Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This sādhana provides a ritualized system for the meditative realization of the deity Hevajra and his consort Nairātmyā. The text guides the practitioner through a sequence of complex visualizations, beginning with the establishment of a maṇḍala based on seed-syllables and elemental associations. It details the precise iconography of the central deities and the eight surrounding goddesses, who represent the transformation of aggregates and afflictions. The ritual integrates physical and mental components, including the use of mudrās, mantras, and the consecration of ritual implements to facilitate the experience of the four joys—joy, supreme joy, the joy of the essential, and coemergent joy. By identifying the senses with specific vajra-deities, the practitioner is committed to a process of somatic and cognitive transmutation, aiming to merge the duality of bliss and emptiness into a single taste. The work concludes with a commitment to the continuous realization of this insight across successive births.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of the deity Hevajra, the Śrīhevajrasādhana belongs to the Non-dual Tantra collection. The work is attributed to the Indian authors Padmavajra and Saroruhavajra. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the translation of dge slong shAkya brtson ’grus, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཉ, where it extends over twelve pages of classical Tibetan. The text enacts a sādhana centered on the Glorious Hevajra and his consort Nairātmyā, guiding the practitioner through the generation of resolve and the stabilization of the mind in the nature of emptiness. It details a complex meditative system involving the visualization of a maṇḍala and the placement of goddesses—such as the black Gaurī, the madder-colored Caurī, the yellow Vetālī, and Ghasmarī—in the cardinal directions. The ritual further integrates the use of mantras, mudrās, and maṇḍalas, while emphasizing refuge in the Buddha Hevajra and the assembly of goddesses who abide in his wheel. Scholars and serious readers consult this work to examine the specific ritualized procedures intended to accomplish the welfare of all sentient beings through the union of bliss and emptiness.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana for the Glorious Hevajra” (Toh 1218), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1218
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant as a representative example of Anuttarayoga Tantra, where the body is treated as a site for spiritual alchemy. It demonstrates the technical precision required in Hevajra-cycle practices to achieve the union of bliss and emptiness.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-4
Preliminary and Maṇḍala Construction
Initial homages, refuge in the Hevajra triad, and the visualization of the elemental maṇḍala based on seed-syllables.
5-9
Ritual Consecration and Deity Visualization
Consecration of ritual implements and the detailed visualization of the central deities and the eight goddesses at the gates.
10-12
Experiential Yoga and Somatic Integration
Description of the four joys and the identification of the practitioner's sensory organs with specific deities.
13-16
Offerings and Final Aspirations
Instructions for torma offerings, the recitation of samaya songs, and a concluding prayer for future births.
Themes
Union of Bliss and Emptiness (3, 10, 11)
Iconographic Visualization (2, 6, 7, 9, 15)
Somatic Transmutation (11, 12)
Ritual Implementation (Mantra and Mudrā) (3, 5, 12, 14)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrīhevajrasādhanam. In the language of Tibet: dPal dgyes pa rdo rje’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Glorious Hevajra). Homage to the Glorious Hevajra!
I pay homage with devotion to the glorious Hevajra and to Nairātmyā. Through the kindness of the Vajra Master, I shall explain the ritual of his sādhana.
First, the yogin, having generated the resolve for the sake of all sentient beings, should properly attend upon the Guru, the Blessed One. Having entered the maṇḍala of the glorious Hevajra according to the ritual and received the empowerments in their proper sequence, he should obtain the perfectly pure, unerring wisdom of suchness (tattva) and the authentic authorization. Having attained the signs and maintained the samayas, such as the five nectars (amṛta) and so forth, one who wishes to accomplish the glorious Hevajra should dwell together with a consort in a pleasing location, such as a charnel ground, and perform the offerings, the torma (bali), and so forth.
Visualizing a blue syllable HŪṂ upon a sun disc arising from RAṂ at one’s own heart, five-colored light rays radiate from that syllable HŪṂ into the expanse of space. By those light rays, the Blessed One, born from the Vajra, is invited. He is blue in color, with sixteen, six, four, or two arms as described below, embracing his own consort. He has three eyes, his tawny hair stands upright, he is adorned with the six mudrās, and is completely surrounded by the eight goddesses.
