The Buddha teaches The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati to Ānanda at Vulture Peak. He recites the mantra, then gives a brief account of the protective benefits accrued by its daily recitation.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and then checked against the Tibetan and edited by Andreas Doctor.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati opens in Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak Mountain where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of 1,250 monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. Śākyamuni addresses Ānanda and tells him of the benefits of upholding The heart mantra of Gaṇapati, recites the mantra, and explains the mantra’s benefits and protective powers.
The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati continues to play an integral role in the Newar Buddhist Saptavāra (lit. “Seven Days”) tradition, where it is recited on Tuesday.1 As a result, there are numerous extant versions of the text in Sanskrit manuscript collections of the Saptavāra. Yutaka Iwamoto published a Sanskrit edition of this text in 1939,2 and a translation of this Sanskrit edition was later published in Robert Duquenne’s article “Gaṇapati Rituals in Chinese.”3 Iwamoto’s annotations highlight the fact that the content of this text can vary from one witness to the next, and his edition demonstrates that his sources diverge significantly from the version of The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati preserved in the Tibetan Kangyurs. Christopher Wilkinson has also published a study and translation of the version of this text preserved in the Tibetan Kangyurs in his chapter on “The Tantric Gaṇeśa: Texts Preserved in the Tibetan Canon.”4
The title of this text appears in the Denkarma5 and Phangthangma6 royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works, which indicates that The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati had been translated into Tibetan by the early ninth century. There is no independent work that bears the name The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati in the Chinese canon, though it does contain at least twelve works dedicated to Gaṇapati. The earliest of these is found in Atikūṭa’s translation of the “Compendium of Dhāraṇīs” (Taishō 901)7 completed in 654
In the Degé Kangyur this text appears in both the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum, Toh 665) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus, Toh 1084).1010 This translation is based on both witnesses of The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati preserved in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Yutaka Iwamoto’s Sanskrit edition of the Gaṇapatihṛdaya was consulted in some cases to clarify the Sanskrit terminology underlying the Tibetan translation.
[F.251.a][F.192.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One[F.251.b] was dwelling at Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak Mountain with a great saṅgha of one thousand two hundred fifty monks as well as bodhisattvas who were all great beings. The Blessed One told venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, when beings uphold the following heart mantra11 of Gaṇapati, Lord of the Gaṇas, all their endeavors will succeed.12 By upholding it, they will accomplish their goal and all their mantras will be effective.
tadyathā | namo ’stu te13 mahāgaṇapataye svāhā |
oṃ kaṭa kaṭa maṭa maṭa dara dara vidara vidara hana hana gṛhṇa gṛhṇa dhāva dhāva bhañja bhañja stambha stambha jambha jambha moha moha dehi dehi dāpaya dāpaya dhādhānyaṃ siddhiṃ me prayaccha | |[F.193.a] samayam anusmara mahārudravacanīye svāhā |
oṃ kuru kuru svāhā |
oṃ turu turu14 svāhā |
oṃ muru muru svāhā |
oṃ pāpaśāntivasupuṣṭiṃ kuru svāhā |
amṛta15 bindukṣubhitacittamahāvidāraḥ samāgacchati mahābhaya mahābala mahāparākrama16 mahāhasti mahādakṣiṇāya17 pravedayāmi18 svāhā |
tadyathā oṃ kuru kuru curu curu muru muru |
oṃ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ |
oṃ namo namaḥ svāhā |19
“Ānanda, if any sons of good family, daughters of good family, monks, nuns, male lay practitioners, or female lay practitioners, who write down this heart mantra of Gaṇapati, Lord of the Gaṇas, and perform the mantra practice, travel to another country to make offerings to the Three Jewels, or travel to a king’s court,20 they should read this Gaṇapati heart mantra while making offerings to the blessed buddhas with flowers and incense, and all their endeavors will succeed—let there be no doubt! If they recollect it when they are in the midst of all manner of fighting, arguing, strife, and regional conflict, it will all be pacified. If they recite it every morning[F.252.a] when they get up, they will retain what they have learned. It will expel yakṣas, rākṣasas, and ḍākinīs, and these will no longer steal their vital energy.”
