co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

In this concise text, Vajrapāṇi, through the power and blessings of the Buddha and all bodhisattvas, proclaims a series of powerful dhāraṇī-mantras. The text concludes with verses on the benefits of the dhāraṇī and a simple ablution ritual.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. It was translated by Nicholas Schmidt with consultation from Kashinath Nyaupane and Ryan Damron. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text. Wiesiek Mical subsequently provided editorial feedback.

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

i.

Introduction

i.­1

Vajra Conqueror is a short dhāraṇī text with an illustrious history in several different Buddhist communities. The text begins with a brief narrative introduction and a sweeping statement on the qualities and function of the dhāraṇī. After a series of three dhāraṇī-mantras, the text concludes with ten verses, which first extol the benefits of the practice and finally outline a concise purification ritual. In the narrative introduction, set abstractly “in the vajra” (Skt. vajreṣu, Tib. rdo rje la), Vajrapāṇi, through the power of the Buddha Śākyamuni, reveals the dhāraṇī. The elaborations on this narrative found in the Indic commentarial tradition inform us that the dhāraṇī was revealed in order to cure the ailments afflicting King Ajātaśatru of Magadha after he had usurped the throne of his father, King Bimbisāra, and terrorized the Gangetic basin with his martial adventurism.

i.­2

The Sanskrit dhāraṇī is popular among Newar Buddhists in Nepal,1 where it is included in a set of daily dhāraṇī practices referred to collectively as the Saptavāra (Seven Days), of which the National Archives in Kathmandu today holds more than two hundred Sanskrit witnesses.

i.­3

The fourteenth-century Tibetan Chronicles of Padma (padma bka’ thang) mentions that the dhāraṇī was first translated into Tibetan during the imperial period and was included in the Ten Royal Sūtras (Tib. rgyal po mdo bcu), the recitation of which was prescribed by Padmasambhava to the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen (Tib. khri srong lde bstan, 755–97 ᴄᴇ) to prolong his life. It is also traditionally placed in a subset, the “Five Royal Sūtras.”2 According to the colophon of the Tibetan translation, it was translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, along with the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé. The dhāraṇī is also listed in the Denkarma (Tib. ldan kar ma) catalog of 812 ᴄᴇ,3 which confirms its transmission to Tibet prior to that date. During the early period of Tibetan Buddhist history, such luminaries as Padmasambhava, Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, and Smṛtijñānakīrti wrote commentaries on the dhāraṇī.4 During the later diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet (tenth to fourteenth century), many other commentaries on the dhāraṇī and its rituals were translated into Tibetan.5 Since that time, it has remained important to all traditions of Tibetan Buddhism down to the present day, mainly for its use as a dhāraṇī to purify and heal illnesses arising due to karmic obscurations. Major scholars of all four schools have composed commentarial and practice literature on this dhāraṇī.6

i.­4

This translation is based on the Degé Kangyur xylograph, while the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace Kangyurs were consulted to clarify problematic readings. Within the Degé canon, the dhāraṇī is included twice: once in the Tantra section (Tib. rgyud, Toh 750), and once in the Dhāraṇī section (Tib. gzungs ’dus, Toh 949).7 The two versions are generally equivalent, preserving the same translation colophon and very few variant readings. This translation is also informed by the earliest and most extensive commentary, attributed to Buddhaguhya (Toh 2680), as well as the Sanskrit edition presented in Dhīḥ (2005).

i.­5

The Sanskrit retained here was compiled by comparing the Sanskrit transliteration of the Degé edition (Toh 750) with the two editions of the Sanskrit Vajra Conqueror dhāraṇī‍—those of Iwamoto (1937) and Dhīḥ (2005). Finally, we referred to a late Devanāgarī manuscript witness (NGMCP: E 1414/8). For assistance in interpreting and translating the Sanskrit of the dhāraṇī-mantras, we have also consulted Ju Mipham’s (’ju mi pham, 1846–1912) synthesis of the commentarial traditions of Buddhaguhya, Padmasambhava, Smṛtijñānakīrti, and Vimalamitra.8

i.­6

Following the Tibetan precedent of leaving the syllables of mantras (Skt. mantrapada) in transliteration and untranslated, we have reproduced the mantric syllables as they appear in the Degé Tibetan version in the translation’s main body, while noting the variants found in the consulted Sanskrit editions. Note that within Sanskrit editions, numerals following Sanskrit terms indicate a repetition of the last term. In the endnotes, following the three constituent dhāraṇī-mantras, we have included an English interpretative translation of the Sanskrit mantras as edited by Iwamoto.

