Piercing the temple of an elephant

[Jens Nordlunde]

On some royal Bundi katars from about 1850 an inscription is found, about piecing an elephants temple.
It has earlier been discussed on this forum, if this was possible. Below is the inscription on the katar. See my catalogue pp. 103-104, or see below.
"This terrible edged weapon in the hands of the king of Bundee, brings happiness to Bundee and is capable of piercing the temples of elephant's, hence it is called the tongue of death".

No so long ago I found the text below, while looking for Ratlam.
"Shah Jahan loved watching elephant fights and therefore held an event, choosing his favorit war elephants and inviting all the clans of Rajputana to watch. From the Rathore clan, Ratan Singh was chosen. At the beginning of the festival, one of the elephants (Keharkope) went berserk and headed towards Shah Jahan. No one in the crowd was brave enough to move to protect him. Everyone feared for their own lives and fled except Ratan Singh, who swiftly mounted the elephant. With his katar, Singh stabbed the elephant in its head and killed it. Shah Jahan saw this and was so impressed by his bravery that he gave him the entire state of Ratlam, proclaiming him as the king".

So maybe it is possible to kill an elephant in this way, but I would not like to try and mount a beserk elephant.