Emergence from Sampuṭa
Chapter 7
Toh 381
Degé Kangyur, vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 73.b–158.b
Imprint
![84000 logo](https://cached-fe.84000.co/imgs/logo.png)
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
First published 2020
Current version v 1.12.9 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.23.4
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
Warning: Readers are reminded that according to Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition there are restrictions and commitments concerning tantra. Practitioners who are not sure if they should read this translation are advised to consult the authorities of their lineage. The responsibility for reading this text or sharing it with others who may or may not fulfill the requirements lies in the hands of readers.
![Logo for the license](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/2.0/88x31.png)
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
The tantra Emergence from Sampuṭa is an all-inclusive compendium of Buddhist theory and practice as taught in the two higher divisions of the Yoga class of tantras, the “higher” (uttara) and the “highest” (niruttara), or, following the popular Tibetan classification, the Father and the Mother tantras. Dating probably to the end of the tenth century, the bulk of the tantra consists of a variety of earlier material, stretching back in time and in the doxographical hierarchy to the Guhyasamāja, a text traditionally regarded as the first tantra in the Father group. Drawing from about sixteen well-known and important works, including the most seminal of the Father and Mother tantras, it serves as a digest of this entire group, treating virtually every aspect of advanced tantric theory and practice. It has thus always occupied a prominent position among canonical works of its class, remaining to this day a rich source of quotations for Tibetan exegetes.
Acknowledgements
This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical prepared the Sanskrit edition, translated the text into English, and wrote the introduction. James Gentry then compared the translation against the Tibetan root text, the Sampuṭodbhava Tantra commentaries found in the Tengyur, and Wiesiek’s Sanskrit edition, and edited the translation. Dharmachakra is indebted to Dr. Péter Szántó for his help in obtaining facsimiles of some manuscripts and other helpful materials.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Work on this translation was made possible by the generosity of a sponsor who wishes to remain anonymous, and who adds the following dedication: May all the sufferings and fears of mother sentient beings be pacified swiftly by the power of the truth of the Triple Gem.
Text Body
Emergence from Sampuṭa
Chapter 7
Part 1
[Vajragarbha said:]
[The Blessed One said:]
“These, which are code words with a single syllable each, will be understood by the virile ones and their sisters.430 This is the art of the pledge seals consisting of syllables.” {7.1.14}
Vajragarbha said:
The Blessed One said:
“If one employs the deity yoga of the glorious Vajrasattva or others and frowns with the right eyebrow, one will be successful, upon contemplating sky-travel, in rising into the air. If one frowns with the left eyebrow, victory over a hostile army will follow. With the same practice one will crush the forces of Māra.458 {7.1.26}
“If one contemplates the form of Gaurī or other female deities and bats one’s left eye, one will be able to manifest their forms. [F.120.a] If one contemplates the form of Vajrasattva or other male deities and bats one’s right eye, one will manifest their respective forms.459 {7.1.27}
“Without an agreed convention of language, not even the well-established worldly usages would have any effect.460 The same is the case with the yogic accomplishments in poetry and song, both mundane and supramundane.461 {7.1.28}
“This concludes the section about the art of gaze-mudrās.
“One should place the following465 in a bowl made of a brahmin’s skull or, as one’s second choice, any human skull. Aside from [a skull] of a woman, a man, a hermaphrodite, and so forth, [a skull] of a crow, an owl, a vulture, or a sparrow will produce various excellent466 accomplishments. The procedure prescribes wild licorice root. Through this, one will be able to assume at will the fine form of an elephant or a horse, or, according to one’s wish, the form of an ox or a buffalo, or, should one wish it so, a dog, a cat, or a jackal. Depending on one’s wish, one can be a male or a female. {7.1.33}
“One can enter any being by censing oneself with black bdellium resin burned inside the mouth cavity of a corpse, with the fire from a cremation pyre, on the day of spirits,467 during the waning period of the lunar month. By censing oneself as before with a mixture of equal parts thorn apple fruit, yellow arsenic, citrons, leadwort, sweet flag, and chicken eggs,468 one can enter anywhere in the animate or inanimate worlds. {7.1.34} [F.120.b]
“The root of white oleander, margosa, and grasshoppers, combined with a hundredth part of the venom from a scorpion’s stinger,469 will, when applied to the hand, transform it into a gonāsa snake. {7.1.35}
“For seven days one should douse velvet bean pods and soak chalk with the milk from giant milkweed. When a drawing made with this chalk and velvet bean mixture is touched, one will become like the king of serpents, with poisonous hands. An antidote to the touch of these hands is explained as follows: {7.1.36}
“Sandal, mesua flower, costus root, and emetic nut, combined with Indian valerian, neutralize a variety of poisons. So does costus mixed with rice water.470 Should one consume a pill consisting of the pith of Indian valerian, together with the feces471 of a child born on that day, one will be able to drink poison as much as one likes, like Vajrapāṇi himself. {7.1.37}
“A touch from a hand smeared with a broth made with the fat of a frog and an earth boa snake, and with the fruit of sebesten tree, will remove poison. {7.1.38}
“An ointment made from ghee, sandal, peacock blood, and the bones and flesh of an earth boa snake, when applied to the body,472 can detoxify even the entire triple universe upon contact. {7.1.39}
“The fever that recurs every four days will be cured if, while concentrating by means of the ritual procedure of getting naked, and the rest, one fastens to the hand on the day of spirits a root of fragrant swamp mellow broken into seven pieces. {7.1.40}
“By merely applying an incense composed of equal parts of newly shed skin from a large snake and peacock feathers, one will create enmity throughout the triple universe. {7.1.41}
“Alternatively, by merely burning an incense, according to procedure, composed of equal parts crow and owl feathers, one will actually cause enmity even among the supporters of Hara.473 {7.1.42}
“When the head of a snake placed inside the hole of a horse’s hoof is buried together with the tongue of a mad dog underneath the door of the enemy’s house, he will be driven away after seven days. {7.1.43} [F.121.a]
“Flame lily, pig feces, hair from the head of a corpse, and bones of a camel—this excellent method will send into exile, after seven days, even the entire triple universe.474 {7.1.44}
“By smearing on a mirror flowers of red oleander, cashew nut, and mangosteen oil, the shapes of a horse, a donkey, a camel, and so forth, will be seen in it. {7.1.45}
“Through burning in a sealed duplex vessel the hooves and claws of a horse, a cow, a boar, a monkey, an ass, and a camel, mixed with frog fat, the forms of those creatures will be seen, as stipulated earlier. After anointing the eyes, during the asterism of Puṣya,475 with alangium seed oil and cow’s milk, one will perceive in the mirror any forms present within the universe. {7.1.46}
“A person whose eyes are anointed with a paste of Indian valerian fruit and alangium oil will see ordinary people as divine forms. Through anointing his eyes with oil his vision will go back to normal.476 {7.1.47}
“After anointing the feet with camphor,477 powdered leech, frog fat, and root of the trumpet flower tree, one will be able to walk upon a heap of smoldering embers. {7.1.48}
“After smearing the hands and the feet with spikenard, frog fat, powdered leech, and cardamom, one will be able to make fire feel as cold as snow. {7.1.49}
“After taking blood of a water snake478 into one’s mouth, the wise person will be able to enter water and remain there as long as he likes, as if inside a floating house.479 {7.1.50}
“Should he put on a pair of shoes, having filled them with seeds of the broken bones plant, a person thus purified will be able to walk on water as if on a road.480 {7.1.51}
“A wise person, after smearing all the orifices of his body with a paste made of freshly churned butter, gold dust, onion,481 and fish oil, will be able to move in water like an alligator. {7.1.52}
“Seeds from a branch of thorn apple mixed with wood dust produced by woodworms,482 together with female cuckoo birds,483 will make a person like a ghost. [F.121.b] This can be reversed by means of a molasses and rice gruel mixture. {7.1.53}
“Feathers of a bird;484 hair of a cat, a monkey, and an outcast; feathers of an owl; and hair of a mongoose, when powdered and mixed with carama dung,485 can make all people go insane. {7.1.54}
“The tail of a jackal, rightly conjoined with the right wing of a crow, when placed under the enemy’s bed will soon unleash upon him a terrifying apasmāra. {7.1.55}
“With thorn apple fruit, citron, and the [droppings of] pigeon, peacock, and chicken, one can instantly cause madness. The insanity will go away with the cutting of the victim’s hair. {7.1.56}
“One should take a thorn apple fruit and mix into it powdered woodworms with human flesh.486 After adding this to the victim’s food and drink, he will immediately lose his mind and die after seven days. {7.1.57}
“One should take a crow’s nest from a neem tree with a hand on which white mustard oil has been rubbed. Using the same hand,487 one should burn it together with a piece of wood obtained from a charnel ground and afterward retrieve the ashes. Whoever’s head is sprinkled with these ashes will be driven away. {7.1.58}
“One should combine the feather488 of a crow and an owl, together with the hair of a brahmin and a naked mendicant, and light a fire using thorn apple wood. After burning these feathers and hair in a smokeless fire, one should retrieve some of the ashes and secretly throw them under the bed of two persons, men or women. Right at that moment the two will become enemies. {7.1.59}
“This concludes the section on the art of manipulating consciousness.489
“Alternatively490, if one wishes to enthrall someone, one should make a powder of a bee that has stung a white bitch in the chest. When struck with it, even a woman loyal to her husband will be enthralled, if one mixes this powder with one’s own semen during the asterism of Puṣya.491 {7.1.60}
“Placing in the hand of a virgin girl equal amounts of elephant rut and a paste from buds plucked by women from male trees will result in marriage and conjugal felicity.492 {7.1.61}
“Indian valerian,493 Indian caper, and purple fleabane, blended with teardrops and one’s own semen, will enthrall a playful woman right away.494 {7.1.62} [F.122.a]
“A powder containing puttaṃjārī,495 apannā,496 Indian caper, and purple fleabane, when mixed with teardrops, enthralls the women in this world upon contact alone. {7.1.63}
“Dwarf morning glory, littoral bind weed, lakṣaṇā,497 and avanatā,498 when infused with eye discharge and teardrops, instantly enthrall even the charming wife of the lord of gods. {7.1.64}
“The root of the white giant milkweed,499 Indian madder, house sparrow,500 and costus, when made into a paste with exudations from a wound on one’s body, will enthrall the triple universe. {7.1.65}
“One should prepare a mixture of basil, Indian caper, and kṣīrādhikā501 with one’s own semen. A pill made of this and cutch tree, served with betel, will instantly enthrall even the charming wife of Śiva. {7.1.66}
“One should make a powder from a nose rope that had tethered a buffalo, ash from a corpse cremated using thorn apple wood, and a bracelet from a dead woman who was burned in a funeral pyre extinguished with thorn apple juice.502 When mixed with one’s own semen, this will instantly enthrall even the daughter of Indra just upon contact. {7.1.67}
“This concludes the section on the art of making others into one’s subjects.503
“A tilaka on the forehead made with Malabar gulbel,504 fireflies, arsenic, bovine orpiment, and realgar will instantly enthrall. {7.1.68}
“After placing on one’s forehead a tilaka of yellow orpiment together with white dūrvā grass and wild dūrvā grass, one will be able to enthrall a king with a mere glance. {7.1.69}
“Malabar gulbel,505 fireflies, avanatā,506 camphor,507 and Indian caper, made into powder with an admixture of teardrops, will instantly enthrall the charming wife of a king. {7.1.70} [F.122.b]
“When a woman is struck with a preparation made of flowers from the corpse of a newly married man, noon flowers collected from the head of a worshiped śivaliṅga, and ash, in equal measure, from the funeral pyres of a cremated husband and wife, mixed together with one’s semen, she will follow behind the one who struck her. {7.1.71}
“Dwarf morning glory, fireflies, lakṣaṇā,508 and Indian caper, mixed with a powder made of intestinal worms with an admixture of teardrops, will produce enthrallment instantly. {7.1.72}
