The Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra
Chapter 19
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 19
Then, each nāga queen present in the gathering rose up, respectfully bowed to the feet of the glorious Vajradhara, and offered him her heart mantra:
Anantamukhī: “Oṁ phuḥ oṁ phuḥ!”287
Karkoṭakamukhī:288 “Phuḥ oṁ phuḥ!”
Padminī: “Phuḥ gaṃ phuḥ!”
Mahāpadminī: “Phuḥ āḥ phuḥ!”
Vāsukimukhī:289 “Phuḥ dhīḥ phuḥ!”
Jvālāmukhī: “Phuḥ hūṁ phuḥ!”
Dhūpamukhī:290 “Phuḥ kaṃ phuḥ!”
“The practitioner should go to a place where nāgas live and recite the mantra 100,000 times as a preliminary practice. Every nāginī will be pleased, and all nāgas and nāginīs will rejoice. On the fifth day292 of the bright fortnight, he should descend into the water at the nāgas’ dwelling place and offer perfume, flowers, incense, and milk in the prescribed way. Then, he should recite the mantra one thousand times for each of the eight nāginīs. Soon a nāga maiden will emerge, burning with heat.293 On her arrival, a welcome offering of milk and sandalwood should be given.294 The practitioner should say, ‘Welcome! Please be my wife.’ She will offer eight dinars every day, [F.257.b] and can be induced to kill anyone or let them live. She can do anything.
“The practitioner should go to the confluence of two rivers and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times while offering food made from milk. A divinely beautiful nāginī will arrive. When she does, he should place some flowers on her head and say, ‘Please be my wife.’ She will give delicious divine foods and five dinars every day.
“The practitioner should go at night to a place inhabited by nāgas and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. The moment the recitation is complete, a nāginī will arrive suffering from an intense headache. She will say, ‘What can I do for you, my dear?’ The practitioner should reply, ‘Please be my mother.’295 She will then offer the practitioner and four other people296 clothes, adornments, food, and so forth every day, along with five dinars.
“The practitioner should go at night to a lotus pond and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. A nāginī will swiftly arrive. When she does, he should make love to her. She will become his wife and offer eight dinars. He should spend it all without remainder. If he saves anything, he will not get more.
“The practitioner should go at night to the confluence of two rivers and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. Then, at the end of the recitation, a nāga maiden is certain to arrive. When she does, he should offer to her a seat made of gold297 and say, ‘Welcome! Please be my wife.’ She will give one hundred palas of gold every single day.
“The practitioner should go at night to a great lake filled with lotuses and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. When the recitation is complete a nāga maiden is certain to arrive. When she does, he should say, ‘Please be my wife.’ She will offer one dinar and a pair of garments.
“The practitioner should go to a place inhabited by nāgas, descend into the water up to his navel, and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. When the recitation is complete a nāga maiden is certain to arrive. When she does, he should place flowers on her head and say, ‘Please be my wife.’298 She will give eight dinars and delicious divine food.
“The practitioner should go to a place inhabited by nāgas and recite the mantra all night. Then, at dawn, a nāga maiden adorned with all kinds of jewelry will arrive in an instant. [F.258.a] When she does, he should give her a welcome offering of sandalwood-scented water and flowers. He should say, ‘Welcome! Please be my wife.’ She will present a divine elixir of long life and power substances. She will fulfill all his wishes and offer a kingdom.
“The practitioner should go299 to a place where nāgas are found and recite the mantra ten thousand times. A nāga maiden will soon arrive. When she does, he should promptly make love to her and say, ‘Please be my wife.’ Every day she will give him eight dinars, delicious divine food, and a pair of garments.
“The practitioner should go at night into the vicinity of nāgas and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. When the recitation is complete a nāga maiden will swiftly arrive. When she does, he should place nāga flowers300 on her head and say, ‘Please be my wife.’ She will give him divine clothes, adornments, delicious food, and so on.
“The mantra of perfume and flowers: Oṁ ī phuḥ!
“The mantra of the welcome offering and incense: Oṁ phuḥ, aḥ phuḥ!
“The mantra of dismissing: Phuḥ! Depart, depart! Svāhā to your swift return!302
“Join the flattened palms of your hands together and raise them up, forming the shape of a topknot with the fingers. The tips of your index fingers should be placed together with the thumbs extended.303 This is the universal mudrā for all rites, including the invocation, the pledge, and the dismissal.304
“Form your left and right hands into fists and press down on the fingernails of your little fingers with your thumbs. Extend the remaining fingers.”
So spoke the glorious lord Vajradhara.305
This concludes the chapter from the great sovereign “Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra” that contains detailed instructions on the sādhana practice of the nāginīs.
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.