Text Body

The Dhāraṇī
Vajra Conqueror
1.

The Translation

[F.42.b]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was abiding in the vajra. Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi consecrated his entire body as vajra and entered the vajra absorption. Then, through the power of the Buddha, the blessings of all buddhas, and the blessings of all bodhisattvas, Vajrapāṇi proclaimed the vajra essence that emanated from vajra wrath. It is invulnerable,9 indivisible, indestructible, true, durable, stable, completely indestructible, and completely invincible. It routs all beings, expels all beings, interrupts all spells, subdues all spells, counters all activities, and routs all actions. It destroys all grahas, liberates all grahas, summons all bhūtas, and annihilates all bhūtas. It enacts the activities of all spells, accomplishes what has not been accomplished, and preserves what has been accomplished. It fulfills all desires and protects all beings. It pacifies and enriches. It paralyzes all beings and stupefies all beings. Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi proclaimed this exceedingly powerful mantra:

1.­3

“namo ratna­trayāya | namaś caṇḍa­vajra­pāṇaye | mahā­yakṣa­senāpataye | tadyathā | oṁ10 truṭa truṭa11 | troṭaya troṭaya | sphuṭa sphuṭa12 | sphoṭaya sphoṭaya | ghūrṇa ghūrṇa13 | ghūrṇa­paya ghūrṇa­paya14 | sarva­satvāni | bodhaya bodhaya15 | saṃ­bodhaya saṃ­bodhaya | [F.43.a] 16bhrama bhrama | saṃbhramaya saṃ­bhramaya17 | sarva­bhūtāni18 kuṭa kuṭa | 19saṃkuṭaya saṃ­kuṭaya | sarva­śatrūn ghaṭa ghaṭa | saṃgha­ṭaya saṃgha­ṭaya | sarva­vidyā vajra vajra | sphoṭaya vajra vajra | kaṭa vajra vajra | maṭa20 vajra vajra | matha vajra vajra | aṭṭahāsanīla vajra21 | suvajrāya svāhā | 22he phullu23 | niruphullu | nigṛhṇa kullu | mili cullu24 | 25kuru­kullu26 | vajra­vijayāya svāhā | 27kīli kīlāya svāhā28 | kaṭa kaṭa | maṭa maṭa | raṭa raṭa | moṭana pramoṭanāya29 svāhā | caranicara30 | hara hara | sara sara31 māraya | vajra­vīdārāya32 svāhā | 33chinda chinda | bhinda bhinda | mahā­kīli­kīlāya svāhā | bandha bandha | krodha krodha | kīli­kīlāya34 svāhā | curu curu caṇḍala­kīli kīlāya35 svāhā | 36trāsaya trāsaya37 | vajrakīli kīlāya | 38hara hara39 vajra­dharāya svāhā | prahara prahara | vajra­prabhañjanāya svāhā | matisthira40 vajra | śrutisthira vajra | pratisthira vajra | mahā­vajra | apratihata41 vajra | amogha vajra | ehi vajra42 | śīghraṁ vajrāya svāhā | 43dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru sarva­vajra­kulamāvartāya svāhā | amukam māraya phaṭ44 | 45namas samanta­vajrānām46 | sarva­balam āvartaya | mahābale | kaṭabale | tatale47 | acale | maṇḍalamāye48 | ativajra | mahābale | vegaraṇa49 | ajite | jvala jvala | ti ṭi ti ṭi | piṅgale | daha daha50 | tejovati | tili tili51 | bandha bandha52 | mahā­bale | vajrāṃkuśajvālaya svāhā |53

1.­4

“54namo ratna­trayāya | namaś caṇḍa­vajra­pāṇaye | mahā­yakṣa­senāpataye | tadyathā | oṁ hara hara vajra | matha matha vajra55 | dhuna dhuna vajra56 | daha daha57 vajra | paca paca vajra58 | dhara dhara vajra59 | dhāraya dhāraya vajra60 | dāruṇa dāruṇa vajra61 | chinda chinda vajra62 | bhinda bhinda vajra63 | 64hūṁ phaṭ ||65

