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སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོའི་རྒྱུད།

The Mahāmāyā Tantra
The First Instruction

Mahāmāyātantra

དཔལ་སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོའི་རྒྱུད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi rgyal po

The King of Tantras, the Glorious ‌Mahāmāyā

Śrīmahāmāyātantrarājanāma

Toh 425

Degé Kangyur, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 167.a–171.a

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

Jinavara
Gö Lhetsé

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2013

Current version v 2.16.12 (2023)

Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.

Warning: Readers are reminded that according to Vajrayāna Buddhist tradition there are restrictions and commitments concerning tantra. Practitioners who are not sure if they should read this translation are advised to consult the authorities of their lineage. The responsibility for reading this text or sharing it with others who may or may not fulfill the requirements lies in the hands of readers.

This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.

co.

Summary

s.1

The Mahāmāyātantra, named after its principal deity Mahāmāyā, is a tantra of the Yoginītantra class in which Mahāmāyā presides over a maṇḍala populated primarily by yoginīs and ḍākinīs. The practitioner engages the antinomian power of these beings through a threefold system of yoga involving the visualization of the maṇḍala deities, the recitation of their mantras, and the direct experience of absolute reality. As well as practices involving the manipulation of the body’s subtle energies, the Mahāmāyātantra incorporates the transgressive practices that are the hallmark of the earlier tantric systems such as the Guhyasamājatantra, specifically the ingestion of sexual fluids and other polluting substances. The tantra promises the grace of Mahāmāyā in the form of mundane and transcendent spiritual attainments to those who approach it with diligence and devotion.

ac.

Acknowledgments

ac.1

This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. The translation was prepared by Ryan Damron with the assistance of Catherine Dalton, and was edited by Andreas Doctor.

This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

i.1

The Mahāmāyātantra, named after its principal deity Mahāmāyā, belongs to the class of Yoginītantras. According to the post-tenth-century classification scheme of the Tibetan New Schools (gsar ma), the Mahāmāyātantra is categorized as a Mother tantra (ma rgyud) among Unexcelled Yoga tantras (bla na med pa’i rnal ’byor gyi rgyud, yoganiruttaratantra). It earns this classification due both to the importance placed on female divinities in the tantra’s maṇḍala and to its inclusion of practices focused on the manipulation of the body’s subtle energies. In this tantra, Mahāmāyā presides over a maṇḍala populated primarily by yoginīs and ḍākinīs, those semidivine female figures known throughout South Asian tantric traditions for the power they derive from being propitiated with blood, flesh, and sex. The practitioner engages the antinomian power of these beings through a threefold system of yoga involving the visualization of the maṇḍala deities, the recitation of their mantras, and the direct experience of absolute reality. The Mahāmāyātantra also incorporates the transgressive practices that are the hallmark of earlier tantric systems such as the Guhyasamājatantra,1 specifically the ingestion of sexual fluids and other polluting substances. The tantra promises the grace of Mahāmāyā in the form of mundane and transcendent spiritual attainments (siddhi) to those who approach it with diligence, courage, and devotion.

The Text

About the Translation

Note

The Translation

The King of Tantras, the Glorious Mahāmāyā

Chapter 1

The First Instruction

[F.167.a]

1.1

Homage to the Glorious Vajraḍākinī!

I pay homage to the protector of beings, Glorious Vajraḍākinī,

Universal sovereign of the ḍākinīs, the very essence of the five wisdoms and three bodies.

1.2

I pay homage to all the vajraḍākinīs

Who cut the bonds of conceptual thought and descend to act in the world.

1.3

Now, following that, I will explain the tantra called The Supreme Secret of the Secret Goddesses, the Vajraḍākinīs. [F.167.b]

1.4

She pervades the entire Egg of Brahmā, the animate and inanimate.

She is the source of all goddesses and rules over Brahmā and the rest.

1.5

She is their great secret, the great Queen Mahāmāyā.

She is the great illusion, intensely fierce, who destroys all that exists.23 [507]

1.6

She pervades all of this: the animate and inanimate, the three worlds.

Time after time she gathers in and again emanates the triple world.

1.7

This mother of the guhyakas is celebrated as the essence of illusion.

