Khatvanga
Encyclopedia
Khatvanga is a long, club-like instrument originally created to be used as a weapon. It is a divine weapon of polysemic significance and accoutrement of chthonic
deities and 'left-handed path' (Sanskrit: vamamarga) holy people in Dharmic Traditions such as Shaivism
and Esoteric Buddhism. The Khatvanga was adopted by some lineages of historical Tantra
though it preceded such traditions.
as well as Lord Rudra
carried the Khatwang as a staff. The Khatwang has a great significance in the Shaiva pantheon. Lord Shiva as well as Rudra are called the ‘Khatwangi’ for bearing this club.
Beer (2003: p.102) relates how the symbolism of the khatvanga
that entered esoteric Buddhism (particularly from Padmasambhava
) was a direct borrowing from the Shaivite Kapalika
s who frequented places of austerity such as charnel ground
s and cross roads
etcetera as a form of 'left-handed path' (Sanskrit: vamamarga) 'spiritual practice' (Sanskrit: sadhana
)::
Structurally, the Khatwang is a long club with kapalas (Skull) engraved on the body. The Khatwang also acts a vajra
.
. The deities as well as saints of Vajrayan Buddhism appear with this staff.
and endemic to his iconographic representation. The Khatvanga is also emblematic of Padmasambhava when depicted as an accoutrement of his divine consorts, Mandarava
and Yeshe Tsogyal
and according to the Twilight Language
is representative of Yab-Yum
in these examples.
The khatvanga, comes as a danda
with three severed heads denoting liberation
from the three worlds or triloka, crowned by a trishula
and dressed with a sash of the Himalayan Rainbow or Five Pure Lights
of the Mahabhuta
.
Chthonic
Chthonic designates, or pertains to, deities or spirits of the underworld, especially in relation to Greek religion. The Greek word khthon is one of several for "earth"; it typically refers to the interior of the soil, rather than the living surface of the land or the land as territory...
deities and 'left-handed path' (Sanskrit: vamamarga) holy people in Dharmic Traditions such as Shaivism
Shaivism
Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...
and Esoteric Buddhism. The Khatvanga was adopted by some lineages of historical Tantra
Tantra
Tantra , anglicised tantricism or tantrism or tantram, is the name scholars give to an inter-religious spiritual movement that arose in medieval India, expressed in scriptures ....
though it preceded such traditions.
History
In the Hindu mythology, Lord ShivaShiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
as well as Lord Rudra
Rudra
' is a Rigvedic God, associated with wind or storm, and the hunt. The name has been translated as "The Roarer", or "The Howler"....
carried the Khatwang as a staff. The Khatwang has a great significance in the Shaiva pantheon. Lord Shiva as well as Rudra are called the ‘Khatwangi’ for bearing this club.
Beer (2003: p.102) relates how the symbolism of the khatvanga
Khatvanga
Khatvanga is a long, club-like instrument originally created to be used as a weapon. It is a divine weapon of polysemic significance and accoutrement of chthonic deities and 'left-handed path' holy people in Dharmic Traditions such as Shaivism and Esoteric Buddhism...
that entered esoteric Buddhism (particularly from Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
) was a direct borrowing from the Shaivite Kapalika
Kapalika
In Hindu culture, Kapalika means bearer of the skull-bowl, and refers to Lord Bhairava taking the kapala vow. As penance for cutting off one of the heads of Brahma, Lord Bhairava became Bhikshatana, an outcast and a beggar...
s who frequented places of austerity such as charnel ground
Charnel ground
Charnel ground is a very important location for sadhana and ritual activity for Indo-Tibetan traditions of Dharma particularly those traditions iterated by the Tantric view such as Kashmiri Shaivism, Kaula tradition, Esoteric Buddhism, Vajrayana, Mantrayana, Dzogchen, and the sadhana of Chöd, Phowa...
s and cross roads
Crossroads (culture)
In folk magic and mythology, crossroads may represent a location "between the worlds" and, as such, a site where supernatural spirits can be contacted and paranormal events can take place...
etcetera as a form of 'left-handed path' (Sanskrit: vamamarga) 'spiritual practice' (Sanskrit: sadhana
Sadhana
Sādhanā literally "a means of accomplishing something" is ego-transcending spiritual practice. It includes a variety of disciplines in Hindu, Sikh , Buddhist and Muslim traditions that are followed in order to achieve various spiritual or ritual objectives.The historian N...