One should meditate by drawing in the emanated and reabsorbed forms into the direction of the space in front. In front of him is the black Gaurī, holding a moon of bodhicitta in her hand. In the southern direction is Caurī, the color of madder, holding a flower called the self-arisen sun. Behind him is Vetālī, yellow, holding a vajra water-vessel. In the northern direction is Ghasmarī, the color of emerald, holding secret medicine. In the northeast is Pukkasī, blue in color, holding various meats. In the southeast is Śavarī, white, holding a corpse in her hand. In the southwest is Caṇḍālī, pale red, sounding the music of a small drum. In the northwest is Ḍombī, of variegated color, embracing his own body. Having gazed into the sky at the emanation and reabsorption of the forms of the Blessed One in such a manner, light radiates from the seed syllable situated upon a sun disk at one’s own heart. Having made perfect offerings through the distinctions of outer, inner, secret, and suchness offerings, one should perform the confession of misdeeds and so forth in his presence. One should confess all the sinful actions accumulated through the distorted conceptualizations of beginningless and endless saṃsāra that I have committed, and vow to refrain from them henceforth in the presence of the Blessed One. One should rejoice in all the virtues of all sentient beings, however many there may be, and dedicate them toward unsurpassed, perfectly complete awakening.
Furthermore, I take refuge in the Buddha Hevajra, in whom all three realms are of a single taste in the form of great bliss, and in the Dharma consisting of the mantras, mudrās, maṇḍalas, and so forth taught by him, as well as the assembly of goddesses who abide in his wheel. For the sake of accomplishing the welfare of all sentient beings, one should stabilize the mind in the nature of emptiness, which is the supreme of all aspects. Then, one should meditate on great love for all sentient beings, like that for an only child. Following that, seeing sentient beings who are drowning in the ocean of conceptualization and are without refuge, one should stabilize the nature of great compassion, the desire to liberate them all. Then, the mantrin who has attained great joy should cultivate equanimity toward all conceptual objects and recite the heart mantra of suchness that subsumes all things without exception: oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ. Following this, one should meditate on the meaning of the mantra: that one’s own self and the three realms are devoid of intrinsic nature. Then, recollecting former aspirations, one should visualize in the sky a sun maṇḍala arising from the syllable raṃ, in the center of which is a crossed vajra (viśvavajra) consisting of five-colored light rays arising from the syllable hūṃ. From the light rays of that three-pronged crossed vajra, one should visualize a vajra fence of blazing masses, as many as desired. Within that, one should meditate on a vajra net that dispels all obstructing spirits (vighna).
In the center of that, one should meditate on the all-pervading space-like insight in the form of a white E. Above that is the green, square earth maṇḍala arising from Lāṃ. Above that is the white, circular water maṇḍala born from Pāṃ. There is the red, triangular fire maṇḍala born from Rāṃ. There is the blue wind maṇḍala, in the shape of a half-moon, born from Yāṃ. Then, one should visualize consciousness abiding in the center of those. From their abiding, one should meditate in an instant upon the maṇḍala of the palace of the wheel, radiant with light—square, with four doors and adorned with eight pillars, decorated with lattices, half-lattices, arches, and so forth, conceived as being produced from the mind. In its center, one should visualize a curved knife and a skull-cup arising perfectly from the two seed-syllables Hūṃ and Aṃ enclosed within the union of the moon and sun, marked at their naves by the two seed-syllables of the deities. From the complete transformation of all those, one should visualize oneself as the form of the glorious Hevajra, blue in color, with eight faces, sixteen arms, and four legs, in supreme joy and a single taste of great bliss with Nairātmyā, possessing passion through their mutual embrace. Then: Oṃ padma sukha dhara mahā rāga sukhaṃ dada catur ānanda bhaga viśva hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ kuryaṃ kuruṣva me.
