is invincible Lord Krishna advised Arjun to kill Karna when he put down Vijaya bow to lift his sunken chariot wheel.
Anticipating a likely battle to the death between Karna and Arjuna, Krishna warned Arjuna calling Karna to be the foremost of the heroes. “ Hear in brief, O son of Pandu! I regard the mighty car-warrior Karna as thy equal, or perhaps, thy superior! . In energy he is equal to Agni. As regards speed, he is equal to the impetuosity of the wind. In wrath, he resembles the Destroyer himself. Endued with might, he resembles a lion in the formation of his body. He is eight ratnis in stature. His arms are large. His chest is broad. He is invincible. He is sensitive. He is a hero. He is, again, the foremost of heroes. He is exceedingly handsome. Possessed of every accomplishment of a warrior, he is a dispeller of the fears of friends. No one, not even the gods with Vasava at their head, can slay the son of Radha, save thee, as I think. No one possessed of flesh and blood, not even the gods fighting with great care, not all the warriors (of the three worlds) fighting together can vanquish that car-warrior. ”
After the death of Karna, Vijaya bow went back to its original owner, Lord Parasuram.
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3Well, to be frank, only the last sentence in the answer addresses the question. Rest of the answer is not necessary. But what is the source of the claim that Vijaya bow went back to the original owner Parashurama? To be more precise, even Parashu Rama is not the original owner of the bow. He received it from Indra. So, it went to Indra or Parashu Rama? Commented Aug 24, 2017 at 8:26
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@Sinister yes I know but still I like to hear and tell the story again and again.., so I just wrote it.:) you're right but from that view point, even Indra was not the actual owner of the bow, so it should go to Lord Shiva. But as it was given to Karna by lord Parshuram, so it returned back to him only. Commented Aug 24, 2017 at 9:20
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1The wikipedia article is wrong. The Mahabharata says that the bow is originally made by Vishwakarman for Indra. He slain many rakshasas with it. See Chapter 31 of Karna Parva. Shiva didn't use this bow to destroy Tripuras. The seasons became the bow to destroy the Tripuras. That's why we can't trust Wikipedia always. Anyways, what is the source of the claim that it went to Parshurama? Commented Aug 24, 2017 at 9:37
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"Due to a misunderstanding, Lord Parasharam cursed Karna.. But repenting about the curse" . Karna was cursed because he lied that he was a brahmana to learn from Parashurama who had taken vow not to teach Kshatriyas.. not due to a 'misunderstanding'. Where does it say Parashurama repented the curse ?– ramCommented Aug 25, 2017 at 1:00
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2You should cite sources for the notion that the bow went back to Parashurama. Commented Aug 25, 2017 at 7:18