The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī
Notes
Toh 543
Degé Kangyur, vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folios 88.a–334.a (in 1737 par phud printing), 105.a–351.a (in later printings)
- Kumārakalaśa
- Śākya Lodrö
Imprint

Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
Current version v 1.21.34 (2025)
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.
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa is the largest and most important single text devoted to Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom. A revealed scripture, it is, by its own classification, both a Mahāyāna sūtra and a Mantrayāna kalpa (manual of rites). Because of its ritual content, it was later classified as a Kriyā tantra and assigned, based on the hierarchy of its deities, to the Tathāgata subdivision of this class. The Sanskrit text as we know it today was probably compiled throughout the eighth century ᴄᴇ and several centuries thereafter. What makes this text special is that, unlike most other Kriyā tantras, it not only describes the ritual procedures, but also explains them in terms of general Buddhist philosophy, Mahāyāna ethics, and the esoteric principles of the early Mantrayāna (later called Vajrayāna), with an emphasis on their soteriological aims.
Acknowledgements
This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical translated the text from the Sanskrit manuscripts, prepared the Sanskrit edition, and wrote the introduction. Paul Thomas, Ryan Damron, Anna Zilman, Bruno Galasek, and Adam Krug then compared the translation draft against the Tibetan text found in the Degé and other editions of the Tibetan Kangyur. Wiesiek Mical then completed the translation by incorporating all the significant variations from the Tibetan translation either into the English translation itself or the annotations.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of 中國宗薩寺堪布彭措郎加, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Colophon
By order of the glorious ruler and renunciant king Jangchub O, this text was translated, edited, and finalized by the great Indian preceptor and spiritual teacher Kumārakalaśa and the translator Lotsawa and monk Śākya Lodrö.3397
Abbreviations
Abbreviations Used in the Introduction and Translation
| C | Choné Kangyur |
|---|---|
| D | Degé Kangyur |
| H | Lhasa Kangyur |
| J | Lithang Kangyur |
| K | Kangxi Kangyur |
| L | Shelkar Kangyur |
| MMK | Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa |
| N | Narthang Kangyur |
| Skt. | Sanskrit text of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa as it is represented in the appendix |
| TMK | Tārāmūlakalpa |
| Tib. | Tibetan text of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa as witnessed in the Pedurma Kangyur |
| Y | Yongle Kangyur |
Abbreviations Used in the Appendix—Sources for the Sanskrit text of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa (MMK)
Published editions
| M | Martin Delhey 2008 |
|---|---|
| S | Śāstrī 1920–25 |
| V | Vaidya 1964 |
| Y | Jayaswal 1934 (the section containing chapter 53 from Śāstrī’s edition of the MMK corrected by Rāhula Saṅkṛtyāyana) |
Manuscripts
| A | NAK (National Archives, Kathmandu) accession no. 5/814 |
|---|---|
| B | NAK accession no. 3/303 |
| MSS | all manuscripts (as used for any given section of text) |
| R | NAK accession no. 3/645 |
| T | manuscript accession no. C-2388 (Thiruvananthapuram) |
Tibetan sources
| C | Choné (co ne) Kangyur |
|---|---|
| D | Degé (sde dge) Kangyur |
| H | Lhasa (lha sa/zhol) Kangyur |
| J | Lithang (li thang) Kangyur |
| K | Kangxi (khang shi) Kangyur |
| N | Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur |
| TMK | Tibetan translation of the Tārāmūlakalpa (Toh 724) |
| Tib. | Tibetan translation (supported by all recensions in the Pedurma Kangyur) |
| U | Urga (phyi sog khu re) Kangyur |
| Y | Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur |
Critical apparatus
| * | text illegible (in a manuscript) |
|---|---|
| + | text reported as illegible in S, or in Delhey’s transcript of manuscript A |
| ? | text illegible (in a printed edition) |
| [] (square brackets) | text hard to decipher (in a manuscript) |
| ] | right square bracket marks the lemma quoted from the root text |
| a.c. | ante correctionem |
| conj. | conjectured |
| em. | emended |
| lac. | lacunae in the text (physical damage to the manuscript) |
| m.c. | metri causa |
| om. | omitted |
| p.c. | post correctionem |
| r | recto |
| v | verso |
| † (dagger) | text unintelligible |
| • (middle dot) | lack of sandhi or partial sandhi |
Notes
D. 276.b.1–277.a.2 = Skt. 37.10–37.16.
D. 277.a.2–277.a.7 = Skt. 37.2.2–37.4.3 (Skt. 37.4.4–37.5.2 om. Tib.).
D. 277.a.7–277.b.2 = Skt. 37.5.3.4–37.9 (Skt. 37.8 om. Tib.).
The Tibetan text then begins to align again with the Skt. at D. 277.b.2, which corresponds to the material in Skt. 37.17.
*This ni is assumed to represent the first initial of a name and not the usual nominative particle, following the pattern already established in this section of verses. It is also quite possible that this is a scribal error for na that has been mistakenly rendered to look like a nominative particle ni in the Tibetan.
** The Tibetan translation of this line is problematic and does not resolve the issue with the Skt. rendering of this line mentioned above.