1.­5

“66namaś caṇḍa­vajra­krodhāya67 | hulu hulu68 | tiṣṭha tiṣṭha | bandha bandha | hana hana69 | 70amṛte hūṁ phaṭ ||71

1.­6
“Purifying all negativity
And annihilating all suffering,
This, the root of all tantras,72
Is well adorned by every kind of splendor.
1.­7
“All beings with declining faculties,
Those whose longevity is diminished or weakened, [F.43.b]
Those in poverty or beset with desire,
Those whom the deities have abandoned,
1.­8
“Those who are at odds with their families,
Oppressed servants and slaves,
Parties in disagreement with each other,
Those harmed by loss of wealth,
1.­9
“Those who are pained by weariness and grief,
Fearful and destitute people,
Those harmed by planets, constellations, curses,
And unbearable grahas,
1.­10
“And even those who have nightmares
Born from their weariness and grief‍—
This will cleanse them completely;
All should listen to this sacred discourse.
1.­11
“Those whose minds are virtuous and pure
And who are dressed in clean clothes
Should listen to this discourse‍—
The profound domain of the buddhas.
1.­12
“Then, through the splendor of this discourse,
Even the most unbearable diseases
Of all living beings
Will be quelled.
1.­13
“Beings’ lifespans and merit will increase,
And they will be liberated from all negativity.
Gather jewels, mustard seeds, doob grass,
Gems, flawless sandalwood,
1.­14
“Crystals, diamonds, and flowers,
And use water to fill a vase of proper material,
Such as gold or silver,
And wrap it in clean cloth.
1.­15
“After reciting the vajra conqueror
Twenty-one or one hundred and eight times,
A king should, in this way,
Always perform ablutions.
1.­16

This concludes the dhāraṇī “Vajra Conqueror.”

c.

Colophon

c.­1

This text was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, along with the Tibetan translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.

ab.

Abbreviations

((+)) Uncertain reading of manuscript.
* Uncertain translation from Sanskrit.
Dh “Āryavajravidāraṇānāmadhāraṇī” in Dhīḥ (2005).
E Vajra­vidāraṇa­hṛdaya­mantra­dhāraṇī. NGMCP: E 1414/8.
Fx rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajra­vidāraṇa­nāma­dhāraṇī), Toh 750.
Fy rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajra­vidāraṇa­nāma­dhāraṇī), Toh 949.
I Iwamoto, Yutaka, ed. Kleinere Dhāraṇī Texte. Vol. 2. Kyoto: Iwamoto Yutaka, 1937.
Ia Dhāraṇī Sammulung (Manuscript A), consulted in Iwamoto (1937).
Ib Dhāraṇī Sammulung (Manuscript B), consulted in Iwamoto (1937).
S Stok Palace Kangyur.
n.

Notes

n.­1
Bühnemann 2014.
n.­2
In the list of ten sūtras, this text is designated as having the function of purification or ablution (rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa khrus kyi mdo). There are several different accounts of the significance of the “Five Royal Sūtras.” One holds that each concisely summarize one of the five great sūtra collections (’bum sde lnga), of which this text is said to represent the Ratnakūṭa collection, corresponding to the body (out of body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity). According to another explanation, each is simply “royal” or sovereign in its category, which in this case is, again, that of purificatory ablution (khrus). See “bsdu sgrigs gsal bshad,” in Khomthar Jamlö 2014, vol. 1, pp. 2–4.
n.­3
Denkarma F.302.b.6. See also Yoshimura 1950, and Herrmann-Pfandt 2002, no. 390.
n.­4
Works by these authors are among ten commentaries on the Vajravidāraṇā preserved in the Tengyur (Toh 2678–87).
n.­5
Toh 2907–60, 2968–71, 2973–86, 2989, 2993–94, 2996–3000, 3002–31, 3034–42, and 3044–49.
n.­6
Several of the most important or popular commentaries are presented in Khomthar Jamlö 2014, vol. 1.
n.­7

This text, Toh 949, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, waM), are listed as being located in volume 101 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases‍—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room‍—list this work as being located in volume 102. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text‍—which forms a whole, very large volume‍—the Vimalaprabhā­nāmakālacakra­tantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.

