The text presents a single dhāraṇī for the generation of insight, and correspondingly, the ability to memorize large quantities of text.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Paul G. Hackett produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
This text presents a single dhāraṇī to enable the retention of what has been heard and generate insight (prajñā), with no additional explanation. Of the four types of dhāraṇīs described by the fourth-century scholar-yogi Asaṅga,1 this text falls into the category of Dharma dhāraṇīs, which enable one to retain knowledge of Dharma teachings that have been heard.
In this particular text, only one dhāraṇī is given. It is as follows:
hūṁ | picu picu | prajñāvardhani | jvala jvala | medhāvardhani | dhiri dhiri | buddhivardhani | svāhā ||
This can be translated roughly as follows: “Hūṃ! Shimmer! Shimmer! Increase insight! Blaze! Blaze! Increase intelligence! Stabilize! Stabilize! Increase comprehension! May auspiciousness abound!”
Like many dhāraṇīs, this one appears to have its roots in a larger tantra, and in this case is found in the following three tantras:2
The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa (Caṇḍmahroṣaṇatantra; khro bo chen po’i rgyud, Toh 431), 5.6;
The Tantra of Red Yamāri (Raktayamāritantra; gshin rje gshed dmar po’i rgyud, Toh 474), folio 193.a); and
The Tantra of Black Yamāri (Kṛṣnayamārināmatantra; gshin rje gshed nag po zhes bya ba’i rgyud, Toh 467), 7.13.
In the latter two of these, this dhāraṇī is also identified as a mantra of Sarasvatī, a goddess of the arts and, in particular, of eloquence. Indeed, at the very opening of his foundational treatise on eloquence, The Mirror of Poetry (Kāvyādarśa), Daṇḍin invokes Sarasvatī herself, likewise requesting her inspiration:
So, too, one can easily imagine Sarasvatī being viewed as a benefactor of knowledge in general and, for similar purposes, being associated with knowledge enhancement. Indeed, in at least one commentary on Daṇḍin’s verse, Sarasvatī is presented as the consort of Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom.4
This text is not known to be extant in Sanskrit, and, as with most dhāraṇīs, nothing is known about the context of its production, use, or popularity in ancient India. Given the extensive number of sūtras and secondary literary compositions within the Indian Buddhist sphere, one can easily imagine that a dhāraṇī enabling a person to memorize large quantities of text would have broad popular appeal. Whether or not attestations of success accompanied such texts, the promise of such results could easily account for the propagation of the text outside of the Indian subcontinent into Tibet, China, and surrounding regions.
According to its colophon, the text was translated during the imperial era of Tibet, in ca. 750, by the Indian master Jñānagarba and the Tibetan translator Lü Wangpo. Consequently one expects, and indeed sees, a certain amount of irregular translation terms, particularly with regard to proper names, which had yet to be standardized at that time.5 In addition, the text is attributed to imperial era translators and yet does not appear in catalogs produced during that era, such as the Denkarma.6 Therefore, it is likely that this text was not subjected to the revision processes of the early ninth century, despite the colophon specifying that the preserved translation was revised by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the editor Bandé Devacandra.
Herrmann-Pfandt (2002) identified a text in the Chinese canon that was an equivalent of this text: Taishō 1372.7 This text, The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī for Increasing Insight (增慧陀羅尼經), bears a sufficiently close resemblance to the Tibetan text presented here to allow for its attribution to a common source. The Chinese version of this text was produced close to two hundred years after its Tibetan translation, in the seventh month of the second year of Shun Hua (淳化) of the Northern Sung dynasty (北宋), the equivalent of 991
In its Tibetan translation, this text is found in two different locations in many recensions of the Kangyur.10 One version (Toh 718) is found in the Action Tantra (kriyātantra; bya ba’i rgyud) section of the canon, specifically in the sectional classification offered by the Tibetan editors of the canon as associated with the “Lotus” tantric family (pad+ma’i rigs).11 The second version of this text (Toh 1037) is found in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section. The versions of the text are nearly identical, with only minor differences between them and between the various recensions of the Kangyur.