“Sweet flag and white moonseed mixed with an equal part of kurchi and the umbilical cord of a newborn calf509—when a beautiful woman comes into contact with these ingredients in the form of a tilaka on the forehead,510 she will become enthralled. {7.1.73}
“One will enthrall the people of the world with a tilaka well concocted from ‘glory sandalwood,’511 red sandalwood, and camphor, infused with equal parts of the blood of a wagtail and a female mule.512 {7.1.74}
“In the asterism of Puṣya one should, using a boar’s tooth, grind seeds of common sesban and seeds of white butterfly pea together with bovine orpiment, and make a tilaka with them on one’s forehead. If one were to look at a mighty king while wearing this tilaka, he would not be angry, but would definitely be pleased. {7.1.75}
“Otherwise, if one wishes to make a magical pill, one should grind the impurities and the eyes514 of a black cat and the eyes of a black crow together with the blood from the left ear of a black boar. The pill, which should also include an authentic relic of the tathāgatas, should then be wrapped in the aforementioned concoction, and then enclosed in ‘sun,’ ‘moon,’ and ‘fire.’515 In the asterism of Puṣya, the pill should be activated.516 One will be successful by reciting the mantra of one’s chosen deity. When the pill is placed in the mouth, one can roam the earth assuming, like a yakṣa, any desired form. {7.1.76}
“Alternatively, one should make a pill with the eyes of a black pecikā owl, black crow, black ullūka owl, and black cuckoo, combined with an authentic relic of the tathāgatas. One should cover the pill in the milky sap of Indian spurge tree and wrap it in ‘sun,’ ‘moon,’ and ‘fire.’517 When this pill is placed in the mouth, one becomes invisible.518 {7.1.77} [F.123.a]
“Alternatively, in order to produce a pill consisting of a relic of the tathāgatas, one should grind together the ashes from the funeral pyre of a woman cremated with her deceased husband, powdered fruit of wood apple, and resin of white dammar, along with perspiration. An authentic relic of the tathāgatas should be wrapped in this concoction and enclosed in ‘sun,’ ‘moon,’ and ‘fire.’519 The pill should be activated during the asterism of Puṣya. When it is placed in the mouth, one will be able to roam the earth like a yakṣa, assuming any desired form.520 {7.1.78}
“Alternatively, one should make a pill with an eye ointment called srotaḥ, camphor, spiky leaves of saffron crocus, honey, and the first blossom of the mahua tree, with added stamens of a young flame lily.521 This pill, encased within the three metals of gold, silver, and copper, will make one invisible. {7.1.79}
“Alternatively, in a capsule made of the three metals of gold, silver, and copper should be placed sprouts of a blue aśoka tree522 inuncted seven times with the blood of a beautiful woman.523 Placing it in the mouth will conceal any being. {7.1.80}
“Alternatively, a pill made of the northern root of Indian valerian, dug out during a lunar eclipse while naked, should be encased in the metals of ‘sun,’ ‘moon,’ and ‘fire.’ If placed in the mouth, this pill will make one invisible. {7.1.81}
“A pill made from bovine orpiment and blossoms from the Indian almond tree, combined with the eyes and hair left behind by a crow who fed on the corpse of a girl who hung herself, is called ‘the lady who fulfills wishes.’524 {7.1.82}
“Alternatively, one should mix realgar with the discharge from rubbing a girl maddened by menstruation in an ancestor grove.525 By applying a tilaka of this to the declivity in the center of one’s forehead, one will be able to hide from even the entire triple universe. {7.1.83}
“Alternatively, applying to the forehead a tilaka prepared with the twigs from a crow’s nest located on a northern branch of a blue aśoka tree will hide a man from all animate and inanimate beings. If srotaḥ eye ointment is placed in the abdomen of a pigeon, put in the fire of a funeral pyre, and cooked, the magical ointment will make one invisible. Re-appearance can be achieved by means of the blood of a black cat.526 {7.1.84} [F.123.b]
“Alternatively, earth pushed up by a tuft of young grass and mixed with a bee, along with its stinger, can make one invisible even to the adepts if it is prepared on the asterism of Puṣya, and a tilaka of it is applied to the forehead. {7.1.85}
“Alternatively, there is a pill superior even to that. Made with red arsenic and bovine orpiment, its effects surpass the uses explained before. {7.1.86}
“This concludes the section on the art of becoming invisible.
“Now I will describe the rites involving magical ointment.
“One should make a lamp-wick out of cloth recovered from a charnel ground and saturate it with oil obtained from human527 flesh. On the night of spirits, in the charnel ground, one should place the lighted lamp on a lotus petal [inside a woman’s skull] atop three other human skulls, and collect the lampblack that collects above, in the delightful lady’s skull. Then, after burning up an owl’s head and mixing it with red sandalwood many times, one should, that very night, prepare from this a fine powder by grinding it on a stone slab. One should then blend this powder with the earlier collected lampblack until the mixture is homogeneous, wrap that in the skin from a vulture’s foot, and with it fill the hollow of a bone from this foot using a splinter from a human bone.528 Explaining how to activate this ointment, the lord said, ‘It can be activated inside a woman’s bhaga, by a follower of the Mantrayāna, according to prescribed procedure.’ {7.1.87}
“This is the art of concocting magical ointment.
“One should combine substances that come from mountains and oceans530 with well-matured vinegar and quicksilver, and grind them together repeatedly in a sealed and heated stone crucible. One should always boil this concoction in a copper dish along with common milk hedge, butterfly pea, jasmine, and Indian caper, combined with fermented rice. Taking a metal [magnet], one should mix in its powder, and along with parts of safflower and large blue lotus, grind it with the vinegar concoction until it becomes the same consistency as freshly churned butter. Immediately thereafter, one should mix it with the sap of Indian spurge tree, and liquify it with sindhu and white borax. Then, it should be mixed together with half a karṣa each of copper and silver in a covered crucible, adding half the amount of sulphur crystals. From this, one will obtain gold measuring half the amount of the substrate. {7.1.90} [F.124.a]
“This is about the art of quicksilver.
“Now I will teach the rites of the art of longevity, giving an essential summary of everything. {7.1.91}
“Following the ritual restrictions with respect to seasons, one should practice yoga and mudrā.531 One should employ the ‘four ingredients,’532 musk, red sandalwood, camphor, and śālija, and also olibanum, tailed pepper, and lotus seeds.533 These great drugs are especially powerful during six different time periods.534 {7.1.92}
“One will attain full results within twenty-one days. Lost teeth, fingernails, and hair will grow back. When one is accomplished, one will be able to change all elements541 into gold. {7.1.102} [F.124.b]
“Now I will teach a rite involving oil.
“Oil of lotus, oil of vālā,542 and oil from the “four ingredients”543 should all be combined with an equal amount of ground black turmeric,544 and mixed with the juice of country mallow. One should also prepare an extract from moonseed and mix it with cow’s milk.
“Now I will give you the measurements. One should prepare thirty-two palas of the black turmeric and moonseed powder and boil it with twice that amount of water until it is reduced to four cups of liquid. One should mix this three times, according to the proper sequence, with three parts of the juice of country mallow. One should blend this with four parts of milk to one part of oil, half that amount of moonseed, half that amount of sediment, and the previously mentioned ingredients, cooking it all together gently.545 When the mixture is going to be drunk, which requires a medium amount, the moonseed should be left out. For anointing the head, which is said to require a thicker consistency, cooking it three more times is said to be best. For an errhine one should use ten palas. For drinking, one hundred palas is recommended. When anointing, one should use one hundred and eight palas. The practitioner should perform all this with a focused mind. By applying an errhine of this, he can live for a thousand years. When drinking it, he can live five hundred years. When anointing the head, he can live three hundred years. My words are not to be doubted. He will obtain a divine form and a pleasant voice, will always be adored, and will definitely reach proficiency in all sciences and disciplines. His body will have great splendor and luminosity. He will be able to remove all obstacles. {7.1.103}
“He should procure the ‘four ingredients,’546 dry them well, and blend them thoroughly with milk. He should heat this mixture up in a cow dung fire until the ingredients dissolve, then obtain from it the oil. The practitioner should blend this oil with twice as much black sesame oil and again twice as much milk, and cook it as prescribed. A decoction made of four parts thorn apple, the three fruits,547 false daisy, common jasmine, and grass is regarded as helpful for promoting growth.548 {7.1.104} [F.125.a]
“Black turmeric, black babchi, blue lotus bulb, iron filings, sulphur, bdellium, white dammar, camphor, and musk—he should cook these substances in oil. They will promote health and longevity. If they are rubbed on the head, they will remove grey hair and wrinkles. All diseases will depart, without a doubt.549 {7.1.105}
“Now I will teach the rite of preparing oils for rubbing on the body.
“One should use the same oil, but add myrrh, thorn apple tree, Indian caper, and fragrant swamp mallow.550 Mixing in chaste tree berries, the practitioner of mantra should prepare this into a solution through the previously described method. This should then be mixed with black creeper, beautyberry, ironwood, bulletwood tree, golden champa, red poon, fetid cassia, turmeric, thorn apple, cockscomb, agarwood tree, asafoetida,551 parahṛd, vallabhī,552 mukta,553 pongam oil tree, mañjari,554 thorn apple tree, sweet flag, babchi, nut grass, black turmeric, Indian madder, costus, and veronicalolia—these will remove all illnesses.555 {7.1.106}
“An incense of both white and red sandalwood, deer musk, camphor, Indian olibanum, and fingernails, mixed with molasses, can fulfill all one’s wishes. One will be able to cure itching, rash, and cutaneous eruptions, and remove all toxins produced in the body. My words are true, O goddess,556 there can be no doubt. {7.1.107}
“Turmeric powder,557 chaste tree berries, powder from a temple brick, extract of thorn apple leaves, musk, and the “four ingredients,” when combined with caura558 and keṁśu,559 can destroy many different diseases, such as intestinal worms, leprosy, and the toxins in the body. It is especially effective when applied together with babchi. {7.1.108} [F.125.b]
“These are the ritual procedures for anointing the body with medicinal unguents.
“One should pulverize the three astringent substances560 together with the ‘four ingredients’561 and drink this with cold musk562 for one year while observing vows. In this way one will be able to cure a variety of illnesses related to the internal organs, such as diseases of phlegm, and so forth. When this elixir is digested, it will without fail remove grey hair, and so forth, from the practitioner of mantra. {7.1.109}
“Alternatively, he should procure the four ingredients and grind them into a fine powder together with the three fruits.563 Then he should blend them with ghee and honey and eat one karṣa564 of this preparation. Consequently, he will become divinely beautiful and live three hundred years. {7.1.110}
“Now comes the same recipe, still in liquid form, but without ghee or honey. Alternatively, he should procure the three astringent substances and grind them into a fine powder, gradually adding one cat’s paw565 of musk from the midriff.566 If the practitioner drinks it well cooled, imagining that power is his, it will cure flatulence and indigestion and, in time, remove wrinkles and grey hair. If it is warm, however, it will cause the greying of hair. {7.1.111}
“Alternatively, he should procure the three fruits,567 cook them with milk and water, and apply the concoction to the head.568 {7.1.112}
“He should grind root of long pepper with red rice. He should then make pills out of this, cook them with ghee, and eat them with honey. Then, after three months, all diseases will depart, and especially grey hair. After a six-month treatment, the practitioner will obtain a pleasant voice and become well nourished. After nine months, he will obtain a divine body, become quick-witted, and be able to retain what he hears. After one year, he will obtain the strength of an elephant and be able to live three hundred years. {7.1.113}
“Alternatively, he should procure three parts each of nāga569 root, palāśa570 root, and costus root. He should grind them into powder with one part long pepper as the tenth part of the concoction.571 After blending the powder with cow milk, a wise yogin should consume one karṣa572 of this mixture every day. {7.1.114} [F.126.a]
“He should meditate without company in a mountain cave—the hermitage of the relative truth of practitioners. {7.1.117}
This concludes the first part of the seventh chapter.
