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དཔལ་ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་རྒྱུད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།

The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla
Chapter 14: Mercury Sādhanas

Śrīmahākālatantrarājanāma

dpal nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po

Toh 440

Degé Kangyur, vol. 81 (rgyud ’bum, ca), folios 45.b–86.a

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co.

Summary

s.1

The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla consists of a dialogue between Mahākāla and the Goddess on a broad range of topics including the consecration rites, deity generation practices, and rituals for attaining various siddhis associated with the deity Mahākāla. The opening section of the tantra focuses on topics related to the Unexcelled Yoga Tantras (yoganiruttaratantra, bla na med pa’i rgyud kyi rnal ’byor), such as how one generates the deity, how the consecration rites are performed, and how the advanced practitioner manipulates the vital winds of the subtle body to attain perfect spontaneous union as Mahākāla. The conversation then turns to ritual instructions for the attainment of siddhis as it integrates mastery of the two-stage union practices associated with the Unexcelled Yoga Tantras with those rituals more commonly associated with the Action Tantras (kriyātantra, bya ba’i rgyud) and Conduct Tantras (caryātantra, spyod pa’i rgyud).

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Acknowledgements

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This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

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The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Adam Krug produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text.

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We would like to thank Paul Hackett for providing copies of the two Sanskrit witnesses of the Mahākālatantrarāja held at the University of Tokyo and Péter-Dániel Szántó for providing a copy of the twelfth-century Sanskrit manuscript discovered in Tibet by Rāhul Sāṅkṛtyāyana and for pointing us in the right direction to access additional Sanskrit witnesses located in the Royal Asiatic Society’s Hodgson Collection and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Thank you also to Wiesiek Mical for kindly sharing his list of materia medica from his translation of The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣana (Toh 431).1

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The generous donation that made the translation work on this text possible was dedicated to DJKR, HH Dodrupchen IV, Khenchen Pema Sherab, Choje Togdan, Gyalse Tulku, Dagpo Tulku, Dorje Bhum, Khenpo Hungtram, and Gakar Tulku by the sponsors Herlintje, Lina Herlintje, Hadi Widjaja, Ocean, Asia, Star and Gold Widjaja.

Introduction

i.1

The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla consists of a dialogue between Mahākāla and the Goddess on a broad range of topics, including the consecration rites, deity generation practices, and rituals for attaining various siddhis associated with the deity Mahākāla. The introductory line of the tantra notes that this dialogue takes place while the Blessed One, Mahākāla, is surrounded by an array of goddesses. While the primary Goddess who directs most of the dialogue in the tantra is never identified by name, she should perhaps be understood as the goddess Umā, who in this text is Mahākāla’s primary consort. The dialogue throughout this tantra is not restricted to these two parties, and several goddesses and other beings also pose questions to Mahākāla.

The Translation

The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla

Chapter 1: An Elucidation of Ultimate Reality

[F.45.b]

1.1

Homage to Glorious Mahākāla.

1.2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the company of the goddesses. The Goddess asked him, “What method saves beings who are drowning in the ocean of cyclic existence, and how does the deity liberate them from cyclic existence?” [F.46.a]

1.3

The Blessed One replied, “I will address those points in terms of the means by which wisdom19 is present during the generation and completion stage yogas. Listen well, Goddess. The generation stage leads one to abide in cessation and reveals the correct path that grants the result. Then one should perform with certainty the type of consecration that involves the use of a consort. One should then practice the elimination of movement20 and then focus on that. The generation stage is endowed with the correct path through correlation with the physical person.

Chapter 2: The Features of the Fire Pits

2.1

“Now I will present a chapter on the features of the fire pits.”31

2.2

“My Lord,” the Goddess asked, “how should one accomplish, for the sake of beings, the rites associated with the eight siddhis that eliminate suffering?”

2.3

The Blessed One replied, “The exhalation is blocked as it flows in the lunar channel and then held. By doing this one will undoubtedly attain the eight great siddhis. When someone intent on bringing this to fruition does this, they will attain siddhi.

Chapter 3: The Mantras

3.1

“Now I will present the chapter on the mantras. [F.48.a] Of the two types of mantras, the system of mantras related to Śiva 34 are identified in this tantra by the syllable oṁ. These mantras represent Śiva’s delight as a protector of the Buddha’s teachings. He pronounced the following mantras of great wisdom as part of his promise to the Buddha:

3.2

“The mantra for the two-armed form is oṁ mahākāla hūṁ phaṭ svāhā.

3.3

“The mantra for the four-armed form is oṁ hrīṃ hrīṃ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ.

Chapter 4: Consecration

4.1

“Now I will present the chapter on consecration. The disciple must first recite the mantra for the two-armed form of Mahākāla ten thousand times and then receive initiation. The sage is first consecrated with the vase following the specific set of five consecrations in which they are furnished with a bell and vajra, sprinkled with water, and so forth. The sixth consecration is bestowed according to the vajra stages. The seventh consecration is the specific point at which they unite with an insight consort. The disciple copulates with the yoginīs during the eighth consecration, during the ninth semen is produced, and during the tenth they are consecrated with sky water. Accomplishing the sequence of these eleven consecrations in the correct way51 will give rise to the respective states. Just like those slain by the tawny-colored one,52 the sage should secretly maintain this sequential accomplishment of quiescent wisdom53 using the five ambrosias and the insight consorts. One should perform this practice with a mother, a sister, a woman with deformed legs,54 a dwarfish woman, or a hunchbacked woman. All these designations should be understood as instructed.55

Chapter 5: The Deity Consecration

5.1

56“Now I will present the deity consecration. First, the goddesses and the like perform the vase consecration, and the eight goddesses grant the ambrosia. After water to drink and water to cool one’s feet are offered and praises are made, [F.50.a] the vases are empowered with the mantra oṁ kalaśābhinayanaṃ57 snānaṁ oṁ śūnyatādhiṣṭhite svāhā.

5.2

“The goddesses, who are given the water consecration and the five ambrosias, will be filled with the six perfections. The goddesses will then let forth a rain of flowers. One will smell musk and sweet fragrances. Then one will be consecrated by Nārāyaṇa and the rest. One will be protected by all these deities’ samayas, and they will not abandon them even if it costs them their lives.”

Chapter 6: The Practice

6.1

At that point, the foremost goddesses such as Vajrabhūtinī and the others experienced doubt and were disheartened. They all asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please clear away our doubts. We have doubts about reaching accomplishment through song and the nine dramatic sentiments as explained in this chapter.58 What is the purpose of song and dance? What is conduct for one who is consecrated as the deity? How are they represented by the mudrās of anger and the like? How do you explain all the seed syllables in the chapter on mantras? What doubts have arisen about the seed syllables of these goddesses? What power do the seed syllables of the embodied beings have? Blessed One, how do samaya holders act?”

Chapter 7: The Emergence of the Deities

7.1

“First, one should perform the ritual offering, confess one’s misdeeds and so forth, cultivate the four abodes of Brahmā, and the rest. Then, using the mantra oṁ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ, one should purify all illusory phenomena.

The Eight-Armed Form

7.2

“Mahākāla has three faces with blazing yellow hair that flows upward. His beard and eyebrows are ablaze, his fangs are bared, and he terrifies with his laughter. His main fearsome face is black, the face on the left is white,67 and the face on the right is blue-black. He wears a tiger skin as his lower garment and is garlanded with human heads. He is short, his belly hangs down, and he is adorned with the ornamented hoods of the eight nāgas.

The Twelve-Armed Form

The Four-Armed Form

The Six-Armed Form

The Sixteen-Armed Form

The Two-Armed Form

Chapter 8: Locating Openings in the Earth

8.1

At that point the Goddess asked, “Is there some method for poor beings who seek worldly wealth and possessions?” [F.55.b]

8.2

The Blessed One replied, “I will explain the procedures for the various siddhis in Jambudvīpa so that yogins who might perform them93 will attain all the earthly siddhis. The mantras used should follow the explanation given in the chapter on mantras.94

8.3

“At night, in a vajra dwelling, one should consume various substances such as fish, meat, and blood and offer them as a bali to pacify vighnas.

Chapter 9: A Dialogue with the Goddess About the Pill Siddhi

9.1

“Now, for the benefit of all yogins,121 I will teach a chapter on the pill siddhi.”

9.2

The Blessed One continued, “The term guṭikā, or “pill,” expresses the combination of body, speech, and mind. Gu refers to being based in the body, ṭi refers to the nature of speech, and kā refers to the mind. When all three are combined, it spells the word guṭikā, or “pill.” This pill, a small mass that is the single taste of all three, is the nature of the wisdom of equality related to the two organs, the blazing fire that consumes the world at the end of an eon. It is the primary cause of the consummate bliss of beings.” [F.58.a]

10.

Chapter 10: The Foot-Salve Siddhi

10.1

“Now I will explain the various utterly inconceivable characteristics related to the swift feet siddhi.”

10.2

The Blessed One continued, “For swift feet, one will attain the highest siddhi if they recite the mantra of the twelve-armed form five hundred thousand times. On the first day one should grind mercury, menstrual blood, the juice of dhak tree roots, and śabarī,156 make a paste using camel urine, and rub it on their feet. One can then move through the air. When prepared and combined with lunar water, one will attain the eight siddhis. One should infuse it with moonlight in the same manner and157 add five extra parts of grain. When one smears it on their feet they will be able to move through the air.

11.

Chapter 11: Adorning the Goddess with Power

11.1

Then the dialogue turned to the topic of having power over all phenomena.

11.2

The Goddess asked, “If all phenomena are like space, does one produce the nature of a respective siddhi in the same way that a goose, the king of birds, moves on the ocean, or does it come about through remaining in the form of the tutelary deity?”

11.3

“Goddess,” the Blessed One responded, “those who, through their white light, bestow the desired stainless siddhi on those who would otherwise seek pure siddhi through the momentary presence and absence of thoughts should practice on the first day, and while so doing they should gain stability through repetition until it becomes easy.”177

12.

Chapter 12: The Collyrium Siddhi

12.1

“Now I will present a chapter on the collyrium siddhi. The collyrium is said to be the single taste that follows the union of the vajra and lotus.179 Externally, the collyrium allows one to fly like a vulture.

12.2

“One should gather the bones of a rat on the eighth day of the waning moon. Then on a Sunday one should make them into wicks in an earthen bowl using the cloth of an eye covering.180 [F.62.b] After that, one should use dog fat in a brahmin’s skull to decoct the collyrium. When one rubs it on their eyes, they will move through the air like the eye of a raven.

13.

Chapter 13: The Mercury Siddhi186

13.1

“Now, for those in Jambudvīpa who seek the supreme joy,” the Blessed One continued, “I will explain the mercury siddhi that liberates beings. One should use mercury that is highly potent and productive. The secret use187 of clear language, as well as esoteric language, coarse language, and signs, expresses the attainment of the great joy of supreme bliss. Yogins who understand the science of mercury will fully generate its immeasurable power. It has potency as a mercury pill when it has been collected together. The two syllables of the term rasa, “mercury,” are received during the stage in which the two are unified.188

14.

