The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem
Toh 539e
Degé Kangyur, vol. 88 (rgyud, na), folio 83.b (in par phud printings), 100.b (in later printings)
Imprint
First published 2024
Current version v 1.0.4 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Catherine Dalton produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor edited the translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Introduction
The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem includes a short dhāraṇī and instructions to polish a gemstone while reciting the dhāraṇī. This is said to result in a boundless rain of offerings, which the reciter is then meant to offer.
The text is found twice in the Kriya Tantra section (Toh 539e1 and Toh 774) as well as in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section (Toh 1074)2 of the Degé Kangyur.
The work lacks a Sanskrit title and a translators’ colophon, and it is not listed in any of the imperial catalogs, nor does it appear at Dunhuang, so it is difficult to assess when it was translated into Tibetan. We are unaware of any extant Sanskrit text or Chinese translation of The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem.
This translation was made on the basis of the three Degé Kangyur recensions of the text, with reference to the Stok Palace edition as well as the notes to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur. There are no major discrepancies among the recensions consulted. The dhāraṇī itself is transcribed exactly as it appears in Toh 539e.
Text Body
The Translation
[F.83.b] [F.100.b]
Homage to the Three Jewels.
oṃ smara smara| vismanaskara mahājava hūṃ|
Say this as a gem is polished. Imagine that by doing this a boundless rain of jeweled parasols, banners, and the like fills the whole of the sky, and offer this.
This completes “The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem.”
Notes
Two sets of folio references have been included in this translation due to a discrepancy in volume 88 (rgyud ’bum, na) of the Degé Kangyur between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings. In the latter case, an extra work, Bodhimaṇḍasyālaṃkāralakṣadhāraṇī (Toh 508, byang chub snying po’i rgyan ’bum gyi gzungs), was added as the second text in the volume, thereby displacing the pagination of all the following texts in the same volume by 17 folios. Since the eKangyur follows the later printing, both references have been provided, with the highlighted one linking to the eKangyur viewer.
Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 1074 version of this text within vol. 101 or 102 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 1074, n.2, for details.
Bibliography
rin po che brdar ba’i gzungs. Toh 539e, Degé Kangyur vol. 88 (rgyud, na), folio 83.b.
rin po che brdar ba’i gzungs. 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. 88, p. 332.
rin po che brdar ba’i gzungs. Toh 774, Degé Kangyur vol. 86 (rgyud, wa), folio 112.b.
rin po che brdar ba’i gzungs. 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. 96, p. 370.
rin po che bdar ba’i gzungs. Toh 1074, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, waṃ), folio 239.b.
rin po che bdar ba’i gzungs. 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. 98, p. 825.
rin po che brdar ba’i gzungs. Stok Palace Kangyur vol 109 (rgyud, tsha), folio 277.b.
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.
dhāraṇī
- gzungs
- གཟུངས།
- dhāraṇī