n.­8
Mipham Gyatso 2014, pp. 443–58.
n.­9
“Invulnerable” (Tib. mi thub pa) is missing in all Sanskrit witnesses consulted and from all consulted witnesses of Buddhaguhya’s rin po che gsal ba. As well as in the Degé, it is present in the Choné, Lhasa, Lithang, and Kangxi Kangyurs, but absent in the Dunhuang manuscript and in the Narthang, Yongle, and Stok Palace Kangyurs.
n.­10
- oṁ] I.
n.­11
taṭa] I; traṭa] E.
n.­12
sphuṭu] E.
n.­13
ghuṇa] I.
n.­14
ghuṇāpaya] I.
n.­15
vibodhaya 2] Dh.
n.­16
+ trasa 2 soṃtrāsaya 2] I; traśa 2 trāśaya] E.
n.­17
- saṃ­brahmaya] I.
n.­18
sarva­buddhābodhini] I (“all buddhas and awakened ones”).
n.­19
+ kuṭaya 2] I.
n.­20
mata] E.
n.­21
tatha sahanīla­vajra] I; vajrāṭṭahāsanīla­vajra] E.
n.­22
+oṃ] E, I.
n.­23
phalini] I; he he phu((llatr))āni] E.
n.­24
curu 2] I.
n.­25
saṃphu((++))anīghunaphu((++))] E.
n.­26
kuru] E; kara] I; kuru] Ib.
n.­27
+oṃ] Dh, I; +vajra] E.
n.­28
vara­kili­kilmiṣa] Ia; Iwamoto notes that Ib omits this mantra after oṁ and reads it as °kilmiṣāya.
n.­29
moṭaya pramoṭanāya] I; mātana­pramāṭanāya] E.
n.­30
cara 2 vicara 2] I; cala 2 nicala 2] E.
n.­31
husara 2] I; mara 2] E.
n.­32
vajra­vidāraṇāya] Dh, E, Fy, I.
n.­33
+oṁ] Dh, E, I.
n.­34
krodha­vajrāya kili­kilāya] I; krodha­mahā­kili­kiliāya] E; krodha krodha vajra­kili­kīlāya] Dh, Fy.
n.­35
oṃ culu 2 caṇḍāli kili­kilāya] I; oṃ curu 2 candra­kili­kilāya] E; oṃ curu curu caṇḍa­kili­kīlāya] Dh.
n.­36
+oṃ] Dh, E, I.
n.­37
trāśaya] E.
n.­38
+oṃ] Dh, E, I.
n.­39
dhara 2] Ib; hara 2] Dh, E.
n.­40
ṛddhi­sthira­vajra] Ia; natiṣṭita­vajre] E.
n.­41
apratihasahivajra] E.
n.­42
- amogha vajra | ehi vajra |] E; ehy ehi vajra] I.
n.­43
+oṁ] Dh, E; +aṁ] I
n.­44
- amukham māraya phaṭ | (“Slay so-and-so, phaṭ!”), + mama­sarva­śatrūn māraya hūṁ phaṭ svāhā |] E (“Slay all of my enemies, hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!”).
n.­45
+oṃ] Dh, E.
n.­46
°vajrāṇām] E; namaḥ samanta­vajrāṇām |] Dh.
n.­47
sarva­balamāvartrāya mahā­vale kaṭava tatare] E.
n.­48
°maye] Dh.
n.­49
maṭā ulamāḍe prativajra­mahā­vimalena] E; ma hA ba la / bi ga / ra Na / ra Na] IOL Tib J 416c.3.4.
n.­50
- daha daha] E.
n.­51
tini (1x)] E.
n.­52
- bandha bandha] E.
n.­53
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to fierce Vajrapāṇi, the great commander of yakṣas! This is it: oṁ, cut, cut! Sever, sever! Break, break! Shatter, shatter! Spin, spin! Wind up, wind up! Awaken, awken all beings! Fully awaken, fully awaken them! Confuse, confuse! Bewilder, bewilder! All buddhas and awakened ones, smash, smash, demolish, demolish all enemies! Cut, cut, sever, sever all essence mantras, vajra vajra! Burst asunder, vajra! Divide vajra vajra! Enact, vajra vajra! Move, vajra vajra! Churn, vajra vajra! To Blue Vajra Bellowing Laughter, the exalted vajra, svāhā! oṁ phalini phalini, grhṇa