The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called “Peacemaker” is a short dhāraṇī text aimed at accomplishing worldly aims. The spell is offered by the yakṣa and bodhisattva Māṇibhadra to the Buddha, who is residing in the yakṣa’s abode. The yakṣa promises to rush to the aid of a person who recites the dhāraṇī and provide worldly necessities and success in all kinds of activities. The text closes with a short ritual aimed at obtaining gold.
The text was translated from Tibetan by The Buddhapīṭha Translation Group (Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó).
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called “Peacemaker” (hereafter The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala) opens in the city of Maṇi, the abode of the yakṣa general and bodhisattva Māṇibhadra. Māṇibhadra offers the Buddha a heart mantra that promises a range of worldly benefits to the person who recites it. The text closes with a short ritual to obtain gold.
The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala is essentially identical to The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra1, with a few notable differences. The title indicates that this text features the yakṣa Jambhala, but the main interlocutor in the body of the text is named Māṇibhadra. This is the same protagonist as in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra, leading us to conjecture that Māṇibhadra and Jambhala are one and the same. The term māṇibhadra is a patronymic, marked by the long ā as the first vowel, meaning “the son of Maṇibhadra”; this is reflected in how the term in translated into Tibetan (nor bu bzang po’i bu).2 Thus Jambhala, being the son Maṇibhadra, is called Māṇibhadra. From the title, we can presume that the compiler of the text understood these to be the same figure.
The setting for The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala is the city of Maṇi, the abode of Māṇibhadra, rather than Śrāvastī as in The Dhāraṇī of Maṇibhadra, and Māṇibhadra is referred to here as a bodhisattva, which he is not in that text. The heart mantra is generally the same in both texts, but the version here lacks the opening lines of homage and demonstrates some differences in the second half. The list of its promised benefits is also largely the same, apart from some minor variants, most notably that it will also offer protection from yakṣas, a benefit not mentioned in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra. Both texts end with a ritual aimed at acquiring gold, but here we are told that one should smear the ground with a maṇḍalaka of white sandalwood paste, a detail that is absent in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra.
The Tibetan translation of The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala is a product of the imperial period. The text, despite its obvious closeness to The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra, is listed as a separate entry in both of the extant imperial-period catalogs.3 In the Degé Kangyur, the text is included in both the Tantra (Toh 769) and Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Toh 971) sections.44 The names of the translators are not given in the colophon, making it difficult to determine the precise provenance of the Tibetan translation. Nonetheless, its entry in the imperial-period catalogs also provides the earliest date for the text’s circulation, which thus must have been before the early ninth century.
The English translation was made principally on the basis of the Tibetan translation of the text found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus) in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur.
Thus did I hear at one time.[F.90.a] The Blessed One was residing in the city of Maṇi, in the abode of the great yakṣa general and bodhisattva Māṇibhadra. At that time, the great yakṣa general Māṇibhadra said this to The Blessed One:
“Blessed One, should anyone—be they a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman—call to mind my heart mantra three times a day and three times a night, Blessed One, I will forever hasten to attend upon that person. I will protect them from yakṣas within one hundred leagues. With the exception of reprehensible sexual desires,5 I will fulfill all wishes; specifically, I will provide food, drink, delicacies, nourishment, wealth, grain, and two kinds of gold.
tadyathā | hili māṇibhadra hili hili māṇibhadra | kili māṇibhadra kili kili māṇibhadra | kuru māṇibhadra kuru kuru māṇibhadra | turu māṇibhadra turu turu māṇibhadra | curu māṇibhadra curu curu māṇibhadra | suru māṇibhadra suru suru māṇibhadra | oṁ ehy ehi tiṣṭha tiṣṭha me sādhaya svāhā.
tadyathā | pūtane pūtane surūpe sumate subandhe supuṣye hili mili svāhā.
“The ritual procedure is as follows. On the fifteenth day of the waxing fortnight, one should make a maṇḍalaka with white sandalwood paste, burn agarwood incense, and perform recitation. If one does so, gold will be obtained.”
Here ends “The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called ‘Peacemaker.’”
The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called “Peacemaker” is a short dhāraṇī text aimed at accomplishing worldly aims. The spell is offered by the yakṣa and bodhisattva Māṇibhadra to the Buddha, who is residing in the yakṣa’s abode. The yakṣa promises to rush to the aid of a person who recites the dhāraṇī and provide worldly necessities and success in all kinds of activities. The text closes with a short ritual aimed at obtaining gold.
The text was translated from Tibetan by The Buddhapīṭha Translation Group (Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó).
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called “Peacemaker” (hereafter The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala) opens in the city of Maṇi, the abode of the yakṣa general and bodhisattva Māṇibhadra. Māṇibhadra offers the Buddha a heart mantra that promises a range of worldly benefits to the person who recites it. The text closes with a short ritual to obtain gold.