When the Blessed One said this, the entire retinue and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This concludes “The Noble Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati.”
The Buddha teaches The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati to Ānanda at Vulture Peak. He recites the mantra, then gives a brief account of the protective benefits accrued by its daily recitation.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and then checked against the Tibetan and edited by Andreas Doctor.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati opens in Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak Mountain where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of 1,250 monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. Śākyamuni addresses Ānanda and tells him of the benefits of upholding The heart mantra of Gaṇapati, recites the mantra, and explains the mantra’s benefits and protective powers.
The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati continues to play an integral role in the Newar Buddhist Saptavāra (lit. “Seven Days”) tradition, where it is recited on Tuesday.1 As a result, there are numerous extant versions of the text in Sanskrit manuscript collections of the Saptavāra. Yutaka Iwamoto published a Sanskrit edition of this text in 1939,2 and a translation of this Sanskrit edition was later published in Robert Duquenne’s article “Gaṇapati Rituals in Chinese.”3 Iwamoto’s annotations highlight the fact that the content of this text can vary from one witness to the next, and his edition demonstrates that his sources diverge significantly from the version of The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati preserved in the Tibetan Kangyurs. Christopher Wilkinson has also published a study and translation of the version of this text preserved in the Tibetan Kangyurs in his chapter on “The Tantric Gaṇeśa: Texts Preserved in the Tibetan Canon.”4
The title of this text appears in the Denkarma5 and Phangthangma6 royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works, which indicates that The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati had been translated into Tibetan by the early ninth century. There is no independent work that bears the name The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati in the Chinese canon, though it does contain at least twelve works dedicated to Gaṇapati. The earliest of these is found in Atikūṭa’s translation of the “Compendium of Dhāraṇīs” (Taishō 901)7 completed in 654
In the Degé Kangyur this text appears in both the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum, Toh 665) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus, Toh 1084).1010 This translation is based on both witnesses of The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati preserved in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Yutaka Iwamoto’s Sanskrit edition of the Gaṇapatihṛdaya was consulted in some cases to clarify the Sanskrit terminology underlying the Tibetan translation.
[F.251.a][F.192.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One[F.251.b] was dwelling at Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak Mountain with a great saṅgha of one thousand two hundred fifty monks as well as bodhisattvas who were all great beings. The Blessed One told venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, when beings uphold the following heart mantra11 of Gaṇapati, Lord of the Gaṇas, all their endeavors will succeed.12 By upholding it, they will accomplish their goal and all their mantras will be effective.
tadyathā | namo ’stu te13 mahāgaṇapataye svāhā |
oṃ kaṭa kaṭa maṭa maṭa dara dara vidara vidara hana hana gṛhṇa gṛhṇa dhāva dhāva bhañja bhañja stambha stambha jambha jambha moha moha dehi dehi dāpaya dāpaya dhādhānyaṃ siddhiṃ me prayaccha | |[F.193.a] samayam anusmara mahārudravacanīye svāhā |
oṃ kuru kuru svāhā |
oṃ turu turu14 svāhā |
oṃ muru muru svāhā |
oṃ pāpaśāntivasupuṣṭiṃ kuru svāhā |
amṛta15 bindukṣubhitacittamahāvidāraḥ samāgacchati mahābhaya mahābala mahāparākrama16 mahāhasti mahādakṣiṇāya17 pravedayāmi18 svāhā |
tadyathā oṃ kuru kuru curu curu muru muru |
oṃ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ |
oṃ namo namaḥ svāhā |19
“Ānanda, if any sons of good family, daughters of good family, monks, nuns, male lay practitioners, or female lay practitioners, who write down this heart mantra of Gaṇapati, Lord of the Gaṇas, and perform the mantra practice, travel to another country to make offerings to the Three Jewels, or travel to a king’s court,20 they should read this Gaṇapati heart mantra while making offerings to the blessed buddhas with flowers and incense, and all their endeavors will succeed—let there be no doubt! If they recollect it when they are in the midst of all manner of fighting, arguing, strife, and regional conflict, it will all be pacified. If they recite it every morning[F.252.a] when they get up, they will retain what they have learned. It will expel yakṣas, rākṣasas, and ḍākinīs, and these will no longer steal their vital energy.”
