In Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names, the Buddha Śākyamuni recites fourteen verses about the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī, a samaya mantra for the goddess, and a number of verses on the qualities and virtue that will result from keeping the names of Śrīdevī Kālī in mind.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and edited by Ryan Conlon.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names opens at Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is delivering a teaching on what constitutes “correct names” (bden pa’i mtshan) to a retinue of bodhisattvas. When the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī1 rises from her seat, circumambulates the Buddha, and then sits at his side, another bodhisattva in the retinue is intrigued by her appearance and asks the Buddha to enumerate the qualities of this bodhisattva who is dressed like a rākṣasī.
The Buddha then recites fourteen verses on the names of Śrīdevī Kālī and a concluding verse containing a samaya mantra for the goddess. The Buddha also enumerates the qualities and virtues that will ensue when one keeps the names of Śrīdevī Kālī in mind, and how such a person will quickly traverse the levels of śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas.
The Tibetan term mtshan (Skt. nāman) in the title of this text and throughout its sections of prose and verse is somewhat challenging to translate into English. In this translation we have rendered it “name,” since it is clear that this work was composed within the genre of texts devoted to the enumeration of the “one hundred and eight names” of a given deity, a genre that appears to have been recognized by the compilers of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works.2 However, the content of the verses in this text do not actually constitute a list of names or epithets for Śrīdevī Kālī, but are rather an extensive list of her various qualities. However, an alternative translation of the term mtshan could also be “quality,” a translation that resonates with the uses of the term nāman in Sanskrit literature as a “characteristic mark or sign.”3 Finally, the text itself does in fact draw a direct correlation between the Buddha’s enumeration of Śrīdevī Kālī’s one hundred and eight names with the virtues she possesses. Thus, while the term mtshan/nāman is translated as “name” in the title of this work, the reader should bear this double meaning in mind and understand that the text's title is a reference to a broader genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature (and South Asian Sanskritic devotional literature) that is organized around the chanting of the one hundred and eight names of a deity.
There is currently no known Sanskrit witness to this text, and the text does not include a translators’ colophon. It does not appear in either of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works and does also not appear as an independent work in the Chinese canon.4 As a result, it is difficult to determine the provenance of the work at this time.
This English translation is based on the versions of Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names that are found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus)55 sections of the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur.
[F.253.a][F.209.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling on Vulture Peak Mountain, where he was delivering a teaching on correct names to all causal and resultant bodhisattvas.[F.253.b] At that time, Śrīdevī Mahākālī approached the Blessed One, circled him three times, and sat to one side in the presence of the Blessed One.[F.210.a] The bodhisattva Virility of a Lion asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what are the different names of this bodhisattva who acts for the benefit of the world while adorned as a rākṣasī?”
The Blessed One considered the bodhisattva Virility of a Lion, looked at Śrīdevī Kālī, and said:
When this was said, Śrīdevī Mahākālī and those in the assembly of bodhisattvas were amazed, and rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.
This concludes “Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names and Her Qualities.”
In Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names, the Buddha Śākyamuni recites fourteen verses about the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī, a samaya mantra for the goddess, and a number of verses on the qualities and virtue that will result from keeping the names of Śrīdevī Kālī in mind.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and edited by Ryan Conlon.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names opens at Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is delivering a teaching on what constitutes “correct names” (bden pa’i mtshan) to a retinue of bodhisattvas. When the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī1 rises from her seat, circumambulates the Buddha, and then sits at his side, another bodhisattva in the retinue is intrigued by her appearance and asks the Buddha to enumerate the qualities of this bodhisattva who is dressed like a rākṣasī.
The Buddha then recites fourteen verses on the names of Śrīdevī Kālī and a concluding verse containing a samaya mantra for the goddess. The Buddha also enumerates the qualities and virtues that will ensue when one keeps the names of Śrīdevī Kālī in mind, and how such a person will quickly traverse the levels of śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas.
