Kartika, the tibetan curved knife

yuanzhumin · 23rd August 2007, 10:58 AM

I was having the other day a discussion with some friends on the Tibetan ritual knives, precisely on the kartika, the curved knife of the Tibetan deities. One of my friend was saying that the handle of this ritual knife must be in bronze or in gilt bronze. The other one was saying not always.
I was amused with this but, finally, we had no answer to the question.
May be, you, the experts, will be able to give me an answer and also show me some pictures of these ritual knives as I'm not very familiar with them.
Thanks
Nicolas

Bill M · 23rd August 2007, 03:23 PM

Is this what you mean?

yuanzhumin · 23rd August 2007, 03:37 PM

That's exactly what I mean. Yours is beautifully worked on. Could you give me more infos on it ? Like the size, the material...
Thanks
Nicolas

Bill M · 23rd August 2007, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuanzhumin

That's exactly what I mean. Yours is beautifully worked on. Could you give me more infos on it ? Like the size, the material...
Thanks
Nicolas

I acquired this about 37 years ago from the Dali Lama's steward who was traveling through Atlanta. It is bronze with a steel blade. I am uncertain of the ceremony, though he said it was for "flaying off spirits" that "disturbed meditation."

It is about 7 inches in the longest dimension.

Hopefully our resident Tibetan guy, Josh, has some further information.

Battara · 24th August 2007, 02:35 AM

Nice puppy Bill.

Yuanzhumin, here is a link to our last kartika discussion and a picture of my example with gilding:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=kartika

Bill M · 24th August 2007, 03:28 AM

http://altreligion.about.com/library...efskartika.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartika_%28knife%29

http://www.himalayanmart.com/tibetan...implements.php

Excerpted below

PHURPA OR RITUAL DAGGER
A phurpa, sometimes called a "magic dagger", is a tantric ritual object used to conquer evil spirits and to destroy obstacles. It is utilized in magic rituals by high level tantric practitioners. The word phurpa is used primarily in Central Tibet, while the word phurbu is used more often in Kham, Amdo and Ladakh.

The component phur in the word phurpa is a Tibetan rendering of the Sanskrit word kila, meaning peg or nail. The phurpa is an implement that nails down as well as binds. It was thus by stabbing a phurpa into the earth, and thereby nailing and binding the evil spirits, that Padmasambhava, regarded as the inventor of this implement, consecrated the ground on which the Samye monastery was established in the eighth century. Whatever the original shape of the Indian kila may have been (none has survived), it seems very likely that in Tibet the form of the phurpa, with its three-sided blade, was suggested by the pegs that were driven into the earth to hold the rope stays of the tent. Due to the essentially nomadic nature of life in ancient Tibet, the tent was an important part of their routine. While traveling it was used by all, the peasants, the traders, the royalty, nobility and even the exalted monks. Indeed, the peg of the tent is the prototype of the phurpa. Its triple blade is really not a dagger but a peg, precisely the kind of peg used to secure tents.

The triple blade of the phurpa symbolizes the overcoming or cutting through of the three root poisons of ignorance, desire, and hatred, and also represents control over the three times of past, present and future. The triangular shape represents the element of fire and symbolizes wrathful activity. The tenacious grip of the makara-head at the top of the blade represents its ferocious activity.

When using the phurpa, the practitioner first meditates, then recites the sadhana of the phurpa, and then invites the deity to enter the phurpa. As he does so, the practitioner visualizes that he is frightening and conquering the evil spirits by placing the evil under the point of the phurpa. Or sometimes the practitioner visualizes throwing the phurpa in order to impale and subdue the spirits. The success will depend on the practitioner's spirituality, concentration, motivation, and his karmic connections with the deity of the phurpa and the evil spirits.

KARTIKA OR CURVED KNIFE OR CHOPPER
The kartika is one of the most prominent weapons used by Buddhism's angry deities, both male and female. Continuously brandished by them or simply carried in their hands, its purpose is to chop up disbelievers.

This curved flaying-knife is modeled on the Indian ' knife of the butchers', used for skinning animal hides. The gibbous crescent of its blade, which terminates in a sharp point or curved hook, combines the flaying implements of a cutting-knife and scraping blade, and the piercing activity of a dagger or pulling-hook. The blade's crescent is used for cutting through flesh and scraping it clean, separating the outer and inner as 'appearance and emptiness'. The sharp hook or point of the blade is used for the more delicate acts of flaying: the initial incising of the carcass, the pulling out of veins and tendons, and cutting around the orifices of the skin.

