The symbol | Trishul & Damru

If you ever come across Trishul & Damru on top of any temple, similar to the picture below it symbolizes that the temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva – the destroyer of the universe!

Trishul & Damru

Although in Jaipur, one will come across more temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu than Lord Shiva, that doesn’t mean that Lord Shiva is not popular. Apart from the popular temples that one comes across in the city, many temples located in offbeat locations especially in jungles and hilltops around the city are dedicated to Lord Shiva. The above picture was also shot in one such location in the jungles of Jhalana Leopard Safari.

So what is the significance of  Trishul and Damru?

Trishul is commonly called trident in English. It has three spikes denoting three aspects.

Although there are different versions as to what it denotes, here are popular beliefs:

3 forces of Trinity – these are considered to be 3 forces of Universe -Lord Brahma(the creator), Lord Vishnu (the preserver) and Lord Shiva (the destroyer)

3 States of Man – Kayika is the physical action, Vaachika is spoken words and Manasika is thoughts or mind

3 states of Divinity – These denote the three states of Lord Shiva namely, Arupa, Rupa  Arupa, and Sarupa. These mean without form, form without form, and with form, respectively.

There can be other theories too, but the above are more popular ones.

Damru is a type of hand-held drum that has a string attached to it with beads at its end.

Since Lord Shiva is considered to be a destroyer it is believed that when he uses Damru it implies destruction or Pralaya.

Babas or sadhus commonly worship Lord Shiva. Many of these babas reside in jungles away from the human settlements. Many of these Babas carry Trishul with them. There is always a mystery around such Babas with respect to their practices. More about Sadhus and Babas in a future post

This post is part  of a weekly photo challenge- Symbol