co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

This text presents a dhāraṇī featuring the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess), which issues from the uṣṇīṣa of the Buddha Śākyamuni as he rests in samādhi among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The text details a litany of dangers, illness, and threats and provides a spell formula that can be recited to avert them. Sitātapatrā and her spell have enjoyed a long history and sustained popularity as a source of security against illness and misfortune, and her spell is widely used in contemporary Buddhist communities to this day.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by Samye Translations under the guidance of Phakchok Rinpoche. The translation and was produced by Stefan Mang, Roger Espel Llima, Ryan Conlon, and Paul Thomas. It was revised and finalized by the 84000 editorial team.

ac.­2

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Invincible Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata” (Toh 593) is one of four texts preserved in the Degé Kangyur (Toh 590–93) dedicated to the female deity Sitātapatrā (gdugs dkar po can), the White Umbrella Goddess. Though these four texts differ somewhat in length and arrangement, they all share the same core material and thus represent four unique variations of a single work. At the heart of each of these texts is a series of spell formulas that can be recited to avert a wide array of threats to health, well-being, and prosperity. The spell of Sitātapatrā has enjoyed sustained popularity as a source of security and protection in numerous Buddhist communities, as evidenced by its long and complex textual history and the numerous languages into which it has been translated. The four texts translated into Tibetan and preserved in Kangyur reflect distinct stages of the spell’s evolution, stages that mirror its development in the broader Buddhist community. Toh 593, The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Invincible Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata,” is nearly identical to Toh 592, which shares the same title, differing primarily in the inclusion of the introductory narrative and conclusion it shares with Toh 590 and 591.

i.­2

Three of the four canonical translations of the Sitātapatrā texts, including Toh 593, include a scriptural introduction (nidāna; gleng gzhi) that sets the stage for Śākyamuni’s revelation of the deity and her spell.1 The text begins in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, where Śākyamuni is resting in samādhi among an assembly of monks, bodhisattvas, and the gods of the realm. While he is deep in samādhi, the spell issues from his uṣṇīṣa, resounding in full throughout the assembly. It begins with a long series of homages to the Three Jewels, an array of buddhas and other realized beings, and a number of gods and other figures from the brahmanical pantheon, including Brahmā, Indra, Śiva, and Viṣṇu. This opening homage is followed by verses invoking Sitātapatrā in the form of various female deities, including Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, and Pāṇḍaravāsinī, thereby equating her with many of the most renowned female deities of the Buddhist tradition. Most of the teaching is dedicated to a series of spells and other recitation formulas that enjoin Sitātapatrā to intervene on the practitioner’s behalf to avert an exhaustive list of diseases, afflictions, rival spells, and the adverse influences of supernatural beings. The text concludes with a description of the effectiveness of the spell and the benefits of relying on Sitātapatrā.

Sitātapatrā and Her Spell

i.­3

Sitātapatrā is at once the name of a spell and the deity it invokes. In the title of Toh 590 and throughout all four texts, Sitātapatrā is called a vidyā, a term that refers to both a class of deities and a type of magical formula, thus indicating their inseparability. To recite Sitātapatrā’s spell‍—or to wear it, inscribe it on a talisman, insert it into a caitya, and so forth‍—is to summon the powerful deity to intercede on one’s behalf. The primary name of the spell in Sanskrit is sarva­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrā,2 which is somewhat ambiguous given that the precise relationship between the compound sarva­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa (“uṣṇīṣa[s] of all tathāgatas”) and sitātapatrā can be read in a number of plausible ways. The Tibetan translators settled on a specific interpretation by inserting the phrase nas byung ba (“born from”) in all versions of the title so that it reads, in Tibetan translation, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas.3 As this aligns well with the setting of the sūtra, in which the spell emerges from Śākyamuni’s uṣṇīṣa, we have followed this interpretation here.

i.­4

As a magical formula, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathagatas is alternatively referred to as a vidyā (“spell”), a mahāvidyārajñī (“great queen of spells”), a dhāraṇī, and a mantra. These terms are used interchangeably to refer to the magical formulas that are used to avert the threats of disease, misfortune, aggression, and the influence of supernatural beings. Because the spell is held to be specifically effective for averting these threats before they strike, the spell is designated a pratyaṅgirā, an “averting ” or “counter” spell. And, because it is regarded as highly potent for this purpose, it is further referred to as aparājitā (“invincible”).4

i.­5

The dangers Sitātapatrā can capably avert are enumerated in great detail and include a litany of physical illness and mental disorders, a vast demonology of supernatural forces that cause illness and distress, threats from kings, poisons, and animals, and even a detailed list of rival magical traditions whose spells pose a potential threat. Given this exhaustive treatment of the benefits of the spell, it is noteworthy that the path to liberation and the attainment of buddhahood are never mentioned. While it can be implicitly understood that averting disease, calamity, and supernatural dangers are requisites for the pursuit of awakening, spiritual goals are clearly subordinated in these texts to the goal of alleviating the worldly anxieties shared by all beings, Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike.

i.­6

The texts on Sitātapatrā preserved in the Kangyur do not provide a detailed iconography of the goddess, saying only that she has a thousand heads, a thousand arms, a thousand legs, and a trillion eyes. This form of Sitātapatrā is still popular in the contemporary Buddhist tradition, but she is also depicted in a number of other forms in the various practice manuals derived from the canonical texts. This includes forms of the goddess with one face and two arms (Toh 3084), three faces and six arms (Toh 3114), and five faces and eight arms (Toh 2689).5

i.­7

The circulation of texts on Sitātapatrā can be traced back to at least the eighth century, which is the proposed date of the earliest textual witnesses available.6 Given that the earliest versions of the spell were discovered in Central Asia, it is clear the spell was popular well before this time.7 Sitātapatrā continues to be relevant in the contemporary Vajrayāna traditions of Buddhism, especially in Nepal and Tibet, as demonstrated by the numerous copies of her spell that circulate. In Tibet, the Sitātapatrā spell was widely popular from an early period, as indicated by the large number of Sitātapatrā texts discovered at Dunhuang.8 A version of the Sitātapatrā spell is also said to have been specifically translated for Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde’u btsan, r. 756–800), as we find it included among the “ten royal sūtras” (rgyal po’i mdo bcu) translated for the king at Padmasambhava’s recommendation.9 Numerous practice manuals and ritual texts for Sitātapatrā have been composed in Tibet into recent times, many of which draw explicitly from the canonical sources.10

The Canonical Texts

i.­8

The four Sitātapatrā texts preserved in the Degé Kangyur are classified as kriyātantras, and they are further categorized among texts associated with the tathāgata family and listed alongside texts associated with other uṣṇīṣa deities such as Uṣṇīṣavijayā.11 As is often the case with spells and dhāraṇīs, the Sitātapatrā spell is also included in the Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs ’dus) of the Degé Kangyur as Toh 985 and 986, which correspond to Toh 590 and 592. The four canonical texts (Toh 590–593) represent four distinct versions of the same spell that are largely equivalent in terms of content, translation style, and terminology. Two of the four lack a colophon describing the context of their translation, but it is nonetheless apparent that the later versions of the text are in fact revisions of earlier Tibetan translations based on newly-available Sanskrit sources rather than distinct translations. Though many ambiguities remain, the four works offer us an important view into the long textual history of both the Indic source material and its Tibetan translations.

i.­9

Toh 590, The Noble Invincible Great Queen of Spells for Averting Called “Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of All Tathāgatas” (Ārya­sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrā­nāmā­parājitapratyaṅgirā­mahāvidyārājñī; ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gtsug tor nas byung ba gdugs dkar po can zhes bya ba gzhan gyis mi thub ma phyir zlog pa’i rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen mo), the longest of the four and most closely aligned with the more recent Sanskrit witnesses, lacks a translator’s colophon, so it is impossible to determine its date, but its length and its similarity to the later Sanskrit manuscripts suggests that it is the most recent of the versions in the Kangyur. A unique, alternative translation of the text corresponding to Toh 590 is preserved in the Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur. This translation, which was made by the eleventh-century Indian paṇḍita Vibhūticandra and the Tibetan translator Sherap Rinchen (shes rab rin chen), is a revision of Toh 590 based on additional Sanskrit manuscripts not available to the anonymous translator of Toh 590.12 Toh 590 was also revised or retranslated in the fifteenth century by Sönam Nampar Gyalwa (bsod nams rnam par rgyal ba; 1401–75) of Jampa Ling monastery (byams pa gling) in Central Tibet. His translation, which is available only in his collected writings, was based on his own study of Indic manuscripts and consultation with the Burmese Buddhist paṇḍita Alaṅkāraśrī of Haṃsāvati (Pegu).

i.­10

Toh 591, titled The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Supreme Accomplishment of Invincible Averting, Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata” (Ārya­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrāparājita­mahāpratyaṅgiraparamasiddha­nāmadhāraṇī; ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa phyir zlog pa chen mo mchog tu grub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs), is shorter than Toh 590 and in this regard is perhaps closer in content to Toh 592 and 593 in lacking many of the lines in the opening homage found in Toh 590, but it nonetheless represents a distinct arrangement of the material in dividing the verse section listing the names and epithets of the goddess into two sections interspersed with one of the spell formulas. It is also unique for designating two of the spell formulas as “essence mantra” (snying po) and “subsidiary essence mantra” (nye ba’i snying po), designations that are not found in any of the Sanskrit sources consulted. Toh 591 identifies itself not as a translation but as a revision of a prior Tibetan translation. The colophon does not use the verb “translated” (bsgyur) but instead tells us that this version, prepared by the Kashmiri master Parahitabhadra (ca. eleventh century) and the Tibetan translator Zu Gawé Dorjé (gzu dga’ ba’i rdo rje), is based on a comparison of a prior translation with an “old” manuscript discovered at the Amṛtabhavana monastery in Kashmir.13 Though the prior translation that served as the basis for the revisions of Toh 591 cannot be definitively identified, it seems probable that the version was either Toh 592, Toh 593, or a version similar to those translations.