)::
"The form of the Buddhist khatvanga derived from the emblematic staff of the early Indian Shaivite yogins, known as kapalikas or 'skull-bearers'. The kapalikas were originally miscreants who had been sentenced to a twelve-year term of penance for the crime of inadvertently killing a Brahmin. The penitent was prescribed to dwell in a forest hut, at a desolate crossroads, in a charnel ground, or under a tree; to live by begging; to practice austerities; and to wear a loin-cloth of hemp, dog, or donkey-skin. They also had to carry the emblems of a human skull as an alms-bowl, and the skull of the Brahmin they had slain mounted upon a wooden staff as a banner.These Hindu kapalika ascetics soon evolved into an extreme outcaste sect of the 'left-hand' tantric path (Skt. vamamarg) of shakti or goddess worship. The early Buddhist tantric yogins and yoginis adopted the same goddess or dakini attributes of the kapalikas. These attributes consisted of; bone ornaments, an animal skin loincloth, marks of human ash, a skull-cup, damaru, flaying knife, thighbone trumpet, and the skull-topped tantric staff or khatvanga."
Fabrication
Originally, the Khatwangam was made of bones, especially, the long bones of forearm or the leg of human beings or animals. However, subsequently, wood and metals were used to build the weapon.Structurally, the Khatwang is a long club with kapalas (Skull) engraved on the body. The Khatwang also acts a vajra
Vajra
Vajra is a Sanskrit word meaning both thunderbolt and diamond...
.
Utility
The transformation of Khatwang from a weapon to religious staff took place during the Fourth Century A.D. with the advent of BuddhismBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. The deities as well as saints of Vajrayan Buddhism appear with this staff.
Esoteric Buddhism
In the Buddhist lore, it is also a particular divine attribute of PadmasambhavaPadmasambhava
Padmasambhava ; Mongolian ловон Бадмажунай, lovon Badmajunai, , Means The Lotus-Born, was a sage guru from Oddiyāna who is said to have transmitted Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan and Tibet and neighbouring countries in the 8th century...
and endemic to his iconographic representation. The Khatvanga is also emblematic of Padmasambhava when depicted as an accoutrement of his divine consorts, Mandarava
Mandarava
Mandarava is, along with Yeshe Tsogyal, one of the two principal consorts of Padmasambhava and is considered a female guru-deity. Mandarava, born a princess in Mandi, Himachel Pradesh, India in the 8th Century CE, renounced her royal birthright in order to practice the Dharma, and became a fully...
and Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal
Yeshe Tsogyal , was the consort of the great Indian tantric teacher Padmasambhava, the founder-figure of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. Nyingma tradition considers her equal in realization to Padmasambhava himself. The meditational practices related to her, stress her enlightened...
and according to the Twilight Language
Twilight language
Twilight language may refer to:*A conspiracy theory proposed by James Shelby Downard and embraced by Michael A. Hoffman II*The Twilight Language, a polysemic language and communication system associated with Tantric traditions...
is representative of Yab-Yum
Yab-Yum
Yab-yum is a common symbol in the Buddhist art of India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet representing the male deity in sexual union with his female consort...
in these examples.
The khatvanga, comes as a danda
Danda
In the Devanāgarī script, the danda is a punctuation character. The glyph consists of a single vertical stroke. The character can be found at code point U+0964 in Unicode. The "double danda" is at U+0965 . ISCII encodes danda at 0xEA....
with three severed heads denoting liberation
Moksha
Within Indian religions, moksha or mukti , literally "release" , is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and reincarnation or rebirth.-Origins:It is highly probable that the concept of moksha was first developed in...
from the three worlds or triloka, crowned by a trishula
Trishula
A trishula is a type of Indian trident but also found in Southeast Asia. It is commonly used as a Hindu-Buddhist religious symbol. The word means "three spear" in Sanskrit and Pali....
and dressed with a sash of the Himalayan Rainbow or Five Pure Lights
Five Pure Lights
The Five Pure Lights are experiential manifestations in the Dzogchen tradition of Bön and Nyingma and are aspects of non-dual clarity and primordial luminosity of dharmakaya, kunzhi and/or emptiness...
of the Mahabhuta
Mahabhuta
Mahābhūta is Sanskrit and Pāli for "great element." In Buddhism, the "four great elements" are earth, water, fire and air...
.