Parrying dagger with knuckleguard and screwed-in blades. Thanjavur, India, 17th century [2040×1350]

[Museum](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O450206/parrying-weapon-unknown/). Parrying weapon of knuckle duster type resembling a hybrid between a *bich’wa* and tiger claws *baghnakh*. The main dagger blade is recurved with finely chiselled fullers and details with a finely executed pair of winged and feathered makara/garudas at the root whose tails devolve into foliate scrollwork. A smaller, pierced blade with flanking subsidiary blades is mounted at the other end of the grip. The grip has beaded and ropework flanges at each end and is decorated with spiral banding with two finger loops and a sweeping knuckleguard with pierced foliate scrollwork and a cresting of six makara heads. Two other subsidiary blades screw into the knuckelguard, the larger with a makara/naga root.