When the vajra is used in ritual, it is paired with the bell. It is believed that the vajra represents the compassion of all Buddhas, the masculine principle and the bell represents wisdom, the female principle. For achievement of enlightenment these two principles must be combined. The bell is visualized as the Buddha's body and the vajra is visualized as the Buddha's mind. The sound of the bell is Buddha's speech, teaching the law of Dharma.
The vajra bell is further divided into two categories. It is said that those vajras in which the prongs are curved so that they touch each other at the top, and their closing point is generally crowned with a lotus bud, is the type used in the ritual of peaceful deities. While vajras in which the prongs are straighter so that they don't touch at the top, are used in wrathful deity rituals.
This present vajra bell is meant for peaceful deities. The body of the bell itself is surmounted by a five-pronged vajra and a five-pronged half-vajra at right angles to each other.
Inside the bell is attached an iron clapper. The body of the bell is decorated with floral motifs. The handle in addition to floral motifs also has incised lines. The further end of the handle too has a five pronged half-vajra. Each of the four outer prongs of the half-vajra arise from the heads of makaras (crocodiles), which face outwards. The mouths of the makaras are wide open, and the curved arcs of the upper part of the prongs emanate like vajra-tongues from their mouths. The four makaras symbolize the four 'boundless' states, namely:
1). Compassion, 2). Love, 3). Sympathetic joy, and 4). Equanimity.
This description by Dr. Shailendra Kumar Verma, Ph.D. His doctorate thesis being on the "Emergence and Evolution of the Buddha Image (from its inception to 8th century A.D).
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