SVS 84 [ Medhavi- 78]

78. OM MEDHAVINYE NAMA: ॐ मेधाविनये नम:
Capable of handling all weapons.

At the end of SVS Bheeshma tells that the Lord is sarvapraharanayudhaya, which means He has all the weapons. So, when Panchayudha is mentioned it is only symbolic and the Lord possesses every weapon we can think of. For example in the Ashtabuja Perumal temple, in Kanchipuram, He holds eight different weapons. Swami Desika has composed a poem to describe 16 types of weapons. Medhavi means not merely possessing any weapon, but possessing the skill to deploy them at the appropriate place. In puranas we are told of astra- sastra vidya. Astram means by chanting proper mantras and invoking the relevant god to aid in the missile or arrow to be shot. We have heard of Agneyaastram, Varunastram, Brahmaastram, etc. Sastram means use of weapons without such mantra chanting. For example, for deploying mace or sword, no mantra chanting is necessary. In Pancharatra agama, there is Ahirbudhya samhita, which details the pooja to be performed to the Lord. Ahirbudhya denotes lord Shiva. In this samhita, all details of all weapons and their usage are explained. Perialwar tells of a story which is not found in the Puranas we have now. Sri Krishna had a close friend Seemalika, who misused the friendship. Sri Krishna's advice went in vain. Once Seemalika using his closeness with the Lord, wanted to try using the discus. Sri Krishna dissuaded His friend, but in vain. Finally, agreed to teach Him how to handle this divine weapon. When Seemalika tried to copy what Sri Krishna did, the discus Sri Sudarshana, cut off Seemalika's head. So deployment of weapons is a skill.