The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā

Summary

The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā takes place in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The gods have just been defeated by the asuras, and Śakra, lord of the gods, rushes to the Buddha for help. The Buddha instructs Śakra to retain the dhāraṇī known as The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā. After transmitting the dhāraṇī, the Buddha explains that people who recite and retain it become victorious in conflicts. He also states that people who attach it atop standards or tie it around the neck will be protected and that the dhāraṇī will manifest in the form of the female deity Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, who will always be with them, eliminating fear, affording protection, and granting all good things such as good reputation and abundance.

Acknowledgments

This dhāraṇī was translated by Gyurme Avertin. Kedar and Rubi Prado compared the translation with the available Sanskrit manuscript and edited the dhāraṇī based on the Tibetan version. Dza Tsetra compared the translation with the Chinese version.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.

Introduction

The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā takes place in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, where Śakra requests help from the Buddha after the gods have been defeated by the asura king Vemacitri. The Buddha tells Śakra to retain the dhāraṇī known as The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, which he received from the Tathāgata Unsurpassed Standard in a previous life. The Buddha transmits the dhāraṇī and explains that those who recite it and retain it become victorious in battles and conflicts, and that those who attach it to the top of standards or tie it around their neck will be protected by the buddhas. He explains that the dhāraṇī will also manifest in the form of a female deity who will always be in front of them eliminating fear, affording protection, and granting all positive things such as good reputation and abundance.

The goddess Dhvajāgrakeyūrā has several different forms with varying colors, numbers of heads and arms, hand implements, and so on.^⁠1 However, traditionally she is portrayed as predominantly yellow, with four heads and holding the hand implements mentioned here. Dhvajāgrakeyūrā’s appearance is also mentioned in two sādhanas devoted to her in the Tengyur (Toh 3592 and 3600), with some differences between them. The term dhvajāgra or “crest insignia” refers to a symbol or insignia that was mounted at the end of a long pole, which was employed as a martial ensign on the battlefield in ancient India. In two early Dhvajāgra Mahāsūtras (Toh 292 and Toh 293), the dhvajāgra itself, as an object, is a metaphor for refuge. At that early stage in the history of Buddhist literature, the dhvajāgra does not seem to have been associated with a goddess, as protection came from the revival of courage expressed in the analogy (parallel to this work) of the devas being on the point of defeat by the asuras. However, protective texts and dhāraṇīs became, over time, embodied in goddesses who gained iconically detailed forms, as we find with Dhvajāgrakeyūrā featured here. There are numerous Dhvajāgrakeyūrā sādhanas in the Tibetan tradition, and this deity and her dhāraṇī have also become associated with the Tibetan windhorse (Tib. rlung rta), as their functions are similar: to eliminate obstacles and adversity and to bring victory and good circumstances. Tibetan writers such as Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912) composed prayers to Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, asking her to remove obstacles.

In the Degé Kangyur, The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā is included among the tantras belonging to the kriyā class and is also reproduced in the Dhāraṇī (gzungs ’dus) section. The two versions are identical apart from a few minor spelling differences. The attribution in the colophon to the paṇḍitas Jinamitra and Dānaśīla and the translator Yeshé Dé suggests that the translation was completed during the late eighth or early ninth century, which is supported by this text’s inclusion in the Phangthangma^⁠2 and Denkarma^⁠3 imperial catalogs, both of which date to the early ninth century. The text is also extant in Sanskrit in at least two versions in GRETIL’s Sanskrit corpus.^⁠4 The famous pilgrim and translator Xuanzang (602–64) also translated it into Chinese^⁠5 in the year 654.

This English translation was produced based on both Toh 612^⁠6⁠6 and Toh 923 in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the two Sanskrit versions available to us, and Xuanzang’s Chinese translation. Following 84000’s convention, the dhāraṇī has been transliterated as it appears in the Degé version of the text. There is often wide variation in the Tibetan transcription of dhāraṇīs across recensions of the Kangyur, and only minor changes have been made to reconcile them or to emend the dhāraṇī based on Sanskrit conventions.