Trishula
The trident of Shiva. The Himalayan Academy calls it the royal sceptre of Saivism, the Hindu tradition devoted to Shiva.
Meaning
Shiva is usually shown holding it. T. A. Gopinatha Rao, in Elements of Hindu Iconography (1914), calls it Shiva’s favourite weapon and gives its essential form in every version: a triple metal pike with sharp points, on a long wooden handle. What the three prongs stand for is explained in more than one way. The Himalayan Academy gives three sets of three: desire, action and wisdom; the subtle channels ida, pingala and sushumna; and the three gunas, sattva, rajas and tamas. A Manitoba government resource on Hinduism gives creation, protection and destruction, which it also calls the three gunas.
Origin and history
The Sanskrit dictionary of Monier Monier-Williams records the trishula, a trident, as Shiva’s weapon in the Mahabharata, the Harivamsha and the Matsya Purana. The Vishnu Purana tells where it came from. To lessen the sun’s heat, Vishvakarma, the craftsman of the gods, put the sun on his lathe and ground off some of its brilliance, and from the pieces that fell he made the discus of Vishnu (the Sudarshana Chakra), the trident of Shiva and the weapons of the other gods.
Where you’ll see it
In images of Shiva, and, in the Himalayan Academy’s words, in the hands of the Himalayan yogis who carry it.
In other traditions
The same Manitoba resource notes that the trident is also used as a symbol in Sikhism.
See also
Sri Yantra, Damaru, Shankha, Sudarshana Chakra, Padma, Kalasha.
Sources
- Sacred Symbols, Himalayan Academy
- Hinduism: A Supplemental Resource for Grade 12 World of Religions: A Canadian Perspective. Practices, Rituals, Symbols, and Special Days/Celebrations, Manitoba Education, Government of Manitoba, Common Hindu Symbols
- Elements of Hindu Iconography, Vol. I, Part I, T. A. Gopinatha Rao, 1914, Law Printing House, Madras (Internet Archive, Cornell University Library copy), Introduction: definition and description of terms
- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (1899): triśūla, Monier Monier-Williams, p. 461, Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries, University of Cologne
- The Vishnu Purana: A System of Hindu Mythology and Tradition, Translated by H. H. Wilson, 1840, John Murray, London (Internet Archive, Digital Library of India copy), Book I; Book III, chapter 2
Last reviewed September 24, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research