An interesting but somewhat disturbing legend is related about the Mahakala 'protector chapel' at Samye monastery in Central Tibet. Traditionally, this forbidding chapel was kept locked for most of the year and entry into its precinct was rarely permitted. The attendant monk who supervised the chapel would each year ceremoniously replace an iron chopper and wooden chopping board which had become blunt and worn down by its nocturnal activities. Even though the chapel was locked and empty, at night the screams of the ethereal miscreants hacked under Mahakala's chopper could be clearly heard from outside the chapel.

In Mahakala's symbolism the curved knife cuts through the life veins of enemies such as oath-breakers and hindering spirits; and his skull cup is filled with the heart-blood of these enemies. This crescent shaped chopper, held by deities such as Mahakala, corresponds in shape to the cavity of the skull cup and functions to make 'mincemeat' of the hearts, intestines, lungs, and life-veins of enemies hostile to the dharma, which are then collected in the skull cup. As mentioned, a similar crescent shaped hand cleaver is used in oriental cuisine to chop meat and dice vegetables.

Just as the thunderbolt is typically paired with the bell, so do the chopper and skull cup generally accompany each other. The symbolism of the two pairs may be the same. Since the chopper is the instrument for cutting through the fog of ignorance, it represents method, the masculine principle, while the cup symbolizes wisdom, the feminine principle. In many ways, the chopper serves the same purpose as the dorje or the phurpa and is employed in rituals of exorcism by priests and shamans.

dennee · 24th August 2007, 04:33 AM

I believe I have seen antique karttrika (gri gug in Tibetan) with brass, bronze and iron hilts. The fact that they have a dorje hilt means that they lend themselves to cast metal as a material. Of course, some phurbas (and the ritual implements are often produced in sets) are entirely of wood, so I don't think there is necessarily a reason based in ritual that would limit the material or, as Elgood discusses with Hindu weapons, requires a different hilt metal in order to avoid the user's contact with the iron blade.

spiral · 25th August 2007, 01:00 AM

wow! best one Ive ever seen Bill, amazing piece!

Spiral

23rd August 2007, 10:58 AM	#1
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	Kartika, the tibetan curved knife I was having the other day a discussion with some friends on the Tibetan ritual knives, precisely on the kartika, the curved knife of the Tibetan deities. One of my friend was saying that the handle of this ritual knife must be in bronze or in gilt bronze. The other one was saying not always. I was amused with this but, finally, we had no answer to the question. May be, you, the experts, will be able to give me an answer and also show me some pictures of these ritual knives as I'm not very familiar with them. Thanks Nicolas

23rd August 2007, 03:23 PM	#2
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	Is this what you mean? Attached Images

23rd August 2007, 03:37 PM	#3
yuanzhumin Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Ex-Taipei, Taiwan, now in Shanghai, China Posts: 180	That's exactly what I mean. Yours is beautifully worked on. Could you give me more infos on it ? Like the size, the material... Thanks Nicolas

24th August 2007, 02:35 AM	#5
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,226	Nice puppy Bill. Yuanzhumin, here is a link to our last kartika discussion and a picture of my example with gilding: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...hlight=kartika

