Gandiva is the name
of Arjuna's bow in the Mahabharata, the later of the two major Hindu epics.
Arjuna is the finest archer in the universe and the third of
the Mahabharata's five Pandava brothers.
Gandiva was created by the god Brahma and handed to Arjuna
by the god Varuna (who is associated with the sea) at the request of another
god, Agni ("fire").
Agni makes this request because he wants to
"devour" (burn) the Khandava forest but is fearful of interference
from the deity Indra, lord of the storms, in the form of rain.
Arjuna uses his bow to build an arrow canopy that protects
the forest from Indra's storms, enabling Agni to devour the forest in peace.
Arjuna uses this bow for many years until returning it to
Varuna by tossing it into the sea at the end of his life.
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