Wikipedia Trail: From Astras to the National Museum of India

 I began my Wikipedia Trail on the page for astras, or super-weapons, as I read up on them when posting comments for feedback on various projects. It was a really interesting read, with astras representing super-weapons possessed by deities and containing special powers that could cause huge impacts. It's claimed that Arjuna had more astras than any other warrior. One of the weapons that caught my attention was the Trishula, which belonged to Shiva, the destroyer. It's considered the most powerful weapon according to Shiavism. I was interested to learn more about Shiavism, and this led me to my second Wikipedia page. This is one of the major Hindu traditions that worships Lord Shiva, and it's considered to be one of the oldest religions in the world. It was developed as a pre-Aryan religion and was later incorporated. Archaeological discoveries show how ancient it was, with seals similar to Lord Shiva found in the Indus Valley civilization. One of these seals was the Pashupati seal, which led me to my third Wikipedia page. This seal was made of steatite and found in Mohenjo-Daro. It depicted a figure with three heads, and it's connected to the Master of Animals motif. The seal is currently at the National Museum of India, and this was my last Wikipedia page. This museum is one of the largest museums in India with 200,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years. It was built in 1949, and the foundation was laid by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955. There's a whole gallery dedicated to the Indus River Valley civilization with seals and other figures.

Ashwatthama uses Narayanastra. Source: Wikipedia


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