The Hevajra Tantra is one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class. Its teachings are delivered by the deity Hevajra in response to questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, but is primarily concerned with the innate state, which is cultivated through initiation, the stages of meditation practice, and above all the sequence of the four joys. The Hevajra Tantra was and continues to be studied and practiced widely, and has inspired a vast corpus of commentarial, meditation, and ritual literature.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Wiesiek Mical produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Ryan Damron and Torsten Gerloff edited the translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Áron Csöndes.
The Hevajra Tantra, one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class, was compiled and began circulating in India around the turn of the ninth or tenth century,1 and has remained one of the most studied, practiced, and cited tantric texts in India, Nepal, and Tibet. Nearly two dozen Indian and Tibetan commentaries have been composed on it, and it is quoted extensively in works such as the Sampuṭa Tantra and many other tantras and treatises.
The Hevajra Tantra is preserved in numerous Sanskrit manuscripts,2 and has been translated into Tibetan and Chinese. The Tibetan translation was made in the eleventh century by the Indian scholar Gayādhara and his Tibetan disciple Drokmi Lotsāwa Shākya Yeshé, and is cataloged in the Kangyur as two texts, corresponding to the Sanskrit text’s two chapters.3 The Chinese translation of the Hevajra Tantra (Taishō 892, 佛說大悲空智金剛大教王儀軌經) was prepared by the Indian monk Dharmapāla (Fahu, 法護) in 1055.
The main deity of the Hevajra Tantra is the eponymous heruka Hevajra. A heruka is a generic form for certain wrathful emanations, usually of the sambhogakāya buddha Vajrasattva, or sometimes Akṣobhya. As such, herukas are expressions of “vajra being” (vajrasattva); they do not incarnate on earth as tathāgatas, but are spontaneously present in each and every being as their innate state (sahaja). This is reflected, for example, in the epithet sahajaheruka, applied to Kālacakra and other herukas. Apart from Hevajra and Kālacakra, the other well-known herukas include Cakrasaṃvara, Buddhakapāla, and Mahāmāyā.
The teachings presented in the Hevajra Tantra are delivered by Hevajra himself, addressed in the text as the “Blessed One” (bhagavat) and referred to throughout as Vajradhara (“Vajra Holder”) and Vajrasattva (“Vajra Being”). His other names, such as Picuvajra, Mahāsukha (“Great Bliss”), and Mahaccitta (“Great Mind”), also evoke some aspects of his nature. The combination of picu (“cotton fluff”) and vajra (something infinitely hard) in picuvajra could be an allusion to the union of the soft tenderness of his compassion and the vajra-like invincibility of his wrath, which cannot be challenged or manipulated in any way. The epithet mahāsukha refers to his nature of “great bliss,” generated through the union of compassion and emptiness. Mahaccitta could be a reference to his nature of bodhicitta, which in the context of sexual yoga is associated with semen.
The teachings of the Hevajra Tantra are delivered in response to the questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, including descriptions of the primary deities and their maṇḍala configuration, the derivation and use of mantras, rites to be employed for mundane and liberative purposes, the thirty subtle channels of the body, the use of secret gestures and codewords, and so forth. The primary concern of the Hevajra Tantra is, however, the innate state (sahaja) and its cultivation through initiation and practice within the elaborate framework of the Yoginī tantras, rooted in the ontological foundations of the Great Vehicle philosophy. Although present in every being, the innate state primarily remains unrecognized. The Hevajra Tantra explains how to recognize this state through the four initiations (abhiṣeka), the practice of the stage of arising (utpattikrama) and the stage of the arisen (utpannakrama), each of which can be further viewed in terms of either relative truth (saṃvṛtisatya) or absolute truth (paramārthasatya). In its most essential formulation, the basis of the practice of the stage of arising involves the visualization of the Hevajra maṇḍala followed by the cultivation of the four joys (caturānanda), and the basis of the practice of the stage of the arisen is the cultivation of innate joy (sahajānanda). The recognition of the innate is equated with attaining the state of awakening (bodhi), which encompasses omniscient knowledge (sarvajñajñāna) and knowledge of all forms (sarvākārajñāna).
The joys are observed and marked (lakṣita) during ritualized sexual intercourse wherein the sexual partners identify themselves as Hevajra and Nairātmyā. They seek a glimpse of innate joy, which is most apparent when supreme joy (paramānanda), experienced at the moment of sexual climax, fades and turns into the joy of cessation (viramānanda). At this moment, the mind loses the support of pleasure that had filled it completely and is delivered into bare awareness, where the mind’s natural luminosity (prabhāsvara)—the basic, preconceptual clarity of mind—can be experienced and discerned. In terms of practice, this experience first occurs and is cultivated at the end of the supreme joy and the onset of the joy of cessation (the second and the third joys, respectively). This experience, referred to as innate joy, is said, in relative terms, to be located between these two joys, sometimes leading to the misunderstanding that innate joy is the third in the sequence. However, even though the moment of its recognition may be coterminous with the onset of the third joy, innate joy is ontologically excluded from the other three and seen as the “fourth” categorically, rather than sequentially. Because the Hevajra Tantra itself leaves room for interpretation, the issue of the correct sequence of the joys, specifically of the last two, developed into a crucial point of debate among proponents of the Hevajra system.4
The Hevajra Tantra inspired a sizable body of exegetical, ritual, and practice literature in India, both in the form of explanatory tantras (vyākhyātantra) and commentaries composed by eminent Indian masters. Among the most essential commentarial works are two closely related treatises, Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga (Yogaratnamāla) and Ratnākaraśānti’s A String of Pearls (Muktāvalī). Both are of the pañjikā type, which explain the text in a linear fashion, going word by word and phrase by phrase. Also notable among them are Saroruhavajra’s A Lotus Pond (Padminī), Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī,5 and Vajragarbha’s Hevajrapiṇḍārthaṭīkā, which comments on the Hevajra Tantra through the lens of the Kālacakra system. A large constellation of initiation, ritual, and practice manuals has also been produced to support the practice of the Hevajra Tantra.6
This English translation of the Hevajra Tantra is based on the Tibetan canonical translation as preserved in the Degé Kangyur, with close consultation of alternative readings reported in its Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). This translation is also deeply informed by the extant Sanskrit witness text published in Conlon (forthcoming) and Tripathi (2006). We also read the text along with the commentaries of Kāṇha and Ratnākaraśānti and at times relied on them to clarify obscure passages.
