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Ceremonial sword, Mongolia, 18th century AD (thelemmy.club)
submitted 1 month ago by [M] to c/historyartifacts@piefed.social
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[–] 5 points 1 month ago (1 child)

@PugJesus What do the symbols on the scabbard mean?

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  • [–] [S] 8 points 1 month ago

    I'm a lowly monoglot, but the source says:

    The sides of the scabbard are embellished with four seed symbols (Sanskrit: bija or bijakshara) inlaid with coral and turquoise in a devanagari script variant. Seed symbols are the quintessence of a mantra in a single syllable or sound. They may also symbolize a theological principle or deity.

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