The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala is essentially identical to The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra1, with a few notable differences. The title indicates that this text features the yakṣa Jambhala, but the main interlocutor in the body of the text is named Māṇibhadra. This is the same protagonist as in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra, leading us to conjecture that Māṇibhadra and Jambhala are one and the same. The term māṇibhadra is a patronymic, marked by the long ā as the first vowel, meaning “the son of Maṇibhadra”; this is reflected in how the term in translated into Tibetan (nor bu bzang po’i bu).2 Thus Jambhala, being the son Maṇibhadra, is called Māṇibhadra. From the title, we can presume that the compiler of the text understood these to be the same figure.
The setting for The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala is the city of Maṇi, the abode of Māṇibhadra, rather than Śrāvastī as in The Dhāraṇī of Maṇibhadra, and Māṇibhadra is referred to here as a bodhisattva, which he is not in that text. The heart mantra is generally the same in both texts, but the version here lacks the opening lines of homage and demonstrates some differences in the second half. The list of its promised benefits is also largely the same, apart from some minor variants, most notably that it will also offer protection from yakṣas, a benefit not mentioned in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra. Both texts end with a ritual aimed at acquiring gold, but here we are told that one should smear the ground with a maṇḍalaka of white sandalwood paste, a detail that is absent in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra.
The Tibetan translation of The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala is a product of the imperial period. The text, despite its obvious closeness to The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra, is listed as a separate entry in both of the extant imperial-period catalogs.3 In the Degé Kangyur, the text is included in both the Tantra (Toh 769) and Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Toh 971) sections.44 The names of the translators are not given in the colophon, making it difficult to determine the precise provenance of the Tibetan translation. Nonetheless, its entry in the imperial-period catalogs also provides the earliest date for the text’s circulation, which thus must have been before the early ninth century.
The English translation was made principally on the basis of the Tibetan translation of the text found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus) in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur.
Thus did I hear at one time.[F.90.a] The Blessed One was residing in the city of Maṇi, in the abode of the great yakṣa general and bodhisattva Māṇibhadra. At that time, the great yakṣa general Māṇibhadra said this to The Blessed One:
“Blessed One, should anyone—be they a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman—call to mind my heart mantra three times a day and three times a night, Blessed One, I will forever hasten to attend upon that person. I will protect them from yakṣas within one hundred leagues. With the exception of reprehensible sexual desires,5 I will fulfill all wishes; specifically, I will provide food, drink, delicacies, nourishment, wealth, grain, and two kinds of gold.
tadyathā | hili māṇibhadra hili hili māṇibhadra | kili māṇibhadra kili kili māṇibhadra | kuru māṇibhadra kuru kuru māṇibhadra | turu māṇibhadra turu turu māṇibhadra | curu māṇibhadra curu curu māṇibhadra | suru māṇibhadra suru suru māṇibhadra | oṁ ehy ehi tiṣṭha tiṣṭha me sādhaya svāhā.
tadyathā | pūtane pūtane surūpe sumate subandhe supuṣye hili mili svāhā.
“The ritual procedure is as follows. On the fifteenth day of the waxing fortnight, one should make a maṇḍalaka with white sandalwood paste, burn agarwood incense, and perform recitation. If one does so, gold will be obtained.”
Here ends “The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called ‘Peacemaker.’”
Denkarma, folio 303.b. and in Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 245–46, no. 429. For the Phangthangma, see Kawagoe 2005, p. 21, no. 385.
This text, Toh 971, 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.
See the parallel line in The Dhāraṇī of Māṇibhadra and its accompanying note for a discussion of variant readings of this line.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A rare toponym, this is the location of Māṇibhadra/Jambhala’s abode and the polity where The Dhāraṇī of Compassionate Noble Jambhala, Lord of the Waters, Called “Peacemaker” was revealed.
An epithet used for prominent yakṣas, here applied to Māṇibhadra.
A term for an essential mantra related to a particular deity.
A prominent yakṣa associated with the attainment of wealth.
A man who has taken the layperson’s vows.
A woman who has taken the layperson’s vows.
A small ritual space, usually on the ground which is smeared with cow-dung and other substances, where offerings are made. Although the term sometimes lacks the -ka (kan) suffix, it is not to be confused with the pantheon of deities in a tantric text (always spelled maṇḍala).
The son of the yakṣa Maṇibhadra; a patronymic for Jambhala.
The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.
In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).
The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.
For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.
A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.
Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.
gnod ’dzin chu dbang snying rje can gyi gzungs bde byed ces bya ba (Kāruṇikajambhalajalendrasya suśaṃkarā nāma dhāraṇī). Toh 769, Degé Kangyur vol. 96 (rgyud, wa), folios 89.b–90.a.
gnod ’dzin chu dbang snying rje can gyi gzungs bde byed ces bya ba (Kāruṇikajambhalajalendrasya suśaṃkarā nāma dhāraṇī). Toh 971, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, waM), folio 87.a.
gnod ’dzin chu dbang snying rje can gyi gzungs bde byed ces bya ba. S 720, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 109 (rgyud, tsha), folios 249.a–250.a.
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.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Kawagoe, Eishin, ed. dKar chag ’Phang thang ma. Tōhoku Indo-Chibetto Kenkyū Sōsho 3. Sendai: Tohoku Society for Indo-Tibetan Studies, 2005.
