co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Practice Manual of Noble Tārā Kurukullā is the most comprehensive single work on the female Buddhist deity Kurukullā. It is also the only canonical scripture to focus on this deity. The text’s importance is therefore commensurate with the importance of the goddess herself, who is the chief Buddhist deity of magnetizing, in particular the magnetizing which takes the form of enthrallment.

The text is a treasury of ritual practices connected with enthrallment and similar magical acts‍—practices which range from formal sādhana to traditional homa ritual, and to magical methods involving herbs, minerals, etc. The text’s varied contents are presented as a multi-layered blend of the apotropaic and the soteriological, as well as the practical and the philosophical, where these complementary opposites combine together into a genuinely spiritual Buddhist work.

ac.

Acknowledgments

ac.­1

Translation by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee.

Translated by Thomas Doctor from the Tibetan of the Degé Kangyur, with continuous reference to an English translation and critical edition of the extant Sanskrit manuscripts by Wieslaw Mical. English text edited by Gillian Parrish.

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

Text Body

The Translation
The Practice Manual of Noble Tārā Kurukullā
5.

Chapter 5

5.­1

Once when young Rāhulabhadra had gone to Rājagṛha to receive alms, he went to the Veṇuvana grove, and there descended into a long pond to wash his alms bowl. While there, he, the son of Yaśodharā, was mistaken for a white ascetic and so was pulled into the pond. At that time the young Rāhulabhadra recited this spell. No sooner had he recited the mantra than‍—just like someone emerging from his house‍—he arrived in the presence of the Blessed One.

5.­2

Having approached the Lord, he said, “Father, I have seen the power of the secret mantra which you have granted.”

The Blessed One asked, “Where have you seen that?”

“In the presence of the nāgas. Therefore, I request that the Blessed One teach this mantra, so that other beings too may be protected by it.”

5.­3

So then, at that very time and on that occasion, the Lord dispatched Vajrapāṇi, and benevolently granted this mantra and this manual of instruction to the listeners and the bodhisattvas, to the monks and nuns, and to the male [F.39.b] and female lay practitioners. Therefore, children of noble family, one who creates a sandalwood maṇḍala and reads this mantra and this manual of instructions will not be harmed by poison, will not die from poison, and will have no fear of boils, eczema, leprosy, disease, nāgas, snakes, tigers and other beasts of prey, weapons, enemies, poverty, or untimely death. None of these will occur.


In order to protect the Teachings, the Lord granted Mahākāla the demoness Hārītī, whom he had nourished from his own alms bowl. She, however, was lacking in fortune because of her former bad deeds. She was not agreeable to Mahākāla, and so he did not stay with her, did not love her, and did not protect the Teachings either. She therefore became depressed, and in order to enthrall Mahākāla this Kurukullā compendium was taught. From then on, her fortune became vast and excellent. For that reason, children of noble family, if you wish to enthrall sentient beings you should familiarize yourselves with this mantra and this manual of instructions.


It also came to pass that Sunanda’s son was born handsome and good looking, athletic and in possession of auspicious marks, and yet nevertheless dull-witted.

Sunanda therefore said to the Blessed One, “O Lord, my son was born handsome and good looking, athletic and in possession of auspicious marks, and yet nevertheless dull-witted. How, O Lord, may he develop insight? Lord, if this child becomes literate he shall become a protector of your doctrine.”

Upon hearing this, the Blessed One, with words preceded by mindfulness, [F.40.a] spoke this manual of practice and gave this mantra. As soon as he had done so, Sunanda’s son, Rohiṇīkumāra by name, acquired insight. By the twelfth year he was free from being intimidated by any of the treatises, as he was thoroughly acquainted with all of the crafts and arts. Therefore, children of noble family, in order to accumulate great insight, you should study this very mantra and its manual of practice.


5.­4

Then the Blessed One spoke of the magical power of sky travel:

“Mercury free from the mountain defect17
One should properly obtain,
Place in a vajra hollow,
And grind with the world-protector.
5.­5
“Again, one should grind with dharmarasa,18
With yavatiktikā,
And the juice of ākhukarṇī19
For a period of three days.
5.­6
“The sap of vandhyā and kākolī,
The sap of bhāskara and vajra,
The juice of aviddhaśravaṇa,
And breast milk‍—with these it should be blended.
5.­7
“Having washed this mercury
Seven times with acidulated rice water,
One should grind it, put it in an iron pot,
And cook it in a lump of vṛddhadāraka dough.
5.­8
“A lump of kanaka flowers
One should certainly spin on the top and the bottom.
When the root mantra has been recited one hundred thousand times,
The mercury will revolve clockwise.
5.­9
“Upon that which is infused with the sun of sulfur
One should recite the mantra,
And in an iron pot placed over fire
Pour a little through the method of pulverization.
5.­10
“When the sulphur has melted slightly,
Sky-leaf is infused and smelted;
Thereafter, subsequently gold
And mākṣika is infused.
5.­11
“Then, silver and copper should be infused,
And, similarly, iron five times.
Everything else should be infused six times.
It will then become equal to the light of the sun.
5.­12
“With one guñja of this,
An experienced person will transform a great quantity.
If a pala can be transformed with māṣā,
It should be known that the mercury has been perfected.
5.­13
“Kept together with meṣaśṛṅgī,
The vajra should be killed with the sap of snuhī.
The bodily products of a female musk shrew
Are to be infused [F.40.b] into the perfected mercury.
5.­14
“When this has mingled with the mercury,
Emeralds and so forth are also to be infused.
The Kurukullā yogin
Should dissolve a pearl on account of the eye;
5.­15
“Taking always just a small amount
He will take pleasure with a hundred women.
With just seven nights of practice
The adept will be flying through the sky.
“This is the tantra on the use of mercury for journeying in the sky.
5.­16
“Taking a ball of lead,
One places it in a vessel with bakula seeds.
Having placed it in a vessel with the blood-dripping kañcu,
One places it in a red earthen vessel.
5.­17
“Together with mercury
The lead will undoubtedly die.
It is mixed with one pala-measure
And afterward with sixty palas.
5.­18
“As one practices, correspondingly,
A lump of silver will be produced.
As Tārā grants the accomplishment of silver
One is able to benefit sentient beings.
With the welfare of sentient beings comes the accumulation of merit,
And from that accumulation, complete enlightenment.
“This is the tantra on silver practices.
5.­19
“Nīlakroṇṇa flower, as has been explained,
Is known as the blue citraka.
For a month, the yogin should drink this with milk;
His life will extend for one thousand years.
5.­20
“Having obtained the black through the speech of the mantra,
The yogin should place it in a bamboo vessel.
If he practices on the eighth day of the lunar month,
He will live for as long as the sun, moon, and stars.
5.­21
“Having obtained honey and turmeric,20
One should mix it with milk, and drink it.
One’s lifespan will without doubt
Be equal to that of the priests of Brahmā.
5.­22
“Likewise, having obtained the banana-like
Fruit of the banyan tree,
Wherever that may be,
If on a day of fasting
One mixes this with milk and drinks it,
One will be free from white hair and wrinkles.
“This is the tantra on essence extraction.
5.­23
“While observing the practices, the one who desires a son
Should drink milk with the flowers of the baka tree.
If his spouse drinks this while fasting,
They will receive a fortunate son.
5.­24
“With this mantra, the vacā fruit should be mashed
And mixed with milk.
When a fasting lady drinks this, [F.41.a]
She will gain a son with the characteristics of a king.
5.­25
“She who, having washed with milk, drinks the root of lakṣaṇākṣa
Will obtain a fine son.
Resembling Siddhārtha, with perfect physique,
He will be undaunted by weapons and treatises.21
5.­26
“Having uprooted the jalaśītalā plant,
Or having obtained its root,
One consecrates it seven times with the mantra and binds it to the hair.
For one year this will prevent infectious disease.
5.­27
“When, having obtained the root of kanaka,
The yogin places it in the hair of someone
Who suffers from the quartan fever,
That person will be relieved from his plagues.
5.­28
“Brick, smoke, wine, acidulated rice water,
Along with the essence of the double-ra-king,
Should be placed on a copper plate and blended with the milk of a woman.
When applied to the eye it will cure diseases of the eye.
5.­29
“Having pulled out the root of a white uccaṭa plant,
One consecrates it with fifty recitations of the mantra.
Drinking it with milk, as much as one likes,
Will render the fine mark of a powerful man fit.
5.­30
“That which is well known as nagasala
Generates, when mixed with milk,
The male organ’s power to produce plentiful offspring
Subsequent to fifty recitations of the mantra.
5.­31
“Orpiment of bovine origin, tongue of a toothless man,
And the roots of nṛparāja‍—when the moon is in the Śubha asterism,
A tilaka should be drawn on the forehead with it.
Upon sight, the tilaka will enthrall the triple world.
5.­32
“Having obtained a dead body’s eyes, heart, and tongue,
Forehead, and likewise nose,
When the moon is in the eighth lunar mansion,
Frying these in sesame oil will make one the enthraller of people.
5.­33
“The eye unguent of the king of snakes,
The remedy of bad eyes, the blood known as “the flower”‍—
If such medicine is applied to one’s eyes
It will seduce the king’s queen.
5.­34
“If, having recited the mantra fifty times, one places one’s foot on the ground
In pursuit of treasure within it,
And the foot thus put down then vibrates,
It should be understood that a treasure is present there.
5.­35
“If the upper part of the foot twitches, it is nearby; [F.41.b]
If it is the sole that twitches, it is far away.
Relying first on hearsay,
The knowledge holder should look downward every day.
5.­36
“Whoever applies the excrement of the musk shrew
Together with bdellium will, merely by doing so,
Stay clear of mad elephants
And emerge delightfully.
5.­37
“If the milk of an entirely black bitch,
Having been churned, yielding fresh butter,
Is applied to shoes made of camel hide,
Then wearing those will make one walk on water.
5.­38
“When the thorns of yellow saṃkuca are gathered
And hidden in the wilderness home,
If the wine is broken, and then it is taken out,
That one will become truly excellent.
5.­39
“If the fire that burns a potter’s wares
Is fed with a log struck by lightning
It will not burn,
Yet if sprinkled with alcohol it blazes again.
5.­40
“Reciting the mantra, taught before, upon the stock,
And so teaching the consecration through mantra to merchants,
The yogin accomplishes the sales
And the merchants win great profit.
5.­41
“If in a vessel for wine
Monkey feces have entered,
The wine and the vessel are ruined.
Washing with bakula will render it usable.
5.­42
“If washed with bakula water,
The baby will be cared for by the nanny.
So too, through bhūtakeśa incense,
The saffron-robed will be healed.
5.­43
“If a child vomits breast-milk
The ashes of burnt peacock feathers
Should be bound to its neck;
Through this supreme method it will be healed again.
5.­44
“When the ritual of yadakabaka
Is inscribed on a piece of lead
And kept inside the mouth
One will escape weapons, bondage, and enmity.
5.­45
“Possessing the letters kṣa, ma, ra, and ya,
All the letters are adorned with e.
At the end of the authentic kabaka,
The four eggs and the three measures are each given two.
5.­46
“Daṇḍotpala, śarapuṅkha,
Nicula, and girikarṇikā‍—
Having washed it seven times with the juice of these,
The wise should write on a tablet of lead.
5.­47
“Yokes, shackles, prisons,
The rain of weapons on the battlefield,
And also anger‍—these are definitively crushed [F.42.a]
Through the perfection of this great tantra.
5.­48
“The one who writes this king of mantras,
Makes a spell of it, and wears it on the upper arm
Will become the equal of lord Kubera,
And attain treasures that cannot be taken away by others.
5.­49
“Oṁ kurukulle svāhā‍—
When this is attached to the alms bowl
During a time of famine,
The mendicant will receive donations.
5.­50
“When the outer skin of an utpala stalk
Is washed with milk and drunk by a woman
She will, by her own actions,
Certainly maintain her pregnant womb.
5.­51
“The five products of the māgadha,
When a woman grinds them and drinks them with milk,
The great power of this mantra
Will bring her ease in childbirth.
5.­52
“Having ground a nimbavāruṇa leaf
And mixed it with the juice of vajra,
If a woman rubs this on her vagina at the time of birth
She will give birth with ease.
5.­53
“Elephant-māgadhikā with sweet flag,
Horse-smell, and fresh buffalo butter‍—
The method involving vālā
Promotes the vitality of the breasts.
5.­54
“A person who enjoys every type of food
And who drinks water through his nose
Prevents premature graying of the hair
By the application of the mantra.
5.­55
“The root of avasanikā,
Kākamācī, and kanaka fruits
Ground with the sap of the camphor tree‍—
Applying this to the best part of the body will make tight women drip.22
5.­56
“If at the time of intercourse a woman does not drip
She will not respect her husband, but want to leave.
So there is a wish for the gift of binding.
For the sake of dripping this ointment is applied.
5.­57
“If at the time of sexual union
A lamp with lard is lit,
A man’s desire comes quickly
And he will remain in the vagina for long.
5.­58
“When a house is set ablaze by lightning,
If a man sprinkles wine by means of the mantra
The fire will die out.
This method was taught by the Protector of the World.”
5.­59
Thus spoke the protector of sentient beings confined within saṃsāra,
The Protector of the World.
Upon Mount Potala, the king of mountains,
The Blessed One [F.42.b] was pained by the pain of others.
5.­60
“There is nothing at all that is not buddhahood.
For the sake of accomplishing the benefit of beings
There is nothing that has not been done before.
That which has degenerated, I intend to restore.”
5.­61

When the Blessed One, noble Avalokiteśvara, had spoken these words, the entire retinue, and the whole world with its gods, humans, demigods, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.


5.­62

This completes “The Practice Manual of Noble Tārā‌ Kurukullā.”

c.

Colophon

c.­1

The translation was prepared, edited, and established by the Indian preceptor, Kṛṣnapaṇḍita, and the lotsāwa monk, Tsültrim Gyalwa.

ab.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations (notes 1–22)
D Degé Kangyur
H Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur
K Kangxi Peking Kangyur
N Narthang Kangyur
Y Yongle Peking Kangyur

See Appendix Prologue for abbreviations in notes 23–900.

b.

Bibliography

The bibliography contains the publications that we have referred to as well as background reading on Kurukullā and Tārā in India and Tibet. Information on the Sanskrit manuscripts consulted is given at the beginning of the critical edition.


’phags ma sgrol ma ku ru kulle’i rtog pa (Ārya­tārā­kurukullā­kalpa). Toh. 437, Degé Kangyur, vol. 81 (rgyud ’bum, ca), folios 29.b–42.b.

’phags ma sgrol ma ku ru kulle’i rtog pa. Toh. 437, 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. 81, pp. 127–69.

’phags ma sgrol ma ku ru kulle’i rtog pa. Stok 403. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Leh: smanrtsis shesrig dpemzod, 1975–80, vol. 95 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 316.b–435.a.

Bandurski, Frank (1994). Übersicht über die Göttinger Sammlung der von Rahula Sankrtyayana in Tibet aufgefundenen buddhistischen Sanskrit-Texte (Funde buddhistischer Sanskrit-Handschriften, III). (Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden: Beiheft ; 5). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994.

Bendall, Cecil. Catalogue of the Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge, p. 178, 1992.

Beyer, Stephan. The Cult of Tārā: Magic and Ritual in Tibet. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.

Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh. The Indian Buddhist Iconography: mainly based on the Sādhanamālā and cognate Tāntric texts of rituals. 2nd edition. Calcutta: K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1958.

Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh, ed. The Sādhanamālā. 2nd edition. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968.

Matsunami, Seiren (1965). A Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Tokyo University Library. Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation, 1965.

Mehta, R. N. “Kurukullā, Tārā and Vajreśī in Śrīpura.” In Tantric Buddhism: Centennial Tribute to Dr. Benoytosh Bhattacharyya, edited by N.N. Bhattacharyya. Reprint. New Delhi: Manohar, 2005.

Pandey, Janardan Shastri, ed. Kurukullā­kalpaḥ. Rare Buddhist Texts Series, 24. Sarnath, Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 2001.

Shaw, Miranda Eberle. Buddhist Goddesses of India, ch. 22. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006.

Snellgrove, David. The Hevajra Tantra: a critical study. London, New York: Oxford University Press, 1959.

Willson, Martin. In Praise of Tārā: Songs to the Saviouress: source texts from India and Tibet on Buddhism’s great goddess, selected, translated, and introduced by Martin Willson. Boston, MA.: Wisdom Publications, 1996.

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84000. The Practice Manual of Noble ​Tārā​ Kurukullā​ (Ārya­tārā­kurukullā­kalpa, ’phags ma sgrol ma ku ru kul+le’i rtog pa, Toh 437). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh437/UT22084-081-006-chapter-5.Copy
84000. The Practice Manual of Noble ​Tārā​ Kurukullā​ (Ārya­tārā­kurukullā­kalpa, ’phags ma sgrol ma ku ru kul+le’i rtog pa, Toh 437). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh437/UT22084-081-006-chapter-5.Copy
84000. (2024) The Practice Manual of Noble ​Tārā​ Kurukullā​ (Ārya­tārā­kurukullā­kalpa, ’phags ma sgrol ma ku ru kul+le’i rtog pa, Toh 437). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh437/UT22084-081-006-chapter-5.Copy
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