Month: October 2025

Weapons of the Dikhpālakās (Guardians of the Directions)

Vikram M R, , , , , , Leave a comment

Tomorrow is Naraka Chaturdashi, the first day of Deepāvali (“the Festival of Lights”). Naraka Chaturdashi commemorates the victory of Lord Krishna over Narakāsura. Narakāsura was an incredibly powerful Asura, who was the son of Bhoomi Devi and Lord Varāha. He committed atrocities across all realms and was almost invincible. It took Lord Krishna carrying out an aerial assault on his palace at night to defeat and kill him. Lord Krishna flew on Garuda with his wife Satyabhāma to carry out a surprise attack on Naraka’s citadel in Pragjyotishpura to slay the Asura.

Narakāsura had defeated the Devas, including Indra and Varuna. He had imprisoned thousands of women and looted wealth from the Devas and many other regions. The Devas were never powerless. They are the Guardians of the 8 directions, with Brahma and Vishnu being the guardians of the Zenith and the Nadir respectively. Lord Shiva, called Eesha, is the guardian of the North East.

Being the Guardians and celestial beings, the Devas are very powerful and it takes an Asura of rare abilities who only seldom appears to defeat them. Just because the stories depict Lord Vishnu coming to their protection and rescue does not mean that they are always frail and in need of help.

All the Devas, in a show of strength, carry a specific weapon which is always depicted in iconography depicting them. I am sharing a video below that depicts these weapons and possible use of the same.

This is a video I made a few years ago as part of the Indian Independence Day celebration at work. But it fits into this post pretty well in my opinion. I am not editing out the Independence Day wishes at the end, because the occasion is not important, the depiction of the use of the weapons is.

Wish you all a blessed Deepāvali! 🙂

This video was made during a mild phase of the pandemic. Hence the masks on both demonstrators in the video.

Asura Planet

Vikram M R, , , , , , , Leave a comment

In Hindu culture, the Asuras are very often seen in a negative light. Asuras, sometimes conflated with Rakshasas are, from a modern perspective, the villains in most of the stories we hear. But as we know these days, they are not villains. Some of them might end up becoming villains. More often than not, they are in opposition to the Devas.

The Asuras usually include the Daityas and Dānavas. Daityas, Dānavas and Devas are cousins. They end up battling for control of various realms often. While the stories we hear and read eventually end with the destruction of one or a few specific Asuras, it does not mean that they always end up on the losing side. They end up being the victors quite often.

It must also be remembered that while the Asuras are seen conquering the realm of the Devas (Swarga and its capital Amarāvati), and the realms of humans or Mānavās, the Asura realm is shown as being attacked or conquered by the Devas (never the Mānavās) only a few times. The Asuras regroup time after time under different leaders and attempt a new conquest. They succeed in their conquests quite often and subdue the realms of Devas and Mānavās. This conquest leads to an avatāra of Vishnu or Devi or Shiva to be responsible for saving the Devas and Mānavās.

The Asura Shumbha conquers Swarga. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

This sequence of events leads to interesting observations. Firstly, if the Asuras were rarely invaded and only defended against, it seems that they were too powerful to face offensive action. Only one of the Trimurthy or Devi could attack them and succeed. The two instances that I am aware of when the Devas attacked and defeated the Asuras was when Vrtra was slain and then when Viprachitti was defeated.

Secondly, it seems that the Asuras were the definition of resilience, innovation and perseverance. Every time they were defeated, they held out to rise in strength again. This is resilience. The next Asura leader performed great meditative penance (tapasya) to achieve a great boon from Lord Brahma. This boon nullified the advantage provided by the Amrita in the possession of the Devas. This is innovation. This process took years on end. But after this gap, the Asuras invaded again with the new leader and his or her powers and generally succeeded in defeating the Devas. They ruled Swarga for a long time after the victory before a divinity defeated them. This is perseverance.

