The Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra
Chapter 10
Toh 747
Degé Kangyur, vol. 95 (rgyud ’bum, dza), folios 238.a–263.a
- Buddhākaravarma
- Chökyi Sherab
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
Current version v 1.0.15 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra is a Buddhist esoteric manual on magic and exorcism. The instructions on ritual practices that constitute its main subject matter are intended to give the practitioner mastery over worldly divinities and spirits. Since the ultimate controller of such beings is Vajrapāṇi in his form of Bhūtaḍāmara, the “Tamer of Spirits,” it is Vajrapāṇi himself who delivers this tantra in response to a request from Śiva. Notwithstanding this esoteric origin, this tantra was compiled anonymously around the seventh or eighth century ᴄᴇ, introducing for the first time the cult of its titular deity. Apart from a few short ritual manuals (sādhana), this tantra remains the only major work dedicated solely to Bhūtaḍāmara.
Acknowledgements
This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical translated the text from the Sanskrit manuscripts, prepared the Sanskrit edition, and wrote the introduction. Thomas Doctor then compared the translation against the Tibetan translation found in the Degé Kangyur and edited the text. Special thanks are owed to Dr. Péter-Dániel Szántó for making available his transcript of the manuscript, “Göttingen Xc 14/50 I,” which was our default source for the reconstruction of the Sanskrit text.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Text Body
Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra
Chapter 10
“Next are the detailed instructions for the heart mantras of the deities of the third, outer zone of the maṇḍala.150
“The mantra of Indra, in the east:
“The mantra of Vaiśravaṇa,158 in the north:
“Next are the descriptions and the detailed instructions on the mudrās of the deities of the maṇḍala of wind.164
“Stretching your right hand, press down on the fingernail of your little finger with your thumb while spreading out your remaining fingers.
“Stretching your left hand, make it quiver slightly.
“Make your right hand into a fist and extend your index finger.
“Make your right hand into a fist and extend your index and middle fingers.
“Making your left hand into a fist, stretch out the index finger and then bend it into a semicircle.
“Form your left hand into a fist, position it on your head,166 and extend your index and [F.249.a] middle fingers.
“The mudrā of Vaiśravaṇa’s elephant:
“Make your right hand into a fist and extend the thumb.
“Making your right hand167 into a fist, use the thumb to press down on the fingernail of the little finger while extending the remaining fingers.
“The mudrā of Pūrṇa is formed by joining the cupped palms of one’s hands together. His mantra is ‘Oṁ, you are the vajra of accomplishment! Please bring full satisfaction, bring it! Hūṁ!’169
“Holding your fists together, enclose both little fingers, then extend both index fingers to form a circle.
“The corresponding mantra for bringing accomplishment:
“Oṁ, Great Wrath, you are the vajra anger! For the bringing of accomplishment, hūṁ, jaḥ!”170
“Brandishing the vajra-scepter, one should recite:
“The mudrā of Vajradhara’s spirit seat:
“Stretch out your left hand while raising your thumb. With the fist of your right hand, grab your left thumb while holding up the right thumb. You should visualize yourself standing astride Aparājita.
“The mantra of this seat:
“Oṁ, conquer, conquer! O supreme master Great Wrath, king of wrath, please display this spirit-seat, display it! Please protect us, protect us! Svāhā!”172
“Join the cupped palms of your hands together and spread all your fingers apart. This is the lotus mudrā.
“Oṁ, each deity is to be seated on a seat arising from a lotus. Svāhā!”173
“One should form exactly the same lotus mudrā while moving the thumbs.
“The mantra for dismissing the deities:
“Oṁ, all deities, please go, go! Depart, depart! [F.249.b] Go on, go on! So commands the glorious Vajradhara. Svāhā!”175
“One should offer praise with the following verse:
This concludes the chapter from the great sovereign “Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra” that contains the detailed instructions on the mudrās of all the deities in this great maṇḍala of accomplishment.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations Used in the Sanskrit Appendix
Critical apparatus
| + | plus signs replace illegible text |
|---|---|
| ] | a right square bracket marks the lemma, i.e., the adopted reading for which variants are adduced |
| conj. | conjectured |
| em. | emended |
| om. | omitted |
| ° | an upper ring indicates truncation of a word |
| † | daggers enclose unintelligible text |
Sigla or acronyms of textual witnesses
Manuscripts
| A | Tokyo University Library (New 274 / Old 567) |
|---|---|
| B | Tokyo University Library (New 273 / Old 483) |
| G | Göttingen University Library (Göttingen Xc 14 / 50 I) |
Published Works
| SM | Sādhanamālā, the sādhana of Bhūtaḍāmara (sādhana no. 264) |
|---|---|
| Tib. | Tibetan text of the Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra in the Degé canon (Toh 747) |
Bibliography
Sanskrit and Tibetan Sources
Bhūtaḍāmaratantram. Rāya, Kṛṣṇa Kumāra, ed. Vārāṇasī: Prācya Prakāśana, 1933.
Bhūtaḍāmaratantra. University of Göttingen Library, Xc 14/50 I.
Bhūtaḍāmaramahātantrarāja. University of Tokyo Library, New 274/Old 567.
Bhūtaḍāmaramahātantrarāja. University of Tokyo Library, New 273/Old 483.
Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh, ed., Sādhanamālā (pp. 512−28). Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968.
’byung po ’dul ba zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po (Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra). Toh 747, Degé Kangyur vol. 95 (rgyud ’bum, dza), folios 238.a–263.a.
Secondary Sources
Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh. “The Cult of Bhūtaḍāmara.” Proceedings and Transactions of the Sixth All-India Oriental Conference: 349−70. Patna: Bihar and Orissa Research Society, 1933.
———. The Indian Buddhist Iconography Based on the Sādhanamālā and Other Cognate Sanskrit Texts and Rituals. Calcutta: Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay, 1958.
Bühnemann, Gudrun. “Buddhist Deities and Mantras in the Hindu Tantras I: The Tantrasārasaṃgraha and the Īśānaśivagurudevapaddhati.” Indo-Iranian Journal 42:4 (1999): 303–34.
Cabezón, José Ignacio. The Buddha’s Doctrine and the Nine Vehicles. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.
Pal, Pratapaditya. Hindu Religion and Iconology According to the Tantrasāra. Los Angeles: Vichitra Press, 1981.