The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī
Chapter 4
Toh 138
Degé Kangyur, vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 187.b–277.b
- Śilendrabodhi
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
Current version v 1.0.30 (2025)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī is one of the core texts of the Mahāsannipāta collection of Mahāyāna sūtras that dates back to the formative period of Mahāyāna Buddhism, from the first to the third century ᴄᴇ. Its rich and varied narratives, probably redacted from at least two independent works, recount significant events from the lives, past and present, of the Buddha Śākyamuni and some of his main followers and opponents, both human and nonhuman. At the center of these narratives is the climactic episode from the Buddha’s life when Māra, the personification of spiritual death, sets out to destroy the Buddha and his Dharma. The mythic confrontation between these paragons of light and darkness, and the Buddha’s eventual victory, are related in vivid detail. The main narratives are interwoven with Dharma instructions and interspersed with miraculous events. The text also exemplifies two distinctive sūtra genres, “prophecies” (vyākaraṇa) and “incantations” (dhāraṇī), as it includes, respectively, prophecies of the future attainment of buddhahood by some of the Buddha’s followers and the potent phrases that embody the Buddha’s teachings and are meant to ensure their survival and the thriving of its practitioners.
Acknowledgements
This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical translated the extant parts from the Sanskrit and wrote the introduction. Timothy Hinkle compared the translation from the Sanskrit against the Tibetan translation and translated from the Tibetan the parts that are lost in the original Sanskrit.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Twenty and family, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is gratefully acknowledged. They would like to dedicate their sponsorship to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.
Text Body
The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī
from the Great Collection
Homage
Homage to the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance!
Homage to the one with the melodious voice of Mahābrahmā!
Having paid homage to him, one should employ the dhāraṇī called unharmed by the assemblies of Māra. May I accomplish the following mantra:11
Avāme avāme amvare amvare {TK4} parikuñja naṭa naṭa puṣkaravaha jalukha khama khaya ili mili kili mili kīrtipara mudre mudramukhe svāhā! {TK5}
Chapter 4
When the four great hearers were, as described before, in the great city of Rājagṛha collecting alms, they were rudely accosted by the māra youths who urged them, “Dance, monk! Sing, monk!” When, subsequently, the great hearers, running along the street, sang their verses with lyrics that describe the path to nirvāṇa, this great earth trembled. At that moment many hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, inspired with faith in the Blessed One’s instructions,215 said this, their faces awash with tears:
Then, many hundreds of thousands of millions of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas,216 and rākṣasas, their faces bathed in tears, approached the Blessed One. Standing before him, they said:
The Blessed One replied:
All those gathered there pleaded with one voice, “Do not go, O Blessed One! [F.217.b] Have you not said before that the domains of the blessed buddhas, the māras, and the nāgas, and of the acts they commit, are inconceivable? Among all these domains, that of the buddhas is preeminent. The Blessed One can, while sitting right on his seat, defeat tens of millions of māras, explain tens of millions of Dharma treatises, dry up the ocean of afflictions, tear up the net of wrong views, and submerge tens of millions of beings in the ocean of wisdom. The time is not right for the Blessed One to go now.”
The Blessed One replied, “Even if all beings, however many there are in the inhabited realms, were to become māras, and if all the particles of dust, however many there are on earth, were individually mobilized by his power to advance toward me in order to take my life, they would not be able to harm even a single hair on my body. Whereas I, sitting on this very seat, would be able to defeat tens of millions of billions of māras, except for Māra himself along with his personal retinue.