Mahishi taunts the Devas after acquiring her Boon. Image credit – “Ayyappan”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

I mentioned the Amrita in the possession of the Devas in the previous paragraph. Amrita gave the Devas great health and immortality. This was an unbeatable technological advantage. To overcome this advantage, the boons the Asuras acquired were vital. This mitigated the advantage provided to the Devas by the Amrita, at least to a certain extent.

An aside – I have heard that this is a likely origin of the word “Asura”. During the Vedic Age when Yajnas were widely prevalent, two sacred drinks are mentioned as being offered to the Gods, Soma and Sura. These were not offered to some Gods. These Gods came to be “Asura” as “Sura” was not offered to them, the “A” indicating the lack of the offering. I am not sure if this is accepted by everyone or if it is just another theory.

The martial art I practice is the Bujinkan system of martial arts. The Bujinkan is sometimes referred to as “Ninjutsu”. But Ninjutsu, or Ninpo, is one of the facets of the martial arts practiced as part of the Bujinkan system. The “Nin” in both Ninjutsu and Ninpo, refers to “Perseverance”. So, Ninjutsu is “The Art of Perseverance” and Ninpo is “The Way of Perseverance”. And if the Asuras are the exemplars of perseverance, they are the true practitioners of Ninjutsu!

Historically speaking, the Devas in their primary roles are representative of the natural elements. Indra, the king of the Devas, is the God of Thunder and Lightning and Storms. This means that he is a personification of these natural forces. Similarly, Agni represents Fire, Vayu represents the Wind and Varuna represents water and water-bodies. Surya represents the Sun, Chandra or Soma the moon and one of the Vasus represents the Sky.  The Ashvins represent healing properties, speed (horses) and safety during voyages. It seems to me like they represent the natural intelligence of humans to protect themselves.

Humans have striven from time immemorial to survive the elements. Over millennia they achieved mastery over the elements and learnt to thrive despite the elements. Now we have reached a stage where human actions are causing chaos in the elements in the form of climate change and devastating the natural world.

This flow of events over the last several thousand years suggests to me, that we are the Asuras. The Devas are nothing but the natural world as mentioned earlier. Humans initially cowered before the elements, but showed resilience to survive all ecosystems. This resilience and human expansion was facilitated by the continuous innovation demonstrated by humankind. The innovation took centuries in many instances, like the domestication of livestock, crops and most importantly, fire. The continuous flow of innovation is only possible through rugged survival. This is the perseverance of the human species as a whole.

So, humans have over several centuries demonstrated resilience, innovation and perseverance. With these traits, humankind has conquered the natural world, in other words, the Devas. This checks two boxes for humans to be the real Asuras. The third box relates to the Asura trait that led to their defeat time after time.

The Asuras after their successful conquests, gradually descend to being despots and cruel dictators. They end up throwing the natural order into chaos. It is at this stage that the avatāra appears to defeat the mighty Asura leader and drive the Asuras out of the realms of Devas and Mānavās. The Asuras go from being conquerors to destroyers, which leads to their downfall.

Mashisa goes full despot. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Humans, as mentioned earlier are supposedly throwing all ecosystems of the Earth out of whack. All species are suffering and even among humans, there are several that are living lives whose quality is far lower than those of the rest. All of this seems like humankind is the Asura nation that has gone full despot. This is the third box to check for humans to transcend into being Asuras. This is also the event that should trigger the arrival of an avatāra.

Mahisha imposes monotheism. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

But is the natural world itself going to be the avatāra aided by conflict within the human nations? I have no idea. But the fact that humans are the real Asuras seems clear. Perhaps humans are like Asuras on steroids. Humans strive to succeed, acquire knowledge and build technology. This is not unlike severe tapasya over a long time. This technology, which is the equivalent of the boons from the stories lets humans harness technology and change geographies, in the form of construction, mining and pollution. This is the equivalent of a conquest and its subsequent subjugation.

