Vaijayanti Shakti

In the Mahabharata, the later of the two
great Hindu epics, this is the name of an
all-conquering weapon that the stormgod Indra gives to the warrior Karna.
Karna has been born wearing earrings
and a suit of armor, and Karna’s father,
the sun-god Surya, has ordained that as
long as Karna wears these, he cannot be
harmed. Indra gains them from Karna
by taking the guise of a brahmin, and
begging for them as alms from Karna,
who is famous for his generosity.
Despite being warned in a dream,
Karna cannot bring himself to refuse
and gives them to Indra. When Indra
gives him a boon in return, Karna asks
for the Vaijayanti Shakti. Karna keeps
this weapon in reserve to kill his nemesis, Arjuna, but is forced to use it
against another mighty warrior,
Ghatotkacha, when the latter proves
unconquerable during the Mahabharata
war. The loss of this weapon leaves
Karna at a disadvantage against Arjuna,
and Karna is eventually killed.