What’s the reason why Karna didn’t use Indrastra on Arjuna at the end of Mahabharat? In the Mahabharata, Karna held the godly armament called the Vasavi Shakti or Indrastra, which he entered from Lord Indra. According to the epic, Karna was granted this armament by Indra in exchange for Karna’s natural armor and earrings, which made him insurmountable. still, Karna was bound by a oath not to use this armament against any opponent other than Arjuna, as it was meant to be his final armament to insure Arjuna’s defeat.
During the Kurukshetra war, Karna had the occasion to use the Vasavi Shakti against Arjuna, but due to colorful circumstances and his own sense of honor and ethics, he abstain from doing so until the very end. One of the crucial reasons why Karna did not use the Vasavi Shakti on Arjuna before in the battle was that he wanted to save it for a decisive moment when he could insure Arjuna’s defeat.
still, in the final battle between Karna and Arjuna, Karna was left without any godly munitions, as he’d formerly exhausted them before in the battle. When his chariot wheel got stuck in the ground, leaving him shortly helpless, Krishna advised Arjuna to strike Karna also, as it would be the stylish occasion to master him. Arjuna followed Krishna’s advice and aimed his arrow at Karna, eventually leading to his demise. Despite having the occasion, Karna did not use the Vasavi Shakti on Arjuna at the end because he was either unfit to or chose not to due to the circumstances of the battle and his own moral law.