Because the Tibetan canonical translation preserves the unique recension of the Hevajra Tantra known to its eleventh-century Tibetan translators, we have endeavored to follow the structure, terminology, and variant readings presented in the Degé witness. However, many apparent differences between the Sanskrit and Tibetan text are not the result of variant readings, but are rather due to the inherent challenges of rendering a Sanskrit text in the Tibetan language. While the classical Tibetan language is rich and versatile in its own right, it lacks some important features of Sanskrit that are necessary for properly parsing the overall syntax of a verse or passage. Likewise, there is not always direct equivalence between the grammatical rules of Sanskrit and Tibetan, so that grammatical structures that might be read one way in Tibetan need to be understood differently in the underlying Sanskrit. Thus, what may appear to be opaque, uncertain, or corrupt syntax in the Tibetan text makes clear sense when read against the Sanskrit. A certain amount of polysemy is inherent in a text as esoteric as the Hevajra Tantra, but it was also necessary to be closely attuned to the limitations of the Tibetan language to capture the nuances of Sanskrit and to recognize when it was necessary to reject an interpretation that may seem plausible in Tibetan but less so in light of the equivalent Sanskrit.7
This translation of the Hevajra Tantra would not have been possible without the contributions and efforts of many people. We are deeply grateful to His Holiness Khöndung Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, the 42nd Sakya Trizin, for the auspicious opportunity to share a draft translation of the Hevajra Tantra for use in the 2025 Complete Path teachings at the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu. His Holiness’s comments, shared with us by Christian Bernert, clarified numerous difficult points and improved the accuracy of the translation. Venerable Aigo Castro also provided important feedback on the draft translation as part of this program. We would also like to thank Professor Harunaga Isaacson for generously sharing his expertise with us on many occasions, Ryan Conlon for making available a draft of his Sanskrit edition of the Hevajra Tantra with Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī, and all the other scholars and practitioners who shared their knowledge and insights with us.
[F.1.b]Homage to the glorious Hevajra!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One dwelt in the bhagas of the vajra women, which are the essence of the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas.8 [1.1.1]
The essence of the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas is revered and the most secret of the secrets.9 Therefore, the Blessed One said, “Aho! Great bodhisattva, deeply compassionate Vajragarbha, it is excellent! Excellent! Hear about the one called Hevajra, the essence of the vajra being, the great being, the great samaya being.” [1.1.2]
Vajragarbha asked:
The Blessed One replied:
Vajragarbha asked:
The Blessed One replied:
Vajragarbha asked, “Blessed One! How many subtle channels are in the vajra body?”
The Blessed One replied, “Thirty-two. Thirty-two such channels carrying bodhicitta stream to the place of great bliss. Among them are the three main subtle channels—lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī. [1.1.13]
Vajragarbha asked, “What are these thirty-two subtle channels like, O Blessed One?” [1.1.19]
The Blessed One replied:
“To explain the categories of concealed content,18 they are said to be the vowels and consonants, the moon and sun, wisdom and means, qualities, enjoyment, and creation,19 as well as body, speech, and mind. They are the phrase evam mayā.20 [1.1.21]
“There is a lotus with sixty-four petals in the cakra of creation,[F.3.a] an eight-petaled lotus in the cakra of qualities, a sixteen-petaled lotus in the cakra of enjoyment, and a lotus with thirty-two petals in the cakra of great bliss. This sequence of enumerating the cakras establishes the arrangement that follows.22 [1.1.23]
“The four moments are varied, ripe, dissolving, and without characteristic.23 [1.1.24]
“The four truths of the noble ones are the truth of suffering, of its source, of its cessation, and of the path. [1.1.25]
“The four realities are the reality of the self, the reality of the mantra, the reality of the deity, and the reality of knowledge. [1.1.26]
“The four joys are joy, supreme joy, the joy of cessation, and innate joy. [1.1.27]
“The four schools are Sthāvarī,24 Sarvāstivāda, Saṃvidin, and Mahāsāṅghin. [1.1.28]
This was the first chapter, “The Family of Vajra.”
“I will now teach the chapter on the mantras.
“The mantra for the bali offering to all bhūtas is:
Oṁ, the letter a is at the beginning, because all phenomena are primordially unrisen. Oṁ āḥ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!26 [1.2.1]
“The seed syllables of the tathāgatas are buṁ āṁ jrīṁ khaṁ hūṁ. [1.2.2]
“The heart mantra of Hevajra is Oṁ, O divine Picuvajra!27 Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!28 [1.2.3]
“All mantra formulas include these elements: they begin with the syllable oṁ, end with svāhā, and have the syllables hūṁ and phaṭ in between. [1.2.4]
“The mantra that shakes cities is oṁ a ka ca ṭa ta pa ya śa svāhā. [1.2.5]
“The seed syllables of the yoginīs are a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ e ai o au aṃ aḥ. [1.2.6]
“The mantra of Hevajra’s two-armed form is Oṁ, you shake the three worlds! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!29 [1.2.7]
“The mantra of his four-armed form is Oṁ, blaze, blaze! Bhyo hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!30 [1.2.8]
“The mantra of his six-armed form: Oṁ, Kiṭikiṭivajra! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā! [1.2.9][F.3.b]
“The mantra for empowering body, speech, and mind is oṁ āḥ hūṁ. [1.2.10]
“The mantra for purifying the ground is Oṁ, protect, protect! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!31 [1.2.11]
“For paralyzing: oṁ hūṁ svāhā. [1.2.12]
“For enthralling: oṁ aṁ svāhā. [1.2.13]
“For banishing: oṁ khaṁ svāhā. [1.2.14]
“For sowing enmity: oṁ jrīṁ svāhā. [1.2.15]
“For hostile rites: oṁ buṁ svāhā. [1.2.16]
“For summoning: oṁ hūṁ svāhā. [1.2.17]
“For killing: oṁ ghūḥ svāhā. [1.2.18]
“The mantra of Kurukullā is oṁ kurukulle hrīḥ svāhā. [1.2.19]
“One should fashion an effigy of Ananta while reciting oṁ āḥ phuḥ, bathe it in the five ambrosias, and worship it with black flowers. One should smear it with the juice of nāgadamaka,32 and anoint its head with an elephant’s rut fluid. One should then place it between two earthenware bowls, fill the bowls33 with milk from a black cow, and wind a cord spun by a dark-skinned virgin around it. One should build a lotus pond in the northwest, and place Ananta there.
“On the bank of the pond one should demarcate a maṇḍala using black powder prepared with coals from a charnel ground, white powder made from pulverized human bones, yellow powder made from orpiment, red powder made from bricks34 from a charnel ground, and green powder made from pulverized caurya leaves35 and human bone.36 After demarcating the maṇḍala with these powders, one should use a cord from a charnel ground to measure a maṇḍala that is three cubits in diameter. In its center, one should draw Hevajra standing on Ananta. He has eight faces, four feet, is adorned with sixteen arms, and is replete with twenty-four eyes,37 frightening even fear itself.
