Katar, Rajasthan, Kota Bundi, mid nineteenth century. The flower on the forte represents the ‘goddess’ (usually Durga). It provides a barrier, putting the goddess between the warrior and harm.
Warriors are often depicted fighting with a katar in each hand. See for example the sculpture depicting a man fighting a tiger which forms part of the Ranganatha Temple, Srirangam, illustrated in Elgood (2004) p148.
fighting
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
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