Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Triratnastotram, or Praise to the Three Jewels, is a devotional composition that establishes a framework of veneration for the core pillars of the Buddhist tradition. The text functions as a formal act of homage, utilizing a repetitive, liturgical structure to direct the practitioner's focus toward the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. By characterizing the Buddha as the Sovereign, the Dharma as the Protector, and the Saṅgha as Great, the work assigns specific ontological and functional roles to each jewel. The text commits the reader to a posture of perpetual prostration and submission, framing the spiritual path as one rooted in the recognition of these three guiding forces. The fragment provided indicates a transition from general praise to a more specific meditative or reflective state, though the full trajectory of the argument remains incomplete.
Provenance
About this text
A hymn of devotion to the Three Jewels, the Triratnastotra is a work of the Indo-Tibetan tradition attributed to the Indian author Mātṛceṭa. The text is preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition under the title dkon mchog gsum gyi bstod pa, appearing within the Eulogy collection of the Tengyur, volume ཀ, where it extends over two pages. The record does not name the translators responsible for its passage into Tibetan. The work enacts a formal act of homage, utilizing a liturgical structure to direct the practitioner's focus toward the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. By characterizing the Buddha as the Sovereign, the Dharma as the Protector, and the Saṅgha as Great, the composition assigns specific ontological and functional roles to each jewel, committing the reader to a posture of perpetual prostration. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine how it establishes a framework of veneration for the core pillars of the Buddhist tradition and to analyze the transition from general praise to specific reflections on the two great accumulations, the four knowledges, and the three bodies.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Praise of the Three Jewels” (Toh 1144), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1144
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant as it exemplifies the standard Indo-Tibetan practice of the Three Refuges expressed through poetic praise. For the modern reader, it illustrates the intersection of linguistic translation and the preservation of liturgical forms between Sanskrit and Tibetan traditions.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Homage to the Three Jewels
Initial prostrations and formal salutations to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha.
Themes
Veneration of the Three Jewels (1)
Refuge and Protection (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Triratnastotram. In the language of Tibet: Dkon mchog gsum gyi bstod pa (Praise to the Three Jewels). Homage to the Three Jewels!
Homage to the Buddha, the Sovereign!
Homage to the Dharma, the Protector!
Homage to the Great Saṅgha!
I prostrate always to the Three.
Having perfected the two great accumulations, you have attained the four knowledges and the three bodies. Free from conceptual thought, you know all things with perfect clarity. Possessing the Dharmakāya, which is like space, and the beautiful Form Bodies, I prostrate to the Buddha, who is like a wish-fulfilling tree.
The twelve branches of the excellent speech are the natural outflow of the dharmatā. The Dharma is without arising or ceasing and is free from conceptual elaborations. Focusing upon it, all qualities are accomplished. I prostrate to the sublime Dharma, the excellent cause.
Having gradually eliminated the afflictive obscurations and the obscurations to knowledge through their respective remedies, you abide upon the stages. Performing the welfare of sentient beings and purifying the Buddha-fields, I prostrate to the Great Noble Saṅgha.
The Praise to the Three Jewels, composed by the great master Maṭicitta, is hereby complete.