There are two other texts in the Kangyur (Toh 650/1039 and Toh 719/1038) with the same name and found in the same sections of the Degé Kangyur, though their content differs somewhat—while all three texts present a short dhāraṇī along with brief instructions for its use, all for the purpose of enhancing one’s ability to retain teachings, they differ in their dhāraṇīs and instructions, and the text presented here unique in embedding its dhāraṇī in a proper setting and introduction typical of sūtra works, along with a narrative of the origin. Toh 650 and Toh 719 contains no narrative context, their dhāraṇis taking the form of an invocation of Avalokiteśvara, presented with a brief instruction on their use. All three texts pertain to the increase of one’s ability to retain texts and teachings. Adelheid Herrmann-Pfandt (2002) has discussed the relationship of these three similarly named texts across various recensions of the Kangyur.12
This translation of the text into English was produced primarily based on the Degé1313 recension while making reference to the Stok Palace version and to the variants noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), which were validated in the source texts—notably the Narthang—as was necessary. With the exception of the synopsis of the text provided by Herrmann-Pfandt (2002), and a recent unpublished draft translation from the Chinese of this text made by Rolf Giebel (2024), there is no known previous translation of this text into a language outside the Tibetan sphere of influence.
Thus did I hear at one time. The bodhisattva14 Sumati15 was dwelling on the slopes of Mount Sumeru. Having been surrounded by all the devaputras who reside on Mount Sumeru, when they had sat in front of him, the Bhagavan taught them the Dharma.
Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Kumārabhūta16 made obeisance with folded hands and supplicated the bodhisattva Sumati, “O Bhagavan, for the sake of those sentient beings who are weak in insight, who are of little intelligence,17 and who lack mental acuity, I beseech you to explain the dhāraṇī called generating insight.”
He spoke:
hūṁ | picu picu | prajñāvardhani | jvala jvala | medhāvardhani | dhiri dhiri | buddhivardhani | svāhā ||18
Whosoever memorizes19 this dhāraṇī, reads it, writes it, has it written, actively studies it, or even hears just a single spoken syllable of it will, in this very life, become someone of great insight.
Whosoever, over the course of six months, each day over a palmful of rice water,20 recites this vidyā seven times—when this is drunk at sunrise—will be able to retain a thousand verses.21 If drunk once, they will be able to retain five hundred, and in even just a single day, their insight will increase. Similarly, by merely reciting it every day, it will give rise to mindfulness and mental acuity.
This completes the dhāraṇī “Generating Insight.”[F.180.a]
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Jñānagarbha and the translator Bandé Lü Wangpo. It was then edited and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the great editor-translator Bandé Devacandra.
The text presents a single dhāraṇī for the generation of insight, and correspondingly, the ability to memorize large quantities of text.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Paul G. Hackett produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
This text presents a single dhāraṇī to enable the retention of what has been heard and generate insight (prajñā), with no additional explanation. Of the four types of dhāraṇīs described by the fourth-century scholar-yogi Asaṅga,1 this text falls into the category of Dharma dhāraṇīs, which enable one to retain knowledge of Dharma teachings that have been heard.
In this particular text, only one dhāraṇī is given. It is as follows:
hūṁ | picu picu | prajñāvardhani | jvala jvala | medhāvardhani | dhiri dhiri | buddhivardhani | svāhā ||
This can be translated roughly as follows: “Hūṃ! Shimmer! Shimmer! Increase insight! Blaze! Blaze! Increase intelligence! Stabilize! Stabilize! Increase comprehension! May auspiciousness abound!”
Like many dhāraṇīs, this one appears to have its roots in a larger tantra, and in this case is found in the following three tantras:2
The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa (Caṇḍmahroṣaṇatantra; khro bo chen po’i rgyud, Toh 431), 5.6;
The Tantra of Red Yamāri (Raktayamāritantra; gshin rje gshed dmar po’i rgyud, Toh 474), folio 193.a); and
The Tantra of Black Yamāri (Kṛṣnayamārināmatantra; gshin rje gshed nag po zhes bya ba’i rgyud, Toh 467), 7.13.
