History Main / SacredBowAndArrows

Compare EnergyBow, ArrowsOnFire, MageMarksman. May overlap with ForgedByTheGods, LightEmUp and HolyHandGrenade. See also ArcherArchetype, CupidsArrow and HeroesPreferSwords.

Historically, bows are one of the oldest projectile weapons in history, going back thousands of years, and there are numerous gods associated with hunting and archery. The most prominent examples are the Greek gods Apollo and Artemis; Apollo is directly the god of archery while Artemis is the goddess of hunting, and both are commonly depicted wielding bows. In China, the invention of the bow is credited to the Yellow Emperor, one of the most important Chinese deities.

** In ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl Brawl]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros4 Smash Bros. 4]]'', Zelda and Shiek both use Light Arrows for their Final Smashes.

* ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'': Utai's Enhanced Armament "Flame Caller", as part of her {{miko}} theme. However, when she's using her most "sacred" abilities, it turns into a fan.

* Maya, a member of ''ComicBook/JusticeLeagueEurope'', is an Indian woman able to manifest a magical bow that can fire a series of mystical projectiles at an enemy. Her parents, unsure of what to do, left her in the care of a strange Indian cult that they themselves had become followers of. The leaders of this cult were convinced that she was the reincarnation of one of the Hindu gods, Shiva.

%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1646599330092880000
%%Please don't change or remove without starting a new thread.

[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zeldabow_9.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:"[[GoldAndWhiteAreDivine Gilded bow and an arrow divine]]\\
The calamity ends when the trinity shines!"]]

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': As a former {{miko}}, Mononobe no Futo uses a sacred bow for some of her attacks.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'', Angewomon's attack is Holy Arrow, an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she's particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Vamdemon and [=LadyDevimon=].

* In ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', Angewomon's attack is Holy Arrow, an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she's particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Vamdemon and [=LadyDevimon=].

* Xu Tao aka Celestial Archer of the ComicBook/GreatTen wields the Celestial Bow which once belonged to the mythological archer Hou Yi. Xu discovered the bow in an old temple below Mount Tai while hiding from gangsters. He touched the bow and was bestowed with Hou Yi's divine archery skills.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''

* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy''

** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCore'', the goddess of the Lifestream, Minerva, combines her armor pieces into a giant bow and fires her staff like an arrow for her ultimate attack, Judgment Arrow.

* The Atalanta summon in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' is a wind-element RainOfArrows. In order to progress through the Jupiter lighthouse, several statues that shoot arrows of light need to be turned on.

*** The 3DS Version includes Tetra, who also has access to the Light Arrows in her move set. Fitting as she's another incarnation of Zelda.

** In ''Brawl'' and ''Smash 4'', Zelda and Shiek both use Light Arrows for their Final Smashes.

[[quoteright:300:[[Franchise/{{Digimon}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angewomon_-_celestia_arrow_7661.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300: [[CallingYourAttacks Holy Arrow]]!]]

Compare EnergyBow, ArrowsOnFire, MageMarksman. May overlap with LightEmUp and HolyHandGrenade. See also ArcherArchetype, CupidsArrow and HeroesPreferSwords.

* In Myth/SonghaiMythology Musa Nyori was the lord of the hunt and wielded an iron bow from which he shot magic arrows.

[[folder:Films - Live Action]]
* In ''Film/DemonOfTheLute'', the demon's sole weakness is a set of three blessed arrows, which is used to destroy the lute in order to neutralize the demon's powers. Naturally in the final battle all three arrows are used, the third which successfully defeats the demon once and for all.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Literature/{{Ramayana}}'', King Janaka of Mithila used an exceptionally heavy bow, given to him by Shiva, as an EngagementChallenge for his daughter Sita’s suitors [[StrengthEqualsWorthiness to prove themselves worthy]]. Prince Rama of Ayodhya was the only one who manages to wield it, and he breaks it in half when he tries to fire it.

* In Myth/HinduMythology, the rainbow is referred to as ‘Indra’s bow’[[labelnote:Sanskrit]]indradhanus इन्द्रधनुस्[[/labelnote]]. He later gives this bow to Prince Rāma, an avatar of Viṣnu. This bow is now used as a symbol of the far-right Hindu nationalist party Shiv Sena in India.

