weapon

Vajra

By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.

Description

Indra's bolt, then Dadhichi's bones

The Rigveda has Indra smash Vṛtra with the vajra, the mace or thunderbolt of the king of the gods. A later Brahmana and Puranic story: the gods need a weapon, the sage Dadhīchi gives his bones, Tvaṣṭṛ or Vishvakarma forges the bolt. Buddhist vajra as diamond-thunder is a further career of the same word. For this Hindu weapon, keep Indra, the dragon-obstructor Vṛtra, and the sacrificial gift of the sage. The object is hymn-function first, relic-story later. It is not a temple mace with a proven original.

Primary Sources

“He slew the dragon, then he let the waters flow; Indra with the vajra, his great weapon, struck down Vrtra.”
Rigveda 1.32 (Indra and Vṛtra)(c. 1500–1200 BCE)

“The gods fashioned the vajra from the bones of the sage Dadhichi, who gave his body so that Indra could face the asura.”
Mahabharata / Puranas (Dadhichi)(epic / Puranic centuries CE)

Powers & Abilities

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