A RARE INLAID WOOD KILA TIBET, 17TH CENTURY |

the tribolate handle superbly carved with three wrathful faces, each inlaid in the crown and eyes, the constricted centre of the handle elaborately carved with designs of endless knots and lotus lappets accentuated with studs, the pyramidal blade rendered issuing from the mouth of three makara, each portrayed with serpents slithering in and out of its mouth

Kila (Tbt. purba), literally a nail or stake, is the ultimate weapon against the enemies of Dharma, the Universal Buddhist Law. The origin of the ritual implement lies at the heart of Indian Vedic tradition with the demise of the primordial cosmic serpent Vritra and the resulting flow of life-giving waters. The weapon of destruction, and consequent creation, was the central shaft, kila, of Indra’s vajra thunderbolt, stretching down to earth from the realm of the gods. In Tibetan Buddhist ritual the kila is used to trap and destroy demons of the mind, the obstructions on the path to enlightenment. The mystical power of the implement, embodied in the fierce heads and grip, is invoked to subdue negativity and malicious influences that are trapped and destroyed by the blade. A kila is wielded by an adept in an individual act of exorcism, while a set of ten kila are employed during ceremony to prepare hallowed ground, such as for the construction of a mandala or a monastery foundation; for a Tibetan example from such a group, see Jane Casey, Naman P. Ahuja, and David Weldon, Divine Presence: Arts of India and the Himalayas, Barcelona, 2003, p. 160, pl. 54. The implement has myriad conceptual and physical forms that represent the power of Tibetan tantric deities including Vajrakila, Hyagriva and Achala. The trilobate blade issues from the mouth of a makara, the Leviathan sea-monsters said to balance the universe on their backs as they move through the cosmic ocean. Serpents slither in and out of the mouth of the monster. Endless knots and elegant lotus leaves form the grip while three wrathful faces above guard all directions with glaring eyes.