With the mantra oṃ vajra mahā dveṣa caturānandadāyaka kha mukhe kara so nātha hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ kuryaṃ kuruṣva me, one should consecrate the vajra and lotus for the external act of passion. Then, through the yoga of churning and being churned, the mandala of deities should be brought forth. In the eastern and other gates, one should meditate on the eight seats in their proper order: Brahmā, Indra, Upendra, and Rudra. Likewise, in the intermediate directions such as Īśāna, one should meditate on Yama, Kubera, Nirṛti, and Vemacitrin. Above those, one should visualize the nature of the eight seed-syllables gaṃ caṃ vaṃ ghaṃ paṃ śaṃ laṃ ḍaṃ contained within the union of the moon and sun. From the complete transformation of these, one should contemplate the symbols of Gaurī and the others: a curved knife, a small drum, a tortoise, a snake, a lion, a monk, a wheel, and a vajra. Above those are the symbols of the eight seed-syllables; from the complete transformation of all of these into a single unity, Gaurī and the others are to be fully perfected. Therein, at the eastern gate, one should place Gaurī, who is the nature of the aggregate of form, arisen from the syllable gaṃ, blue in color, holding a curved knife in her right hand and a rohita fish in her left, and treading upon Brahmā.
At the southern gate, one should visualize Caurī, who is of the nature of the aggregate of feeling, perfectly arisen from the syllable caṃ. She is the color of madder, holds a small drum in her right hand and a pig in her left, and tramples upon Indra.
At the western gate, one should contemplate Vetālī, who is accomplished from the aggregate of perception and born from the syllable vaṃ. She is the color of refined gold, holds a tortoise in her right hand and a lotus vessel in her left, and tramples upon Upendra.
At the northern gate, one should look upon Ghasmarī, who is of the nature of the aggregate of formations, born from the syllable ghaṃ. She is like an emerald, holds a skull-cup in her right hand, and tramples upon Rudra.
In the northeast, one should meditate on Pukkasī, who is of the nature of the earth element, born from the syllable vaṃ. She is blue in color, holds a lion in her right hand and a battle-axe in her left, and tramples upon Yama.
In the southeast, one should meditate on Śavarī, who is of the nature of the water element, perfectly arisen from the syllable śaṃ. She is white in color, holds a monk in her right hand and a cooling fan in her left, and tramples upon Kubera.
In the southwest, one should meditate on Caṇḍālī, who is of the nature of the fire element, born from the syllable laṃ. She is the color of the sky, holds a wheel in her right hand and a skull-cup in her left, and tramples upon a rākṣasa.
In the northwest, one should meditate on Ḍombī, who is of the nature of the wind element, perfectly arisen from the syllable ḍaṃ. She is multicolored, holds a vajra in her right hand and makes the threatening gesture with her left, and tramples upon an asura.
One should meditate on all of them as having three eyes, bared fangs, and tawny hair standing erect; they are naked, adorned with the five mudrās, and abide in a dancing posture with one leg half-bent, having arisen perfectly from the radiation of bodhicitta. At the conclusion of this, the Blessed One, together with the consort with whom he is of one taste in supreme great bliss, melts and abides in the form of a seed-syllable. Then, the four goddesses, Pukkasī and the others, realizing that their lord is absent, become greatly distressed. Tormented by grief, they rouse the Blessed One from his meditative absorption with vajra songs of invocation:
"O Blessed One, arise with a compassionate mind!
Protect me, Pukkasī!
Abandoning the samādhi of emptiness,
Unite with me through the desire for great bliss.
Since you are not present, I shall die;
Abandoning the nature of emptiness,
For the sake of accomplishing my needs,
Hevajra, please arise!
Having overwhelmed the world with desire,
O Lord, why do you remain in emptiness?
Since you are not present, I am bewildered;
I, Caṇḍālī, make this request.
I understand your intention;
Arise in a manner like an illusion!
O Lord of Beings, I am the outcaste woman;
Do not let your stream of compassion be interrupted!"
By this song of suchness, which is like waking from sleep, the Blessed One arises from the form of nectar, which is like the melting of the moon.
