In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī presents a series of lyrical verses in praise of the deity Sarasvatī, the patron goddess of spoken and written eloquence. With evocative imagery and inspiring language, the praise pays tribute to Sarasvatī’s unimpeded speech, memory, and knowledge, and to her physical majesty and compassionate nature. The praise includes petitions requesting Sarasvatī to grant the devotee a level of eloquence and learning equal to that of the goddess herself. In the tradition of the Great Vehicle, the praise aligns the attainments of eloquent speech, strong memory, and great learning with the intention to use them for the benefit of other beings.
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Subhashita Translation Group. The translation was produced by Lowell Cook, who also wrote the introduction. Benjamin Ewing and Ryan Damron checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text and introduction.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Sarasvatī is a female deity prominent in the pantheons of South Asia’s diverse religious communities, including those of the Buddhist, Brahmanical, and Jain traditions.1 In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī extols the qualities for which the goddess is widely renowned in those communities: unimpeded mastery of speech, memory, and knowledge, physical majesty, and a compassionate nature. While praising Sarasvatī for these qualities, the text also petitions Sarasvatī to grant her devotee a level of eloquence and learning equal to that of the goddess herself. The praises and petitions articulated in the text are situated in the broader context of the Mahāyāna, which is apparent from its sustained orientation toward the benefit of all beings.
Among the praises to Sarasvatī preserved in Buddhist literature, In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī is unique for being classified by the compilers of the Tibetan canon as the word of the Buddha (buddhavacana) and thus included in the Kangyur, rather than as the work of human authors such as are compiled in the Tengyur. The other praises to Sarasvatī in the Tibetan canon are all preserved in the Tengyur, and include Śrīdhara’s Vajrasarasvatīstotra (Toh 1925) and the Sarasvatīstotra attributed to Kālidāsa (Toh 3704). Sarasvatī is also the subject of a substantial collection of Indic practice manuals (sādhana), which are preserved in the Tengyur as well. In the Tibetan tradition, Sarasvatī holds a position of importance as a patron goddess of both spoken and written eloquence, as is exemplified in Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa’s (1357–1419) celebrated Verses in Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī (sgra dbyangs lha mo dbyangs can ma la bstod pa’i tshigs su bcad pa). Despite Sarasvatī’s popularity in Tibet, In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī does not appear to have been widely studied or quoted in Tibetan literature.
In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī lacks a Sanskrit title and is not otherwise available in a Sanskrit witness, making it challenging to determine the history of the text in India. The Tibetan translation of the text is preserved twice in the Kangyur—in the Action Tantra (Skt. kriyātantra; Tib. bya ba’i rgyud) section and in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs22 (Tib. gzungs ’dus)—with only minor variations between the two versions.3 The translation is not recorded in the Denkarma or Phangthangma catalogs, the two extant records of texts translated during the Imperial Period (btsan po’i skabs; 629–842), nor does it appear in the Dunhuang collections, suggesting that the praise was either translated or compiled in the Period of Fragmentation (sil bu’i dus; ca. mid-eighth to late-tenth centuries) or during the subsequent period of Buddhism’s spread in Tibet (bstan pa’i phyi dar). With no colophon that includes information about the team of translators, it is difficult to precisely determine the history of the text’s transmission and translation in Tibet.
The English translation offered here is based on the version preserved in the Degé Kangyur with reference to variant readings from eight Kangyurs as noted in the Comparative Edition Kangyur (dpe bsdur ma), as well as the version preserved in the Stok Palace Kangyur.
namo bhagavate brahmaṇe | namaḥ sarasvatyai devi siddhyantu mantrapādam brahmānumantra svāhā.8
This concludes “In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī.”
In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī presents a series of lyrical verses in praise of the deity Sarasvatī, the patron goddess of spoken and written eloquence. With evocative imagery and inspiring language, the praise pays tribute to Sarasvatī’s unimpeded speech, memory, and knowledge, and to her physical majesty and compassionate nature. The praise includes petitions requesting Sarasvatī to grant the devotee a level of eloquence and learning equal to that of the goddess herself. In the tradition of the Great Vehicle, the praise aligns the attainments of eloquent speech, strong memory, and great learning with the intention to use them for the benefit of other beings.