Part 2
[Vajragarbha said:]
[The Blessed One replied:]
“If it is the rite of pacifying, he should delimit a round fire-pit area one cubit in diameter. Having done the measurements, he should dig a hole half a cubit deep in the ground. He should daub the insides of this half-cubit-deep pit with white sandalwood. He should demarcate a four-finger-width575 wide rim of earth in a circle surrounding the fire pit. {7.2.5} [F.126.b]
“The pit for enriching should be a square of two cubits on each side. The basin should be one cubit deep. The rim should be eight finger-widths wide. The pit should be bedecked with heaps of yellow flowers and anointed with yellow sandalwood. {7.2.6}
“The pit for the rites of assaulting should be triangular and measure twenty finger-widths across. The basin should be ten finger-widths deep. He should draw the rim three finger-widths wide and smear the pit with charnel ground ash. {7.2.7}
“Since the activities of enthralling and summoning are similar, their pit is described as having identical characteristics. One should prepare a pit shaped like a half-moon and with the same measurements as the pit for enriching.576 The depth of the basin should be half its diameter. One should demarcate the rim to fit the other measurements and daub the pit with red sandalwood. {7.2.8}
“The marking powder is said to correspond in color to the rites just described. This concludes how one should dig the fire pits. {7.2.12}
“Now I will explain the procedure involving different types of grain.
“He should mix rice, corn, white sesame, barley, nutmeg, dūrvā grass, milk, ghee, and honey with the five ambrosias and offer this in a homa along with moist wood branches originating from the five sap-bearing trees, still with leaves on them, smeared at both ends in honey, milk, and ghee. He should start the fire with the kindling of Indian cluster fig and palash tree.578 If he wants to perform the rite of pacifying, he should cast the offerings into the fire one hundred and eight times, three times a day, while sitting facing east. He can then pacify even the entire district. {7.2.13}
“Now, if he wants to perform the rite of enriching, he should procure black sesame and mung beans along with red rice. As an alternative, he can use barley or something else. The kindling sticks are said to be the same as before, but this time they should be smeared with one handful of milk and butter.579 [F.127.a] All the ingredients should be sprinkled with saffron perfume and combined with the three sweet things, rice pudding, curds, honey, ghee, dill,580 bel fruit, lotus, stamens of ironwood blossoms, and rice. Having then lit the fire using wood of Indian cluster fig, he should generate himself as the deity appropriate for the ritual. Facing north, he should cast the ingredients into the fire a thousand times, three times a day, with a focused mind. When seven days have passed, he will become a great owner of wealth. {7.2.14}
“Now, if he wants to perform the rite of enthralling, he should procure red sesame or black sesame,581 beautyberry, stamens of ironwood blossoms, champak, sorrow-less tree, vajra,582 bulletwood tree, bāṇa,583 and dill, mixed with sandalwood, ghee, and honey. He should also procure pieces of wood eight finger-widths long from deodar, banyan, pipal, Indian cluster fig, and other trees. Also, the milky sap from the Indian olibanum and guggul trees, as well as sugandha584 and other substances, should be used.585 Then, he should assume a red form using menstrual blood mixed with vajra water586 and sit facing the west. Whoever’s name he employs while making offerings to the fire will become enthralled after seven days. He will be able to keep her or him for as long as he lives. {7.2.15}
“Now, if he wishes to perform the rite of assaulting, he should blend black sesame, mung beans or something similar, the fruit of the marking nut, and kālaka,587 with black mustard oil and an admixture of blood.588 He should then procure thorns from a crooked black tree, and pieces of wood ten finger-widths long from all trees that are pungent, bitter, and so forth. Adding human bone, human feces, donkey droppings, and hair, as well as dog feces, hair, and paws, he should blend all this with oil, and facing south with a focused mind, offer it into a charnel ground fire one hundred and eight times. Whoever’s name one employs will die within three days. [F.127.b]
“If not, he should stand to one side and prepare a triangular fire pit. There, he should offer the previously mentioned substances into a fire obtained from a household of untouchables. By this means alone the enemy will be led to the abode of the lord of death, of this there is no doubt. {7.2.16}
“If he wants to drive someone away, he should mix mustard seeds,589 mung beans, and dust from a footpath, and blend them with blood and black mustard oil. He should add to this a crow’s nest from a thorn apple tree. The person whose name he employs while offering this preparation into the fire will be driven away instantly. {7.2.17}
“Alternatively, he should use crow meat590 and camel droppings mixed with wine. Naked and with loose hair, he should offer this into a fire from a charnel ground. Whoever’s name he employs will be driven away. {7.2.18}
“If he wants to perform paralyzing, he should grind fish, meat, and the remaining three substances,591 together with rice grains, blood, and honey, and add to this a crow’s feather. He should offer this into a fire made with sticks from a crow’s nest and discarded sticks for cleaning teeth, in a square fire pit. Whoever’s name he employs will be stopped from carrying out any task. {7.2.19}
“Alternatively, he should use turmeric, (arsenic) orpiment, realgar, and bovine orpiment. He should offer this into the fire while facing north. Whoever’s name he employs will become paralyzed. {7.2.20}
“If he employs dog and chicken meat, he should grind them together with camel droppings and cat blood. Then, lighting the sacrificial fire using neem tree sticks, he should offer this into the fire. Whichever village’s name he employs will be destroyed. {7.2.21}
“He should blend spirituous liquor with human flesh and offer it into the fire, at the three junctions of the day, until he has done this one hundred and eight times. After six months he will become the governor of the district. {7.2.22}
“He should offer one hundred burnt offerings of jackal meat.592 After three months he will be able to remove dire poverty in an instant. {7.2.23}
“He should soak cow flesh in cow blood and offer it one thousand times into a fire. Enthrallment will take place, lasting as long as he lives, there is no doubt. {7.2.24} [F.128.a]
“He should blend the same meat with spirituous liquor and offer it into a fire593 with his left hand. He will be able to enthrall even a buddha, let alone ordinary people. If not, he can also use a stick for cleaning the teeth, covered in saliva, smeared with bodily impurities, and doused with wine. By offering this stick as a burnt offering he will enthrall the target, there is no doubt. {7.2.25}
“By offering ingested and vomited menstrual blood with an addition of human hair as a burnt offering, he will be able to summon the target immediately. This method of summoning is the best. {7.2.26}
“He should smear crow’s feathers with white mustard oil and offer them in a thorn apple fire. Whoever’s name he employs will immediately be driven away and die. {7.2.27}
“He should offer in a fire an oblation of atimuktikā,594 white gourd melon, mung beans,595 sann hemp, vomit, and black mustard, together with tamāla leaves,596 at home.597 He will be able to seal the target’s mouth, there is no doubt. {7.2.28}
“He should offer in a fire an oblation of dog meat combined with vajra water.598 Whoever’s name he employs will become enthralled within seven days. {7.2.29}
“He should offer in a fire horse meat together with human feces at night.599 He will be able to enthrall the king within seven days. {7.2.30}
“He should offer in a fire elephant meat mixed with semen. He will be able to enthrall an entire city. {7.2.31}
“He should offer in a fire fish and meat combined with spirituous liquor. When he has offered this one hundred and eight times, he will be able to enthrall any woman. {7.2.32}
“He should offer in a fire only crow meat one thousand times.600 Whoever’s name he employs will flee within three days. If even Vajrasattva will flee, how much more so will ordinary people? {7.2.33}
“He should offer crow and hawk meat into a fire made with thorn apple sticks. Whoever’s name he employs will be driven away. {7.2.34}
“He should offer human flesh and bird meat. Whoever’s name he employs will go insane. Should he offer the same601 into a chaff fire, the target will become well again. {7.2.35}
“He must not disclose the secret of his practice to anyone. If the secret is revealed, he will never gain accomplishment or find happiness. [F.128.b] Therefore a mantra practitioner must never perform these rites in front of anyone. If he wants to perform them, he should do so alone. Then the mantra practitioner can succeed in every rite.”602 {7.2.37}
Part 3
[The goddess said:]
The Blessed One said:
“Take the second letter of the first group,604 surmounted by a dot;605 the third letter of the seventh group, adorned with a half moon;606 and the seed syllable of awakening, ‘worshiped’ on its crown by the full moon. This is the heart mantra.607 {7.3.5}
“Now I will give you the auxiliary heart mantra. One should take the second letter of the seventh group (ra), join it with Vajraḍākinī (u), and double it. Then, one should take the third letter of the hot sounds (sa) and support it underneath with the second letter of the sixth group (pha), joined with the fifth vowel (u). The second of the semivowels (ra) should be supported underneath by the fifth vowel (u). The third letter of the third group (ja) should be supported underneath by the twenty-ninth letter (va). The third letter of the seventh group (la) and the first letter of the fifth group (ta) should be joined with the third vowel (i). The second letter of the eighth group (ṣa) should be supported underneath by the twelfth letter (ṭha). One should take the thirty-second letter (sa) and join it with Gaurī (i). Then, one should add the third letter of the fifth group (da) with the fourth letter from that same group (dha) below it. One should add the third semivowel (la), supremely adorned by Ghasmarī (o). One should join to the first letter of the third group (ca) and the fifth letter of the fifth group (na), Caurī (e), who is the highest boon. {7.3.6} [F.129.a]
“The fourth letter of the second group (gha) adorned with Vāri is the heart mantra of Māmakī. Her auxiliary heart mantra is explained as follows:
“The first letter of the hot sounds (śa) is adorned above by Khecarī (aṁ). The first letter of the second group (ka) and the second letter of the seventh group (ra) are joined with Caurī (e) in like fashion. The first letter of the eighth group (śa) should be joined by the supreme Vajrā (a), who is the highest boon. One should take the twentieth letter (na) and support it underneath with the sixteenth611 letter (ta). Gaurī (i) is held to be their adornment. One should take the first letter of the second group (ka) and the twenty-seventh letter (ra), and one should join them with Caurī (e). The fourth letter of the second group (gha), with Vajraḍākinī (u) as its seat, should be combined with the first letter of the third group (ṭa), then doubled. The fourth letter of the second group (gha) should be joined with Vajraḍākinī (u). Take the eleventh letter (ṭa), distinguished by the third vowel (i), add the fifth letter of the fifth group (na), and join it with Gaurī (i). One should take the fourth letter of the second group (gha), along with the supreme essence of Vajrā (a), then add the sixteenth letter (ta) and the twenty-sixth letter (ya), and double the whole thing. The fourth letter of the second group (gha) should be adorned with the fifth vowel (u).