She is the knowledge that perfects the three worlds and fulfills all desires.

1.8

Through the mere thought of the queen of the accomplished, knowledge itself,

The devas, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, āsuras, and humans,

1.9

The vidyādharas, the kinnaras, and mahodaras,

The rākṣasas and piśācas‍—all are mastered for practitioners.

All creatures are subdued: those born in the water and on land.

1.10

Phenomena are naturally luminous; they are primordially pure and without stain.

The methods of those possessing the self-arisen five wisdoms are to be praised;24

1.11

These are the yoginīs, the mother of yoga, and the entirety of the three worlds.25

The entire play of illusion is accomplished without exclusion or remainder.26

1.12

Abducted from the buddhas, the maidens of the highest gods are enjoyed.

The yogī has knowledge, masters yoga, and weaves Indra’s Web.27

1.13

He beguiles and paralyzes, slays, dissuades, and more.

He tames, magnetizes, and so forth; he flies through the sky.

He enters the citadel of another, is invisible, and so on.

1.14

He causes hostility, renders mute, and moves under the earth;

Becomes the universal sovereign of vidyādharas, does not age, and is deathless.

1.15

One with knowledge of yogic illusion is likewise free from disease‍—

Yogīs revel in the form of the mantra’s syllables. [F.168.a]

1.16

Through recitation and contemplation, meditation and absorption, [508]

The vidyā created through recitation brings about the accomplishment of knowledge.28

1.17

Without discipline or austerities, without hardship, fasting, or vows,

Bliss and Joy bring accomplishment through constancy in knowledge and method.29

1.18

The Virile One stands in the center of the navel, in the hidden space of the blossom;

He is mind, the absence of mind, and mental form‍—the nature of knowledge and what can be known.

1.19

I will now describe him‍—this is the profound instruction of the Buddha:

A chain equal to that of the āli kāli is coiled there.

1.20

The upper chain ignites and is made to flow downward,

A drop of nectar flowing in the form of semen.

1.21

Whatever comes on the path of the senses is naturally just that.

Through the practice of supreme benefit all becomes the nature of the Buddha.30

1.22

The spiritual attainment of the great commitment is the perfection of the great pill.31

In the embrace of Mahāmāyā you should practice yogic union.32

1.23

Endowed with the five offerings together with the five objects of desire,

The power of accomplishment will be known and spiritual attainment made permanent.

1.24

I will explain this spiritual attainment of wisdom,

By which the state of a god is swiftly attained‍—Goddess, I speak truthfully!

1.25

To you, Mahāmāyā, I will explain the accomplishment of the three worlds,

The garland of syllables of the most excellent among the great yoginīs.33

1.26

The great yogī who masters the animate and inanimate with thought alone

Is constantly offered desirable things and served according to his pleasure.

1.27

He is always at play and accomplishes the vajra yoginīs. [509]

In a variety of forms the essential practice is revealed. [F.168.b]

1.28

The great attainment, the splendor of the tathāgatas, is granted;34

Through extracting various essences the yogī constantly benefits beings.35

1.29

With the collected semen, liquor, and extracted large pill,

He mixes in the great flesh and unites with the yoginī.

1.30

He gains long life, great virility,36 great splendor, and becomes exceedingly powerful;

He possesses divine sight, magical ability, and drinks the moon day after day;

1.31

He becomes long-lived so that he lives for a great age;

He manifests an alluring form and conjures miracles;

1.32

With merely a thought his appearance is transformed‍—

The queen of vidyās, the great enchantress, is unfailingly accomplished through recitation.

1.33

Vidyā! In the three worlds there is nothing equal to my knowledge.37

This transmission of all tantras has been explained to you, Magnificent One!

This completes the first instruction on the signs of spiritual attainment of “The Great Vidyā, Queen of the Yoginīs.”

Chapter 2

The Second Instruction

2.1

Now, following that, I will explain the sublime secret syllable that bestows the result of the spiritual attainment for the practice of the great queens of yoga.

2.2

Merely visualizing her, the yoginī grants the best of things.

