Vajra

Name for the thunderbolt, conceived
as one of the divine weapons. It has
two symmetrical sides, sometimes
pointed, with a handle in the middle.
The vajra is an enormously important
symbol in Buddhism, particularly the
tantric forms (i.e., secret, ritually based
religious practices) found in Tibet, but
it appears very seldom in Hindu
iconography. It is attested to be an
attribute of certain forms of the gods
Ganesh and Vishnu, but on the whole it
is not as important as some of the other
symbols. See also tantra.