Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a ritual manual, or sādhana, designed to guide the practitioner through the visualization and meditative realization of the deity Hevajra. The work functions as a prescriptive liturgical guide, beginning with preliminary rites such as prostrations, offerings, and the generation of bodhicitta. It then moves into a detailed architectural and somatic visualization, instructing the practitioner to construct a sacred environment featuring charnel grounds and a central corpse, representing the nature of the dharmadhātu. The text commits the reader to a rigorous process of mental construction, including the visualization of Hevajra's physical attributes, the placement of specific syllables in the body, and the arrangement of consort figures. The process concludes with the recitation of a secret mantra to purify speech and the performance of torma offerings. Ultimately, the text aims to transform the practitioner's consciousness into the state of the Vajra of Joy, bridging the gap between conventional practice and the ultimate limit of bliss.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhana for the practice of Hevajra, the Śrīhevajrasādhana belongs to the tradition of the Non-dual Tantra. The work is attributed to the Indian author Nāropa. Preserved in the classical Tibetan period, the text appears in the Tengyur, volume ཏ, where it extends over six pages under the Tibetan title dpal dgyes pa rdo rje'i sgrub thabs. The work enacts a prescriptive ritual process, beginning with preliminary rites such as prostrations, the confession of misdeeds, and the generation of the mind of awakening in both its conventional and ultimate natures. It guides the practitioner through a complex mental construction of a sacred environment, including the visualization of the eight charnel grounds and a central corpse representing the nature of the dharmadhātu, as well as the placement of deities such as Brahmā, Indra, and Yama upon eight petals. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific meditative requirements and visualization techniques used to realize the deity Hevajra, following the author's stated intent to provide a guide for the benefit of those of lesser intelligence.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Glorious Hevajra” (Toh 1292), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1292
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as a representative example of the Hevajra Tantra tradition, illustrating the complex intersection of cemetery imagery and Buddhist emptiness. For the modern reader, it provides primary evidence of the specific iconographic and phonetic requirements necessary for the attainment of a tantric deity's state.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Preliminaries
Includes homage, prostrations, offerings, and the generation of the mind of awakening.
3
Visualization of the Mandala
Instructions for visualizing the charnel grounds, the central corpse, and the eight petals.
4-5
Deity Visualization
Detailed description of Hevajra's appearance, ornaments, and the colors and placement of consort figures and syllables.
6-7
Ritual Application and Conclusion
Recitation of the purification mantra, torma offerings, and a final dedication of merit.
Themes
Somatic Visualization (4-5)
Purification Rituals (2, 6)
The Nature of Dharmadhātu (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrī Hevajrasādhana. In the language of Tibet: dPal dgyes pa rdo rje’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Glorious Hevajra). Homage to Vajrasattva!
Bowing with devotion at the lotus feet of the Venerable One with complete clarity, I shall write this sādhana of Hevajra for the benefit of those of lesser intelligence.
Here, the practitioner, possessing the common and uncommon vows as the basis, should go to a place such as a charnel ground. Rising at the eighth part of the night, having performed ablutions and the water offering, and having presented a maṇḍala, one should then arrange the offerings, the torma, and so forth. Sitting on a cushioned seat in the vajra posture, one recites "Hevajra" and meditates on oneself instantaneously as Heruka with one face and two arms. Following that, one meditates on a repha at one’s heart. From that arises a sun maṇḍala, and upon it is the form of the syllable hūṃ, which is the nature of method and insight. From that, light rays radiate, and having visualized the Venerable One in the sky, the eight goddesses—who are the vajra-born, of great compassion, and who wear all the ornaments—make offerings.