Chapter 14: Mercury Sādhanas

14.1

The Goddess said, “Based on what you said, how can the full complement of obstructing beings be overcome, so that skilled yogins can perform this practice in its entirety from the start? They should make a single leaf that contains the black and white substances,207 grind it with sour gruel, and again divide it into two portions with sona juice.208 Then they should use the juice of dhak tree leaves, the juice of white Chinese hibiscus, cow urine, and rohita carp bile that has been refined nine times,209 followed by karuli 210 and pomelo. If this is completed by the end of the day they will certainly attain siddhi.

14.2

“A person with faith should mix together samudra, datura leaf juice, earth from a cremation pyre, yellow orpiment, and malabar nut and place it in the sunshine. They should then repeatedly immerse it in a mixture of lemon juice that has been soaked in mercury for one night. Whatever one desires will come to pass. This should be performed by an adept.

14.3

“If, when undertaking a mercury procedure, an obstacle suddenly arises and creates problems, or if an obstructive person with brown or white hair disrupts the process, then at that time one should perform a bali offering to the best of their ability. One should offer meat, alcohol, flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, and the flesh of domestic fowl to the incarnation of a protector deity that has arrived. If a person with a dark complexion manifests, they are an incarnation of a yakṣa and should be given the previously mentioned bali offering as well.

14.4

“If they arrive within seven days to contaminate the mercury, one should call to mind the following mantra:

14.5

oṁ yakṣa kīlikīlināma phaṭkāra rakṣa rakṣa diśam bandha mukham bandha hastam bandha bandha sarvāṅgaṃ hūṁ hūṁ raṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā.211

14.6

“This mantra will protect one from any manifestation. Yogins who know it and use it at that time to subjugate the obstructing beings will definitely attain siddhi. [F.65.b]

14.7

“If incarnations of yakṣiṇīs manifest before one’s eyes when undertaking the procedure or manifest suddenly, they can be recognized as a woman with a dark complexion and red eyes, one who is slight, short in stature, eloquent, and has a sweet voice. One should respectfully give her some jujube and perform the bali offering to attain siddhi.

14.8

“If the one who is present has a yellow complexion, is tall, has long calves and limbs, is very attractive, and has features such as eyebrows that flow upward and are of two colors, she will create obstacles, disrupt the mercury procedure, and act violently.

14.9

“If a woman taking the form of one’s mother or wife or likewise the form of one’s niece, paternal grandmother, mother-in-law, mistress, and so forth appears at night, one should protect oneself with the mantra oṁ kaṭī me jaḥ hūṁ. One should touch the mercury with chalk while incanting it with the mantra seven times, pierce it, and continue speaking the mantra to the extent desired. Using one’s perfect vision, one should check one’s dreams and then, based on that, make the mercury correctly and perform the practice of receiving it. If there appears a negative sign or one indicating not to do it, one will know that it will not work.

14.10

“One should grind menstrual blood,212 bottle gourd, and mercury. One should then take one pala of that mixture, add a sixth of a portion of gold, place it in a stone vessel, and mix in black-cat bile and mercury. Later, the thin mixture should be poured out and muddled with buffalo urine on the third day, human flesh on the fourth day, a droṇa of emblic myrobalan on the fifth day, marking nut on the sixth day, and the three myrobalan fruits on the seventh day. After that, one should rinse it with human urine, add lemon juice, and leave it in the sun for one watch of the day. Next it should be removed and placed on a stick along with juice made of velvet bean, three-leaved caper, kurchi, himaraṅga,213 Indian leadwort, and mung bean. One should rinse it with velvet bean and sesbania juice and let it dry out for three days. [F.66.a] One should then take four palas of white mica that has undergone the aforementioned purification, process it every day for twelve months, refine it for a month in juice made from emblic myrobalan and sudarśana leaves,214 and finish it by stirring it to the right for as long as possible. At that point Brahmā and the gods of his realm will grant the incomparable siddhi. If one eats it every day and night for fifteen days, one can invariably turn the eight metals to gold simply by touching them. If both the sun and moon disappear,215 at that very moment one will produce whatever one desires. Moreover, one will be able to enthrall women from within the midst of a great army.”

14.11

This is chapter fourteen in The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Mercury Sādhanas.”

15.

Chapter 15: An Account of Royal Lineages

15.1

216“Blessed One,” the Goddess said, “please describe those places where people live and are reborn, and those places where the mortal and immortal lords and yoginīs dwell.”

15.2

The Blessed One replied, “North of Mount Sumeru there is a city called Bālabhañja, where in this eon there is a nāga king named Bogadhiga,217 who has attained the mahāmudrā siddhi. The nāga line in that city will continue through a thousand of his descendants. He performed ten million recitations of the venerable Mañjuśrī’s heart mantra, and he will attain siddhi after a series of rebirths218 as numerous as the needles of the sarala pine. After that, the city will fall into the sea.

16.

Chapter 16: Sādhanas for Acquiring a Servant

16.1

The Blessed One continued, “If someone is interested in attaining kingship, they should focus on kingship; if someone is interested in attaining the mercury siddhi, they should focus on the mercury siddhi; if someone is interested in attaining the corporeal siddhi, they should focus on the corporeal siddhi; if someone is interested in attaining ultimate reality, they should focus on ultimate reality; and if someone is interested in attaining the sense objects, they should focus on the sense objects. Goddess, once they have attained one of those goals, they can easily be successful in all of them, while those who attempt to succeed in other goals without them will find their efforts fruitless. [F.70.b]

17.

Chapter 17: Enthralling Rites

17.1

“Now I will explain the chapter on enthralling rites.

17.2

“Goddess,” the Blessed One said, “I will explain the medicinal substances, mantras, and mudrās.”

17.3

“Blessed One,” the Goddess replied, “please describe the most effective medicines.”

17.4

The Blessed One replied, “On the eighth day of the lunar month, one should follow the rites for a fire offering. Then one should take some fibers from giant milkweed fruit and wrap them with a strip of cloth from a cremation ground. Grind cow bezoar, the five ambrosias, and a human tongue into powder. Fashion this into a wick, place it in a copper bowl in human fat, and it will produce a collyrium. Then one should mix it with their own semen and use it as a forehead mark. Any girl that one looks at will fall under one’s spell. If she does not fall under one’s spell, then Mahākāla is not present. He will have committed an act entailing immediate retribution by abandoning his vow to protect the Buddha’s teachings.

18.

Chapter 18: Counteracting an Enemy’s Ritual

18.1

“Now I will present a chapter on counteracting an enemy’s ritual. One should gather some amuha 266‍—an extremely potent medicine that will kill anyone who acts as an adversary‍—dry it, and scatter it. The ritual will certainly be counteracted. If one scatters realgar, it will certainly be counteracted. If one scatters a woman’s blood, the ritual will certainly be counteracted. And if one wears the clothes of someone who is recently deceased, it will certainly be counteracted.”

19.

Chapter 19: Paralyzing Rites

19.1

“In cities such as Trikāmadevī, where those who bear the marks of a buddha are in a state of paralysis, this is what should be done.268 At such times one should visualize the wrathful form of Mahākāla, who contains all buddhas. His single face is white and extremely terrifying. He stands with his right leg forward and is trampling a black asura underfoot. He holds a hooked knife and a skull bowl, has three eyes, and is adorned with all his ornaments. The mere act of visualizing him will paralyze anything.

20.

Chapter 20: Killing Rites

20.1

“I will explain more about this. One should meditate on Mahābhairava for the purposes of ensuring happiness in the world once evildoers are killed. He has one face, is black in color, and has a large protruding belly. He holds a hooked knife and skull, is mounted on a buffalo, and is ornamented with the eight nāgas. He bears his fangs, his blazing hair flows upward, and he is extremely terrifying. He has the features of a sixteen-year-old, his penis is erect, and he is naked, rotund, and short. Simply imagining the deity with these qualities radiating from the seed syllable hūṃ will destroy and disrupt any enemy and cause their head to burst. [F.74.a]

21.

Chapter 21: Guaranteeing Siddhi

21.1

The Blessed One continued, “Goddess, the goddess I embrace is a woman with the complete set of all characteristics. She is the one who accomplishes bliss on this earth.”

21.2

“Blessed One,” the Goddess replied, “On which day can one attain siddhi?”

21.3

“Listen Goddess,” the Blessed One replied, “it is the day that ensures success for the practitioner. In this case, practitioners will surely attain the eight siddhis if they perform the practice on the eighth day of the waning moon during the lunar month of Māgha as it occurs in Jambudvīpa.289 Let there be no doubt about this. A person who performs the sādhana on the fifth day of the lunar month of Vaiśākha will quickly gain accomplishment. If one performs it on the fourteenth day of the waning moon during the lunar month of Śrāvaṇa, one will attain the great siddhi, and likewise during the lunar month of Kārtika.

22.

Chapter 22: Rites for Causing and Halting Rainfall

22.1

“Now I will present the chapter on breaking up and gathering clouds. When there is a substantial amount rain, one should go to a charnel ground and recite the mantra for the eight-armed form five thousand times, incant five thousand blue water lilies, and perform the fire offering. [F.76.b] The rain will surely subside.

22.2

“One should go to the edge of town, sit on a cow’s skull, and smear their body with human fat. One should set up an image of Mahābhairava and focus on it while performing a fire offering with five thousand dark blue water lilies. One should satiate themselves with meat, alcohol, blood, drink, and food.

23.

Chapter 23: Bringing Relief to All Beings Encountering Difficulties

23.1

“Now, to benefit all beings, I will present a chapter on expelling Śaniścara.297 During difficult times,298 yogins should visualize themselves in the form of Mahākāla and perform one thousand fire offerings using bilva fruit while reciting the mantra oṁ khaḥ hūṁ vajrāgraye299 svāhā. Things will then become easier.

23.2

“If one uses the mantra oṁ cītili hili hūṁ mahāśanaiścaraṃ kha kha hūṁ phaṭ while smearing kadalasundala300 with cow fat and performing one hundred fire offerings, this will cause Śaniścara to flee, and things will get easier. If he is killed permanently, the entire city will have an abundance of food and wealth.

24.

Chapter 24: Interpreting Signs of Whether or Not One Will Be King

24.1

“Now I will explain omens that indicate whether or not someone will become king if they perform the sixteen-armed visualization and recite the mantra one thousand times in order to become king. The signs of whether or not kingship will be achieved are as follows:

24.2

“If a brahmin with a dark complexion approaches, asks for alms, and wants to create an obstacle, he will surely grant the siddhi. After the obstacle is correctly pacified, the process is complete, and success will follow.

25.

Chapter 25: Rites to Become King

25.1

“There is more to say about this. When a person who desires accomplishment using methods, such as are given here, to attain what they seek first sets out on the road, Goddess, people will recognize them and declare them a king upon the earth. Should one ask about this when traveling on the road or at another time, if they practice continually on the eighth, tenth, or fourteenth day at the end of the lunar month of Vaiśākha,308 the outcome is certain, without any doubt.309 [F.78.b]

26.