i.­11

Toh 592 and 593, both of which are titled The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Invincible Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata” (Ārya­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrā­nāma­parājitānāma­dhāraṇī; ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs), are nearly identical versions of the Sitātapatrā spell. Toh 592 lacks the scriptural introduction and conclusion found in Toh 593 but otherwise varies only slightly and in a manner more consistent with scribal errors and editorial interventions than differences in the source material. Toh 592 lacks a translator’s colophon, making it difficult to determine its origin, but a text with nearly the same title is recorded in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma), the imperial-period register of Tibetan translations.14 Toh 593, which does include the introductory and concluding passages absent in Toh 592, has a colophon reporting it to be a translation by the eleventh-century Kashmiri master Mahājana made without the assistance of a Tibetan translator. It is therefore possible that Mahājana’s contribution to the collection was to add the introductory and concluding material known from other Sitātapatrā sources. Mahājana’s colophon identifies the text as a “version of the Uṣṇīṣa” that is “the shorter of those of the heavenly realm.”15 This ambiguous statement is made somewhat clearer in the catalog of the Urga Kangyur, which says that Toh 593 (Urga no. 594) “is renowned as the shorter Uṣṇīṣa of the heavenly realm” (lha yul ma chung bar grags pa).16 Sönam Nampar Gyalwa (see i.­9 above) also refers to this translation as the “condensed version” (bsdus pa) of the Sitātapatrā spell.17

i.­12

A comparison of the four canonical translations of Sitātapatrā’s spell suggests that they represent three distinct branch recensions of the same source material and thus reflect the evolution of the text in the Indic tradition. Toh 590 and 591 constitute two of those branches, while Toh 592 and 593 together represent the third. This was the view of Sönam Nampar Gyalwa, who offered this statement about the relationship between the texts in the colophon to his own revision of Toh 590:

i.­13

There are three versions of this dhāraṇī rite. The most extensive is this text, The Great Queen of Vidyās (Toh 590), for which the previous translator is unidentified. The middle-length version is the one known as The Supreme Accomplishment (Toh 591), which was translated by Zu Gawé Dorjé. The concise version is [called] “the one known as the lesser of the heavenly realm” (Toh 593) and was translated by the Kashmiri paṇḍita Mahājana. There is another, shorter version of “the one known as the lesser of the heavenly realm” (Toh 592) that is distinct only for lacking the scriptural introduction. It need not be counted [separately].18

i.­14

This brief survey of the four canonical translations allows for a tentative argument to be made about the translation and propagation of this series of Sitātapatrā spells in Tibet. The spell was likely first translated during Tibet’s imperial period, as indicated by the two imperial-period catalogs, the Denkarma and Phangthangma (phang thang ma). Whereas the title of the text in the Denkarma, ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar mo can gzhan gyis mi thub pa, aligns closely with that of Toh 592/3, the title in the Phangthangma, ’phags pa gtsug tor gdugs dkar po,19 is generic and thus could refer to any of the four canonical texts, or to a different, unknown version. It is possible that the earliest version of the four canonical texts is Toh 592,20 which lacks a colophon indicating its provenance. If this is the text recorded in the Denkarma it would have been translated no later than 843, the year the Tibetan empire collapsed and record of its translation efforts ceased. Toh 593, which does include a colophon dating it to the eleventh century, represents the same branch recension but, as noted above differs in its inclusion of the introductory and concluding statements‍—likely Mahājana’s specific contribution to the corpus. Toh 591, which is described in its colophon as a revision rather than a new translation, was also prepared in the eleventh century. It differs only slightly from Toh 592/3, primarily in its unique arrangement of the material. Thus it appears that Toh 591 and 593 comprise a second period of translation of the Sitātapatrā spell in the eleventh century, one in which the earlier translation represented by Toh 592 served as a primary point of reference. It is especially noteworthy that this second wave primarily involved Indian masters and manuscript witnesses from Kashmir.21 Thus, Toh 590 is likely the last of the translations to be produced, and then was revised two additional times as described above.22

Other Sources

i.­15

As noted above, the widespread popularity of Sitātapatrā is attested by the broad circulation of the Sitātapatrā spell. Numerous versions are preserved in Sanskrit, Khotanese, Chinese, Old Uyghur, and Tibetan, thus demarcating its circulation throughout South Asia, the Himalayan region, Central Asia, and China. What is perhaps the oldest documented Sanskrit witness of the spell, tentatively dated to the eight century, was discovered at Dunhuang and written in a Gupta script unique to Central Asia.23 This version, published in 1963 by H. W. Bailey, was consulted for this translation. The popularity of Sitātapatrā in the Newar Buddhist tradition is evident in the large number of extant Sanskrit manuscript witnesses of the spell scribed in Nepal. Many of these versions are found in the numerous dhāraṇī collections (dhāraṇī­saṅgraha) popular in the Newar tradition. Most of the available manuscripts are relatively recent, dating no earlier than the eighteenth century. A representative collection of Nepalese manuscripts was consulted for this translation, the most noteworthy version of the spell being found in Cambridge Ms. Add 1326, a dhāraṇī­saṅgraha compiled in 1719.24 This version, like most Nepalese versions consulted, most closely aligns with Toh 590.25

i.­16

Also noteworthy are the versions of the spell composed in Old Uyghur, which were translated from an unknown source language in likely the thirteenth or fourteenth century.26 The manuscripts were discovered in Turfan in the early twentieth century and are now dispersed among various European and Russian manuscript archives.27

i.­17

There are two Chinese translations of works that are similar in title and content to Toh 590, but a close comparison of the Tibetan and Chinese translations is needed to determine precisely how the two Chinese translations and four Tibetan translations align. Taishō 976, Fo ding dabai sangai tuoluoni jing (佛頂大白傘蓋陀羅尼經), was translated by the Tangut monk Shaluoba (1279–1314), and Taishō 977, Fo shuo dabai sangai zong chi tuoluoni jing (佛說大白傘蓋總持陀羅尼經), was translated by Zhen Zhi sometime during the Yuan period (1271–1368). Based on these dates it would appear that both Chinese translations significantly postdate the Tibetan translations preserved in the Kangyur.

i.­18

Finally, there were a number of Tibetan versions of the Sitātapatrā spell discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts.28 These versions are revealing in that they are shorter and otherwise distinct from the canonical versions, indicating one or more additional branch recensions. Some of the Dunhuang manuscripts do align with Toh 592, the canonical version proposed as the earliest, but none appear to correlate directly with Toh 590 and 591, which are believed to have been translated in or after the eleventh century, long after the Dunhuang caves had been sealed.

The Translation

i.­19

The present translation is based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace and Phukdrak versions as well as the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur. Extensive use was made of Sanskrit witnesses, including the Khotanese version and four representatives from the numerous Nepalese manuscript witnesses. Among those, Cambridge Ms. Add. 1326 and its edition prepared by Gergely Hidas proved especially useful for resolving ambiguities in the Tibetan translation and correcting minor but consequential orthographic errors in the Tibetan transliterations of Sanskrit spell formulas. Apart from those necessary corrections, the spell formulas follow the transliterations presented in the Degé version. Even with the wealth of resources available, a number of enigmatic passages remain imperfectly resolved, particularly in the verse section recounting the names and epithets of the deity. Tentative translations of these difficult passages have been offered, but they are not intended to represent a definitive interpretation.

Text Body

The Noble Dhāraṇī
The Invincible Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata
1.

The Translation

[F.224.b]


1.­1

Homage to the Three Jewels!


Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Excellent Dharma, the assembly hall of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, together with a great assembly of monks, an assembly of bodhisattvas, and Śakra, the lord of the gods. The Blessed One sat down on a seat arranged for him and entered the samādhi called uṣṇīṣa gaze. As soon as he entered this samādhi, the rite of the mantra formula issued from the center of the Blessed One’s uṣṇīṣa:

1.­2
“Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
1.­3
“Homage to the Buddha.
Homage to the Dharma.
Homage to the Saṅgha.
Homage to the seventy million completely perfect buddhas and the assembly of śrāvakas.
1.­4
“Homage to the arhats of this world.
Homage to the stream enterers.
Homage to the once-returners.
Homage to the non-returners.
Homage to those who have gone rightly in this world.
Homage to those who have acted rightly.
1.­5
“Homage to the divine ṛṣis who cast curses and have the power to benefit. [F.225.a]
Homage to the accomplished vidyādharas.
1.­6
“Homage to Brahmā.
Homage to Indra.
Homage to the blessed29 Rudra along with Umāpati.
Homage to the blessed Nārāyaṇa, worshiped by the five great mudrās.30
Homage to the blessed Mahākāla, destroyer of Tripura, who prefers to reside in a charnel ground and is worshiped by hordes of mātṛs.31
1.­7
“Homage to the Blessed One of the tathāgata family.
Homage to the lotus family.
Homage to the vajra family.
Homage to the jewel family.
Homage to the elephant family.
Homage to the youthful family.
Homage to the nāga family.
1.­8
“Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Dṛḍha­śūraraṇasena­praharaṇa­rāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Amitābha.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Akṣobhya.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Bhaiṣajya­guru­vaiḍūrya­prabha­rāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Supuṣpita­śālendrā­rāja. Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Śākyamuni.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Ratnaketurāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Samantabhadra. [F.225.b]
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Vairocana.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Vikasita­netrotpala­gandha­ketu­rāja.32
1.­9

“After paying homage to these blessed ones,33 this great spell for averting named the invincible blessed Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata annihilates all bhūtas who are grahas; disrupts all opposing spells; averts untimely death; frees beings from all that binds them; averts all malice, nightmares, and bad omens; destroys the eighty-four thousand types of grahas; appeases the twenty-eight lunar mansions; destroys the eight great celestial bodies; averts all enemies; destroys all violence, malice, and nightmares; and frees beings from poison, weapons, fire, and water.

1.­10
“She is invincible and greatly terrifying,34
Intensely fierce and greatly powerful.
She blazes brightly, is rich in splendor,
And is bright white and greatly powerful.
She is Pāṇḍaravāsinī, wreathed in flame.35
1.­11
“She is noble Tārā and Bhṛkuṭī.
Renowned as the victorious Vajramālā,36
She appears as a lotus and is marked with a vajra.
She is Aparājitā37 and Mālā.
1.­12
“She is the destroyer who bears a vajra staff,38
Worshiped by the peaceful gods,39
And of gentle appearance and rich in splendor.
She is noble Tārā, greatly powerful.
1.­13
“She is Vajraśṛṅkhalā and Aparā
And Vajrakaumārī, scion of her family.
She is the vidyā40 Kāñcanamālikā with vajra in hand,
Kusumbharatnā,41 and Vairocanā, and she is renowned as Vajroṣṇīṣā. [F.226.a]
1.­14
“She is Vijṛmbhamānikā and Vajrā
And Locanā, who eyes shine like gold.42
She is Vajratuṇḍī and Śvetā,
Kamalākṣī, and Śaśiprabhā.
1.­15

“May this entire host of mudrās43 protect me, please protect me!

1.­16

oṁ ṛṣigaṇapraśastāya sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatre hūṁ drūṁ | jambhanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | stambhanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | mahāvidyāsambhakṣanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | paravidyāsambhakṣanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | sarvaduṣṭānām stambhanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | sarvayakṣarākṣasagrahāṇāṃ vidhvaṃsanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | caturaśitīnāṃ grahasahasrāṇāṃ vidhvaṃsanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | aṣṭāviṃśatīnāṃ nakṣatrāṇāṃ prasādanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | aṣṭānāṃ mahāgrahāṇāṃ vidhvaṃsanakarī hūṁ drūṁ | rakṣa mām |44

1.­17

“Blessed Sitātapatrā, born from the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata, Vajroṣṇīṣā, great averting goddess, great goddess with a thousand arms, great goddess with a thousand heads, great goddess with a trillion eyes and indestructible blazing features, great exalted vajra goddess who rules over the maṇḍala of the three realms of existence. Protect me from everything; please protect me!

1.­18

“Oṁ, grant me auspiciousness in the face of dangers45 from rulers, thieves, fire, water, poison, weapons, opposing armies, famines, enemies, disease, thunderbolts, untimely death, earthquakes, falling meteors, royal punishment, devas, nāgas, lightning, suparṇas, and ferocious beasts.

1.­19

“Grant me auspiciousness in the face of grahas who are of devas,46 nāgas, asuras, maruts, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, [F.226.b] yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, piśācas, bhūtas, kumbhāṇḍas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas, skandas, apasmāras, unmādas, chāyās, and ostārakas!47 Grant me auspiciousness in the face of all these grahas!

1.­20

“Grant me auspiciousness in the face of those who steal energy and vitality;48 who drink blood; who consume fat, flesh, grease, marrow, and newborns; who steal life; who consume vomit, filth, and urine; who drink sewage and consume leftovers; who drink saliva and consume snot, mucus, pus, oblations, garlands, fragrances, and incense; who capture people’s minds; and who consume flowers, fruits, grains, and burnt offerings!

