The Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra
Chapter 4
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 4
Then each of the fierce kātyāyanīs—very wild female spirits—stood up in the midst of the assembled audience, [F.243.a] bowed to the feet of the glorious supreme master Great Wrath, and offered her heart mantra.
“Oṁ, truṃ hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!”
“Oṁ, bhū! Blaze up! Hūṁ phaṭ!”54
“Oṁ oṁ. Hrīḥ hrīḥ. Hūṁ hūṁ. He he! Phaṭ phaṭ! Svāhā!”
“Oṁ, you who spread wild panic! Loud-laughing one who is fond of practitioners! Great one of many forms! Source of gems! One with gold in her hands! Destroyer of Yama! Appeaser of all suffering! Oṁ oṁ oṁ oṁ. Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ. Please swiftly grant me accomplishment! Hrīḥ, jaḥ, svāhā!”55
“Oṁ, Destroyer of Yama who prevents untimely death, bearing a sword and spear in your hands, please grant me swift accomplishment! So commands the practitioner. Hrīḥ svāhā!”56
“Oṁ, you with golden earrings! Burn, burn! Blaze up, blaze! You who are adorned with divine earrings! The crusher of Rāvaṇa! The lord commands you! Svāhā!”57
“Oṁ, you with knitted brows! Summon them, summon!58 Run, run! Burn, burn! You with a fiery mouth! Come, come! Rouser of vetālas! Enter, enter! Hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ! Phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ! The lord commands you! Hrīḥ svāhā!”59
“Oṁ, the crusher of ancestral spirits! Summon them, summon! Conquer, conquer! You who are worshipped by all asuras! Hūṁ, jaḥ, svāhā!”60
“Oṁ, you who are fond of carnal delights! The divine-eyed queen of lovers! You who bewitch the world! O fortunate one adorned with a golden necklace! Please enter, enter with the sound of your anklets! Fulfill the needs, fulfill! You who are fond of practitioners! Hrīḥ, svāhā!”61
One will achieve one’s aim merely by reciting the mantras62 of these eight kātyāyanīs,63 the queens of spirits.
“I will now teach that which is most secret among all that is secret in the great Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra, the characteristics of the mudrās of the eight kātyāyanī spirits.64
“The mudrā of Surakātyāyanī:
“With the other fingers folded, extend your index finger, bending it slightly.
“The mudrā of Mahākātyāyanī that summons all female spirits:
“Folding the other fingers in, extend your index fingers in the shape of hooks.
“The mudrā of Raudrakātyāyanī, the spirit-queen of the family who is fond of practitioners but kills all female spirits and destroys their families: [F.243.b]
“This mudrā is the same as the one before, except that the practitioner should join the tips of his middle fingers, enclosing the little fingers underneath. Simply by forming this mudrā the spirit will be quickly mastered.65
“The mudrā of Rudrakātyāyanī:
“Clench both hands into fists and extend each of your index fingers. Make offerings of perfume, incense, flowers, and lamps,66 and also offer a bali of fish and meat. All female spirits will immediately become one’s servants.
“The mudrā of Kuṇḍalakātyāyanī67 that binds female spirits:
“Firmly clench both hands into fists, enclosing both index fingers.
“The mudrā of Caṇḍakātyāyanī, which can burst eyeballs, is the same. It brings mastery over all great female spirits.68
“The mudrā of Jayamukhakātyāyanī that enthralls all female spirits:
“Form your left hand into a fist and extend your index finger.69 This mudrā masters70 all female spirits and brings their families and clans under control.
“The threatening mudrā of Śubhakātyāyanī that summons the triple universe:
“Hold your fists together, enclosing your two little fingers, then extend and bend both your index fingers.71 This mudrā can subdue even Rudra and Brahmā,72 not to mention the minor female spirits. It masters all the gods.73 This mudrā of Śubhakātyāyanī quickly brings accomplishment.”
So spoke the lord, the supreme master Great Wrath.
This concludes the chapter from the great sovereign “Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra”74 that contains detailed instructions on the mudrās of the eight kātyāyanī spirits.
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.