[1] Author A. V. Narasimha Murthy says, "In classical literature the weapon Khatvanga is mentioned in works like Mālatīmādhava of Bhavabhuti and Śiva Stutī of Narayana Panditacharya".

[citation needed] Author Robert Beer states that "The form of the Buddhist khaṭvāṅga derived from the emblematic staff of the early Indian Shaivite yogis, known as kapalikas or "skull-bearers".

The penitent was prescribed to dwell in a forest hut, at a desolate crossroads, in a charnel ground, or under a tree; to live by begging; to practice austerities; and to wear a loin-cloth of hemp, dog, or donkey-skin.

These attributes consisted of; bone ornaments, an animal skin loincloth, marks of human ash, a skull-cup, damaru, flaying knife, thighbone trumpet, and the skull-topped Tantric staff or khaṭvāṅga".

[4] Robert Beer relates how the symbolism of the khatvāṅga in the Vajrayana of Tibetan Buddhism, particularly the Nyingma school founded by Padmasambhava, was a direct borrowing from the Shaiva Kapalikas, who frequented places of austerity such as charnel grounds and crossroads as a form of "left-handed path" (vamachara) sādhanā.