Let me elucidate with an example. Hiranyakashipu, when he became all powerful, imposed monotheism (or at least forced Viashnavās to give up their religion). He forbade the worship of Vishnu and forced people to worship him instead. This is the same as the powerful nations expecting everyone to conform to their own education, values and lifestyle. The most powerful nations can achieve this through the boons of wealth and technology. This leads me to this, we are on the cusp of becoming the Asura Planet.

Let me backtrack to the struggle between the Devas and the Asuras for a bit. I had mentioned that the Asuras were rarely invaded by the Devas and this was due to how powerful the Asuras were. Of course, it could be that the Devas did not attack the Asuras or eliminate them out of the goodness of their hearts. The Devas could have been satisfied with the life they had achieved through the use of Amrita. But then, they were all cousins and if the Devas had turned conquerors, especially after being in possession of Amrita the Asuras and Devas would simply be swapping roles, at least in the stories. That said, Devas were not entirely content with their lot and fought among themselves too.

Hiranyakashipu becomes a dictator. Credit for both images – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Some examples of the Devas being in conflict among themselves are the following.

  • Indra and Agni seem to have been in conflict multiple times. Agni took the help of Krishna and Arjuna to stop Indra from interfering when he consumed the Khāndava forest. Indra wanted to stop Agni as his Naga friend Takshaka lived in that forest.
  • The Asura Rambha was saved by Agni when Indra wanted to kill him as he was meditating. Indra had already killed Rambha’s brother Karambha through deceit. Thanks to Agni’s actions, Rambha eventually reincarnated as Raktabeeja to protect his son Mahishāsura.
  • The Asura Jalandhara was raised in the ocean, the abode of Varuna. Jalandhara attacked the Devas to retrieve the treasures of his adoptive father Varuna. In this manner, Varuna and Indra seemed adversarial even though they were not out to fight each other. Varuna had raised the Asura who would attack the Devas.
  • The Devas and Asuras fought a war call the Tārakāmaya War in the Puranas. This war occurred because the wife of Brihaspati, Tara was either abducted by Chandra (Soma) or she eloped with him. Brihaspati was the preceptor of the Devas. This incident led to a war where the Devas sided with their Guru while the Asuras sided with Chandra.

Based on these instances, it is quite likely that the Devas were not entirely peaceful or docile. It is therefore not necessary that they did not invade the Asuras out of the goodness of their hearts.

Since we spoke of Brihaspati, I must mention Shukrācharya. Shukra or Shukrācharya was the Guru or preceptor of the Asuras. He is the personification of perseverance and innovation, which could make him the ultimate expression of Ninjutsu!

Shukra found a way to defeat death itself! He performed tapasya with Lord Shiva as the focus. Once Lord Shiva was pleased, Shukrācharya learned the “Sanjeevini Vidya (Kriya)” from the Lord. This led to his being able to resurrect Asuras who were dead! This was essentially the same as being immortal. It seems to me that the Devas had no choice but to acquire Amrita to counter the Sanjeevini Vidya!1

In the Bujinkan, we learn of the 5 Gojo (roughly translatable as “pearls of wisdom”). These are five important concepts that, taken together, can be a guide to life. The 5 Gojo are,

  • Fumetsu no fusei – translatable as “give and give” or “endless giving”
  • Mamichi no jikai – translatable as “following/staying on the right path”
  • Shizen no niniku – translatable as “the perseverance of nature”
  • Shizen no choetsu – translatable as “the transcendence of nature”
  • Komyo no satori – translatable as “the light of wisdom”

I will not go into the detail about the Gojo here. I have written a separate article describing these as I understand them, the link to which is seen in the notes below*. I would however, draw an analogy between the Asura and modern human way with the Gojo.

The tapasya (meditation / penance / continuous effort) performed by the Asura and the human quest for knowledge is an outstanding example for “fumetsu no fusei”. One has to give oneself to the endeavour incessantly. This focus is the “right path”, which is tread over long periods of time. One needs perseverance to stay this path and continue the tapasya. When the tapasya reaches fructification, one transforms or transcends the current state. This could be as simple as being able to apply the newly acquired knowledge or technology as a consequence of the tapasya. These form the first four of the five Gojo.