*** The goddess Artemis’ bow has a range of 1,000 yards.

** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII2'', Serah’s LimitBreak is Artemis Arrow, mistranslated as Ultima Arrow in the English localization. (Though the association was unintended, there's a summon in Ivalace known as Ultima the High Seraph.)

* Shana and Miranda in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfDragoon'', who both and represent the light/holy Dragoon spirit and fight with bows and arrows. [[WhiteMage They’re also quite useful at healing.]]

** The Light Arrows are special holy arrows that can dispel evil magic, and are often employed or created by Zelda. They’re commonly used to aid in fighting [[BigBad Ganon]]. Notably, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is the one of the few games in the franchise where the player does not get access to them at all, and are only used by Zelda in the final battle.

** In ''VideoGame/CrisisCoreFinalFantasyVII'', the goddess of the Lifestream, Minerva, combines her armor pieces into a giant bow and fires her staff like an arrow for her ultimate attack, Judgment Arrow.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Quincies fight [[TheHeartless Hollows]] with EnergyWeapons which fire what their enemies, the Shinigami, call "Arrows of Light". The Quincy [[TheEmperor Progenitor King]] stole the name of the [[AGodAmI Abrahamic God]] and created the Vandenreich, a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName xenophobic, military organisation]] that regards itself as messengers of God, whose powers create sacred [[GratuitousGerman Heilig Pfeil]] (Holy Arrows). Although the Hollows are a very real threat to humanity, [[GodEmperor Yhwach]] is a mysterious, [[BigBad quite evil being]] who is trying to remake the whole world in his image. The Quincy holy crusade is therefore threatening the entire cosmic balance.

** The Auriel's Bow, an artifact weapon said to have been wielded by Auriel (sometimes spelled Auri-El), the [[NobleBirdOfPrey Golden Eagle God]] and [[OurElvesAreBetter Aldmeri (Elven)]] aspect of Akatosh, the [[DragonsAreDivine draconic]] TopGod of Time. Aldmeri legend holds that Auriel wielded it during the [[TimeOfMyths Dawn Era]] during the wars of the [[{{Precursors}} Ehlnofey]] against the forces of [[GodIsDead Lorkhan]]. When Trinimac, [[BodyguardingABadass Auriel's champion]], slew Lorkhan, it is said that Auriel tied [[CosmicKeystone Lorkhan's Heart]] to an arrow and fired it with the bow across the mortal world, landing in modern day Morrowind and forming Red Mountain around it. The details of Auriel's Bow vary in each game where it appears. To note:

* In ''Literature/{{Mahabharata}}'', Arjuna's exceptionally powerful bow ''Gandiva'' was given to him by the gods. Several characters, including Arjuna, wield celestial weapons, highly powerful FinishingMoves granted to them by the gods as a reward for their piety or devotion.

* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', main heroine Kagome and her past self Kikyo use arrows as mediums to channel their priestess powers to attack enemies.
* In ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'', Angewomon's attack is Holy Arrow, an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she's particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Vamdemon and [=LadyDevimon=].
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Madoka's bow takes this role in aesthetics and [[spoiler:divine]] function when [[spoiler:she takes on her Ultimate form to destroy Walpurgis Night]].

* In ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'', Fairy-types have the Silver Bow and Arrow weapon to power up. The Fairy-types Skelengel and Number 102: Star Seraph Sentry wield bows in their artwork, and in some video games other Fairies are depicted as fighting with bows.

* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
** The Light Arrows are special holy arrows that can dispel evil magic, and are often employed or created by Zelda. They’re commonly used to aid in fighting [[BigBad Ganon]]. Notably, ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' is the one of the few games in the franchise where the player does not get access to them at all, and are only used by Zelda in the final battle.
** In earlier ''Zelda'' games, particularly the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaI original game]] and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast A Link to the Past]]'', Silver Arrows were the only thing capable of defeating [[FinalBoss Ganon]].
** ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors'':
*** Zelda uses and abuses the Light Arrows all over her moveset and will lend them to the player character for the final battle. (Though if Zelda is the player character, Ruto gives her them for some odd reason). This final battle upgrade can be gained temporally during any battle if the player finds a Bow Upgrade on the field. The amount of time it lasts depends on the character's badges.
*** The 3DS Version includes Tetra, who also has access to the Light Arrows in her move set. Fitting as she's another incarnation of Zelda.

