Trishula

Quick Facts

About the weapon

The trishula is a trident; Sanskrit trishula joins the words tri, three, and shula, a sharp iron stake or pole. It is above all a religious symbol of the Hindu tradition. According to the Vishnu Purana, the divine architect Vishvakarma made it from the blazing solar energy his daughter Sanjna, wife of the sun god Surya, could not bear, and from the same power he made weapons for other gods too, among them Shiva. According to the Skanda Purana, Shiva used the trishula to cut off the head of Ganesha, who would not let him in to see the bathing Parvati. As an actual battle weapon, we have only been able to establish it marginally. In Nepal and Thailand, the word often denotes a short-hafted weapon that can be fitted onto the danda staff and often carries a blade. In Indonesian, trisula usually means a long-hafted trident, while the shorter form is more often called cabang or tekpi. We have not been able to establish dimensions, material or fighting techniques in the sources. The three points, by various readings, symbolise many triads: creation, preservation and destruction; past, present and future; body, mind and atman; or the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas. The Thai Chakri dynasty, founded in 1782, carries the trishula in its royal emblem, entwined with the Sudarshan Chakra.