Microscopic traces of Mahabharata weaponry in ‘Operation Sindoor’

Mahabharata weaponry resurfaces

On 22 April, Pakistan-based terrorist group “The Resistance Front” (TRF), an offshoot of the Pakistan-backed notorious terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba, perpetrated a devastating attack in Pahalgam, in Kashmir, India. In this attack, 26 innocent male tourists were killed in cold blood after segregating them based on their religion. Post the attack, TRF claimed responsibility for the attack not once but twice within a few hours.

Duryodhan in the Mahabharata, makes a trenchant observation “Once war has been undertaken, no peace is made by pretending there is no war.” – Mahabharata (Udyoga Parva). Slightly twisting the above observation to read “Once terror strikes have been undertaken, no peace is made by pretending that there are no terror strikes”, would be highly relevant, in the present circumstances.

The first retaliation by India started with the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, a pact between India and Pakistan, which was declared by the Indian government on April 23, 2025. The Indus Waters Treaty, signed in 1960 and brokered by the World Bank, is one of the world’s most durable international water-sharing frameworks. It governs the use of six rivers in the Indus Basin. For Pakistan, the Indus system is critical as it contributes nearly 25% of Pakistan’s GDP and supports crops like wheat, rice, sugarcane, and cotton. Pakistan is already one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, and per capita availability is declining rapidly. If India cuts off or significantly reduces flows from the Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab, the impact can be substantial. India unleashing this Varuna astra is reminiscent of its usage in the Mahabharata war.

Scholars opine that the Mahabharata war took place around 3102 BCE, and as such, more than 5100 years have passed since then. The Mahabharata war happened when a solar and lunar eclipse happened within a 13-day gap (surya chandrau ubhau grasthau ekamaseem trayodasheem). The Mahabharata is regarded as an ITIHASA of Bharat. Ithihasa means ‘thus-verily-happened’. They are not ‘mythology’ as alleged by the proselytizing Semitic tribal faiths.

The epicentre of the Mahabharata war was the city of Kurukshetra, located in present-day Haryana. The Varunaastra has a presiding deity, which is Varuna, the God of Water. When used, the weapon discharged torrential volumes of water, inundating the enemy. This weapon is commonly used to neutralize the massive fire energy released when the Agneyaastra is deployed.

Both the Varuna astra and the Agneyaastra were used in the Mahabharata war. The Varuna astra was used by Arjuna on the 15th day of the Mahabharata battle. When Ashvatthama, the son of Dronacharya, used the Narayanastra, a devastating and unique fire weapon. This weapon enabled firing of multiple high-intensity missiles simultaneously, the intensity of which increases with the resistance of the target! The Narayanastra is considered one of the six “Mantramukta” weapons that cannot be resisted.

Mahabharata mentions that only 4 warriors had access to this Astra, they are: Lord Krishna, Arjuna, Drona and Ashvatthama. In order to save Bheema, Arjuna uses the Varunastra, which releases a massive flood of water. Similarly, Bhishma Pitamah defeated Salva using Varunastra. Karna used Varunastra to counter Arjuna’s Agneyastra.

The first tangible impact of India putting the Indus Waters Treaty, 1960 in abeyance after the Pahalgam terror attack was seen over the weekend when excess water released by India suddenly increased the level of the Jhelum river in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK), prompting the Pakistani authorities to issue flood warnings.

The areas that were impacted included Muzaffarabad and the Hattian Bala districts in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The river Jhelum traverses from Uri in India and enters PoK through the Chakothi village in Hattian Bala district. Farmers in Pakistan’s Sialkot, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, Sargodha, Gujranwala, and Jhang, through which the Chenab river flows, experienced low water levels. By manipulating the water flow, India can cause flash floods or stop water to Pakistan. India has also announced that it will not share any data about flash floods or dam projects with Pakistan. What else is this but Varunastra?

