Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text, titled Hevajravalividhināma in Sanskrit and Kye’i rdo rje zhes bya ba’i gtor ma’i cho ga in Tibetan, provides a technical procedure for the preparation and offering of torma cakes within the Hevajra tantric tradition. The text functions as a liturgical manual, directing the practitioner to invoke ḍākinīs and other deities to consume the offerings. It commits the reader to a precise sequence of visualization and mantra recitation, specifically detailing the manifestation of ḍākinīs in conventional form and the conceptualization of offering components as specific classes of deities, including Brahmā, desire-realm gods, and earth deities. By linking the physical act of offering with the visualization of light-ray tongues and specific divine entities, the text aims to ensure the satisfaction of the deities to facilitate spiritual activity and accomplishment.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the offering of torma, the Hevajranāmabalividhi belongs to the Non-dual Tantra collection. The work is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཏ, where it occupies two pages. In the classical Tibetan tradition, it is known as the kye'i rdo rje zhes bya ba'i gtor ma'i cho ga. The text enacts a liturgical procedure designed to satisfy ḍākinīs and other deities to facilitate spiritual activity and accomplishment. It directs the practitioner to invoke ḍākinīs who manifest in conventional form to partake of offerings, utilizing a precise sequence of mantra recitation and the ringing of the vajra and bell. The practitioner is further instructed to visualize the offering components as Brahmā, the gods of the desire realm, and the earth deities, imagining the deities consuming the torma with tongues like tubes of light rays. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the technical requirements of these offerings and the specific visualizations required to exhort the ḍākinīs toward accomplishment.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Ritual for Torma Cakes for Hevajra” (Toh 1288), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1288
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as it illustrates the intersection of material offerings and complex visualization techniques in the Hevajra cycle. It demonstrates the role of ḍākinīs as intermediaries in the ritual economy of the Indo-Tibetan tradition. For the modern reader, it provides a primary example of how tantric rituals systematize the interaction between the practitioner and a diverse pantheon of worldly and transcendental beings.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Introduction and Invocation
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, offers homage to Hevajra and the ḍākinīs, and establishes the purpose of the torma offering.
2-3
Ritual Procedure
Details the manifestation of ḍākinīs, the recitation of mantras for gathering leftovers, and the visualization of deities consuming the offerings.
Themes
Ritual Visualization (2-3)
Divine Offerings (1-3)
Tantric Liturgy (1-3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Hevajravalividhināma. In the language of Tibet: Kye’i rdo rje zhes bya ba’i gtor ma’i cho ga (The Ritual of the Torma Offering of Hevajra). Homage to Hevajra!
I bow down to the ḍākinīs who have accomplished the movement throughout all of space. I shall briefly explain the ritual of the torma for their respective activities.
In this regard, there are three types of torma: for the deities of the great maṇḍala, for the ḍākinīs emanated from them, and for the directional protectors who have become guests.
First, regarding the blessing of the torma for the deities of the great maṇḍala: through the visualization of oneself as the chosen deity, one should imagine the torma substances within a supreme, pure vessel as nectar. Then, recite the three tattva mantras. Alternatively, visualize them as the five sensory qualities and recite the mantra of blessing.
Following that, visualize the deities of the maṇḍala in front of you in an instant as Vajradhara. The sequence for making the offerings is as follows:
Oṃ mahābhūta khāhi | gṛhṇa gṛhṇa bhuñja bhuñja kha kha khāhi | idaṃ baliṃta khāhi | amṛta rāsa khāhi | kāmaguṇi samāra sa khāhi |
Then, sing the song and append the individual names:
Oṃ hevajra nairātmyā idaṃ mahābaliṃta khāhi |
Oṃ vajragaurī idaṃ mahābaliṃta khāhi |
And so forth. Once they have been thus satisfied and pleased, the torma for the ḍākinīs who provide the conditions for one’s own accomplishment is blessed with mantras similar to the previous ones. The method of offering is as follows: visualize oneself as the chosen deity.
Having recalled the samaya in front, the ḍākinīs instantly manifest in conventional form. In order to partake of the torma and to be thoroughly exhorted toward activity and accomplishment, the sequence for their offering is as follows: from the sequence of gathering the leftovers, recite this mantra together with a song:
OṂ UCCHIṢṬA BALIṂTA VAJRA ḌĀKINĪ SAṂPANNIṆA | VAJRA ḌĀKINĪ | RATNA ḌĀKINĪ | PADMA ḌĀKINĪ | IDAṂ UCCHIṢṬA BALIṂTA KHA KHA KHĀHI | GṚHṆA GṚHṆA | BHUÑJA BHUÑJA | PRATĪCCHA KHĀHI | KARMA SIDDHI SAṂPANNIṆA SVĀHĀ.
Then, grant the activities and accomplishments; entrust the desired enlightened activities. Regarding the torma for the elemental spirits who have become guests: in front, from a triangular source of phenomena (dharmodaya), visualize eight-petaled lotuses in the upper, lower, and middle sections respectively. In the upper section, from the seed syllable OṂ, visualize the eight [Brahmā and others] starting from the moon and sun, white in color, holding vajras and bells, with the marks of the Body on their heads, and surrounded by a host of eight similar to themselves. In the middle eight-petaled lotus, the eight directional protectors become the Mother deities; from the eight seed syllables, they are blue in color, holding vajras and bells, and possess their own similar retinues; visualize their heads marked with the Mind. In the lower section, the eight nāgas arise from the syllable LA; they are red in color, holding vajras and bells, and their heads are marked with the Vajra of Speech; meditate on them as possessing their own similar retinues. Then, for a moment, perform the blessing: the vessel of samaya nectar, together with the ripening factors such as wind and fire, is then mixed with the nectar.
The deities mentioned above, with their tongues like tubes of light rays, are satisfied by partaking [of the offering]. At that time, one should visualize the three types of anthers as Brahmā, the gods of the desire realm, and the earth deities, respectively. Reciting the mantra along with the invocation, one should ring and brandish the vajra and bell.
OṂ INDA JAMA JALA JAKKA BHŪTA VĀHNI VĀYU RAKKA CANDRA SUJJHA MĀDA PAPPHA TALAPĀTĀLA AṬṬA SAPPHA SVĀHĀ. IDAṂ BALIṂ BHUÑJA JIGHA PHULLA DHŪPPA MĀṂSA PIṄGA AMBHA SAPPHA KAJJA SĀDA KHANTI KHUṆI PEḌA GĀDA. OṂ AKĀRO MUKHAṂ SARVA DHARMĀṆĀM ĀDYA-ANUTPANNATVĀT. OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
Regarding the benefits and the dedication: the benefits of offering the torma occasionally or offering it continuously are described here in accordance with what is taught in the tantras. Following the noble guru, with a reliable mind, and manifesting the blessings immediately, this was written in accordance with the pith instructions and the source texts at the request of several holy individuals.
This concludes the sequence of the torma ritual for the Blessed One, Hevajra.