co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions is a Kriyātantra scripture that presents a series of practices and rites that can be employed in diverse Buddhist ritual contexts, rather than for a specific deity or maṇḍala. The tantra records a conversation between the Buddhist deity Vajrapāṇi and the layman Subāhu, whose questions prompt Vajrapāṇi to share a wealth of instructions on ritual practices primarily intended to bring about the accomplishment of worldly goals. The rites described in The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions address concerns about health, spirit possession, the accumulation of wealth and prosperity, and warding off destabilizing and obstructing forces. Special attention is given to rites for animating corpses and using spirits and spirit mediums for divination purposes. Despite the generally worldly applications for the rites explained to Subāhu, Vajrapāṇi is careful to establish the Mahāyāna orientation that must frame them: the quest for complete liberation guided by ethical discipline, insight into the faults of saṃsāra, and the motivation to alleviate the suffering of other beings and assist them in reaching awakening.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by Dr. Lozang Jamspal, Kaia Fischer, and Erin Sperry of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York.

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


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble
Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions
4.

Chapter 4

4.­1
“Next to be explained are the vajras
A practitioner should be sure to wield.
They can measure ten, twelve, sixteen, or eighteen finger-widths, [F.123.a]
But the best measures twenty finger-widths.
4.­2
“Gold vajras are recommended to obtain
The state of a vidyādhara, or any lands.87
Silver is the best for kingship,
While copper is for nāgas, the source of jewels.88
4.­3
“To destroy the magical devices of asura lords,
Or enter openings in the earth, use a stone vajra.
For success in all aims, a triple-alloy is best,89
While iron is used to smash guhyaka armies.
4.­4
“For other malevolent forces use khadira wood;90
Use bilva for glory, prosperity, health, and riches;
For success with yakṣas and mātṛkās91 use madu wood;92
And for the Dharma, one made of aśvattha93 is recommended.
4.­5
“Use human bone to assail murderers,
And enemies wielding sharp spears.
Use one made of crystal for great illusions,
While one made of neem94 is recommended for separation.
4.­6
“To kill or desiccate use beleric myrobalan,95
Which is always96 good for success with piśācas too.
For success with devas, yakṣas, and gandharvas
Use a vajra made from cedar.97
4.­7
“If mastery over nāgas is desired,
Use one made from the root of a nāga tree.98
For shapeshifting use one made of earth,
And for success with vetālas, use kadamba wood.99
4.­8
“For wealth use a vajra made of punnāga wood,100
Or the wood of rājārka101 or the aśvattha tree.
One made of glavāmraśivarṇava,102 arjuna tree,103 or the like
Is used for victory when battling humans.
4.­9
“To attain anything pleasing and desirable
Use a vajra made of white or red sandalwood.
One should wield a vajra that is solid and five-pronged,
Well formed, smooth, and free of wear.
4.­10
“When recitation begins, pick the vajra up;
When complete, immediately bow with faith,
Make offerings of fragrance and the like,
And place the vajra at the Victor’s feet.
4.­11
“Anyone practicing the mantras of my clan104
Will not succeed without a vajra.
Those who cannot find one
Should make a fist and recite with focus.
4.­12
“Realgar, bovine bezoar, a sword, collyrium,
Copper sulfate, yellow orpiment, a noose, vermillion,
Ochre, ghee, calamus,105 a wheel, a vajra,
A spear, skin, armor, and a trident‍— [F.123.b]
4.­13
“These seventeen renowned substances106
Bring the attainment of the three kinds of siddhi.
Look to the explanations in your own mantra rituals
To learn about the three kinds of siddhi.107
4.­14
“Vighnas and vināyakas who dislike siddhis
Flit about the host of vidyās,
Seeking myriad ways
to thwart industrious vidyādharas.108
4.­15
“There are four clans of vighnas,
Of vināyakas arrayed upon the earth:
The destroyer, jackal, mongoose, and one-tooth clans.
Limitless are these four and their emanations.
4.­16
“Upon the earth are the four world guardians,109
In whose retinue is found Aśoka.110
Their retinue, numbering seventy million,
Creates obstacles for practitioners of mantra.111
4.­17
“The jackal clan numbers 180 million,
And serves as the retinue of Maheśvara.
Their general is the mighty Gajamukha,112
And together they create obstacles all over the earth.
4.­18
“The general of the one-tooth clan is Dangling Locks,
Who controls sixty million vināyakas.
With Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Sūrya, Candra, and Vāyu
They create obstacles for instruction and mantra.
4.­19
“The mongoose clan is vast,
Numbering thousands of millions of billions.
With their general, Born from a Topknot,113
They create obstacles for my clan and mantras.114
4.­20
“Nandika, with long, lotus-like eyes,
And Pāñcika create obstacles for the mantra lineage.115
The son of Maṇicara and father of Pūrṇa116
Also create obstacles for one’s own mantra line.
4.­21
“Unhappy with practitioners’ wealth117 and bereft of kindness,
They create obstacles according to their respective clans.
