|
45. Tibet 4 heads Dorje Phurpa dagger agate pendant

Enlarged Image
$119.00

Only 1 left.
4 Heads Dorje Phurpa
Dagger
Size: 1.9cm x 6.7cm
x 6.7cm
Material: natural agate
This listing is
for a beautiful Tibetan 4 heads dorje phurpa dagger agate amulet
pendant.
The Vajra is the quintessential symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism, which
derives its name from the vajra itself. The Sanskrit term vajra means
'the hard or mighty one', and its Tibetan equivalent dorje means an
indestructible hardness and brilliance like the diamond, which cannot be
cut or broken. The vajra essentially symbolizes the impenetrable,
immovable, immutable, indivisible, and indestructible state of
enlightenment or Buddhahood. The form of the vajra as a scepter or a
weapon appears to have its origin in the single or double trident, which
arose as a symbol of the thunderbolt or lightning in many ancient
civilizations of the Near and Middle East. Parallels are postulated with
the meteoric hammer of the Teutonic sky-god Thor, the thunderbolt and
scepter of the Greek sky-god Zeus, and the three thunderbolts of the
Roman god Jupiter. As a hurled weapon the indestructible thunderbolt
blazed like a meteoric fireball across the heavens, in a maelstrom of
thunder, fire and lightning. In ancient India, the vajra, as a
thunderbolt, became the chief weapon of the Vedic sky-god Indra. It
controlled the forces of thunder and lightning, breaking open the
monsoon storm clouds, bringing the welcome rains to the parched plains
of an Indian summer. According to legend, Indra's thunderbolt was
fashioned from the bones of the great Rishi Dadhichi, who was
decapitated by Indra in sacrifice. Dadhichi's 'indestructible'
skull-bones gave Indra the most powerful of weapons. By its energy he
slew innumerable of his enemy demons. In mythological descriptions,
Indra's thunderbolt or vajra is shaped either like a circular discus
with a hole at its center, or in the form of a cross with transverse
bladed bars. The Rigveda, the most ancient text in the world, identifies
the vajra as a notched metal club with a thousand prongs. What is
significant is that all these descriptions identify the vajra as having
open prongs, unlike the Buddhist one, which has closed prongs. According
to a Buddhist legend, Shakyamuni took the vajra weapon from Indra and
forced its wrathful open prongs together, thus forming a peaceful
Buddhist scepter with closed prongs. The Buddhist vajra hence absorbed
the unbreakable and indestructible power of the thunderbolt. The
Buddhist vajra may be represented with one to nine prongs. It is
designed with a central shaft that is pointed at each end. The middle
section consists of two lotuses from which may spring, at each end, for
example, six prongs of the dorje. Together with the projecting and
pointed central shaft, each end thus becomes seven pronged. The outside
six prongs face inwards towards the central prong. Each of these outside
prongs arise from the heads of makaras (mythical crocodiles), which face
outwards. The mouths of the makaras are wide open and the prongs emanate
from the mouth like tongues of flame. The vajra is generally two-sided
but the vishvavajra or the double thunderbolt has four heads
representing the four dhyani Buddhas of the four directions namely,
Amoghasiddhi for north, Akshobhya, who presides over the east,
Ratnasambhava, lord of the south, and Amitabha who reigns over the west.
It is the emblem of the crossed vajra that is inscribed upon the metal
base that is used to seal deity statues after they have been
consecrated. The vajra is indeed the most important ritual implement and
symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism. It is so important that many of the
Vajrayana deities have the word vajra prefixed to their names, two of
them being Vajradhara and Vajrasattva. When used in ritual, the vajra is
paired with the bell. It represents the masculine principle and is held
in the right hand, the bell, held in the left hand, represents the
female principle.
|