The Celestial Weapons

Hanuman holds the mountain and a gada.

Terra cotta sculpture (n.d.). Source.

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 defeat the demons. However, despite this victory in battle, he had another problem, one that was more suitable to a king: the jealousies and intrigues of his subjects.

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

“Every time Rama threw me at the rakshasas,” he 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 and so called the meeting to order.

"I’m sure you’re wondering why I, the chakram, would bring together a meeting. I assure you that it is a most important topic. I'm not sure Rama is 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."

To this, the bichuwa, who held the chakram in low esteem, 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.”

"What we are discussing,” the chakram said, “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."

"Yes," shouted the pasha from the crowd, "but where would the wind be without the ship? It wouldn’t have anyone to help. All it would do is brush against trees and bushes. How useless the wind would be!"

The gada, who stood beside the chakram, said, "It would scatter the seeds of plants and help to grow forests!" 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 gada whispered to the chakram, "He's right, chakram. Without Rama, we couldn't even consider ourselves true warriors. We would have just sat here as we’ve done for a thousand years.”

The chakram reluctantly agreed. He knew that, if it weren't for Rama, nothing would have happened.

The chakram turned to the crowd and said grudgingly, "What my friend the gada says is true: We need Rama in order to gain glory."

While the chakram and the gada discussed this, the weapons opposing them held their own conversation. They began to see the reason behind his argument.

Turning around from this group, the gada said, “And Rama needs us. Neither we nor Rama can work alone. We are both great, but a warrior without a weapon is like a man without a house: open and exposed to the elements. A weapon without a warrior is like a house without any inhabitants: useless.”

The weapons decided to send an envoy, the gada, to Earth. There, it spoke to Rama.

"Blessed Rama, we wish to thank you for helping us achieve glory in both worlds. You are a courageous fighter and we are proud of having helped you to slay so many rakshasas."

Rama, courteous and honest as ever, replied, "I could not have won without you, my strong celestial weapons. We have all played a vital role in defeating the 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, the weapons, and I have been granted such esteemed roles.”

The envoy returned to his fellow celestial weapons and told them what Rama had said. The weapons rejoiced in the knowledge that, not only had they played an essential role in the battle, but that Rama, prince and future king, had praised them so highly. They recognized the role of dharma in their lives and were glad to be placed so high. They eagerly awaited their next battle.

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. 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 richer experience. Their change of opinion is more than spontaneous.

Bibliography

Various authors. Ramayana (public domain).

Wikipedia. “Bichuwa.”

Wikipedia. “Chakram.”

Wikipedia. “Gada.”

Wikipedia. “Pasha.”