Ritual Dagger (Phurpu)

Description

The art on this ritual dagger includes a set of three important Buddhist elements- the thunderbolt (vajra), the bell (ghanta) and the staff (khatavanga), each embodying the concepts of wisdom (prajna), compassion (upaya) and emptiness (sunyata) symbolically. While also featuring with other Buddhist tantric deities like Vajrasattva, Trailokyavijaya, Cakrasamvara etc., these motifs are shown here in a ritualistic context. The vajra's pairing with the bell represents the union of the masculine and feminine in the attainment of Enlightenment. The bell also stands for the sound of emptiness achieved by the perfection of wisdom. The khatavanga staff, on the other hand, stands for older iconographic continuity- signifying tantric wisdom. The staff is followed by a double-vajra, a vase of ambrosia, and a half-vajra at the bottom along the shaft of the dagger.