“Oṁ, burn, burn, hūṁ, phaṭ! Svāhā to [the deities who shout] phaṭ!”613 {7.3.11}
[And he continued further:]
“Now, for the mantra of Paṇḍaravāsinī, one should take the first letter of the second group (ka) and the first letter of the fourth group (ṭa); Caurī (e) is thought to be their adornment. One should take the fourth letter of the seventh group (va), adorned on top with Gaurī (i). One should then take the first letter of the second group (ka) and the eleventh letter (ṭa), adorned on top with Caurī (e). [F.129.b] One should take the fifth letter of the fifth group (na) and join it with the third vowel (i). One should take the first letter of the second group (ka) and the first letter of the fourth group (ṭa), and connect to them Caurī (e), who is the supreme boon. One should then add the first letter of the second group (ka) and the first letter of the fourth group (ṭa), adorned on top with Khecarī (aṁ). One should add the first letter of the second group (ka) and the eleventh letter (ṭa), joined with Caurī (e). {7.3.12}
“Oṁ, Vajradharma hrīḥ! Svāhā!614 {7.3.14}
So spoke the great Blessed Vajradhara.617
“Oṁ, act, act! Accomplish, accomplish! Bind, bind! Frighten, frighten! Shake, shake! Hraḥ hraḥ! Pheṃ pheṃ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Burn, burn! Cook, cook! Devour, devour! You who wear a garland of entrails covered in fat and blood, seize seize! Threaten the serpents in the seven subterranean paradises. Summon them, summon! Hrīṁ hrīṁ! Jñaiṁ jñaiṁ! Kṣmāṁ kṣmāṁ! Hāṁ hāṁ! Hīṁ hīṁ!619 Hūṁ hūṁ! Kili kili! [F.130.a] Sili sili! Cili cili!620 Dhili dhili! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!621
This mantra of the lord of spells accomplishes all activities. {7.3.21}
“The heart mantra of Amoghasiddhi:
“One should take the first letter of the Vedas (oṁ) and the second letter of the second group (kha) topped with ‘empty space’ (ṁ), and add svāhā at the end. The wise practitioner will be able to drive away even the buddhas. {7.3.25}
“The heart mantra of Amitābha:
“At the beginning one should place the syllable of Vairocana (oṁ) and combine it with the third letter of the third group (ja), adorned with the neuter syllable (ra) and Vāri (ī), together with ‘empty space’ (ṁ). The mantra should end with svāhā. When pronounced, it sows enmity. {7.3.26}
“At the beginning one should place the king of letters (oṁ). Then, one should take the fourth letter of the seventh group (va),622 joined with the syllable of Vajraḍākinī (u) and ‘empty space’ (ṁ). One should add svāhā at the end. This mantra is employed in acts of assaulting. {7.3.27}
“One should again use the king of letters (oṁ), then add the red syllable hūṁ, and finish with svāhā. With this mantra one will be able to summon the entire world, and among the apsarases, Rambhā, and so forth, and even Tilottamā. {7.3.28}
“The heart mantra of Paṇḍaravāsinī:
“One should take the second letter in the eighth group (ra),623 adorned with the eighth letter of the eighth group (ha). One should place the syllable of the ‘delusion family’ (oṁ) at the beginning and complete it with svāhā at the end. {7.3.30}
“One should take the syllable of action (ī) and join it with the syllable of Vairocana (oṁ) at the beginning, and with svāhā at the end. {7.3.31}
“Oṁ, Prasannatārā! One with the face and eyes of an immortal! Fulfiller of all aims! Pacifier of all beings! Please bring about enthrallment, no matter whether it is of a woman, a man, or a king! Svāhā!625 {7.3.37}
“In the center of the lotus he should draw a wheel with eight spokes, furnished with eight syllables. On its hub should be drawn the first letter of the fifth group (ta) adorned with the crescent moon and the bindu (tam̐). Then, he should surround it with the mantra in the shape of a garland, ending with svāhā, and with syllables hrīḥ placed on the anthers626 in the spaces in between. The mantrin who thus forms two wheels joined as prescribed will be able within seven days to enthrall even a king. {7.3.38}
“The fifth method;
“There can also be a yantra-wheel with eight spokes, depicted entirely as a lotus with its petals. He should place upon it the syllables interspersed with the syllable gaḥ following the right procedure. The pericarp of the lotus should be adorned with eight gaḥ syllables. In the center he should write gaḥ svāhā gaḥ, combining this with the name of the target. He should write this on a stone slab with the juice of turmeric and position it face down. The target will become thoroughly paralyzed—it cannot be otherwise. {7.3.45} [F.131.a]
“The sixth method;
“He can also draw the same yantra-wheel, but write in it hūṁ hūṁ interspersed with the syllable phaṭ. He should write this on a human skull, with a human bone as the writing utensil, using poison, blood, and black mustard seed for ink. If he does this in a charnel ground, he will kill the target. {7.3.46}
“The seventh method;
“Another yantra-wheel should be identical, but he should intersperse hūṁ hūṁ with the syllable oṁ and write it on birchbark, using saffron for ink. He should offer yellow flowers or, alternatively, the five types of service. Through so doing the target will become enriched after seven days. {7.3.47}
“The eighth method;
“If he intersperses the same syllables with the word svāhā, he will ensure protection. {7.3.48}
“The ninth method;
“Using the same wheel, he can take the ten syllables of the mantric formula, this time interspersed with the syllable āḥ, and write the target’s name on an earthenware plate using white sandal as ink. He should then offer fragrant white flowers and make offerings according to his ability, reciting the mantra one hundred and eight times at the three junctions of the day, as prescribed. Through so doing the target will be pacified of negative influences after seven days. {7.3.49}
“The tenth method;
“Using the same wheel again, he should write ‘āḥ, of such and such’ in the center of the letter e.629 He should then write hūṁ above it, below it, and to its sides; vaṁ in the intermediate directions around it; and three lines surrounding everything on the outside. If he writes this on birchbark using bovine orpiment as ink, and then places the birchbark in ghee and honey, he will certainly enthrall the target after seven days. {7.3.50}
“The eleventh method;
“Using the same wheel, he should draw a lotus with four petals, each furnished with the syllable hrīṁ. In the center, he should write ‘hrīḥ, such and such’ surrounded by four hūṁ syllables. If he writes this with red sandalwood paste on unbaked earthenware he will be able to placate an angry person, there is no doubt about it. {7.3.51}
“The twelfth method;
“Alternatively, he should draw two wheels on birchbark using saffron and bovine orpiment, or lac, as ink. He should wear one wheel and place the other wheel in ghee and honey and leave it there. Through so doing, whomever he has in mind will become a dear friend. {7.3.52}
“The mantra specific to some of these rituals is:
Oṁ, Tārā, you who bewilder everyone! Eager to save! Strong and powerful one! Bewilder all evildoers, bewilder! Blessed one! Bind all evildoers, bind! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!630 {7.3.53}
“The thirteenth method;
“If he ties a knot at the edge of his garment and sets out on a journey, he will not be robbed by robbers.631 {7.3.54}
“The fourteenth method;
“To whomever he gives a blue lotus marked with a wheel after incanting it with the appropriate mantra632 seven times, that person will be enthralled. This is the rite of the wheel marked with a blue lotus.633 {7.3.55} [F.131.b]
“The fifteenth method;
“For the next yantra-wheel, the lotus to be drawn should have eight petals and be provided with the syllables hrīḥ and śrīḥ. On its anthers634 he should write ‘hrīḥ, such and such, śrīḥ.’ If he writes this on birchbark with bovine orpiment as ink and wears it, he will be fortunate in every respect. {7.3.56}
“The sixteenth method;
“He should draw a lotus with eight petals and write at its center the mantra of the ‘delusion family’ (oṁ). He should draw a circular line surrounding it and eight three-pronged vajra scepters surrounding that. If he draws this with saffron following the prescribed procedure and wears it, tied to his arm, he will always be protected. {7.3.57}
“The seventeenth method;
“The next yantra-wheel should be the same but without the vajra scepters. He should write on the pericarp, or on the outside the following:
“Oṁ, hūṁ hūṁ! Wake, wake! Devour, devour! Chop, chop! Shake, shake! Churn, churn! Bind, bind! Sow enmity between such-and-such and such-and-such! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!635 {7.3.58}
“This is the mantra of Hayagrīva for sowing enmity. He should write this mantra with a substance suitable for the rites of assaulting in the center of a buffalo’s or horse’s hoof. He will cause enmity at that moment even between Śiva and Durgā, let alone ordinary humans. {7.3.59}
“The eighteenth method;
“He should draw two maṇḍalas of fire636 with a pair of corners below and above, following the prescribed rule. Above he should write hūṁ gaḥ hūṁ hūṁ gaḥ hūṁ, and in the area below, hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ. Further, on the outer points of the triangles, he should write hūṁ gaḥ hūṁ hūṁ gaḥ hūṁ, and in the center, hūṁ gaḥ hūṁ.637 He should draw all this with ink made from poison, blood, black mustard, charnel ground ash, juice from the leaves of the neem tree, and urine on a rag from a charnel ground or the rag of a madman. If he then encircles the entire diagram with the mantra of Mahābala and places the rag above a burning fire, he will paralyze the enemy. {7.3.60}
“The nineteenth method;
“He should depict a lotus, adorned with eight āḥ syllables on its petals, at the center of a square Indra maṇḍala with eight oṁ syllables positioned at its eight cardinal and intermediary points. On its pericarp should be positioned the target’s name adorned with four hūṁ syllables. If he encloses this in a two-piece earthenware dish and wraps it all around with a vajra cord while reciting the mantra words of invocation and meditating that Vajradhara stands astride the target’s head, this mantra wheel will paralyze all men, gods, and bodhisattvas. {7.3.61} [F.132.a]
“The twentieth method;
“As for the next yantra-wheel, the maṇḍala of Indra should be marked with eight three-pronged vajra scepters. In the center of this maṇḍala should be a four-cornered maṇḍala, inscribed with the following mantras:
“He should then draw another maṇḍala of Indra inside that square maṇḍala and write at its center, ‘Please paralyze such and such.’642 He should draw this yantra on birchbark with turmeric juice and then stuff it into a frog’s643 mouth. Piercing the mouth with a thorn of downy datura from above, he should fix the upper palate to the lower.644 Through so doing one will paralyze a hostile army at that very instant. {7.3.63}
“The twenty-first method;
“The next yantra-wheel should have a round shape with a five-pronged, crossed vajra scepter aligned with the intermediate directions. At the tip of its central prongs there should be four hūṁ syllables.645 On its hub he should write the following garland of mantra syllables:
“Oṁ, you step with your feet apart646 and you advance onward. You are the rising and the setting.647 You are the bright sun and the eclipsed sun. You are the waves. You are the woodlands and the undergrowth. You are monastic robes and you are great monastic robes.648 You are invisibility.649 Svāhā!650 {7.3.64}
“The syllable oṁ should be written everywhere. At the center of the circle should be drawn a three-pronged, crossed vajra scepter, aligned with the cardinal directions. On its central, left, and right prongs should be written, respectively, the mantras ‘Oṁ Vattalī!’ ‘Oṁ Varalī!’ and ‘Oṁ Varāmukhī!’ He should write thus on all the prongs, repeating the same pattern for each of the four tips of the crossed vajra scepter. In the northeast and other intermediate quarters he should write ‘Oṁ to Mārīcī.’651 In the center he should write ‘Oṁ, Varālī! Vattālī! Varāhamukhī! Crush the body, speech, and mind of all the most wicked evildoers! Paralyze their mouths!’652 In the center of that he should place the syllable māṁ and, in its center, the words ‘Protect such and such, protect!’653 On the outside of the syllable māṁ he should write ‘Oṁ to the deity654 Mārīcī!’655 If he draws this yantra-wheel on birchbark with saffron and wears it, he will always be protected. {7.3.65}