The Tibetan term mtshan (Skt. nāman) in the title of this text and throughout its sections of prose and verse is somewhat challenging to translate into English. In this translation we have rendered it “name,” since it is clear that this work was composed within the genre of texts devoted to the enumeration of the “one hundred and eight names” of a given deity, a genre that appears to have been recognized by the compilers of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works.2 However, the content of the verses in this text do not actually constitute a list of names or epithets for Śrīdevī Kālī, but are rather an extensive list of her various qualities. However, an alternative translation of the term mtshan could also be “quality,” a translation that resonates with the uses of the term nāman in Sanskrit literature as a “characteristic mark or sign.”3 Finally, the text itself does in fact draw a direct correlation between the Buddha’s enumeration of Śrīdevī Kālī’s one hundred and eight names with the virtues she possesses. Thus, while the term mtshan/nāman is translated as “name” in the title of this work, the reader should bear this double meaning in mind and understand that the text's title is a reference to a broader genre of Tibetan Buddhist literature (and South Asian Sanskritic devotional literature) that is organized around the chanting of the one hundred and eight names of a deity.
There is currently no known Sanskrit witness to this text, and the text does not include a translators’ colophon. It does not appear in either of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works and does also not appear as an independent work in the Chinese canon.4 As a result, it is difficult to determine the provenance of the work at this time.
This English translation is based on the versions of Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names that are found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus)55 sections of the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur.
[F.253.a][F.209.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling on Vulture Peak Mountain, where he was delivering a teaching on correct names to all causal and resultant bodhisattvas.[F.253.b] At that time, Śrīdevī Mahākālī approached the Blessed One, circled him three times, and sat to one side in the presence of the Blessed One.[F.210.a] The bodhisattva Virility of a Lion asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what are the different names of this bodhisattva who acts for the benefit of the world while adorned as a rākṣasī?”
The Blessed One considered the bodhisattva Virility of a Lion, looked at Śrīdevī Kālī, and said:
When this was said, Śrīdevī Mahākālī and those in the assembly of bodhisattvas were amazed, and rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.
This concludes “Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names and Her Qualities.”
For a presentation of Śrīdevī Kālī and the relationship between the texts in the Kangyur that focus on this protector, see the introduction to Praising the Lady Who Rules Disease (nad kyi bdag mo la bstod pa, Toh 1090/1777).
Shyuki Yoshimuri, The Denkar-Ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950), p. 157, and Phangthangma (dkar chag ʼphang thang ma, Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003), pp. 31–33.
Sir Monier Monier-Williams, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005), p. 556.
This text, Toh 1088, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus), 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, the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845)—which forms a whole, very large volume—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.
Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 1088 version of this text within vol. 101 or 102 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 1088, n.5, for details.
D: de bzhin ngag rnams gsod pa dang; S: de bzhin dgra rnams gsod pa dang. This translation follows the reading in the Stok Palace Kangyur, which is also supported by the reading from the Choné witness of Toh 1088.
This mantra has been transliterated as it appears in D with minor emendations. It can be tentatively translated as “Oṃ āḥ hūṁ, Śrīdevī Kālī! The samaya of the flight of the samaya-born ḍākinī, svāhā!”
D: de bzhin ngag rnams gsod pa dang; C, S: de bzhin dgra rnams gsod pa dang. This translation follows the reading in the Choné and Stok Palace Kangyurs.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
The divine nectar that prevents death, often used metaphorically for the Dharma.
This Tibetan term is generally used to describe “wrathful” features and behaviors that invoke fear and danger. However, in this context, the term is used to refer to the body of rites otherwise known as abhicāra (mngon spyod), one of the four main ritual categories that include rites for aggressively overcoming adversarial influences, both human and nonhuman.
A female among a class of beings known to be “fearsome,” and perhaps associated with Bhairava, the wrathful form of Śiva.
A female bhūta.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
The buddha grounds consist of twelve stages of becoming a buddha after completing the ten bodhisattva grounds.
A frequently invoked deity in esoteric Buddhist literature, her name references one of the lowest castes in Indian society.
The name of the tenth bodhisattva ground.
The name of the fifth bodhisattva ground.
A set of circumstances that do not provide the freedom to practice the Buddhist path: being born in the realms of (1) the hells, (2) hungry ghosts (pretas), (3) animals, or (4) long-lived gods, or in the human realm among (5) barbarians or (6) extremists, (7) in places where the Buddhist teachings do not exist, or (8) without adequate faculties to understand the teachings where they do exist.
The name of the ninth bodhisattva ground.
One of the four main ritual categories, this body of rites is to bring prosperity and health through the increase of favorable conditions
One of the four main ritual categories, this body of rites is bring a range of beings—human and nonhuman—under one’s control and use them to serve one’s purposes.
The name of the seventh bodhisattva ground.
Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages: killing a worthy one, killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, causing a schism in the saṅgha, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata.
The highest and subtlest of the three realms of saṃsāra in Buddhist cosmology. Here beings are no longer bound by materiality and enjoy a purely mental state of absorption. It is divided in four levels according to each of the four formless concentrations (ārūpyāvacaradhyāna), namely, the Sphere of Infinite Space (ākāśānantyāyatana), the Sphere of Infinite Consciousness (vijñānānantyāyatana), the Sphere of Nothingness (akiñcanyāyatana), and the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception (naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana). The formless realm is located above the other two realms of saṃsāra, the form realm (rūpadhātu) and the desire realm (kāmadhātu).
The four levels of meditative absorption of the beings of the form realms.
The meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra).
In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).
The ninth of the twelve buddha grounds.
One of the four main continents that surround Sumeru, the central mountain in classical Buddhist cosmology. It is the western continent, characterized as “rich in the resources of cattle,” thus its Tibetan name “using cattle.” It is circular in shape, measuring about 7,500 yojanas in circumference, and is flanked by two subsidiary continents. Humans who live there are very tall, about 24 feet (7.3 meters) on average, and live for 500 years. It is known by the names Godānīya, Aparāntaka, Aparagodānīya, or Aparagoyāna.
The name of the third bodhisattva ground.
The eighth of the twelve buddha grounds.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
The fifth of the twelve buddha grounds.
The name of the first bodhisattva ground.
A fearsome, wrathful goddess venerated in both non-Buddhist and Buddhist traditions. Here an epithet for Śrīdevī Mahākālī.
A female kumbhāṇḍa.
The second of the twelve buddha grounds.
The tenth of the twelve buddha grounds
The seventh of the twelve buddha grounds.
The third of the twelve buddha grounds.
The sixth of the twelve buddha grounds.
The name of the sixth bodhisattva ground.
Ferocious female deities, often depicted as a group of seven or eight, to which are attributed both dangerous and protective functions.
A female nāga.
The eleventh of the twelve buddha grounds.
One of the four main ritual categories, this body of rites is used to pacify negative and obstructive omens and influences.
A female piśāca.
The name of the fourth bodhisattva ground.
A female rākṣasa.
A female rudra. The term rudra here seems to be applied to a class of nonhuman beings who, as their name indicates, are specifically wrathful or hostile.
The twelfth of the twelve buddha grounds.
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
A fearsome, wrathful goddess who in the Buddhist tradition is a protector of the teachings. In Tibet, she is widely propitiated and takes on many forms, many of which are known through the Tibetan name Palden Lhamo (dpal ldan lha mo), which translates the Sanskrit śrīdevī. She is most often portrayed riding on a donkey and adorned with various wrathful ornaments and hand implements.
An epithet for Śrīdevī Kālī.
The name of the second bodhisattva ground.
A goddess whose name can be translated as “Savior.” She is known for giving protection and is variously presented in Buddhist literature as a great bodhisattva or a fully awakened buddha.
Usually synonymous with the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness. Sometimes it means the realm of devas above, humans on the ground, and nāgas below ground.
dpal lha mo nag mo’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa (Śrīdevīkālīnāmāṣṭaśataka). Toh 672, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folios 209.b–211.a.
dpal lha mo nag mo’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa (Śrīdevīkālīnāmāṣṭaśataka). Toh 1088, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, waM), folios 253.a–254.b.
dpal lha mo nag mo’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa (Śrīdevīkālīnāmāṣṭaśataka). 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. 766–71.
dpal lha mo nag mo’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa (Śrīdevīkālīnāmāṣṭaśataka). 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, pp. 885–89.
dpal lha mo nag mo’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa (Śrīdevikāliaṣṭaśataka). Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 105 (rgyud, pha), folios 188.a–190.a.
dpal lha mo nag mo chen mo’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa (Śrīmahākālīdevīnāmāṣṭaśataka). Phukdrak Kangyur vol. 116 (rgyud, tsha), folios 163.b–164.a.
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.
Yoshimuri, Shyuki. The Denkar-Ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.
C Choné (co ne)
D Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)
H Lhasa (lha sa / zhol)
J Lithang (li thang)
K Kangxi (kang shi)
N Narthang (snar thang)
S Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)
U Urga (phyi sog khu re)
Y Yongle (g.yong lo)