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Subhashita Translation Group. The translation was produced by Lowell Cook, who also wrote the introduction. Benjamin Ewing and Ryan Damron checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text and introduction.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Sarasvatī is a female deity prominent in the pantheons of South Asia’s diverse religious communities, including those of the Buddhist, Brahmanical, and Jain traditions.1 In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī extols the qualities for which the goddess is widely renowned in those communities: unimpeded mastery of speech, memory, and knowledge, physical majesty, and a compassionate nature. While praising Sarasvatī for these qualities, the text also petitions Sarasvatī to grant her devotee a level of eloquence and learning equal to that of the goddess herself. The praises and petitions articulated in the text are situated in the broader context of the Mahāyāna, which is apparent from its sustained orientation toward the benefit of all beings.
Among the praises to Sarasvatī preserved in Buddhist literature, In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī is unique for being classified by the compilers of the Tibetan canon as the word of the Buddha (buddhavacana) and thus included in the Kangyur, rather than as the work of human authors such as are compiled in the Tengyur. The other praises to Sarasvatī in the Tibetan canon are all preserved in the Tengyur, and include Śrīdhara’s Vajrasarasvatīstotra (Toh 1925) and the Sarasvatīstotra attributed to Kālidāsa (Toh 3704). Sarasvatī is also the subject of a substantial collection of Indic practice manuals (sādhana), which are preserved in the Tengyur as well. In the Tibetan tradition, Sarasvatī holds a position of importance as a patron goddess of both spoken and written eloquence, as is exemplified in Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa’s (1357–1419) celebrated Verses in Praise of the Goddess Sarasvatī (sgra dbyangs lha mo dbyangs can ma la bstod pa’i tshigs su bcad pa). Despite Sarasvatī’s popularity in Tibet, In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī does not appear to have been widely studied or quoted in Tibetan literature.
In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī lacks a Sanskrit title and is not otherwise available in a Sanskrit witness, making it challenging to determine the history of the text in India. The Tibetan translation of the text is preserved twice in the Kangyur—in the Action Tantra (Skt. kriyātantra; Tib. bya ba’i rgyud) section and in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs22 (Tib. gzungs ’dus)—with only minor variations between the two versions.3 The translation is not recorded in the Denkarma or Phangthangma catalogs, the two extant records of texts translated during the Imperial Period (btsan po’i skabs; 629–842), nor does it appear in the Dunhuang collections, suggesting that the praise was either translated or compiled in the Period of Fragmentation (sil bu’i dus; ca. mid-eighth to late-tenth centuries) or during the subsequent period of Buddhism’s spread in Tibet (bstan pa’i phyi dar). With no colophon that includes information about the team of translators, it is difficult to precisely determine the history of the text’s transmission and translation in Tibet.
The English translation offered here is based on the version preserved in the Degé Kangyur with reference to variant readings from eight Kangyurs as noted in the Comparative Edition Kangyur (dpe bsdur ma), as well as the version preserved in the Stok Palace Kangyur.
namo bhagavate brahmaṇe | namaḥ sarasvatyai devi siddhyantu mantrapādam brahmānumantra svāhā.8
This concludes “In Praise of the Glorious Goddess Sarasvatī.”
Sarasvatī’s history and status in South Asia’s diverse religious communities have been studied in Ludvik 2007.
This text, Toh 1092, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, 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.
Among the Action Tantras, this text is grouped within the Lotus Family, where Sarasvatī is positioned as a female attendant (Tib. bka’ nyan mo) of that family.
The phrase “three knowledges” (Tib. rig gsum) is enigmatic. It could be an abbreviated form of rig byed gsum, “the three Vedas,” which is supported by the reference to “sages,” (Tib. drang srong), a translation of the Sanskrit term ṛṣi, a title often applied to realized teachers of the Vedic tradition. This interpretation is not conclusive, however, thus rig gsum has been translated here as “three knowledges” to preserve the ambiguity and polyvalence of the Tibetan term.
