Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Praise of the Seven Tathāgatas (Saptatathāgatastotra) is a devotional hymn structured as a series of prostrations to a specific lineage of Buddhas. The text functions as a ritualized acknowledgement of the diverse manifestations of enlightenment, moving through a sequence of figures including Vipaśyin, Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and the Medicine Buddha (Bhaiṣajyaguru). By employing metaphors of light, gold, and medicinal healing, the work characterizes the Tathāgatas as agents of liberation who dismantle the root causes of suffering—specifically desire, hatred, and delusion. The text commits the reader to a practice of veneration that recognizes the Buddhas as both the 'Guru of beings' and the 'lamp of compassion.' Its primary objective is to establish a connection between the practitioner and the transcendent qualities of these enlightened beings, positioning the act of praise as a means to acknowledge the path toward nirvāṇa and the cessation of cyclic existence.
Provenance
About this text
A devotional hymn honoring the Seven Tathāgatas, the Saptatathāgatastotra belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The record provides no attribution for the original author. It was translated into Tibetan by Padmākaravarman and zhu chen gyi lo tsA ba dge slong rin chen bzang po, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཀ, where it is situated within the Eulogy collection and spans two pages. The work enacts a series of ritual prostrations to enlightened beings, including Vipaśyin, Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and Aśokaśrī, characterizing them as the Guru of beings and the lamp of compassion. Through metaphors of solar rays and stainless gold, the text positions the Tathāgatas as agents of liberation who pacify the torment of suffering and reveal the path to nirvāṇa. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the specific sequence of veneration and the descriptive qualities attributed to these Buddhas, as well as to study the linguistic transition from the Sanskrit title to the Tibetan de bzhin gshegs pa bdun gyi bstod pa.
Sanskrit title
Saptatathāgatastotra
Indian author
not recorded
Tibetan translators
Padmākaravarman, zhu chen gyi lo tsA ba dge slong rin chen bzang po
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Praise of the Seven Tathāgatas” (Toh 1165), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1165
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its synthesis of various Buddha figures into a single liturgical sequence, reflecting the Indo-Tibetan tradition of honoring multiple cosmic Buddhas. For the modern reader, it illustrates the use of poetic imagery to conceptualize abstract qualities of wisdom and compassion as tangible, radiant forces.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-4
Homages to the Seven Tathāgatas
A series of prostrations and praises addressed to specific Buddhas, including Vipaśyin, Śākyamuni, Maitreya, and the Light of Vaiḍūrya.
Themes
The nature of enlightenment as light and clarity (1-4)
The eradication of kleshas (desire, hatred, and delusion) (4)
Compassion and the liberation of sentient beings (2-4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Saptatathāgatastotra. In the language of Tibet: De bzhin gshegs pa bdun gyi bstod pa (Praise of the Seven Tathāgatas). Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta!
I prostrate to the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, the Guru of beings, who is honored by gods and men in the world; who, with clarity of compassion, reveals the liberation that benefits others; and who has reached the further shore of the great river of the three realms and attained the higher realms.
I prostrate to the Victorious One Śikhin, who, having perceived this ocean of existence—without end or further shore—where the world is sinking and remaining, teaches the Dharmas in order to provide benefit.
I prostrate to the Buddha Viśvabhū, who possesses a splendor that transcends the sun and moon; whose wisdom and the nature of his conduct are like the depths of the ocean, such that they cannot be fathomed.
I prostrate to the Great Sage Krakucchanda, the Lord of Munis, who dispels wrong faith; whose fame, like the rays of the moon, appears to adorn the entire surface of the earth, and who is as rare as the udumbara flower.
I prostrate to the Tathāgata Kanakamuni, who is stainless and always acts for the benefit of others; whose stainless mind is free from attachment, and who, by its radiance, utterly destroys the dense darkness and is worshipped by the gods.
I prostrate to the one named Kāśyapa, whose blazing splendor is like a mass of refined gold and exceeds a thousand suns; who is the supreme one in the world, to whom all beings prostrate.
Just as the many rays of the sun open a grove of lotuses,
The many rays of your speech awaken the world.
