Trishula: Difference between revisions

| caption            = Statue of [[Shiva]] holding a trishula in Haridwar, India.

'''Trishula''' ([[Sanskrit]]: त्रिशूल, [[IAST]]: triśūla) or '''trishul''' is a [[trident]], a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Sanatana Dharma.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rysdyk|first=Evelyn C.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u8VWDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT84|title=The Nepalese Shamanic Path: Practices for Negotiating the Spirit World|date=2019-02-19|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-62055-795-2|language=en}}</ref> In India and Thailand, the term also often refers to a short-handled weapon which may be mounted on a ''daṇḍa'' ({{lang-sa|दण्ड}}, meaning '[[Quarterstaff|staff]]'). Unlike the [[sai (weapon)|Okinawan sai]], the ''trishula'' is often bladed. In Indonesian, ''trisula'' usually refers specifically to a long-handled trident while the diminutive version is more commonly known as a ''cabang'' or ''[[tekpi]]''.

# According to '''''Shiva Puran''''', Shiva is ''swayambhu'', self created, born of his volitions. He emerges as a direct incarnation of Sadashiv and has ''trishula'' from the very beginning.

# According to '''''Vishnu Puran''''', Vishwakarma created the ''trishula'' using the matter from the sun and gave it to Shiva. When Suryadev married Sanjana, the daughter of Vishwakarma, his wife soon became unhappy with married life due to the unbearable heat of her husband Surya. She complained to Vishwakarma, who agreed to solve the problem. Her father came to an arrangement whereby Surya agreed to reduce his heat to accommodate Sanjana. The solar matter fell to the earth, reducing his heat by {{frac|1|8}}. That material was then used to make Trishul.

# Trishula can sometimes also designate the Buddhist symbol of the [[triratna]].

# The goddess [[Durga]] holds a ''trishula'' among other weapons and attributes in her hands and amongst her accouterment, having received celestial weapons from both Shiva and Vishnu.

# A similar word, ''Trishel'', is the [[Romani language|Romani]] word for '[[cross]]'.

# '''Trisula''' is the name of {{interlanguage link|Operation Trishula|lt=a 1968 operation|id|Operasi Trisula}} by the [[Indonesian National Armed Forces|ABRI]] to finish off remnants of the [[Communist Party of Indonesia|PKI]] in southern [[Blitar]].

File:Emblem of the House of Chakri.svg|Emblem of the [[Chakri Dynasty]], the royal house of [[Thailand]] founded in 1782. The emblem of the dynasty consists of the ''trishula'' intertwined with the [[Sudarshana Chakra]], another weapon, to create a Chakri.