Apply the first syllable and sustain the upward breath.38

2.3

Taking that which comes at the end of the eight together with ū and the bindu,

The yogī moves the downward breath, abandoning the real and unreal. [510]

2.4

The observances are not explained: the activities of the garland mantra,

Of retention, and of fire offerings are all omitted.39

Chapter 3

The Third Instruction

3.1

Now comes a thorough explanation of the supreme accomplishment of the samaya:

The ingestion of the other gathered substances that bestow the result of omniscience.

3.2

By their mere consumption the mothers of the spirits are accomplished:46

Elephant and horse, and so too cow and dog.

3.3

Mixed with the great one and also the five wisdom nectars,

From the fourteenth to the eighth they are combined and mingled together.47

3.4

Left inside a jackal for seven days, remove them. [512]

Roll the five into pellets the size of mustard seeds.

Colophon

c.1

It was translated and edited by the Indian preceptor Jinavara and the great Tibetan translator Gö [515] Lhetsé.

ab.

Abbreviations

G	Guṇavatīṭīkā
S	Mahāmāyātantrasya vṛtti smṛti
SM	Mahāmāyāsādhanam (in Sādhanamālā)

Notes

n.1

The Mahāmāyātantra clearly postdates the Guhyasamājatantra because of the instances of intertextuality indicated below in notes 3 and 51–55. The Guhyasamājatantra, and similar works like the Guhyagarbhatantra, demonstrate significant iconographic and ritual innovations over those works typically identified as Yoga‌ tantras, such as the Sarvatathāgatatattvasaṃgraha. Beginning in approximately the eighth century ᴄᴇ, the pacific and regal Vairocana was replaced at the center of tantric maṇḍalas by deities associated with the vajra family, frequently in the wrathful form of Akṣobhya known as Heruka. This shift is related to the introduction of transgressive practices and a wrathful, mortuary aesthetic into the established structure of the Yoga‌ tantras, leading some Indian Buddhist commentators to begin to refer to Mahāyoga, or “Great yoga,” tantras. In the later Tibetan doxographical schemes of the New Schools these tantras would be identified as Father tantras (pha rgyud), joining the Yoginītantras in the class of Unexcelled Yoga tantra (yoganiruttaratantra). The Yoginītantras would build upon the framework of these tantras as they introduced their own unique iconographies and practices.

n.2

On the dating of the Cakrasaṃvaratantra, see Gray (2007) pp. 11–14, and Sanderson (2009) pp. 158–69.

n.3

Verses 3.12–14 of the Mahāmāyātantra contain a number of close correspondences with verses 12.52, 53, and 55 of the Guhyasamājatantra.

n.4

Regarding Ratnākaraśānti’s dating, see Isaacson (2001) p. 458, n. 4.

n.5

For the dating of Kṛṣṇavajra, see Isaacson (2001) p. 457, n. 2.

n.6

Tāranātha, F.3.a.7–3.b.6. Although there is no definitive evidence, some assert that Kaṇha and Kṛṣnācārya are identical.

n.7

’gos lo tsa wa (1988), pp. 208–9.

n.8

See bibliography.

n.23

“Who destroys all that exists”: this translates the Sanskrit bhūtasaṃhārakāriṇī (Tib. ’byung ba yang dag sdud mdzad ma). We have pushed the translation toward the more extreme end of the term’s semantic range in a nod to Ratnākaraśānti, who glosses the term with pralayakartī, “she who causes annihilation.” [G, p 5] This refers to the dissolution of the universe that comes at the end of the cosmogonic stages of emanation, absorption, and dissolution of the universe that are standard in Brahmanical cosmology.

n.24

“Are to be praised”: here we have followed the Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti, which is quite different from the Tibetan translation: the methods (Skt. upāyāḥ) of those who are endowed with the five wisdoms (Skt. pañcajñānināṃ) are to be praised (Skt. pragīyante) [G, pp. 9–10]. This is an interesting verse as it seems thematically disjuntive with the preceding and subsequent lines and may have been inserted here by a later redactor. Krṣṇavajra, who is otherwise attentive to every verse, does not acknowledge it at all. Ratnākaraśānti, on the other hand, uses this verse as the basis for an extensive discourse linking into Yogācāra philsophy.