“Afterward, in a desolate place, the master should recite this mantra with a cruel mentality:
“Oṁ, growl, growl! Defend, defend! Devour, devour! Strike, strike! Resist, resist! To the nāga overlord who makes Ananta tremble: he he ru ru ka! Summon the nāgas who dwell in the seven subterranean realms! Cause them to send rain! Cause them to release thunderclaps! Threaten them! Phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ!38 Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!39
“If it does not rain, one should recite the same mantra backward and it will rain.[F.4.a] If it still does not rain, the heads of the nāgas will burst at the forehead like a clove basil flower.40 This is the rainmaking procedure. [1.2.20]
“Now I will explain how to disperse clouds. They can be dispersed by reciting this mantra while sitting on a rag from a charnel ground: Oṁ, O noble lover of charnel grounds! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!41
“This is the procedure for dispersing clouds. [1.2.21]
“Now I will explain a chalk sādhana for destroying an enemy army. One should grind chalk, the five ambrosias, and axe flakes,42 and make it into a pill. The mantra to recite is Oṁ, to Hevajra, the vajra knife! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!43
“To ensure success, the mantra should be recited ten million times. As a preliminary, one should recite the mantra one hundred thousand times. Once it44 has been successfully empowered it should wrapped around the neck of a water jug, which should then be broken. All enemies will become headless. This is the procedure of the vajra knife. [1.2.22]
“If one wants to crush devas, one should empower a tilaka.45 One should grind brahman seeds empowered during the lunar asterism of Puṣya46 and combine them with axe flakes. Then, during a solar eclipse, akṣobhya47 should be added and the paste fashioned into an axe. Standing astride it, one should recite the mantra Oṁ, vajra hatchet, crush, crush! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!48 Once this has been recited ten million times, one should make it into49 a tilaka. Whatever it adheres to will be crushed.50 This is the procedure for crushing devas. [1.2.23]
“If one wants to afflict an enemy with fever, one should write their name on a leaf of giant milkweed using juice made of poison, Indian mustard, salt, and citraka,51 cast the leaf into a fire made from chaff, and recite this mantra ten thousand times: Oṁ, Hevajra, set the enemies ablaze, set! Bhrūṁ hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!52
“One will succeed after ten thousand recitations. [1.2.24]
“If one wants to cause the regurgitation of wine, one should imagine the syllable yaṃ in the target’s navel. It transforms into the syllable maṃ and is seen to be the stomach full of wine. One should imagine that this causes vomiting, and the wine will be regurgitated. [1.2.25]
“A person who wants to enthrall a wanton woman should go to the base of an aśoka tree53 on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra,54 don red garments, and eat a fruit of the madana tree.55 One should apply a tilaka with the juice of kāmācikā56 and recite the mantra Oṁ! May so-and-so hrīḥ become enthralled with me! Svāhā!57
“The woman will arrive after ten thousand recitations. [1.2.26]
“One who wants to bring the moon and the sun under their control should fashion a moon and a sun from rice flour, submerge them in vajra water,58 and recite the mantra Oṁ, vajra sun!59 Do not move, do not move! Remain, remain! To Hevajra, hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!60[F.4.b]
“One should recite this seventy million times. The moon and the sun will be fixed so that night and day will be indistinguishable from each other. This is the procedure for arresting the moon and the sun. [1.2.27]
“Oṁ nagrā nagrā.
“In order to find a lost object,61 in the evening62 one should incant the eyes of a virgin with one hundred and eight recitations of this mantra, worship her with the five types of offerings, including flowers and so forth, and then invite her. On the morning of either the eighth or the fourteenth day of the lunar month, one should set out a jar or similar vessel, and incant sesame oil and lac63 with the same mantra one hundred and eight times. After that, the mantrin should smear his big toe with the incanted lac, wash it with the sesame oil, and show it to the virgin, saying, ‘Tell me who stole my property.’ She64 will then say the name of the person who stole it. This is vajra divination.65 [1.2.28]
“Veḍuyā veḍuyā. Elephants flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.29]
“Mammā mammā. Tigers flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.30]
“Telliyā telliyā. Rhinoceroses flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.31]
“Ili mili phuḥ phuḥ. Snakes flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.32]
“Dogs flee when making the gesture of taming Dhanapāla. [1.2.33]
“Vajrā, Gaurī, Vārī, Vajraḍākinī, Nairātmikā, Bhūcarī, and Khecarī—employing them, the vow holder should perform paralyzing rites, and so forth.”66 [1.2.34]
This was the second chapter, “Mantras.”
“I will now teach the chapter on the deities.
“He has four arms, which represent the pure aspect of his victory over the four māras. He arises from the syllable hūṁ with the color and appearance that were previously described. In the first of his left hands he holds a human skull filled with the blood of devas and asuras. Similarly, in the first of his right hands he holds a vajra. With the remaining pair of arms he embraces his wisdom consort, Vajravārāhī, who has the same appearance as the Blessed One. [1.3.17]
“The six-armed Hevajra has three faces—a red face to the left, a face that is ruddy like the moon to the right, and a main face that is blue. He is naked, with a color and appearance as previously described. His six arms are, in their pure aspect, the six perfections. In the first of his left hands he holds a trident, and the first of his right hands holds a vajra. In his second left hand he holds a bell, a knife is in his second right, and with the remaining pair of hands he is united with Vajraśṛṅkhalā. This wisdom consort appears just like the Blessed One. In her left and right hands she holds, respectively, a knife and a skull cup. The Blessed One stands astride a corpse whose nature is the threefold universe.” [1.3.18]
This was the third chapter, “The Deity Hevajra Who Is the Body, Speech, and Mind of All Tathāgatas.”
“I will now teach the chapter on deity initiation.
“One should imagine the seed syllable at one’s heart, from which emanate rays of light that are black and shaped like hooks, inviting the buddhas who dwell in the three realms. They are worshiped by the eight mothers and supplicated with:
“Oṁ, may all the tathāgatas initiate me!80 [1.4.1]
“One is then initiated by the buddhas in the form of herukas using five jars containing the five ambrosias, whose natures are the five tathāgatas. During the initiation, a rain of flowers falls, the sound of drums is heard, and a rain of saffron falls. [1.4.2]
“Worship is performed by Rūpavajrā81 and the others82, and vajra songs are sung by Locanā and the rest. During the sprinkling, the lord of one’s family appears on one’s head and thus perfects the heruka. One should perform this empowering practice at the three junctions of the day, and after performing it, rise and remain in the form of the deity.” [1.4.3][F.6.a]
This was the fourth chapter, “Initiation.”
“I will now teach the chapter on reality.
The Hevajra Tantra is one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class. Its teachings are delivered by the deity Hevajra in response to questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, but is primarily concerned with the innate state, which is cultivated through initiation, the stages of meditation practice, and above all the sequence of the four joys. The Hevajra Tantra was and continues to be studied and practiced widely, and has inspired a vast corpus of commentarial, meditation, and ritual literature.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Wiesiek Mical produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Ryan Damron and Torsten Gerloff edited the translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Áron Csöndes.
The Hevajra Tantra, one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class, was compiled and began circulating in India around the turn of the ninth or tenth century,1 and has remained one of the most studied, practiced, and cited tantric texts in India, Nepal, and Tibet. Nearly two dozen Indian and Tibetan commentaries have been composed on it, and it is quoted extensively in works such as the Sampuṭa Tantra and many other tantras and treatises.
The Hevajra Tantra is preserved in numerous Sanskrit manuscripts,2 and has been translated into Tibetan and Chinese. The Tibetan translation was made in the eleventh century by the Indian scholar Gayādhara and his Tibetan disciple Drokmi Lotsāwa Shākya Yeshé, and is cataloged in the Kangyur as two texts, corresponding to the Sanskrit text’s two chapters.3 The Chinese translation of the Hevajra Tantra (Taishō 892, 佛說大悲空智金剛大教王儀軌經) was prepared by the Indian monk Dharmapāla (Fahu, 法護) in 1055.
