In this short tantra, the Bodhisattva Vajragarbha asks the Buddha—in his terrifying form of Mahābhairava—about his epithets bhagavat (“Blessed One”) and mahābhairava (“Great Terrifier”). Relying on an etymological explanation, the Buddha teaches that a being is a bhagavat because they have “destroyed” (√bhañj) the four māras. He then goes through the four initiations of the Yoginītantra system, explaining how the four māras are identified and destroyed in each. This text is one of the Rali tantras and will be of interest to both scholars and practitioners—particularly those with a connection to Hevajra, Cakrasaṃvara, and the Yoginītantras more generally.
Daniel McNamara compared the Degé and Pedurma versions of the text, translated it into English, and wrote the introduction and supplementary materials. Christopher Limburg offered feedback on the introduction and translation. Daniel McNamara also acknowledges the valuable discussions with students enrolled in Advanced Classical Tibetan at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute during the summer of 2025: Michel Comelli, Jonathan Gold, Yangchen Dawa Sherpa, and Xinyue Ren.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Linda Griffin copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
In The Great Sky, the Buddha explains the two epithets by which he is known in the text: “Blessed One” (bhagavat) and “Great Terrifier” (mahābhairava). He is prompted to teach on these topics by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, who is best known as the primary interlocutor in the Hevajra Tantra. Following Vajragarbha’s question, the Buddha dedicates virtually the entire tantra to an elaboration of bhagavat, turning to the term mahābhairava in only six lines toward the end. He explains the term bhagavat etymologically, stating that bhaga, which typically means “blessings” or “fortune,” is derived from the verbal root √bhañj (Tib. bcom), which means to “break” or “destroy.” The objects of destruction are the four māras, personifications of forces that obstruct progress toward awakening. The possessive suffix -vat is then equated with “possessing” the remedies for each of the māras. This explanation is resonant with the etymology of bhagavat given in the Hevajra Tantra, where bhaga is also said to be derived from √bhañj and is linked to the destruction of the four māras.1
The four māras scheme is well-attested in both exoteric and esoteric Buddhist literature. One can find reference to them throughout the sūtras, including The White Lotus of Compassion2 and The Chapter Teaching the Purification of Boundless Gateways from the Ratnakūṭa collection,3 among others. In addition to the citation mentioned above, the Hevajra Tantra also references the four māras in the context of Hevajra’s iconography. The tantra states that Hevajra’s four arms represent his defeat of the four māras and that his four legs stand astride them.4 The four māras are also mentioned in other esoteric scriptures, such as The Sovereign Ritual of Amoghapāśa,5 The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī,6 and The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla.7
Here, in The Great Sky, the Buddha uniquely explains the four māras in terms of the four initiations of the Yoginītantras—the vase, secret, insight-wisdom, and “fourth” initiations—and by extension, the practice of the generation and completion stages. In each section, he identifies the four māras with progressively more subtle principles, and he describes the means of destroying them in each context. In some instances, a factor that was said to destroy a given māra in the context of a previous initiation becomes one of the māras in the context of a subsequent initiation. The Buddha also describes additional or alternative categories of the māras in the context of each initiation. Following this extended explanation of the four māras, the Buddha briefly explains the meaning of mahābhairava as one who terrifies and is victorious over the māras and hosts of other enemies.
In the Degé Kangyur, The Great Sky is classified among the Rali tantras, which are traditionally associated with the Cakrasaṃvara system. It is thus noteworthy that this tantra seems so clearly based in the Hevajra system. The translator’s colophon reports that the text was translated by the Indian master Gayādhara and the Tibetan translator Drokmi Lotsāwa Śākya Yeshé, thus indicating it was translated in the eleventh century. Gayādhara and Śākya Yeshé also translated other tantras of the Rali class and were instrumental in the formulation of the Sakya Lamdré (lam ’bras) system. The English translation presented here is based primarily on the version of the Tibetan translation preserved in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur and the version from the Stok Palace Kangyur.
[F.202.a]Homage to the Glorious Great Blissful One!8
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the bhaga of the vajra woman—the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas—together with innumerable ḍākas and ḍākinīs. Among these was the great bodhisattva Vajragarbha, who circled the Blessed One to the right three times, and worshipped him with outer, inner, and secret offerings. After that, he made this request:
The Blessed One replied:
This completes the Glorious King of Tantras: “The Great Sky.”[F.203.b]
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Gayādhara and the translator-monk Śākya Yeshé.
