12” Handcrafted Tibetan Tantric Phurba Khatvanga - Ritual Staff weapon - TKS-5A

Description

12” Handcrafted Tibetan Tantric Phurba Khatvanga Ritual Staff weapon – ancient club/staff weapon from Nepal
Features:
Handcrafted Tibetan Tantric Phurba khatvanga.
Made in Nepal
Total Length: 12” inches
Width: 3.15" inches
Depth: 1.5” inches
Weight: 1 lb. 6.7 oz.
Made from iron.
Fine craftsmanship and intricate detail
Beautiful gifting piece.
Model: TKS-5A
Khatvanga (tantric weapon)
A khatvanga (Sanskrit:
खट्वाङ्ग
) is a long, studded club originally created as a weapon. It was adopted as a traditional religious symbol in Indian religions such as Tantric traditions like Shaivism and Vajrayana Buddhism. Originally, the khatvanga was made of bones, especially, the long bones of forearm or the leg of human beings or animals. Later, wood and metal were used. The khatvanga is a long club with skulls engraved on the body. A khatvanga represents the vajra. The weapon's three severed heads denotes moksha from the three worlds (Trailokya), it has a rainbow sash representing the Five Pure Lights of the mahabhuta (the great ghost).
Khatvanga
Significance
In Hinduism, Shiva-Rudra carried the khatvanga as a staff weapon. Buddhist khatvanga derived from the emblematic staff of the early Indian Shaivite yogins, known as kapalikas or 'skull-bearers'. The kapalikas were originally miscreants who had been sentenced to a twelve-year term of penance for the crime of inadvertently killing a Brahmin. The penitent was prescribed to dwell in a forest hut, at a desolate crossroads, in a charnel ground, or under a tree; to live by begging; to practice austerities; and to wear a loin-cloth of hemp, dog, or donkey-skin. They also had to carry the emblems of a human skull as an alms-bowl, and the skull of the Brahmin they had slain mounted upon a wooden staff as a banner. These Hindu kapalika ascetics soon evolved into an extreme outcaste sect of the 'left-hand' tantric path of shakti or goddess worship. The early Buddhist tantric yogins and yoginis adopted the same goddess or dakini attributes of the kapalikas. These attributes consisted of bone ornaments, an animal skin loincloth, marks of human ash, a skull-cup, damaru, flaying knife, thighbone trumpet, and the skull-topped Tantric staff or khatvanga.
The weapon's three severed heads denotes moksha from the three worlds (Trailokya), it has a rainbow sash representing the Five Pure Lights of the mahabhuta (the great ghost).
Maintenance
It is made of iron so it should be placed in dry areas.
Iron is highly susceptible to rust, if exposed to air and water.
Avoid moisture, dry with lint-free cloth if wet. Apply thin layer of oil to prevent rust.
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