Chapter 26: The Consort Maṇḍala

26.1

Then the bodhisattva great being Prajñābala and the Goddess both asked, “Please teach us, Blessed One. Help us understand the nature of desire and delusion.”

26.2

The Blessed One responded, “A person who has received the consecration for the five goddesses should adopt the following rite. On the eighth or fourteenth day, one should pulverize one pala of gold, sprinkle it on a square maṇḍala,312 draw the Goddess within the four corners, and perform a fire offering. One who is well-versed in insight and wisdom should unite with the consort and indulge in food and drink. They will surely be successful‍—this is guaranteed, venerable noble Prajñā!”

27.

Chapter 27: Guidelines for Training

27.1

“Now I will present a chapter on training. One who wishes to train in a way that illuminates training should, at all times while training, maintain the use of alcohol, meat, and the insight that the guru is Vajrasattva. By doing so, the water sprinkled on their crown is called insight, and a yoginī is explained as being oriented toward the benefit of self and other. When addressed by the ritual officiant, there is no doubt she is called mudrā, the vajra state, and noble lady. Training refers to the mind being free of movement.”313

28.

Chapter 28: Ultimate Reality

28.1

The Blessed One continued, “Ultimate reality is the nature of the mind engaged in the pursuit of sameness. It unfolds when there is no mental engagement. [F.79.b] That which has those qualities is nonexistent.

28.2

u ṇu a ra nā hi tatta ha lu e he ṇi ja hi ka ha vi nā saṃ ho | ci a ra go ca ra i citta ta ha thaṃ vi na su ha la pa ri bhā si o mha re kha ṇa pi na thakka | o ujja ṇi e le kha sa ṇo | bha ṇa i bhe o sa va ratta ka hi vi ṇa cchi ṭṭhi o.

29.

Chapter 29: Those Born from Sacred Spaces

29.1

“Now I will describe those born from sacred spaces.315 A woman who is born into the brahmin caste and who is tall, has large eyes, and either a pale or dark complexion should be dignified as a yoginī.

29.2

“A woman born in the śūdra caste who has crooked legs, whose complexion is bluish, pale, or dark, who has curly hair, and who has a raspy voice is a ḍākinī and is likewise in the vajra family.

29.3

“People with the complete set of features of one born from an untouchable caste and who are born during the lunar mansions Pūrvabhadra, Citrā, Svāti, Ārdrā, Pūrvāṣāḍhā, Punarvasu, Bharaṇī, and Kṛttikā will attain the siddhi of Mahābhairava, as will those born during Rohiṇī, Mṛgaśirā, Maghā, and Āśleṣā.”

30.

Chapter 30: The Arising of Protector Deities

30.1

“Now, I will discuss the protector deity. One should go to the location where an obstructing being is present and perform the appropriate generation practice. First, one should visualize the syllable hūṁ, perform the various offerings, confess their misdeeds, and so forth. One should then imagine that a hooked knife emerges from the syllable hūṃ at the heart and that one is empowered by the syllables kṣaṃ and hūṁ. From these transformations one should visualize themselves as the protector deity with two arms. He holds a hooked knife and skull and stands with the right leg forward, trampling a dog. [F.80.a] He shouts phaṭ and bares his fangs. He has a blue-black complexion, three eyes, and upward-flowing, reddish-brown hair. He wears a tiger skin, drinks blood, and is flanked by two yoginīs.316 Continue reciting the mantra after the visualization.

31.

Chapter 31: The System of Channels

31.1

“Now I will discuss the system of channels. A great bodhisattva who acts as an ācārya who has mastered mixing the three318 and trains in relinquishing selfish desires should summarize the avadhūtī, lalanā, and rasanā. An enumeration that has the capacity to demonstrate the sixty-four channels is as follows: the lalanā is understood as the nature of insight, the rasanā is understood as equivalent to the nature of physical bliss, and the avadhūtī is understood as including the nature of great bliss. This refers to the production of semen and of the three realms.

32.

Chapter 32: Describing Virtue and Nonvirtue

32.1

Then, the blessed Bodhicittavajra addressed the Lord, saying, “The inherent nature of the mind, which arises in sixteen moments, [F.80.b] is the inherent nature that is the cause of great wisdom. It subsumes the two legs of consciousness and its object. Thus, to long for the girl who cuts them off‍—a girl who bears the sixteen moments‍—is like something hot to the touch and something cold to the touch.320

32.2

33.

Chapter 33: The Sarasvatī Ritual That Establishes Meditative Concentration

33.1

“Now I will explain the establishment of mediative concentration. Those who know how to undo the suffering of beings should use a mixture of feces, urine, and blood to draw on birch bark a circle consisting of the target’s name between the syllables maṁ and raṁ followed by hūṁ phaṭ. They should then then roll it up and roast it over a fire. The procedure will bring instant death.

34.

Chapter 34: Prognostication Using Young Girls

34.1

329“Now I will present a chapter on prognostication using young girls.330

34.2

34.3

This is chapter thirty-four in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Prognostication Using Young Girls.”

35.

Chapter 35: Combination

35.1

332“Additionally, the two movements of the nose should be gradually combined as one, because when woven together, even the gods will die. For example, this is like ignorant citizens who break laws and flee the country. They run away out of fear and anxiety and eventually lose their lives.”333

35.2

This is chapter thirty-five in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Combination.”

36.

Chapter 36: Complexion

36.1

334“Additionally, if one combines equal parts cow bezoar, sāṣṭa,335 coṇa, and preta, places them in their mouth, and recites the mantra, one will surely come to perceive past and future events.

36.2

“If someone who adopts difficult practices mixes equal parts cow bezoar, sukhadāyī, parasodhānī, hapuri,336 and arudūni, makes them into pills, [F.83.b] and swallows them, they will instantly know past and future events.

36.3

“Or, if one smears a fluid comprised of turmeric, sena, and raṇapaṇa on both eyes, they will know and see everything present in the threefold world.

37.

Chapter 37: Mantras for Paralyzing Rites

37.1

“Now I will explain the mantras for paralyzing rites.

37.2

“If one recites the mantra oṁ jalayavanā hūṁ one hundred thousand times, they will know past and future events.

37.3

“If one recites the mantra oṁ vara vara pravara pravara hūṁ ten thousand times, incants water seven times,341 washes their face with it, and drinks it, they will be able to learn something simply by hearing or reading it.

37.4

“The mantra for the summoning rite is oṁ pravara hraḥ.

38.

Chapter 38: The Fire Offering

38.1

“Now I will explain the fire offering that pacifies human beings. One should dig a square fire pit half a cubit deep and perform seven thousand fire offerings with whatever flowers are available while reciting the mantra oṁ kṣaṃ samasiddhidhapaya hrāṃ svāhā without distraction. One should offer water and make offerings of butter and honey throughout the fire offering. If this does not work, the rites that benefit beings that are explained in all the tantras would be untenable.

39.

Chapter 39: Being Purified by the Feast and the Insight Consort

39.1

“Blessed One,” the Goddess then asked, “When a practitioner who strives to learn about the true nature of the vehicles that bring happiness to people indulges in food and drink to perfect their body, is it wise to not retaliate against those who chastise them?” [F.84.b]

39.2

The Blessed One responded, “If someone says, ‘You have been drinking alcohol, embracing your sister, and eating human flesh,’ one should crush some moringa root, steep it in alcohol, and make an effigy of the target. One should pour alcohol into its mouth and then draw the following mantra on the effigy’s stomach: oṁ kamale vimale ratvāṃ smarāmi [insert name]343 ūrdhomantramadyāmāṃsaṃ haṃ haṃ haḥ haḥ. Simply bringing this mantra to mind will surely make the target vomit alcohol and meat. As a result, the target of the rite will not be able to accuse anyone of embracing their sister and the like, and one’s own body will be purified.”

40.

Chapter 40: The Ocean of Music

40.1

The Blessed One continued, “Once someone who has established a foundation through the religious life, beginning with the system of the śrāvakas, has indulged, then as the sun sets and illuminates everything by its great size, one should remain among samaya holders and complete all the songs and dances using the various rhythmic systems of the great drum, kettle drum, large kettle drum, clay drum, large clay drum, tambura, and reed flute and the songs of gandharvas and the like. After that, one should recite the initiation mantra oṁ aśruṇi pra hūṁ. One will surely receive Mahākāla’s blessing and henceforth succeed in all things.”

41.

Chapter 41: The Method

41.1

“Now I will present a chapter on the method. Those with knowledge of time are defeated because they think they can preside over all there is to know. [F.85.a] How can knowledge lead to the attainment of bliss? One must be certain until the final, inconceivable, and stable practice that is free of meditation, meditator, and object of meditation.”

41.2

This is chapter forty-one in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “The Method.”

42.

Chapter 42: Rites to Disperse Animals

42.1

“Now, I will explain the mantras that will disperse animals. If one calls to mind the mantra oṁ jaṃ jaṃ, an elephant will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra haṃ raḥ, a dog will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra praḥ praḥ, a horse will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra ṭa hūṁ, a lion will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra ehi ṭaṃsaṇa haḥ, a snake will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra muḥ, a monkey will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra gauva gaḥ, a bull will flee. If one calls to mind the mantra saḥ kulu kulu, a king will no longer be able to cause the slightest harm.”

43.

Chapter 43: Sexual Embrace

43.1

“The Lord gained realization through sexual embrace. When immersed in the supremely profound inherent nature, supreme bliss arises. Therefore, the bliss one attains is not the mind or a product of the mind. Narrow-minded fools344 who lack awareness of existence and nonexistence‍—people who know nothing of the supremely profound‍—will not recollect even a word about nondual wisdom.”

43.2

This is chapter forty-three in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Sexual Embrace.”

44.

Chapter 44: Yoga

44.1

“Now I will present a chapter on yoga. One should press down above and below and visualize a moon in the middle of one's navel. One will be successful within six months. If one blocks one's nostrils and then visualizes a drop, one will be successful within twenty-one days. If one presses one's tongue upward one will be free from old age and death. [F.85.b] If one correctly recollects the sequence of inhalation, exhalation, and breath retention, one will succeed in flight within a fortnight. When the afflicted mind is killed by the vital wind, one should perform lunar union.345 One should seize it through mantra yoga and let it crumble in one's hand.”346

45.

Chapter 45: Defeating an Enemy Army

45.1

“After mastering the Graha Lords, a yogin should perform a fire offering that makes perfect bliss completely pervasive. They should rub saffron powder, chaste tree, semen, and mercury on their body, and they will defeat an enemy army.”

45.2

This is chapter forty-five in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Defeating an Enemy Army.”

46.

Chapter 46: Accepting and Rejecting

46.1

“Blessed One,” the Goddess said, “tell us about the days on which the power of mantras and medicines will be potent. We want to hear about it.”