* In ''Franchise/{{Disgaea}}'', the angel Flonne is able to use an attack called Holy Arrows. However in practice it’s more a case of FeatherFlechettes, as she fires angel feathers as projectiles without actually using a bow.

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls''
** The Auriel's Bow, an artifact weapon said to have been wielded by Auriel (sometimes spelled Auri-El), the [[NobleBirdOfPrey Golden Eagle God]] and [[OurElvesAreBetter Aldmeri (Elven)]] aspect of Akatosh, the [[DragonsAreDivine draconic]] TopGod of Time. Aldmeri legend holds that Auriel wielded it during the [[TimeOfMyths Dawn Era]] during the wars of the [[{{Precursors}} Ehlnofey]] against the forces of [[GodIsDead Lorkhan]]. When Trinimac, [[BodyguardingABadass Auriel's champion]], slew Lorkhan, it is said that Auriel tied [[CosmicKeystone Lorkhan's Heart]] to an arrow and fired it with the bow across the mortal world, landing in modern day Morrowind and forming Red Mountain around it. The details of Auriel's Bow vary in each game where it appears. To note:
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'', Auriel's Bow is a massively powerful bow enchanted with [[PlayingWithFire fire]] damage. However, it only has a finite supply of energy. Once exhausted of this energy, the bow will vanish and reappear where ever chance puts it.
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', Auriel's Bow is one of three possible rewards for completing the [[TheOrder knightly order]] quest, "The Artifact". On top of its powerful base damage, it deals [[ShockAndAwe lightning]] damage and absorbs [[{{Mana}} Magicka]] of the targets it strikes. (It is also a possible to acquire a version of the bow during Nocturnal's [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric]] quest. It functions exactly the same as the real bow, however, it will crumble to dust after several in-game days.)
** In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Morrowind]]'', Auriel's Bow is tied for the most damaging bow in the game in terms of base damage, however, it no longer comes with an enchantment. You can enchant it yourself, but its relatively low enchantment rating (7) prevents it from being particularly useful. (A standard Daedric Longbow deals the same damage and has an enchantment rating of 10.5, but, on the downside, is 33% heavier.) You can exchange it during a particular quest for a Daedric Cuirass and Greaves, both enchanted with the Feather effect to make them lighter. You can also sell it to the Museum of Artifacts in Mournhold with the ''Tribunal'' expansion for a cool 15,000 gold.
** Auriel's Bow appears again in ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]''[='s=] ''Dawnguard'' DLC as a [[MacGuffin major plot item]]. It has a relatively mediocre base damage, but a high "critical" value. It is also enchanted to deal "[[ThePowerOfTheSun Sun]]" damage, and deals triple damage to undead. Over the course of ''Dawnguard''[='s=] main quest, it gains the ability to fire "Sunhallowed" or "Bloodcursed" arrows. Sunhallowed arrows, when fired from the bow at the sun during the day, will cause the sun to deal damage to any nearby enemies for a time. Bloodcursed arrows, fired similarly, block out the sun for the rest of the day and prevent vampires from taking sun damage.

* The Atalanta summon in ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' is a wind-element RainOfArrows. In order to progress through the Jupiter lighthouse, several statues that shoot arrows of light need to be turned on.
%%* A sacred bow is required to fix a BrokenBridge in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX''.
%%** The ultimate bow ability in shoots holy attacks at the target.
* Marle’s ultimate weapon in ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'' is Venus' Bow, always dealing 777 damage.

* The first two bonus items from ''VideoGame/DragonsLair II: Time Warp''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'': As a former {{miko}}, Mononobe no Futo uses a sacred bow for some of her attacks.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins'': As part of the mission to discover The Lizard, Bayek experiences a drug-induced hallucination in which he floats along a river on the solar barge of the god Ra, fighting and defeating the god Apep with a glowing bow that shoots unlimited arrows.

* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', on the Ancient Egyptian-themed plane of Amonkhet, the white-aligned deity Oketra's weapon of choice is a bow and arrows. With a FantasticNuke-level [[[[https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xxDG1 payload.]]

* In ''Anime/{{Digimon}}'', Angewomon's attack is Holy Arrow, an arrow of light energy. As an Angel Digimon, she's particularly powerful against demonic enemies like Vamdemon and [=LadyDevimon=].