1.­21
“I cut and pin down the spells of all these and all grahas!49
I cut and pin down the spells of mendicants!
I cut and pin down the spells of ḍākas and ḍākinīs!
I cut and pin down the spells of Mahāpaśupati!
I cut and pin down the spells of Nārāyaṇa!
I cut and pin down the spells cast together with the true garuḍa!50
I cut and pin down the spells of Mahākāla and the hordes of mātṛs!
I cut and pin down the spells of kāpālikas! [F.227.a]
I cut and pin down the spells of Jayakara, Madhukara, and Sarvārthasiddhi!51
I cut and pin down the spells of the Four Bhaginīs!
I cut and pin down the spells of Bhṛṅgiriṭi and Nandikeśvara along with Gaṇapati!
I cut and pin down the spells of naked ascetics!
I cut and pin down the spells of arhats!
I cut and pin down the spells of those devoid of passion!
I cut and pin down the spells of Vajrapāṇi, lord of the guhyakas!
1.­22

“Homage to you, blessed Sitātapatrā, born from the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata! Protect me, please protect me!

1.­23

oṁ asitānalārkaprabhāsphuṭavikasitasitātapatre52 jvala jvala | khāda khāda | dara dara | vidara vidara53 | chinda chinda | bhinda bhinda54 | hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā | he he phaṭ | ho ho phaṭ | amoghe phaṭ | apratihatāya55 phaṭ | varapradāya56 phaṭ | pratyaṅgire phaṭ | asuravidrāvakarāya57 phaṭ | sarvadevebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvanāgebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvāsurebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvamarutebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvagaruḍebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvagandharvebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvakinnarebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvamahoragebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvayakṣebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvarākṣasebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvapretebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvapiśācebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvabhūtebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvakumbhāṇḍebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvapūtanebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvakaṭapūtanebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvaskandebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvonmādebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvachāyebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvāpasmārebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvostārakebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvadurlaṅghitebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarva duḥprekṣitebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvajvarebhyaḥ phaṭ | [F.227.b] sarvakṛtyakarmaṇakākhordebhyaḥ phaṭ | kiraṇavetāḍebhyaḥ phaṭ | cichapreṣakaduścharditebhyaḥ phaṭ | durbhuktebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvatīrthakebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvaśramaṇebhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvavidyādharebhyaḥ phaṭ | jayakaramadhukarebhyaḥ | sarvārthasādhakebhyo vidyācārebhyaḥ phaṭ58 | caturbhyo bhaginībhyaḥ phaṭ | sarvakaumārīyebhyaḥ phaṭ | vidyārajñīyebhyaḥ phaṭ | mahāpratyaṅgirebhyaḥ phaṭ | vajraśṛṅkhalāya pratyaṅgirarājāya phaṭ | mahākālāya mātṛgaṇanamaskṛtaye phaṭ | viṣṇāvīye phaṭ | brahmaṇīye phaṭ | agnīye phaṭ | mahākālīye phaṭ | kāladaṇḍīye phaṭ | indrīye phaṭ | raudrīye phaṭ | kaumārīye phaṭ | vārāhīye phaṭ | cāmuṇḍīye phaṭ | rātrīye phaṭ | kālarātrīye phaṭ | yamadaṇḍīye phaṭ | kapālīye phaṭ | adhimuktiśmaśānavāsinīye phaṭ |59

1.­24

“Dispel all beings who harbor malicious and dangerous intentions toward me; who steal vitality; who consume fetuses; who drink blood; who consume fat, flesh, grease, marrow, and newborns; who steal life; who consume vomit, filth, and urine; who drink sewage and consume leftovers; who drink saliva; who consume snot, mucus, pus, oblations, garlands, fragrances, and incense; who capture people’s minds; who consume flowers, [F.228.a] fruits, grains, and burnt offerings; and who harbor evil, malicious, or dangerous intentions.

1.­26

“Dispel all fevers that last one day, two days, three days, four days, or seven days; those that they are chronic, irregular,60 or intermittent; those that are caused by bhūtas, arise from disturbances in the wind, bile, phlegm, or from their combination; all infectious diseases and all illnesses of the brain!

1.­27

“Dispel splitting headaches,61 loss of appetite, illnesses of the eyes, nose, mouth, throat, and heart, laryngitis [F.228.b] and pain in the ears, teeth, heart, brain, neck, ribs, back, stomach, hips, pelvis, thighs, calves, hands, feet, and all the major and minor appendages!62 Please dispel them!

1.­28

“May this great averting spell of the vajra uṣṇīṣa Sitātapatrā bind the spells63 of everything within twelve yojanas, including all bhūtas, vetālas, ḍākinīs, fevers, skin disease, scabies, pruritus, leprosy, boils, skin irritations,64 erysipelas, itching, blood boils, emaciation, anxiety, poisonous brews, poisonous compounds, kākhordas, fire, water, pestilence, enemies, harm, untimely death, tryambuka flies, tralāṭa flies, scorpions, snakes, mongooses, lions, tigers, bears, jackals, makaras, and all other life-threatening creatures such as bees. May it bind their energy! May it bind all opposing spells! May it bind all grahas!65

1.­29

tadyathā | oṁ anale anale | viṣade viṣade66 | vaire vaire | vajradhari | bandha bandhani | vajrapāṇi hūṁ phaṭ | hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā | bandha phaṭ phaṭ svāhā ||67

1.­30

“Whoever writes this great, invincible spell for averting, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, on birch bark, cloth, or tree bark and wears it on their body or around their neck will not be harmed by poison, weapons, fire, water, poisonous brews, [F.229.a] poisonous compounds, or kākhordas for as long as they live, nor will they meet an untimely death. They will become dear to all grahas, vighnas, and vināyakas. The eighty-four billion members68 of the vajra family will guard, protect, and defend them, hold them dear, and delight in them. They will recall their rebirths of the past eighty-four thousand great eons. They will never become yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, pūtanas, or kaṭapūtanas, nor will they ever be poor. They will gain a quantity of merit equal to that of the blessed buddhas as innumerable and limitless as the grains of sand in the river Ganges.

1.­31

“If one keeps this great, invincible spell for averting, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata, one will become chaste, even if one was not chaste. Those who did not observe silence will observe silence.69 The impure will become pure. Those who did not practice abstinence will practice abstinence. Those who did not fast will observe fasts.70 Even those who have committed the five acts with immediate retribution will see all their evil purified. All the obscurations resulting from their past actions will be exhausted without exception.

1.­32

“If a woman who wishes to have a child keeps this great, invincible spell for averting, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata, she will gain a child. The child will have a long life and possess merit and strength. After they pass away they will take birth in the realm of Sukhāvatī.

1.­33

“Those who are threatened by diseases71 that affect humans, livestock, or cattle [F.229.b] or by any calamities, violence, epidemics, harm, mental disturbances, and the approach of opposing armies should affix this great, invincible spell for averting, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata, to the top of a banner and worship it with great offerings. The banner should be planted at the gateway to a large city or in a city, town, market town, country, or wilderness residence. As soon as this great, invincible spell for averting has been worshiped and planted, war will be pacified, as will calamities, violence, harm, mental disturbances, and the approach of opposing armies.

1.­34

tadyathā | oṁ ṣṭoṁ bandha bandha |bdag la srungs shig srungs shig svāhā72 | rāḳsa rāḳsa māṃ | oṁ hūṁ ṣṭoṁ bandha bandha vajra | bdag la srungs shig srungs shig | rāḳsa rāḳsa mām | vajrapāṇiye hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā || oṁ sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣa avalokite mūrdhani tejorāśi || oṁ hūṁ jvala jvala | dhaka dhaka | dara dara | vidara vidara | chinda chinda | bhinda bhinda | hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā || oṁ sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣa hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā || tadyathā | oṁ anale anale | khasame khasame | vaire vaire | saumye saumye | sarvabuddhādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | oṁ sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatre hūṁ phaṭ svāhā | hūṁ mama hūṁ ni svāhā ||73

1.­35

“This should be done in connection with the Buddha.74 The nāga kings will send timely rain.”

1.­36

The buddhas and bodhisattvas, along with the world with its devas, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

1.­37

This concludes the noble dhāraṇī “The Invincible Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata.”

c.

Colophon

c.­1

This version of the Uṣṇīṣa, the shorter of those of the heavenly realm, was translated by the Kashmiri paṇḍita Mahājana75 himself.

ab.

Abbreviations

Sanskrit Sigla

CL1326 Cambridge Library Ms. Add. 1326
Dh33 Samten and Pandey, ed., Dhīḥ vol. 33
KT728 Bailey, ed., Khotanese Texts vol. 5, no. 728
RASH 77 Royal Asiatic Society Hodgson Ms. 77
UTM 441-01 University of Tokyo Library Ms. 441-01

Tibetan Sigla

D Degé Kangyur
F Phukdrak Kangyur (no. 626)
S Stok Palace Kangyur
n.