Above that, upon the two symbols arisen from the two seed-syllables, there are also the two seed-syllables HŪṂ and AṂ as marks. All of these, together with the solar maṇḍalas, completely transform into one. From the syllable HŪṂ in the center of the solar maṇḍala, one should emanate the Blessed One, the glorious Hevajra, who is perfectly united with Nairātmyā, arisen from the syllable AṂ. His body is deep blue, extremely fierce, with three eyes, and his tawny hair blazes upward. His head is marked with a crossed vajra, and his forehead is adorned with a garland of five skulls. His first face is blue, with a frown of knitted brows; the right is white, the left is red, and the two further left faces are blue. Likewise, the two further right faces are blue, and the upper face is smoke-colored and baring its fangs. All these faces have three eyes and bared fangs. In his eight right hands, there are, in order, an elephant, a horse, a donkey, an ox, a camel, a human, a dog, and a buffalo, each situated within an eight-petaled lotus vessel. Likewise, in his eight left hands are the goddess of the earth, the water god, the fire god, the wind god, the moon, the sun, Yama, and Vaiśravaṇa. His body is adorned with a garland of fresh heads and the six mudrās. He is naked, standing with his right leg extended upon a solar maṇḍala, [representing] the aggregates, the afflictions, the Lord of Death, and...
One should meditate on [the deity] abiding in a dance that tramples the four Māras, the sons of the gods, in a state of equanimity. Nairātmyā is blue, with two hands holding a curved knife and a skull-cup. She embraces the Blessed One with her right and left hands in union. She is naked, adorned with the five mudrās, has three eyes, and her head is decorated with a garland of skulls. Her body is further adorned with a garland of dried human heads. With her left leg extended, she is in union with the Blessed One; one should meditate on the Blessed Lady who is attached to the flavor of supreme bliss.
One should likewise visualize the maṇḍala wheel of the assembly of vidyās exactly as it is, meditating that the entire expanse of space is completely pervaded by a mass of one's own light rays. Then, light rays radiate from the seed syllable residing in one's own heart; these rays pervade all the three realms and then re-enter that very syllable. Again, having radiated throughout the expanse of space, the wisdom wheel is directly invited and arrives in front. Having made perfect offerings and praises, one should cause it to enter one's own samaya wheel. Having entered, one should generate the divine pride of being one with the deity.
Then, one should make perfect offerings with various special offerings to the Tathāgatas, Bodhisattvas, vidyā goddesses, wrathful kings, and so forth, who have emerged from the mass of light rays of one's own body. One should meditate that they confer empowerment upon oneself with vases completely filled with the five nectars.
In this way, according to the sequence, from the four moments characterized by the manifold, the ripened, the destructive, and the essential, the characteristics of joy, supreme joy, the joy of the essential, and coemergent joy are manifested. From the purification of the four—laughing, gazing, embracing, and union—one should receive the four empowerments: the master, the secret, the wisdom-gnosis, and the empowerment of supreme great bliss. Through the conferral of the empowerment, one is marked on the head by the lords of one’s own family; thus, the lords of the mind, Akṣobhya, Ratnasambhava, and Amitābha, should be applied to Gaurī and the others. Hatred, delusion, pride, and desire should mark the crowns of Pukkasi and the others. These, together with the Blessed One’s wheel, are the nature of the five wisdoms. In that regard, the moon transformed from the āli vowels is the nature of the mirror-like wisdom. The sun transformed from the kāli consonants is the nature of the wisdom of equality. The seed-syllable and the sign situated between them are the wisdom of individual discernment. The total transformation of all into one is the all-accomplishing wisdom. The perfection of the reflected image is the utterly pure wisdom of the dharmadhātu. In this manner, one should visualize the entire threefold world as the form of the maṇḍala wheel.
