Iron phurbu, or ritual dagger.
A smaller phur ba like this example may have been used by a lama as he travelled from place to place performing rituals consecrations and exorcisms. Phur ba or ‘kila’ in Sanskrit have a long history of use in Buddhist, Vedic and shamanic practices. In the context of Tibetan Buddhism they are associated with a wrathful deity Vajraklaya. Their dagger / stake-like form indicates their efficacy as a ritual tool through which negativity and obstructions can be annihilated and demons pinned down. Phur ba are used in all manner of different rituals from the preparation of the ground on which a monastery is to be built to exorcising demons from an individual’s body. In esoteric Vajrayana practice a phur ba can be used to pin down and bind negative energy thus purifying a practioner’s mindstream and aiding progress on the path to enlightenment.
