Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This sādhanā provides a ritual manual for the practice of the Maṇḍala Wheel of Nairātmā. The text guides the practitioner through a sequence of preparatory and core meditative stages, beginning with the invitation of deities from the Akaniṣṭha dharmadhātu and the performance of traditional offerings and refuge. It details the visualization of the maṇḍala's architecture and the central figure, the fierce black Yoginī Nairātmyā, who is described through her iconography and attributes. A significant portion of the text is dedicated to the conceptualization of the five mudrās, which are mapped onto specific figures and the five sensory faculties, including the dharmadhātu. By purifying these sensory-based mudrās and employing a specific seed-syllable mantra, the practitioner is committed to a process of transforming ordinary perception into the pure expanse of reality. The work concludes with instructions on verbal recitation and the offering of torma, integrating physical ritual with internal visualization.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of the Maṇḍala Wheel of Nairātmā, the Nairātmāmaṇḍalacakrasādhana belongs to the Non-dual Tantra collection. This classical Tibetan work is preserved in volume ཏ of the Tengyur, where it extends over seven pages under the title bdag med ma'i dkyil 'khor gyi 'khor lo'i sgrub thabs. The work enacts a meditative process beginning with homage to the Guru and the invitation of deities from the Akaniṣṭha dharmadhātu. It guides the practitioner through the presentation of outer, secret, and suchness offerings, the confession of misdeeds, and the generation of both conventional and ultimate bodhicitta. Central to the practice is the visualization of the maṇḍala's architecture, which arises from the syllable BHRŪṂ and the source of phenomena. The practitioner is directed to conceptualize a structure featuring two tiers, a triangular outer perimeter, and a square inner section with four gates and eight pillars. Scholars and serious readers consult this text to examine the precise ritual sequence and the architectural visualization required to transform ordinary perception into the pure expanse of reality.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana for the Maṇḍala Wheel of Nairātmā” (Toh 1313), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1313
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its integration of sensory purification with the visualization of a fierce female deity, reflecting the tantric method of transforming poisons into wisdom. It illustrates the specific mapping of psychological afflictions and sensory inputs onto a ritualized maṇḍala structure.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Preparatory Rituals
Homage, invitation of deities, offerings, and the generation of conventional bodhicitta.
3
Maṇḍala Visualization
The emergence of the wheel from the syllable BHRŪṂ and the description of its tiers.
4-5
Iconography of Nairātmyā
Detailed description of the black Yoginī's appearance, attributes, and posture.
6-7
The Five Mudrās and Sensory Purification
Mapping of specific figures and sensory faculties to the five mudrās and the dharmadhātu.
8
Mantra and Final Offerings
The verbal recitation of the mantra and the offering of torma.
Themes
Deity Yoga and Visualization (1-5)
Sensory Transformation (6-7)
Ritual Recitation (8)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Sādhana for the Maṇḍala Wheel of Nairātmā·
In the language of India: Nairātmyamaṇḍalacakrasādhana. In the language of Tibet: bdag med ma'i dkyil 'khor gyi 'khor lo'i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Maṇḍala-Cakra of Nairātmyā). Homage to Vajranairātmyā!
Having bowed with devotion and a clear mind to the pinnacle of the maṇḍala, which is the nature of the Guru, I shall write this in order to generate the latencies for the profound meaning of the goddess’s cakra, which is extracted from the Five Hundred Thousand Verses.
Here, the individual who is the support must possess the vows of individual liberation, the bodhisattva vows, and the vidyādhara vows. They should meditate in a place such as a charnel ground by day or in their own home by night. Furthermore, rising at an auspicious time during 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 soft cushion in the vajra posture, one recites vajranairātmyā and meditates that oneself instantly becomes Nairātmyā. She is blue in color, with one face and two hands. Her right hand holds a curved knife with a handle made of iron or copper; her left holds a skull cup, white on the outside and red on the inside, filled with blood, together with a khaṭvāṅga. One should visualize her adorned with the five mudrās. Within the heart, inside an eight-petaled lotus in full bloom, one visualizes a blue syllable Aṃ upon a sun maṇḍala arising from Raṃ. By its light rays,
the Guru, the Venerable Akṣobhya, in the form of Vajradhara, and the goddesses—indivisible and inseparable, abiding by their very nature—are clearly visualized.
Having invited [the deities] from the palace of the Akaniṣṭha dharmadhātu and visualized them, one should perform homage to them, present outer, secret, and suchness offerings, confess misdeeds, rejoice in merit, take refuge in the Three Jewels, rely upon the path, generate the supreme conventional and ultimate bodhicitta, and dedicate the roots of virtue toward awakening. Then, having mentally released the support for the accumulation [of merit], one should request them to depart. As it is said in the Vajrapañjara:
"Having made offerings to the Guru, the Vajra-holder,
One should completely purify the seven [limbs]."
Following that:
"First, one should meditate on loving-kindness;
Second, one should thoroughly meditate on compassion;
Third, one meditates on joy;
And at the end of all, equanimity."
