Indians For Guns

Would anyone know what is the meaning of this word ASTRAM as per the Indian cartridge KF ASTRAM by IOF.

Shahid,

It's a Sanskrit word which in a crude translation means "weapon,usually an arrow, with special powers".One comes across them frequently in the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Best-
Vikram

in sanskrit weapons are of two types: astra and shastra.

shastra are of he non projectile variety like sword, mace, clubs daggers etc.

astra means all projectile weapons like spear, arrow, mythical weapons with special powers, ballistic missiles.

astram is the singular of astra.

there used to be a joke common when we were kids:

whats an example of something which is both an asra and a shastra (real answer: spear)
funny (at age 4) answer : joota (shoe).

if u recall a movie starring sunil shetty called shastra (famous song kya ada kya jalwe tere paro)
had another song dushman mujhko kya maarega, mere haath hi mere shastra hai. ( how can my enemy harm me, my hands are my weapons)

note: an arrow or a weapon having special arrow like in ramayana and mahabharata is called a divyastra (divya+ astra) = divine weapon. (divya= divine) .hindi/ sanskrit and english/ latin have common roots in old sanskrit

Thanks. So its Astra.

Divastra yes of course I know them

Pashupatiasrtra
Nagpash
Vajra
Brahmastra
Meghastra
Pawanastra
Agni Astra

must be many more in the epics.

most deailed descripion of brahmasra being used is in the last chapter of mahabharat. where i says tha bhramastrs should never be used as i kills not only the enemy but all life forms for miles around, here is climaic changes for many years and it kills babies in mothers wombs ( while the mother is alive).

also once deployed it may change target but cant be called back but can be destroyed by another astra.

Sound familiar? to some weapons we have today?

well eric van danican has noted and mentioned this in his book. but thats another story.

some other astras are
vaishnavastra
indrastrs
it has been a long time since i read .scriptures.

recently i had a visitor whose family were the martial teachers for the jaipur royal family. (according to old .scriptures.) (but not divyastra) but his grandfather was the first not to teach them as the army and the maharaja was intrsted in guns not swords etc. so he didnt pass his knowledge to his son and randson.

That was one refresher course in sanskrit..

Astram shatram
riflum, pistollum, bulletum, pelletum...target nasham