Being considered one of the main symbols of Hinduism, the Trishula takes the shape of a trident, much like that of the Greek god, Poseidon. The Trishula is regarded as one of the most powerful weapons in Indian mythology, being comparable to the mighty Chakra itself. Its owner is none other than the mighty Shiva, whose power can be described as having the capability to destroy all the three worlds: the physical world, the world of past, and the world of mind, all with one swift motion by Shiva.

Its origin is that similar to the Chakra. Like in the story previously told, Vishvakarma, otherwise known as the architect of the ancient world, created three weapons from the stardust that he used to help his daughter to embrace the Sun god, Surya. Of the three weapons, the Sudarshana Chakra and the Trishula were born, both were given to Shiva.

There were many stories associated with the destructive powers of Trishula, one of which being involved with the creation of Ganesha, one of the most well-known deities in the Hindu religion. According to past legends, in the kingdom of the gods, the goddess Parvati prepared her usual bath. However, being conscious of possible invaders and unwanted intruders, Parvati, with her power of creation, breathed life into her bath paste. The bath paste transformed into the form of a young boy, and Parvati instructed him to guard her while she bathed.

Shiva, who was Parvati's husband, had finished his daily meditation and had made his way to see his wife before he was stopped by the young boy. The young boy exclaimed,

"No one is to interrupt mother while she is bathing."

Seeing this, Shiva was highly suspicious. This was no ordinary boy, he thought. This must be something that Parvati created! Seeing this boy stopped him, Shiva was quite intrigued, but still insisted on seeing Parvati.

"Move aside. she is my wife!"

But yet, the boy still blocked Shiva from coming inside. Shiva had had enough. He pulled out his trusted Trishula and with one swing, decapitated the boy's head and killed him. After hearing the commotion outside, Parvati stopped her bath and walked out of her chamber, furious. She was so angered by Shiva's actions that she threatened to destroy the worlds. Her threats even alarmed the great Brahma, who insisted that she rethinks her plan. Shiva, now calm, also pleaded with Parvati to not go through with her powerful threats.

Finally, Parvati backed down and countered, "I will spare the worlds on two conditions. One, the boy that I created will be brought back to life. Two, he shall be worshipped before all the other gods of the kingdom. Do you agree to these terms?"

Naturally, knowing that he was in the wrong, the great Shiva agreed to his wife's terms. He assembled his servants and told them to retrieve the head of the first animal that is lying dead, specifically with its head facing northward. His servants ventured the physical world and came back with the enormous head of a once-powerful elephant. Brahma placed the head on the decapitated boy's body and brought him back to life, declaring him as the foremost of all the gods. The boy was named Ganesha.

Author's Note: Here, I depict the story of the famed weapon of Shiva, the Trishula. The Trishula was capable of all sorts of great and powerful feats, that when in the hands of the Shiva, served the purpose to unite the worlds and even end it. Here, I tell the story of how the weapon was created, which was in connection with how the Chakra was created in the story previous. Both were made by Vishvakarma from the stardust that he used to help his daughter to embrace the Sun god, Surya. I had done previous research on this subject prior to recreating this story, and added immersive components to make the story more distinct, such as the addition of the dialogue between the Boy and Shiva.

If you would like to read more about Parvati, Ganesha, or the mighty Trishula itself. The links can be found here! I hope you'll have just as fun learning about them as I did.