A Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology and Religion, Geography, History, and Literature c5.2123

c5.2123

In the Epic and Purānic periods Viswa-karmā is invested with the powers and offices of the Vedic Twashtri, and is sometimes so called. He is not only the great architect, but the general artificer of the gods and maker of their weapons. It was he who made the Agneyastra or “fiery weapon,” and it was he who revealed the Sthāpatya-veda, or science of architecture and mechanics. The Mahā-bhārata describes him as “the lord of the arts, executor of a thousand handicrafts, the carpenter of the gods, the fashioner of all ornaments, the most eminent of artisans, who formed the celestial chariots of the deities, on whose craft men subsist, and whom, a great and immortal god, they continually worship.”