Ancient nuclear weapons
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Were the Brahmastra of the epics a nuclear weapon, and was Mohenjo-daro destroyed by an atomic blast?
Indian claim not supported by evidenceTechnology & engineering
Indian claim
Popular books, TV shows and social media say the Brahmastra in the Mahabharata was a nuclear weapon, that Oppenheimer quoting the Bhagavad Gita proves this, and that skeletons at Mohenjo-daro were radioactive from an ancient blast.
Evidence for the Indian claim
- The epics describe astras of enormous destructive power, which some readers compare with modern weapons.
- J. Robert Oppenheimer said he recalled the Gita line 'Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds' (11.32) at the Trinity test.
- A 1979 Italian book by David Davenport and Ettore Vincenti ('2000 a.C.: Distruzione atomica') argued Mohenjo-daro was destroyed by a blast.
Commonly credited to
The first nuclear explosion was the US 'Trinity' test of 16 July 1945, after the discovery of nuclear fission in 1938.
Evidence for the other claim
- Oppenheimer was quoting scripture to express his feelings, not saying the Gita described a bomb; scholars read the verse as 'I am Time', in the context of Krishna's teaching to Arjuna.
- The 'radioactive skeleton' story traces to 1960s popular writing (Alexander Gorbovsky, Moscow, 1966); no excavation report or lab study ever recorded radioactivity.
- Mohenjo-daro's brick buildings and walls still stand, which is impossible after a nuclear blast; the city declined over a long period.
- Nuclear weapons need enriched uranium or plutonium, reactors and industry, of which there is no archaeological trace anywhere in the ancient world.
What historians and scientists say
There is no physical evidence of ancient nuclear weapons in India or anywhere else. The astras of the epics belong to sacred literature; reading modern weapons into them does not add to their value.