In the latter two of these, this dhāraṇī is also identified as a mantra of Sarasvatī, a goddess of the arts and, in particular, of eloquence. Indeed, at the very opening of his foundational treatise on eloquence, The Mirror of Poetry (Kāvyādarśa), Daṇḍin invokes Sarasvatī herself, likewise requesting her inspiration:
So, too, one can easily imagine Sarasvatī being viewed as a benefactor of knowledge in general and, for similar purposes, being associated with knowledge enhancement. Indeed, in at least one commentary on Daṇḍin’s verse, Sarasvatī is presented as the consort of Mañjuśrī, the bodhisattva of wisdom.4
This text is not known to be extant in Sanskrit, and, as with most dhāraṇīs, nothing is known about the context of its production, use, or popularity in ancient India. Given the extensive number of sūtras and secondary literary compositions within the Indian Buddhist sphere, one can easily imagine that a dhāraṇī enabling a person to memorize large quantities of text would have broad popular appeal. Whether or not attestations of success accompanied such texts, the promise of such results could easily account for the propagation of the text outside of the Indian subcontinent into Tibet, China, and surrounding regions.
According to its colophon, the text was translated during the imperial era of Tibet, in ca. 750, by the Indian master Jñānagarba and the Tibetan translator Lü Wangpo. Consequently one expects, and indeed sees, a certain amount of irregular translation terms, particularly with regard to proper names, which had yet to be standardized at that time.5 In addition, the text is attributed to imperial era translators and yet does not appear in catalogs produced during that era, such as the Denkarma.6 Therefore, it is likely that this text was not subjected to the revision processes of the early ninth century, despite the colophon specifying that the preserved translation was revised by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the editor Bandé Devacandra.
Herrmann-Pfandt (2002) identified a text in the Chinese canon that was an equivalent of this text: Taishō 1372.7 This text, The Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī for Increasing Insight (增慧陀羅尼經), bears a sufficiently close resemblance to the Tibetan text presented here to allow for its attribution to a common source. The Chinese version of this text was produced close to two hundred years after its Tibetan translation, in the seventh month of the second year of Shun Hua (淳化) of the Northern Sung dynasty (北宋), the equivalent of 991
In its Tibetan translation, this text is found in two different locations in many recensions of the Kangyur.10 One version (Toh 718) is found in the Action Tantra (kriyātantra; bya ba’i rgyud) section of the canon, specifically in the sectional classification offered by the Tibetan editors of the canon as associated with the “Lotus” tantric family (pad+ma’i rigs).11 The second version of this text (Toh 1037) is found in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section. The versions of the text are nearly identical, with only minor differences between them and between the various recensions of the Kangyur.
There are two other texts in the Kangyur (Toh 650/1039 and Toh 719/1038) with the same name and found in the same sections of the Degé Kangyur, though their content differs somewhat—while all three texts present a short dhāraṇī along with brief instructions for its use, all for the purpose of enhancing one’s ability to retain teachings, they differ in their dhāraṇīs and instructions, and the text presented here unique in embedding its dhāraṇī in a proper setting and introduction typical of sūtra works, along with a narrative of the origin. Toh 650 and Toh 719 contains no narrative context, their dhāraṇis taking the form of an invocation of Avalokiteśvara, presented with a brief instruction on their use. All three texts pertain to the increase of one’s ability to retain texts and teachings. Adelheid Herrmann-Pfandt (2002) has discussed the relationship of these three similarly named texts across various recensions of the Kangyur.12
This translation of the text into English was produced primarily based on the Degé1313 recension while making reference to the Stok Palace version and to the variants noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), which were validated in the source texts—notably the Narthang—as was necessary. With the exception of the synopsis of the text provided by Herrmann-Pfandt (2002), and a recent unpublished draft translation from the Chinese of this text made by Rolf Giebel (2024), there is no known previous translation of this text into a language outside the Tibetan sphere of influence.