Then comes the fifth, the one hardest to practice. At a high level, it could mean that the knowledge acquired or technology developed as a result of the tapasya is applied in the “correct” manner. Here, the term “correct” is incredibly hard to define in reality. Who can define, what is the correct way to do anything? I opine that it is nearly impossible, except at a personal level. This is why it takes “wisdom” to do the right thing with the new knowledge or technology. And if the application seems “correct” in a “given context”, one could have seen “the light of wisdom”.**

If one follows the right path with perseverance and is transformed after a long time on the path, wisdom could be the outcome of the experiences on the path. This could be another way to interpret “Komyo no satori” or “the light of wisdom”. But if the objective on the path was never “wise” or “correct”, both of which are subjective, could the outcome be any “good” of display “wisdom” in a positive manner? I have no idea. Similarly, we tend to assume “wisdom” to result in a positive outcome. But wisdom could also reveal ways and means to achieve negative outcomes.

Hiranyakashipu transforms with great abilities through perseverance and steadfast focus after overcoming great travails, but fails to gain wisdom. Image credit – “Prahlad”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

These conundrums are perhaps what led to the defeat of many famous Asuras. They are also what cause the problems we modern humans face. The Asuras practiced the first 4 of the Gojo and became great. They defeated the Devas and made the Asura realm great. This also made them responsible for the “natural order”, which they inherited when they defeated the Devas.

Perhaps some of them failed at this responsibility. Imposing monotheism, like Hiranyakshipu did, or turn a predator of women and molester of Rishis, like Ravana did are examples of failing to protect the natural order. This is also an example of failing the 5th Gojo after passing the first 4. These Asuras actually attempted to snuff out wisdom, let alone be guided by its light!

Ravana, despite great abilities, boons and knowledge, was a great tormentor of people and molester of women. Image credit – “The Ramayana”, published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Something similar is seen in the challenges we face in our lifetimes. Between 1900 and 2000, humans went from dreaming of flight to landing on the moon to exploring the solar system! Between 1950, when horse and bullock drawn carts were still prevalent in most parts of India, we have gone to having trouble with parking spaces for cars in most urban areas! This is a fantastic representation of a collective achievement of the first 4 Gojo.

That said, pollution and supply chain issues have come to haunt us all. Sustainable development is at loggerheads with the desire for great levels of comfort and convenience. Armed conflict is back in a big way, not that it ever went away completely. Inequality in wealth levels across the world are not diminishing as fast as citizens of the world would prefer.

But all points of view that cause these problems are correct and valid, at least to those who hold them. And this is another demonstration of how “wisdom” is hard to come by. And this is not unlike the problem with the Asuras, who failed to sustain the “natural order” (Rta). Natural Order is not too different from the climate, the change in which is yet another example of a failure of the practice “Komyo no satori”.

This again leads me to my opinion, we humans, or Mānavās, are the Asuras. This is not self-deprecation. It is just an identification of how we want to be the Devas or higher yet, the great Trinity that can fix everything. That is perhaps why we have so many stories of warning to the self, with Asuras as the antagonists!

Notes:

1 The Devas used Kacha, the son of Brihaspati, to obtain the Sanjeevini Kriya. The story of this event is incredible by itself. It has romance in a “honey pot” espionage operation. That also means, once technological parity had been achieved, the boons were the next technological disruptor.

* The Gojo – A personal understanding – https://mundanebudo.com/2023/03/16/the-gojo-a-personal-understanding/

Devi Durga and the Ishizuki

Vikram M R, , , , , , 1 Comment

Vijayadashami is the last day of the Dasara (Dussehra) festival. One story associated with Vijayadashami is the victory of Devi Durga over Mahishāsura. Vijayadashami is the 10th day of the Dasara festival. The 9th day is celebrated as “Āyudha Pooja”. Devi Durga could wield all weapons expertly and this is part of the reason for the festival of “Āyudha Pooja”. Āyudha can be translated as “weapon” and this festival is all about showing gratitude to the tools that enable us to live and prosper.