“I will go back so that the entire great city of Rājagṛha becomes adorned by the māras offering worship to me {TK98} with marvelous displays magically created by the power of Māra. I will use this event to inspire them with compassion, so that these māras, when supreme appreciation and faith are born in them, will create the roots of virtue necessary to realize unsurpassed and perfect awakening.” {K88}
When the Blessed One was thus about to get up from his seat, Prabhāvaśobhanā, the guardian deity of Veṇuvana, stood in front of him with a tearful face and insisted:
When the Blessed One did, nevertheless, get up from his seat, the goddess of the monastery, Dyutimati, bowed her head to his feet and said:
When the Blessed One did, nevertheless, walk out of the monastery, {TK99} the medicine goddess, Siddhimati, bowed her head to his feet and said:
But the Blessed One set forth from the monastery courtyard. The tree goddess Dyutindharā, wailing most piteously, bowed her head to his feet and pleaded:
When the Blessed One approached the covered gate passage, the goddess thereof, Jyotivaruṇā by name, wailing in a loud voice, bowed her head to his feet and said:
When the Blessed One nevertheless entered the gate passage, the protector goddess of the city of Rājagṛha, Tamālasārā by name, {K90} crying out from the sky in a loud voice, hastily approached him, bowed her head to his feet, and warned:
Seeing that the Blessed One would not turn back, the goddess shed even more tears and begged:
But the Blessed One advanced farther along the gate passage. The earth goddess, Dṛḍhā, together with ten thousand other deities each endowed with great vigor, her face bathed in tears and hair disheveled, stood before the Blessed One with folded hands {K92} and pleaded:
The Blessed One, however, proceeded farther along the gate passage. At that moment many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, their faces bathed in tears, flew through the sky, imploring him:
Another goddess warned:
Another goddess said:
Under these circumstances, many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas descended from the sky above with forlorn expressions on their tear-soaked faces. Arraying themselves before the Blessed One, they acted in many different, self-harming ways.
Some pulled out their hair. Some cast off their adornments. Some {K95} threw away their parasols, banners, and flags. Some threw themselves on the ground. Some took hold of the Blessed One’s feet. Some wailed most piteously. Some beat their breasts {TK105} with their hands. Some, standing at the Blessed One’s feet, spun in circles like the madgu234 bird. Some, standing in front of the Blessed One with folded hands, bowed to him and recited praises. [F.220.a] And some showered upon him flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, scented oils, clothes, adornments, golden thread, strings of pearls, and fine cloth. Some others, numbering tens of millions, chanted the following in a single loud voice:
Another goddess said:
Now many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of gods from the Pure Abode gathered together and said:
Another goddess said in tears:
Then Śakra, Brahmā, and the world protectors clasped the feet of the Blessed One and pleaded:
The Blessed One then looked at the entire congregation, eyes wide with loving kindness, and uttered the following words to comfort them, his voice as sweet as Brahmā’s:
On that occasion, infinite and innumerable hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and human and nonhuman beings applauded the Blessed One by exclaiming, “Homage to the one endowed with infinite diligence who has the power to work miracles and wonders! Homage, homage to the Blessed Buddha who is thus endowed! {TK110} The world and its gods have been comforted by the Blessed One, and the followers of Māra defeated. The filth of the afflictions that bind beings to existence has been dispelled. {K100} The mountain of their arrogance has been split asunder. The tree of birth [F.221.b] has been cut down, the sun of death241 turned to powder, the darkness of ignorance dispelled, the followers of other religions brought to have faith, the four rivers dried up, the torch of the Dharma lit, and the path to awakening shown.
“Beings have been established in acceptance and gentleness, caused to playfully abide in the bliss of meditation, and made to realize the four truths of the noble ones. The world and its gods have been ferried across the ocean of births by the most compassionate, blessed teacher. Sentient beings have been transported to the city of fearlessness.”
Then the gods and humans worshiped the Blessed One with sundry flowers, incense, perfume, garlands,242 ornaments, and adornments and swept the road for his sake. They covered it243 in celestial cloth, calico, and flowers, including celestial flowers such as mandārava and great mandārava, pāruṣaka and great pāruṣaka, mañjuṣaka and great mañjuṣaka, and roca and great roca, as well as blue, red, and white lotus flowers. In the places where the Blessed One would put his feet {TK111} on the road, they conjured up, on either side, trees made of the seven precious gems, and adorned them with celestial cloth,244 calico, and hand, ear, and head adornments. Between the trees, they conjured up celestial lotus ponds with cool and sweet water, completely limpid and free of turbidity. These were filled with water possessing eight qualities245 and adorned all around with the seven precious gems.
