Hindu mythological wars are the wars described in the Hindu texts of ancient India. These wars depicted both mortals of great prowess as well as deities and supernatural beings, often wielding supernatural weapons of great power. Hindu teachings prescribe war as the final option, to be employed only after all peaceful methods are exhausted. Participation in righteous war, or dharmayuddha, was said to be honourable and was a principal duty of the Kshatriya or the warrior varna, and victory in such wars was regarded as a matter of honour.

In Vedic literature

Indra and Vritra

The central battle in the Vedas is between Indra and Vritra, and the defeat of the demon Vritra leads to the liberation of rivers, cattle and Ushas (dawn/light).

The Kshatriya class

War sacrifices

In Puranic literature

The Devasura War

The perennial battle between the devas and asuras is undertaken over the dominion of the three worlds: Svarga, Bhumi, and Patala, (Heaven, Earth, and the underworld). Both races are technically equal, possessors of great religious and martial powers, but the devas are committed to the worship of the Supreme Being and the practice of virtue. The asuras have atheistic and devious tendencies that grow over time. The divide is the greatest in the Kali Yuga, the final age.

Twelve Battles

In the Varaha kalpa, twelve battles between the devas and the asuras are described in the Brahmanda Purana:

War sacrifices conducted

Vyuha: Cohorts of battle

Pralaya: The end of the world

The Ramayana

Atirathis: Maharathis: Atimaharathis:

War sacrifices conducted

The Mahabharata

Levels of warrior excellence according to Bhishma in the Mahabharata

Before war, Bhishma mistreated Karna by calling him Artha-rathi because he despised Karna's antagonistic nature towards the Pandavas.

Atimaharathis in the enitre Mahabharata

According to Bhishma, there are only two atimaharathis in the entire Mahabharata: Both of whom are avatars of Lord Vishnu.

Deities mentioned

War sacrifices conducted

Levels of warrior excellence

Major deities

Vishnu

Vishnu, the preserver deity, is considered to be the Ultimate Reality in the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. He is the spouse of Lakshmi, the goddess of prosperity. In the Puranas, he periodically takes birth as an avatar upon the earth. Vishnu has 10 avatars: Matsya, Kurma, Varaha, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Balarama or Buddha, Krishna, and Kalki. Vishnu is also said to have total of 36 forms other than these ten incarnations, including Mohini, Nara-Narayana, Arjuna, Dattatreya, Dhanvantari, Hayagriva, and several others. In battle, the avatars of Vishnu are aided by a variety of astra, or celestial weapons. The mantra employed to invoke him is Om Namo Narayanaya. His two most popular human avatars, Rama and Krishna, possess many celestial weapons. Krishna also employed a few of these weapons in the Mahabharata. These include:

Shiva

Shiva, the destroyer deity, is the Ultimate Reality in Shaiva tradition. He is the spouse of Parvati, the goddess of power. He is represented by his forms, Mahakala and Bhairava. Shiva is often pictured holding the damaruka, an hourglass-shaped drum, along with his trishula, a trident-staff. The mantra to invoke him is Om Namah Shivaya. Shiva is also considered as the Mahadeva, the great god. He is often worshipped in his phallic representation, the lingam. Assigned with the task of destroying all of the universe at the end of time, Shiva is one of the most fearsome warriors as well as the revered yogis in Hindu tradition. Tandava is the dance of this destroyer deity, which he performs over the body of a demon. Shiva employs his power to kill the Asura Tripura, destroying the flying three cities of Tripura. In battle, Shiva and his amshas (spirits) deploy formidable weapons controlled by him. Some of these are:

Shakti

Shakti is the supreme goddess in Shaktism, the goddess-centric sect of Hinduism. Both a supreme being and an energy that is considered to be the source of all works of creation, preservation and destruction, Adi Parashakti is held by Shaktas to be the source of the Trimurti, the universe and all of creation. She is regarded to have assumed many incarnations to fight with demons, including Parvati, wife of Shiva, Lakshmi, wife of Vishnu, the complete avatar of Shakti herself, according to the Devi Gita and Durga Saptashati, the main scriptures for Shakti worshipers. As the goddess Parvati, she is considered to be the most powerful of all deities. Sometimes, the gods worship Parvati, who came before them in different avatars: Shakti is usually depicted as having the weapons of all the gods, including those of the Trimurti. She holds the trishula of Shiva, the chakra of Vishnu, the Vajra of Indra, and the gada of Yama.

Celestial weapons

An astra is a powerful celestial weapon or missile that is to be hurled at an enemy. Generally astra is in form of an arrow. Astras can be invoked using incantations (mantras). Different astras have different power. A Shastra is a personal weapon like swords, bows, spades, axes, spears and maces which must be constantly operated by a warrior.