46.2

The Blessed One said, “Any day is good. Nevertheless, it is commonly understood to depend on a particular time, so I will explain those times. Sūrya is on the fifth, Candra is on the second, and the Graha Lords are on the seventh. Mantrin is on the fourth, Budha is on the third, Maṅgala is on the sixth, and Śaniścara is on the first. One will surely be successful at each of these times.”

47.

Chapter 47: Lunar Mansions

47.1

“Now I will discuss how the system of planets, stars, and lunar days are engaged at the proper times devoid of the delusions of beings, time at which a person can internally analyze their dreams. On the fourteenth, eighth, or tenth day of the waning moon or the first day of the new moon one can engage Svāti, Pūrvāṣāḍhā, Hasta, Āśleṣā, Maghā, Citrā, Aśvinī, Bharaṇī, and Kṛttikā.” [F.86.a]

47.2

This is chapter forty-seven in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Lunar Mansions.”

48.

Chapter 48: Contemplating Virtue

48.1

“When an adept is sure that night has fallen, they should suppress the two fluctuating channels and approach the state of utter joy and so forth. Then, if they suppress all objects of knowledge in the navel maṇḍala, they will undoubtedly attain the bliss possessed by beings. The sensory objects will be burned by the fire of wisdom, and all will be illusion. In the future, they will be born in an excellent buddha field that is pure, stainless, and inconceivable to beings. A yogin who drinks milk will be as stainless as a bubble. When he expels the vital wind and is purified, he will achieve the virtue he has contemplated.”

49.

Chapter 49: The Ritual Stages for the Path

49.1

“Blessed One,” the Goddess asked, “please speak about the ritual stages for the path. What should be burned with what for fire offering? How can a compassionate person establish all beings in happiness?”

49.2

The Blessed One replied,347 “One should first recite the mantra for the siddhi they seek, and then perform the fire offering. If impermanence is quickly revealed to them,348 they will comprehend the wisdom that is the nature of bliss. At that very moment, embodied beings will attain wisdom.”

50.

Chapter 50: Atharvaśabarī’s Mantra

50.1

“Now I will present a chapter on Atharvaśabarī’s mantra. This king of mantras is oṁ sarvamantraṇidānaṃ kṣemaṃ raṁ hūṁ kṣaḥ haḥ. A practitioner who simply reads this mantra once will effortlessly exhaust all misdeeds.”

50.2

This is chapter fifty in The Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla, “Atharvaśabarī’s Mantra.”

Colophon

c.1

This work was translated, edited, and finalized by the scholar Samantaśrī and the great editor and translator Ra Gelong Chörap, at the request of the at the request of the vagabond Pha in the miraculous great temple Ramoché in Lhasa.349

ab.

Abbreviations

C	Choné (co ne)
D	Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)
F	Phukdrak (phug brag)
H	Lhasa (lha sa / zhol)
J	Lithang (li thang)
K	Kanxi (kang shi)
N	Narthang (snar thang)
S	Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)
Y	Yongle (g.yung lo)

BnFS 84	Bibliothèque national de France (Mahākālatantrarāja)
BnFS 85	Bibliothèque national de France (Mahākālatantrarāja)
ND 44-5	NGMCP D 44-5 (Mahākālatantrarāja)
RASH 47	RAS Hodgson (Mahākālatantra)
RST15	Sāṅkṛtyāyana collection (Patna); Bandurski Xc 14/15 (Mahākālatantrarāja)
UTM 286	Tokyo No. 286 (Mahākālatantrarāja)
UTM 288	Tokyo No. 288 (Mahākālatantrarāja)

Notes

n.1

Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇatantram (Toh 431).

n.2

The exception to this statement is chapter 15, “An Account of Royal Lineages,” in which Mahākāla provides an account of the rise and fall of various royal lineages, both human and nonhuman, across the Indian subcontinent and beyond.

n.3

The female beings who encircle Mahākāla in his maṇḍala are referred to interchangeably as either goddesses (devī, lha mo) or yoginīs (rnal ’byor ma).

n.4

The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla (Śrīmahākālatantra, Toh 667).

n.5

Vajramahākālakrodhanātharahasyasiddhibhavatantra (mgon po gsang ba dngos grub byung ba’i rgyud, Toh 416).

n.6

The Dhāraṇī of Glorious Mahākāla (Śrīmahākālanāmadhāraṇī, Toh 668).

n.7

The Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All Diseases and Illnesses (nag po chen po’i gsungs rims nad thams cad las thar byed, Toh 669).

n.8

dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud drag po’i brtag pa dur khrod chen po zhes bya ba’i ’grel pa (Toh 1753).

n.19

Following Tib. ye shes su. The Sanskrit witnesses omit this.

n.20

Following Tib. rgyu ba gcod pa la spyod pa. S_T reads utsāhayantre caret. UT_{M 286} reads utsāhayantracaret. UT_{M 288} reads utsaho yantre caret. N_{D 44-5} reads utsāho yantre recaḥ. RAS_{H 47} and BnF_{S 85} read utsāho yantra caret.

n.31

Throughout this translation, it is assumed that the opening statements in each chapter that are marked as first-person speech in the Sanskrit are the words of the same Blessed One who spoke in the first chapter.

n.34

The Tibetan reads zhi ba’i sngags, and the Sanskrit reads śivamantraº.

n.51

Following K, Y, F, and S yang dag pa’i rigs pas. D reads yang dag pa’i rig pas.

n.52

J, C, and H read thub pa ka pi la bar+Na shi ba. D reads thub pa ka pi la bar+N+Na shi ba. S and N read thub pa ka pi la bar rna shi ba. S_T reads munikapilā iva. N_{D 44-5}, UT_{M 286}, RAS_{H 47}, and BnF_{S 85} read muniṃ kanilāmāritair iva. UT_{M 288} reads muniṃ kanilāmārair iva. BnF_{S 84} reads muniṃ kanilāmālitair iva. This translation is tentative as the reference to “the tawny-colored one” (D ka pi la bar+N+Na) could not be identified.

n.53

D and S read zhi ba’i ye shes sgrub pa. N reads ye shes sgrub pa. S_T reads siddhijñāna. N_{D 44-5} and UT_{M 286} read siddhijñānam. UT_{M 288}, RAS_{H 47}, BnF_{S 84}, and BnF_{S 85} read siddhajñānam. The Sanskrit witnesses preserve two alternate readings of this compound that translate as either “the wisdom of siddhi” (if we follow S_T, N_{D 44-5}, and UT_{M 286}) or “the wisdom they have attained” (if we follow UT_{M 288}, RAS_{H 47}, BnF_{S 84}, and BnF_{S 85}). It is also possible to translate the reading preserved in the Tibetan witnesses as “the wisdom of Śiva” and not “quiescent wisdom.”

n.54

Or more literally “a woman with crow’s legs” (Tib. bya rog rkang ma, Skt. kākajaṅghā).

n.55

A similar but not identical set of women is listed in, for example, Hevajra Tantra 1.5.2, and their symbolic import is explained at 1.5.16–18.

n.56

As Stablein notes in his dissertation, the concluding statement in chapter 4 marks the initial point at which all the Tibetan and Sanskrit witnesses begin to match. This includes the Sanskrit witness RST₁₅, which until this point has contained an entirely different set of four opening chapters.

n.57

D reads ka la sha a b+hi nA ya naM. S, Y, K, J, N, C, and H read ka la sha a b+hi na ya na. The Sanskrit sources read kalaśābhinayanaṃ. This transliteration corrects the reading in the Degé Kangyur following the reading in the majority of Tibetan witnesses as well as the Sanskrit witnesses.

n.58

Compare with Hevajra Tantra 2.4.1–5, where Vajragarbha and a group of ḍākinīs pose a similar set of questions to the deity Hevajra based on material from previous, similarly titled chapters. Here, however, the material causing the goddesses’ confusion has not yet been taught in The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla.

n.67

RST₁₅ reads raktam (“red”).

n.93

S_T reads anuṣṭheyam. RST₁₅ reads anuṣṭhet. Tib. reads byin gyis brlabs pa. This translation follows the Sanskrit terminology.

n.94

This line translates the reading mantram mantrapaṭale yathoktaṃ karaṇīyam in the Sanskrit witnesses, which is omitted from the Tibetan. The “chapter on mantras” is chapter 2 above.

n.121

Tib. reads rnal ’byor pa thams cad kyi. N_{D 44-5}, RAS_{H 47}, RST₁₅, and UT_{M 286} read sarvayoginīnām. The Sanskrit witnesses read “all yoginīs.”

n.156

D and S read sha du ri. F reads sha tsa ri. N_{D 44-5} reads sabari. UT_{M 286}, RST₁₅, and BnF_{S 85} read śabarī. RAS_{H 47} reads śābarī. BnF_{S 84} reads sabali. This translation is tentative, and the specific ingredient is unidentified.

n.157

D and S read mnyam pa ri ka na ba su dang ldan pas. RST₁₅ reads tulya || kiraṇe ca susametaṃ. N_{D 44-5}, UT_{M 286}, UT_{M 288}, BnF_{S 85}, and RAS_{H 47} read tulyakiraṇasusametaṃ. BnF_{S 84} reads tulakiranasusameta. This translation is tentative and follows the reading in the Sanskrit witnesses, emending it to *tulyaṃ kiraṇeṣu sametaṃ.

n.177

This translation is tentative. The Tibetan translation appears to preserve a unique version of this passage without direct equivalent in the available Sanskrit witnesses.

n.179

Here the Sanskrit reads bola-kakkola, two code words used respectively for “penis” and “vagina,” as articulated in the Hevajra Tantra. In the Tibetan this coded language has been “translated” using the more standard euphemisms for the two sexual organs.

n.180

D and S read gza’ nyi ma la a sa mi ni byas nas dar ling la sdong bu byas te. N_{D 44-5} reads ādityavāre netrakalpate varttikā kārayet. RST₁₅ reads ādityavāre netrakarpaṭavarttī kārayet. This translation follows the reading in RST₁₅.

n.186

In this chapter the multiple Sanskrit terms used for mercury‍—most often rasa or pārada‍—were not consistently translated into Tibetan using the same equivalents. In order to disambiguate this use of these terms, the English translation uses “mercury” for rasa and “quicksilver” for pārada regardless of the equivalent term used in the Tibetan translation.

n.187

Tib. reads sbas pa rnams. Skt. reads gopena. This translation is tentative.

n.188

The translation of this passage is tentative due to numerous ambiguities in the Tibetan translation and the wide variation in the Sanskrit witnesses.

n.207

D reads dkar po dang nag po dang sbyar ba ni ’dab ma gcig tu byas nas. RST₁₅ reads śuklakṛṣṇayoḥ śodhanaṃ ekapatraṃ. UT_{M 286}, UT_{M 288}, RAS_{H 47}, and BnF_{S 84} read śuklakṛṣṇayogaḥ śodhanaṃ ekapatraṃ. This translation is tentative.