“The twenty-second method;
“He should make an effigy of a naked man with flowing hair and earrings in his ears. [F.132.b] Atop its head there should be a three-pronged vajra scepter marked with the syllable haṁ. Above its forehead one should write lāṁ lāṁ. On its cheeks and throat,656 starting from the right side of its chin, he should write, ‘May the counter-spells ruin those who injure my mind.’657 In the area from its navel to its mouth, he should draw the shape of a caitya. Above it, he should draw a five-pronged vajra scepter. He should then write the mantra of interdependent origination, ‘Those dharmas that arise from causes, etc.,’ forming the shape of a garland of words that extends from the right side of the hollow inside the caitya up to the chest,658 left, and then down. On its neck he should draw the syllable hūṁ upside down, and on its mid-torso, a five-pronged vajra scepter pointing upward. On both sides of its torso should be written twelve hūṁ syllables. Then, below, on the broad plinth of the caitya,659 he should write the vowels, but without the four neuter letters (ṛ, ṝ, ḷ, ḹ). On the flat surface of the effigy’s chest he should write, as before, ‘May the counter-spells ruin those who injure my mind,’660 but this time in a straight line. He should also write the same in straight lines on its shanks and on its phallus.661 On each of its eight limbs, he should write puṁ puṁ662 raṁ. On the back of its hands,663 he should write tāṁ tāṁ, and on its feet, puṁ664 raṁ. He should have this effigy drawn using as ink poison, salt, black mustard, and neem leaf, mixed together with datura extract and charnel ground ash, while the moon is in the asterism of Puṣya. He should write ‘of such and such’ between the words of the mantra on the hub of the vajra scepter, using white sandalwood paste. For drawing the holy caitya he should likewise use white sandalwood paste, and for the vajra scepter with its hub he should use saffron. If he wears this with the spell inscribed on it, he will always have great protection. {7.3.66}
“The twenty-third method;
“He should draw Mount Sumeru with its eight spurs, adorned on top with a crossed, three-pronged, crossed vajra scepter. The spurs665 should be marked, in the corner areas of the yantra, with the syllable naṁ,666 and each enclosed by a pair of hūṁ syllables. He should write the four words alakta, kata, vāya, and māṃsaṃ667 between each two cardinal directions, starting from the northeast. He should surround all this with a circular line, and at its center draw Gaṇapati. He should be depicted in the form of the lord of dance, with a dish of sweetmeats and a rosary in his right hands, a three-pronged vajra scepter and a leaf-crowned radish in his left hands, seated on a lotus, and riding a shrew. {7.3.67} [F.133.a]
“The mantra to recite is:
“Hūṁ gaḥ hūṁ hūṁ gaḥ gaḥ hūṁ! Please send rain! Hūṁ gaḥ gaḥ hūṁ!668 {7.3.68}
“He should write the short version of this mantra on the elephant god’s forehead, chest, hips,669 and above the navel. If he draws this on unbaked earthenware using blood from his ring finger mixed with the three pungent substances, and heats it in a fire of cutch-tree wood, it will definitely bring rain—it cannot be otherwise. If he draws the same, but with orpiment instead on the inner surface of the earthenware,670 and then heats it over fire, he will stop the rain. {7.3.69}
“The twenty-fourth method;
“He should draw a wheel with eight spokes and adorn it with eight gaḥ syllables. In its center, he should write the target’s name enclosed within the mantra, following the prescribed procedure. He should write this using orpiment and turmeric essence on a rag from a charnel ground or a rag that has been struck with a weapon. He should make an effigy of Gaṇapati from rice flour, placing this wheel in his chest. He should then put this effigy inside well-baked earthenware, wrap it on the outside with a yellow thread, and offer to it yellow flowers as prescribed. The rite described here, O goddess, is the supreme king of the rites of paralyzing. {7.3.70}
“The twenty-fifth method;
“He should write the following mantra in the center of the syllable māṁ:
“Oṁ, Vattālī! Varālī! Varāhamukhī! Paralyze the mouths of all the most wicked evildoers!671 {7.3.71}
“He should write this mantra using turmeric extract on two bricks. Having then joined them with a hollow in between, he should bury this device in the ground; it will paralyze all evildoers—it cannot be otherwise. {7.3.72}
“The twenty-sixth method;
“He should draw the yantra diagram on the ground in the form of a bhaga together with a liṅga, and write there the name of the target. Alone, he should urinate on this yantra for seven days until, following the procedure of surrounding her name with a noose formed from hrīḥ syllables, he causes the woman whom he desires to arrive. {7.3.73}
“The twenty-seventh method;
“He should draw a wheel with eight spokes in the center of a moon disk. In the divisions he should draw, in short, a vajra scepter, a banner, an axe, a trident, a noose, a double vajra scepter, [F.133.b] a khaṭvāṅga, and a goad. In the center of the circle he should draw a full moon disk and, in the center of this moon, he should write, “May such and such a man and such and such a woman obtain a son.”672 In the hub of the wheel he should write the following mantra:
“Oṁ, Maṇidharī! Vajriṇī! Mahāpratisarā! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!673 {7.3.74}
“Then, in the center of a moon disk, he should write this mantra:
“Oṁ, Amṛtavilokinī! Protectress of the womb! Summoner of the being to be born! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!674 {7.3.75}
“If he writes this mantra on birchbark using saffron and bovine orpiment while the moon is in the asterism of Puṣya, and wears it, he will obtain a son. {7.3.76}
“The twenty-eighth method;
“A wheel should be drawn in the shape of a pitcher with a neck, and the neck should be long. Following the prescibed procedure, he should write ‘yaḥ plea yaḥ se yaḥ ex yaḥ pel yaḥ such yaḥ and yaḥ such yaḥ!’675 using crow’s blood as ink on a piece of cloth that was used as a banner in a temple of the supreme deity. He should write on it the name of the target and tie this to the neck of a live crow. He should then release the crow in the northwestern direction. Whoever’s name it was, this person will be exiled. {7.3.77}
“The twenty-ninth method;
“He should draw a wheel with eight spokes in the center of a sun disk. The syllable hūṁ—the elemental seed—should be nestled within it. He should visualize the vajra sun,676 and then write the target’s name enclosed within the mantra. If the practitioner draws and writes this, as prescribed, on birchbark using saffron and bovine orpiment, and wears it, he will always be protected. {7.3.78}
“The thirtieth method;
“A lotus should be drawn with twenty-four petals, surrounded by a triple line. By writing oṁ hrīṁ klīṁ on it, as prescribed, while the moon is in the asterism of Puṣya, and holding it in his hand, he will be able to turn anyone into his servant with a mere touch of the hand. {7.3.79}
“The thirty-first method;
“A wheel should be drawn in the shape of a tambourine and adorned with a vajra scepter and a lotus. On the outside it should be surrounded with a triple line representing, in short, the vajra body, and so forth. By meditating intently on the vajra of action all his enemies will be crushed. And all activities will be accomplished with the mantras sanctioned by the ritual procedure.677 The mantras are these:
“Oṁ, smother, smother! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ! [F.134.a] Oṁ, seize seize! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ! Oṁ, hand them over, do! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ! Bring them over, O Lord Vidyārāja! Hūṁ hūṁ, phaṭ! Svāhā!678 {7.3.80}
“Driving away and nailing down the hordes of obstacle makers, and threatening the gods, demigods, and humans who dwell throughout all directions. Wearing his armor,681 he cannot be destroyed even by the thirty-three gods.682 {7.3.87}
“If a lay vow holder wears this yantra-wheel, having first offered worship with many offerings when the planets were auspicious, he will be protected from untimely death, armed conflicts, and so forth. About my words, O goddess, there can be no doubt. [F.134.b] This yantra-wheel is called ‘one which brings victory over enemies.’ {7.3.91}
“The thirty-third method;
“Alternatively, he should etch on a copper plate, during the asterism of Puṣya, the same wheel and mantra, but without the gates. The mantra should be interspersed with the target’s name. If he places it in water and makes offerings to it three times a day, then all enemies will become completely immobilized. When a well-focused practitioner of mantra puts this, as prescribed, in a covered pool that does not dry up, he can bring an appeasement. {7.3.92}
“The thirty-fourth method;
“There is also another yantra-wheel with four corners, four gates, and archways685 adorned with vajra scepters. At the gates there should be respectively a vajra hammer, a bejeweled staff, a lotus, and a vajra sword. In the corners, inside white skull cups, there should be blue lotuses and goads. In the center among them there should be a lotus with ten petals, on which the wise practitioner should place the syllables. At its pericarp, he should write the following excellent mantra:
“Oṁ, Prasannatārā! One with the face and eyes of an immortal! Fulfiller of all aims! Svāhā!686
“He should write this mantra during rites of enthralling. {7.3.93}
“The thirty-fifth method;
“Now, for the rite of averting all mischief-makers, the following mantra has been prescribed:
“Oṁ, Tārā, you who bewilder everyone! Eager to save! Bewilder all evildoers, bewilder! Blessed one! Bind all evildoers, bind! Hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ! Svāhā!687 {7.3.94}
“The thirty-sixth method;
“In the center of the aforementioned ten-petaled lotus he should depict a moon disk, and in the center of the moon disk he should draw the first letter of the fourth group (ta) in the form of lotus filament, which is circular in design. In the six divisions around its center he should place six syllables688 of the mantric formula, interspersed with the syllable hrīḥ, following the prescribed procedure. This yantra-wheel is called ‘the beneficial influence of Tārā that vanquishes an entire army.’689 By reciting it 100,000 times, he can make the earth shake, dry up oceans and other water reservoirs, and turn poison into nectar, or nectar into poison. Having incanted a bowl of candied sugar, he should throw the sugar in the cardinal and intermediate directions, above and below. As a result, the gods, demigods, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, kinnaras, and mahoragas will all become bound. [F.135.a] He will steal magical potions from all the ḍākinīs and poisons from all the nāgas. If he incants candied sugar and throws it into a river, the river will flow upstream. With the same candied sugar he will be able to arrest the waves. If he recites the mantra 1,000 times while facing upward, he can prevent a heavy rain from falling. If he recites the mantra 1,000 times in the direction of an enemy army, and then enters battle, he will meet with no harm even when struck with hundreds of weapons. He cannot be chopped up. His body becomes a diamond body. He will perform many miracles, and will play with deities invoked by this king of mantras.” {7.3.95}
This concludes the third part of the seventh chapter, called “The Benefits of Yantra-Wheels Used for the Complete Range of Activity.”
