Gandiva

In the Mahabharata, the later of the
two great Hindu epics, Gandiva is the
name of the bow carried by Arjuna.
Arjuna is the world’s greatest archer
and the third of the five Pandava brothers, the Mahabharata’s protagonists.
Gandiva was originally fashioned by
the god Brahma and is given to Arjuna
by the god Varuna (identified with the
ocean) at the request of another deity,
Agni (“fire”). Agni makes this request
because he wants to “eat” (burn) the
Khandava forest, but is afraid of interference in the form of rain from the god
Indra, ruler of the storm. Arjuna uses
the bow to create a canopy of arrows
that shields the forest from Indra’s
storms, thus allowing Agni to consume
the forest in peace. Arjuna uses this
bow for many years. At the end of his
life he returns it to Varuna by throwing
it into the sea.