Used in Tibetan tantric ceremonies, it symbolically allows one to sever the bonds that tie us, paving the way for liberation. The blade is made of iron and the body of gilded bronze, the central part being for gripping the Kartrika. It is a five-pronged half-dorje with finely carved makaras at the upper end, the blade itself being set within the mouth of a large makara.
The Hindu mother goddess Hariti, protector of children, is shown here in her Javanese form as Men Brajut. She sits with a child on her lap, whom she cradles against her chest, and holds another on her back. Hariti is often identified as the wife of Kuvera, the nature deity (yaksha) who presides over earthly riches.
