Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a devotional hymn directed toward the deity Hevajra and associated female figures. It employs the aesthetics of the charnel ground to articulate a spiritual state that transcends binary oppositions, specifically existence and non-existence. The work is structured as a series of praises that describe the physical attributes and ritual activities of the deities, emphasizing themes of intoxication, bliss, and the subversion of conventional purity through the use of blood, bone ornaments, and corpse ashes. By depicting the deities in dancing postures and intense embrace, the text presents a vision of enlightenment characterized by the union of opposites and the mastery of the passions. The reader is committed to a visualization practice where the grotesque and the sublime are merged, positioning the practitioner in a state of devotion toward the glorious Heruka and the goddesses Caṇḍālī and Ḍombinī.
Provenance
About this text
A praise to the Glorious Hevajra, the Śrīhevajrastotra is a work of classical Tibetan Buddhism. It is attributed to the Indian author Kaśmīri Ratnavajra. The text was translated into Tibetan by Kumārakalaśa and the lo tsa ba dge slong byang chub shes rab, and it is preserved in the Tengyur (vol. ཏ) within the Non-dual Tantra collection, where it extends over three pages. The work enacts a devotional vision of the deity Hevajra and associated goddesses, employing the aesthetics of the charnel ground to articulate a spiritual state that transcends the binary of existence and non-existence. Through descriptions of blood, bone ornaments, and corpse ashes, it presents a vision of enlightenment characterized by the union of opposites and the mastery of passions, depicting deities in dancing postures and intense embrace. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to engage with a visualization practice where the grotesque and the sublime are merged, positioning the practitioner in a state of devotion toward the glorious Heruka and the goddesses.
Sanskrit title
Śrīhevajrastotra
Indian author
Kaśmīri Ratnavajra
Tibetan translators
Kumārakalaśa, lo tsa ba dge slong byang chub shes rab
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Praise of the Glorious Hevajra” (Toh 1304), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1304
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as an example of the Anuttarayoga Tantra tradition, where transgressive imagery is used to symbolize the transformation of ordinary perception into primordial wisdom. For the modern reader, it illustrates the specific iconographic and linguistic conventions used in Indo-Tibetan ritual poetry to express non-dual realization.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Praise to Hevajra
Invocation and description of Hevajra's form, color, and presence in the charnel ground.
3-4
Praise to the Goddesses
Homage to the female consorts and figures, including Caṇḍālī and Ḍombinī, emphasizing their ritual ornaments and postures.
Themes
Non-duality (1)
Charnel ground aesthetics (2-3)
Ritual union and bliss (2-3)
Devotional homage (3-4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrīhevajrastotra. In the language of Tibet: dPal dgyes pa rdo rje la bstod pa (Praise to the Glorious Hevajra). Homage to the Blessed One, Vajraḍākinī.
Arising from both existence and non-existence, the great marvel of the vast body, the great bliss that transcends the body—to the Protector of beings, I pay homage. Great compassion, great wrath, the one who utterly subdues all Māras, the beloved of Nairātmyā, awakened by the assembly of goddesses.
Generating pure joy, the one who strikes fear into the great terrors, possessing eight faces and an eightfold retinue, endowed with sixteen arms, the one who terrifies all diseases without exception, with a face turned toward the supplicant.
The one who emanates and reabsorbs the syllable HŪṂ, the formidable leader, who, with the thunder of the clouds at the end of time, utterly destroys the afflictions. Moistened by the moisture of compassion like flashing lightning, he causes the rain of the sublime Dharma to fall.
He awakens the three realms of existence, which are oppressed by the sleep of ignorance, bestowing light upon the worlds and clearly showing the path to liberation. To all beings who have fallen into error, he extends his many hands and, by applying the divine eye, clears away the cataracts of delusion.
The great secret of supreme clarity, which accomplishes all aims in an instant, the secret mantra that liberates from the human state, compassionate toward all sentient beings, the essence of the Vajra Heart, the nature of emptiness and compassion.
Resembling a blue rain cloud, you dwell in the charnel ground in a dancing posture. With the great blood of the four Māras, you and the goddesses are intoxicated. With supreme fangs like the tips of crescent moons, you enjoy the beautiful maṇḍala. Your body is adorned with a garland strung from the entrails of great skulls. With a great laugh of playful display, you cause the terrifying ones to flee. Through perfect mindfulness, you completely fulfill the desires in the minds of the multitudes of beings. With this supreme, vast, and extensive praise, which exceeds even the wish-fulfilling jewel, the Great Lord of Speech offers praise.
Transcending the domain of sound and utterly abandoning the web of conceptual thought, you completely conquer great ignorance. Possessing all the marks of a Great Being and the minor signs, the sight of you causes joy to increase. You are the excellent Moonlight who perfectly satisfies the tantras of supreme accomplishment. Without beginning, middle, or end, you are the Sun of the Perfect Buddhas of the three times. You are the great fire that definitively burns the fuel of the afflictions and defeats negativity. Each of your faces has three eyes, a total of twenty-four eyes, which conquer the three types of delusion. Having utterly abandoned both attachment and detachment, you bring about liberation through great passion. Possessing the supreme accomplishment of self-awareness, you reveal the means of bliss. Having transcended both cyclic existence and nirvāṇa, you dwell within both cyclic existence and nirvāṇa. You taste the lips of Mahāmudrā.
Well-sealed with the five mudrās,
Through the enjoyment of intense embrace,
She sports with the joy of perfect accomplishment.
Smeared with the ashes of corpses,
Adorned with ornaments of bone,
She performs great play during the night.
I bow to the glorious Heruka.
He who, having abandoned the mistress,
Does not sport for even a single moment—
To the fortunate and lovely one, the fortunate,
The selfless Yoginī, I bow.
In the direction of Indra, Brahmā
Is completely subdued by the trampling of her feet.
Possessing a lovely, blue-colored body,
I bow my head to Gaurī.
In the right direction, Indra
Is seated above, being thoroughly crushed.
Sounding the damaru, with all her limbs,
To the madder-colored Caurī, I bow.
In the western direction, by Upendra,
She is seated above in a dancing posture.
To the supreme Petaḷī, the yoginī
With the color of refined gold, I bow.
In the north, seated upon Rudra,
She holds a terrifying snake in her hand.
To the fierce Ghasmarī,
Who resembles the color of emerald, I bow.
In the direction of Īśāna, she sits
Completely trampling the King of Death (Yama).
To the fortunate Pukkasī,
Who resembles a blazing sapphire, I bow.
In the direction of Agni, she sits
Dancing upon a yakṣa.
To the supreme Śavarī,
The Mistress (Īśvarī) white as the autumn moon, I bow.
In the direction of Nairṛta, she tramples
The deity Nairṛta, her supreme hand marked by a wheel.
Like a cloudless sky,
I bow to Caṇḍālī, who possesses a [beautiful] body.
Upon the wind-god Vemacitrin,
She dwells in a dancing posture with half-lotus.
To Ḍombinī, who possesses a charming and variegated complexion,
I also bow with devotion.
Regarding this most profound [subject],
Wherein my words are of such a nature,
And regarding the supreme protector who is vast,
Wherein this concise composition is offered as praise.
Nevertheless, because my son,
The youth named Sotar,
Made this request,
I have composed such a praise.
Through whatever merit I have gained
By this brief praise of the Protector and the eight goddesses,
May I also become just like them.
This praise of the glorious venerable Hevajra, composed by the presence of the glorious Ratnavajra—an accomplished master born in the land of Kashmir and learned in all the fields of knowledge—is hereby complete.
It was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian abbot Kumārakalaśa and the translator-monk Bodhijñāna.