While there are countless weapons mentioned in Hindu mythology and the Mahabharata, two (better said three) specific weapons caught my attention mostly because of their ancient descriptions, and what they seem to resemble to, in modern times.

Belonging to the group of the so-called Brahma weapons are the Brahmastra, and its variants the Brahmashirsha Astra and the Brahmanda Astra. All of these weapons are mention in ancient Sanskrit writings, and all of them were considered supernatural weapons.

One of them—the Brahmashirsha astra—perhaps the second most powerful of them all, was described as a weapon that could destroy the world. In Mahabharata, it is explained that when the Brahmashirsha astra is invoked, “It blazes up with terrible flames within a huge sphere of fire. Numerous peals of thunder were heard, thousands of meteors fell and all living creatures became terrified with great dread. The entire sky seemed to be filled with noise and assumed a terrible aspect with flames of fire. The whole earth with her mountains and waters and trees trembled.” When it strikes an area it will cause complete destruction and nothing will ever grow, not even a blade of grass for the next 12 years. It will not rain for 12 years in that area and everything including metal and earth becomes poisoned.

The Brahmastra, in turn, was a weapon that according to ancient Sanskrit writing, was capable of destroying the entire universe.

Depending on which ancient writing you look at, the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Puranas, the three weapons are commonly called Brahmastra.

In the Purana, for example, the Bramhastra is considered one of the most powerful supernatural weapons to have ever existed.

Descriptions of the Brahmastra suggest that this mighty weapon never missed its mark, and had to be used with a very specific intent against an army, as its target would be completely destroyed.

Furthermore, Sanskrit writings suggest that the Brahmastra is invoked by a key phrase or invocation, that is given to its user when the weapon is given to him. This is something I find very interesting as it sort of reminds me of Nuclear weapons and nuclear lunch codes belonging to countries. You can’t have one without the other.

The target, when hit by a Brahmastra, would be completely annihilated.

The Brahmashirsha Astra—Brahma’s head missile—was often described as the fifth head of Brahma. This is a weapon that is said to manifests with the fifth head of Brahma at its tip.

According to the Mahabharata, Arjuna and Ashwatthama used the Astra against each other at the end of the Kurukshetra war.

We find the description of the weapons power in the book Ānanda Bhāratī: Dr. K. Krishnamoorthy Felicitation Volume, where we read that the Brahmastra is considered a fiery weapon, that once used, created a massive fireball that threatened the entire world with destruction.

Furthermore, after the weapon was used, the Earth would see decreased rainfall and the soil would develop cracks, like what happens with a drought.

In numerous epics and Vedas, the Brahamastra is considered a weapon of last resort, that must be avoided at all costs in combat.

The best description of the power of this weapon can be found in the Mahabharata where the Brahmastra is defined as a weapon which is said to be a single projective, that contains the power of the universe. It was a mighty weapon. A Powerful Weapon. A weapon of last resort. A weapon that could bring complete annihilation to the world.

“It blazes up with terrible flames within a huge sphere of fire. Numerous peals of thunder were heard, thousands of meteors fell and all living creatures became terrified with great dread. The entire sky seemed to be filled with noise and assumed a terrible aspect with flames of fire. The whole earth with her mountains and waters and trees trembled.”

The Brahmastra was used to destroy inferior divine weapons or counter them. It was described as being as heavy as a mountain but could travel as fast as the wind nevertheless. The Brahmastra was painful as poison and as energetic as fire.

In ancient Hinduism, Shiva is known as one of the gods of the Trimurti (‘three-forms’, the Hindu Trinity), where he represents the god that destroys the universe, along with Brahmá (the god who creates the universe) and Vishnu (the god that preserves the universe). Thus, he is referred to as Shiva the “destroyer of evil and the transformer”

Within the so-called Shivaism, Shiva is considered the supreme god. A powerful deity unlike any other.

Ancient Hinduism explains that Shiva is described as an omniscient yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, and is represented with his wife Parvati, and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeia.

Shiva has many benevolent ways as well as others to fear. He is often depicted as immersed in deep meditation. However, in his most fierce aspects, Shiva is often depicted slaying demons. He is also known as Adiyogi Shiva and is regarded as the patron god of yoga, meditation, and arts.

In Shaivism tradition, Shiva is the Supreme being who creates, protects and transforms the universe. (Source)

He is usually worshiped in the aniconic form of Lingam—an abstract representation of the Hindu deity.

However, among the most devout Hindus, this powerful God is considered a real God, that walked among humans in the distant past.

Often considered as a force for incredible good, he is also feared as a force for incredible destruction.

Interestingly, he is said to possess a trident which could annihilate anything in its path. Sounds familiar?

