Beautiful and very finely crafted Phurba pendant


I bought the Phurba pendant from a small silversmith, a family business, in Kathmandu. It was made there by hand.

The material is 925 silver and nickel-free. Since it is not necessarily customary in Nepal, the Phurba is not hallmarked. A very fine, thoroughly solid handicraft!

Dimensions, measured without eyelet: 3.3 cm high, 0.6 cm wide, weight: 6 grams

 

The Phurba with its 3 sides is a protective symbol and is used in Buddhism to ward off negative influences. It serves to ward off demonic forces - meaning demons, illnesses, psychological forces.

Faces of demons can be seen above. These are supposed to keep evil away. According to belief, they are former demons who joined Buddhism. The three-edged blade of the Phurba comes from a dragon's mouth. A snake sits on the blade, it is the protector of Buddhist teachings.

IIn Tibetan rituals, fruits are used to form the shape of a demon. Purification takes place through prayer, protection through putting on a ritual garment, and invocation of the protective deities. Then follows a longer ritual in which mantras are spoken again and again and finally the phurba is pushed into the fruit figure while proclaiming a "completion mantra". Fruits are used because fruits are carriers of life and can therefore absorb demonic forces on behalf of other life (e.g. the person seeking help).

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Faces of demons can be seen above. These are supposed to keep evil away. According to belief, they are former demons who joined Buddhism. The three-edged blade of the Phurba comes from a dragon's mouth. A snake sits on the blade, it is the protector of Buddhist teachings. IIn Tibetan rituals, fruits are used to form the shape of a demon. Purification takes place through prayer, protection through putting on a ritual garment, and invocation of the protective deities. Then follows a longer ritual in which mantras are spoken again and again and finally the phurba is pushed into the fruit figure while proclaiming a "completion mantra". Fruits are used because fruits are carriers of life and can therefore absorb demonic forces on behalf of other life (e.g. the person seeking help). .el thangk