A 'weapon-person', a deity's personified weapon, worshipped in its own right and able to take human form. Chief among Vishnu's is the discus Sudarshana; others include the mace Kaumodaki and the conch Panchajanya.

Where this term appears

• The Court of Vishnu Treatise →

  Vishnu, like Shiva, is never alone — but where Shiva's retinue is a wild cremation-ground host, Vishnu's is an ordered celestial court, and it carries the most…

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