n.25

Ratnākaraśānti identifies the yoginī, mother of yoga (Skt: yogamātā), and the entirety of the three worlds (Skt: traidhātukaṃ aśeṣataḥ) as the praiseworthy methods of the previous verse [G, p. 10].

n.26

The second line of this verse begins a new sequence of verses that indentify the accomplishments that will come to the yogī who successfully accomplishes the practices of the Mahāmāyā Tantra. It concludes in verse 1.15.

n.27

“Weaves Indra’s Web”: this translates the Sanskrit indravjālaṃ karoti, which is rendered as mig ’phrul byed in the Tibetan.

n.28

The Sanskrit term vidyā (Tib. rig pa) appears twice in this verse with different connotations. According to Ratnākaraśānti, the first instance is as the techinical term for the central female deity of the maṇḍala, Mahāmāyā, and has therefore been left untranslated. The second instance is in specific reference to the knowledge (Skt. prajñā) that arises from meditation and has here been translated as “knowledge” [G, p. 13].

n.29

The Tibetan translation adds an additional rtag tu, meaning “constant,” which is not attested in any of the commentaries. Because it appears to be largely redundant, it has been omitted here.

n.30

This verse is complicated by two substantial variants. Where the Tibetan translation reads “practice of supreme benefit” (mchog tu phan pa), Ratnākaraśānti reads “practice of supreme settling” (Skt. paramāhita/Tib. mchog tu bzhag pa) [G, p. 19]. The similarity of the Sanskrit terms for “supreme benefit” (parama hita) and for “supreme settling” (parama āhita) probably led to a scribal error resulting in different versions of the verse. Because the version found in the Tibetan translation is attested in Kṛṣṇavajra’s commentary, it was followed here, though Ratnākaraśānti’s reading seems clearer. Where the Tibetan translation reads sangs rgyas kun gyi rang bzhin ’bab (“become the nature of all buddhas”), Kṛṣṇavajra reads sangs rgyas rang bzhin thams cad ’gyur (“everything becomes the nature of the Buddha”) [S, F.206.b] which is in agreement with the Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti and which is followed here.

n.31

Ratnākaraśānti and Kṛṣṇavajra are unanimous in identifying the spiritual attainment of the great commitment with the perfection of the great pill. This relationship is not clear in the Tibetan translation.

n.32

“Mahāmāyā”: though the Tibetan verse reads rgyu ’phrul chen po here, Ratnākaraśānti attests to Mahāmāyā [G, p. 20].

n.33

This verse appears to be slightly different in the recension of the tantra used by Ratnākaraśānti. A tentative prose reconstruction would read: “To you (Skt. tvām), the vidyā Mahāmāyā who is the means for accomplishing the three worlds (mahāmāyāṃ vidyāṃ trailokyasādhanīṃ) I will explain (tad ahaṃ vakṣyāmi) the Vīra, the most excellent among the great yogīs (mahāyoginām divyam) along with the garland of syllables (akṣarapaṅktibhiḥ).” [G, p. 21].

n.34

Tathāgatas, or “thus-gone ones” here: where the Tibetan translation reads de bzhin gshegs pa kun, Ratnākaraśānti attests to the Sanskrit tāthāgātī, a feminine derivative adjective formed from tathāgata [G, p. 22]. In his reading the term is in the singular. Thus in at least one recension of the text the line would read “the splendor of the thus-gone lady.”

n.35

Kṛṣṇavajra reads a different line here. In the recension of the root text available to him, the final line of the text as translated in Tibetan is gar ni thugs rjes bsams bzhin mdzad (“He dances with compassion according to his whim”) [S, F.208.a].

n.36

“Virility” translates the Sanskrit vīrya and the Tibetan brtson ’grus.

n.37

There are a couple of noteworthy variants of this verse found in commentarial works. The version from the Degé edition translated here, which is supported in Kṛṣṇavajra’s commentary, reads: “Vidyā! In the three worlds (Tib. ’jig rten gsum po na) there is nothing equal to my knowledge (Tib. nga yi rig dang mnyam pa med).” The recension of the tantra used by Ratnākaraśānti appears to have, instead, “there is nothing (Skt. nāsti) like you (Skt. te sadṛśī) in the triple worlds (Skt. triṣu lokeṣu)” [G, p 21]. Taranātha attests to yet another variation. In his Lamp of Suchness [F.2.b] he cites the same line as “Vidyā! In the three worlds there is nothing like you apart from me” (Tib. rig pa ’jig rten gsum po na / khyod dang mnyams pa nga las med).

