In Tibetan Buddhism, Ganesh is often seen portrayed beside the Mahakala Buddha, or under his foot. At the top of this phurba, Ganesh stands alone. Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Parvatti, and he is the lord of success and the destroyer of obstacles. A phurba is a knife with three segments. The phurba is not sharp, and is used as a vedic tool as a ritual dagger to protect one from evil spirits. The three segments on this phurba symbolize bringing the three segments of the world together. This Ganesh phurba is 8.5 inches tall, and two inches wide and was handmade in Nepal from brass material. The actual one we have in stock now is much darker brass, with no gold. We will update the photo as soon as possible.