In this short tantra, the Bodhisattva Vajragarbha asks the Buddha—in his terrifying form of Mahābhairava—about his epithets bhagavat (“Blessed One”) and mahābhairava (“Great Terrifier”). Relying on an etymological explanation, the Buddha teaches that a being is a bhagavat because they have “destroyed” (√bhañj) the four māras. He then goes through the four initiations of the Yoginītantra system, explaining how the four māras are identified and destroyed in each. This text is one of the Rali tantras and will be of interest to both scholars and practitioners—particularly those with a connection to Hevajra, Cakrasaṃvara, and the Yoginītantras more generally.
Daniel McNamara compared the Degé and Pedurma versions of the text, translated it into English, and wrote the introduction and supplementary materials. Christopher Limburg offered feedback on the introduction and translation. Daniel McNamara also acknowledges the valuable discussions with students enrolled in Advanced Classical Tibetan at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute during the summer of 2025: Michel Comelli, Jonathan Gold, Yangchen Dawa Sherpa, and Xinyue Ren.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Linda Griffin copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
In The Great Sky, the Buddha explains the two epithets by which he is known in the text: “Blessed One” (bhagavat) and “Great Terrifier” (mahābhairava). He is prompted to teach on these topics by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, who is best known as the primary interlocutor in the Hevajra Tantra. Following Vajragarbha’s question, the Buddha dedicates virtually the entire tantra to an elaboration of bhagavat, turning to the term mahābhairava in only six lines toward the end. He explains the term bhagavat etymologically, stating that bhaga, which typically means “blessings” or “fortune,” is derived from the verbal root √bhañj (Tib. bcom), which means to “break” or “destroy.” The objects of destruction are the four māras, personifications of forces that obstruct progress toward awakening. The possessive suffix -vat is then equated with “possessing” the remedies for each of the māras. This explanation is resonant with the etymology of bhagavat given in the Hevajra Tantra, where bhaga is also said to be derived from √bhañj and is linked to the destruction of the four māras.1
The four māras scheme is well-attested in both exoteric and esoteric Buddhist literature. One can find reference to them throughout the sūtras, including The White Lotus of Compassion2 and The Chapter Teaching the Purification of Boundless Gateways from the Ratnakūṭa collection,3 among others. In addition to the citation mentioned above, the Hevajra Tantra also references the four māras in the context of Hevajra’s iconography. The tantra states that Hevajra’s four arms represent his defeat of the four māras and that his four legs stand astride them.4 The four māras are also mentioned in other esoteric scriptures, such as The Sovereign Ritual of Amoghapāśa,5 The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī,6 and The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla.7
Here, in The Great Sky, the Buddha uniquely explains the four māras in terms of the four initiations of the Yoginītantras—the vase, secret, insight-wisdom, and “fourth” initiations—and by extension, the practice of the generation and completion stages. In each section, he identifies the four māras with progressively more subtle principles, and he describes the means of destroying them in each context. In some instances, a factor that was said to destroy a given māra in the context of a previous initiation becomes one of the māras in the context of a subsequent initiation. The Buddha also describes additional or alternative categories of the māras in the context of each initiation. Following this extended explanation of the four māras, the Buddha briefly explains the meaning of mahābhairava as one who terrifies and is victorious over the māras and hosts of other enemies.
In the Degé Kangyur, The Great Sky is classified among the Rali tantras, which are traditionally associated with the Cakrasaṃvara system. It is thus noteworthy that this tantra seems so clearly based in the Hevajra system. The translator’s colophon reports that the text was translated by the Indian master Gayādhara and the Tibetan translator Drokmi Lotsāwa Śākya Yeshé, thus indicating it was translated in the eleventh century. Gayādhara and Śākya Yeshé also translated other tantras of the Rali class and were instrumental in the formulation of the Sakya Lamdré (lam ’bras) system. The English translation presented here is based primarily on the version of the Tibetan translation preserved in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur and the version from the Stok Palace Kangyur.
[F.202.a]Homage to the Glorious Great Blissful One!8
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the bhaga of the vajra woman—the body, speech, and mind of all tathāgatas—together with innumerable ḍākas and ḍākinīs. Among these was the great bodhisattva Vajragarbha, who circled the Blessed One to the right three times, and worshipped him with outer, inner, and secret offerings. After that, he made this request:
The Blessed One replied:
This completes the Glorious King of Tantras: “The Great Sky.”[F.203.b]
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Gayādhara and the translator-monk Śākya Yeshé.