As part of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force conducted precision night raids on nine terror hideouts across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The strikes targeted key infrastructure belonging to banned terror outfits, including Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Hizbul Mujahideen. Among the precise targets hit were the Markaz Subhan Allah at Bahawalpur, Sarjal at Tehra Kalan, Markaz Abbas in Kotli, and Syedna Bilal camp in Muzaffarabad, all linked to the banned Jaish-e-Mohammed.

Other targets included the Markaz Taiba at Murdike, Markaz Ahle Hadith at Barnala, and Shwawai Nalla camp at Muzaffarabad, all associated with the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Additionally, Makaz Raheel Shahid in Kotli and Mehmoona Joya in Sialkot, belonging to Hizbul Mujahideen, were also hit.

On May 10th, the Indian Air Force (IAF) used BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles to devastating effect during retaliatory strikes on Pakistani airbases in Round 2 of Operation Sindoor. BrahMos is a long-range supersonic cruise missile jointly developed by India and Russia. Known for its speed and accuracy, the missile operates on the ‘Fire and Forget’ principle. It can reach speeds close to Mach 3 and strike targets up to 290 km away with high precision.

The BrahMos missile reminds Indians about the powerful Agneyastra that was used 6 times in Ramayana battle and 12 times in the Mahabharata war. The Agneyastra when used releases immense fire and heat, causing massive destruction. The counter missile (astra) for this is the Varuna astra invoking the power of cosmic water, which will cause the fire to subside.

During the course of Operation Sindoor, the Indian Air Force (IAF) conducted precision airstrikes targeting nine Pakistani airbases. Among them were Sargodha and Nur Khan—two critical sites in close proximity to nuclear-related infrastructure. Nur Khan airbase, situated in Rawalpindi, is adjacent to Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which manages its nuclear arsenal. Sargodha lies about 20 kilometres from Kirana Hills and houses Mushaf Airbase, a major operational centre for Pakistani F-16 and JF-17 fighters. Kirana Hills, nestled within the military-heavy Sargodha region, has long been shrouded in secrecy and is believed to contain underground nuclear facilities. The BrahMos missiles proved their amazing prowess and destructive potential in the strikes.

The distance from Kurukshetra, Haryana, to Sargodha airbase is approximately 677 kilometres (420 miles), and 539 km is the distance from PAF Base Nur Khan to Kurukshetra. This entire region would have been involved in the Mahabharata war that took place in 3102 BC. The region that once saw and experienced the devastating power of the Agneyastra and Varunastra is once again experiencing, albeit in a very minor way, the awesome destructive power of fire and water.

The weapons used in the Mahabharata are classified into 5 categories on the basis of their destructive power.

• Single enemy destruction
• Large area destruction
• Planet-level destruction
• Galactic-level destruction
• Universe-level destruction

In the Universe-level destruction weapons category, only the Trident of Lord Shiva and Sudarshan Chakra of Lord Vishnu falls.

In the Galactic-level destruction weapons, only Brahmanda, Pasupatastra, and Narayanastra fall.

Under the Planet-level, destruction weapons are the Brahmashirsha-astra, Vashinavastra.

Under Large area destruction are weapons like Varunastra, Sammohanastra, Prajnaastra, Bhargavastra, Agneyastra, Aindrastra, and the most powerful Brahmastra.

Under the category of single enemy destruction category, comes the Vasavi Shakti. It can be used only once, and upon usage, it destroys the opponent.

In addition to the above, there are a range of weapons, that were used in the Mahabharata war.

In just 18 days, nearly 1660 million warriors and entire populations were decimated in the Mahabharata war, the deadliest single conflict in human history. Going by the description of the weaponry used in the Mahabharata war, one can easily conclude that the present-day state of destructive weaponry, including those of the superpowers, is in its infancy!

Many scientists believe that the earth was once populated by super civilizations that had developed their own technologies of mass destruction, and got annihilated by misusing them. Nobel Laureate Frederick Soddy, opines “I believe that there have been civilizations in the past that were familiar with atomic energy, and that by misusing it they were totally destroyed.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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