Notes

n.­1
Among the four Tibetan translations included in the Degé Kangyur, only Toh 592 lacks the introductory narrative. It shares this feature with the earliest extant Sanskrit version reported in the Khotanese manuscript and with a number of Tibetan translations preserved among the Dunhuang manuscripts.
n.­2
In most but not all citations of the spell’s name‍—either as the title of a text or as a reference to the spell within a text‍—the term “name” (nāman; zhes bya ba) immediately follows the compound sarva­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrā, thereby marking it as the primary title of the deity/spell/text. In a small number of instances the word nāman is omitted altogether, and in rare cases it is shifted to a different point in the title. The instability of the title both across and within the texts contributes to the challenge of interpreting it properly.
n.­3
Though all Tibetan translations of the title consistently insert “born from,” they are anything but consistent in their use of “all tathāgatas” (sarvatathāgataº; de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad). Many of the Tibetan translations of the title omit “all,” thus reading “the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata,” even when the Sanskrit title provided reads sarvatathāgataº. All Sanskrit sources consulted are unanimous in reading sarvatathāgataº.
n.­4
A challenge in accurately translating the title of the texts and the spell they contain is the fact that the terms pratyaṅgirā and aparājitā are used in other contexts as names of female deities and their spells. Here the terms aparājitā and pratyaṅgirā are taken as adjectives of māhāvidyārajñī or dhāraṇī, depending on the version of title used in a specific text. The decision to render it in this way is not meant to be definitive.
n.­5
For a synopsis of these forms, see Porció 2000, pp. 14–16.
n.­6
The manuscript containing the Sitātapatrā spell discovered by Aurel Stein at Dunhuang is written in a “cursive Gupta script” that Hoernle (1911, pp. 448–49 and 472–77) argues was in use beginning in the sixth century in Central Asia. He has also identified loan words used in the manuscript that would suggest it dates to the eight century. Additionally, a male deity named Sitātapatra is mentioned in The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Toh 543, Mañjuśrī­mūla­kalpa), where he is counted among the eight uṣṇīṣa kings (uṣṇīṣarāja; gtsug tor kyi rgyal po). See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020), g.1525. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī can be dated to at least the eight century (see ibid., i.2).
n.­7
On the circulation of apotropaic Buddhist literature in Inner and Central Asia, see White 2021, pp. 45-84.
n.­8
About which see below.
n.­9
Orgyen Lingpa 2001, folio 207.b.
n.­10
See for example the relatively recent work by Dudjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé (bdud ’joms ’jigs bral ye shes rdo rje), the gtsug tor gdugs dkar mo’i rgyun khyer ’bar ba’i thog brtsegs (1997), in which the author incorporates phrases, words, and spell formulas from the canonical material into an otherwise distinctive practice manual.
n.­11
Chökyi Jungné, dkar chag, folio 149.b.
n.­12
The colophon reads in full, “This was translated and finalized by the great scholar from Jagaddala [Monastery] in eastern Tibet, who is favored by the illustrious Cakrasaṃvara, by the paṇḍita Vibhūticandra, and by the monk-lotsāwa Sherap Rinchen. It surpasses the earlier versions for being translated in coordination with the commentarial literature and carefully edited by checking it against various manuscripts from Magadha in India.” (Folio 193.a: rgya gar shar phyogs ’dza’ gata ta la’i mkhas pa chen po/ dpal bde mchog gis rjes su bzung ba’i paN+Di ta b+hi b+hu ti tsan+tra dang / lo tsa+tsha ba dge slong shes rab rin chen gyis bsgyur cing zhus te gtan la phab pa’o/ ’di ni sngar gyi dpe rnams las khyad par du ’grel pa dang bstun zhing bsgyur ba dang / rgya gar yul dbus kyi dpe du ma dang gtugs te/ shin tu dag par byas pa yin no.)
n.­13
Toh 591, c.­1 paN+Di ta pa ra hi ta b+ha dra dang / lo ts+tsha ba gzu dga’ rdor gyis kha che’i bdud rtsi ’byung gnas kyi gtsug lag khang gi dpe rnying la gtugs nas gtan la phab pa.
n.­14
’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar mo can gzhan gyis mi thub pa. Denkarma F.302.a; see also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 197–98.
n.­15
Toh 593, c.­1: gtsug tor lha yul ma chung ba kha che’i paN+Di ta ma hA dz+nyA na nas rang ’gyur du mzad do. This colophon identifies the translator as Mahājñāna, but this is certainly a reference to the Kashmiri paṇḍita Mahājana, who was active in Tibet in the eleventh century and translated a number of other works. The colophon to the same translation in the Phukdrak Kangyur correctly identifies him as Mahājana. For a synopsis of the life of Mahājana, see Kano 2016, pp. 5–8.
n.­16
A Catalogue of the Urga Kanjur, p. 280, folio 54.a. The same source also identifies Toh 592 (Urga no. 593) as the version “known as the Uṣṇīṣa of the human realm, or the longer of those of the heavenly realm” (mi yul ma’am lha yul ma che bar grags pa), but the precise meaning of this statement is uncertain, as Toh 592/Urga 593 is slightly shorter than Toh 593/Urga 594. This way of referring to Toh 592 could not be confirmed in any other sources.
n.­17
See the full citation below.
n.­18
Sönam Nampar Gyalwa, gtsug gtor gdugs dkar rgyas pa rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen po, p. 736: gzungs kyi rtog pa ’di la/ rgyas pa rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen mo zhes bya ba sngon ’gyur byang med pa ’di dang / ’bring po mchog grub mar grags pa zu dga’ ba’i rdo rjes bsgyur ba dang / bsdus pa lha yul ma chung bar grags pa kha che ma hA dza nas bsgyur ba dang gsum du zad kyi/ chung ba gzhan zhig snang ba ni lha yul ma chung bar grags pa’i gleng gzhi dor ba tsam du zad pas zur du bgrang mi ’tshal lo.
n.­19
Kawagoe 2005, p. 19.
n.­20
Herrmann-Pfandt (2008, p. 198) also considers it likely that the Sitātapatrā text recorded in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) is a version of Toh 592.
n.­21
Both Mahājana, the translator of Toh 593, and Parahitabhadra, the translator of Toh 591, were from Kashmir. The colophon to Toh 591 also indicates that it was prepared on the basis of a manuscript found in Amṛtabhavana monastery.
n.­22
Toh 590 may also be linked to Kashmir, as Kashmir is directly referenced in the body of the text. The deity Mahākāla is described as “residing in a great charnel ground in Kashmir” (kha che’i dur khrod chen po na gnas pa). Among the canonical translations, this reference is unique to Toh 590, but it is also attested in the more recent Sanskrit witnesses.
n.­23
See Hoernle 1911, pp. 448–49.
n.­24
This manuscript is available digitally from the University of Cambridge Digital Library and has also been edited and published in Hidas 2021.
n.­25
Three other Nepalese versions of the Sitātapatrā spell were consulted for this translation. Royal Asiatic Society Hodgson 77, dated to 1894, preserves a unique witness of the spell that is generally aligned with Toh 590 but contains a number of variants. It is also the most corrupt of the Nepalese sources consulted. University of Tokyo Library no. 441-01, dated to 1828, is generally similar to Cambridge Ms. Add. 1326 and thus Toh 590. Finally, a version of the spell from an undated Nepalese dhāraṇī­saṅgraha was edited by Ngawang Samten and Janardan Pandey and published in volume 33 of the journal Dhīḥ. It too correlates with Toh 590, perhaps more so than the other Nepalese sources.
n.­26
Kiliç Cengiz and Turanskaya 2019, p. 20.
n.­27
About these versions of the spell, see Kiliç Cengiz 2020, and Kiliç Cengiz and Turanskaya 2019 and 2021.
n.­28
A summary of these texts and conjectures about their relationship to the canonical materials can be found in Lalou 1936 and in Porció 2000, pp. 19–24.
n.­29
Reading legs ldan here and throughout as bhagavat following the Sanskrit.
n.­30
It is not clear who the “five great mudrās” (mahāpañcamudrā; phyag rgya chen po lnga) are in the context of Nārāyaṇa.
n.­31
In the corresponding passages in the Sanskrit sources, this final clause is treated as a separate object of homage: “Homage to the one accompanied by the horde of mātṛs” (namo mātṛgaṇasahitāya Dh33, CL1326, UTM 441-01; oṁ namo mātṛgaṇavāndena sāhitāya RASH 77).
n.­32
This Sanskrit rendering is tentative, as the Tibetan term used here differs slightly from the Sanskrit sources. All Sanskrit sources consulted have Vikasitakamalotpalagandhaketurāja, a term that aligns with the Tibetan translation of the name given in Toh 590, pad+ma rgyas pa dang ut+pa la’i dri’i tog gi rgyal po.
n.­33
In the Sanskrit versions aligned with this text, as well as in Toh 590, the verbal statement “I will teach…” (pravakṣyāmi; rab tu brjod par bya) is given here, with the title of the spell as the object of the verb. Toh 593 lacks this verb and does not provide a finite verb until the end of the verse section that follows.
n.­34
In this series of verses it is difficult to determine what is a descriptive phrase and what is a proper name. Both the Tibetan and Sanskrit sources are ambiguous in places, and a number of the names/descriptive phrases are repeated. Thus, the parsing of this sequence of proper names, epithets, and adjectives that follows in these verses is tentative. The Sanskrit sources clarify that all the terms are in the feminine nominative singular, apart from the first few lines, about which see the following note.
n.­35
This translation follows the Tibetan translations in rendering the preceding lines in verse. It is in prose in all Sanskrit version consulted apart from KT728, in which the original structure is unclear from the published edition. According to the Sanskrit syntax, each of these descriptive phrases is in the accusative case (apart from KT728), marking them as adjectival phrases that construe with pratyaṅgirāṃ (the “averting [spell]”) as the object of the verb “teach,” which is absent in Toh 593. Beginning with the next verse, the syntax changes to render the epithets in the nominative singular. From that point the text is rendered in verse in the Sanskrit as well as the Tibetan sources.
n.­36
Reading rgyal ba’i rdo rje ’phreng as rgyal ba rdo rje phreng.
n.­37
The term aparājitā (gzhan gyis mi thub), “invincible,” is frequently used in this text as an adjective describing Sitātapatrā. Aparājitā is also the proper name of a protective deity, which is how the term seems to be used here.
n.­38
Conjectural for rdo rje mkhar bsnams joms pa mo, a reading unique to Toh 592 and 593. The decision to render the ambiguous phrase rdo rje mkhar bsnams as “bears a vajra staff” interprets mkhar as “staff” following KT728, which reads vajradaṇḍī (em. vajradhaṇḍī). The other Sanskrit witnesses consulted read vajratuṇḍi viśālī ca (“the vast Vajratuṇḍī”), while Toh 590 and 591 read rdo rje mchu can rnam sgeg ma (“the alluring Vajratuṇḍī”).
n.­39
Tib. zhi ba’i lha rnams kyi mchod pa. Most of the Sanskrit versions consulted read, “Peaceful, she is worshiped by vaidehas” (śāntā vaidehapujitā CL1326, Dh33, UTM 441-01).
n.­40
Reading rigs as rig based on the attested Sanskrit vajravidyā (CL1326, Dh33, UTM 441-01).
n.­41
The Tibetan reads le brgan rtsi dang rin chen ma, which could be interpreted as two names/epithets, but it is clear from the Sanskrit that this should be read as the single compound kusumbharatnā.
n.­42
The interpretation of these two lines follows Dh33, which reads ºvijṛmbhamānikā || vajrā kanakaprabhā locanāº. D reads rnam par bsgyings ma’i rdo rje dang / gser ’od lta bu’i spyan mnga’ ba. Other interpretations are possible based on variants attested in the Sanskrit and Tibetan sources.
n.­43
“Mudrās” (phyag rgya) refers to the forms of Sitātapatrā just listed.
n.­44
This can be tentatively translated as “Oṁ, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, praised by the host of ṛṣis, hūṁ drūṁ! Crusher, hūṁ drūṁ! Paralyzer, hūṁ drūṁ! Devourer of great spells, hūṁ drūṁ! Devourer of opposing spells, hūṁ drūṁ! Paralyzer of all evil ones, hūṁ drūṁ! Destroyer of all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and grahas, hūṁ drūṁ! Destroyer of the eighty-four thousand types of grahas, hūṁ drūṁ! Appeaser of the twenty-eight lunar mansions, hūṁ drūṁ! Destroyer of the eight great celestial bodies, hūṁ drūṁ! Protect, protect me!” The majority of Tibetan and Sanskrit witnesses of this dhāraṇī conclude with rakṣa rakṣa mām, but uniquely the Tibetan translators of Toh 593 translated the second rakṣa with bsrung du gsol. It has thus been included here in the translation of this dhāraṇī, rather than the next prose passage.
n.­45
This translation follows the syntax of the Sanskrit sources, in which this and each of the subsequent phrases are declined in the ablative case.
n.­46
Here and in the next paragraph the initial supplication, “Grant auspiciousness...” has been inserted for the sake of clarity in the English translation.
n.­47
F includes “revatīs” (revatīgrahāt; nam gru’i gdon), which is also found at the same point in the lists reported in the Sanskrit sources and Toh 590, 591, and 592.
n.­48
F includes “consume fetuses” (garbhahāriṇyāḥ; zas su mngal za ba) here, which aligns with the Sanskrit sources and Toh 590, 591, and 592.
n.­49
The Sanskrit versions confirm that the following sentences are in the first person singular present indicative voice. Additionally, the Tibetan phrase phur bus gdab bo suggests that the pinning is done by a kīla (“dagger”), but the Sanskrit texts indicate that the Tibetan phrase is a translation of kīlayāmi (√kīl), meaning “to pin down.” The Sanskrit versions consulted, as well as Toh 590, read kilayāmi vajrena (rdo rje phur bus gdab bo), “pin down with a vajra.”
n.­50
Following Nārāyaṇa (Viṣṇu), the ambiguous phrase nam mkha’ lding yang dag pa dang lhan cig pa has been interpreted to be a specific reference to the garuḍa who serves as Viṣṇu’s mount. An equivalent to yang dag pa dang lhan cig pa does not appear in any of the Sanskrit sources consulted.
n.­51
The precise identity of these figures is uncertain, and this translation is conjectural. In his Nāmamantrārthāva­lokinī, a commentary on the Mañjuśrī­nāmasaṅgīti, Vilāsavajra refers to three brothers named Jayakara, Madhukara, and Sarvārthasiddhikara (Tribe 2016, p. 226: jayakaramadhukara­sarvārthasiddhikarās trayo bhrātaras). In all available sources the first two names are consistently given as Jayakara and Madhukara, but the third name varies in the Sanskrit witnesses consulted. The oldest, KT728, reads ºsarvārtha(sā)dhanaº; CL1326, Dh33, and UTM 441-01 have ºsiddhikara­sarvārthasādhanaº; and RASH 77 has ºsarvārthā­siddhisādhakaº. It is possible to interpret the Sanskrit reported in these sources to read “[the spells] of Jayakara, Madhukara, and Siddhikara used to accomplish all aims (sarvārtha­sādhana).”
n.­52
Emended based on the Sanskrit sources as well as Toh 590, wherein this Sanskrit line is translated into Tibetan. D and S read, in transliteration, asitānalārkaprabhāspuṭavikāsitātapatre.
n.­53
Following the Sanskrit sources, Toh 590, 591, and 592, and F and S in reading dara dara | vidara vidara. D reads dhara dhara | vidhara vidhara.
n.­54
Following the Sanskrit sources as well as Toh 590, 591, and 592 in reading bhinda bhinda. D, F, and S read binda binda or vinda vinda.
n.­55
Emended based on the Sanskrit sources. D reads, in Tibetan transliteration, apratihatā phaṭ, F reads apratihasta phaṭ, and S reads apratihata phaṭ.
n.­56
Emended based on the Sanskrit sources and Toh 590 and 591. D and S read, in Tibetan transliteration, varapdradā phaṭ. F reads varaprada phaṭ.
n.­57
Emended based on the Sanskrit sources and Toh 590 and 591. D, F, and S read, in Tibetan transliteration, asuravidrāvaka phaṭ.
n.­58
The preceding two lines possibly reflect a corruption in the scribal transmission of Toh 593. Though there is some variation among the Sanskrit and Tibetan sources consulted, all agree that Jayakara, Madhukara, and the third figure whose name varies are included in the same compound, which accounts for the use of the dative plural form. Treating them as a single compound also aligns with their previous mention in this text above. No version of this passage apart from Toh 593 and its correlates in other Kangyur collections treats the third name separately. Similarly, vidyācārebhyaḥ (“to the masters of spells”) is treated separately in the majority of sources.
n.­59
This can be tentatively translated as “Oṁ, White Umbrella (sitātapatrā) opened broadly and shining with the white fire of the sun! Blaze, blaze! Devour, devour! Break, break! Destroy, destroy! Cut, cut! Cleave, cleave! Hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā! He he phaṭ! Ho ho phaṭ! To the unfailing one, phaṭ! To the unobstructed one, phaṭ! To the boon granter, phaṭ! To the averter, phaṭ! To the disperser of the asuras, phaṭ! To all devas, phaṭ! To all nāgas, phaṭ! To all asuras, phaṭ! To all maruts, phaṭ! To all garuḍas, phaṭ! To all gandharvas, phaṭ! To all kinnaras, phaṭ! To all mahoragas, phaṭ! To all yakṣas, phaṭ! To all rākṣasas, phaṭ! To all pretas, phaṭ! To all piśācas, phaṭ! To all bhūtas, phaṭ! To all kumbhāṇḍas, phaṭ! To all pūtanas, phaṭ! To all kaṭapūtanas, phaṭ! To all skandas, phaṭ! To all unmādas, phaṭ! To all chāyās, phaṭ! To all apasmāras, phaṭ! To all ostārakas, phaṭ! To all those difficult to violate, phaṭ! To all unsightly spirits, phaṭ! To all fevers, phaṭ! To all kākhordas and kṛtyā rites, phaṭ! To all kiraṇas and vetālas (vetāḍa), phaṭ! To all ciccas (cicha), preṣakas, and spirits of vomiting, phaṭ! To all indigestion spirits, phaṭ! To all non-Buddhists, phaṭ! To all ascetics, phaṭ! To all vidyādharas, phaṭ! To Jayakara and Madhukara, phaṭ! To those who accomplish all aims, the masters of spells, phaṭ! To the four bhaginīs, phaṭ! To all kaumārīs, phaṭ! To the queens of spells, phaṭ! To the great averters, phaṭ! To Varjaśṛṅkhala, king of averting, phaṭ! To Mahākāla, who is honored by the host of mātṛs, phaṭ! To Vaiṣṇavī, phaṭ! To Brahmaṇī, phaṭ! To Agni, phaṭ! To Mahākālī, phaṭ! To Kāladaṇḍī, phaṭ! To Indrā, phaṭ! To Raudrī, phaṭ! To Kaumāri, phaṭ! To Vārāhī, phaṭ! To Cāmuṇḍī, phaṭ! To Rātrī, phaṭ! To Kālarātrī, phaṭ! To Yamadaṇḍī, phaṭ! To Kapāli, phaṭ! To those who prefer to dwell in charnel grounds, phaṭ!”
n.­60
Tib. mi bzad pa; Skt. viṣama. While viṣama can be interpreted as “unbearable,” as the Tibetan translators did, in the context of the duration or recurrence of illness it means “irregular.”
n.­61
This translation follows the attested Sanskrit term ardhāvabhedaka. The Tibetan term, gzhogs phyed na ba, could also be interpreted as a translation of pakṣavadha, referring to hemiplegia.
n.­62
The “major” appendages would include the head, arms, legs, etc. The “minor” appendages include the nose, ears, fingers, and toes.
n.­63
Toh 592 and 593 differ here from Toh 590, 591, and the Sanskrit sources consulted in omitting the verbal statement “please dispel” (apanayantu; bsal du gsol). Toh 592 and 593 instead treat “bind the spells of” as the main verb in this passage. In Toh 590, 591, and the Sanskrit sources this is a separate verbal statement that follows “please dispel.”
n.­64
Tib. bas bldags. The Tibetan term, for which there is no Sanskrit equivalent in the sources consulted, means “cow licked” (Skt. golīḍha?) and refers to a type of skin irritation with a sensation similar to that of being licked by a cow.
n.­65
This line is unique to Toh 593.
n.­66
Viṣada (“poisoner”) is attested in the majority of sources but should perhaps be emended to viśada (“brilliant”). The confusion of sibilants is a consistent feature of Sanskrit manuscripts, thus the reading viśada is perhaps preferable. However, none of the Sanskrit and Tibetan sources consulted attest to viśada.
n.­67
This can be tentatively translated as “It is like this: Oṁ, O fire, fire! O poisoner, poisoner! O vengeful one, vengeful one! O vajra-holding goddess! Bind, O you who bind! Vajrapāṇi, hūṁ phaṭ! Bind, phaṭ phaṭ svāhā!”
n.­68
The Tibetan text of Toh 592 does not specify who the number eighty-four billion quantifies. The Sanskrit sources as well as Toh 590 refer to “vidyā deities” (vidyādevatā; rigs sngags kyi lha) here, while Toh 591 provides “goddesses” (lha mo rnams).
n.­69
Following the Sanskrit sources in reading maunin for the Tibetan thub pa.
n.­70
Though the phrasing of these two lines in Tibetan is different, it would appear that this line and the previous line translate the same line of Sanskrit text. In all Sanskrit sources consulted there is only one line related to abstinence (upavāsa), which reads anupavāsī upavāsī bhaviṣyati. In Toh 590, that line is translated into Tibetan as bsnyen gnas ma byas pa yang bsnyen gnas byas par ’gyur. In Toh 591, the same Sanskrit line is translated with smyung ba ma byas pa yang smyung ba byas par ’gyur. Here in Toh 593, as in Toh 592, both Tibetan lines appear in sequence, despite meaning the same thing. This is likely the result of revisions to the Tibetan translation without knowledge of the Sanskrit source material. Though the two lines are essentially synonymous, they have both been translated here with slightly different English terminology to preserve the reading of this text.
n.­71
Tib. nad. The Sanskrit sources all read ºmāra, which could be understood as “obstacles,” or perhaps “fatalities.”
n.­72
Curiously, and unlike any of the other Tibetan translations, the Tibetan equivalent of rakṣa rakṣa mām was inserted into the Sanskrit mantra immediately before the Sanskrit it translates. It has been left untranslated here but has been translated along with the corresponding Sanskrit in the footnote.
n.­73
This can be tentatively translated as “It is like this: Oṁ ṣṭoṁ, bind, bind! Protect me, protect, svāhā! Protect me, protect, svāhā! Oṁ ṣṭoṁ, bind, bind, vajra! Protect me, protect! Protect me, protect. To Vajrapāṇi, hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā! Oṁ, the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, a mass of brilliance on the head that gazes down! Oṃ, blaze, blaze! Burn, burn! Break, break! Destroy, destroy! Cut, cut! Cleave, cleave! Hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā! Oṁ, the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā! It is like this: Oṁ, O fire, fire! O one equal to space, equal to space! O vengeful one, vengeful one! O gentle one, gentle one! O you who are empowered by the blessings of all the buddhas! Oṁ Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣas of all tathāgatas, hūṁ phaṭ! Hūṁ mama hūṁ ni svāhā!”
n.­74
Tib. sangs rgyas rnal ’byor du bya; Skt. buddhayogena… kartavyā. This enigmatic statement, which varies significantly across the Tibetan versions, perhaps indicates that one should recite this formula while meditating on or contemplating the Buddha, or perhaps in the presence of an image of a buddha.
n.­75
The Tibetan text of the D reads Mahājñāna (ma hA dz+nyA na), but this translation follows F in reading ma hA dza na, which better reflects the name of the known historical figure. For a synopsis of the life of this Kashmiri paṇḍita active in the second half of the eleventh century, see Kano 2016, pp. 5–8.
b.