When the Blessed One said this, the entire retinue and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This concludes “The Noble Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati.”
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon, accessed May 10, 2019, http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/files/k0308.html.
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon, accessed May 10, 2019, http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/files/k1378.html.
Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 1084 version of this text within vol. 101 or 102 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 1084, n.10, for details.
This text, Toh 1084, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs, wam), are listed as being located in volume 101 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 102. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.
Following Toh 665 and Toh 1084: tshogs kyi bdag po tshogs kyi dbang phyug gi snying po, and S: tshogs kyi bdag po/ tshogs kyi dbang phyug gi snying po, where the term “heart mantra” (snying po) is rendered in the singular case. Iwamoto: imāni gaṇapatihṛdayāni, may be preferable, however, because it declines the term “heart mantra” in the plural (Skt. hṛḍayāni), and the passage that follows this introduction does in fact consist of a series of individual mantras.
This translation of the phrase las thams cad has been left broad enough here to include any activity, but in most cases this statement primarily refers to las/karma in its more technical sense as “ritual action.”
Following Iwamoto: namo ’stu te, which includes the avagraha that is missing in the Tibetan witnesses.
Following Toh 1084: tu ru tu ru. Toh 665 and S: su ru su ru. The Sanskrit of the heart mantra in Iwamoto reflects the transmission of a different textual tradition, but it is worth noting that Iwamoto arranges three similar lines of mantra as oṃ suru suru svāhā | oṃ turu turu svāhā | oṃ muru muru svāhā |.
The readings in Toh 665 and Toh 1084, oM ang+gu ta; the readings in N, H, and S, oM a b+hu ta; and the reading in Iwamoto, oṃ adbhuta, are amended here to reflect the reading *amṛtabindu. The readings adbhuta and aṅguta in the Tibetan witnesses and in Iwamoto are likely corruptions of the term amṛta, as the orthographies for this term in the Sanskrit sources could easily have been misread as either of these two options.
Following N, H, and S: ma hA pa rA kra ma, which is supported in Iwamoto: mahāparākramāya. Toh 665 and Toh 1084: ma ha pa ra kra ma.
Following H, S: ma hA dak+Shi NA ya. Toh 665 and Toh 1084: ma hA dak+Shi Ni ya. Iwamoto: mahāhastidhakṣiṇāya.
The transliteration of the verb in Toh 665 and Toh 1084, pra ci da ya mi, has been corrected from pra+√cid to pra+√vid and the spelling has been amended to reflect the correct causative form.
The following is a tentative English translation of The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati:
Oṃ surround surround(?); intoxicate intoxicate(?); split split; cleave cleave; strike strike; seize seize; advance advance; rout rout; paralyze paralyze; crush crush; stupefy stupefy; give give; make them give make them give money and grain. Grant me siddhi. Remember the samaya! To the great Rudravacana, svāhā
Approach, great destroyer whose mind is stimulated by the ambrosial drops. Great Fearless One, Great Powerful One, Great Attacker, Great Elephant, I address this to you Great Clever One svāhā
Following Toh 665 and Toh 1084: gsang sngags sgrub pa/ dkon mchog gsum mchod du yul gzhan du ’gro’am/ rgyal po’i pho brang ’khor du ’jug na. S, N, H: gsang sngags bsgrubs pas/ dkon mchog gsum mchod du yul gzhan du ’gro’am/ rgyal po’i pho brang ’khor du ’jug na. Iwamoto: yaḥ kaścit kāryaṃ ālabhate mantrasādhanaṃ vā triratnapūjāṃ vā deśāntaragamanaṃ vā rājakulagamanaṃ vā. The alternative readings noted here are equally plausible. The reading in the Stok Palace, Narthang, and Lhasa Kangyurs translates, “[i]f any ... writes down this heart mantra of Gaṇapati, Lord of the Gaṇas, and has accomplished the mantra practice should travel to another country to make offerings to the Three Jewels or travel to a king’s court.” The Sanskrit witness in Iwamoto’s edition translates as “who endeavors to perform the mantra practice, make offerings to the Three Jewels, travel to another country, or go to a king’s court.”