Mahisha was an Asura (more specifically a Dānava) who had shape shifting abilities. He had acquired a boon from Lord Brahma after a severe penance that ensured that he could only be killed by a woman. This meant that none of the Devas or Lord Vishnu or Lord Shiva could kill him. He believed no woman, including the female personifications and consorts of the Devas could ever defeat him, let alone kill him, and hence his choice of the boon.

Mahisha gains a boon, which allows only a woman to defeat and kill him. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Armed with his boon, Mahisha defeated the Devas, conquered Swarga (loosely translated as Heaven) and its capital Amaravati and enforced monotheism on all humans in the world. This caused chaos and threw the natural order (Rta) out of balance. The Devas are the guardians of the 8 directions and natural phenomenon and could no longer perform their duties. To remedy this situation, Devi Durga was born. She was granted the use of all the weapons of the Trimurthy and the Devas. This is why Devi Durga is associated with weapons as she is the only who possesses and expertly wields all of them.

Mahisha imposes monotheism. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

Eventually Devi Durga fought Mahishāsura and killed him, restoring peace to the entire world. She used all the weapons she had access to while fighting Mahisha and his army. The actual act of Durga killing Mahisha is the subject of art and iconography in all parts of India. This has been the case for close to about 2 millennia or more now. The act of Durga killing Mahisha is called “Mahisāsura Mardhini”. The crux of this article relates to the depiction of how exactly Durga killed Mahishāsura as seen in different representations of the “Mashishāsura Mardhini”.

Durga beheads Mahisha. Observe the sword, it is not a typical talwar, it is a dedicated chopping sword. Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

The depiction of Durga killing Mahisha that I came across as a child was in the Amar Chitra Katha comics. Here, she is depicted as killing Mahisha with a sword. She beheads with him with a sword. The sword shown in the comic was a chopping sword and not the typical talwar. The most interesting aspect of the artwork in Amar Chitra Katha is the depiction of Durga using a noose to subdue Mahishāsura! The noose, called a “Paasha”, is the weapon associated with Varuna, the Lord of the waters and oceans. He is also the Guardian of the West.

Devi Durga subdues Mahisha in the form of a buffalo, with a noose (Paasha). Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

But in the past, Durga is seen subduing Mahisha with a Trishoola (trident). She is also depicted fighting the Dānava with archery. For the purposes of this article, I will specifically refer to the depictions of the Mahishāsura Mardhini in the architectural marvels of the Vatapi Chalukyas in Karnataka and those of the Pallavas in Tamil Nadu. The carvings of the Chalukyas I will refer to are those from Badami, Aihole and Pattadakal. The creations of the Pallavas referred to are in Mahabalipuram. The sculptures from both states are from roughly the 6th to the 8th centuries.

Durga fighting Mahisha, as depicted in the famous panel at Mahabalipuram. Image credit – Wikipedia.

The carving at Mahabalipuram depicts Durga seated on a lion and fighting with a bow. Here Mahishāsura is shown in an anthropomorphic form. He has the head of a buffalo (which is what Mahisha means) and the body of a man. He wields a large club. A version of this carving is also seen in Pattadakal. It is seen on a small panel in one of the temples at the Pattadakal temple complex.

A depiction in Pattadakal similar to the one in Mahabalipuram.

In Aihole, there is a cave temple called “Ravana Phadi” (in some sources it is referred to as “Ravala Phadi”). In this cave, there is a stunningly beautiful depiction of the Mahishāsura Mardhini. In this sculpture, Mahishāsura is depicted as a buffalo. Durga has subdued him with one knee and speared his body with a Trishoola. There are similar depictions in both Pattadakal and Badami. There is yet another depiction of the Mahishāsura Mardhini in Aihole, at the temple complex.