Part 4
[The goddess said:]
The Blessed One said:
Then, to first explain the purification of the ground, the Blessed One said:
“Becoming the deity Krodhavijaya, one should visualize oneself as having three faces and six arms. [F.135.b] One should radiate cloud masses of Krodhavijayas, which invoke all the tathāgatas and their retinues throughout the ten directions, supplicating them, ‘May you please attend to the places of consecration and provide protection for the teacher and his disciples.’ One should then absorb the Krodhavijayas, along with the supplicated tathāgatas, and internalize them, placing them in a hūṁ syllable at the hub of a vajra scepter on a moon disk in one’s heart. Having fused the form of Vajradhara, in union with his consort (vidyā),691 with all the blessed tathāgatas,692 one should form the mudrā called ‘the turning of the lotus,’ preceded by the blessing with the three-letter consecration, and then perform the required set of motions693 with the vajra scepter in one’s right hand. With one’s left hand, one should sound the bell harmoniously. On the soles of one’s feet one should visualize a syllable hūṁ which transforms into a blazing vajra scepter. Then, with the pride of being Krodhavijaya who makes the sound hūṁ, a wise practitioner should expel all obstructors, first by exclaiming hūṁ, and then by addressing the following words, while visualizing694 himself in Krodha’s form, to the gods, demigods, and guhyakas: {7.4.7}
“ ‘May all gods, demigods, yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, apasmaras, bhūtas, ḍākinīs, ostārakas, male and female elders—all with their retinues of followers695—garuḍas, kinnaras, and semi-divine adepts of spells, depart! A regal maṇḍala of such and such a deity needs to be drawn at this place in order that such and such a student attains a perfect awakening under the guidance of such and such a master, and in order that all beings obtain unsurpassable wisdom. You must therefore swiftly depart upon hearing this command by Vajradhara. If anyone does not run away, then Vajrapāṇi, the blazing Hūṁkāra with an angry face, will split his head into a hundred pieces with the brightly shining vajra scepter of great wisdom!’ {7.4.8} [F.136.a]
“When this command has been pronounced three times, he should radiate wrathful forms of himself as Krodhavijaya while doing the ritual movements with his great vajra scepter.696 Walking around the maṇḍala ground, tempestuously, with a vajra step, he should drive away all mischief-makers. Thus should he claim the ground. {7.4.9}
“Then, having summoned the earth goddess, he should perform by means of the mantra the consecration and the tutelage rites.697 He should pay homage to his master—his mantra instructor—and afterward summon, cause to enter, and bind the gold-colored earth goddess who is holding a pitcher in her hand. He should worship her with the five types of service involving fragrant perfume, and so forth. After he has made her occupy the maṇḍala ground, he should remain near her.” {7.4.10}
“Oṁ, come, come! O great goddess, mother of the earthly realm, adorned with all the richly bejeweled ornaments, resounding with the tinkling of necklaces and anklets, you who are so bountifully worshiped by Vajrasattva! Take this welcome offering and bring success to the homa rites! Hrī hī hī hī haṁ! Svāhā!”698 {7.4.11}
[And he continued further:]
“Having performed with this mantra the rite of the goddess’s tutelage over the maṇḍala, he should perform the anointing of the ground. He should thus sprinkle and smear the ground with feces, urine, and so forth. He should then cense it with an incense of human flesh. After censing the ground, he should make offerings, and then place the ‘seal’ in the center, meaning he should usher in the consort (vidyā).” {7.4.12}
Vajragarbha asked:
“Should he, O Blessed One, usher in a consort (vidyā)-goddess who has been cast or otherwise artificially made, drawn in whatever way, or fashioned from wood or other such materials?” {7.4.13}
The Blessed One replied:
“He should usher in a human girl of the cāṇḍāla or similar caste. If such cannot be procured, he should take one from a caste different from his own.699 He should place the mantra syllables on her body. The syllable hrīḥ should be placed on all her limbs. The syllable hrīṁ should be placed on her chest, between her eyebrows, on her throat and head. The syllable bhruṁ should be placed in the center of her vulva.” {7.4.14}
“And where,700 O Blessed One, should the syllable bhrūṁ be placed, [if it is placed] in the middle of her body?” {7.4.15} [F.136.b]
The Blessed One replied:
“By the word middle, O sons of the buddha family, navel is meant. There he should place the syllable bhrūṁ.701 Having thus702 placed the syllables, he should visualize the forms of Locanā and other tathāgata consorts. At this point, he should visualize a brahmin or a śūdra consort in the form of Locanā—if it is the rite of pacifying, it should be the form of Locanā. He should visualize her as white and adorned with all manner of jewelry. If it is the rite of enthralling, he should visualize a woman from the cāṇḍāla caste in the form of red Tārā. If it is the rite of enriching, he should visualize a dancer woman or a woman of royal lineage as the yellow Pāṇḍaravāsinī. Thus, following the divisions of the types of activity, he should worship the consort with the five types of service, and offer a handful of flowers. He should place on her vulva blood or703 semen.704 In this way, the ground where the homa rite is to take place will be purified. {7.4.16}
“A girl, one from a caste different than his own,705 should be instructed in the maṇḍala procedure. As this pertains to the maṇḍala, she should also be instructed in the rites of homa, including the secret maṇḍala of phenomena. Following this rule, he should measure out a twofold maṇḍala—the external one of colored powders, and the secret maṇḍala of phenomena that concerns his own samaya. Accordingly, he should prepare a sacrificial fire pit in an area that is a place of pilgrimage for yogins.”
So spoke the Blessed One. {7.4.17}
And he said further:
“In front, there should be a dish with the welcome offering. While chanting the ‘all-purpose’ mantra, he should perform the rites of sprinkling and sipping of water. He should encircle the pit all around with the straight tips of kuśa grass blades. {7.4.25}
“Oṁ, fire, blaze, blaze! Penetrate, O splendorous one, to carry away this burnt offering, svāhā!719 {7.4.27}
“Likewise, he should observe whether the fire has many flames and belches smoke and sparks, or whether it gradually rises or very slowly wanes. The fire may look unpleasant, or be dark green in color; it may resemble a spear or a sun, or the head of a cow. It may smell of a corpse or a cow, or possibly a donkey. He should thus divine by the signs of the fire whether there will be obstacles, and if so, he should neutralize them.722 {7.4.38}
“Through the homa consisting of feces, urine, blood, bone marrow, bones, and human flesh, all the recipients become filled with joy.”727 {7.4.46}
Then the Blessed One, having entered the samādhi called “The Vajra That Accomplishes the Wisdom Circle of the Vajra-Tathāgata Great Vairocana,”728 taught the elaborate outer and inner ritual methods for accomplishing the complete wisdom circle: {7.4.47}
“Whatever deity is brought inside the center of the circle, that circle is praised by the buddhas as the vajra maṇḍala that is to be indicated with the name of that deity. {7.4.48}
“She is imbued with the sentiment of erotic love; she has sixteen arms and seven faces,730 each one with three eyes, and is smiling. She is emerald in color731 and replete with the freshness of youth. She wears brightly colored clothes, a pearl necklace, anklets, a choker, a diadem, arm bracelets,732 earrings, a waist chain, and so forth. She is adorned with different kinds of jewelry; her hair is adorned with a blue lotus flower and her body hue resembles barley flowers.733 She stands with her left leg outstretched and her right slightly bent, inspiring fear even in the masters of the realms of the thirty-three (Indra) who fold their hands in a gesture of reverence. She is ablaze with red flames and surrounded by buddhas radiating light all around. If the practitioner visualizes her, the dear mother of all sentient beings, as such, he will swiftly attain the state of awakening. {7.4.51} [F.138.b]
“In her first right hand she holds a sword; in the second, a blue lotus; in the third, an arrow; in the fourth, a vajra scepter; in the fifth, a goad; in the sixth, a staff; in the seventh, a flaying knife; and with the eighth she displays the mudrā of fearlessness. In her first left hand she holds a human skull cup; with the second she displays the threatening mudrā; in the third she holds a bow; in the fourth, a khaṭvāṅga; in the fifth, a noose; in the sixth, a trident;734 in the seventh, a jewel; and in the eighth, a pitcher. {7.4.52}
“Her first face on the right side is blue, and the second one blazes with the color yellow. The first face on the left side is white, and the second has the greenish color of beryl. Her upper face bares its fangs, and is smoky in color, frighteningly contorted, hideous, and terrifying. So should he visualize the goddess who bounteously bestows all accomplishments. {7.4.53}
“Further above, he should visualize another face with the form of a donkey’s, or some other desired form.735 With her four feet, a trident, and snakes wrapped around, she is referred to as “Herukī,”736 and should be visualized as the ultimate cause of accomplishments.737 Inside the bhaga738 he should visualize, arising from the syllable yaṁ, the maṇḍala of wind, which has the appearance of smoke. Above it, in the center of a moon disk, he should visualize himself in the form of Mañjuśrī transformed from the syllable dhīḥ. In his heart he should visualize a sun disk transformed from the syllable āḥ. From this sun disk, he should radiate rays of light and make offerings with them as prescribed. Above the sun disk, he should visualize the syllable hūṁ made of five-colored light. This syllable is transformed into Vajrabhairava with nine faces and the form of a buffalo. He has sixteen feet and thirty-four arms. He is naked and black in color with great brilliance. The crown of his head is adorned with five skulls and he inspires great fear. He stands with his left leg outstretched and his right slightly bent, with his liṅga erect. He has a protruding belly, a huge body, and upward flowing hair resembling a blazing sun. He is adorned with a garland of skulls and other ornaments. [F.139.a] He makes a roaring sound like at the time of the final dissolution of the world. He should visualize him consuming human blood, fat, serum, flesh, lymph, and bone marrow,739 while devouring the triple universe along with Brahmā, Indra,740 Upendra, Rudra, and so forth. {7.4.54}
“With his loud laughter and lolling tongue he frightens even fear itself. His first face is that of a buffalo. On his right horn there are three faces—blue, red, and yellow—each contorted with anger. On the left horn, the three faces are white, smoky, and black. Between the two horns there is an intensely red face with blood streaming from its mouth. Above it there is the princely youth Mañjuśrī, intensely yellow, semi-wrathful, wearing the ornaments of youth and a crown of five strips of cloth. Having stabilized this visualization, the mantra adept should cultivate himself as the deity with a well-focused mind. {7.4.55}
“Furthermore, in his first hand on the right, Vajrabhairava holds a flaying knife; in the second, a javelin; in the third, a mace; in the fourth, a small knife; in the fifth, a half-spear;741 in the sixth, an axe; in the seventh, a spear; in the eighth, an arrow; in the ninth, a goad; in the tenth, a club; in the eleventh, a khaṭvāṅga; in the twelfth, a discus; in the thirteenth, a vajra scepter; in the fourteenth, a vajra hammer; in the fifteenth, a sword; and in the sixteenth, a ḍamaru. {7.4.56}
“On the left side, in his first hand, he holds a skull cup; in the second, a human head; in the third, a shield; in the fourth, a foot; in the fifth, a noose; in the sixth, a bow; in the seventh, entrails; in the eighth, a bell; in the ninth, a hand; in the tenth, a rag from a charnel ground; in the eleventh, a man impaled on a stake; in the twelfth, a fire pit; and in the thirteenth, a goblet.742 With the fourteenth he displays the threatening mudrā; [F.139.b] with the fifteenth, a hand gesture with three fingers stretched out; and in the sixteenth, he holds a ‘wind-cloth.’ With the remaining pair of hands he holds an elephant hide. {7.4.57}
“Under his right foot there are men, buffaloes, bulls, donkeys, camels, dogs, rams, and jackals. Under his left foot there are vultures, owls, crows, parrots, hawks, cocks,743 eagles, and cranes.744 He should visualize Vajrabhairava as such. Optionally, he should commission a painting of him. {7.4.58}
“Below Vajrabhairava he should visualize a great cemetery overrun with rākṣasas, kṣetrapālas, and vetālas; filled with humans impaled on stakes, humans hanged from banyan trees,745 burning humans, humans pierced with spears, lots of crows and other birds, and dogs; and resounding with disquieting laughter, hā hā. So should the practitioner visualize the Great Bhairava who makes all cruel rites successful.” {7.4.59}
So spoke the Blessed One.746
“In her first right hand she holds a vajra scepter; in the second, an axe; and in the third, an arrow. {7.4.69}
“Her right and left faces753 are as previously described.754 So should the practitioner meditate for the sake of pacifying all illusion that stems from misapprehension.755 Parṇaśāvarī truly is the remover of all illnesses.”
