Trishula- Hindu ArtifactArtifact · Weapon"The Three-Pronged Spear"

Forged from Sunlight

The Trishula's origin is told in the Vishnu Purana. Surya's wife Sanjna could not endure the sun god's unbearable radiance, and her father Vishvakarma, the divine architect, placed Surya on a celestial lathe and shaved away the excess brilliance. From those shavings Vishvakarma forged divine weapons: the Trishula for Shiva and the Sudarshana Chakra for Vishnu. The trident was born of condensed sunlight.

The Impaling of Andhaka

The demon Andhaka, born blind and consumed by desire for Parvati, attacked Shiva on Mount Mandara. Shiva drove the Trishula through Andhaka's body and lifted him high above the earth. But Andhaka's blood spawned new demons wherever it fell, so Shiva held the demon aloft on the three prongs, exposed to the scorching sun, until every drop had dried and no more demons could be born. Impaled and powerless, Andhaka at last repented. His evil burned away, and Shiva released him and accepted him as one of his ganas.

Durga's Trident

When the gods created the warrior goddess Durga to destroy the buffalo demon Mahishasura, each deity contributed a weapon. Shiva gave the Trishula. In the climactic battle of the Devi Mahatmya, after Mahishasura shifted through form after form, Durga pinned him with her foot, drove the Trishula into his chest, and ended his tyranny.

The Last Strike

At the end of each cosmic cycle, when the universe has exhausted its span, Shiva rises to dance the Tandava, the dance of dissolution. With the Trishula he strikes, and creation folds back into the primordial void.