n.208

D reads sman so na’i khu. S reads sman sa ni’i khu. RST₁₅ reads saṇīdraveṇa. UT_{M 286}, UT_{M 288}, BnF_{S 84}, and RAS_{H 47} read khaṇīdrave. The identity of this substance is uncertain, so the term has been transliterated here as it appears in D.

n.209

D and S read lan dgu ru ’di rnams rdzogs par. RST₁₅ reads navavārān etena niṣpannam iti. This translation is tentative.

n.210

D and S read sman ka ru li. The identity of this substance is uncertain, so the term has been transliterated here as it appears in D.

n.211

This transliteration follows D with minor emendations based on the mantra as attested in the Sanskrit and Tibetan witnesses.

n.212

Following Skt. srtīrajas. D and S read dngul.

n.213

The identity of this substance is uncertain, so the term has been transliterated here as it appears in D.

n.214

The identity of this substance is uncertain, so the term has been transliterated here as it appears in D.

n.215

D and S read de’i dus su zla ba dang nyi ma dag zhi bar gyur na. N_{D 44-5} reads yadi na bhavati tadā candrādityo vinasanaṃ. UT_{M 286}, UT_{M 288}, RAS_{H 47}, and BnF_{S 85} read yadi na bhavati tadā candrādityo vināśanaṃ. BnF_{S 84} reads yadi na bhavati tadā cadrātityo vināsana. The reading in the Sanskrit witnesses translates as, “If this does not happen, it means the sun and moon have been destroyed,” which might be taken as a statement expressing the assured efficacy of the rite.

n.216

At this point RST₁₅ diverges from the other Sanskrit witnesses and the Tibetan. Therefore we have not consulted RST₁₅in the translation of this chapter or for the remaining chapters without equivalent sections in RST₁₅. Later chapters that do have parallels in RST₁₅will be noted. Additionally, many of the proper names in this chapter vary significantly across the Sanskrit and Tibetan sources. In cases where the sources do not offer a consistent satisfactory reading and the name cannot otherwise be clearly identified we have rendered it as it appears it in D. While this at times yields implausible terms, we have preferred to preserve the Tibetan reading rather than arbitrarily choose a different term from among the Sanskrit sources, many of which also demonstrate scribal corruptions. Minor emendations to correct orthographic issues have been made when possible to improve the clarity of the transliteration.

n.217

D and S read de na klu’i rgyal po bu ga bo ga d+hi ga zhes pa. N_{D 44-5} and UT_{M 288} read tatra yuge bogavidhavaṃganāmarajā. UT_{M 286} reads tatra yuge bogavidhagam nāmarājā. BnF_{S 84} reads tatra yuge vāgavidhavaganāmarājā bhaviṣyati. BnF_{S 85} reads tatra yuge vāgavidhaṃganāmarājā. It appears that the Tibetan translators read the term yuga as the first syllables of the nāga king’s name, thus yielding de na klu’i rgyal po bu ga bo ga d+hi ga. We have followed the Sanskrit witnesses in reading tatra yuge (“in this eon”), while otherwise leaving the name as it is given in D.

n.218

D, F, and S read nga skye ba brgyud nas…dngos grub thob bo. None of the Sanskrit witnesses attest to an equivalent of the first-person pronoun “I” (nga) that appears at the beginning of this line of Tibetan. It is possible that the Tibetan nga could be read as da (“now”), but this is also unsatisfactory. We have followed the Sanskrit witnesses and omitted nga.

n.266

D and S read a mu ha. F reads mu ha. N_{D 44-5} and BnF₈₄ read paramasivaṃ mūha. UT_{M 286} and UT_{M 288} read paramaśivaṃ mūhaṃ. RAS_{H 47} reads paramaṃ śivaṃ mūhaṃ. BnF_{S 85} reads paramaśivaṃ muhaṃ. This substance could not be identified and has been transliterated here as it appears in D and S.

n.268

D reads grong khyer gang na lha mos ’dod pa gsum dang ldan pa’i sangs rgyas kyi mtshan nyid byed pa yod pa de rengs par byed pa’i gnas te/ de ’di rjes su ’gro’o. S reads grong khyer gang na lha mo ’dod pa gsum dang ldan pa’i sangs rgyas kyi mtshan nyid byed pa yod pa de rengs par byed pa’i gnas te/ de ’di rjes su ’gro’o. UT_{M 288} reads trikamadevīnagare yatra buddhasya lakṣaṇa recayanti hi | stambhanapade yadānusaret. RAS_{H 47} reads trikāmadevīnagare yatra buddhasya lakṣaṇa recayati hi | stambhanapade yadānusaret. BnF_{S 84} reads tikāmadevinagare yatra buddhasya rakṣana racanti hi stabhanapade yadānusaret. This translation is tentative and generally follows D. However, because the Tibetan syntax is problematic, the translation is also informed by the Sanskrit witnesses, particularly RAS_{H 47}.

n.289

Following D and S sgrub pa po gang gis bsgrub pa ni ’dir dgun zla tha chungs kyi nag po’i tshes brgyad la ’dzam bu’i gling du skyes pa’i dus la rnal ’byor pas bsgrubs na dngos grub brgyas de yis ’grub. F reads sgrub pa po gang gi sgrub pa ’di ni/ dgun zla tha chungs kyi nag po’i tshes brgyad la ’dzam bu’i gling du/ nga skyes pa’i dus la rnal ’byor pas bsgrubs na / dngos grub brgyas de ’grub po. N_{D 44-5} reads yena sidhyanti śādhakāḥ | atra māghamāsikṛṣṇāṣṭamyāṃ jambudvīpe asya utpattiḥ | tatra yo yogiṇī aṣṭamahāsiddhi sidhyanti. UT_{M 286} reads yena sidhyanti sādhakāḥ | atra māghamāsikṛṣṇāṣṭamyāṃ jambudvīpe asya utpattiḥ | tatra yo yoginī anuṣṭhet | aṣṭamahāsiddhiḥ sidhyanti. RAS_{H 47} reads yena sidhyanti sādhakāḥ | atra māghamāsikṛṣṇāṣṭamyāṃ jambudvīpe asya utpattiḥ | tatra yo yo(?)gī anuṣṭhet | aṣṭamahāsiddhiḥ sidhyanti. This translation is tentative.

n.297

F reads spen pa bkrad pa’i le’u, N_{D 44-5} reads śaniścaranibandhanapaṭala, and UT_{M 286} and RAS_{H 47} read sanaiścaranibandhanapaṭala. D and S read bskrad pa’i le’u. This translation follows F and the Sanskrit witnesses in including Śaniścara in the line spoken by the Blessed One but otherwise follows D and S.

n.298

Following Skt. anākāla. D and S read rnyed dka’ ba’i dus su. F reads rnyed par dka’ ba’i dus su. This translation conveys the sense of the Sanskrit term anākāla, which indicates conditions that are “untimely” or “unseasonal” and thus difficult and fraught.

n.299

Following RAS_{H 47} vajrāgraye. N_{D 44-5} and UT_{M 286} read vajrāgraya. D and S read badz+ra a g+ha ye. F reads badz+ra ar ga ye.

n.300

D and S read ka da la sun da la. F reads bkang la bsnun da la. N_{D 44-5} reads kaṭagaṇḍa. UT_{M 286} reads kaḍargaṇḍaṣu. RAS_{H 47} reads kaḍarśuṇḍa. UT_{M 288} reads kadurgaśaṇḍa. BnF_{s 84} reads kadagaśuṇḍa. This ingredient is unidentified and has been transliterated here as it appears in D and S.

n.308

D reads dpyid zla tha chungs san+ta’i. F reads dbyid zla tha chungs las Ta’i. S reads dpyid zla tha chungs san ta’i. N_{D 44-5} reads vaiśāṣānte. UT_{M 286} reads vaiśaṣāntam. RAS_{H 47} reads vaiśāṣāvantam. This translation is tentative.

n.309

This translation of this passage is tentative and follows the Tibetan witnesses. Both the Tibetan and Sanskrit witnesses present an array of ambiguities that are not easily resolved.

n.312

Following K, N, Y, and S maN+Dala gru bzhi pa bcus par. D reads maN+Dala gru bzhi pa gcus par. F reads dkyil ’khor gru bzhi pa bcas pa. N_{D 44-5} reads maṇḍalayitvā | caturasram. RAS_{H 47} reads maṇdalaṃ kālayitvā caturasram. UT_{M 286} reads maṇḍalaṃ kārayitvā caturasram. This translation follows K, N, Y, and S, with bcus pa (’chu ba) understood in the sense of “ladling out” or “pouring out.”

n.313

The translation of this passage is tentative.

n.315

Tib. reads zhing las skyes. Skt. reads kṣetrajam. This is a class of yoginī or ḍākinī that takes birth in a human form. There are multiple types of such beings listed in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist texts, but the Buddhist tradition often employs a threefold typology: those born from sacred spaces, those born from mantra (mantrajā, sngags las skyes), and those born from the natural state (sahajā, lhan cig skyes). All the Sanskrit sources consulted report the masculine/neuter form kṣetrajam instead of the expected feminine kṣetrajām, but the content of the chapter describes only women.

n.316

This point marks the conclusion of Sanskrit witnesses N_{D 44-5}, UT_{M 286}, UT_{M 288}, RAS_{H 47}, BnF_{S 84}, and BnF_{S 85}. Manuscript BnF_{S 85} jumps from a fragment of Chapter 19 to a fragment of Chapter 30 on its final folio and mislabels all this material as Chapter 18.

n.318

D and S read gsum ’dres pa’i rnal ’byor dang ldan pa. It is unclear what “the three” refers to.

n.320

This translation is tentative.

n.321

The transliteration of this Apabhraṃśa passage follows D.

n.329

This and the following two chapters are attested in RST₁₅, but they only partially align with what is reported in the Tibetan translation.

n.330

Divination practices that rely on the medium of a young girl ( kumārī), or sometimes a young boy, are well attested in Buddhist and non-Buddhist tantric literature. These rites often make use of a mirror, bowl of water, painted toenail, or other reflective surface, upon which the child sees visions related to a petitioner’s questions. On this practice see Smith 2006, chapters 11 and 12, Vasudeva 2015, and Orofino 1994.

n.331

The transliteration of this Apabhraṃśa passage follows D.

n.332

This chapter is reported in RST₁₅ but does not have a title. The Tibetan title is mnyams su sbyor ba’i le’u.

n.333

The translation of this chapter is tentative and follows D.

n.334

D, F, and S read kha dog ’byung ba. RST₁₅ reads varṇavāṃsa. The translation of the title of this chapter is tentative. Only the final procedure in this chapter seems concerned with the complexion.

n.335

Following RST₁₅ sāṣṭa. D and S read sA ShA. F reads swA s+thA. This substance is unidentified.

n.336

Following N, S, and Y ha pu ri. D reads ha pu ru ru. F reads ha su ri. RST₁₅ reads uparī.

n.341

The term “water” is added to the English translation for the sake of clarity. Neither the Tibetan nor Sanskrit sources specify what is to be incanted.

n.343

D reads che ge mo las, indicating that the target’s name should be declined or expressed in the ablative case.

n.344

Following F, H, K, N, Y, and S blun po. D reads blon po.

n.345

D and S read zla ba’i sbyor ba bya ba. F omits. The practice referred to here is unknown.

n.346

The translation of this sentence is tentative, and the object of the verbs uncertain.

n.347

The Tibetan witnesses do not indicate where this response begins, so this phrase has been added to the English translation for the sake of clarity.

n.348

Following F myur bar mi rtag pa bstan na. D and S read myur ba ni rtag pa bstan na.

n.349

The colophon in F reads lha sa’i gtsug lag khang chen po/ lha sa ra mo cher mkhas pa rnams kyis zhus pa’i don du/ paN+Dita chen pos sa man ta shrI dang / zhu chen gyi lo ts+tshA wa dge slong chos rab kyis bsgyur cing zhus te gtan la phab pa’o/ phal che bas ’di pha rgyud du bshad pa (“This was translated, edited, and finalized by the great paṇḍita Samantaśrī and the great editor and translator Gelong Chörap at the request of the learned ones at Lhasa Ramoché, the great temple of Lhasa. Most say this is a father tantra”).