Shiva was also called Mahadeva, which means the Great God, God of Gods. And this God of Gods had a dual function in Hindu life. Destruction and Creation. There is no creation without destruction.

If we look back at ancient history, we will see that Shiva, like many other powerful gods, were thought to have originated from the stars. They were revered as visitors fro the stars. In other words, they were seen as extraterrestrials, since they did not originate on Earth.

To understand more about this powerful deity, we look deep into India, a country covering over 1.2 million square miles, considered the seventh-largest country on the planet, home to around 1.3 billion people, and therefore the second most populated on the surface of the planet.

India is also home to our planets oldest surviving religion which originated as far as 2000 BC.

The interesting part is that, for many people in India, their gods are not mythological in nature, but are real beings that have, at times, been present on the surface of the planet.

Its a powerful and rich history. Hinduism has many gods and goddesses which adorn their plentiful culture with stories, myths, legends and various different principles that they represent. Therefore, it is natural to have a population who firmly believes their gods were real. And despite the fact that they may have existed physically, they may not have always been visible, or present.

Vedas—a powerful history conveying an even greater message

Ancient Hindu Vedas and epics are their most powerful aspect. Through them, important messages were conveyed. In them we see that the Gods of Hinduism were not from Earth. Like the gods of many other cultures, their Gods came down from the sky.

The Vedas are historical records. Referred to as Itihasa–meaning history in Sanskrit–these ancient writings were not just ordinary religious stories.

And there is one important characteristic that marks the Hindu Gods stand out from other gods.

While other religions have their God depicted as an all-powerful being, the Vedic texts describe Hindu gods that often rely on the use of ‘tools’. These tools have been interpreted by ancient astronaut theorists as technologies. Technologies fro the Gods.

Having that said, an important question is raised: Is there a slight possibility—as some ancient astronaut theorists propose–that the Gods described in ancient Hindu texts were not only divine beings, but also extraterrestrial beings?

One of the most important Hindu stories is the Mahābhārata—one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Rāmāyaṇa.

Many authors believe that the Hindu story of the Mahābhārata is filled with descriptions of what many people would today interpret as advanced technologies.

The Mahābhārata mentions flying vehicles—the Vimana. It also mentions what seem to be weapons, missiles, and even nuclear bombs.

Curiously, depictions of Shiva embody this idea of destruction and creation.

Shiva is often depicted holding a drum called a Damaru.

Damaru was a tool Shiva used to create the universe. Depictions of Shiva show him having a cobra posed to strike, around his neck. In one hand he is illustrated holding a trident-like weapon called the ‘Trishula’ and at the center of it we see something unusual: the third eye. Shiva is the only god that has a depicted with third eye. It is said that if this third eye were to open, it would produce a powerful light that would destroy everything.

Now that strange because usually, when we talk about the third eye we speak of enlightenment, meditation and peace. And here we have Shiva, one of the most prominent ancient Hindu Gods with a third eye that had the ability to destroy anything.

So, we have to ask, are the third eye of Shiva—the weapon—and the peaceful concept of the third eye the same?

If not, what was it? And what or who exactly was Shiva?

The Creation

Some of the earliest Vedic texts are believed to have been written around 4,000 years ago. However, the Hindus claim that these stories can be traced back hundreds and perhaps even thousands of years earlier, existing as part of an oral tradition that like many other things, had been passed down from one generation to generation.

Ancient astronaut theorists tell us that Shiva most likely arrived at Earth at a time before modern humans walked the planet, but most importantly, before the event known, in Biblical tradition as the Great Flood.

Now the great flood is a very important clue. If you take a close look at history, you’ll find that nearly every culture around the globe has some sort of ancient writings or oral traditions, where they speak and detail a massive destruction that occurred on Earth: The Great Flood.

This catastrophic event is said to have wiped out much of the life on Earth in one single day.

Now, ancient astronaut theorists point towards Shiva the god of destruction. And in the Hindu tradition, you have to have destruction in order to have creation.

Even more interesting is the fact that Tibetan lamas tell that, after the great Flood, when the whole Earth was destroyed by extreme rising waters when the waters eventually receded, mankind was created by the seed that was guarded by Lord Shiva.

All of these descriptions are interesting.

Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, observed the first atomic explosion at the Trinity test site. There, he cited a line from the Bhagavad Gita—a 700 verse Hindu scripture in Sanskrit that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata.

“I have become death, destroyer of worlds.” That’s the title that belongs to Shiva. Shiva the Destroyer.

And looking from a different point of view, we ask whether it is possible Shiva was not just a deity, but an extraterrestrial visitor that was responsible for not only the creation of mankind but the destruction of an earlier race of beings that inhabited Earth?

And if so, did Shiva destroy, in order to create? To make way for modern humans?