The vajra-chopper is an attribute of several Vajrayana deities. It also acts as a tantric ritual material and is used to conquer evil spirits and to destroy obstacles. Sometimes it is also utilized in magic rituals by high-level practitioners.
The vajra-chopper is generally held in the right hand of many of the wrathful Buddhist deities, especially the female ones, symbolizing critical, analytic and disective wisdom which cuts through and chops up all delusive appearances of intrinsic substantiality reducing all things to voidness.
This description by Dr. Shailendra Kumar Verma, Ph.D. His doctorate thesis being on the "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (from its inception to 8th century A.D)."
Ref.
Alice Getty, The Gods of Northern Buddhism, Tokyo, Japan, 1962.
P. Pal, Art of the Himalayas: Treasures from Nepal and Tibet, New York, 1991.
S. K. Saraswati, Tantrayana Art: An Album, Calcutta, 1977.
Of Related Interest :
Chopper with Vajra Hilt
Chopper Earrings
Hayagriva Phurpa cum Chopper
Ritual Implements in Tibetan Buddhism: A Symbolic Appraisal
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