Also called: Talwar · Kuthara Rekha · कुठार रेखा · Kuther Rekha · axe-line · sword

Where on the hand: Running parallel and very close to a major line; also standing independently on the palm. Its most consequential placement is on Surya Parvat, the Sun mount, also called the Vidhya Sthan.

What it looks like: A long straight line running parallel and very close to a major line for a considerable distance, with a short cross-stroke near one end forming the hilt-guard, and sometimes a short stub beyond it as the pommel. Alternatively: a narrow elongated triangle tapering to a point, standing on a short cross-bar.

Martial valour, victory and royal honour — or, on the Sun mount, unremitting struggle. This is the sign whose valence flips by location more than any other.

Read with care: On the Sun mount the sword reverses to an unfortunate sign — a life of struggle and challenge. Recorded as tradition; the same figure elsewhere on the palm is read as wholly favourable. RECONCILED. 'The sword has no negative reading in the sources' is contradicted by four other entries here and by the 32-sign list: on the Sun mount (Vidhya Sthan) the khaḍga is read as INAUSPICIOUS — struggle and trouble. Position decides, as with most symbols.