Mahishāsura Mardhini depicted at the Ravana Phadi cave temple in Aihole. Observe the area encircled in white. The spike at the rear end of the Trishoola is used to stab Mahisha.

This is a closeup of the area encircled in the previous image. The spike of the rear end of the Trishoola going through the buffalo is clearly visible.

In the depiction at Pattadakal Mahisha is depicted in an anthropomorphic form, but different from the one made popular by the depiction at Mahabalipuram. Here the sculpture is partially damaged, and Mahisha seems to me like a man with small horns. Here, Durga has run through the Asura not only with her Trishoola, but also with her sword.

Mahishāsura Mardhini depicted at Pattadakal. Mahisha has been stabbed with the sword and also the rear end of the Trishoola. The trident of the Trishoola is encircled in white; this shows that the rear end is doing the stabbing.

In the Badami museum, situated within the cave temple complex, there is a small panel, which shows Mahisha as a buffalo proper. Here again, the Asura is speared by Durga’s Trishoola. In the depiction at the Aihole temple complex as well, Mashisha is a buffalo and has been slain by Durga’s Trishoola.

Mahishāsura Mardhini in a carving at the Badami museum. This also shows the rear end of the Trishoola doing the damage. The trident and rear spike are seen in the highlighted boxes.

The most interesting part in the depictions at Aihole, Badami and Pattadakal is the part of the Trishoola with which Mahishāsura is speared! Devi Durga has thrust through Mahishāsura with the rear end or the butt of her Trishoola! As a martial artist, this is an incredibly interesting aspect!

Mahishāsura Mardhini as seen in the bas relief at Chabimura, Tripura. This also shows the rear end of the Trishoola being used. This carving is from the Northeastern part of India, while the others were from the South. This carving is supposedly from the 15th or 16th century. This shows that the rear end of the Trishoola being used was shown across a vast geography over at least a 1000 years!

The bas relief at Chabimura seen in its entirety. The carving itself is over 20 feet tall and is situated on a cliff face on the river Gomati. The carving is over 20 feet off the ground.

This depiction of course is not always used. There is a carving in the Aihole museum where Mahishāsura is being stabbed with the trident part of the Trishoola. But that seems to be exception at this time and in this part of the world, based on the depictions I have seen. And the fact that the rear end of the Trishoola is used as the part that is causing the damage is what inspired this article.

A carving at the Aihole museum of the Mahishāsura Mardhini depicts the use of the trident instead of the rear spike as seen in the encircled area above. The rear end of the Trishoola is damaged and not clearly visible.

The Trishoola is a pole arm. Pole arms are weapons that are mounted on a shaft or haft, usually made of wood. They are generally as tall as or taller than the individual wielding it. The length of the weapon gave a great range/reach advantage when the weapon was used, either for hunting or in war. Some well-known pole arms are, the spear in its various forms, the glaive, the poleaxe, the halberd in its various forms, the pike, and even the man-catchers!

In the Bujinkan system of martial arts which I practice, the commonly practiced pole arms are the Naginata and the Yari. The naginata is the Japanese equivalent of a glaive or a halberd. The yari is the term used for different forms of the spear in Japan. The man-catcher is called a “Sasumata” in Japanese. Another example of a Japanese pole arm is the “Sodegarami”, which was a pole arm used against Yoroi (Japanese armour).

Historically, many pole arms have used a butt cap at the end of the shaft or haft. This added a bit of weight at the rear end of the weapon. The two commonly used forms of the butt cap was a spike or a sheath, like a cladding. The main function of the spike or the cladding was to reinforce the wood that made up the shaft, to protect the end from splitting and other like damage. The weight that a spike or cap possessed could act as a counterweight. In this role it helps maintain the centre of gravity of the weapon and balance the weight of the blade, spearhead, hammer, billhook or anything else at the business end of the weapon.

Representative Naginata and Yari (spear). The Yari has a simulation of the Ishizuki, while the Naginata does not. This is seen within the boxes in red.

