This is a P'urba, a Tantric ritual dagger. It has the head of a garuda. Garuda embodies the Tantric means of removing all anger and hatred from the mind. In the ritual, an object representing anger may be subdued by the yogin using this P'urba as part of the meditation. The garuda has wings like an eagle and is envisioned to fly around to subdue the snakes of hatred and anger wherever they appear.A purba is a ritual dagger used to dispatch unseen enemies such as anger. Ordinary enemies may be converted to friends by means such as generosity, kindness and compassion. However unseen enemies, such as the enemies within (e.g., one's own greed, anger and ignorance) cannot be controlled by external means. The purba uses the special methods of Tantric practice to focus the power of a wrathful god, such as Garuda, Hayagriva or Mahakala on the unseen enemy within. There are a variety of wrathful deities whose practice is given in the Tantras. If one is engaged in the practice of Garuda, for example, one could use a Garuda purba such as this in a meditation ritual to isolate and destroy a measure of ones inner enemy of anger. This purba also may be used in a ritual involving other deities and other purbas. Garuda, for example, may associate with Vajrapani and Hayagriva. A ritual involving all three could employ three or more purbas.
Collection place:
Tibet
Verbatim coll. place:
Tibet
Collector:
Theos C. Bernard
Materials:
Wood (plant material)
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
5.0 Use not specified (Ritual, Pageantry, and Recreation)
Production date:
19th century or earlier
Context of use:
Unit 896, 18 box. Prob. 18th c. or later. $700-$1000.