Then, preceded by the emanation and reabsorption [of light], one meditates on the entire environment and its inhabitants as emptiness. By reciting: oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ, one should stabilize emptiness. Then:
"Having first visualized a sun from the syllable RA,
Upon that sun, a HŪṂ arises as a crossed vajra.
With that very vajra, one should visualize
The enclosure and the canopy.
Within that, what is to be contemplated:
From BHRŪṂ, a ten-spoked wheel,
Vast, hollow, and immovable—
One should meditate on the nature of the wheel.
In the expanse of space, visualize the bhaga;
In the center, one should meditate
On the wheel as previously described,
Just as the deities arise.
The wheel, earth, and water come first;
As appropriate, the fire..."
For the deities, from the great wind and the syllable BHRŪṂ, the drop of the wheel arises just as it is meditated upon. From the source of phenomena (dharmodaya), the wheel itself is born; it has two faultless tiers, and from the filaments, it becomes one. The outer is described as triangular, while the inner is square with four gates, adorned with eight pillars, and possessed of lattices and half-lattices. It is perfectly endowed with the eight charnel grounds and embellished with vajra lines. In its center, one should visualize the nature of the seats: the corpses of the fifteen. One should then take the pride of "A VAJRA." Upon the corpses, on the moon of the three times five, from the melting of the three times five vowels (āli), the moon marked by those is generated as three times five. Following that, from the melting of the three times five consonants (kāli) with the two added syllables, the sun marked by those is generated as three times five. Between the central sun and moon, one should visualize the letter A as the falling nāda. From that, the fourteen vowels are emanated into the sun and moon in the cardinal and intermediate directions. Ā, Ī, Ī, Ū are emanated in the east and so forth of the inner tier. Ū, Ṛ, Ṝ, Ḷ are for the intermediate directions of Pukkasī and so forth in the outer tier. Ḷ, E, AI, O are for the cardinal directions of Gaurī and so forth. AU and AṂ are the seed syllables of the bottom and the top. From the emanation and reabsorption of those, one should visualize fifteen curved knives with seed syllables. Through the emanation and reabsorption from those, they merge into one, and from that, the bodies of the fifteen goddesses are generated, all of them black in color. The moon possesses the mirror-like wisdom (ādarśa-jñāna); the seven-horsed sun possesses the wisdom of equality (samatā-jñāna). The seed syllable and hand-symbol of one's own deity should be known as the wisdom of individual discernment (pratyavekṣaṇā-jñāna).
The diligent application of all as one is the pure expanse of reality (dharmadhātu). By means of the ritual procedures taught by the wise, one should meditate upon the five aspects. In that regard, the Yoginī Nairātmyā is black in color and extremely fierce, adorned with the five mudrās. In her right hand she brandishes a curved knife (kartṛkā), and in her left a lotus vessel. Between her arms is a khaṭvāṅga, and her lower body is wrapped in a tiger skin. For the time being, within the inner enclosure, the five Yoginīs reside; the practitioner of yoga should always meditate upon them as the nature of the five aggregates. First is the white Vajrayama, then Varuṇa and the Water Yoginī, Kubera and the Vajra Ḍākinī, and in the center, Nairātmyā Yoginī. Then, the outer enclosure is explained: in the east is Indrāṇī and the Thief Yoginī; in the direction of Varuṇa is Vetālī; in the direction of Kubera is Ghasmarī; in the northeast is Pukkasī; in the southeast is Śavarī; in the southwest is Caṇḍālī is placed; and in the northwest is Ḍombī is placed. Below is explained the Earth-Traveler, and above is called the Sky-Traveler. In the direction of the generation stage itself, these two goddesses reside as the nature of existence and peace. All the goddesses are black in color, extremely fierce, and adorned with the five mudrās. They have one face and red eyes, and their hands are occupied with a curved knife and a skull-cup. The wheel, earrings, necklace, bracelets, and girdle—these five are the purity of the five Buddhas, and thus the purity of the mudrās. Just as it is with Nairātmyā Yoginī...
Thus, everything has been explained. With one hand, she is occupied with a skull-cup; in the right, she holds a curved knife (kartṛkā), and in the left, a khaṭvāṅga. Her lower body is wrapped in a tiger skin, and she sits upon a corpse, blazing with majesty. Her two hands are raised, and her hair is yellow. To sever the six defects, such as pride and the rest, she brandishes the curved knife. In the lotus-vessel of the head, which is the conceptualization of existence and non-existence, one should drink the blood of the four types of Māras for the sake of accomplishment. The khaṭvāṅga is the aspect of emptiness, and the corpse is the aspect of skillful means. By meditating on the wheel in this way, one will swiftly attain accomplishment.