This epithet, śrīmahāsukha in Sanskrit, is applied to the Blessed One in the Hevajra Tantra as well. See verses 2.6.5 and 2.9.14.
This epithet, bhagavan mahābhairava in the vocative case, forms the content of Vajragarbha’s question that follows. There, the term bhagavat is used in its undeclined stem form.
As noted in the introduction, this is an etymological explanation in which the term bhaga is said to derive from the root √bhañj (Tib. bcom) meaning to “break” or “destroy.” This parallels one of two etymological interpretations of bhagavat given in verse 1.5.15 of the Hevajra Tantra. In the other explanation, the term is glossed according to the general meaning of bhaga as “blessings,” “fortune,” and so forth. Hevajra Tantra verse 1.5.15 reads, “Since he, a buddha, possesses blessings, / he is called the Blessed One. / There are, it is said, six types of blessings: / qualities such as majestic power, and so forth. / Alternatively he is known as the destroyer / for destroying the māra of afflictions and the rest. (Tripathi 2006, p. 42: bhago ’syāstīti buddhasya bhagavān iti kathyate | bhagāni ṣaḍvidhāny āhur aiśvaryādiguṇākhilāḥ | athavā kleśādimārāṇāṃ bhañjanād bhagavān iti; Tib. sangs rgyas ’di la b+ha ga mnga’/ bcom ldan ’das zhes brjod par bya/ b+ha ga rnam pa drug tu brjod/ dbang phyug la sogs yon tan kun/ yang na nyon mongs la sogs bdud/ bcom phyir bcom ldan ’das zhes brjod.) Bhavabhaṭṭa (ca. tenth century) explains bhagavat in similar terms in his commentary on verse 1.3 of the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra (Pandey 2002, pp. 7–8), as does Kumāracandra (ca. tenth to eleventh century) in his commentary on the opening passage of chapter 1 from The Tantra of Black Yamāri (Kṛṣṇayamāritantra, Toh 467). See also Rinpoche and Dwivedi 1992, p. 2.
This is perhaps meant to indicate the structure of the text that follows, in which the four māras and their respective destruction are explained in the context of the four initiations. The text, however, provides several additional explanations, taking the total number of permutations past sixteen.
Referring to the afflictive emotions, this could be a threefold list consisting of desire, anger, and ignorance, or fivefold, encompassing desire, anger, ignorance, jealousy, and pride.
Here and in the passage that follows, the text uses the verb √bhañj (bcom) to further underscore the interpretation of bhaga in bhagavat as a derivation of √bhañj.
In the context of the generation stage, the “support” refers to the maṇḍala itself, and the “supported” refers to the deities who reside within it.
Reading tshe yis following the Kangxi, Yongle, and Stok Palace versions. Degé reads tshe yi.
Tib. phyi yi thse bcud kyis len. This term is ambiguous but is here understood to refer to “external” types of alchemical practices (rasāyana; bcud kyis len) meant to extend life through material substances and concoctions. This would stand in contrast to “inner” types of alchemy based on the subtle anatomy. For a study of Indian alchemical practices, see Wujastyk 2017.
In the context of generation stage practice, it is possible that the term “pleasure” (longs spyod; bhoga) specifically denotes sexual pleasure.
These verses seem to indicate that the practices of the generation stage described in the context of the vase initiation—visualization of the maṇḍala and maṇḍala deities and external alchemical practices—are contraindicated in the context of the secret initiation.
Tib. tshe la dbang sgyur ma. All Tibetan witnesses consulted report the same reading that includes a feminine ending, but it is not clear whether this is an epithet for a specific deity or a more general idea.
The terms “possess” (ldan pa) and “remedy” (gnyen po) invoke the etymological analysis of bhagavat (bcom ldan ’das) given at the beginning of this text.
This term is rendered in transliterated Sanskrit in the Tibetan text, so that convention was followed here.
This translation follows the Kangxi, Yongle, and Stok Palace versions in reading sum bcu drug nyid. Degé reads sum cu drug gnyis (“two sets of thirty-six”). We were unable to identify these lists of thirty-six.
Tib. nges pa sum cu rtsa drug gi lam. This translation is tentative, as the reference could not be identified.
