Antique bronze thogchag phurba pendant Garuda

Garuda is a deity and mythological creature known in Hinduism and Buddhism. His origin can be traced back to India, but from there his influence and importance has spread to China, Japan, South-East Asia, Tibet, Indonesia and Thailand. Naturally, over the different regions and traditions, the stories and highlighted aspects and dynamics of Garuda may vary a little, but they have also a lot in common.

Garuda is depicted as a creature half man - half eagle. As an eagle, he is king of all the birds. In Tibet he is called Khyung and associated with the 'bon khading', a golden horned eagle. He is said to have such enormous wings, that they are able to block the sunlight and their flapping makes the earth shake. 

It is said that his body is surrounded by such a dazzling glow, that he was mistaken for (and thus worshipped as) the firegod Agni by the gods. Garuda is often depicted as the mount of the god Vishnu, but he is also an important god in itself. 

In a lot of the traditional stories, Garuda is the arch-enemy of the naga's; snake- or dragon-like creatures with a very dual and often very dangerous nature. The 'bump' on top of his head, between his horns, conceals a jewel stolen from the serpent-king, which he obtained in Mount Meru. This jewel is believed to grant its possessor the power of having control over all snakes.

Also as a symbol of his dominance over the serpents, Garuda is often depicted with an adornment of the 'Eight Great Snakes' as ornaments on his body; one in his his hair, one as a belt or necklace, two as earrings, two as bracelets and two as anklets. 

Some of his nicknames also refer to this dynamic of Garuda; 'nagantaka' (naga-killer), 'pannaganasana' (dragon-slayer), 'sarparati' (enemy of snakes).

It is this characteristic as devourer of the snakes, that made Garuda also find his way into some classical shamanic lineages, where he can be of assistance for (mostly black) shamans when doing heavy extraction work in healing rituals. 

In this pendant, Garuda sits on top of a phurba; the ritual triangular knife common in vast territories of Asia. The use of the phurba for diverse ritual and protective purposes can be dated back at least 3500 years. Read more about the general and specific design and symbolism of the phurba in the general description of the webshop-collection "Ritual Attributes; Phurba's".

This bronze pendant is made to resemble an ancient 'thogchag' (or 'thokcha'). Thogchags are small metal objects, worn as amulets. Their history can be dated back thousands of years and the real thogchags are said to be made of meteorite iron (or at least a metal alloy which also includes meteorite iron) and have fallen from the sky or magically produced when a thunderbolt strikes the earth. 

Thogchags can be made in several forms and often depict tantric deities, mythological or real animals or ancient symbols. Also ritual attributes such as phurba's or dorje's can often be found and even more daily, practical attributes such as arrowheads, fibulae and pieces of horse equipment. They often are very abstract in their depictions, which for really old pieces of course further increases by being worn out into smooth surfaces and gaining a distinct patina.

Real ancient thogchags are of course highly sought after and can be extremely expensive. So of course in more recent times also many 'new' thogchags are made, resembling the style and depictions of the old ones.

This pendant here in our shop is such a recently made thogchag, though the term 'recent' might not be completely adequate, because this pendant also has quite some years of age to it already. It might not be ancient, but certainly of some respectable age already.

This Garuda pendant comes from Nepal. Size is approximately 65 millimeters high (including the eyelet) and 44 millimeters wide. It weighs 25 grams. 

A unique piece, only one available.