To the Teacher Śākyamuni, the lamp of compassion,
Who demonstrates the passing into nirvāṇa, I pay homage.
He who is hindered by only one birth from awakening,
Known as Maitreya, who dwells in the abode of Tuṣita,
Who will become a Sugata upon the earth—
To him, I always pay homage with faith.
Through the merit I have obtained by praising
The seven Victorious Ones of the past and the eighth,
The Bodhisattva who will come in the future,
May all sentient beings likewise be free from faults.
The Praise of the Seven Tathāgatas is complete.
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian abbot Padmakaravarma and the chief editor-translator, the monk Rinchen Zangpo.
In the language of India: Aṣṭatathāgatastotra.
In the language of Tibet: Praise to the Eight Tathāgatas.
Homage to all the Tathāgatas.
To the one whose body is beautiful, with the flowers of the marks in full bloom
And the grains of the excellent signs well-formed,
Who brings glory to all who see, hear, or remember him—
To that King of Names, I pay homage.
Adorned with jewels, the moon, and lotuses,
Exalted in wisdom, skilled in all that can be known,
Possessing a mind as deep as the ocean—
To the King of Melodious Sound, I pay homage.
Brilliant like the gold of the Jambu River,
Blazing with a splendor exceeding a thousand suns,
Homage to the body like a stainless golden sacrificial pillar,
To the stainless, pure, and radiant gold, I prostrate.
Having passed beyond sorrow and attained supreme bliss,
You pacify the torment of the suffering of beings;
To the Protector and Glory of the six classes of beings,
To the supreme Aśokaśrī, I prostrate.
With the great sound of Dharma, you conquer adversaries;
Possessing a body as deep as the ocean,
You dispel the three poisons of beings without exception.
To Dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣa, I prostrate.
With a way of Dharma-intelligence difficult to fathom,
You sport in the utterly pure dharmadhātu;
To the one who directly perceives all that can be known,
To Dharmamati-abhijña, I prostrate.
The supreme physician who heals the diseases of beings,
Possessing a body as clear as lapis lazuli,
You liberate beings with the light of your body.
To that King of Physicians, I prostrate.
The Blessed One whose compassion is impartial to all,
Merely hearing your name dispels the suffering of the lower realms;
Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who clears the disease of the three poisons,
To the light of lapis lazuli, I prostrate.
Like the sun, you dispel the darkness of ignorance;
Like the moon, you dispel the torment of the afflictions;
Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who clears the disease of the three poisons,
To the light of lapis lazuli, I prostrate.
Teacher of gods and humans, King of Physicians,
Blessed One who provides refuge in the three worlds;
Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who clears the disease of the three poisons,
To the light of lapis lazuli, I prostrate.
You are the physician of the three worlds.
Homage to the one who cuts through desire, hatred, and delusion at their root,
Who establishes all sentient beings in supreme bliss.
Homage to the Light of Vaiḍūrya.
With the eye of wisdom, you behold all wandering beings;
With the eye of compassion, you pervade all wandering beings.
Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who clears away the disease of the three poisons—
Homage to the Light of Vaiḍūrya.
For wind, bile, phlegm, and their combinations,
And for the disturbances of the four elements,
You hold the myrobalan fruit in your right hand as the antidote to disease.
Homage to you, the King of Physicians.
Your body is blue, like a blue utpala flower;
In your left hand, you hold a medicinal alms bowl of nectar.
Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who clears away the disease of the three poisons—
Homage to the Light of Vaiḍūrya.
Having forever abandoned the ocean of faults,
You have reached the far shore of the ocean of qualities.
Omniscient one, the god of gods—
Homage to the Light of Vaiḍūrya.
Through the complete purity of your vast aspirations,
You act for the benefit of others like a wish-fulfilling jewel.
Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguru, who clears away the disease of the three poisons—
Homage to the Light of Vaiḍūrya.
Born into the Śākya clan through skillful means and compassion,
You conquer the hosts of Māra that cannot be defeated by others.
To the King of the Śākyas, whose body is as beautiful as Mount Meru—
Homage to him.
The Praise to the Eight Tathāgatas composed by the master Śāntarakṣita is hereby complete.