Antique bronze Vajrakila phurba

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).

This antique phurba comes from Tibet. The handle of it is a depiction of the winged Vajrakila (or, in Tibetan language, Dorje Phurba), a wrathful aspect of Vajrasattva. 'Vajrakila' can roughly be translated as 'dagger of indestructable reality'. Practices associated with Vajrakila are designed to remove all inner and outer obstacled on the path to enlightenment.

Vajrakila is said to hold in his open palms a phurba as vast as Mount Meru, the esoteric mountain in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology that is considered to be the centre of all universes.

This phurba measures 23 centimeters length and has an astonishing heavy weight; 830 grams! Don't let this one accidentally fall on your feet while fighting the demons with it. 

This antique phurba is made from bronze and has an iron blade. Only one availabe.