They take the form of one’s own mantra deities118
And abscond with garlands and oblations.
4.­22
“Seeing what the vināyakas, as deities, have done,
A mantrin will grow angry and turn away in disgust.
Motivated as they are by avarice and delusion,
Vighnas and vināyakas devise119 this way of appearing as a deity.120
4.­23
“No deva, nāga, or siddha121 can undermine this,
Not even the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. [F.124.a]
The terror wrought by vināyakas
Can be overcome by what I have already taught.
4.­24
“When recitation is complete, rites of protection should be performed,
The maṇḍala rites repeated, and the maṇḍala entered.
Otherwise, in the absence of a rite of worship,
And lacking rites for recitation and homa,
A person will constantly wonder,
‘Which vidyā should I recite?’
4.­25
“Fixated on tales of kings, kingdoms, and the like,
The body becomes easy to possess.
Pulled here and there in this way,
The mind that chants122 vidyā is led to distraction.
4.­26
“Like a shadow falling on water,
Vighnas enter a person’s body.
They enter some when bathing,
Some when reciting,
And some when sleeping.
They enter some when offering
Flowers, fragrance, and lamps,
And some when performing homa.
4.­27
“Just as, for example, a sunstone charged with sunlight
Produces fire without need for specific conditions,123
So a vighna can enter the body
And spark the intense fire of passion.
4.­28
“The vighnas named shaking and trembling
Take hold when a person is bathing in water.
They cause hunger, fatigue,124 and deep sleep,
As well as lethargy and anger in the extreme.
4.­29
“Likewise, the vighnas called gandharvas
Enter the body when fragrance is offered.
People dream of kings, kingdoms, family, and wealth;
They grow fatigued and become fixated on women.
4.­30
“A being with a large black body125 will burst from the earth
And enter a person’s body during offerings of incense.
Acting wickedly, it incites avarice and deceit,
And terrorizes126 those with strong desire so that semen spills.
4.­31
“One-Braid127 will create obstacles during lamp offerings,
Causing heat in the heart, sharp pain, and mental decline.
Dangling Locks enters when a person is standing,
Inflicting intense fever, diarrhea, and vomiting.
4.­32
“Great Flower Array will find a chance
To enter the body while one offers flowers.
He will cause fevers, colds, and joint pain,
As well as separation from companions. [F.124.b]
4.­33
“Those who are possessed by a vighna
Take what is not the path as the path.
They are wracked with desire, behave erratically,
Speak impulsively, and stumble profitlessly through their readings.
4.­34
“Those with purpose are rendered ambivalent.
With their minds overcome by wrong view,
They constantly say frivolous things like,
‘There is no mantra, there are no heavens,
There is no merit nor the slightest evil,
There is no liberation, and no cause of bondage.
Life is pointless, rife with afflictions, and a hardship.’
4.­35
“Those who are possessed pick at grass with their nails,
Smash dirt clods, and grind their teeth at night.
Also possessed are women who want a spouse but find none,
Men who want a spouse but find none,
People who ignore the meaningful and do what is not,
And those who go where they please and never sleep.
4.­36
“Also possessed are those who dream
Of tigers, leopards, lions, dogs, or pigs;
Of donkeys, camels, cats, or flesh-eating jackals;
Of vultures, owls, herons, small people, or snakes;128
Of people who are naked, ash-covered, or black-colored;
Of dry wells or heaps of skulls and bones;
Of iron, stone quarries, or houses old and unclean;
Or of changing faces or of people bearing swords and spears.
4.­37
“Carry out the ritual activities of fierce Amṛtakuṇḍalin
To destroy these vighnas and vināyakas.
Mantrins who follow the path129 of his mantra,
Are not vulnerable to vighnas and vināyakas.130
4.­38
“At a solitary tree, in a cattle pen or shrine,
At a crossroads, empty house, or in a forest,
Use a variety of paints to draw a maṇḍala,
One that is four cubits square.
4.­39
“Surround it with places for the directional deities,
And spread kuśa grass at the four gates.
Present many oblations of fruit and cooked grain,
Along with other food, meat, alcohol, radishes, and so forth.
4.­40
“Take four vases that are the color of a red lotus,
Unblemished, and adorned with jewels,
Fill them with medicines, grain, and fragrant water,
Adorn their mouths with stalks, and tie cloth around their necks.
4.­41
“After reciting one hundred recitations
Of the mantras for Raktāṅga, Kīlikīla, Dramiḍa,131 and so forth, [F.125.a]
Place the vases around the maṇḍala
And make offerings of fragrant unguents, incense, and so forth.
4.­42
“Place someone possessed by a vighna in the center of the maṇḍala,
On a comfortable seat that faces toward the east.
Once the mantra is recited and they are washed with each vase,
They are thereby freed from the vināyaka.
4.­43
“Destroying vighnas is not only of benefit
To people who are practitioners.
It is also suitable for the royal court and childless women,
For young women and musicians,
Sex workers132 and merchants,
Farmers, the poor and destitute,
Those seized by grahas and those stricken with fever,
Young grahas,133 and those who steal flowers and fruit.
This washing brings purity;
It clears away poison, nightmares, and distractions.”
4.­44

