Gandiva (gāṇḍīva)

The Gandiva is Arjuna's bow, made by Brahma, held in turn by gods and kings, and given to Arjuna by Varuna through Agni at the burning of the Khandava forest along with two inexhaustible quivers. It is loud enough to be heard across a battlefield and cannot be strung by anyone but its wielder, which is how Arjuna is identified at Virata's court. Its final scene is the saddest in the epic: after Krishna's death Arjuna cannot lift it against a band of ordinary robbers, and he returns it to the waters.