The phurba is a ritual triangular knife common in vast territories of Asia, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, China, Japan and others. There is no exact data on the duration of the use of phurba for ritual purposes, but according to references in the annals and finds from excavations it can be established that is has been used at least 3500 years.
There are multiple ways in which the phurba is used. In many traditions it is used during ritual actions for its protective qualities, keeping the space safe from distortion by dark spirits and protecting the souls of the participants from getting lost. For this reason, before going into deep trance, Nepalese Orthodox Shamans (Jakri) stick the phurba into the ground on their left side to keep dark spirits at a distance.
Also the phurba can be used as an attribute for healing, using it to expel evil spirits and entities from the human body and as a tool for directing energy and giving blessings.
In the appearance of a phurba there’s a lot of symbolism to be seen. Lengthwise it symbolizes the axis of the world and the three levels of Middleworld, Upperworld and Underworld can be recognized. The three facets of the faces and the blade symbolize all kinds of trinities, like in time (past, present, future) or state (creation, preservation, destruction).
The handle shows the guardian of this phurba and its owner, the three faced Vajrakilaya (or Dorje Phurba), a wrathful form of the Buddha Vajrasattva. The triangular blade is held by the watermonster Makara, symbolizing fierce activity. In the middle area some variations on the shrivatsa (endless knot) can be seen.
This wooden phurba comes from Nepal. It is an antique one, with a beautiful dark patina and handcarved decorations. Due to its age and previous usage of course some little imperfections and damages can be seen. And most likely this one once had an extra figurine on top of the three-headed deity (perhaps an animal figurine or namaskara mudra figurine), which has gone lost somewhere over its long life.
It has a length of 22 centimeters and weighs 72 grams.
Only one available.