This was the fourth chapter of the noble “Subāhu’s Questions.”

ab.

Abbreviations

C Choné
F Phukdrak
H Lhasa (Zhol)
J Lithang
K Peking/Kangxi
N Narthang
S Stok Palace
U Urga
Y Peking Yongle
b.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

’phags pa dpung bzang gis zhus pa zhes bya ba’i rgyud (Ārya­subāhu­paripṛcchānāma­tantra). Toh 805, Degé Kangyur vol. 96 (rgyud, wa), folios 118.a–140.b.

’phags pa dpung bzang gis zhus pa zhes bya ba’i rgyud (Ārya­subāhu­paripṛcchā­nāma­tantra). 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. 96, pp. 434-508.

’phags pa dpung bzang gis zhus pa zhes bya ba’i rgyud (Ārya­subāhu­pari­pṛcchā­nāma­tantra). Stok Palace Kangyur vol.109 (rgyud ’bum, tsha), folios 398.a–420.b.

’phags pa dpung bzangs gis zhus pa’i rgyud ces bya ba (Ārya­subāhu­pari­pṛcchānāmatantra). Phukdrak Kangyur vol.111 (rgyud, pa), folios 196.a–229.b.

’phags pa lag bzangs kyis zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya­subāhu­paripṛcchā­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 70, Degé Kangyur vol. 43 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 154.a–180.b.

Anonymous. ’phags pa dpung bzangs gis zhus pa’i rgyud tshig gi don bshad pa’i brjed byang bzhugs. Toh 2672, Degé Tengyur vol. 7 (rgyud ’grel, thu), folios 54.b–100.b.

Anonymous. ’phags pa dpung bzangs gis zhus pa’i rgyud kyi bsdus pa’i don dgrol ba’i brjed byang (Ārya­subāhu­pari­pṛcchā­nāma­tantra­piṇḍārthavṛtti). Toh 2673, Degé Tengyur vol. 7 (rgyud ’grel, thu), folios 100.b–116.b.

Buddhaguhya. ’phags pa dpung bzangs gis zhus pa’i rgyud kyi bsdus pa’i don (Ārya­subāhu­pari­pṛcchā­nāma­tantra­piṇḍārtha). Toh 2671, Degé Tengyur vol. 7 (rgyud ’grel, thu), folios 38.a–54.b.

Secondary References: Indo-Tibetan

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

sba bzhed. Edited by mGon po mrgyal mtshan. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang.