24th August 2007, 03:28 AM	#6
Bill M Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: USA Georgia Posts: 1,599	http://altreligion.about.com/library...efskartika.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartika_%28knife%29 http://www.himalayanmart.com/tibetan...implements.php Excerpted below PHURPA OR RITUAL DAGGER A phurpa, sometimes called a "magic dagger", is a tantric ritual object used to conquer evil spirits and to destroy obstacles. It is utilized in magic rituals by high level tantric practitioners. The word phurpa is used primarily in Central Tibet, while the word phurbu is used more often in Kham, Amdo and Ladakh. The component phur in the word phurpa is a Tibetan rendering of the Sanskrit word kila, meaning peg or nail. The phurpa is an implement that nails down as well as binds. It was thus by stabbing a phurpa into the earth, and thereby nailing and binding the evil spirits, that Padmasambhava, regarded as the inventor of this implement, consecrated the ground on which the Samye monastery was established in the eighth century. Whatever the original shape of the Indian kila may have been (none has survived), it seems very likely that in Tibet the form of the phurpa, with its three-sided blade, was suggested by the pegs that were driven into the earth to hold the rope stays of the tent. Due to the essentially nomadic nature of life in ancient Tibet, the tent was an important part of their routine. While traveling it was used by all, the peasants, the traders, the royalty, nobility and even the exalted monks. Indeed, the peg of the tent is the prototype of the phurpa. Its triple blade is really not a dagger but a peg, precisely the kind of peg used to secure tents. The triple blade of the phurpa symbolizes the overcoming or cutting through of the three root poisons of ignorance, desire, and hatred, and also represents control over the three times of past, present and future. The triangular shape represents the element of fire and symbolizes wrathful activity. The tenacious grip of the makara-head at the top of the blade represents its ferocious activity. When using the phurpa, the practitioner first meditates, then recites the sadhana of the phurpa, and then invites the deity to enter the phurpa. As he does so, the practitioner visualizes that he is frightening and conquering the evil spirits by placing the evil under the point of the phurpa. Or sometimes the practitioner visualizes throwing the phurpa in order to impale and subdue the spirits. The success will depend on the practitioner's spirituality, concentration, motivation, and his karmic connections with the deity of the phurpa and the evil spirits. KARTIKA OR CURVED KNIFE OR CHOPPER The kartika is one of the most prominent weapons used by Buddhism's angry deities, both male and female. Continuously brandished by them or simply carried in their hands, its purpose is to chop up disbelievers. This curved flaying-knife is modeled on the Indian ' knife of the butchers', used for skinning animal hides. The gibbous crescent of its blade, which terminates in a sharp point or curved hook, combines the flaying implements of a cutting-knife and scraping blade, and the piercing activity of a dagger or pulling-hook. The blade's crescent is used for cutting through flesh and scraping it clean, separating the outer and inner as 'appearance and emptiness'. The sharp hook or point of the blade is used for the more delicate acts of flaying: the initial incising of the carcass, the pulling out of veins and tendons, and cutting around the orifices of the skin. An interesting but somewhat disturbing legend is related about the Mahakala 'protector chapel' at Samye monastery in Central Tibet. Traditionally, this forbidding chapel was kept locked for most of the year and entry into its precinct was rarely permitted. The attendant monk who supervised the chapel would each year ceremoniously replace an iron chopper and wooden chopping board which had become blunt and worn down by its nocturnal activities. Even though the chapel was locked and empty, at night the screams of the ethereal miscreants hacked under Mahakala's chopper could be clearly heard from outside the chapel. In Mahakala's symbolism the curved knife cuts through the life veins of enemies such as oath-breakers and hindering spirits; and his skull cup is filled with the heart-blood of these enemies. This crescent shaped chopper, held by deities such as Mahakala, corresponds in shape to the cavity of the skull cup and functions to make 'mincemeat' of the hearts, intestines, lungs, and life-veins of enemies hostile to the dharma, which are then collected in the skull cup. As mentioned, a similar crescent shaped hand cleaver is used in oriental cuisine to chop meat and dice vegetables. Just as the thunderbolt is typically paired with the bell, so do the chopper and skull cup generally accompany each other. The symbolism of the two pairs may be the same. Since the chopper is the instrument for cutting through the fog of ignorance, it represents method, the masculine principle, while the cup symbolizes wisdom, the feminine principle. In many ways, the chopper serves the same purpose as the dorje or the phurpa and is employed in rituals of exorcism by priests and shamans.

24th August 2007, 04:33 AM	#7
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	I believe I have seen antique karttrika (gri gug in Tibetan) with brass, bronze and iron hilts. The fact that they have a dorje hilt means that they lend themselves to cast metal as a material. Of course, some phurbas (and the ritual implements are often produced in sets) are entirely of wood, so I don't think there is necessarily a reason based in ritual that would limit the material or, as Elgood discusses with Hindu weapons, requires a different hilt metal in order to avoid the user's contact with the iron blade.

25th August 2007, 01:00 AM	#8
spiral Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 1,712	wow! best one Ive ever seen Bill, amazing piece! Spiral