In the case of a Yari or a Naginata, the weight (likely metallic) at the end of a Yari or Naginata can be of two kinds. One is the “Ishizuki” and the other is the “Hirumaki”. The “Ishizuki” can be translated as a “weight with a point”. It is essentially a spike. “Hirumaki” can be translated as “Big Roll”. Here the “Roll” in “Big Roll” is something that is used as a wrapping. The “Hirumaki” is essentially a cladding or a sheath of metal which adds weight.

The above images show Lord Shiva slaying Andhaka with his Trishoola. In the image on the left, observe the rear end of the Trishoola, encircled in white. It is not a spike as seen in the earlier depictions of the Mahishāsura Mardhini. The rear end here is like a cladding or a pommel. This is a representation of the “Hirumaki”. The close up on the right shows that Andhaka has been stabbed with the trident (encircled in white). Could this indicate that of there was a spike or Ishizuki on the Trishoola, it was the offensive part, but if there was a Hirumaki or pommel on the Trishoola, the trident was the offensive part?

So, it is likely that the Trishoola too, being a pole arm, had a weight at the end of the shaft. This weight was quite likely a spike. The spike at the rear end of a pole arm was not the primary weapon. But it was definitely used in fighting, simply because the rear end of any pole arm can be used to strike an opponent or to block an attack. This happens when the attack from the spearhead or blade or trident is blocked and disengaging from the opponent’s weapon is not immediately possible.

A representation of a spike or Ishizuki on a Trishoola (inside the box in red).

A representation of a Hirumaki/cladding/pommel/wrap/sheath on a Trishoola (inside the box in red). Image credit – “Tales of Durga” (Kindle edition), published by Amar Chitra Katha.

In the Bujinkan system of martial arts, when we practice with either the yari or the naginata, it is fairly common to strike the opponent with the rear end of the weapon. In a European context, with a pole axe, which is generally shorter than spears and halberds, the spike at the rear end is used quite often. So, it would be no surprise if the spike at the end of a Trishoola was used in a fight.

A poleaxe with a cladding or sheath or pommel on the rear end, encircled in white. This would be a Hirumaki.

A closeup of the Hirumaki equivalent on the poleaxe from the previous image.

But in the examples I shared from Japanese and European history, the spike at the end of a pole arm is not, as far as I know, the part of the weapon executing a kill. In this sense, the depiction of the spike at the end of a Trishoola being used as the primary weapon is very interesting, if not unique, especially since there are so many of them!

A wonderful demonstration of the use of the poleaxe in a duel. The poleaxes used here have a spike (Ishuzuki) at the rear end, not a Hirumaki.

Could this mean that the Trishoola really had two primary weapons? Was there a spear head at the other end of a Trishoola? And if there was, how was it wielded? And how was the weapon managed and rested while on campaign? Was there a protective sheath/scabbard for either or both ends that was taken off only during fighting, to protect them from the rain, mud and other elements? I have no idea.

Beyond all this, how was a Trishoola used in a fight? Be it a duel or a battle? And was it used often? Or at all? I am not aware of any manuscripts or set of carvings that give us an idea about fighting with a Trishoola in a historical context. Could it be that the spike was the weapon and the trident the defensive part of the weapon? This seems counterintuitive to a modern Hindu mind but need not be ruled out entirely.

The depictions of the Trishoola in the Mahishāsura Mardhini I have referred to are from a period when urban life was prevalent in large parts of India and cultural expression was thriving. Wars were being fought in all parts of the country as well. The trident beyond being associated with Lord Shiva in India and Poseidon in Greek mythology, does see use as a weapon in history. In ancient Rome, the gladiator of the type Retiarius did use a trident as a weapon, even if this only shows that it was used in duels & games, and not in battles.

So, the Trishoola as depicted in the hands of Devi Durga slaying Mahishāsura is indeed a weapon and not just a hunting/fishing tool. This makes the Trishoola and its use in combat, because we know so little about it, simply fascinating! Wish you all a Blessed Vijayadashami!