Bibliography

Sanskrit Sources

Ārya­sarva­tathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrā­nāmāparājitāpratyaṅgirā­mahāvidyārājñī. Cambridge Ms. Add. 1326, folios 115.v–123.v. University of Cambridge Digital Library. Accessed July 26, 2022.

Ārya­sarva­tathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrā­nāmāparājitām Vidyārājñīm Mahāpratyaṅgirām. General Library, University of Tokyo Ms. 441-01. Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. Accessed July 26, 2022.

Bailey, H. W., ed. Sitātapatrā Dhāraṇī. In Indo-Scythian Studies: Being Khotanese Texts Volume V, 359–67. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1963.

Hidas, Gergely, ed. Ārya­sarva­tathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrā­nāmāparājitāpratyaṅgirā­mahāvidyārājñī (Cambridge Ms. Add. 1326). In Powers of Protection: The Buddhist Tradition of Spells in the Dhāraṇī­saṃgraha Collections, 188–95. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021.

Mahāpratyaṅgirā Mahāvidyārajñji Dhāraṇī. RAS Hodgson Ms. 77. Royal Asiatic Society, London.

Samten, Ngawang, and Janardan Pandey, ed. “Āryasarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrānāmāparājitapratyaṅgirāmahāvidyārājñī.” Dhīḥ 33 (2002): 145–54.

Tibetan Sources

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Ārya­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrā­nāmāparājitā­dhāraṇī). Toh 593, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 224.b.–229.b.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa zhes bya 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. 90, pp. 740–58.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar mo can gzhan gyis mi thub ma zhes ba ba’i gzungs. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 104 (rgyud, pa), folios 251.b–259.a.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub ma zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Ārya­sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatre nāmāparājita­dhāraṇī). Phukdrak Kangyur (no. 626) vol. 117 (rgyud, dza), folios 174.b–192.b.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar mo can gzhan gyis mi thub pa phyir bzlog ma chen mo mchog tu grub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Ārya­tathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātāparajitamahāpratyaṅgiraparamasiddhināma­dhāraṇī). Phukdrak Kangyur (no. 628) vol. 117 (rgyud, dza), folios 194.b–203.a.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gtsug tor nas byung ba gdugs dkar po can zhes bya ba gzhan gyis mi thub ma phyir zlog pa’i rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen mo (Ārya­sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrā­nāmāparājitapratyaṅgirā­mahāvidyārājñī). Toh 590, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 205.a–212.b.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa phyir zlog pa chen mo mchog tu grub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Ārya­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatrāparājita­mahāpratyaṅgiraparamasiddhanāma­dhāraṇī). Toh 591, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 212.b–219.a.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Ārya­tathāgatoṣṇīṣa­sitātapatre aparājitā­nāmadhāraṇī). Toh 592, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 219.a.–224.b.

’jam dpal gyi rtsa ba’i rgyud (Mañjuśrī­mūlakalpa). Toh 543, Degé Kangyur vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folios 88.a–334.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2020.

Chökyi Jungné (si tu paN chen chos kyi ’byung gnas). [dkar chag] bzhi pa/ bzhugs byang dkar chag dngos legs par bshad pa’i yal ’dab. Toh 4568-4, Degé Kangyur vol. 103 (lakṣmī), folios 112.a–157.a.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.

Pelliot tibétain 45. Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies, Universität Wien. Accessed July 26, 2022.

Dudjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé (bdud ’joms ’jigs bral ye shes rdo rje). gtsug tor gdugs dkar mo’i rgyun khyer ’bar ba’i thog brtsegs. In rnying ma ba’i zhal ’don phyogs bsgrigs, 489–93. Lhasa: bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 1997.

Orgyen Lingpa (o rgyan gling pa). o rgyan gu ru pad+ma ’byung gnas kyi skyes rabs rnam par thar pa rgyas pa bkod pa pad+ma bka’i thang yig. Xining: sku ’bum byams pa ling par khang, 2001. English translation in Douglas and Bays 2020.

Sönam Nampar Gyalwa (bsod nams rnam par rgyal ba). gtsug gtor gdugs dkar rgyas pa rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen po. In gsung ’bum byams pa gling pa, 719–36. N.p.: n.p., n.d. BUDA: MW1CZ1101

Secondary Sources

Bethlenfalvy, Geza. A Catalogue of the Urga Kanjur in the Prof. Raghuvira Collection at the International Academy of Indian Culture. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1980.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrī­mūlakalpa, Toh 543). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

Douglas, Kenneth, and Gwendolyn Bays, trans. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava: Padma Bka’i Thang. 2 vols. Emeryville, CA: Dharma Publishing, 1978. See above under Orgyen Lingpa.

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.

Hoernle, A. F. Rudolf (1911). “The ‘Unknown Languages’ of Eastern Turkestan II.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland 43, no. 2 (1911): 447–77.

‍—‍—‍—(1916). Manuscript Remains of Buddhist Literature Found in Eastern Turkestan: Facsimiles with Transcripts Translations and Notes. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon, 1916.

Kano, Kazuo. “Exegeses of the Ratnagotra­vibhāga in Kashmir in the 11th and 12th Century.” Kōyasandaigaku daigakuin kiyō 15 (2016): 1–23.

Kawagoe, Eishin川越 英真, ed. dKar chag ’Phang thang ma. Sendai: Tōhoku indo chibetto kenkyūkai 東北インド・チベット研究会 (Tohoku Society for Indo-Tibetan Studies), 2005.

Kiliç Cengiz, Ayşe. “Two Old Uyghur Sitātapatrā­dhāraṇī Fragments from the Berlin Turfan Collection.” Hacettepe Üniversitesi Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi 31 (2020): 71–84.

Kiliç Cengiz, Ayşe, and Anna Turanskaya (2019). “Old Uyghur Blockprint of Sitātapatrā Dhāraṇī in the Serindia Collection of the IOM, RAS.” Written Monuments of the Orient 5, no. 2 (2019): 19–38.

‍—‍—‍—(2021). “Old Uyghur Sitātapatrā Dhāraṇī Fragments Preserved in the State Hermitage Museum.” Written Monuments of the Orient 7, no. 1 (2021): 100–117.

Lalou, M. “Notes à propos d’une amulette de Touen-houang: Les litanies de Tāra et la Sitātapatrādhāraṇī.” In Mélanges chinois et bouddhiques, edited by Louis de La Vallée Poussin, 4:135–49. Brussels: Institut belge des hautes études chinoises, 1935–36.

Porció, Tibor. “The One with the White Parasol.” PhD diss., University of Vienna, 2000.

Tribe, Anthony. Tantric Buddhist Practice in India: Vilāsavajra’s Commentary on the Mañjuśrī-nāmasaṃgīti. Routledge Studies in Tantric Traditions. New York: Routledge, 2016.

g.

Glossary

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

AS

Attested in source text

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

AO

Attested in other text

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

AD

Attested in dictionary

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

AA

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.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

SU

Source unspecified

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

g.­1

abstinence

  • gnyen gnas
  • གཉེན་གནས།
  • upavāsa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

As expressed in the Sanskrit and translated literally into Tibetan, the term means “to dwell near.” The term comes from the older Vedic traditions in which during full moon and new moon sacrifices, householders would practice abstinence in various forms such as fasting and refraining from sexual activity. These holy days were called upavasatha days because it was said that the gods who were the recipients of these sacrifices would “dwell” (√vas) “near” (upa) the practitioners of these sacrifices. While sacrificial practices were discarded by Buddhists, the framework of practicing fortnightly abstinence evolved into the poṣadha observance, a term etymologically related to the term upavasatha.

g.­2

Akṣobhya

  • mi ’khrugs pa
  • མི་འཁྲུགས་པ།
  • akṣobhya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Lit. “Not Disturbed” or “Immovable One.” The buddha in the eastern realm of Abhirati. A well-known buddha in Mahāyāna, regarded in the higher tantras as the head of one of the five buddha families, the vajra family in the east.

g.­3

Amitābha

  • ’od dpag med
  • འོད་དཔག་མེད།
  • amitābha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.

Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

g.­4

Amṛtabhavana Monastery

  • bdud rtsi ’byung gnas kyi gtsug lag khang
  • བདུད་རྩི་འབྱུང་གནས་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ལག་ཁང་།
  • —

A Buddhist monastery in Kashmir that is reported in Chinese sources to exist as early as ca. 750 ᴄᴇ.

g.­5

Aparā

  • gzhan
  • གཞན།
  • aparā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Other,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā. A female deity of this name is also prominent in the esoteric Trika pantheon of the Śaiva tradition.

g.­6

Aparājitā

  • gzhan gyis mi thub
  • གཞན་གྱིས་མི་ཐུབ།
  • aparājitā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Invincible,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­7

apasmāra

  • brjed byed
  • བརྗེད་བྱེད།
  • apasmāra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings believed to cause epilepsy, fits, and loss of memory. As their name suggests‍—the Skt. apasmāra literally means “without memory” and the Tib. brjed byed means “causing forgetfulness”‍—they are defined by the condition they cause in affected humans, and the term can refer to any nonhuman being that causes such conditions, whether a bhūta, a piśāca, or other.

g.­8

arhat

  • dgra bcom pa
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
  • arhat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

g.­9

asura

  • lha ma yin
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • asura

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.­10

Bhaiṣajya­guru­vaiḍūrya­prabha­rāja

  • sman gyi bla bai DUr+ya’i ’od kyi rgyal po
  • སྨན་གྱི་བླ་བཻ་ཌཱུརྱའི་འོད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • bhaiṣajya­guru­vaiḍūrya­prabha­rāja

The full name of the buddha popularly known as the Medicine Buddha.

g.­11

Bhṛkuṭī

  • khro gnyer can
  • ཁྲོ་གཉེར་ཅན།
  • bhṛkuṭī

The name of a female Buddhist deity meaning “Furrowed Brow,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­12

Bhṛṅgiriṭi

  • b+h+ring gi ri ti
  • བྷྲིང་གི་རི་ཏི།
  • bhṛṅgiriṭi

A deity from the Śaiva pantheon who appears in a grotesquely emaciated form.

g.­13

bhūta

  • ’byung po
  • འབྱུང་པོ།
  • bhūta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

g.­14

blessed one

  • bcom ldan ’das
  • legs ldan
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
  • ལེགས་ལྡན།
  • bhagavat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

g.­15

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.­16

Brahmā

  • tshangs pa
  • ཚངས་པ།
  • brahmā

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.­17

caitya

  • mchod rten
  • མཆོད་རྟེན།
  • caitya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten, meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.

A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site, sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain relics.

A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as objects of veneration and merit making.

g.­18

chāyā

  • grib gnon
  • གྲིབ་གནོན།
  • chāyā

“Shadow,” a class of supernatural beings considered a source of disease and misfortune.

g.­19

ḍāka

  • mkha’ ’gro
  • མཁའ་འགྲོ།
  • ḍāka

The male equivalent to a ḍākinī. The term can refer to a mundane class of supernatural beings and to a class of Buddhist deities.

g.­20

ḍākinī

  • mkha’ ’gro ma
  • མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།
  • ḍākinī

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.­21

deva

  • lha
  • ལྷ།
  • deva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

g.­22

dhāraṇī

  • gzungs
  • གཟུངས།
  • dhāraṇī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

g.­23

Dṛḍha­śūraraṇasena­praharaṇa­rāja

  • dpa’ brtan pa’i sde mtshon cha’i rgyal po
  • དཔའ་བརྟན་པའི་སྡེ་མཚོན་ཆའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • dṛḍha­śūraraṇasena­praharaṇa­rāja

The name of a buddha.

g.­24

eight great celestial bodies

  • gza’ chen po rgyad
  • གཟའ་ཆེན་པོ་རྒྱད།
  • aṣṭāmahāgraha

Literally the “great seizers,” there are traditionally nine: the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the eclipse (rahu) and comets/meteors (ketu). All are believed to exert influence on the world according to Indic astrological lore. When listed as eight, it is not certain which is excluded.

g.­25

Excellent Dharma

  • chos bzang
  • ཆོས་བཟང་།
  • sudharmā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The assembly hall in the center of Sudarśana, the city in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trāyastriṃśa). It has a central throne for Indra (Śakra) and thirty-two thrones arranged to its right and left for the other thirty-two devas that make up the eponymous thirty-three devas of Indra’s paradise. Indra’s own palace is to the north of this assembly hall.

g.­26

five acts with immediate retribution

  • mtshams med pa lnga
  • མཚམས་མེད་པ་ལྔ།
  • pañcānantarya

Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages; they are killing an arhat, killing one’s father, killing one’s mother, causing a schism in the monastic community, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata.

g.­27

Four Bhaginīs

  • sring mo bzhi
  • སྲིང་མོ་བཞི།
  • caturbhaginī

The “Four Sisters,” likely a reference to Jayā, Vijayā, Ajitā, Aparājitā, a group of female deities who, along with their brother Tumburu (an aspect of Śiva), are the focal point of a prominent cult in the early Śaiva tantric tradition.

g.­28

Gaṇapati

  • tshogs kyi bdag po
  • ཚོགས་ཀྱི་བདག་པོ།
  • gaṇapati

‟Lord of Gaṇas,” an epithet of Gaṇeśa, the elephant-headed god who is the son of Śiva.

g.­29

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.­30

Ganges

  • gang gA
  • གང་གཱ།
  • gaṅgā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.

According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

g.­31

garuḍa

  • nam mkha’ lding
  • ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
  • garuḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

g.­32

graha

  • gdon
  • གདོན།
  • graha

The term graha refers to a class of supernatural beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various kinds of misfortune. The term can also be applied generically to other classes of supernatural beings who have the capacity to adversely affect health and well-being.

g.­33

guhyaka

  • gsang ba pa
  • གསང་བ་པ།
  • guhyaka

A subclass of yakṣas, or an alternative name for yakṣas.

g.­34

Heaven of the Thirty-Three

  • sum cu rtsa gsum lha’i gnas
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་ལྷའི་གནས།
  • trāyastriṃśa

The second heaven of the desire realm located above Mount Meru and reigned over by Indra and thirty-two other gods.

g.­35

Indra

  • dbang po
  • དབང་པོ།
  • indra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.

g.­36

Jayakara

  • rgyal bar byed pa
  • རྒྱལ་བར་བྱེད་པ།
  • jayakara

An unknown figure who is said to be one of three brothers, along with Madhukara and Sarvārthasiddhikara.

g.­37

kākhorda

  • byad
  • བྱད།
  • kākhorda

A class of supernatural beings typically associated with violent sorcery rites.

g.­38

Kamalākṣī

  • pad+ma’i spyan
  • པདྨའི་སྤྱན།
  • kamalākṣī

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Lotus-Like Eyes,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­39

Kāñcanamālikā

  • gser gyi phreng ba can
  • གསེར་གྱི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཅན།
  • kāñcanamālikā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Garlanded with Gold,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­40

kaṇṭakamālinī

  • tsher ma ’don pa
  • ཚེར་མ་འདོན་པ།
  • kaṇṭakamālinī

A class of spirits.

g.­41

kāpālika

  • mi’i thod pa can
  • མིའི་ཐོད་པ་ཅན།
  • kāpālika

A sect of Śaiva ascetics who are known for their cremation ground practices and aesthetics.

g.­42

kaṭapūtana

  • lus srul po
  • ལུས་སྲུལ་པོ།
  • kaṭapūtana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A subgroup of pūtanas, a class of disease-causing spirits associated with cemeteries and dead bodies. The name probably derives from the Skt. pūta, “foul-smelling,” as reflected also in the Tib. srul po. The smell of a pūtana is variously described in the texts as resembling that of a billy goat or a crow, and the smell of a kaṭapūtana, as its name suggests, could resemble a corpse, kaṭa being one of the names for “corpse.” The morbid condition caused by pūtanas comes in various forms, with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, skin eruptions, and festering wounds, the latter possibly explaining the association with bad smells.

g.­43

kinnara

  • mi’am ci
  • མིའམ་ཅི།
  • kinnara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

g.­44

kṛtyā rites

  • bsgyur ba’i las
  • བསྒྱུར་བའི་ལས།
  • kṛtyākarma

Rites of hostile magic that employ kṛtyās, a type of supernatural being, as magical agents.

g.­45

kumbhāṇḍa

  • grul bum
  • གྲུལ་བུམ།
  • kumbhāṇḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of dwarf beings subordinate to Virūḍhaka, one of the Four Great Kings, associated with the southern direction. The name uses a play on the word aṇḍa, which means “egg” but is also a euphemism for a testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from kumbha, or “pot”).

g.­46

Kusumbharatnā

  • le brgan rtsi dang rin chen ma
  • ལེ་བརྒན་རྩི་དང་རིན་ཆེན་མ།
  • kusumbharatnā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Saffron Jewel,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­47

Locanā

  • spyan mnga’ ba
  • སྤྱན་མངའ་བ།
  • locanā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­48

lunar mansion

  • rgyu skar
  • རྒྱུ་སྐར།
  • nakṣatra

The twenty-seven or twenty-eight sectors along the ecliptic that exert influence on the world according to Indic astrological lore.

g.­49

Madhukara

  • sbrang rtsir byed pa
  • སྦྲང་རྩིར་བྱེད་པ།
  • madhukara

An unknown figure who is said to be one of three brothers, along with Jayakara and Sarvārthasiddhikara.

g.­50

Mahājana

  • ma hA dza na
  • མ་ཧཱ་ཛ་ན།
  • mahājana

A Kashmiri paṇḍita active in Tibet in the eleventh century.

g.­51

Mahākāla

  • nag po chen po
  • ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།
  • mahākāla

Mahākāla (“Great Black One”) is a name for both a wrathful form of Śiva and one the most important Buddhist protector deities.

g.­52

Mahāpaśupati

  • phyugs bdag chen po
  • ཕྱུགས་བདག་ཆེན་པོ།
  • mahāpaśupati

An epithet of Śiva.

g.­53

mahoraga

  • lto ’phye chen po
  • ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།
  • mahoraga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

g.­54

makara

  • chu srin
  • ཆུ་སྲིན།
  • makara

A legendary sea monster often described as an amalgamation of several terrestrial and/or aquatic animals such as an elephant, a crocodile, and a boar. The term is sometimes associated with the crocodile or river dolphin.

g.­55

Mālā

  • phreng ba can
  • ཕྲེང་བ་ཅན།
  • mālā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Garland,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­56

marut

  • rlung lha
  • རླུང་ལྷ།
  • marut

Vedic deities associated with the wind.

g.­57

mātṛ

  • ma mo
  • མ་མོ།
  • mātṛ

“Mothers,” a class of female deities, typically seven or eight in number, who are common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions.

g.­58

mātṛnandī

  • ma mo dga’ bar byed pa
  • མ་མོ་དགའ་བར་བྱེད་པ།
  • mātṛnandī

A class of supernatural beings.

g.­59

mudrā

  • phyag rgya
  • ཕྱག་རྒྱ།
  • mudrā

In this text, mudrā is used to refer to distinct forms of a deity.

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.­60

nāga

  • klu
  • ཀླུ།
  • nāga

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.­61

Nandikeśvara

  • dga’ byed dbang phyug
  • དགའ་བྱེད་དབང་ཕྱུག
  • nandikeśvara

A favored member of Śiva’s horde (gaṇa).

g.­62

Nārāyaṇa

  • sred med kyi bu
  • སྲེད་མེད་ཀྱི་བུ།
  • nārāyaṇa

A common epithet of the brahmanical deity Viṣṇu.

g.­63

non-returner

  • phyir mi ’ong ba
  • ཕྱིར་མི་འོང་བ།
  • anāgāmin

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The third of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who will no longer take rebirth in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), but either be reborn in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa) or reach the state of an arhat in their current lifetime. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

g.­64

once-returner

  • lan cig phyir ’ong ba
  • ལན་ཅིག་ཕྱིར་འོང་བ།
  • sakṛdāgāmin

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One who has achieved the second of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path and who will attain liberation after only one more birth. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

g.­65

ostāraka

  • gnon po
  • གནོན་པོ།
  • ostāraka

A class of supernatural beings believed to possess humans and cause physical and mental illness.

g.­66

Pāṇḍaravāsinī

  • gos dkar mo
  • གོས་དཀར་མོ།
  • pāṇḍaravāsinī

The name of a female Buddhist deity that means “White-Clothed One,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­67

Parahitabhadra

  • pa ra hi ta bha dra
  • པ་ར་ཧི་ཏ་བྷ་དྲ།
  • parahitabhadra

An Indian paṇḍita active in the eleventh century. He visited Tibet, where he worked with Ngok Loden Sherap (rngog blo ldan shes rab, ca. 1059–1109) and other translators, and is the author of a commentary on the Sūtrālaṅkāra (Toh 4030) preserved in the Tengyur.

g.­68

piśāca

  • sha za
  • ཤ་ཟ།
  • piśāca

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that, like several other classes of nonhuman beings, take spontaneous birth. Ranking below rākṣasas, they are less powerful and more akin to pretas. They are said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh. This could account for the name piśāca, which possibly derives from √piś, to carve or chop meat, as reflected also in the Tibetan sha za, “meat eater.” They are often described as having an unpleasant appearance, and at times they appear with animal bodies. Some possess the ability to enter the dead bodies of humans, thereby becoming so-called vetāla, to touch whom is fatal.

g.­69

preta

  • yi dwags
  • ཡི་དྭགས།
  • preta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance.

g.­70

pūtana

  • srul po
  • སྲུལ་པོ།
  • pūtana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of disease-causing spirits associated with cemeteries and dead bodies. The name probably derives from the Skt. pūta, “foul-smelling,” as reflected also in the Tib. srul po. The smell is variously described in the texts as resembling that of a billy goat or a crow. The morbid condition caused by the spirit shares its name and comes in various forms, with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, skin eruptions, and festering wounds, the latter possibly explaining the association with bad smells.

g.­71

rākṣasa

  • srin po
  • སྲིན་པོ།
  • rākṣasa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

g.­72

Ratnaketurāja

  • rin po che’i tog gi rgyal po
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་ཏོག་གི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • ratnaketurāja

The name of a buddha.

g.­73

revatī

  • nam gru
  • ནམ་གྲུ།
  • revatī

A class of deities, perhaps of astrological origins, that is associated with disease.

g.­74

ṛṣi

  • drang srong
  • དྲང་སྲོང་།
  • ṛṣi

A class of celestial beings. The term ṛṣi is ancient Indian spiritual title, particularly applied to divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations for all Indian culture.

g.­75

Rudra

  • drag po
  • དྲག་པོ།
  • rudra

A wrathful form of Śiva.

g.­76

Śakra

  • brgya byin
  • བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
  • śakra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

g.­77

śakuni

  • bya
  • བྱ།
  • śakuni

A class of supernatural beings.

g.­78

Śākyamuni

  • shAkya thub pa
  • ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།
  • śākyamuni

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

g.­79

samādhi

  • ting nge ’dzin
  • ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
  • samādhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

g.­80

Samantabhadra

  • kun tu bzang po
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ།
  • samantabhadra

The name of a buddha.

g.­81

samikā

  • kun tu ’breng ba
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་འབྲེང་བ།
  • samikā

A class of spirits.

g.­82

Sarvārthasiddhi

  • don kun grub pas byas pa
  • དོན་ཀུན་གྲུབ་པས་བྱས་པ།
  • sarvārthasiddhi

An unknown figure who is said to be one of three brothers, along with Jayakara and Madhukara. The more common form of his name is Siddhikara.

g.­83

Śaśiprabhā

  • zla ba’i ’od
  • ཟླ་བའི་འོད།
  • śaśiprabhā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Light of the Moon,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­84

Sitātapatrā

  • gdugs dkar
  • gdugs dkar po can
  • གདུགས་དཀར།
  • གདུགས་དཀར་པོ་ཅན།
  • sitātapatrā

“White Umbrella Goddess,” a female Buddhist deity renowned for her power to avert or repel threats from supernatural beings, disease, and misfortune.

