जय श्रीराम!
तैस्त्रयाणां शितैर्बाणैः यथापूर्वविशुद्धिभिः ।
आयुर्देहातिगैः पीतं रुधिरं तु पतत्रिभिः ॥ १२.४८ ॥
Notes: Kālidāsa says, "Śrīrāma's sharp arrows, having killed the Rākṣasas Dūṣaṇa, Triśiras, and Khara, all formidable warriors, returned to his quiver unpolluted and unstained, as the arrows had merely drunk up the lifeforce from their bodies. The Rākṣasas' blood was afterwards consumed by the scavenger birds around."
The science and metascience behind weapons is a major subject of study in Sanātana Dharma. Our present-day ideas about AI-guided, self-determining, all-destroying, reusable missiles are not new. When a great warrior like Śrīrāma wielded his weapons, not only was he accomplished physically, and well endowed, but he also invoked special Mantras for empowering the missiles. They therefore had many special properties and would return to his armoury after accomplishing their directed tasks. The aspect of cleanliness is important. Since they were sacred weapons, their getting polluted during the mission was out of the question. That aspect of pollution and cleansing was left to the five gross elements and the lifeforms around. This is what is succinctly conveyed by the master poet Kālidāsa here.
***
जय श्रीराम!