grhṇa, enact enact! mili mili curu curu, enact, enact! To Victorious Vajra, svāhā! oṁ, to *Vajra­kili­kilmiṣa, svāhā! oṁ, *divide, divide! Enact, enact! Howl, howl! Grind! To the grinder, svāhā! oṁ, go, go! Roam, roam! husara husara (Fx: hara hara/ sara sara, for ‘seize, seize! Attack, attack!’) Slay! To Vajra Conqueror, svāhā! oṁ, cut, cut! Break, break! To Great Kilikila, svāhā! oṃ, restrain, restrain, to fierce Vajra­kilikila, svāhā! oṃ culu culu Caṇḍāli, to Kilikila, svāhā! oṃ, make them tremble! To Kilikila, svāhā! oṁ, seize, seize! To Vajra Bearer, svāhā! oṁ attack, attack! To Vajra Smasher, svāhā! O Stable Miracle Vajra, Stable Hearing Vajra, Steadfast Vajra, Great Vajra, indestructible Vajra, Efficacious Vajra, come, come quickly vajra, to Vajra, svāhā! oṁ *dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru huṃ huṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā! oṁ, homage to [the enactor of all the power] of the ever-awakened ones, oṁ Great Powerful One, divide! O Swiftly Moving One, O Unmoving, killer of the maṇḍala, Superior Vajra, he who was worshiped by Great Agitator (*mahā­vegaraṇa­pūjite) blaze, blaze, ṭi ṭi ṭi ṭi ṭi. O burn, burn them, Vajra Splendorous One, tiri tiri, bind, bind! O Great Powerful Vajra, Vajra Blazing Noose, svāhā!”
n.­54
+oṁ] Dh, I.
n.­55
vajra matha 2] I.
n.­56
vajra dhuru 2] I; dhana] E.
n.­57
hara] E.
n.­58
- daha daha vajra | paca paca vajra] I; -paca paca vajra] E.
n.­59
vajra dhara 2] I.
n.­60
vajradharāya 2] I.
n.­61
vajraripuna] I.
n.­62
vajra cchinda 2] I.
n.­63
vajra bhinda 2] I.
n.­64
+vajra] I.
n.­65
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Fierce Vajrapāṇi, the great commander of yakṣas! This is it: oṁ, seize, seize, vajra! Crush, crush, vajra! Roar, roar, vajra! Burn, burn, vajra! Cook, cook, vajra! Hold, hold, vajra! Bind, bind, vajra! Clutch, clutch, vajra! Cut, cut, vajra! Break, break, vajra hūṁ phaṭ! oṃ, Homage to fierce Vajrapāṇi, the great Wrathful One! huru huru vajra bind, seize, seize! O Deathless One, hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!”
n.­66
+oṃ] Dh, E, I.
n.­67
namaś caṇḍa­vajra­pānāye mahā­vajra­krodhāya huṁ phulu 2] E; namaś caṇḍa­vajra­pāṇaye] I.
n.­68
hulu hulu. Monier-Williams defines this as an exclamation of joy. Edgerton directs the reader to phulu­phulu, the sound made by the hordes of Māra. Mipham’s commentary glosses tshur drangs for “to pull towards,” or drag tu khug for “to violently summon.”
n.­69
- hana hana] I.
n.­70
+daha 2] E.
n.­71
“Oṁ. Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to fierce Vajrapāṇi! Huru huru remain, remain! Halt, halt! Bind, bind! Kill, kill! O Deathless One, hūṃ phaṭ!”
n.­72
All Tibetan recensions have rgyud here, read as “tantra,” while the Sanskrit versions all read instead “mantra.”
b.