The “māras of the lower path” refers to the four māras as taught in the context of the vase and secret initiation, while the “māras of this particular path” (de nyid lam) are related to the insight-wisdom initiation. Another royal analogy will be given in the discussion of the māras related to the fourth initiation in the following passage.
This translation follows Degé, Stok Palace, and the majority of Tibetan sources in reading gsum pa’i snod dang ldan pa, “one worthy to receive the third.” From the context, we believe the sense here is “one only worthy to receive the third (initiation).” However, the Kangxi and Yongle versions read gsum pa’i gnod dang ldan pa, “one hostile to the third,” which is also a plausible reading.
Compare with the following passage from the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Toh 119, F.119.b: “Just as drinking ghee and sugar, / as well as whey and the like, / is medicinal when they are digested, / but poisonous when not digested…” (ji ltar mar dang kha ra dang/ mar gyi snying po la sogs pa/ ’thungs te zhu na sman du ’gyur/ ma zhu ba ni dug ces bya).
Though not entirely clear from the Tibetan translation, this verse likely employs the etymological explanation of bhagavat as one who “possesses” (Skt. -vat; Tib. dang ldan) the power of the path that “destroys” (Skt. √bhañj; Tib. ’joms) the māras.
It is unclear from the context what the “six qualities” are, but this may refer to the six perfections.
The Tibetan term snod bcud, here translated as “vessel and its contents,” most typically refers to the vessel-like world and the content-like beings who live in it. It is unclear from the context if this is the intended meaning, so we have translated these terms literally to preserve the ambiguity.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (moha). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,” “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
Typically meaning “fortune” or “blessings,” the term is also used in the Buddhist tantric texts as a euphemism for the vagina. Also see “blessed one” (
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
The veins of the subtle body through which vital winds flow. While they can be divided into up to seventy-two thousand, the most important are the central, left, and right.
The male equivalent to a ḍākinī. The term can refer to a mundane class of supernatural beings and to a class of Buddhist deities.
A class of powerful nonhuman female beings who play a variety of roles in Indic literature in general and Buddhist literature specifically. Essentially synonymous with yoginīs, ḍākinīs are liminal and often dangerous beings who can be propitiated to acquire both mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishments. In the higher Buddhist tantras, ḍākinīs are often considered embodiments of awakening and feature prominently in tantric maṇḍalas.
The deity Māra himself or, figuratively, the distraction of sense pleasures.
Symbolic implements, either as iconic representations of a deity, implements held by them, or gestures they make.
The way phenomena are experienced indivisibly on the level of absolute truth.
The five types of wisdom, or knowledge, associated with awakening: (1) the wisdom of the dharmadhātu (
The four types of joy that arise during the practice of sexual union, the full understanding of which leads to liberation.
The four māras are symbolic personifications of the defects that prevent awakening. The four are the divine māra (Skt.
Indian Paṇḍit, fl. ca. 975–1025 ce. Gayādhara is best known in connection with Drokmi Lotsāwa Śākya Yeshé and played a major role in transmitting Lamdré teachings into Tibet, but he was also a prolific translator.
A stage of Vajrayāna meditation in which the meditator generates themself as the deity and performs various actions as such.
An epithet of buddhas, especially those of the heruka type in Yoginītantra maṇḍalas.
See “mahābhairava.”
The ritual process of being introduced to and authorized in the practice of specific deities, maṇḍalas, and yogas. The term literally means “sprinkling” or “anointing” and is modeled on rites of royal investiture. In the Yoginītantras and systems derived from them, there are typically four main initiations: the vase initiation (
The Lamdré (“Path and Result”) is the highest teaching of the Sakya lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It is rooted in the understanding that the path to awakening and the result of awakening itself are contained within one another. The teachings of the Path and Result are based on Virūpa’s Vajra Verses (rdo rje’i tshig rkang), whereas the practice is based on the Hevajra Tantra.
“Alchemy,” both in the sense of the preparation and ingestion of material substances and the manipulation of features of the subtle anatomy. In India these practices were often directed toward longevity and immortality, or were employed to acquire siddhis and, in the case of “inner” alchemy, in the pursuit of awakening.
The wrathful form of a heruka, the awakened deity at the center of many Yoginītantra maṇḍalas.
The power of the afflictive emotions to prevent awakening.
The power of the aggregates and fixation on them to prevent awakening.
The exhausting of life force, leading to death.
In Buddhist contexts this can refer either to a specific demon who was tamed, or to obstructive forces more generally. Also an epithet of Śiva.