“Lustrous” (Tib. gsal) is omitted in H, N, and S. It is replaced with the instrumental particle gyis in those versions.
This translation follows H, N, and S in reading sogs (“the likes of”) where D reads tshogs (“host”). S reads dbang po (“Indra”) where D and other versions of the translation read lha dbang (“Devendra”). This amounts to the same reading, however, as Devendra is an epithet of Indra.
C, K, Y, and J instead read bsod ldan ("meritorious"), in which case this line would read, “Compassionate mother, replete with love and merit.”
This mantra follows the Degé with minor orthographic emendation. It can be tentatively translated as, “Homage to the lord Brahmā. Homage to Sarasvatī. Goddess! May this mantra formula be accomplished. Let it be consecrated by Brahmā, svāhā.” A similar passage is found in the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra (p. 57): namo bhagavatyai brāhmaṇyai namaḥ sarasvatyai devyai sidhyantu mantrapadās taṃ brahma namasyantu svāhā.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
Another name for Śakra, also known as Indra.
The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and as such can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulae.
Kālidāsa (c. fourth–fifth century ᴄᴇ) was one of India’s greatest poets. He is the author of Cloud Messenger (Skt. Meghadūta, Tib. sprin gyi pho nya), a work that exerted a major influence on Tibet’s poetic tradition, and a praise to Sarasvatī called Sarasvatīstotra (Toh 3704).
The level of realization of a bodhisattva, typically ten in number.
The ten perfections are generosity (Skt. dāna, Tib. sbyin pa), discipline (Skt. śīla, Tib. tshul khrims), patience (Skt. kṣānti, Tib. bzod pa), diligence (Skt. vīrya, Tib. brtson ’grus), concentration (Skt. dhyāna, Tib. bsam gtan), insight (Skt. prajñā, Tib. shes rab), skillful means (upāyakauśala, Tib. thabs la mkhas pa), might (Skt. bala, Tib. stobs), aspiration (Skt. praṇidhāna, Tib. smon lam), and wisdom (Skt. jñāna, Tib. ye shes).
Literally “coming together,” samaya, refers to precepts given by the teacher, the corresponding commitment by the pupil, and the bond that results, which can also be the bond between the practitioner and the deity or a spirit. It can also mean a special juncture or circumstance, or an ordinary time or season.
The goddess of eloquence, learning, and music.
Śrīdhara (ca. 870 ᴄᴇ–ca. 930 ᴄᴇ) was a renowned Indian scholar who composed the Vajrasarasvatīstotra (Toh 1925), a praise to Sarasvatī.
Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (1357–1419 ᴄᴇ) was the founder of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, a polymathic scholar, and a prolific author.
One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).
dpal lha mo sgra dbyangs la bstod pa. Toh 738, Degé Kangyur vol. 94 (rgyud ’bum, tsha), folios 229.b–230.a.
dpal lha mo sgra dbyangs la bstod pa. (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. 94, pp. 634–37.
dpal lha mo sgra dbyangs la bstod pa. Stok 691. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Leh: smanrtsis shesrig dpemzod, 1975–80, vol. 108 (rgyud ’bum, tsa), folios 79.b–80.b.
dpal lha mo sgra dbyangs la bstod pa. Toh 1092, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, waM), folios 256.a–256.b.
dpal lha mo sgra dbyangs la bstod pa. (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. 898–901.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Ludvik, Catherine. Sarasvatī: Riverine Goddess of Knowledge. From the Manuscript-carrying Vīṇā-player to the Weapon-wielding Defender of the Dharma. Leiden: Brill, 2007.
Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtram. Edited by S. Bagchi. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute, 1967.
C Choné (co ne) Kangyur
H Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur
J Lithang (’jang sa tham) Kangyur
K Peking (pe cin) Kangxi Kangyur
N Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur
S Stok Palace (stog pho brang) Manuscript Kangyur
Y Peking Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur