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
A class of powerful nonhuman female beings who play a variety of roles in Indic literature in general and Buddhist literature specifically. Essentially synonymous with yoginīs, ḍākinīs are liminal and often dangerous beings who can be propitiated to acquire both mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishments. In the higher Buddhist tantras, ḍākinīs are often considered embodiments of awakening and feature prominently in tantric maṇḍalas.
The name of the elephant-headed deity also commonly known as Ganeśa. Gaṇapati is as much a part of the Buddhist pantheon as the Hindu pantheon with which the deity is more commonly associated.
A term that is often used to signify the most important or central mantra of a certain deity.
The name of the elephant-headed deity who is also commonly known as Gaṇapati. Gaṇapati is as much a part of the Buddhist pantheon as the Hindu pantheon with which the deity is more commonly associated.
The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.
A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.
A term for vitality, strength, and vigor. It is widely believed that this vital energy can be targeted and stolen by various classes of demonic beings, causing a person to experience mental and physical decline.
The Gṛdhrakūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.
A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.
Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.
Iwamoto, Yutaka, ed. “Gaṇapatihṛdaya.” In Kleinere Dhāraṇī Texte, Beiträge zur Indologie Heft 2, pp. 10–12. Kyoto, 1937.
’phags pa tshogs kyi bdag po’i snying po (Āryagaṇapatihṛdaya). Toh 665, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folios 192.b–193.a.
’phags pa tshogs kyi bdag po’i snying po (Āryagaṇapatihṛdaya). Toh 1084, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, wam), folios 251.a–252.a.
’phags pa tshogs kyi bdag po’i snying po (Āryagaṇapatihṛdaya). 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) 2006–9, vol. 91, pp. 703–6.
’phags pa tshogs kyi bdag po’i snying po (Āryagaṇapatihṛdaya). 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) 2006–9, vol. 98, 872–75.
’phags pa tshogs kyi bdag po’i snying po (Āryagaṇapatihṛdaya). Stok Kangyur vol. 105 (rgyud, pha), folios 167.b–168.a.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang lhan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur, vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
dkar chag ’phang thang ma. Pe cin: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2004.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Wien: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon, accessed May 10, 2019, http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/index.html.
Monier-Williams, Sir Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005.
Negi, J.S. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). Sarnath: Dictionary Unit, Central Institute of higher Tibetan Studies, 1993.
Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies, Universität Wien, accessed May 10, 2019. http://www.rkts.org.
The Buddhist Canons Research Database. American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies. Accessed May 10, 2019. http://databases.aibs.columbia.edu.
Bühnemann, Gudrun, “A dhāraṇī for each day of the week: The saptavāra tradition of the Newar Buddhists.” Bulletin of SOAS 77 no.1 (2014): 119–36.
Duquenne, Robert. “Gaṇapati Rituals in Chinese.” Bulletin de l’École française d’Éxtrême-Orient 77 (1988): 344–45.
Wilkinson, Christopher. “The Tantric Gaṇeśa: Texts Preserved in the Tibetan Canon.” In Studies of an Asian God, edited by Robert L. Brown, 235–75. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.
C Choné (co ne)
D Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)
H Lhasa (lha sa/zhol)
J Lithang (li thang)
K Kanxi (kang shi)
N Narthang (snar thang)
S Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)
U Urga (phyi sog khu re)
Y Yongle (g.yong lo)