n.38

“Sustain the upward breath”: this translates the Sanskrit ucvāsasam kurute, which is rendered in the Tibetan translation as dbug gtang bar bya.

n.39

Ratnākaraśānti reads “restriction” (Skt. yantraṇa) in place of “garland” (Skt. mālā) [G, p. 27]. In his commentary he connects both restriction and retention with the movements of the breath (yantraṇā dhāraṇā ca prāṇavāyoḥ). A variant of the first line of this verse is attested, in Sanskrit, in a sādhana associated with the Mahāmāyātantra found in the Sādhanamālā (#221 in SM vol. 2, pp. 434–36): na japaṃ na vrataṃ tasya nopavāso vidhīyate. Kṛṣṇavajra confirms this variant in his commentary.

n.46

“Mothers of the spirits”: we have here followed Ratnākaraśānti in reading the Sanskrit term gūḍhamātaraḥ [G, p. 36], which appears as ’byung po mi rnams in Tibetan translation. In South Asian mythology, the gūḍhas are a class of beings that attend upon Kubera, the lord of wealth.

n.47

Kṛṣṇavajra identifies this line as corrupt [S, F.213.b]. He notes that it should read “from the eighth until the fourteenth,” which is the span of seven days mentioned in the next verse.

Bibliography

Sanskrit and Tibetan Sources

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Toh. 425. Degé Kangyur vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 167.a–171.a.

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Lhasa Kangyur vol. 82 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 43.a–49.b.

sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud. Narthang Kangyur vol. 83 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 38.a–44.b.

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud. Peking Kangyur, rgyud ’bum, vol. nga, folios 153.a–157.a.

sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 94 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 344.b–349.b.

dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. 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 (rgyud ’bum, nga), pp. 536–47.

Kṛṣṇavajra. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi ’grel pa dran pa (*Mahāmāyātantrasya vṛtti smṛti) [Recollection: A Commentary on the Mahāmāyā Tantra]. Toh 1624, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 201.a–219.a. (S)

Ratnākaraśānti. Guṇavatīṭīkā [A Commentary Endowed with Qualities]: (1) dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i ’grel pa yon tan ldan pa. Toh 1623, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 180.b–201.a. (2) Mahāmāyātantram with Guṇavatī by Ratnākaraśānti. Rare Buddhist Text Series vol. 10. Edited by Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajavallabh Dwivedi. Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1992. (G) (3) Kaiser Library, Kathmandu (ms. 226). Palm leaf manuscript in Golmola script. (4) Nepal National Archives, Kathmandu (ms. 2–906). Nepali paper manuscript in Devanāgarī script.

____________. Mahāmāyāsādhanam [A Sādhana for the Mahāmāyātantra]: (1) sgyu ma chen mo’i sgrub thabs (Mahāmāyāsādhanam). Toh 1643, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 269.b–273.b. (2) In Sādhanamālā vol. 2. Edited by Benoytosh Bhattacarya, 458–64. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968. (SM)

Tāranātha. dpal rgyud kyi rgyal po sgyu ’phrul chen mo ma ha ma ya’i rgya cher bshad pa de kho na nyid kyi sgron ma [The Lamp of Suchness: A Detailed Explanation of the Glorious King of Tantras, the Mahāmāyātantra]. In gsung ’bum, ’dzam thang par ma ed., vol. 11 (da), pp. 465–657. dzam thang dgon: [s.n.], 199-. (BDRC W22276)

____________. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i khrid yig rgyal ba’i lam bzang [The Excellent Path of the Victorious Ones: The Instruction Manual for Mahāmāyā]. Ibid., vol. 11 (da), pp. 447–64.

____________. dpal ma ha ma ya’i dkyil ’khor gyi sgrub thabs rin chen myu gu [The Jeweled Sprout: A Practice Manual for the Maṇḍala of the Glorious Mahāmāyā]. Ibid., vol. 11 (da), pp. 431–45.

’gos lo tsa wa gzhon nu dpal. deb ther sngon po. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974. Translated as The Blue Annals, see below.

English Sources

Dalton, Jacob (2004). “The Development of Perfection: The Interiorization of Buddhist Ritual in the 8th and 9th Centuries.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 23 (2004): 1–30.

___________ (2005). “A Crisis of Doxography: How Tibetans Organized Tantra during the 8th–12th Centuries.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 28:1 (2005): 115–81.

English, Elizabeth. Vajrayoginī: Her Visualizations, Rituals, and Forms. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002.

’gos lo tsa wa. The Blue Annals. Translated by George N. Roerich. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988.

Gray, David B. The Cakrasaṃvara Tantra (The Discourse of Śrī Heruka): A Study and Annotated Translation. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2007.

Isaacson, Harunaga. “Ratnākaraśānti’s Hevajrasahajasadyoga: Studies in Ratnākaraśānti’s Tantric Works I.” In Le Parole e i Marmi: studi in onore di Raniero Gnoli nel suo 70° compleanno, 457–87. Vol. 1 of Serie Orientale Roma XCII. Roma: Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, 2001.

Kongtrul, Jamgön. The Treasury of Knowledge: The Elements of Tantric Practice. Translated by Elio Guarisco and Ingrid McLeod. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.

Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva Age.” In Genesis and Development of Tantra, edited by Shingo Einoo, 17–349. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.1

Akaniṣṭha

’og min

འོག་མིན།

akaniṣṭha

g.2

āli kāli

A li kA li

ཨཱ་ལི་ཀཱ་ལི།

āli kāli

g.3

commitment

dam tshig

དམ་ཚིག

samaya

g.5

ḍākinī

mkha’ ’gro ma

མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།

ḍākinī

g.7

Egg of Brahmā

tshangs sgo nga

ཚངས་སྒོ་ང།

brahmāṇḍā

g.9

Great Illusion

sgyu ’phrul chen mo

སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོ།

mahāmāyā

g.10

guhyaka

gsang ba pa

གསང་བ་པ།

guhyaka

g.11

Heruka

he ru ka

ཧེ་རུ་ཀ

heruka

g.12

Indra’s Web

mig ’phrul

མིག་འཕྲུལ།

indrajāla

g.14

knowledge

rig ma

རིག་མ།

vidyā

g.15

Kṛṣṇavajra

nag po rdo rje

ནག་པོ་རྡོ་རྗེ།

kṛṣṇavajra

g.17

Mahāmāyā

sgyu ’phrul chen mo

སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོ།

mahāmāyā

g.18

mahāyoga

rnal ’byor chen po’i rgyud

རྣལ་འབྱོར་ཆེན་པོའི་རྒྱུད།

mahāyogatantra

g.22

Ratnākaraśānti

rin chen ’byung gnas zhi ba

རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས་ཞི་བ།

ratnākaraśānti

g.24

sādhana

sgrub thabs

སྒྲུབ་ཐབས།

sādhana

g.25

samaya

dam tshig

དམ་ཚིག

samaya

g.26

semen

byang chub kyi sems

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།

bodhicitta

g.27

spiritual attainment

dngos grub

དངོས་གྲུབ།

siddhi

g.28

Unexcelled Yoga tantra

bla na med pa’i rnal ’byor gyi rgyud

བླ་ན་མེད་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་གྱི་རྒྱུད།

yoganiruttaratantra

g.29

vidyā

rig ma

རིག་མ།

vidyā

g.30

vidyādhara

rig pa ’dzin pa

རིག་པ་འཛིན་པ།

vidyādhara

g.31

Virile One

dpa’ bo

དཔའ་བོ།

vīra

g.32

yoga

rnal ’byor

རྣལ་འབྱོར།

yoga

g.33

yoginī

rnal ’byor ma

རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ།

yoginī

g.34

Yoginītantra

rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud

རྣལ་འབྱོར་མའི་རྒྱུད།

yoginītantra

The ​Mahā­māyā Tantra The First Instruction

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The First Instruction