Arjuna is the Mahabharata warrior who wielded the divine bow Gandiva.
Gandiva is described as an extraordinary bow given to Arjuna by the fire god Agni during the burning of the Khandava Forest episode. The epic presents it as exceptionally powerful and difficult for ordinary warriors to handle. Arjuna’s mastery of archery, together with Gandiva, makes him the Pandavas’ foremost battlefield archer.
Arjuna is the third of the five Pandava brothers and the son of Kunti and the deity Indra in the epic’s divine genealogy. Before the Kurukshetra War, he asks Krishna to place his chariot between the opposing armies. His moral crisis and Krishna’s response form the setting for the Bhagavad Gita.
Gandiva is sometimes confused with Sharanga, Vishnu or Krishna’s bow, and with Rama’s bow, which is associated with the breaking of Shiva’s bow in the Ramayana. Those weapons belong to different heroes and narrative traditions. Arjuna’s other famous weapon is the Pashupatastra, a powerful missile weapon he receives from Shiva after performing austerities.