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po (Mahākālatantrarājanāma). Toh 440, Degé Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud ’bum, ca), folios 45.b–86.a.

nag po chen po zhes bya ba’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. 81 (rgyud ’bum, ca), pp. 154–277.

nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Phukdrak Kangyur vol. 119 (rgyud ’bum, zha), folios 1.b–61.a.

nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 95 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 439.b–496.b.

kye’i rdo rje’i rgyud (Hevajratantra). Toh 417–18, Degé Kangyur vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, ka), folios 1.a–30.a.

mgon po gsang ba dngos grub byung ba’i rgyud (Vajramahākālakrodhanātharahasyasiddhibhavatantra). Toh 416, Degé Kangyur vol. 79 (rgyud, ga), folios 263.b–292.a.

nag po chen po’i gzungs rims nad thams cad las thar byed. Toh 669, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folio 202.a. English translation The Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All Diseases and Illnesses 2023.

dpal dgon po nag po zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Śrīmahākālanāmadhāraṇī). Toh 668, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folios 201.b–202.a. English translation The Dhāraṇī of Glorious Mahākāla 2023.

dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud (Śrīmahākālatantra). Toh 667, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folios 199.a–201.b. English translation The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla 2023.

Aśvaghoṣa. dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud drag po’i brtag pa dur khrod chen po zhes bya ba’i ’grel pa (*Śrīmahākālatantrarudrakalpamahāśmaśānanāmaṭīkā). Toh 1753, Degé Tengyur vol. 28 (rgyud ’grel, sha), folios 158.a–214.a.

Sanskrit Sources

Mahākālatantra. B: Xc 14/15 (S: 81, Ṅor XI.6). c. 1148.

Mahākālatantrarāja. NGMPP D 44/5. Kathmandu: Nepal National Archive. c. 1633.

Mahākālatantrarāja. UT M 286. General Library, University of Tokyo.

Mahākālatantrarāja. UT M 288. General Library, University of Tokyo.

Mahākālatantrarāja. RAS Hodgson MS 47. Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland. c. 1800.

Mahākālatantrarāja. BnF S 84. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Départment des Manuscrits. Sanskrit 84. c. 1829.

Mahākālatantrarāja. BnF S 85. Bibliothèque nationale de France. Départment des Manuscrits. Sanskrit 85.

Secondary Sources

84000. The Dhāraṇī of Glorious Mahākāla (Śrīmahākālanāmadhāraṇī, dpal dgon po nag po zhes bya ba’i gzungs). Translated by the Dharmachakra translation committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

84000. The Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All Diseases and Illnesses (nag po chen po’i gzungs rims nad thams cad las thar byed). Translated by the Dharmachakra translation committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

84000. The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla (Śrīmahākālatantra, dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud). Translated by the Dharmachakra translation committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

Bandurski, Frank. “Übersicht über die Göttinger Sammlungen der con Rāhula Sāṅkṛtyāyana in Tibet aufgefundenen buddhistischen Sanskrit-Texte (Funde buddhistischer Sanskrit-Handschriften, III).” In Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistichen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden: Undersuchungen zur buddhistischen Literature. Göttingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1994.

Klebanov, Andrey. “The *Nepalese Version of the Suśrutasaṃhitā and Its Interrelation with Buddhism and the Buddhists.” MA thesis, Hamburg University, 2011.

Meulenbeld, G. Jan (1999). A History of Indian Medical Literature. 5 vols. Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1999.

Meulenbeld Sanskrit Names of Plants. Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries. Based on Meulenbeld, G. J. The Mādhavanidāna and Its Chief Commentary: Chapters 1–10. Leiden: Brill, 1974. Accessed October 29, 2024.

Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit–English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.

Orofino, Giacomella. “Divination with Mirrors: Observations on a Simile Found in the Kālacakra Literature.” Tibetan Studies 2 (1994): 612–28.

Pandanus Database of Indic Plants. Accessed October 29, 2024.

Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva Age.” In Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo, 41–350. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009.

Sāṅkṛtyāyana, Rāhul (1935). “Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Mss. in Tibet.” Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society 21, no. 1 (1935): 21–43.

Sāṅkṛtyāyana, Rāhul (1937). “Second Search of Sanskrit Palm-Leaf Mss. in Tibet.” Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society 23, no. 1 (1937): 1–57.

Singh, Thakur Balwant, and K. C. Chunekar. Glossary of Vegetable Drugs in Brhattrayī. Varanasi: Chaukhamba Amarabharati Prakashan, 1999.

Smith, Frederick M. The Self Possessed: Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization. New York: Columbia University Publications, 2006.

Stablein, William George. “The Mahākālatantra: A Theory of Ritual Blessings and Tantric Medicine.” PhD diss., Columbia University, 1976.

Vasudeva, Somadeva. “Prasenā, Prasīnā & Prasannā: The Evidence of the Niśvāsaguhya and the Tantrasadbhāva.” Cracow Indological Studies 16 (2014): 369–90.

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

ācārya

slob dpon

སློབ་དཔོན།

ācārya AS

g.2

action family

las kyi rigs

ལས་ཀྱི་རིགས།

karmakula

g.3

Āditya

nyi ma

ཉི་མ།

āditya

g.5

afflicted mind

ཡིད།

manas AD

g.18

amuha

a mu ha

ཨ་མུ་ཧ།

g.21

Ārdrā

ལག

ārdrā AS

g.23

arudūni

a ru dU ni

ཨ་རུ་དཱུ་ནི།

aradhuri

g.24

Āśleṣā

skag

སྐག

āśleṣā AS

g.26

asura

lha ma yin

ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།

asura AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

g.27

Aśvinī

tha skar

ཐ་སྐར།

aśvinī AD

g.28

Atharvaśabarī

a thar+ba sha ba rI

ཨ་ཐརྦ་ཤ་བ་རཱི།

*atharvaśabarī

g.30

avadhūtī

a ba d+hU tI

ཨ་བ་དྷཱུ་ཏཱི།

avadhūtī AS

g.36

Bālabhañja

bA la b+hany+dza

བཱ་ལ་བྷཉྫ།

bālañja

g.38

Bali

bA li

བཱ་ལི།

bali

g.39

bali offering

gtor ma

གཏོར་མ།

bali AS

g.49

belleric myrobalan

ba ru ra
ba ru
tu mu la

བ་རུ་ར།
བ་རུ།
ཏུ་མུ་ལ།

vibhītaka AS
vibhītaka AS
bibhītaka AS
tumūla AS

g.61

Bharaṇī

bra nye

བྲ་ཉེ།

bharaṇī AS

g.69

bilva fruit

dpal ’bras
bil ba

དཔལ་འབྲས།
བིལ་བ།

śrīphala AS
bilva AS

g.70

birch bark

gro ga
gro ga’i lo ma

གྲོ་ག
གྲོ་གའི་ལོ་མ།

bhūrja AS
bhūrjapattra AS

g.79

Bodhicittavajra

byang chub sems kyi rdo rje

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་ཀྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ།

bodhicittavajra AO

g.80

bodhisattva

byang chub sems dpa’

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།

bodhisattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.

g.82

Bogadhiga

bu ga bo ga d+hi ga

བུ་ག་བོ་ག་དྷི་ག

g.84

born from sacred spaces

zhing skyes
zhin las skyes

ཞིང་སྐྱེས།
ཞིན་ལས་སྐྱེས།

kṣetrajā AS

g.85

bottle gourd

biN+Da’i ’bras bu

བིཎྜའི་འབྲས་བུ།

piṇḍaphala RP

g.86

Brahmā

tshangs pa

ཚངས་པ།

brahman

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

g.87

Brahmā and the gods of his realm

lha dang tshangs pa

ལྷ་དང་ཚངས་པ།

*devabrahmā

g.88

breath retention

bum pa can

བུམ་པ་ཅན།

kumbhaka AD

g.91

Budha

gza’ lag

གཟའ་ལག

budha

g.101

Candra

zla ba

ཟླ་བ།

candra

g.110

chalk

thod le skor

ཐོད་ལེ་སྐོར།

kathinī AS

g.111

channel

rtsa

རྩ།

nāḍi AS

g.112

chaste tree

ha re Nu

ཧ་རེ་ཎུ།

hareṇu RP

g.115

Citrā

nag pa

ནག་པ།

citrā AD

g.116

clay drum

rdza rnga

རྫ་རྔ།

mṛdaṅga AD

g.118

cloth eye-covering

gling dkar po la
dar ling la

གླིང་དཀར་པོ་ལ།
དར་ལིང་ལ།

netrakarpaṭa AS

g.124

collyrium

mig sman

མིག་སྨན།

añjana AS

g.126

completion stage

rdzogs pa’i rim pa

རྫོགས་པའི་རིམ་པ།

utpanna AS

g.128

coṇa

tso Na

ཙོ་ཎ།

g.129

consecration

dbang bskur ba
dbang

དབང་བསྐུར་བ།
དབང་།

abhiṣeka AS

g.130

copper

zangs

ཟངས།

tamra AS

g.131

corporeal siddhi

lus kyi dngos grub
lus grub pa

ལུས་ཀྱི་དངོས་གྲུབ།
ལུས་གྲུབ་པ།

kāyasiddhi AS

g.134

cow bezoar

gi wang

གི་ཝང་།

gorocanā AS

g.137

cremation ground

dur khrod

དུར་ཁྲོད།

śmaśāna AS

g.144

ḍākinī

mkha’ ’gro ma

མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།

ḍākinī AD

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.

