The Celestial Weapons

Hanuman holds the mountain and a gada.

Terracotta sculpture (n.d.).

Once upon a time, the great warrior-prince Rama defeated an enormous horde of rakshasas, led by Subahu and Maricha. The battle was fierce, but with the help of celestial weapons called down by the sage Vishwamitra, Rama vanquished the demons. Rama soon faced another problem, one that was more suitable to a king: jealousy and intrigue.

Once they had returned to their celestial sphere, the weapons rejoiced at the victory over the rakshasas. They hadn’t seen a battle in a thousand years. They were glad to finally defeat evil beings and to serve a great warrior. That is, most of them rejoiced. Several of them felt as though Rama hadn’t given them enough credit for their valor. The most vocal among these was the chakram, a circular blade who could cut through anything. Rama had used him during most of the battle and this weapon was jealous when he saw the other weapons praising Rama only. He took some of his closest friends to a private spot and told them his concerns. He spoke to them of how he had risked being captured or shattered by the rakshasas.

"Every time Rama threw me at those demons,” the chakram explained, “I was risking my own death and destruction.”

The other weapons were wary at first but, after a persuasive speech, they began to agree with the chakram’s point: that Rama hadn’t given them as much credit as they deserved for helping to defeat the rakshasas.

The chakram called together a meeting of all of the weapons. They were confused as to why the chakram would call a meeting. He was generally standoffish and rarely spoke to any who wasn’t his friend. Even then, he spoke without manners and was wont to use uncouth words.

The chakram rattled himself against his best friend the gada, a mace of immense weight, and so called the meeting to order.

"I have some serious concerns about how Rama is treating us. To put it bluntly, I'm not sure he's giving us the proper credit for our bravery. We were actually the ones who killed the rakshasas. Rama only aimed us. He only pointed us in the direction of the rakshasas."

The bichuwa, a dagger so sharp it could cut mountains in half, grumbled at this. He replied, "But Rama is a brave and clever warrior. Surely we must give him most of the credit. We are, as we promised him, but tools to defeat evil. Are you not happy, O chakram, about our destroying evil, or would you rather have rakshasas overrunning every place on earth?”

This infuriated the chakram, who replied, "I never said that I wanted the rakshasas to overrun the world. You’re putting words in my mouth. Of course I'm happy that there are fewer rakshasas.” The chakram spent a minute or so regaining his composure. Resuming his speech, he said, "What we are discussing is whether Rama deserves all this praise. Metaphorically speaking, I believe that he is simply the ship at sea, while we are the wind that pushes him. Without us, Rama wouldn’t go anywhere."

From the crowd, the pasha, a lasso as strong as diamond and as flexible as a snake, shouted, "But where would the wind be without the ship? It wouldn’t have anyone to help. All it would do is stir up the ocean. How useless the wind would be!"

The gada, who stood beside the chakram, said, "It would help birds fly!" The gada struggled to make itself heard above an audience which was growing increasingly restless.

After some time, the chakram managed to gain control of the meeting. "Let's get back on track. When has Rama ever thanked us for saving his life? When has he ever acknowledged how vital we are to his mission?"

The pasha said, "Why should he thank us? If anything, it is us who should be thanking him! Without Rama, we would never achieve glory in battle. Without Rama, we could never help create history!"

The chakram, infuriated, said, “Let’s go ask Rama what he thinks. If you think he’s so great, he should be able to provide the correct answer to this problem.”

“Fine. Let’s go.”

All of the weapons rushed down to earth. Rama had only just woken up and was confused to see all of the weapons gathered around him. I must have summoned them in my sleep, he thought.

“Glorious Rama,” said the bichuwa, “we have come to ask you an important question about yesterday’s battle: Who deserves the glory of having defeated so many rakshasas?”

Rama replied succinctly. “Everyone.”

“Everyone?” asked the chakram.

Rama responded, facing each weapon in turn, “I could not have won without you, my strong celestial weapons. We all played a vital role in defeating that horde of rakshasas. We each have our place; we do not have a choice in our position. Dharma is not to be changed by man or weapon. We must accept it as it is. Be happy that you and I have been granted such esteemed roles.”

The weapons were all impressed by Rama. He wasn’t yet king, but he was already wise. Having realized the importance of their positions and having learned of Rama’s gratitude, the weapons returned to their celestial sphere. They rejoiced in their victory over the rakshasas and in their high positions.

Author's Note

In this story, I sought to provide the perspective of some characters who didn’t consider Rama in a perfectly positive light. The likelihood that every good person would exalt Rama is unlikely. There are probably a few moral people (in other words, people who aren’t rakshasas) who have some reasonable issues with him. By using celestial weapons as those characters who weren’t entirely enthusiastic about Rama, I was able to show how beings of all ranks and positions could have conflicting opinions.

In addition, I wanted to present a story that wouldn’t receive any attention otherwise. While Rama is certainly the main character of the Ramayana, he isn’t the only one with a complex life. Those he happens to meet or work with for a short time have lives of their own (sometimes thousands of years long).

In the most recent revision, I elaborated somewhat on the exact issues that the chakram has with Rama. The chakram is doing more than whining. He actually went through dangerous circumstances in order to help defeat the rakshasas. I also added a part about how those who opposed chakram’s view talked among themselves and came to reconcile their own opinions with his. In this way, the weapons have a more complex debate. They reason their way towards a compromise between the weapons’ varying views.

Bibliography

Various authors. Ramayana (public domain).

Wikipedia. “Bichuwa.”

Wikipedia. “Chakram.”

Wikipedia. “Dharma.”

Wikipedia. “Gada.”

Wikipedia. “Pasha.”