an intresting khanda

ariel · 28th November 2009, 04:48 PM

M-m-m...
The quality is too good and the construction is not very ostentatious... I would guess it is a 'working" example. The wooden extension is likely to be later and improvised addition. I would discount its significance.
Khanda is usually considered to be a Hindu weapon. To see it with a purely Islamic Dhu-l'-faqar feature is puzzling. Surely, we all saw examples of Khandas with Mughal overtones, but the cloved tip is the most blatant proclamation of Islamic connection. The inscription may provide a clue. Certainly, it is not in Russian; otherwise both Tatiana and myself would be bragging about our linguistic usefulness to the Forum :-)

28th November 2009, 04:48 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	M-m-m... The quality is too good and the construction is not very ostentatious... I would guess it is a 'working" example. The wooden extension is likely to be later and improvised addition. I would discount its significance. Khanda is usually considered to be a Hindu weapon. To see it with a purely Islamic Dhu-l'-faqar feature is puzzling. Surely, we all saw examples of Khandas with Mughal overtones, but the cloved tip is the most blatant proclamation of Islamic connection. The inscription may provide a clue. Certainly, it is not in Russian; otherwise both Tatiana and myself would be bragging about our linguistic usefulness to the Forum :-)