Vajra (dorje- Tibetan Word) is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond. It is also a common male name in Sikkim, Darjeeling, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. Additionally it is a symbolic ritual object that symbolizes both the proprieties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force).
The vajra is used symbolically by the Dharma traditions of Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism, often to represent firmness of spirit and spiritual power. The use of the vajra as a symbolic and ritual tool spread from India along with Indian religion and culture to other parts of East and Southeast Asia.
The earliest mention of the Vajra is in the Rigveda, believed to have been composed between 1700 and 1100 BCE. It is described as the weapon of Indra, the god of heaven and the chief deity of the Rigvedic pantheon. Indra is described as using the Vajra to kill sinners and ignorant persons.The Rigveda states that the weapon was made for Indra by Tvastar, the maker of divine instruments. The associated story describes Indra using the Vajra, which he held in his hand, to slay the Asura Vritra, who took the form of a serpent.
On account of his skill in wielding the Vajra, some epithets used for Indra in the Rigveda were Vajrabhrit (bearing the bolt), Vajrivat or Vajrin (armed with the bolt), Vajradaksina (holding the bolt in his right hand), and Vajrabahu or Vajrahasta (holding the Vajra in his hand). The association of the Vajra with Indra was continued with some modifications in the later Puranic literature, and in Buddhist works. Buddhaghosa, a major figure of Theravada Buddhism in the 5th century, identified the Bodhisattva Vajrapani with Indra.
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