se ra mkha' 'gro bde ba'i rdo rje

A bone chest ornament; detail of a Vajrabhairava thangka, Benchen Monastery

One of the six ornaments as worn by wrathful and semi-wrathful deities. It is imagined as made of threads and bits of bone, crossing over chest and back. On the chest these threads are held together by a wheel of bone which often has the shape of an eight-spoked dharma wheel. Among the six ornaments, representing the six transcendent virtues, the se ral kha represents the virtue of transcendent wisdom, or prajnaparamita. It is worn only by male deities, such as Cakrasamvara, Hevajra etc. Female deities, such as Vajrayogini or Nairatmya, being the very embodiment of transcendent wisdom themselves, do not require it. They wear only the remaining five ornaments. [TSD]

shoulder-belt [RY]