Gaurī holds the mark of the deer; Caurī holds the vessel that has conquered the Māra-thieves; Vetālī holds water in her hand; Ghasmarī holds medicine; Pukkasī holds a vajra; likewise, Śavarī holds a corpse; Caṇḍālī beats the hand-drum. These are the ones who make offerings to the Principal. Then, through the passion of great desire, Ḍombī embraces his body. Having thus visualized the assembly of the support as if it were directly present before the mind—
Having performed prostrations, the outer, inner, secret, and suchness offerings, the confession of misdeeds, the rejoicing in merit, the taking of refuge, the request for the turning of the wheel of Dharma, the generation of the mind of awakening in its conventional and ultimate natures, and the dedication of the roots of virtue, one should mentally dismiss or request the departure of the objects of the field of merit. Then, first, one should meditate on loving-kindness; second, one should meditate on compassion; third, one should meditate on joy; and at the end of all, equanimity. Furthermore, there is the awakening of emptiness, which is preceded by the radiation and reabsorption [of light], reciting: oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ. Thus, one should meditate on all phenomena as being merely like an illusion.
Having first meditated on the sun arising from the syllable raṃ, from that sun arises a hūṃ, from which comes a crossed vajra. One should meditate on the enclosure and the canopy formed by that very vajra. Within that, from the syllable bhrūṃ, there arises a vast, ten-spoked wheel, hollow and immovable, rotating in a counter-clockwise direction. In the expanse of space, one should visualize the bhaga. In the center, one should meditate on the deities as they arise in their proper order. First, the earth and water elements; then, as appropriate, the fire and the great wind of the deities. Above that, from bhrūṃ, comes the wheel, which becomes a drop and then the celestial mansion—square, with four doors, a single tier of eight-petaled lotuses, and adorned with eight pillars.
Adorned with lattices and half-lattices,
Perfectly endowed with the eight charnel grounds,
Decorated with inner and outer vajra lines,
One should meditate on a corpse at the center;
This is described as the nature of the dharmadhātu.
As for the visualization on the eight petals:
Brahmā, Indra, Upendra, Rudra,
Yama, Kubera,
Nairṛti, and Vemacitrin—
These are the seats of Gaurī and the others.
One should visualize nine corpses together with the sun.
The vowels are the moon, the consonants are the sun;
The yoginī meditates on these two disks.
Within the union of the central sun and moon,
The nāda descends and becomes the syllable HŪṂ.
From HŪṂ, one should emanate GAṂ and the others:
GAṂ, CAṂ, VAṂ, GHAṂ, PAṂ, ŚAṂ, LAṂ, ḌAṂ—these are Gaurī and the rest.
Through emanating and reabsorbing from these,
The hand-symbols of the central principal deity arise:
From HŪṂ comes a vajra,
Black in color and most terrifying.
Abiding in the center of the vajra’s hub,
One should again meditate on that very HŪṂ.
The retinue [hold] curved knives and hand-drums,
Tortoises and snakes in the cardinal directions;
Lions and monks,
And wheels and vajras in the intermediate directions.
Each is marked by its own seed-syllable.
Again, through emanating and reabsorbing, the seed-syllables are gathered.
From that, the fifth [stage], the completion of the reflected image,
Is seen as having become the form of HŪṂ;
One should meditate on the nature of hatred.
The great black Vajra-born,
With a complexion like a blue lotus,
Or else blue like the color of the sun;
One should meditate with certainty through faith.
With a complexion like the blue sun,
Possessing eyes like red bandhūka flowers,
With yellow hair curling upward,
And fully adorned with the five mudrās.
The Cakra
The earrings, bracelets, armlets, and the girdle itself—these are renowned as the mudrās of the five purified Buddhas. With a wrathful gaze and the appearance of one sixteen years of age, holding a vajra and a skull-cup in the left hands, and a khaṭvāṅga from the left side, while the right hands hold a black vajra, the Lord who utters the syllable HŪṂ, surrounded by the eight yoginīs, sports in the charnel grounds.
In the East is Gaurī; in the South, Yamī; in the direction of Varuṇa (West), Rauravī; in the direction of Kubera (North), Ghasmarī; in the Northeast is Pukkasī; in the Southeast is Śavarī; in the Southwest is Caṇḍālī is placed; and in the Northwest, Ḍombī is positioned.