g.­85

skanda

  • skem byed
  • སྐེམ་བྱེད།
  • skanda

A class of nonhuman beings believed to be a cause of illness and death for children.

g.­86

spell

  • rig sngags
  • རིག་སྔགས།
  • vidyā

A type of incantation or spell used to accomplish a ritual goal. This can be associated with either ordinary attainments or those whose goal is awakening.

g.­87

śrāvaka

  • nyan thos
  • ཉན་ཐོས།
  • śrāvaka

A “hearer” or “listener,” someone who first hears the Dharma from another. This refers to the disciples of the Buddha who sought the awakening of an arhat, that is, their own liberation from cyclic existence. In Mahāyāna literature, the term śrāvaka is often used to contrast with a bodhisattva, a person intent on attaining complete buddhahood for the sake of all beings.

g.­88

stream enterer

  • rgyun du zhugs pa
  • རྒྱུན་དུ་ཞུགས་པ།
  • srotaāpanna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One who has achieved the first level of attainment on the path of the śrāvakas, and who has entered the “stream” of practice that leads to nirvāṇa. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

g.­89

Sukhāvatī

  • bde ba can
  • བདེ་བ་ཅན།
  • sukhāvatī

The buddha realm of Amitābha.

g.­90

suparṇa

  • nam mkha’ lding
  • ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
  • suparṇa

In Sanskrit, “good winged,” an alternate name for garuḍas.

g.­91

Supuṣpita­śālendrā­rāja

  • sA la’i dbang po’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa
  • སཱ་ལའི་དབང་པོའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ།
  • supuṣpita­śālendrā­rāja

The name of a buddha.

g.­92

Śvetā

  • dkar mo
  • དཀར་མོ།
  • śvetā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “White,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­93

Tārā

  • sgrol ma
  • སྒྲོལ་མ།
  • tārā

A female deity (lit. “Deliverer”) known for giving protection. She is variously presented in Buddhist literature as a great bodhisattva or a fully awakened buddha.

g.­94

tathāgata

  • de bzhin gshegs pa
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
  • tathāgata

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.­95

ten royal sūtras

  • rgyal po mdo bcu
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་མདོ་བཅུ།
  • —

Ten sūtras said to have been recommended to the Tibetan king Tri Songdetsen by the Indian master Padmasambhava. Their mention in the Padma Kathang takes the form only of a brief list of their abbreviated titles and functions, and in some cases does not allow their certain identification with the canonical texts that have survived in the Kangyur. (1) as aspiration, Bhadracaryā­praṇidhāna (bzang spyod smon lam, the concluding verses in Chapter 56 in Toh 44-45, The Stem Array) and also Toh 1095; (2) as ablution, Vajravidāraṇā­dhāraṇī (rdo rje rnam ’joms pa, Toh 750, Vajra Conqueror); (3) as view, Prajñā­pāramitāhṛdaya (shes rab snying po, Toh 21 and Toh 531, The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother); (4) as cultivation, Atyayajñāna (’da’ ka ye shes, Toh 122, The Sūtra on Wisdom at the Hour of Death); (5) as purification of karmic obscuration, bya ba ltung bshags from the Vinayaviniścayopāli­paripṛcchā (Toh 68, Determining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions, 1.43–1.52); (6) for longevity, Aparimitāyurjñāna (tshe dang ye shes dpag tu med pa’i mdo, most likely Toh 675, The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra [2]); (7) for protection, gos sngon can gyi gzungs, one of the several texts on this form of Vajrapāṇi but possibly the Nīlāmbaradhara­vajrapāṇi­kalpa (Toh 748, The Dhāraṇī of Blue-Clad Vajrapāṇi); (8) for averting, Sitātapatrāparājitā (gdugs dkar gzhan gyis mi thub pa, most probably Toh 592, The Invincible Sitātapatrā [1]); (9) for increasing resources, Vasudhārā­dhāraṇī (nor rgyun ma’i gzungs, Toh 662, 663, or 664, The Dhāraṇī of Vasudhārā); and (10) as the essence, Ekākṣarīmātā­prajñāpāramitā (sher phyin yi ge gcig ma, Toh 23, The Perfection of Wisdom Mother in One Syllable).

g.­96

three realms of existence

  • sa gsum
  • ས་གསུམ།
  • —

This can refer to the underworlds, the earth, and the heavens, or it can be synonymous with the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness.

g.­97

Tri Songdetsen

  • khri srong lde btsan
  • ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན།
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Considered to be the second great Dharma king of Tibet, he is thought to have been born in 742, and to have reigned from 754 until his death in 797 or 799. It was during his reign that the “early period” of imperially sponsored text translation gathered momentum, as the Buddhist teachings gained widespread acceptance in Tibet, and under whose auspices the first Buddhist monastery was established.

g.­98

Tripura

  • grong khyer sum brtsegs
  • གྲོང་ཁྱེར་སུམ་བརྩེགས།
  • tripura

“Triple City” was a city of asuras built by the asura architect Maya. It consisted of three levels that extended from the underworld, through the earth, and up to the heavens. Brahmā blessed Tripura so that it could only be destroyed by a single arrow, making it essentially indestructible. However, when the asuras displeased Śiva by resuming their war with the devas, he fired a divine arrow that pierced all three levels of the city, reducing them to ash.

g.­99

Umāpati

  • dka’ thub zlog pa’i bdag po
  • དཀའ་ཐུབ་ཟློག་པའི་བདག་པོ།
  • umāpati

A form of Śiva, so-named for being the spouse of Umā.

g.­100

unmāda

  • smyo byed
  • སྨྱོ་བྱེད།
  • unmāda

A class of nonhuman beings associated with intoxication and madness.

g.­101

uṣṇīṣa

  • gtsug tor
  • གཙུག་ཏོར།
  • uṣṇīṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the thirty-two signs, or major marks, of a great being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape of the head like a turban (the Sanskrit term, uṣṇīṣa, in fact means “turban”), or more elaborately a dome-shaped extension. The extension is described as having various extraordinary attributes such as emitting and absorbing rays of light or reaching an immense height.

g.­102

Vairocana

  • rnam par snang mdzad
  • རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད།
  • vairocana

The name of a buddha. Vairocana is the tathāgata at the head of the tathāgata family among the five families.

g.­103

Vairocanā

  • snang mdzad
  • སྣང་མཛད།
  • vairocanā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Illuminating,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­104

vajra

  • rdo rje
  • རྡོ་རྗེ།
  • vajra

A polyvalent term that in its most basic sense indicates indestructibility and thus can mean “diamond, “thunderbolt,” etc. The term often refers to the distinctive ritual scepter used in Vajrayāna practice. When prefixed to a name it refers to the esoteric identity of the figure.

g.­105

Vajrā

  • rdo rje
  • རྡོ་རྗེ།
  • vajrā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­106

Vajrakaumārī

  • rdo rje gzhon nu ma
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་གཞོན་ནུ་མ།
  • vajrakaumārī

The name of a female deity and class of female deities. The name means “Youthful Vajra.”

g.­107

Vajramālā

  • rdo rje phreng
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ཕྲེང་།
  • vajramālā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Vajra Garland,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­108

Vajrapāṇi

  • lag na rdo rje
  • ལག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ།
  • vajrapāṇi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Vajrapāṇi means “Wielder of the Vajra.” In the Pali canon, he appears as a yakṣa guardian in the retinue of the Buddha. In the Mahāyāna scriptures he is a bodhisattva and one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha.” In the tantras, he is also regarded as an important Buddhist deity and instrumental in the transmission of tantric scriptures.

g.­109

Vajraśṛṅkhalā

  • rdo rje lu gu rgyud
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་ལུ་གུ་རྒྱུད།
  • vajraśṛṅkhalā

The name of a Buddhist deity who is typically male but here given in the feminine as an epithet of Sitātapatrā. The name means “Vajra Shackles.”

g.­110

Vajratuṇḍī

  • rdo rje’i mchu can
  • རྡོ་རྗེའི་མཆུ་ཅན།
  • vajratuṇḍī
  • vajratuṇḍikā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, meaning “Vajra-Beaked,” here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­111

Vajroṣṇīṣā

  • rdo rje gtsug tor
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་གཙུག་ཏོར།
  • vajroṣṇīṣā

The name of a female Buddhist deity, here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­112

vetāla

  • ro langs
  • རོ་ལངས།
  • vetāḍa
  • vetāla

A harmful spirit who haunts charnel grounds and can take possession of corpses and reanimate them. The Tibetan translation means “risen corpse.”

g.­113

vidyā

  • rig
  • རིག
  • vidyā

A term that at once refers to a type or a class of deity (typically female) and the spell used to harness their power, thereby reflecting their inseparability.

g.­114

vidyādhara

  • rigs sngags ’chang
  • རིགས་སྔགས་འཆང་།
  • vidyādhara

Meaning those who wield (dhara) spells (vidyā), the term is used to refer to both a class of supernatural beings who wield great magical power and human practitioners of the magical arts. The latter usage is especially prominent in the Kriyātantras, which are often addressed to the human vidyādhara. The later Buddhist tradition, playing on the dual valences of vidyā as “spell” and “knowledge,” began to apply this term more broadly to realized figures in the Buddhist pantheon.

g.­115

vighna

  • dgegs
  • དགེགས།
  • vighna

A class of obstacle-making supernatural beings.

g.­116

Vijṛmbhamānikā

  • rnam par bsgyings ma
  • རྣམ་པར་བསྒྱིངས་མ།
  • vijṛmbhamānikā

The name of a female Buddhist deity that is difficult to translate but could approximately mean “Haughty”; here used as an epithet of Sitātapatrā.

g.­117

Vikasita­netrotpala­gandha­ketu­rāja

  • spyan rgyas pa ut+pa la’i tog gi rgyal po
  • སྤྱན་རྒྱས་པ་ཨུཏྤ་ལའི་ཏོག་གི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • vikasita­netrotpala­gandha­ketu­rāja

The name of a buddha.

g.­118

vināyaka

  • log ’dren
  • ལོག་འདྲེན།
  • vināyaka

A class of obstacle-creating beings, their name means “those who lead astray.”

g.­119

yakṣa

  • gnod sbyin
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
  • yakṣa

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.­120

yāmaka

  • gzhin rje
  • གཞིན་རྗེ།
  • yāmaka
  • jāmaka

A class of supernatural beings.

g.­121

yojana

  • dpag tshad
  • དཔག་ཚད།
  • yojana

A measure of distance corresponding to the distance a cart horse can travel without being unyoked. This unit of measurement lacks a uniform standard and can indicate a distance between four and ten miles or six and sixteen kilometers.

g.­122

Zu Gawé Dorje

  • gzu dga’ ba’i rdo rje
  • གཟུ་དགའ་བའི་རྡོ་རྗེ།
  • —

A Tibetan translator active in the second half of the eleventh century.

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84000. The Invincible Sitātapatrā (2) (Sitātapatrāparājitā, gdugs dkar gzhan gyis mi thub pa, Toh 593). Translated by Samye Translations. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh593.Copy
84000. The Invincible Sitātapatrā (2) (Sitātapatrāparājitā, gdugs dkar gzhan gyis mi thub pa, Toh 593). Translated by Samye Translations, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh593.Copy
84000. (2024) The Invincible Sitātapatrā (2) (Sitātapatrāparājitā, gdugs dkar gzhan gyis mi thub pa, Toh 593). (Samye Translations, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh593.Copy
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