One should understand that this arises perfectly from the emission of bodhicitta, which is of a single flavor with the great bliss of supreme joy together with such insight. One should visualize the eight goddesses, such as Gaurī and the others, entering the eight faces of one’s own body in successive order. In this way, the entire threefold world is rendered as the single nature of method and insight, and is sealed according to their respective locations. At the head is the wheel of great bliss, a lotus with thirty-two petals. At its center, one should visualize a white haṃ endowed with white light. At the throat is the wheel of perfect enjoyment, a lotus with sixteen petals. In its center is a red oṃ. At the heart is the wheel of dharma, a lotus with eight petals. In its center is a blue hūṃ. At the navel is the wheel of emanation, a lotus with sixty-four petals. At its heart, one should meditate on an a whose nature is five-colored light. Having correctly meditated on those wheels, one should radiate and withdraw masses of light rays into the sky and cause them to dissolve back into that very place. Then, one should don the armor of the nature of the Tathāgatas in the form of the six mudrās residing on one’s own body:
“The wheel-form is Akṣobhya;
The earrings are the nature of Amitābha;
The necklace is the chief of jewels;
The bracelets are the abode of Vairocana;
The belt is where Amoghasiddhi resides;
The ornaments of all limbs are the Vajradhara.”
Likewise:
The two eyes are Mohavajrī; the ears are Dveṣavajrī; the nose is Mātsaryavajrī; the mouth is Rāgavajrī; the sense of touch is Īrṣyāvajrī; and the mind is Nairātmyayoginī. These are the samayas.
Then, as for the recitation of the mantras of the various rituals: by uttering the collection of mantra syllables, they emerge from the mouths of the goddesses and, together with rays of light, enter one's own mouth. Emerging through the vajra path, they descend into the lotus of one's own goddess. Furthermore, from the mouths of the goddesses they enter one's own mouth; in this way, one should cause the mantra to circulate in an uninterrupted succession through many stages. According to the specific action to be performed, one should differentiate the colors; in this manner, one should fully recite the mantra until weariness arises.
Then, at one's own heart, between the sun and moon, one should meditate on the body of the emanation and reabsorption in the form of blue. In the heart of Nairātmyā as well, one should visualize the syllable Aṃ upon a moon. One should clearly imagine the Blessed Lady, who is the melting of the syllable Aṃ and the moon maṇḍala together, entering the heart of the Blessed One.
Then, from the HŪṂ situated in the center of the sun and moon in the heart of the Blessed One, a mass of light rays of the vowels and consonants emerges. Through the inhalation and exhalation of the breath, they emanate and are reabsorbed, entering into one's own suchness and becoming one. At that time, while abiding as the body of the seed-syllable within the union of the moon and sun, one should contemplate as follows:
"Without beginning or end,
Neither saṃsāra nor nirvāṇa,
Neither other nor self."
This is the supreme great bliss. Likewise, one should meditate, preceded by the preparations for offerings and torma, upon the form of a mass of light of the nature of nectar, in which the seed-syllables have become blended with the moon and sun, appearing like the tip of a lamp flame, in successive stages.
OṂ INDA JAMA JALA JAKṢA BHŪTA VAHNI VĀYU RĀKṢASA CANDRA SŪRYA BHAUMA BUDDHA PĀPAṂ TALA PĀTĀLE | AṬṬA SAPTA SVĀHĀ | IDAṂ BALIṂ BHUÑJA JIGHRA PHULLA DHŪPA MĀṂSA PIṄGA AMBA SAPTA KAJJA SADĀ KHANTI KHUṆI PHEṬ GĀDA | OṂ ĀKĀRO MUKHAṂ SARVA DHARMĀṆĀM ĀDYA-ANUTPANNATVĀT OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ | This is the mantra for the torma of all bhūtas.
OṂ AṢṬĀNANĀYA PIṄGORḌHA-KEŚAVARTMANE CATURVIṂŚATINETRĀYA ṢOḌAŚABHŪJĀYA KṚṢṆAJĪMŪTAVAPUṢE KAPĀLAMĀLĀNEKĀDHĀRIṆE ĀDHMĀTAKRŪRACITTĀYA ARDHENDUDAṂṢṬRIṆE | OṂ MĀRAYA MĀRAYA KĀRAYA KĀRAYA GARJJAYA GARJJAYA TARJJAYA TARJJAYA ŚOṢAYA ŚOṢAYA SAPTA SĀGARĀN BANDHA BANDHA NĀGĀṢṬAKĀN GṚHṆA GṚHṆA SARVA ŚATRŪN HA HA HĀ HĪ HĪ HŪ HŪ HE HE HO HO HAṂ HAḤ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ | This is the root mantra of the Blessed One.