Thus did I hear at one time. The bodhisattva14 Sumati15 was dwelling on the slopes of Mount Sumeru. Having been surrounded by all the devaputras who reside on Mount Sumeru, when they had sat in front of him, the Bhagavan taught them the Dharma.
Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Kumārabhūta16 made obeisance with folded hands and supplicated the bodhisattva Sumati, “O Bhagavan, for the sake of those sentient beings who are weak in insight, who are of little intelligence,17 and who lack mental acuity, I beseech you to explain the dhāraṇī called generating insight.”
He spoke:
hūṁ | picu picu | prajñāvardhani | jvala jvala | medhāvardhani | dhiri dhiri | buddhivardhani | svāhā ||18
Whosoever memorizes19 this dhāraṇī, reads it, writes it, has it written, actively studies it, or even hears just a single spoken syllable of it will, in this very life, become someone of great insight.
Whosoever, over the course of six months, each day over a palmful of rice water,20 recites this vidyā seven times—when this is drunk at sunrise—will be able to retain a thousand verses.21 If drunk once, they will be able to retain five hundred, and in even just a single day, their insight will increase. Similarly, by merely reciting it every day, it will give rise to mindfulness and mental acuity.
This completes the dhāraṇī “Generating Insight.”[F.180.a]
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Jñānagarbha and the translator Bandé Lü Wangpo. It was then edited and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the great editor-translator Bandé Devacandra.
Asaṅga. byang chub sems dpa’i sa (Bodhisattvabhūmi). A discussion of various classifications of dhāraṇīs is given in Pagel 2007.
caturmukhamukhāmbhoja vanahaṃsavadhūr mama | mānase ramatāṃ dīrghaṃ sarvaśuklā sarasvatī || (vs. I.1). Daṇḍin. snyan ngag me long (Kāvyādarśa). Toh 4301, Degé Tengyur vol. 198 (sgra mdo, se).
The locus classicus of Sanskrit–Tibetan translation terms, The Great Treatise on Understanding Etymologies (Mahāvyutpatti; bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa) and The Glossary in Two Sections (Nighaṇṭu; sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa), was not compiled and ratified until the time of Tridé Songtsen (khri lde srong btsan, a.k.a. sad na legs, ca. 814
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.
Lewis R. Lancaster’s catalog (see note 13) does not identify this text with a Tibetan equivalent.
It is worth noting that this text is missing in the Thempangma line of Kangyurs, with the exception of the Stok Palace (stog pho brang, ca. 1729) recension, which includes one version of it: shes rab skyed pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Prajñāvardhanīnāmadhāraṇī). Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 105 (rgyud, pha), folios 94.b–95.a.
Herrmann-Pfandt (2002, pp. 125–31) has speculated on the significance of these subcategories, to which the interested reader is referred.
We can also consider these three texts as parts of a broader group of closely related works in the Degé Kangyur comprising short rituals to enhance one’s ability to retain texts and teachings. Toh 711–716 and Toh 792 (= Toh 1034, 1042–1047) make for a set of brief ritual texts with largely the same structure and all aimed at memorizing large numbers of verses (from one hundred to three thousand) in a short amount of time. All these works bear some relation to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Toh 650–651 and Toh 717–720 (= Toh 1037–1041, 1048) make for another similar group of ritual works for retaining what has been learned or memorized.
This text, Toh 1037, and all those contained in this same volume (gzung ’dus, waM), are listed as being located in volume 101 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 102. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.
The Tibetan has the unusual term “bhagavan bodhisattva” (bcom ldan ’das byang chub sems dpa’), while the Chinese has only “bodhisattva” (菩薩). Given the incommensurate nature of these two terms, we have amended the reading based on the Chinese.