In the space above, they held up parasols made from the seven precious gems, banners, flags, golden thread, and strings of pearls. They sent showers of dust made of gold, silver, and beryl, and the powders of aloeswood, crape jasmine, white sandalwood, and benjamin, and the leaves of the tamāla tree. {K101} They sprinkled powdered gośīrṣa and uragasāra sandalwood upon the road. They also adorned the entire firmament with golden thread, strings of pearls, [F.222.a] and loose jewels and pearls, as well as various other ornaments. Outside the city the gods and humans decorated the road in order to worship the Blessed One, while inside, the māras and their retinues created beautiful magical displays in order to worship him.
At this time the Blessed One entered the absorption called becoming indestructible and, immersed in it, proceeded on his way down the road. {TK112} He advanced on the road assuming various physical forms and features with their corresponding modes of deportment. Those beings who were devoted to Brahmā and capable of being guided by him saw the Blessed One walking in the form of Brahmā. Those who were capable of being guided by Śakra, Nārāyaṇa, Maheśvara, the Four Great Kings, a universal monarch, the master of a castle, a great sage,246 a monk, a princely youth, a woman, a lion, an elephant, a nāga, or an asura saw the Blessed One in that respective form. Those who were devoted to and capable of being guided by rabbits saw the Blessed One with the form and features of a rabbit, advancing on the road in the manner of a rabbit. Those capable of being guided by buddhas saw the Blessed One with the form and features of a buddha, advancing on the road in the manner of a buddha. All these beings walked along close together with folded hands, one after the other, bowing and singing praises.
At that time, the sage Jyotīrasa, who lived next to the Himalayas, {K102} spurred on by Māra,247 arrived in the vicinity of the gates of the great city of Rājagṛha, along with his retinue of five hundred. [F.222.b]248When he saw the Blessed One proceeding down the road in the form, features, color, shape, deportment, and style of a sage, and the many billions of gods {TK113} diligently venerating him, he had the following thought:
“Truly, this man is a great sage with tremendous power. He is worthy of veneration and both gods and humans are venerating him. His entire body is ornamented with the marks of merit. I can see that he is a learned preceptor. I would like to check to see which of the two of us is elder and more learned. So, I will go before him and inquire about his caste, family lineage, dwelling place, and ascetic discipline.”
All the young brahmins in his retinue pledged with one voice that they would do as their preceptor had instructed. The sage Jyotīrasa and his retinue then went to the Blessed One. Standing before the Blessed One, they joined their palms and asked, “Who are you?”
The Blessed One answered, “I am a brahmin.”
“What is your family lineage?”
“I am of the Gautama family lineage.”
“What is your ascetic discipline?”
“My ascetic discipline is the threefold liberation.”
“What is your practice?”
“I practice suchness, the ultimate reality.”
“How long has it been since you went forth?”
“I have gone forth {TK114} since ignorance arose.”
The Blessed One responded, “When one is free from superimposition, everything is the same. [F.223.a] So from that perspective, what is the point of worldly knowledge?”
“It delights the learned,” replied the sage.
“Where do the stars abide?” asked the Blessed One.
The sage answered, “There are said to be the twenty-eight constellations that are supported by, and follow, the sun and the moon. In relation to the measurement by fingers,249 there are thirty-eight. Using this measurement by fingers, there are twelve fingers lengthwise within the body where the stars abide. With one measure of a finger at the brain in the head and one measure of a finger at the soles of the feet, there are a total of fourteen such fingers within the body. What exists at those locations does not change into anything else. Thus, the way one is follows the star under which one is born. What else is there? Let me explain. Please listen, Great Sage!