The main deity of the Hevajra Tantra is the eponymous heruka Hevajra. A heruka is a generic form for certain wrathful emanations, usually of the sambhogakāya buddha Vajrasattva, or sometimes Akṣobhya. As such, herukas are expressions of “vajra being” (vajrasattva); they do not incarnate on earth as tathāgatas, but are spontaneously present in each and every being as their innate state (sahaja). This is reflected, for example, in the epithet sahajaheruka, applied to Kālacakra and other herukas. Apart from Hevajra and Kālacakra, the other well-known herukas include Cakrasaṃvara, Buddhakapāla, and Mahāmāyā.
The teachings presented in the Hevajra Tantra are delivered by Hevajra himself, addressed in the text as the “Blessed One” (bhagavat) and referred to throughout as Vajradhara (“Vajra Holder”) and Vajrasattva (“Vajra Being”). His other names, such as Picuvajra, Mahāsukha (“Great Bliss”), and Mahaccitta (“Great Mind”), also evoke some aspects of his nature. The combination of picu (“cotton fluff”) and vajra (something infinitely hard) in picuvajra could be an allusion to the union of the soft tenderness of his compassion and the vajra-like invincibility of his wrath, which cannot be challenged or manipulated in any way. The epithet mahāsukha refers to his nature of “great bliss,” generated through the union of compassion and emptiness. Mahaccitta could be a reference to his nature of bodhicitta, which in the context of sexual yoga is associated with semen.
The teachings of the Hevajra Tantra are delivered in response to the questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, including descriptions of the primary deities and their maṇḍala configuration, the derivation and use of mantras, rites to be employed for mundane and liberative purposes, the thirty subtle channels of the body, the use of secret gestures and codewords, and so forth. The primary concern of the Hevajra Tantra is, however, the innate state (sahaja) and its cultivation through initiation and practice within the elaborate framework of the Yoginī tantras, rooted in the ontological foundations of the Great Vehicle philosophy. Although present in every being, the innate state primarily remains unrecognized. The Hevajra Tantra explains how to recognize this state through the four initiations (abhiṣeka), the practice of the stage of arising (utpattikrama) and the stage of the arisen (utpannakrama), each of which can be further viewed in terms of either relative truth (saṃvṛtisatya) or absolute truth (paramārthasatya). In its most essential formulation, the basis of the practice of the stage of arising involves the visualization of the Hevajra maṇḍala followed by the cultivation of the four joys (caturānanda), and the basis of the practice of the stage of the arisen is the cultivation of innate joy (sahajānanda). The recognition of the innate is equated with attaining the state of awakening (bodhi), which encompasses omniscient knowledge (sarvajñajñāna) and knowledge of all forms (sarvākārajñāna).
The joys are observed and marked (lakṣita) during ritualized sexual intercourse wherein the sexual partners identify themselves as Hevajra and Nairātmyā. They seek a glimpse of innate joy, which is most apparent when supreme joy (paramānanda), experienced at the moment of sexual climax, fades and turns into the joy of cessation (viramānanda). At this moment, the mind loses the support of pleasure that had filled it completely and is delivered into bare awareness, where the mind’s natural luminosity (prabhāsvara)—the basic, preconceptual clarity of mind—can be experienced and discerned. In terms of practice, this experience first occurs and is cultivated at the end of the supreme joy and the onset of the joy of cessation (the second and the third joys, respectively). This experience, referred to as innate joy, is said, in relative terms, to be located between these two joys, sometimes leading to the misunderstanding that innate joy is the third in the sequence. However, even though the moment of its recognition may be coterminous with the onset of the third joy, innate joy is ontologically excluded from the other three and seen as the “fourth” categorically, rather than sequentially. Because the Hevajra Tantra itself leaves room for interpretation, the issue of the correct sequence of the joys, specifically of the last two, developed into a crucial point of debate among proponents of the Hevajra system.4
The Hevajra Tantra inspired a sizable body of exegetical, ritual, and practice literature in India, both in the form of explanatory tantras (vyākhyātantra) and commentaries composed by eminent Indian masters. Among the most essential commentarial works are two closely related treatises, Kāṇha’s The Jewel Garland of Yoga (Yogaratnamāla) and Ratnākaraśānti’s A String of Pearls (Muktāvalī). Both are of the pañjikā type, which explain the text in a linear fashion, going word by word and phrase by phrase. Also notable among them are Saroruhavajra’s A Lotus Pond (Padminī), Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī,5 and Vajragarbha’s Hevajrapiṇḍārthaṭīkā, which comments on the Hevajra Tantra through the lens of the Kālacakra system. A large constellation of initiation, ritual, and practice manuals has also been produced to support the practice of the Hevajra Tantra.6
This English translation of the Hevajra Tantra is based on the Tibetan canonical translation as preserved in the Degé Kangyur, with close consultation of alternative readings reported in its Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). This translation is also deeply informed by the extant Sanskrit witness text published in Conlon (forthcoming) and Tripathi (2006). We also read the text along with the commentaries of Kāṇha and Ratnākaraśānti and at times relied on them to clarify obscure passages.
Because the Tibetan canonical translation preserves the unique recension of the Hevajra Tantra known to its eleventh-century Tibetan translators, we have endeavored to follow the structure, terminology, and variant readings presented in the Degé witness. However, many apparent differences between the Sanskrit and Tibetan text are not the result of variant readings, but are rather due to the inherent challenges of rendering a Sanskrit text in the Tibetan language. While the classical Tibetan language is rich and versatile in its own right, it lacks some important features of Sanskrit that are necessary for properly parsing the overall syntax of a verse or passage. Likewise, there is not always direct equivalence between the grammatical rules of Sanskrit and Tibetan, so that grammatical structures that might be read one way in Tibetan need to be understood differently in the underlying Sanskrit. Thus, what may appear to be opaque, uncertain, or corrupt syntax in the Tibetan text makes clear sense when read against the Sanskrit. A certain amount of polysemy is inherent in a text as esoteric as the Hevajra Tantra, but it was also necessary to be closely attuned to the limitations of the Tibetan language to capture the nuances of Sanskrit and to recognize when it was necessary to reject an interpretation that may seem plausible in Tibetan but less so in light of the equivalent Sanskrit.7
This translation of the Hevajra Tantra would not have been possible without the contributions and efforts of many people. We are deeply grateful to His Holiness Khöndung Ratna Vajra Rinpoche, the 42nd Sakya Trizin, for the auspicious opportunity to share a draft translation of the Hevajra Tantra for use in the 2025 Complete Path teachings at the International Buddhist Academy in Kathmandu. His Holiness’s comments, shared with us by Christian Bernert, clarified numerous difficult points and improved the accuracy of the translation. Venerable Aigo Castro also provided important feedback on the draft translation as part of this program. We would also like to thank Professor Harunaga Isaacson for generously sharing his expertise with us on many occasions, Ryan Conlon for making available a draft of his Sanskrit edition of the Hevajra Tantra with Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī, and all the other scholars and practitioners who shared their knowledge and insights with us.
[F.1.b]Homage to the glorious Hevajra!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One dwelt in the bhagas of the vajra women, which are the essence of the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas.8 [1.1.1]
The essence of the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas is revered and the most secret of the secrets.9 Therefore, the Blessed One said, “Aho! Great bodhisattva, deeply compassionate Vajragarbha, it is excellent! Excellent! Hear about the one called Hevajra, the essence of the vajra being, the great being, the great samaya being.” [1.1.2]
Vajragarbha asked:
The Blessed One replied:
Vajragarbha asked:
The Blessed One replied:
Vajragarbha asked, “Blessed One! How many subtle channels are in the vajra body?”
The Blessed One replied, “Thirty-two. Thirty-two such channels carrying bodhicitta stream to the place of great bliss. Among them are the three main subtle channels—lalanā, rasanā, and avadhūtī. [1.1.13]
Vajragarbha asked, “What are these thirty-two subtle channels like, O Blessed One?” [1.1.19]
The Blessed One replied:
“To explain the categories of concealed content,18 they are said to be the vowels and consonants, the moon and sun, wisdom and means, qualities, enjoyment, and creation,19 as well as body, speech, and mind. They are the phrase evam mayā.20 [1.1.21]
“There is a lotus with sixty-four petals in the cakra of creation,[F.3.a] an eight-petaled lotus in the cakra of qualities, a sixteen-petaled lotus in the cakra of enjoyment, and a lotus with thirty-two petals in the cakra of great bliss. This sequence of enumerating the cakras establishes the arrangement that follows.22 [1.1.23]
“The four moments are varied, ripe, dissolving, and without characteristic.23 [1.1.24]
“The four truths of the noble ones are the truth of suffering, of its source, of its cessation, and of the path. [1.1.25]
“The four realities are the reality of the self, the reality of the mantra, the reality of the deity, and the reality of knowledge. [1.1.26]
“The four joys are joy, supreme joy, the joy of cessation, and innate joy. [1.1.27]
“The four schools are Sthāvarī,24 Sarvāstivāda, Saṃvidin, and Mahāsāṅghin. [1.1.28]
This was the first chapter, “The Family of Vajra.”
“I will now teach the chapter on the mantras.
“The mantra for the bali offering to all bhūtas is:
Oṁ, the letter a is at the beginning, because all phenomena are primordially unrisen. Oṁ āḥ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!26 [1.2.1]
“The seed syllables of the tathāgatas are buṁ āṁ jrīṁ khaṁ hūṁ. [1.2.2]
“The heart mantra of Hevajra is Oṁ, O divine Picuvajra!27 Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!28 [1.2.3]
“All mantra formulas include these elements: they begin with the syllable oṁ, end with svāhā, and have the syllables hūṁ and phaṭ in between. [1.2.4]
“The mantra that shakes cities is oṁ a ka ca ṭa ta pa ya śa svāhā. [1.2.5]
“The seed syllables of the yoginīs are a ā i ī u ū ṛ ṝ ḷ ḹ e ai o au aṃ aḥ. [1.2.6]
“The mantra of Hevajra’s two-armed form is Oṁ, you shake the three worlds! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!29 [1.2.7]
“The mantra of his four-armed form is Oṁ, blaze, blaze! Bhyo hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!30 [1.2.8]
“The mantra of his six-armed form: Oṁ, Kiṭikiṭivajra! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā! [1.2.9][F.3.b]
“The mantra for empowering body, speech, and mind is oṁ āḥ hūṁ. [1.2.10]
“The mantra for purifying the ground is Oṁ, protect, protect! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!31 [1.2.11]
“For paralyzing: oṁ hūṁ svāhā. [1.2.12]
“For enthralling: oṁ aṁ svāhā. [1.2.13]
“For banishing: oṁ khaṁ svāhā. [1.2.14]
“For sowing enmity: oṁ jrīṁ svāhā. [1.2.15]
“For hostile rites: oṁ buṁ svāhā. [1.2.16]
“For summoning: oṁ hūṁ svāhā. [1.2.17]
“For killing: oṁ ghūḥ svāhā. [1.2.18]
“The mantra of Kurukullā is oṁ kurukulle hrīḥ svāhā. [1.2.19]
“One should fashion an effigy of Ananta while reciting oṁ āḥ phuḥ, bathe it in the five ambrosias, and worship it with black flowers. One should smear it with the juice of nāgadamaka,32 and anoint its head with an elephant’s rut fluid. One should then place it between two earthenware bowls, fill the bowls33 with milk from a black cow, and wind a cord spun by a dark-skinned virgin around it. One should build a lotus pond in the northwest, and place Ananta there.
“On the bank of the pond one should demarcate a maṇḍala using black powder prepared with coals from a charnel ground, white powder made from pulverized human bones, yellow powder made from orpiment, red powder made from bricks34 from a charnel ground, and green powder made from pulverized caurya leaves35 and human bone.36 After demarcating the maṇḍala with these powders, one should use a cord from a charnel ground to measure a maṇḍala that is three cubits in diameter. In its center, one should draw Hevajra standing on Ananta. He has eight faces, four feet, is adorned with sixteen arms, and is replete with twenty-four eyes,37 frightening even fear itself.
“Afterward, in a desolate place, the master should recite this mantra with a cruel mentality:
“Oṁ, growl, growl! Defend, defend! Devour, devour! Strike, strike! Resist, resist! To the nāga overlord who makes Ananta tremble: he he ru ru ka! Summon the nāgas who dwell in the seven subterranean realms! Cause them to send rain! Cause them to release thunderclaps! Threaten them! Phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ!38 Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!39
“If it does not rain, one should recite the same mantra backward and it will rain.[F.4.a] If it still does not rain, the heads of the nāgas will burst at the forehead like a clove basil flower.40 This is the rainmaking procedure. [1.2.20]
“Now I will explain how to disperse clouds. They can be dispersed by reciting this mantra while sitting on a rag from a charnel ground: Oṁ, O noble lover of charnel grounds! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!41
“This is the procedure for dispersing clouds. [1.2.21]
“Now I will explain a chalk sādhana for destroying an enemy army. One should grind chalk, the five ambrosias, and axe flakes,42 and make it into a pill. The mantra to recite is Oṁ, to Hevajra, the vajra knife! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!43
“To ensure success, the mantra should be recited ten million times. As a preliminary, one should recite the mantra one hundred thousand times. Once it44 has been successfully empowered it should wrapped around the neck of a water jug, which should then be broken. All enemies will become headless. This is the procedure of the vajra knife. [1.2.22]
“If one wants to crush devas, one should empower a tilaka.45 One should grind brahman seeds empowered during the lunar asterism of Puṣya46 and combine them with axe flakes. Then, during a solar eclipse, akṣobhya47 should be added and the paste fashioned into an axe. Standing astride it, one should recite the mantra Oṁ, vajra hatchet, crush, crush! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!48 Once this has been recited ten million times, one should make it into49 a tilaka. Whatever it adheres to will be crushed.50 This is the procedure for crushing devas. [1.2.23]
“If one wants to afflict an enemy with fever, one should write their name on a leaf of giant milkweed using juice made of poison, Indian mustard, salt, and citraka,51 cast the leaf into a fire made from chaff, and recite this mantra ten thousand times: Oṁ, Hevajra, set the enemies ablaze, set! Bhrūṁ hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!52
“One will succeed after ten thousand recitations. [1.2.24]
“If one wants to cause the regurgitation of wine, one should imagine the syllable yaṃ in the target’s navel. It transforms into the syllable maṃ and is seen to be the stomach full of wine. One should imagine that this causes vomiting, and the wine will be regurgitated. [1.2.25]
“A person who wants to enthrall a wanton woman should go to the base of an aśoka tree53 on the eighth day of the bright fortnight of Caitra,54 don red garments, and eat a fruit of the madana tree.55 One should apply a tilaka with the juice of kāmācikā56 and recite the mantra Oṁ! May so-and-so hrīḥ become enthralled with me! Svāhā!57
“The woman will arrive after ten thousand recitations. [1.2.26]
“One who wants to bring the moon and the sun under their control should fashion a moon and a sun from rice flour, submerge them in vajra water,58 and recite the mantra Oṁ, vajra sun!59 Do not move, do not move! Remain, remain! To Hevajra, hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!60[F.4.b]
“One should recite this seventy million times. The moon and the sun will be fixed so that night and day will be indistinguishable from each other. This is the procedure for arresting the moon and the sun. [1.2.27]
“Oṁ nagrā nagrā.
“In order to find a lost object,61 in the evening62 one should incant the eyes of a virgin with one hundred and eight recitations of this mantra, worship her with the five types of offerings, including flowers and so forth, and then invite her. On the morning of either the eighth or the fourteenth day of the lunar month, one should set out a jar or similar vessel, and incant sesame oil and lac63 with the same mantra one hundred and eight times. After that, the mantrin should smear his big toe with the incanted lac, wash it with the sesame oil, and show it to the virgin, saying, ‘Tell me who stole my property.’ She64 will then say the name of the person who stole it. This is vajra divination.65 [1.2.28]
“Veḍuyā veḍuyā. Elephants flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.29]
“Mammā mammā. Tigers flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.30]
“Telliyā telliyā. Rhinoceroses flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.31]
“Ili mili phuḥ phuḥ. Snakes flee when this is pronounced. [1.2.32]
“Dogs flee when making the gesture of taming Dhanapāla. [1.2.33]
“Vajrā, Gaurī, Vārī, Vajraḍākinī, Nairātmikā, Bhūcarī, and Khecarī—employing them, the vow holder should perform paralyzing rites, and so forth.”66 [1.2.34]
This was the second chapter, “Mantras.”
“I will now teach the chapter on the deities.
“He has four arms, which represent the pure aspect of his victory over the four māras. He arises from the syllable hūṁ with the color and appearance that were previously described. In the first of his left hands he holds a human skull filled with the blood of devas and asuras. Similarly, in the first of his right hands he holds a vajra. With the remaining pair of arms he embraces his wisdom consort, Vajravārāhī, who has the same appearance as the Blessed One. [1.3.17]
“The six-armed Hevajra has three faces—a red face to the left, a face that is ruddy like the moon to the right, and a main face that is blue. He is naked, with a color and appearance as previously described. His six arms are, in their pure aspect, the six perfections. In the first of his left hands he holds a trident, and the first of his right hands holds a vajra. In his second left hand he holds a bell, a knife is in his second right, and with the remaining pair of hands he is united with Vajraśṛṅkhalā. This wisdom consort appears just like the Blessed One. In her left and right hands she holds, respectively, a knife and a skull cup. The Blessed One stands astride a corpse whose nature is the threefold universe.” [1.3.18]
This was the third chapter, “The Deity Hevajra Who Is the Body, Speech, and Mind of All Tathāgatas.”
“I will now teach the chapter on deity initiation.
“One should imagine the seed syllable at one’s heart, from which emanate rays of light that are black and shaped like hooks, inviting the buddhas who dwell in the three realms. They are worshiped by the eight mothers and supplicated with:
“Oṁ, may all the tathāgatas initiate me!80 [1.4.1]
“One is then initiated by the buddhas in the form of herukas using five jars containing the five ambrosias, whose natures are the five tathāgatas. During the initiation, a rain of flowers falls, the sound of drums is heard, and a rain of saffron falls. [1.4.2]
“Worship is performed by Rūpavajrā81 and the others82, and vajra songs are sung by Locanā and the rest. During the sprinkling, the lord of one’s family appears on one’s head and thus perfects the heruka. One should perform this empowering practice at the three junctions of the day, and after performing it, rise and remain in the form of the deity.” [1.4.3][F.6.a]
This was the fourth chapter, “Initiation.”
“I will now teach the chapter on reality.
The Hevajra Tantra has been edited and published in Sanskrit multiple times. See Snellgrove 1959, Farrow 1992, Tripathi 2001, and Tripathi 2006. The editions prepared by Farrow and Tripathi comprise the Hevajra Tantra and one of its commentaries. Ryan Conlon will soon publish a new and much-anticipated edition of the Hevajra Tantra together with Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī.
The Ratnāvalī appears not to have been translated into Tibetan and is presently only extant in Sanskrit. An edition and translation of this important work is forthcoming from Ryan Conlon.
It must also be noted that there are clear instances where the Tibetan translation is simply incorrect. It is often only through comparison with the Sanskrit that such errors can be discovered. Whether these errors are those of the original translators or of later Tibetan scribes and editors is often unknown.
The syntax of the Skt. text makes it clear that the bhagas of the vajra women are the “body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas.” In the Tibetan translation, it is possible to interpret this phrase as a description of the Blessed One. Additionally, the term “essence” (snying po) is absent in the Skt., as reported in Conlon and the corresponding commentarial passages from the YRM and MĀ.
We have translated the terms ye shes (jñāna) and rnam shes (vijñāna) according to their conventional meaning. According to Kāṇha (YRM 1.1.55) and Ratnākaraśānti (MĀ 1.1.49), however, the term jñāna here refers to general topics of knowledge such as astrology, while vijñāna refers to the specific skills possessed by a master.
Note that in this verse, the Tibetan term dngos po translates the Sanskrit term vastu (“entity”). In the preceding verse, dngos po was used to translate bhāva (“existence”). This pattern of variation will continue throughout the text.
This spelling follows Conlon 2025, which is supported by the Tib. mtshan mo. R reads śavarī.
This spelling follows the Tib. translation of the root text (rangs ma) and the citation in MĀ. R reads kṛṣṇavarṇā.
Tib. shin tu gzugs can ma. There is no equivalent term in Conlon, and MĀ attests to svarūpiṇī, “own form.”
As will be explained in chapter 2.3, the polyvalent Skt. term saṃvara (Tib. sdom pa) is often used to refer to the “concealed” esoteric meaning or content of an exoteric phenomenon.
According to the Kāṇha (YRM 1.1.87) and Ratnākaraśānti (MĀ 1.1.142), the phrase “qualities, enjoyment, and creation” refers to the cakras with those names. R, as well as both the YRM and MĀ, also includes “great bliss” (mahāsukha), which is the fourth cakra. This term is absent in the Tibetan translation of the root text.
The words evam mayā, “thus did I,” refer back to the opening line of the Hevajra Tantra, and by extension the opening line of most Buddhist scriptures: evam mayā śrutam.
Following this line, some Sanskrit manuscripts of the Hevajra Tantra include an additional set of four properties. Neither Kāṇha, Ratnākaraśānti, Kamalanātha, nor Saroruhavajra acknowledge this set in their respective commentaries. The line is also absent from the Tibetan translation. Thus, it is reasonable to assume this additional set of four was not known as part of the Hevajra Tantra to these commentators, or to the Tibetan translators. It has been omitted in this English translation as well. The line, as published in R, reads catvāryaṅgāni sevā-upasevā-sādhana-mahāsādhanaś ceti (“the four limbs are service, honoring, sādhana, and mahāsādhana”).
Following the spelling given in Conlon and R. This term is more typically spelled sthāvira.
“The others” refers to the other three tathāgata consorts. They are Māmakī, Pāṇḍurā or Pāṇḍuravāsinī, and Samayatārā.
The name picuvajra defies attempts at definitive translation. It is an oxymoron combining two opposites—picu is cotton wool or tufts of grass, i.e., something soft and delicate, and vajra is something infinitely hard.
Possibly Crinum asiaticum. All plant identifications in this translation are based on information from the Pandanus Database of Indian Plants and other botanical resources, and should be considered tentative.
One bowl serves as the cover for the other. The effigy is placed inside the lower bowl, which is then filled with milk and covered with the other bowl.
Skt. includes another line not attested in D: “and blue powder made from pulverized human bone and coals from a charnel ground” (Conlon: narāsthicūrṇaśmaśānāṅgarābhyam).
The rendering of this mantra generally follows D, but has been silently emended in comparison with the Skt to correct minor issues of spelling and syntax: oṁ ghuru ghuru ghuḍu ghuḍu masa masa ghaṭa ghaṭa ghoṭaya ghoṭaya | anantakṣobhakarāya nāgādhipataye he he ru ru ka| saptapātālagatān nāgān ākarṣaya varṣaya garjaya tarjaya | phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ phuḥ | hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā.
It remains unclear precisely what “axe flakes” (kuṭhāracchinnā) refers to. It may be taken literally, as small chips or flakes from or made by an axe, or as the name of a plant or other material ingredient.
In the Skt., “it” (tām) is feminine, which means that it refers either to the previously mentioned chalk or to the pill that the chalk was formed into.
Referring to the month Pauṣa when the full moon enters the asterism called puṣya, which occurs during December and January.
Citraka can be the name of more than one plant, possibly referring to Plumbago zeylanica or Plumbago indica.
Skt. aśokāṣṭāmī. This lunar month corresponds to March or April of the Gregorian (Western) calendar.
This may refer to the Emetic nut, Randia dumetorum, but perhaps also to Vanguiera spinosa, or the thorn-apple.
Black nightshade (Solanum nigrum). This translation follows the spelling of the ingredient attested in Conlon. D reads kA kA ma tsi kA.
“Vajra water” could be a euphemism for urine, or could refer to water that has been ritually infused with a vajra.
This translation follows Conlon 2025 and Tib. in reading vajrārka (ba+dzra ar+k+ka). R reads candrārka (“moon and sun”).
Skt. oṁ vajrārka mā cala mā cala tiṣṭha tiṣṭha hevajrāya hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā. As cited in R and reported in Conlon, in some Skt. witnesses this mantra begins oṁ candrārka, “Oṁ, sun and moon…”
Arthasādhana (don bsgrub pa) is here used as a technical term for a rite intended to locate lost objects.
Tib. dus ma yin pa’i dus su. This English translation follows the Skt. vikālavelāyām, of which the Tib. is a literal but potentially misleading equivalent.
“Vajra divination” likely indicates that this is the specific Vajrayāna application of this mode of divination. The use of a young child to gaze into reflective surfaces—including fingernails or toenails dipped in lac—is a well-attested mode of divination in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist Indic sources. This practice is typically used to locate lost or stolen property. A more detailed description of the rite can be found in chapter 7 of The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions. About this practice see also Orofino 1994 and Vasudeva 2015.
The surrounding “rampart” is a solid structure made of crossed vajras, whereas the “tent” is an overhead canopy made of a lattice of crossed vajras.
Or, more literally, based on the Tib., “or blue with the hue of the sun.” The Tib. translation sngo dang nyi ma’i mdog is a literal translation of nīlāruṇābham, which simply means “appearing blue-red.”
The “eight goddesses” are eight goddesses from the Hevajra maṇḍala who assume the role of the goddesses of offerings.
This translation of sngo dang nyi ma mtshungs pa’i mdog has been informed by the Skt. nīlāruṇābhavarṇena. The Tib. would more literally read “blue with a hue similar to the sun.”
Following the Skt. in reading kaṇṭhī, “necklace,” as this is one of the five mudrās. The Tib. reads nor bu, “jewel.”
Some Skt. witnesses, including R, include the additional phrase vyāghracarmā, “wears a tiger-skin cloak.”
The “others” are the other offering goddesses, whose number varies depending on the sādhana.
The “rest” are the other four tathāgata consorts, Māmakī, Pāṇḍurā, Tārā, and possibly Nairātmyā.
Each of these first two lines paraphrases the word tathāgata. “Reached thusness” paraphrases tathā-gata (“thus-gone-one”), and “returned in the same way” paraphrases tathā-āgata (“thus-returned-one”).
The Skt. etymology of “family” (kula), which is derived from the root √kul (to “form groups”), cannot be fully conveyed in the English translation.
Ārolik is an alternate name of Amitābha, which is indicated in the Tibetan translation dpag med.
The Skt. (Conlon) reads brahmā nirvṛtito buddho, “The Buddha is Brahmā for being extinguished.” In this case, nirvṛtitas could be interpreted as “extinguished,” i.e., delivered into the state of nirvāṇa, or just as “tranquil/at ease.”
The text uses wordplay to show that the name Viṣṇu is derived from the verbal root √viś, which means “to enter.”
The Skt. for the final two lines of the verse is dehe sambhavatīty asmāt devateti. It employs a creative etymology to link the word devatā (“deity”) to the phrase de he sambhava ti. Ratnākaraśānti unpacks this in A String of Pearls, (1.5.37) saying, “Here, the word devatā is reached by removing the syllable ha from the preceding word (dehe), removing sambha from the subsequent word (sambhavati), and changing the final letter ti to tā to express inherent nature. The word devatā has the same meaning as deva.”
In this verse we are given two etymologies for the Skt. term bhagavān. In the first, the term is broken into bhaga, meaning “blessings,” “fortune,” etc., and the possessive suffix -vat, thus yielding “one possessed of blessings.” In the second etymology, the term bhaga is said to derive from the root √bhañj, meaning “to break.”
There is a play on words in the Skt. text, as the words for “distinction” (vibhāga) and “sister” (bhaginī) are derived from the same root, √bhañj. We understand the Tib. skal ba to be a reasonable equivalent of vibhāga, and not a variant.
We understand the Tib.’tshod pa’i phyir as equivalent to the attested Skt. rañjanāt, and thus to refer to the dyeing process, rather than taking it more literally as “cook,” “boil,” etc.
There is another play on words here, as the word for daughter, duhitṛ, is derived from the root √duh, “to milk.”
“Indestructible”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
Literally the “truth of the highest meaning,” this is the knowledge that can only be directly realized, but not grasped conceptually.
The first of the four seals associated with the four bodies of a buddha, this term is typically used to refer to the physical sexual consort. It represents the first level of practice on the stage of the arisen, where the
The negative states of mind that bind one to saṃsāra. The main three are delusion, anger, and desire.
The five aggregates of individual existence are form (
The Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit rendering of Adhomukhā, a Buddhist goddess.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the eastern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the vajra family.
A posture in which the right foot is extended forward and the left knee is slightly bent.
A system of code words and terms with symbolic meaning that are used in the higher tantras.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the western quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the lotus family.
Another name of Amitābha.
Referring to the tathāgata Amitābha, one of the five tathāgatas associated with the elements.
One of the five tathāgatas, he is located in the southern quarter of tantric maṇḍalas and presides over the karma family.
One of the eight nāga kings. He is also the cosmic serpent that Viṣṇu sleeps upon.
Another name of Yama.
One of the secondary kṣetras.
There are two types of
An offering that consists primarily of water, which is made ritually to the deity as an act of welcome and to bid farewell. The ritual act is based on the similar practice of receiving a guest in the home.
Another name for Amitābha.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas.
The eternal principle of individual self, taught in the Brahmanical Upaniṣads and espoused by the Vedānta tradition. It is a concept rejected by Buddhism.
Literally meaning “heat,” the term refers to intense, austere practices intended to generate yogic energy.
One of the three main subtle channels associated with the experience of emptiness; it is located in the center of the body. In the Hevajra system, this channel is identified with Nairātmyā.
The worst of all hells, where the suffering is most intense.
An offering to the deity or spirits that consists chiefly of food.
The ritual activity of banishing or exorcising hostile forces. A type of hostile rite (
A polyvalent term that refers in tantric scriptures to the
“Generating”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
A Buddhist goddess.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
Also called
A code word for male genitalia.
One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon in which he is considered a creator god. Brahmā occupies an important place in Buddhism as one of two deities (the other being Śakra) who are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. He is also considered to be the “Lord of the Sahā world” (our universe).
“Brahmin woman,” one of the five mudrās, representing the activity family in the Hevajra system.
Literally “wheel,” cakra is an energy center in the subtle body where subtle channels converge. In tantric Buddhism there are either four or five main cakras. The
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. She is roused as a mystic heat or fire during a yoga practice of the same name. She is also one of the five mudrās, representing the tathāgata family in the Hevajra system. Also, the name of a yoginī in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
“Fierce One”; one of the subtle channels in the body.
The god of the moon, or the moon personified.
One of the pīlavas.
One of the fifteen yoginīs that inhabit the thirty-two subtle channels. Also, one of the yoginīs in the maṇḍala of Nairātmyā.
“Place of delight.” A type of a sacred site.
A place for the disposal or cremation of corpses, counted among the six types of sacred site.
The deity with whom one has a special karmic or astrological connection.
Secondary conditions that contribute to the arising of a given result.
Citta (“Thought”) or Citteśa (“Lord of Thoughts”) is, in the context of the five lords of the families, another name of Akṣobhya.
Obscurations caused by conceptuality and dualistic thinking.
Similar in meaning to the “relative truth” (
A technical term in the Yoginī tantras that refers to categories that are concealed or hidden because of their highly esoteric implications. The esoteric category is said to be “concealed” within an exoteric one. The concealed content and its container are regarded as indivisible. In the context of pledges and vows,
A specific mode of prescribed tantric conduct that is accepted as a formal commitment (
Conlon, Ryan. “Kamalanātha’s Ratnāvalī Hevajrapañjikā: Critical Edition and Annotated Translation.” PhD diss., University of Hamburg, forthcoming.
Tripathi, Ram Shankar and T. S. Negi, eds. (2001). Hevajratantram with Muktāvalī Pañjikā of Mahāpaṇḍitācārya Ratnākaraśānti. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2001.
Tripathi, Ram Shankar, ed. (2006). Hevajratantram with Yogaratnamālāpañjikā of Mahāpaṇḍitācārya Kṛṣṇapāda. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2006.
kye’i rdo rje zhes bya ba rgyud kyi rgyal po (Hevajratantra). Toh 417–418, Degé Kangyur, vol. 80 (rgyud, nga), folios 1.b–30.a.
kye’i rdo rje zhes bya ba rgyud kyi rgyal po (Hevajratantra) 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. 80, pp. 3–92.
Kāṇha. dgyes pa rdo rje’i dka’ ’grel rnal ’byor rin po che’i phreng ba shes bya ba (Yogaratnamālānāmahevajrapañjikā). Toh 1183, Degé Tengyur vol. 2 (rgyud ’grel, kha), folios 1.b–61.a.
Ratnākaraśānti. dpal dgyes pa rdo rje’i dka’ ’grel mu tig phreng ba zhes bya ba (Śrīhevajrapañjikā nāma muktikāvalī). Toh 1189, Degé Tengyur vol. 4 (rgyud ’grel, ga), folios 221.a–297.a.
Saroruhavajra. kye’i rdo rje’i rgyud kyi dka’ ’grel pad+ma can (Hevajratantrapañjikāpadminīnāma). Toh 1181, Degé Tengyur vol. 1 (rgyud ’grel, ka), folios 126.b–173.a.
Vajragarbha. kye’i rdo rje bsdus pa’i don gyi rgya cher ’grel pa (Hevajratantrapiṇḍārthaṭīkā). Toh 1180, Degé Tengyur vol. 1 (rgyud ’grel, ka), folios 1.b–126.a.
84000. Emergence from Sampuṭa (Sampuṭodbhava, yang dag par sbyor ba, Toh 381). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
Davidson, Ronald M. Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture. Columbia University Press, 2004.
Farrow, G. W. and I. Menon, eds. and trans. The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra, with the Commentary Yogaratnamālā. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1992.
Gerloff, Torsten. Saroruha’s Hevajra Lineage. A Close Study of the Surviving Sanskrit and Tibetan Works. Parts 1 & 2. Indian and Tibetan Studies 7. Department of Indian and Tibetan Studies, University of Hamburg, 2020.
Matsunaga, Yukei, ed. The Guhyasamāja Tantra. Osaka: Toho Shuppan, 1978.
Orofino, Giacomella. “Divination with Mirrors: Observations on a Simile Found in the Kālacakra Literature.” Tibetan Studies 2 (1994): 612–28.
Snellgrove, David, ed. The Hevajratantra: A Critical Study. Parts 1–2. New York: Oxford University Press, 1959.
Szántó, Péter-Dániel. “Hevajratantra.” Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Vol. 1, pp. 334–40. Leiden: Brill Publications, 2015.
Vasudeva, Somadeva. “Prasenā, Prasīnā and Prasannā: The Evidence of the Niśvāsaguhya and the Tantrasadbhāva.” Cracow Indological Studies 16, Special Issue (2015): 369–90.
C Choné Kangyur
Conlon The version of the Hevajra Tantra published in Conlon (forthcoming)
D Degé Kangyur, Toh 417 and 418
H Lhasa Kangyur
J Lithang Kangyur
K Kangxi Kangyur
MS(S) Manuscript(s)
MĀ Muktāvalī (Toh 1189)
N Narthang Kangyur
R The version of the Hevajra Tantra published in Tripathi 2006
Rms Readings from the critical apparatus of the Hevajra Tantra published in Tripathi 2006
Skt. All consulted Sanskrit witnesses, or the Sanskrit language generally
Tib. All consulted Tibetan witnesses, or the Tibetan language generally
Y Yongle Kangyur
YRM Yogaratnamālā (Toh 1183)