g.150

dark blue water lily

ut+pa la nag po
ut+pa la sngon po

ཨུཏྤ་ལ་ནག་པོ།
ཨུཏྤ་ལ་སྔོན་པོ།

kṛṣṇotpala

g.153

datura

smyo byed
thang phrom
d+ha du ra

སྨྱོ་བྱེད།
ཐང་ཕྲོམ།
དྷ་དུ་ར།

unmattaka AS
unmatta AS
dhustura AS
dhūstūra AS

g.155

delusion

rmongs pa

རྨོངས་པ།

moha

g.158

dhak tree

pa la sha

པ་ལ་ཤ།

palāśa AS

g.165

ḍombī

g.yung mo

གཡུང་མོ།

ḍombī

g.167

droṇa

བྲེ།

droṇa AD

g.168

earthen bowl

ma li ka’i snod

མ་ལི་ཀའི་སྣོད།

mallaka RP

g.169

effigy

gzugs brnyan

གཟུགས་བརྙན།

*puttalī

g.170

eight great siddhis

dngos grub chen po brgyad

དངོས་གྲུབ་ཆེན་པོ་བརྒྱད།

aṣṭamahāsiddhi AS

A loosely standardized schema for organizing some of the most important supernatural powers that one gains through the performance of rites associated with a particular deity or set of deities. The list of eight great siddhis in The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla consists of the sword (ral gri, khaḍga), collyrium (mig sman, añjana), pill (ril bu, guṭika), and swift feet (rkang mgyogs, pāduka) siddhis, rendering medicines effective (grub pa’i sman, siddhauṣadhi) and competence in the recitation of mantras (sngags rnams la nges pa, mantrārṇave nirṇaya), and the mercury (dngul chu, rasa) and alchemy (bcud len, rasāyana) siddhis.

g.171

eight metals

lcags brgyad

ལྕགས་བརྒྱད།

aṣṭaloha AS

g.172

eight nāgas

klu brgyad

ཀླུ་བརྒྱད།

aṣṭanāga AS

g.173

eight siddhis

dngos grub brgyad

དངོས་གྲུབ་བརྒྱད།

g.176

emblic myrobalan

skyu ru ra

སྐྱུ་རུ་ར།

āmalakī AS

g.179

enthralling rite

dbang du bya ba

དབང་དུ་བྱ་བ།

vaśya AS
vaśyana AS

g.180

esoteric language

dgongs pa’i skad

དགོངས་པའི་སྐད།

sandhyābhāṣa AS

g.181

expelling

bskrad pa

བསྐྲད་པ།

ucchāṭana AS

g.184

fire offering

sbyin sreg

སྦྱིན་སྲེག

homa AS

g.185

fire pit

thab khung

ཐབ་ཁུང་།

kuṇḍa AS

g.186

fire that consumes the world at the end of an eon

dus kyi me

དུས་ཀྱི་མེ།

kālāgni

g.189

five ambrosias

bdud rtsi lnga

བདུད་རྩི་ལྔ།

pañcāmṛta AS

g.190

five consecrations

dbang lnga

དབང་ལྔ།

pañcābhiṣeka AS

g.194

flight

mkha’ spyod

མཁའ་སྤྱོད།

khecari AD

g.195

flute

gling bu

གླིང་བུ།

vaṁśa AD
veṇu AS

g.198

four abodes of Brahmā

tshangs pa’i gnas bzhi

ཚངས་པའི་གནས་བཞི།

caturbrahmavihāra AS

g.203

gandharva

dri za

དྲི་ཟ།

gandharva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

g.211

generation stage

bskyed pa’i rim

བསྐྱེད་པའི་རིམ།

utpatti AS

g.218

giant milkweed

a rga

ཨ་རྒ།

arka AS

g.221

Goddess

lha mo

ལྷ་མོ།

devī AS

g.226

Graha Lords

gza’ rnams kyi gtso bo

གཟའ་རྣམས་ཀྱི་གཙོ་བོ།

grahanāyaka AD

g.227

great drum

rnga bo che

རྔ་བོ་ཆེ།

dundubhi AD

g.232

hapuri

ha pu ru ru

ཧ་པུ་རུ་རུ།

uparī

g.234

Hasta

me bzhi

མེ་བཞི།

hasta AD

g.237

heart mantra

snying po

སྙིང་པོ།

g.238

himaraṅga

hi ma rang ga

ཧི་མ་རང་ག

himaraṅga RP

g.241

hooked knife

gri gug

གྲི་གུག

g.243

human fat

tshil chen
mar khu chen po

ཚིལ་ཆེན།
མར་ཁུ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahātaila AS

g.244

human flesh

sha chen

ཤ་ཆེན།

mahāmāṁsa AS

g.248

Indian leadwort

tsi tra ka

ཙི་ཏྲ་ཀ

citraka AS

g.253

insight consort

shes rab ma

ཤེས་རབ་མ།

prajñā AS

g.259

Jambudvīpa

’dzam bu’i gling

འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།

jambudvīpa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

g.266

jujube

go la

གོ་ལ།

gola

g.282

karuli

ka ru li

ཀ་རུ་ལི།

g.286

kettle drum

rnga pa Ta ha

རྔ་པ་ཊ་ཧ།

paṭaha RP

g.298

Kṛttikā

smin drug
smin drug pa

སྨིན་དྲུག
སྨིན་དྲུག་པ།

kṛttikā AS

g.302

Kumārī

gzhon nu ma

གཞོན་ནུ་མ།

kumārī AS

g.305

kurchi

ka li ka
kA ling ka

ཀ་ལི་ཀ
ཀཱ་ལིང་ཀ

kāliṅga AS

g.310

lalanā

la la nA

ལ་ལ་ནཱ།

lalanā AS

g.318

lemon

dzam b+hi ra

ཛམ་བྷི་ར།

jambīra AS

g.319

Lhasa

ra sa

ར་ས།

g.328

lunar day

tshes

ཚེས།

tithi AS

g.329

lunar mansion

rgyu skar

རྒྱུ་སྐར།

nakṣatra AD

g.331

lunar month of Kārtika

ston zla tha chungs

སྟོན་ཟླ་ཐ་ཆུངས།

kārtikamāsa AS

g.332

lunar month of Māgha

dgun zla tha chungs
dgun zla tha chung

དགུན་ཟླ་ཐ་ཆུངས།
དགུན་ཟླ་ཐ་ཆུང་།

māgha AS

g.333

lunar month of Śrāvaṇa

dbyar zla tha chungs

དབྱར་ཟླ་ཐ་ཆུངས།

śrāvaṇamāsa AS

g.334

lunar month of Vaiśākha

dpyid zla tha chungs

དཔྱིད་ཟླ་ཐ་ཆུངས།

vaiśākhamāsa AS

g.335

lunar water

zla ba’i chu
zla ’dzin gyi chu

ཟླ་བའི་ཆུ།
ཟླ་འཛིན་གྱི་ཆུ།

g.341

Maghā

mchu

མཆུ།

maghā AS

g.342

Mahābhairava

’jigs byed chen po

འཇིགས་བྱེད་ཆེན་པོ།

mahābhairava AS

g.345

Mahākāla

nag po chen po

ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahākāla AS

g.348

mahāmudrā siddhi

phyag rgya chen po’i dngos grub

ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ཆེན་པོའི་དངོས་གྲུབ།

siddhimudrā AS

g.360

malabar nut

ba sha ka

བ་ཤ་ཀ

basaka AS
vāsaka AS

g.363

maṇḍala

dkyil ’khor

དཀྱིལ་འཁོར།

maṇḍala AS

g.364

Maṅgala

bkra shis

བཀྲ་ཤིས།

maṅgala

g.365

Mañjuśrī

’jam dpal

འཇམ་དཔལ།

mañjuśrī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

g.368

Mantrin

sngags pa

སྔགས་པ།

mantrin AD

g.372

marking nut

b+ha lA tu ka
ba la ta ki
b+ha la te ka

བྷ་ལཱ་ཏུ་ཀ
བ་ལ་ཏ་ཀི
བྷ་ལ་ཏེ་ཀ

bhallātaka AS

g.374

menstrual blood

rang ’byung
rang byung

རང་འབྱུང་།
རང་བྱུང་།

strīrajas AS
rajas AS
svayambhu AS

g.376

mercury

dngul chu
bcud blangs

དངུལ་ཆུ།
བཅུད་བླངས།

rasa AS

g.377

mercury pill

bcud sgong

བཅུད་སྒོང་།

golaka AS

g.378

mica

lhang tsher

ལྷང་ཚེར།

abhraka AS

g.381

moonlight

ri ka na ba

རི་ཀ་ན་བ།

kiraṇa RP

g.382

moringa

su b+ha any+dza nI

སུ་བྷ་ཨཉྫ་ནཱི།

sobhāñjana RP

g.385

Mount Sumeru

ri rab

རི་རབ།

sumeru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

g.387

Mṛgaśirā

smal po
mgo

སྨལ་པོ།
མགོ

mṛgaśiras AS

g.388

mudrā

phyag rgya
phyag rgya ma

ཕྱག་རྒྱ།
ཕྱག་རྒྱ་མ།

mudrā AS

g.389

mung bean

mud ga

མུད་ག

mudga AS
muṅga AS

g.390

musk

gla rtsi’i dri
gla rtsi

གླ་རྩིའི་དྲི།
གླ་རྩི།

kasturikā AS

g.394

nāga

ཀླུ།

nāga AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

g.400

Nārāyaṇa

khyab ’jug
sred med kyi bu

ཁྱབ་འཇུག
སྲེད་མེད་ཀྱི་བུ།

nārāyaṇa AS

g.402

nine dramatic sentiments

gar gyi nyams dgu

གར་གྱི་ཉམས་དགུ

navanāṭya

The nine dramatic sentiments are borrowed from South Asian performance theory (nāṭyaśāstra), where they signify nine modes of performance that evoke the specific emotional responses from an audience. The traditional list of nine includes the erotic (sgeg pa, śrṅgāra), heroic (dpa’ ba, vīra), disgusting (mi sdug pa, bībhatsa), comical (dgod pa, hāsya), wrathful (drag zhul, raudra), terrifying (’jigs su rung ba, bhayānaka), compassionate (snying rje, karuṇā), wonderous (rngam pa, adbhūta), and peaceful (zhi ba, śānta) sentiments.