The Blessed One then said:
The sage Jyotīrasa showered the Blessed One with flowers {TK120} and was deeply pleased. He then inquired:
The Blessed One answered:
261Immediately after the Blessed Buddha had spoken these verses, the sage Jyotīrasa and his retinue saw the Blessed One transform into the form, features, and deportment of a buddha as their previously accumulated roots of virtue became activated. The sage Jyotīrasa then attained a state of absorption such that, sitting like the bodhisattva Peak of the Victory Banner, he was able to see into all states of absorption without depending on any other factors. Through all these forms of absorption, [F.225.a] his state became such that nobody could take it away from him. He attained the bodhisattva absorption called Ratnaketu.262
The great sage, holding a flower263 in his folded hands, then praised the Blessed One with the following verses: {K103}
Then the sage Jyotīrasa cast the flowers he had just spoken of upon the Blessed One, and they became a single parasol floating above the crown of his head. When he saw this, satisfying feelings of tremendous and extraordinary joy and pleasure arose in Jyotīrasa’s mind. [F.226.a] He fell to his knees and touched the Blessed One’s feet. As soon as he did so, the entire great trichiliocosm286 shook in six different ways. The hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of beings who were there became so moved287 that they beheld a vision.288
Those beings who were capable of being guided by elephants perceived the Well-Gone One in the form of an elephant. They were overjoyed. When they saw the flowers cast by the great sage transformed and floating in the sky as a parasol and the earth shaking, {TK127} they fell to the Blessed One’s feet in amazement. Those who were capable of being guided by buddhas all perceived the Blessed One in the guise of a buddha and were wonderstruck.289
When the Blessed One then emerged from his absorption, becoming indestructible, those beings who were capable of being guided by buddhas290 felt joyous and exhilarated on seeing him emerge and showered him with all the flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, scented oils, clothes, ornaments, and adornments they had. For this occasion, the Blessed One,291 addressing Jyotīrasa, uttered the following stanzas: {K107}
Jyotīrasa, the bodhisattva great being, then asked, “In what buddha field will I turn the wheel of the Dharma?” [F.226.b] {TK128}293
The Blessed One replied,294 “In countless eons, you will appear in a buddha field to the north called Extensive Scent of Flowers. This buddha field will be arranged just as the present-day world of Sukhāvatī is. You will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood in this buddha field. You will be a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha, someone learned and virtuous, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, a charioteer who guides beings, an unsurpassed being, and a teacher of gods and humans. You will be known as the blessed buddha Immaculate Fragrant Star of Bright Splendor. Your lifespan will extend to an intermediate eon. There will be no hearers or solitary buddhas in your buddha field; it will be a realm exclusive to bodhisattva great beings. You will only give Great Vehicle teachings there.”
When the assembly that had amassed there heard the prophecy of the bodhisattva great being Jyotīrasa, they exerted themselves in venerating the Blessed One. The five hundred young brahmins and ninety-two trillion other beings there developed the mind directed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening. They achieved the bodhisattva absorption called not forgetting the mind of awakening.
This concludes the chapter on the sage Jyotīrasa, the fourth in the “Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī.” {K108} {TK130} [B5]
Colophon
Tibetan Translators’ Colophon
This sūtra was translated by the Indian preceptor Śilendrabodhi and the translator-editor Yeshé Dé. It was later standardized in line with the new terminological register.
Bibliography
Primary literature (manuscripts and editions)
Sanskrit
Dutt, Nalinaksha, ed. Gilgit Manuscripts. Vols. 1–4. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1984.
Kurumiya, Yenshu, ed. Ratnaketuparivarta: Sanskrit Text. Kyoto: Heirakuji-shoten, 1978.
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Tibetan
’phags pa ’dus pa rin po che tog gi gzungs shes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Toh 138, Degé Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 187.b–277.b.
’phags pa ’dus pa rin po che tog gi gzungs shes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. 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. 56, pp. 509–734.
Kurumiya, Yenshu, ed. ’Dus Pa Chen Po Rin Po Che Tog Gi Gzungs, ’Dus Pa Chen Po Dkon Mchog Dbal Zes Bya Ba’i Gzungs: being the Tibetan translation of the Ratnaketu Parivarta. Kyoto: Heirakuji-shoten, 1979.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan[/lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
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Ui, Hakuju. A catalogue-index of the Tibetan Buddhist canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥgyur). Sendai: Tōhoku Imperial University, 1934.