Following that, one should meditate on the yoga of the armor. First, meditate intensely on the black; second, meditate on the red; third, meditate on the yellow; fourth, likewise the green; fifth, the blue color; and sixth, the white-bodied one. The yogi who meditates on these six limbs should meditate on the nature of the coemergent. Then, perform the blessing with the three mantras, the blessing with the wheel of the wisdom-being (jñānasattva), and finally, the blessing of the empowerment. At the conclusion, one should assume the pride with the mantra: abhiṣekaiḥ kulapati.
Nairātmyā is the mudrā of hatred; Vajrī is the mudrā of delusion; Gaurī herself is the mudrā of avarice; Pāṇḍarā is the mudrā of passion; Ḍākinī is the mudrā of jealousy. Pukkasī is the mudrā of hatred; Śavarī is the mudrā of delusion.
The outcaste woman is the mudrā of avarice; the Ḍombī herself is the mudrā of desire. Furthermore, the White Lady is the mudrā of hatred; the thief is the mudrā of delusion. The Vetālī is the mudrā of avarice; Ghasmarī is the mudrā of desire. The Earth-Dweller is the mudrā of delusion; the Sky-Dweller is the mudrā of desire.
Then, one should perform the offering of passion through union with the khaṭvāṅga, or through mere recollection. One should cultivate the pride of anurāga. Then, having consecrated the torma with nectar according to the ritual and partaken of it, one should cultivate the pride of amṛtavajra. Then, one should offer with the outer, secret, and suchness offerings, and cultivate the pride of pūjāvajra. Then, one should offer praise with the verse beginning, "In order to subdue those difficult to tame through various inclinations," and cultivate the pride of stutivajra.
Then, as for the self-consecration: whichever of the three paths one prefers—the instantaneous, the gradual, or the near-attainment path—one should seal it with the yoga of the coemergent and meditate on the three as a single assembly, receiving this from the guru. Then, the fourteen yoginīs of the retinue are gathered from the seed-syllable of oneself as the principal lady; then, one meditates on the internal placement of the syllables.
Regarding the recollection of the purification of faults:
The aggregate of form is Vajrā;
Feeling is also called Gaurī;
Perception is the Water Yoginī;
Formations are the Vajraḍākinī;
By the nature of the aggregate of consciousness,
One abides as Nairātmyā Yoginī.
Form is always explained as Gaurī.
Sound is renowned as Caurī;
Smell is Vetālī;
Taste is renowned as Ghasmarī;
Touch is called Bhūcarī;
The dharmadhātu is Khacarī.
Through the constant purification of these,
The yogin will achieve that very reality.
In the eyes is Mohavajrā;
In the ears is Dveṣavajrā;
In the nose, Mātsaryā is explained;
In the tongue is Rāgavajrā;
In the body is Īrṣyāvajrā;
In the mind is Nairātmyayoginī.
Earth is explained as Pukkasī;
The water element is called Śabarī;
Fire should be known as Caṇḍālī;
Wind is renowned as Ḍombī.
Anger is explained as Vajrā;
Desire is the water Yoginī;
Jealousy is the Vajraḍākinī;
Avarice is the secret Gaurī herself;
Delusion is likewise explained as Vajrā.
Through the purification of anger and the rest,
According to the side of the generation stage,
By this, the aggregates are to be purified.
To pay homage to the guru, the ācārya, and the chosen deity,
One holds the wheel.
To avoid listening to disparaging words
Against the guru, the Vajradhara,
One wears earrings in the ears.
The necklace is for the purpose of mantra recitation;
The bracelets are for abandoning the killing of living beings;
The belt is for displaying the mudrās.
With the mudrās of the five Buddhas,
One should always seal the body.
The purification of the mudrās shall be explained:
The form of the wheel is Akṣobhya;
The earrings are the nature of Amitābha;
The necklace is the nature of Ratnasambhava;
The bracelets are Vairocana;
The belt is Amoghasiddhi.
These are the five pure mudrās. Then, the verbal recitation is as follows: OṂ ĀḤ A Ā I Ī U Ū Ṛ Ṝ Ḷ Ḹ E AI O AU AṂ HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. This should be recited at the junctures of both the general and specific [sections]. Even with the verbal expression, one should offer the torma while possessing those four faults. Then, the aspiration should be made with the verses beginning, "Born into the family, the samaya," and so forth. Then, the yoga of daily conduct should be performed. One should understand that the activities for the subsequent sessions are to be done in the same manner as the first session. If one wishes to have fewer than these fifteen deities, one should meditate on the thirteen excluding those of the upper and lower [sections]. If even that is too many, one should set aside the four inner [deities] and meditate on nine. If even that is too many, one should set aside the eight outer [deities] and meditate on five. If even that is too many, one should meditate on the principal goddess alone at the center of the maṇḍala; this is the oral instruction of the great Guru Nāropa.
By the merit of drawing this wheel of the goddess, may all sentient beings included within the three realms of existence realize the meaning of Nairātmyā and, free from negativity, go to the celestial realm of Khecara.
The sādhana of the maṇḍala wheel of Nairātmyā is complete.