Throughout the IE world the iconography of the vajra (or cognate) is three-pronged: early on in the Anatolian world, then Greece, then India& Rome. We have held that this is an IE feature even though the RV calls it shataparvan among other things. But in the jaiminIya brAhmaNa it 
is clearly mentioned as three-pronged. Thus, we have a vaidika author AruNi clearly recognize this form approximately coeval with Anatolian depictions suggesting that it was indeed an old IE conception of the weapon. A coin of Marcos Aurelios with Jupiter with 3-pronged weapon
This also brings to mind the famous AV (vulgate) incantation of the secret atharvan weapon, triShaMdhi, which can be interpreted as 3-pronged: e.g.,
अयोमुखाः सूचीमुखा अथो विकङ्कतीमुखाः ।
क्रव्यादो वातरंहस आ सजन्त्व् अमित्रान् वज्रेण त्रिषन्धिना ॥
अयोमुखाः सूचीमुखा अथो विकङ्कतीमुखाः ।
क्रव्यादो वातरंहस आ सजन्त्व् अमित्रान् वज्रेण त्रिषन्धिना ॥
Metal-headed, point-headed, barb-headed, flesh-eating, with the speed of wind, stick to the enemies, together with the three-pronged vajra.
Also:
यां देवा अनुतिष्ठन्ति यस्या नास्ति विराधनम् ।।
तयेन्द्रो हन्तु वृत्रहा वज्रेण त्रिषन्धिना ॥
Also:
यां देवा अनुतिष्ठन्ति यस्या नास्ति विराधनम् ।।
तयेन्द्रो हन्तु वृत्रहा वज्रेण त्रिषन्धिना ॥
With the [ritual] the deva-s attend, which has no failure, by that indra, the slayer of vR^itra, shall kill with teh three-pronged vajra.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