Gaurī holds a curved knife in her right hand and a Rohita fish in her left. Caurī holds a hand-drum in her right and a pig in her left hand. Vetālī holds a tortoise in her right and a lotus vessel in her left. Ghasmarī holds a snake in her right and a yogi’s alms-bowl in her left. Pukkasī holds a lion in her right and an axe in her left. Śavarī holds a monk in her right and a mendicant’s staff in her left. Caṇḍālī holds a wheel in her right and a skull-cup in her left. Ḍombī holds a vajra in her right and a threatening gesture in her left.
They abide in the dance posture of the half-lotus. Gaurī and the others are described as having two arms, three eyes, and hair standing upright, adorned with the five mudrās. Gaurī is black in color, and Caurī is like the color of madder.
Vetālī is like refined gold; Ghasmarī is like a ruby; Pukkasī is like sapphire; Śavarī is like the light of the moon; Caṇḍālī is the azure of the sky; and Ḍombī is said to be multicolored. Then, one should arrange the peaceful syllables: in the eyes is Mohavajrā; in the ears, Dveṣavajrā; in the nose, Mātsaryā; in the mouth, Rāgavajrā; in the body, Īrṣyāvajrā; and in the mind, Nairātmyayoginī. For the sake of purifying the sense faculties, this is the ritual of the Great Being. Then, one should bless the three places: Bhūcarī at the crown, Khecarī at the throat, and Nairātmyayoginī at the heart. Through the radiation and reabsorption, the three nested beings are gathered. The wisdom wheel is invited, and one performs the offerings, praises, summoning, entering, and subjugation. Having invited the five families and so forth, and having offered and made supplications, the empowerment is conferred. The mudrā of hatred is for the principal deity; the mudrā of hatred is Pukkasī; the mudrā of delusion is Śavarī; the mudrā of avarice is Caṇḍālī; the mudrā of desire is Ḍombī herself. Alternatively, Gaurī is sealed by hatred; Caurī by delusion; Vetālī by avarice; and Ghasmarī by desire. One should perform the khaṭvāṅga and the subsequent passion. One meditates on the completion stage, such as self-consecration. Then, the eight yoginīs are dissolved into the HŪṂ at the heart, and one meditates on the internal sealing. Following that, one should recollect the purity. Through the sequence of the four methods of recitation—
To purify the obscurations of speech, recite the secret mantra: Oṃ trailokya-akṣepa hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ svāhā. Perform the recitation with this mantra. Offer the torma endowed with the four qualities, make aspiration prayers, and engage in the daily activities. Constantly meditate on the yoga of the four sessions. By means of this very sequence of ritual, the four arms represent the purity of being completely victorious over the four Māras; they arise from the Hūṃ and the aforementioned form and body color.
In the first left hand is a skull cup filled with the blood of gods and asuras. Likewise, in the right hand is a vajra, and the remaining two hands embrace the consort. The consort Vajravārāhī has the same form as the Blessed One. Her mantra is: Oṃ jvala jvala bhyo hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ svāhā.
The six-armed form has three faces: the left is red, the right is like the moon and sun, and the first is blue. He is naked, with the body color and form as described above. The arms represent the purity of the perfections (pāramitā). In the first left hand is a trident; in the first right hand is a vajra; in the second left hand is a bell; and in the second right hand is a curved knife (kartṛ). The remaining two hands embrace the consort Lūkyūdruma in the manner of meditative union. The consort is just like the Blessed One, holding a curved knife and a skull cup in her right and left hands, and she tramples upon a corpse that embodies the three realms. Her mantra is: Oṃ kiṭi kiṭi vajra hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ svāhā.
Based upon the glorious Pañcalakṣa, and having clarified it through the oral instructions of the Guru, this [sādhana] has been composed. By the merit of this, may all these wandering beings cross the ocean of existence and become the very Vajra of Joy, the singular limit of bliss. This concludes the Sādhana of the Principal Three-Being Glorious Hevajra, compiled from the oral instructions of the Lord Nāropa.