“He should then commence the practice, to the extent possible, according to procedure. Starting from the northwest and following the order of the quarters, he should [visualize the deity761 adorned with elements] in the colors of smoke, red, yellow, and white, respectively. Merely by visualizing this in meditation, he can make a woman drip762 like an incised milk tree—it cannot be otherwise. {7.4.81}
“The mantra to recite is:
“Oṁ, Vajraḍākinī! Please draw the blood of such and such! Hūṁ phaṭ!765 {7.4.86}
“He has eight arms and four feet. In his four right hands he is holding, respectively, a vajra hammer, a sword, a discus, and a ḍamaru. In the left ones he holds a khaṭvāṅga, a skull cup, a bow, and a noose. {7.4.89}
“Oṁ, Vajrarākṣasa, devour him! Phaṭ!766 {7.4.93}
“Oṁ, hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ! You with contorted face! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ! Svāhā!767 {7.4.95}
“His main face is dark green with a hint of yellow, and has three eyes. The faces on the right and left are black and white respectively. The upper face is that of a horse; it is yellow-green776 and terrible looking with bared fangs. With his first right hand he displays the mudrā of three outstretched fingers; [F.141.b] in the second, he holds a double vajra scepter; in the third, a sword; and in the fourth, an arrow. In his first left hand he holds a multicolored lotus; in the second, a spear; in the third, a mirror; and in the fourth, a bow. He is standing on a sun disk with his left leg outstretched and the right slightly bent, and dancing the wild tāṇḍava dance, knocking down Viṣṇu, Śiva, and so forth.777 In this way should the follower of the mantra path meditate, following the right procedure. {7.4.105}
“In the target’s navel, he should visualize the syllable māṁ778 and, arising from it, the target with a belly full of wine. When he subsequently visualizes him as vomiting,779 the target will throw up wine. {7.4.106}
“As for the next rite, the wise practitioner should walk toward the northwest and create there a maṇḍala with four corners. Using perfume, he should prepare seven drops and store them in an earthenware vessel. He should visualize that this transforms into Sumeru, with eight peaks arranged in a circle, surmounted with a flashing vajra scepter, with the seven seeds—yaṁ syllables—of wind inside it,780 confining thus the in-breath of the Great Indra in its interior, and marked at the top with the syllable laṁ.781 When this rite is performed in this way, he will stop the wind as if it were annihilated. {7.4.107}
“As for the next rite, he should visualize an eight-petaled lotus, placing the eight nāgas on the petals, and a peacock, blazing with flames, in the center.782 Assuming the form of Vajrakrodha, he should squeeze the serpents with the heel of his foot, causing them to vomit rainclouds. Should he squeeze a nāga while reciting the syllable hūṁ in pairs, with the seed syllable of the nāgas783 thrown in between, he will cause rain to fall. {7.4.108}
“As for the next rite, he should visualize in the sky a gaping mouth, as red as the light of the sun that causes the dissolution of the world.784 Its tongue, bright with the syllable hūṁ, licks the clouds filled with the seven waters, summoning them. Through its inhaling and exhaling, the mouth then scatters the clouds like tufts of cotton wool. He should then send forth a multitude of replicas785 of himself. He will instantly rend the sky and cause it to open, threatening it with the syllable hūṁ. {7.4.109} [F.142.a]
“As for the next rite, he should visualize Acalaceṭa with the color of an autumn sky, standing on a fiery disk, emerging from the center of [the practitioner’s] forehead. He is equal to Vairocana and has six hands which hold a sword, a noose, an arrow, a bow, a bell, and a vajra scepter.786 Sending down rain, and surrounded by countless Krodhavajras, he vanquishes Māras, frightens away all troublemakers, and destroys even the entire triple universe by filling it with the resonance of hūṁ. {7.4.110}
“As for the next rite, he should sculpt a human effigy from human blood mixed with soil from the footprint of the target. He should nail it through the eyes with a spike made of human bone and incant it twenty times with the mantra of Mārīcī. Immediately after chanting the mantra, he should place the effigy in the mouth of an image of Gaṇapati and smash it from behind with a vajra cudgel, while repeating the mantra:
“Through this meditative act he will instantly789 ward off human miscreants. {7.4.111}
“As for the next rite, he should visualize the deity with silver-colored eyes,790 with his body adorned by hundreds of thousands of nāgas, issuing a command to the eight nāgas. These nāgas, for their part, should be visualized situated in the sky, with hundreds of thousands of faces. Upon hearing the command, they avert the rain with cloud masses. {7.4.112}
“As for the next rite, he should visualize a garuḍa blowing out fire by making wind with its wings, while creating a river with a stroke of its beak.791 Visualizing thus, he should recite the mantra:
“Oṁ, Vajranārāyaṇa! Extinguish the fire by bringing new water-bearing clouds! Hūṁ!792 {7.4.113}
“In the middle of the sky, [he should visualize Kurukullā Tārā793] with three faces, each of them with three eyes. She is adorned with all types of jewelry and wears a tunic of tiger skin. She is red, intensely brilliant, with the same brightness as the rising sun. {7.4.114}
“Now, if he wishes to enthrall someone, he should, on the eighth day of the first half of the month Caitra, go under the canopy of an aśoka tree796 and, dressed in red and adorned with all kinds of adornments, recite the mantra. He should visualize himself as red with three faces. Then, he should emanate from his body a two-armed red goddess with a goad and a noose in her hands. He should then visualize this goddess piercing the target through the heart with the goad and leading him into his own body. She makes him enter there in a state of confusion. In his heart one should place the ten-syllable mantra,797 visualized in red. He should further cause the target to enter, in his mental body form, into these syllables, and visualize him merging with them. Through this meditative method he will be able, after seven days, to enthrall even a universal monarch for as long as he lives—there is no doubt about this.” {7.4.119}
Now, to help ward off the dangers of lightning, the Blessed One said:
“He should visualize himself in the form of the glorious primordial lord with three faces, four feet, four arms, and a luminous red glow. He is surrounded by four goddesses whose names begin with [or include the word] vajra—they are Vajrāstrā, Vajrakelīkilā,798 Snehavajrā, and Vajragarvā. They each raise a vajra scepter with one of their right hands and hold an arrow with the other, proudly resting one of their left hands on the hip, while holding a bow with the other.799 He should visualize, emanating from the lord’s body, clouds composed of buddhas adorned with all kinds of jewelry. Staying in the middle of the sky, they display the gesture of fearlessness with their right hand, and hold a jeweled, dripping initiation vase with the other.800 Such will avert lightning. {7.4.120} [F.143.a]
“The mantra to recite is:
“Oṁ, Mahāsukhavajratejaḥ! Hūṁ!801 {7.4.121}
“When the same rite involves binding sexual ecstasy, it is said to bring about the state of the highest yoga.”802 {7.4.122}
“If he wants to enthrall a wanton woman, he should once again803 assume, on the eighth day of the bright fortnight, the identity of Kurukullā and do her meditation. He should consume a fruit of downy datura, and then respectfully give804 the target a tilaka on the forehead using juice of black nightshade. He should then recite the following mantra:
“When he has completed 10,000 recitations, she will arrive. {7.4.125}
“Now, if he wants to revive someone bitten by a black cobra, he should visualize in his heart an eight-petaled lotus, and above it, on each of the eight petals, distinctly visualize the third vowel (i), white in color. He should visualize himself in the form of the nāga Śeṣa, white in color and oozing ambrosia from the letter i [in his heart]. He should mentally send forth ambrosia from the two eyes of this nāga and visualize it falling into the body of the patient. By this meditative method he could neutralize the amount of poison that would fill the entire triple universe. {7.4.126}
“Now, if he wants to arrest the moon and the sun, he should make a moon and a sun from rice flour and submerge them in vajra water. He should recite the following mantra:
“He should recite this mantra sixty million times and then commence the actual rite. The moon and the sun will stop in their tracks regardless of whether it is night or day. {7.4.128}
“If he wants to destroy an enemy army, he should procure a piece of chalk. Having ground the chalk, he should prepare a pill by adding the five ambrosias together with axe filings.807 {7.4.129}
“The mantra to repeat is:
“In order to ensure a successful outcome, he should recite this mantra ten million times. He will then succeed. [F.143.b] Having completed the recitations, if he ties the aforementioned pill onto the neck of a pitcher and then breaks the neck, all the enemies will be decapitated. {7.4.131}
“Should he wish to cause [hostile] gods to burst, he should ritually prepare a tilaka compound. He should procure the ‘flower’ of a possessor of a vajra809 produced through constricting the vajra,810 mix811 it with axe filings, and grind this together with urine during a solar eclipse. Having ground them together, he should mold the paste into the shape of an axe and, stepping on it with his foot, recite the mantra:
“In order to ensure success, he should recite this mantra ten million times. Afterward, he should respectfully give the target813 a tilaka on the forehead. Whomever he does this to, will burst. {7.4.133}
“Now I will teach a rite for producing rain.
“He should make an effigy of Ananta according to the oṁ āḥ phuḥ ritual procedure,814 bathe it in the five ambrosias, and offer to it black flowers. Having smeared it with mugwort juice and inuncted its head with the rut fluid from the temples of an elephant, he should place it inside a double-chambered earthenware vessel, fill the vessel with milk from a black cow, and twine around it a cord spun by a black virgin. He should then dig a pond in an area toward the northwest and place Ananta next to it, by drawing a maṇḍala on its bank as prescribed and placing Ananta in its center. He should draw Hevajra standing astride Ananta, visualizing the former as having eight faces, four feet, sixteen arms, and, in all, twenty-four eyes. Later, the officiating master, in a proud and cruel frame of mind,815 should recite the following mantra in a secluded place: {7.4.134}
“Oṁ, rumble rumble! Ghaḍa ghaḍa! Destroy them, destroy! Strike, strike! O lord of nāgas who causes Ananta to tremble! He-he ru-ru ka! Summon the nāgas who dwell in the seven subterranean paradises and make them send rain! Threaten them and make them send thunder! Phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ puḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ!816 Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!817 {7.4.135}
“If they do not send rain, he should recite the same mantra backward. They will then comply. If they still do not send rain, their heads will burst like a basil blossom. {7.4.136}
“If he wants to burst a cloud, [F.144.a] he should write on a rag from a charnel ground the following mantra:
“Oṁ, threaten threaten! To the one fond of cemeteries, phaṭ svāhā!”818 {7.4.137}
Colophon
Tibetan Colophon
This king of tantras was translated by the paṇḍita Gayādhara and the great personage Drokmi Śākya Yeshé. Based on this, the venerable omniscient Butön subsequently [re-]wrote it by filling in the gaps and expertly revising it in consultation with Indian manuscripts of the basic text and commentaries.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations used in the introduction and translation notes
Commentaries:
Comm1 | Āmnāyamañjarī, by Abhayākaragupta (Toh 1198) |
---|---|
Comm2 | Ratnamālā, by Śūravajra (Toh 1199) |
Comm3 | Smṛtisaṃdarśanāloka, by Indrabhūti (Toh 1197) |
Kangyur Editions:
Editions of the Tibetan Kangyur consulted through variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma):
C | Choné |
---|---|
H | Lhasa (zhol) |
J | Lithang |
K | Peking Kangxi |
N | Narthang |
Y | Peking Yongle |
Other:
MW | Monier Williams Sanskrit dictionary |
---|
Abbreviations used in the appendix – Sanskrit Text
Manuscripts (root text):
C | Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, no. 4854 (Shastri 1917) |
---|---|
R | Royal Asiatic Society, London, no. 37 (Cowell 1875) |
T1 | Tokyo University Library, New 427, Old 324 (Matsunami 1965) |
T2 | Tokyo University Library, New 428, Old 319 (Matsunami 1965) |
W | Wellcome Institute Library, London, no. 63 (Wujastyk 1985) |
Woodblock prints (commentaries):
Comm1 | Āmnāyamañjarī, by Abhayākaragupta (Toh 1198) |
---|---|
Comm2 | Ratnamālā, by Śūravajra (Toh 1199) |
Comm3 | Smṛtisaṃdarśanāloka, by Indrabhūti (Toh 1197) |
Published works (root text)
S | Sampuṭodbhava (Skorupski 1996, 2001) |
---|
Published works or doctoral theses (Sampuṭodbhava parallels in source texts)
G | Guhyasamāja Tantra (Matsunaga 1978) |
---|---|
H | Hevajra Tantra (Snellgrove 1959) |
K | Kṛṣṇayamāri Tantra (Samdhong 1992) |
L | Laghuśaṃvara (Herukābhidhāna) Tantra (Pandey 2002) |
N | Sampuṭodbhava Tantra (Noguchi 1986, 1987, 1988, 1995) |
Ni | Sañcāranibandha, comm. on the Yoginīsañcāra (Pandey 1998) |
P | Prajñopāyaviniścayasiddhi (Samdhong 1987) |
SU | Samājottara, the 18th chapter of the Guhyasamāja (Matsunaga 1978) |
Sz | Catuṣpīṭha Tantra (Szántó 2012 & Szántó 2010) |
V | Vasantatilakā (Samdhong 1990) |
VḌ | Vajraḍāka Tantra (Sugiki 2002 & Sugiki 2003) |
Y | Yoginīsañcāra Tantra (Pandey 1998) |
Critical apparatus
a.c. | ante correctionem |
---|---|
conj. | conjectured |
em. | emended |
om. | omitted |
p.c. | post correctionem |
rec. | reconstructed |
← | (left arrow) – end of correspondence with a source text. |
→ | (right arrow) – beginning of correspondence with a source text |
Bibliography
Manuscripts of the Sampuṭodbhava used in preparing the accompanying Sanskrit edition
Asiatic Society of Bengal, Calcutta, no. 4854 (Shastri 1917). (C)
Royal Asiatic Society, London, Hodgson collection no. 37 (Cowell 1875). (R)
Tokyo University Library, New 427, Old 324 (Matsunami 1965). (T1)
Tokyo University Library, New 428, Old 319 (Matsunami 1965). (T2)
Wellcome Institute Library, London, no. 63 (Wujastyk 1985). (W)
Tibetan Translation
yang dag par sbyor ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud chen po (Sampuṭanāmamahātantra). Toh 381, Degé Kangyur, vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 73.b–158.b.
yang dag par sbyor ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud chen po (Sampuṭanāmamahātantra). bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 79, pp. 216–529.