Śākya Yeshé (ca. 11th century ce), also known as Drokmi Lotsāwa (
A mode of awareness or cognition where the dualistic distinction between subject and object, self and other, does not operate. It is sometimes described as the experience of equal taste.
Sexual fluid. This term most often refers to semen but can indicate female sexual fluids as well.
A term for the maṇḍala (
This term refers to the circle of the deities (
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
Body (
The main interlocuter in The Tantra of the Great Sky. He serves as interlocutor in many Buddhist tantras, most notably The Hevajra Tantra.
A subtle form of energy that travels through the body’s channels.
nam mkha’ chen po’i rgyud (Mahākhatantra). Toh 387, Degé Kangyur vol. 79 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 202.a–203.b.
nam mkha’ chen po’i rgyud (Mahākhatantra). 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. 79, pp. 581–586.
nam mkha’ chen po’i rgyud (Mahākhatantra). Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 93 (rgyud ’bum, kha), folios 469.a–471.a.
kye’i rdo rje rgyud (Hevajratantra). Toh 417–18, Degé Kangyur vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 1b–30a.
sgo mtha’ yas pa rnam par sbyong ba bstan pa’i le’u (Anantamukhapariśodhananirdeśaparivarta). Toh 46, Degé Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ka), folios 45.b–99.b.
dpal nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po (Śrīmahākālatantrarājanāma). Toh 440, Degé Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud ’bum, ca), folios 45.b–86.a.
’jam dpal gyi rtsa ba’i rgyud (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa). Toh 543, Degé Kangyur, vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folios 88.a–334.a (in 1737 par phud printing), 105.a–351.a (in later printings).
don yod pa’i zhags pa’i cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po (Amoghapāśakalparāja). Toh 686, Degé Kangyur, vol. 92 (rgyud ’bum, ma), folios 1.b–316.a; vol. 93 (rgyud, tsa), folios 1.b–57.b.
gshin rje gshed nag po’i rgyud (Kṛṣṇayamāritantra). Toh 467, Degé Kangyur, vol. 83 (rgyud ’bum, ja), folios 134.b–151.b.
snying rje pad ma dkar po (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka). Toh 112, Degé Kangyur, vol. 50 (mdo sde, cha), folios 129.a–297.a.
’phags pa yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa chen po’i mdo (Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra). Toh 119, Degé Kangyur vol. 52 (mdo sde, nya), folios 1.b–203.b and vol. 53 (mdo sde, ta) folios 1.b–339.a.
84000. Hevajra Tantra (Hevajratantra, kye’i rdo rje rgyud, Toh 417–418). Translated by the 84000 Translation Team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Chapter Teaching the Purification of Boundless Gateways (Anantamukhapariśodhananirdeśaparivarta, sgo mtha’ yas pa rnam par sbyong ba bstan pa’i le’u, Toh 46). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020. Version 2 (2025).
84000. The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla (Śrīmahākālatantrarājanāma, dpal nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, Toh 440). Translated by the 84000 Translation Team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, ’jam dpal gyi rtsa ba’i rgyud, Toh 543). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
84000. The Sovereign Ritual of Amoghapāśa (Amoghapāśakalparāja, don yod pa’i zhags pa’i cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po, Toh 686). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
84000. The Tantra of Black Yamāri (Kṛṣṇayamāritantra, gshin rje gshed nag po’i rgyud, Toh 467). Translated by the 84000 Translation Team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The White Lotus of Compassion (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka, snying rje pad ma dkar po, Toh 112). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Gray, David B. The Cakrasamvara Tantra: The Discourse of Śrī Heruka. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007.
Pandey, Janardan Shastri, ed. Śrīherukābhidhānam Cakrasamvaratantram with the Vivṛti Commentary of Bhavabhaṭṭa. 2 vols. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 26. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2002.
Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajvallabh Dwivedi, eds. Kṛṣṇayamāritantram with Ratnāvalīpañjikā of Kumāracandra. Rare Buddhist Texts Series 9. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1992.
Tripathi, Ram Shankar, ed. Hevajratantram with Yogaratnamālāpañjikā of Mahāpaṇḍitācārya Kṛṣṇapāda. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2006.
Wujastyk, Dagmar. “Acts of Improvement: On the Use of Tonics and Elixirs in Sanskrit Medical and Alchemical Literature.” History of Science in South Asia 5, no. 2 (2017): 1–36.