OṂ DEVA PICU VAJRA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ | This is the heart mantra.
OṂ VAJRA KARTARI HEVAJRAYA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | This is the near-heart mantra.
OṂ A KA CA ṬA TA PA YA ŚA SVĀHĀ | This is the mantra for shaking the city.
Regarding the ritual for making offerings and torma: at the beginning and end of the ritual, one should recite the supreme song of the samaya-being:
Kolā ireṭṭhi apolā | mummuṇire kakkolā | ghaṇe kṛpita ho vājjai | karuṇekiya vinarolā | tahiṃ bala khājjai | gāḍhemma aṇā vijjai | hale kāliñjara paṇiyai | dundura vājjai a i | cahu samākatthūrī sihlā | kappurā lāyī a i | māla indhana sāliñja | tahiṃ bharukhāhi a i | phreṃ khaṇa kheṭa karente | suddha asuddha namuṇi a i | nirāṃsu aṃge caḍāvi a i | tahiṃ jasāravapaṇi a i | malayaje kunduru vāṭa i | ḍiṇḍima tahiṃ na vājjaiyai |
Thus, during the intermediate stages of the ritual, at the time of the torma offering, and during the feast offering, the mantra practitioner holding the vajra and bell should sing this song very slowly in order to bring all accomplishments (siddhi) near.
According to the sequence as taught, within the maṇḍala circle, one should meditate on the Blessed One with one face and two arms, holding a vajra in the right hand and a skull-cup and khaṭvāṅga in the left, naked, with the right leg extended, treading upon a corpse. Likewise, the four-armed form holds a vajra in the right and a skull-cup in the left, while the remaining two hands embrace his consort. Similarly, the three-faced, six-armed form has a red left face and a white right face; in the left hands are a trident and a bell, and in the right hands are a vajra and a curved knife, while the remaining two hands embrace his consort.
Her Blessed Lady is embracing the Blessed One equally with her hands, which hold a curved knife and a skull-cup. These [forms] with two, four, or six arms are also blue in color, with three eyes, brown hair standing erect, and adorned with the six mudrās. One should visualize them treading upon a corpse with the right leg extended. However, even if one does not meditate on the eight-faced form, one should still meditate on the deity wheel entering into one's own body.
OṂ TRAILOKYĀKṢEPA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This is the mantra of the two-armed [form].
OṂ JVALA JVALA BHYO HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This is the mantra of the four-armed [form].
OṂ KITI KITI VAJRA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This is the mantra of the six-armed [form].
The remaining rituals should be performed as before. Furthermore, it should be understood in this way:
The eyes of compassion are red; the blue limbs are the mind of loving-kindness.
The four bases of gathering are explained as the four legs.
The eight faces are the eight liberations.
The arms are the sixteen emptinesses.
The bone ornaments are the five types of mudrās.
The wrathful [form] subdues the malevolent.
Flesh is explained as Pukkasī.
Blood is identified as Śavarī.
Caṇḍālī is the form of the vital essence.
The impurities are marrow and fat.
The skin is the seven factors of awakening.
The bones are the four truths of the noble ones.
Having thus cultivated conviction, the mantrin should proceed through the yoga of the deity.
Then, one should make this aspiration:
Born into the family, without degenerating,
Possessing the samaya, the holder of Hevajra,
Endowed with compassion and devotion to the guru.
May I become [this] in birth after birth. Holding a vajra and ringing a bell, proclaiming the profound Dharma, possessing the essence of gathered insight—may I become [this] in birth after birth. This brief sādhana was written by me through the force of faith. To those who know reality, I ask for forgiveness for my own extremely inferior intellect. With devotion at the lotus feet of the Guru and compassion for sentient beings, I, who am greatly delighted by the family of Candrakaṇika and who have triumphed over the enemy of manifest pride, have written this after finding the signs of the deity. Through whatever merit is gained by composing this sādhana of the difficult-to-find Hevajra, may the world attain the state of a Vajradhara. The glorious Hevajra Sādhana composed by the Ācārya Padma is complete.