Nāgārjuna. bshes pa’i spring yig (Suhṛllekha). Toh 4182, Degé Tengyur, vol. 173 (mdo ’grel, nge), folios 40.b–46.b.

Nāropā. Sekodeśaṭikā: Being a Commentary on the Sekoddeśa Section of the Kālacakra Tantra. Edited by Mario E. Carelli. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1941.

Somadeva. The Kathāsaritsāgara of Somadevabhatta. Edited by Pandit Durgāprasād and Kāśīnāth Pāndurang Parab. Bombay: Pāndurang Jāwajī, 1930.

Suśruta. The Suśrutasaṃhitā of Suśruta: with the Nibandhsangraha Commentary of Śrī Dalhaṇācārya. Edited by Vaidya Jādavji Trikamji ācāryā, revised second edition, Bombay: Pāndurang Jāṃajī, 1931.

Secondary References: Contemporary

Dezső, Csaba. “Encounters with Vetālas: Studies on Fabulous Creatures I.” Acta Orientalia Acadamiae Scientiarum Hungary 63, no. 4 (2010): 391–426.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Toh 543). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Sovereign Ritual of Amoghapāśa (Toh 686). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Goodall, Dominic and Harunaga Isaacson. “On the Shared ‘Ritual Syntax’ of the Early Tantric Traditions.” In Tantric Studies: Fruits of a Franco-German Collaboration on Early Tantra. Edited by Dominic Goodall and Harunaga Isaacson, pp. 1–72. Pondicherry: Institut Français de Pondichéry, 2016.

Granoff, Phyllis. “Other People’s Rituals: Ritual Eclecticism in Early Medieval Indian Religions.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 28 (2000): 399–424.

Gyatso, Janet. “One Plus One Makes Three: Buddhist Gender, Monasticism, and the Law of the Non-excluded Middle.” History of Religions 23, no.2 (2003): 89–115.

Halkias, Georgios. “Tibetan Buddhism Registered: A Catalogue from the Imperial Court of ’Phang Thang.” The Eastern Buddhist 36 (2004): 46–105.

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

Huang, Po-Chi. “The Cult of Vetāla and Tantric Fantasy.” In Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions, edited by M. Poo, 211–35. Leiden: Brill Publications, 2009.

Meulenbeld, G. Jan. A History of Indian Medical Literature. Groningen: Egbert Forsten, 1999.

Orofino, Giacomella. “Divination with Mirrors: Observations on a Simile Found in the Kālacakra Literature.” Tibetan Studies vol. 2 (1994): 612–28.

Sanderson, Alexis. “Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions.” In The World’s Religions, edited by Stewart Sutherland, et al, 660–704. London: Routledge, 1988.

Slouber, Michael. Early Tantric Medicine: Snakebite, Mantras, and Healing in the Gāruḍa Tantras. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Smith, Frederick M. The Self Possessed: Deity and Spirit Possession in South Asian Literature and Civilization. New York: Columbia University Publications, 2006.

Vasudeva, Somadeva. “Prasenā, Prasīnā and Prasannā: The Evidence of the Niśvāsaguhya and the Tantrasadbhāva.” Cracow Indological Studies 16, Special Issue (2015): 369–90.

Vienna Buddhist Translation Studies Group, trans. Summary of Empowerment (Toh 361). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Table of Contents

Search this text

Spotted a mistake?

Please use the contact form provided to suggest a correction.

How to cite this text

The following are examples of how to correctly cite this publication. Links to specific passages can be derived by right-clicking on the milestones markers in the left-hand margin (e.g. s.1). The copied link address can replace the url below.

84000. The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions (Subāhu­paripṛcchā­tantra, dpung bzang gis zhus pa’i rgyud, Toh 805). Translated by Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh805/UT22084-096-054-chapter-4.Copy
84000. The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions (Subāhu­paripṛcchā­tantra, dpung bzang gis zhus pa’i rgyud, Toh 805). Translated by Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh805/UT22084-096-054-chapter-4.Copy
84000. (2025) The Tantra of Subāhu’s Questions (Subāhu­paripṛcchā­tantra, dpung bzang gis zhus pa’i rgyud, Toh 805). (Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh805/UT22084-096-054-chapter-4.Copy
Sponsor Translation