Vajra with leather case, Qing dynasty (1644-1911)-China Archive

Image Number: K1D000713N000000000PAC
Dynasty: Qing dynasty
Category: Miscellaneous objects
Function: Magic instrument
Material: Minerals/Metals/
Description:
Vajra bell pestles (hence Za 712~713) were placed in leather boxes respectively. On the inner cover of the boxes, there are four Chinese characters written in ink, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan, which indicates that the ritual tools were used by the Dalai Lama II (1475-1542), III (1543-1588) and V (1617-1682), and they were paid tribute to the Qing Palace in the 18th century. The last sentence is wrongly translated into Chinese, which should be: “It is the reborn Karma bell with blessing”. “Karma gan dril” refers to the bell and pestle that was introduced into Tibet as a gift from the emperor to Gyalwa Karmapa. It is characterized by eight Sanskrit seed characters visible on the lotus petals on the bell face, and the “reconstruction” of the Tibetan area changes Sanskrit into Tibetan characters.