g.405

no mental engagement

yid la mi byed pa

ཡིད་ལ་མི་བྱེད་པ།

amanasikāra AD

g.410

opening statement

gleng gzhi

གླེང་གཞི།

nidāna AS

g.415

painting

thang sku

ཐང་སྐུ།

paṭa AS

g.416

pala

srang

སྲང་།

pala AS

g.424

paṇḍita

paN+Di ta

པཎྜི་ཏ།

paṇḍita AD

g.427

paralyzing

rengs pa

རེངས་པ།

stambhana AS

g.428

parasodhānī

pa ra so d+hA nI

པ་ར་སོ་དྷཱ་ནཱི།

paśodhanī

g.436

pill

ril bu

རིལ་བུ།

guṭika AS

g.443

pomelo

ka ru Na

ཀ་རུ་ཎ།

karuṇa AS

g.444

portion

sum nam
man cha

སུམ་ནམ།
མན་ཆ།

māṣaka AS

g.447

practitioner

sgrub pa po

སྒྲུབ་པ་པོ།

sādhaka AD

g.449

Prajñā

shes rab

ཤེས་རབ།

g.450

Prajñābala

shes rab stobs

ཤེས་རབ་སྟོབས།

prajñābala AS

g.452

preta

pre ta

པྲེ་ཏ།

g.453

protector deity

zhing skyong

ཞིང་སྐྱོང་།

kṣetrapāla AS

g.456

Punarvasu

nab so

ནབ་སོ།

punarvasu AS

g.458

Pūrvāṣāḍhā

chu stod

ཆུ་སྟོད།

pūrvāṣāḍhā AS

g.461

quicksilver

dngul chu
su ta ka

དངུལ་ཆུ།
སུ་ཏ་ཀ

pārada AS
sūtaka AS

g.462

Ra Gelong Chörap

rwa dge slong chos rab

རྭ་དགེ་སློང་ཆོས་རབ།

g.467

Ramoché

ra mo che

ར་མོ་ཆེ།

g.468

raṇapaṇa

ra Na pa Na

ར་ཎ་པ་ཎ།

raṇapasarī

g.471

rasanā

ra sa nA

ར་ས་ནཱ།

rasanā AS

g.474

realgar

ldong ros

ལྡོང་རོས།

manaḥśilā AS

g.478

rendering medicines effective

grub pa’i sman

གྲུབ་པའི་སྨན།

siddhauṣadhi AS

g.479

Rohiṇī

snar ma

སྣར་མ།

rohiṇī AS

g.480

rohita carp

ro hi ta

རོ་ཧི་ཏ།

rohita AS

g.481

rosary pea

se ba’i ’bras bu
se ’bras bu
se ’bras

སེ་བའི་འབྲས་བུ།
སེ་འབྲས་བུ།
སེ་འབྲས།

guñjā AS

g.485

śabarī

sha du ri
sha ba ri

ཤ་དུ་རི།
ཤ་བ་རི།

śābarī AS

g.488

sādhana

sgrub thabs
sgrub pa

སྒྲུབ་ཐབས།
སྒྲུབ་པ།

sādhana AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Derived from the Sanskrit verb √sādh, “to accomplish,” the term sādhana most generically refers to any method that brings about the accomplishment of a desired goal. In Buddhist literature, the term is often specifically applied to tantric practices that involve ritual engagement with deities, mantra recitation, the visualized creation and dissolution of deity maṇḍalas, etc. Sādhanas are aimed at both actualizing spiritual attainments (siddhi) and reaching liberation. The Tibetan translation sgrub thabs means “method of accomplishment.”

g.489

saffron

gur gum

གུར་གུམ།

kuṅkuma AS

g.496

Samantaśrī

sa man+ta shrI

ས་མནྟ་ཤྲཱི།

g.499

samaya

dam tshig

དམ་ཚིག

samaya AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, in Sanskrit, “coming together.” Samaya refers to precepts given by the teacher, the corresponding commitment by the pupil, and the bond that results, which can also be the bond between the practitioner and the deity or a spirit. It can also mean a special juncture or circumstance, or an ordinary time or season.

g.500

samaya holder

dam tshig can

དམ་ཚིག་ཅན།

samayin AD

g.504

samudra

rgya mtsho

རྒྱ་མཚོ།

samudra AS

g.506

Śaniścara

gza’ spen pa
spen pa

གཟའ་སྤེན་པ།
སྤེན་པ།

śaniścara AS

g.512

sarala pine

thang shing

ཐང་ཤིང་།

sarala AD

g.517

Saturday

gza’ spen pa

གཟའ་སྤེན་པ།

śaniścaravāra AS

g.519

semen

khu ba
khams dkar po

ཁུ་བ།
ཁམས་དཀར་པོ།

śukra AS

g.520

sena

se na

སེ་ན།

senī

g.522

sense object

’dod pa’i yon tan

འདོད་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན།

kāmaguṇa AD

g.525

sesbania

dza yan ti
dza yan+ta

ཛ་ཡན་ཏི།
ཛ་ཡནྟ།

jayantī AS

g.526

seven kumārīs

gzhon nu ma bdun

གཞོན་ནུ་མ་བདུན།

saptakumārī AO

g.530

sexual yoga

kun du ru’i sbyor ba

ཀུན་དུ་རུའི་སྦྱོར་བ།

kunduruyoga

g.532

siddhi

dngos sgrub
grub pa

དངོས་སྒྲུབ།
གྲུབ་པ།

siddhi AS

g.535

silver

dngul

དངུལ།

rūpya AS
raupya AS

g.540

Śiva

zhi ba

ཞི་བ།

śiva AS

g.541

six perfections

pha rol tu phyin pa drug

ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག

ṣaṭpāramitā

g.543

small mass

ri lu

རི་ལུ།

vaṭika AS

g.549

sour gruel

kany+dzi
kan dzi

ཀཉྫི།
ཀན་ཛི།

kāñjika AS

g.554

śrāvaka

nyan thos

ཉན་ཐོས།

śrāvaka AD

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

g.558

state of utter joy

shin tu dga’ ba

ཤིན་ཏུ་དགའ་བ།

g.559

statue

lugs ma

ལུགས་མ།

*pratimā

g.560

steel

dngul

དངུལ།

tīkṣna AS

g.563

sudarśana

legs mthong ba
su dar sha na

ལེགས་མཐོང་བ།
སུ་དར་ཤ་ན།

sudarśana AS

g.565

śūdra

dmangs rigs

དམངས་རིགས།

śūdra AS

g.569

sukhadāyī

su kha da yI

སུ་ཁ་ད་ཡཱི།

sukhadāyī AS

g.575

summoning rite

rab tu dgug pa
dgug pa

རབ་ཏུ་དགུག་པ།
དགུག་པ།

āgama AD
āgamana AD

g.577

Sunday

gza’ nyi ma

གཟའ་ཉི་མ།

ādityavāra AS

g.581

Sūrya

nyi ma

ཉི་མ།

sūrya

g.583

Svāti

sa ri

ས་རི།

svāti AS

g.585

swift feet

rkang mgyogs

རྐང་མགྱོགས།

pāduka AS

g.586

sword

ral gri

རལ་གྲི།

khaḍga AS

g.587

symbol

phyag rgya

ཕྱག་རྒྱ།

mudrā AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A seal, in both the literal and metaphoric sense. Mudrā is also the name given to an array of symbolic hand gestures, which range from the gesture of touching the earth displayed by the Buddha upon attaining awakening to the numerous gestures used in tantric rituals to symbolize offerings, consecrations, etc. Iconographically, mudrās are used as a way of communicating an action performed by the deity or a specific aspect a deity or buddha is displaying, in which case the same figure can be depicted using different hand gestures to signify that they are either meditating, teaching, granting freedom from fear, etc. In Tantric texts, the term is also used to designate the female spiritual consort in her various aspects.

g.588

system of channels

rtsa’i ’khor lo

རྩའི་འཁོར་ལོ།

nāḍīcakra AS

g.590

tambura

tam bu ra

ཏམ་བུ་ར།

g.597

three myrobalan fruits

'bras bu gsum

འབྲས་བུ་གསུམ།

triphala AS

g.599

three-leaved caper

ba ru Na

བ་རུ་ཎ།

varuṇa AS

g.600

threefold world

khams gsum
sa gsum
’jig rten gsum

ཁམས་གསུམ།
ས་གསུམ།
འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ།

g.603

tin

zha nye

ཞ་ཉེ།

vaṅga AS

g.607

Trikāmadevī

lha mos ’dod pa gsum

ལྷ་མོས་འདོད་པ་གསུམ།

trikāmadevī

g.609

Tuesday

gza’ mig dmar
gza’ bkra shis

གཟའ་མིག་དམར།
གཟའ་བཀྲ་ཤིས།

maṅgalavāra AS

g.610

turmeric

yung ba

ཡུང་བ།

haridrā AS

g.612

ultimate reality

de bzhin nyid
de kho na

དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
དེ་ཁོ་ན།

tattva

g.613

Umā

u mA

ཨུ་མཱ།

umā

g.614

union

rnal ’byor

རྣལ་འབྱོར།

yoga

g.616

untouchable

reg mi btub pa

རེག་མི་བཏུབ་པ།

asparśana AS

g.623

vajra

rdo rje

རྡོ་རྗེ།

vajra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term generally indicates indestructibility and stability. In the sūtras, vajra most often refers to the hardest possible physical substance, said to have divine origins. In some scriptures, it is also the name of the all-powerful weapon of Indra, which in turn is crafted from vajra material. In the tantras, the vajra is sometimes a scepter-like ritual implement, but the term can also take on other esoteric meanings.

g.626

vajra dwelling

rdo rje’i khyim

རྡོ་རྗེའི་ཁྱིམ།

vajragṛha AS

g.628

vajra family

rdo rje’i rigs

རྡོ་རྗེའི་རིགས།

vajrakula

g.630

vajra stages

rdo rje’i rim pa

རྡོ་རྗེའི་རིམ་པ།

kuliśakrama AS

g.631

Vajrabhūtinī

rdo rje ’byung mo

རྡོ་རྗེ་འབྱུང་མོ།

vajrabhūtinī

g.632

Vajrasattva

rdo rje sems dpa’

རྡོ་རྗེ་སེམས་དཔའ།

vajrasattva AS

g.643

velvet bean

se b+hi
sim pa
sim b+hi

སེ་བྷི།
སིམ་པ།
སིམ་བྷི།

śimbī AS

g.648

vighna

bgegs

བགེགས།

vighna AS

g.652

vital wind

rlung

རླུང་།

prāṇa AD

g.653

watch

thun tshod
thun

ཐུན་ཚོད།
ཐུན།

prahara AS

g.657

Wednesday

gza’ lag

གཟའ་ལག

budhavāra AS

g.659

white Chinese hibiscus

o d+ha dkar po

ཨོ་དྷ་དཀར་པོ།

śukloḍra AS

g.663

wick

sdom pa

སྡོམ་པ།

vartī AS

g.665

yakṣa

gnod sbyin

གནོད་སྦྱིན།

yakṣa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

g.666

yakṣiṇī

gnod sbyin mo

གནོད་སྦྱིན་མོ།

yakṣiṇī AS

g.667

Yama

gshin rje

གཤིན་རྗེ།

yama

g.670

yellow myrobalan

a ru ra

ཨ་རུ་ར།

harītakī AS

g.671

yellow orpiment

ba bla

བ་བླ།

haritāla AS

g.672

yoginī

rnal ’byor gyi ma
rnal ’byor ma

རྣལ་འབྱོར་གྱི་མ།
རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ།

yoginī AS

g.673

yuga

dus tshigs

དུས་ཚིགས།

yuga AS

The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla Chapter 14: Mercury Sādhanas

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The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla
Chapter 14: Mercury Sādhanas