Kartika (knife)

Samding Dorje Phagmo A kartika or drigug (Sanskrit: kartari; Tibetan: གྲི་གུག་, Wylie: gri-gug,[1] or kartrika in Nepal[2]) is a small, crescent-shaped, hand-held ritual flaying knife used in the tantric ceremonies of Vajrayana Buddhism.

In terms of iconography, The dakini's knife has a flat sharpened blue iron blade with a curved hook at its outer extremity, which enables the flaying activities of cutting, scraping, and pulling.

[4] The same way that the bell and vajra are usually paired ritual items in Vajrayana spiritual practice and iconography (one is held in the right hand and the other simultaneously held in the left), the kartika usually appears as a pair with the kapala (skull-cup), symbolizing the union of wisdom (kartika) and method (kapala).

In the iconography of the enlightened dakinis and tantric female yidams, it is common to find the hooked kartika knife in her right hand and the skull cup in her left, representing "the inseparable union of wisdom and skillful means.

[7] The kartika is used to symbolize the severance of all material and worldly bonds and is often crowned with a vajra, which is said to destroy ignorance, and thus leading to enlightenment.