Commentaries
Abhayākaragupta. dpal yang dag par sbyor ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po’i rgya cher ’grel pa man ngag gi snye ma zhe bya ba, Śrīsampuṭatantrarājaṭīkāmnāyamañjarīnāma [The Extensive Commentary on the King of Tantras, the Glorious Sampuṭa, called the Bouquet of the Inherited Tradition]. Toh 1198, Degé Tengyur, vol. 7 (rgyud, cha), folios 1.b–316.a.
Also in: bstan ’gyur dpe bsdur ma [Comparative edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 4, pp. 3–767. [“Comm1” in notes.]
Also in: bod yul dmangs khrod kyi rtsa chen dpe rnying phyogs bsgrigs, 藏区民间所藏藏文珍稀文献丛刊[精华版](Series Rare and Ancient Tibetan Texts Collected in Tibetan Regions), 3 volumes. Compiled by the Institute of the Collection and Preservation of Ancient Tibetan Texts of Sichuan Province (四川省藏文古籍捜集保护编务院). Chengdu: Sichuan Nationalities Publishing House (四川民族出版社) / Beijing: Guangming Daily Press (光明日报出版社), October 2015.
Butön (bu ston rin chen grub). sampuṭa’i ’grel pa snying po’i de kho na nyid gsal bar byed pa [The Commentary on the Sampuṭa, Elucidation of the True Meaning]. In The Collected Works of Bu ston (gsung ’bum/ rin chen grub/ zhol par ma/ ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa). 28 vols, edited by Lokesh Chandra from the collections of Raghu Vira, vol. 8, 217–947 (folios 1.a–365.b). Sata-pitaka Series. Indo Asian Literatures, vols. 41–68. New Delhi: International Academy of Culture, 1965–1971.
Indrabhūti. dpal kha sbyor thig le zhe bya ba rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud kyi rgyal po’i rgya cher ’grel pa yang dag par lta ba’i dran pa’i snang ba zhe bya ba, Sampuṭatilakanāmayoginītantrarājaṭīkāsmṛtisaṃdarśanālokanāma [The Extensive Commentary on the King of Yoginī Tantras, the Glorious Sampuṭatilaka, called the Light that Illuminates Tradition]. Toh 1197, Degé Tengyur, vol. 6 (rgyud, ca), folios 94.b–313.a. [Note: not to be confused with the Kangyur text also referred to as the Sampuṭatilaka, Toh 382; see the entry below.]
Also in: bstan ’gyur dpe bsdur ma [Comparative edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 3, pp. 1088–1654. [“Comm3” in notes.]
Śūravajra. rgyud thams cad kyi gleng gzhi dang gsang chen dpal kun tu kha sbyor las byung ba’i rgya cher bshad pa rin po che’i phreng ba zhe bya ba, Ratnamālā [The Extensive Commentary on the Emergence from Sampuṭa, the Foundation and Great Secret of All Tantras, called the Jewel Rosary]. Toh 1199, Degé Tengyur, vol. 8 (rgyud, ja), folios 1.b–111.a.
Also in: bstan ’gyur dpe bsdur ma [Comparative edition of the Tengyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 4, pp. 771–1055. [“Comm2” in notes.]
rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po dpal yang dag par sbyor ba’i thig le zhe bya ba, Sampuṭatilaka [The Great King of Tantras, called the Glorious Tilaka of Sampuṭa]. Toh 382, Degé Kangyur vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 158.b–184.a. [Note: Despite being a Kangyur text, this is a commentary, sometimes referred to as the “eleventh chapter” of the Sampuṭodbhava. It is included in the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Royal Asiatic Society and the Wellcome Institute Library as their final part.]
General works, including those that share parallel passages with the Sampuṭodbhava
Bhavabhaṭṭa. Cakrasaṃvaravivṛtiḥ. (Commentary on the Herukābhidhāna Tantra). (See Pandey 2002).
Bhavabhaṭṭa. Catuṣpīṭhanibandha. (Commentary on the Catuṣpīṭha Tantra). (See Szántó 2012)
Cowell, E. B. and Eggeling, J. “Catalogue of Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Possession of the Royal Asiatic Society (Hodgson Collection).” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Pt. 1: 1–56, 1875.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee. The Practice Manual of Noble Tārā Kurukullā (Āryatārākurukullākalpa, Toh 437). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.
Durjayacandra. Mitapadapañjikā. (Commentary on the Catuṣpīṭha Tantra). Manuscript, Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project 23/14.
Elder, George Robert. The Saṃpuṭa Tantra: Edition and Translation, Chapters I–IV. (“Chapters I–IV” refers to the four parts of the first chapter.) (Unpublished PhD thesis at Columbia University, New York, 1978).
Farrow, G. W. and Menon, I. The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra, with the Commentary Yogaratnamālā. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992.
Matsunaga, Yukei (ed.). The Guhyasamāja Tantra. Osaka: Toho Shuppan, 1978.
Matsunami, Seiren. Catalogue of the Sanskrit manuscripts in the Tokyo University Library. Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation. 1965.
Monier-Williams, Sir Monier. A Sanskṛit-English dictionary: etymologically and philologically arranged with special reference to Greek, Latin, Gothic, German, Anglo-Saxon, and other cognate Indo-European languages . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1888.
Noguchi, Keiya. “The fundamental character of the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 32 (2) (1984): 726–727. [in Japanese].
———. “The Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra I-i, with special reference to the title.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 34 (2) (1986a): 125–128. [in Japanese].
———. “The Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra and the Pi mi siang king.” Buzan Gakuho: Journal of Buzan Studies 31(1986b): 39–63. [in Japanese].
———. “The Heruka-maṇḍala in the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” Mikkyogaku Kenkyu: The Journal of Esoteric Buddhist Studies 19 (1987a): 65–86. [in Japanese].
———. “The Vajrasattva-maṇḍala in the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” The Journal of Buddhist Iconography 5 (1987b): 1–14. [in Japanese].
———. “The Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra III-iii, with special reference to the Nairātmyā-maṇḍala.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 36 (1) (1987c): 134–136. [in Japanese].
———. “The Nairātmyā-maṇḍala in the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra.” Buzan Gakuho: Journal of Buzan Studies 33 (1988): 75–92. [in Japanese].
———. “On the inserted verses among the citations from the Prajñopāyaviniścaya-siddhi IV in the Saṃpuṭodbhavatantra II-ii.” Studies on the Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, edited by the Śrāvakabhūmi Study Group and The Buddhist Tantric Texts Study Group, 1995: 141–145. Tokyo: Institute for Comprehensive Studies of Buddhism, Taisho University, 1995.
Pandey, Janardan Shastri (ed.). (1998). Yoginīsancāratantram with Nibandha of Tathāgataraksita [sic] and Upadeśānusāriṇīvyākhyā of Alakakalaśa. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 21. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1998.
———. (2002). Śrīherukābhidhānam Cakrasaṃvaratantram with the Vivṛti Commentary of Bhavabhaṭṭa. 2 vols. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 26. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 2002.
Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajvallabh Dwivedi (eds.) (1987). Guhyādi-Aṣṭasiddhi Saṅgraha. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1987.
———. (1990). Vasantatilakā of Caryāvratī Śrīkṛṣṇācārya with Commentary: Rahasyadīpikā by Vanaratna. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 7. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1990.
———. (1992). Kṛṣṇayamāritantram with Ratnāvalī Pañjikā of Kumāracandra. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 9. Sarnath: Central Institute for Higher Tibetan Studies, 1992.
Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva sources of the Buddhist Tantras of Śaṃvara,” Handout 4, Trinity Term, University of Oxford, 1998.
Shastri, Hara Prasad. A Descriptive catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts in the government collection under the care of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1917.
Siklós, Bulcsu. The Vajrabhairava Tantras. Tibetan and Mongolian Versions, English Translation and Annotations. Buddhica Britannica Series Continua VII. Tring: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1996.
Skorupski, Tadeusz (1996). “The Saṃpuṭa-tantra, Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of Chapter One.” The Buddhist Forum, vol. IV: 191–244. London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1996.
———. (2001). “The Saṃpuṭa-tantra, Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of Chapter Two.” The Buddhist Forum, vol. VI: 223–269. Tring: The Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2001.
Snellgrove, D. L. (ed.). The Hevajra Tantra: A Critical Study. 2 vols. London Oriental Series, vol. 6. London: Oxford University Press, 1959.
Sugiki, Tsunehiko (2002). “A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (I)—Chapter 1 and 42.” Chizan Gakuho: Journal of Chizan Studies 51: 81–115.
———. (2003). “A Critical Study of the Vajraḍākamahātantrarāja (II)—Sacred Districts and Practices Concerned.” Chizan Gakuho: Journal of Chizan Studies 52: 53–106.
Szántó, Péter-Dániel (2012). Selected Chapters from the Catuṣpīṭhatantra. (1/2) Introductory study with the annotated translation of selected chapters. (2/2) Appendix volume with critical editions of selected chapters accompanied by Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary and a bibliography. (Unpublished PhD thesis at Oxford University, Oxford).
———. (2013). “Before a Critical Edition of the Sampuṭa: Tibet after Empire Culture, Society and Religion between 850–1000.” Proceedings of the Seminar Held in Lumbini, Nepal, March 2011. LIRI Seminar Proceedings Series, vol. 4: 343–366. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2013.
———. (2016). “Before a Critical Edition of the Sampuṭa.” Zentralasiatische Studien 45, pp. 397–422. Andiast: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, 2016.
Ui, Hakuju, et al. Tōhoku Teikoku Daigaku Hobun Gakubu hen. Zaidan Hojin Saito Hoonkai hojo (Added t.p.: A catalogue-index of the Tibetan Buddhist canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥgyur). Sendai: Tōhoku Teikoku Daigaku (Tōhoku Imperial University). Showa 9 [1934].
Vanaratna. Rahasyadīpikā (see Samdhong 1990).
Verrill, Wayne. The Yogini’s Eye: Comprehensive Introduction to Buddhist Tantra. Bloomington (IN): Xlibris Corporation, 2012.
Wujastyk, Dominik. A Handlist of the Sanskrit and Prakrit Manuscripts in the Library of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. Vol. 1. London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1985.