Bibliography

Sanskrit Sources

“Āryavajravidāraṇānāmadhāraṇī.” Dhīḥ 40 (2005): 159–64.

Iwamoto, Yutaka, ed. Kleinere Dhāraṇī Texte. Vol. 2. Beiträge zur Indologie. Kyoto: Iwamoto Yutaka, 1937.

Vajra­vidāraṇa­hṛdaya­mantra­dhāraṇī. The Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project: Catalogue nos. E 1414/8 and E 1774/3.

Tibetan Sources

rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajra­vidāraṇa­nāma­dhāraṇī). Toh 750, Degé Kangyur vol. 95 (rgyud, dza), folios 265.b–266.b.

rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajra­vidāraṇa­nāma­dhāraṇī). 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. 98, pp. 112–17.

rnam ’joms gzungs (Vidāraṇa­dhāraṇī). Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 109 (rgyud ’bum, tsha), folios 85.b–87.b.

IOL Tib J 416. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.

Jinamitra. rigs pa’i thigs pa’i don bsdus pa (Nyāyabindupiṇḍārtha). Toh 4233, Degé Tengyur vol. 189 (mtshad ma, we), folios 99.b–100.b.

Buddhaguhya. rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs kyi rgya cher ’grel pa rin po che gsal ba (Vajra­vidāraṇa­nāma­dhāraṇī­ṭīkā­ratna­bhāsvara). Toh 2680, Degé Tengyur vol. 71 (rgyud, thu), folios 176.a–186.b.

Vimalamitra. rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba’i rnam par bshad pa (Vajra­vidāraṇa­nāma­dhāraṇī­ṭīkā). Toh 2681, Degé Tengyur vol. 71 (rgyud, thu), folios 186.b–193.a.

Khomthar Jamlö (khoM thar ’jam los), editor for si khron pod yig dpe rnying bsdu sgrig khang. rgyal po mdo bcu’i rtsa ’grel phyogs bsgrigs [The Ten Sūtras of the King, collected texts and commentaries]. 10 vols. Sichuan: si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang [Sichuan Minorities Publishing House], 2014.

Mipham Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho). “rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs kyi mchan ’grel.” In Khomthar Jamlö 2014, vol. 1, pp. 443–58.

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

Secondary Sources

Bühnemann, Gudrun. “A Dhāraṇī for Each Day of the Week: The Saptavāra Tradition of the Newar Buddhists.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 77, no. 1 (2014): 119–36.

Douglas, K., and G. Bays, trans. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava: Padma Bka’i Thang. Emeryville: Dharma Publishing, 1978.

Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. “The Lhan kar ma as a Source for the History of Tantric Buddhism.” In The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, edited by Helmut Eimer and David Germano, 129–49. Leiden: Brill, 2002.

Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit–English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2012.

Yoshimura, Shyuki, ed. The Denkar-ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Vol. 18. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.

g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

bhūta

  • ’byung po
  • འབྱུང་པོ།
  • bhūta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

g.­2

Dānaśīla

  • dA na shI la
  • དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།
  • dānaśīla

An Indian paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

g.­3

dhāraṇī

  • gzungs
  • གཟུངས།
  • dhāraṇī

An incantation, spell, or formula, that “holds” or allows to be “retained” (Skt. √dhṛ) a particular meaning, point of realization, or protective power, and is expounded by a realized being so that it may be used to attain mundane and supramundane goals. In the case of many texts (like the present one) in which dhāraṇīs are expounded, the term dhāraṇī is also used to designate the text itself.

g.­4

Five Royal Sūtras

  • rgyal po mdo lnga
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་མདོ་ལྔ།
  • —

See i.­3 and n.­2.

g.­5

graha

  • gdon
  • གདོན།
  • graha

A type of evil spirit that exerts a harmful influence on the human body and mind. Grahas are closely associated with the planets and other astronomical bodies.

g.­6

Jinamitra

  • dzi na mi tra
  • ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།
  • jinamitra

An Indian Kashmiri paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. He worked with several Tibetan translators on the translation of several sūtras. He is also the author of the Nyāya­bindu­piṇḍārtha (Toh 4233), which is contained in the Tengyur (Tib. bstan ’gyur) collection.

g.­7

Ten Royal Sūtras

  • rgyal po mdo bcu
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་མདོ་བཅུ།
  • —

See i.­3 and n.­2.

g.­8

Vajra Conqueror

  • rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་རྣམ་པར་འཇོམས་པ།
  • vajravidāraṇa

A Buddhist deity, the embodiment of the eponymous dhāraṇī revealed in The Dhāraṇī “Vajra Conqueror” and a form of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi.

g.­9

Vajrapāṇi

  • lag na rdo rje
  • ལག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ།
  • vajrapāṇi

A Buddhist bodhisattva and protective yakṣa whose name can be translated “vajra-in-hand.”

g.­10

Yeshé Dé

  • ye shes sde
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

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84000. Vajra Conqueror (Vajravidāraṇa, rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa, Toh 949). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023. https://84000.co/translation/toh949.Copy
84000. Vajra Conqueror (Vajravidāraṇa, rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa, Toh 949). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023, 84000.co/translation/toh949.Copy
84000. (2023) Vajra Conqueror (Vajravidāraṇa, rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa, Toh 949). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh949.Copy
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