Tib. blo ldan. Chn. 大慧 (dà huì). The Chinese implies *Mahāmati, while the Tibetan would imply reading this literally as *Dhimat but more likely, in light of the Chinese, as *Sumati. Another possibility is that this is a translation of *Subuddhi, being a corruption of *Subhūti, who was a key interlocutor in the Perfection of Wisdom sūtras.
Tib. gzhon nu’i gzugs can. Chn. 童子相 (tong zi xiang). The Tibetan would imply reading this literally as *Kumārarūpin (“having the body/form of youth”), while the Chinese implies *Kumāralakṣaṇa (“having the signs of youth”). Based on the this, Herrmann-Pfandt (2002, p. 120) hypothesizes that this must be an epithet of Mañjuśrī. This speculation would seem to be reinforced by the fact that two earliest mentions of a text by this title occur in handlists produced in the twelfth and thirteen centuries by the Sakya scholars Drakpa Gyaltsen (grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1147–1216) and Chögyal Phakpa (chos rgyal ’phags pa, 1235–80) in which they are classified under the tantric systems associated with Mañjuśrī, presumably in reference to taking him as the interlocutor (cf. Herrmann-Pfandt 2002, p. 125). Hence, the standardized form, Kumārabhūta, is given here.
The basic meaning of the mantra is “Hūṃ! Shimmer! Shimmer! Increase insight! Blaze! Blaze! Increase intelligence! Stabilize! Stabilize! Increase comprehension! May auspiciousness abound!” On the occurrences of this mantra is three tantras, see the introduction, i.4. The meaning of the exhortations provided here are as given in Devakulamahāmati’s A Commentary on the Difficult Points of the King of Tantras, the Vajra Net of Ḍākīṇis, Called ‘Expanding Suchness’ (Dākinīvajrajālapañjaratantrarājasyapañjikātattvapauṣṭikanāma; rgyud kyi rgyal po mkha’ ’gro ma rdo rje dra ba’i dka’ ’grel de kho na nyid rgyas pa zhes bya ba), folio 88.a.
The word “memorizes” (’dzin pa) is omitted in all other recensions (Narthang, Stok Palace, and others), and in those recensions the exhortation begins with “reads” (klog pa).
Tib. zhing(?) rtsab[s]. It is conjectured that this is a translation of *kāñjika following Das (1902): rtsab mo. The Chinese reads simply “water” (水).
Tib. tshigs su bcad pa stong. Toh 1037 reads “a thousand verses each [day]” (tshigs su bcad pa stong stong). A similar sentiment is expressed in the Chinese translation: 日記千頌 (“memorize a thousand verses daily”).
An Indian “mahāpaṇḍita” (
Name of an imperial-era translator in the eighth century ce, who was a minister of king Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde’u btsan, ca. 742–796). He is also listed as one of the “seven tested men” (
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.
Lit. “son of a god.” A class of beings in the higher planes of existence in the desire realm, as well as in the form and formless realm.
From the Sanskrit verb
Name of an Indian preceptor (
Name of a bodhisattva. Possibly an epithet of Mañjuśrī.
The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- (“great”) is close in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.
Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term—variably—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the desire realm gods (asuras). The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
Name of a bodhisattva.
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.
An Indian abbot (
Asaṅga.
Daṇḍin.
Devakulamahāmati.
Paṇchen Jamyang Khache (paN chen ’jam dbyangs kha che).
Denkarma (
84000. The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa (
84000. The Tantra of Black Yamāri (
Chandra, Lokesh. “India and China: Beyond and the Within.” In
Das, Sarat Chandra.
Giebel, Rolf W. “1372 Zenghui tuoluoni jing 增慧陀羅尼經 [Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī for Increasing Wisdom] (*Prajñāvardhanī nāma dhāraṇī).” Unpublished (2024)., cited Apr. 26, 2025.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. “The Prajñāvardhanī-Dhāraṇīs and Some Remarks on the History of the Tibetan Kanjur.” In
Hodge, Stephen.
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue. Accessed April 26, 2025.
