Puranic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Puranic Literature c4.802

c4.802

9) *Arjuna got Brahmaśirāstra*. When once Droṇa and his disciples were bathing in the Gaṅgā, a whale caught hold of the leg of the guru. The combined efforts of the disciples failed to extricate the leg from the grip of the whale. Ultimately Arjuna shot an arrow and released the guru's leg. Greatly pleased at this Droṇa imparted to Arjuna knowledge about Brahmaśirāstra, and Arjuna was enjoined not to use the astra against men, but to use it only when confronting higher beings than men. [Bhārata (Malayalam), Ādi Parva, Chapter 133].