A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

The experimental music I am making now is on my Suno profile. Those pieces stay there, and are not added to this site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter B

Brahmāstra

World Religion
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A mythical celestial weapon in Hindu epics, invoked by mantra, capable of immense destruction, used only as a last resort.

Detailed Definition
The Brahmāstra, granted by Brahma, obeys the wielder’s will but cannot be recalled. Its use in the Mahabharata (by Ashwatthama) causes irreversible harm. In poetry, it symbolizes the peril of unchecked power, the sanctity of knowledge, and the moral weight of ultimate weapons. Poets use it to warn against hubris, showing that even divine gifts demand wisdom and restraint. It reflects ancient awareness of technology’s dual potential for creation and annihilation.
Example
Example in poetry:
In a Mahābhārata poem, the Brahmāstra is “a weapon so vast, its whisper cracks mountains”; A modern allegory: “Nuclear arms are the Brahmāstra of our age—unleashed by pride”; A verse on restraint: “Arjuna held the Brahmāstra but chose the bow of dialogue”; A minimalist warning: “Power that forgets mercy becomes suicide.”
Additional Notes
The Brahmāstra, invoked by sacred mantra, is a weapon of last resort in epics like the Mahabharata—its use causes ecological devastation, echoing modern nuclear fears. Only those with perfect discipline can wield it; misuse brings cosmic imbalance. In contemporary discourse, it symbolizes the ethical burden of knowledge. Poets reference it to critique warfare or hubris—e.g., comparing drone strikes to astras. For literary scholars, such weapons reveal how ancient texts grapple with technology, power, and restraint, offering cautionary metaphors still relevant today.
Also Known As
Brahmastra Brahma Weapon
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