“Mahadeva” literally means in Sanskrit, “Highest of all gods”. The mighty Lord Shiva, and his iconic and mesmerising Trishul of Lord Shiva, a weapon of destruction, he even severed the original head of his son Ganesha. Whilst preforming his cosmic dance he can destroy all three worlds. The weapon as so many representations and it denotes several trinities. The three points have various meaning, significance and their own stories behind them:
Time: Past, Present, Future
Creation, Maintenance and Destruction
Three Gunas: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas
Body, Mind, Atman
Compassion, Joy, Love
Spiritual, Psychic, Relative
Pride, Repute, Egotism
Clarity, Knowledge, Wisdom
Passion, Faith, Prayer
Happiness, Comfort, Boredom
According to Vishnu Puran, Vishwakarma (the master craftsman) created the trishul 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 eight. That material was then used to make the Trishul.
Ref: Sadhguru: “Shiva’s Trishul represents the three fundamental aspects of life. These are the three fundamental dimensions of life that are symbolised in many ways. They can also be called Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. These are the three basic Nadis – the left, the right and the central – in the pranamaya kosha, or the energy body of the human system. Nadis are pathways or channels of prana in the system. There are 72,000 Nadis that spring from the three fundamental ones.
The Pingala and Ida represent the basic duality in the existence. It is this duality which we traditionally personify as Shiva and Shakti. You can simply call it masculine and feminine. When I say masculine and feminine, I am not talking in terms of gender – about being male or female – but in terms of certain qualities in nature. You could say the logical and the intuitive aspect of you.
Bringing a balance between the Ida and Pingala will make you effective in the world; this will allow you to handle life aspects well. Most people live and die in Ida and Pingala. Sushumna, the central space, remains dormant. But Sushumna is the most significant aspect of human physiology. Life really begins only when energies enter into Sushumna. You attain to a new kind of balance, an inner balance where whatever happens outside, there is a certain space within you that never gets disturbed and cannot be touched by outside situations”.
