Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This sādhana provides a ritualized procedure for visualizing and entering the collective maṇḍala of the Vajra Cage of Ḍākinīs Tantra. The text guides the practitioner through a sequence of meditative stages: beginning with the establishment of a physical and mental space characterized by emptiness and the illusion-like nature of phenomena, it moves toward the complex visualization of various deities, including wrathful figures like Yamāntaka and peaceful forms like Vairocana. The practitioner is committed to a process of divine pride, utilizing specific seed syllables and mantras to dissolve the ordinary self and merge with the dharmadhātu. The ritual incorporates the unification of the five Tathāgatas and the invocation of ḍākinīs, such as Śabarī, to achieve a state of non-duality between emptiness and compassion. Ultimately, the text directs the practitioner toward the attainment of nirvāṇa through the consumption of supreme nectar and the internalizing of the entire maṇḍala wheel within the body.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of the Glorious Ḍākinī Vajrapañjara Maṇḍala Compendium, the Śrīḍākinīvajrapañjaramaṇḍalasaṃharaṇanāmaanusaraṇasādhana is attributed to the Indian author Devavrata. The work was translated into classical Tibetan by Mar pa chos kyi blo gros and is preserved within the Non-dual Tantra collection of the Tengyur, specifically in volume ཏ, where it spans fifteen pages. The text enacts a meditative process centered on the visualization of a sun maṇḍala and the placement of seed syllables at the heart. It guides the practitioner to prepare a physical space, such as a charnel ground, using sandalwood and flowers, while maintaining a conceptualization of all phenomena as empty, signless, and illusion-like. By reciting the mantra oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’ham and cultivating divine pride, the practitioner seeks the cessation of ignorance and other defects. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the specific ritualized procedures and conceptualizations of emptiness and non-duality that characterize this tradition's approach to the Ḍākinī Vajrapañjara practice.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana for Remembering the Collective Maṇḍala of the Vajra Cage of Ḍākinīs Tantra” (Toh 1322), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1322
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as a preserved translation by Marpa Chökyi Lodrö, linking the Tibetan tradition to Indian tantric sources. It illustrates the sophisticated use of seed syllables and deity yoga to transform the practitioner's perception of reality into a purified, divine environment.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-3
Preliminary Visualizations and Grounding
Establishment of the sun maṇḍala, physical preparation of the site, and contemplation on the emptiness and illusion-like nature of all things.
4-9
Deity Manifestations
Detailed descriptions of the appearance and attributes of various wrathful and peaceful deities, including the five faces of the central figure.
10-15
Cultivation of Divine Pride and Yoga
Instructions on reciting mantras to cultivate the pride of the dharmadhātu, performing empowerment, and the yoga of merging with the Sugatas and ḍākinīs.
16-21
Final Integration and Dissolution
The consecration of syllables, the dissolution of sentient beings into the Tathāgatas, alternative methods of deity emanation, and a concluding exhortation to diligence.
In the language of India: Śrī-ḍākinī-vajrapañjara-saṃharaṇa-maṇḍalānureṇa-sādhanam. In the language of Tibet: The Sādhana Following the "Glorious Ḍākinī Vajrapañjara Maṇḍala Compendium." Homage to the Blessed One, Vajraḍākinī.
To the one who, through the essence of practicing the one and the many, pacifies delusion regarding one's own accomplishments; who, through the gathering of the branches of insight, is generated as the clear and blazing light within the aperture of the vajra peak; who, by acting within the wheel of pure arising compassion, is bound by the discipline for the sake of sentient beings; to Hevajra, adorned with the characteristics of truth, I prostrate with the crown of my head.
Homage to Vajraḍākinī, whose playful feet rest upon a lotus.
I shall write these pith instructions on the sādhana for the sake of my own recollection. Then, furthermore, focusing on the many suffering sentient beings, one should enter into the fully expanded flavor of compassion. Through the thorough examination of self and others, the continuum of the mind becomes completely purified through the ten aspects such as generosity. One is free from faults such as failing to please the guru through the three ways, and the mind is constantly held firm by the power of diligence in accomplishing perfect awakening. Having received empowerment and the ritual permission in the maṇḍala of the glorious Ḍākinī Vajrapañjara, at the beginning of the mantra session, one should rise.
At one’s own heart, one should place the seed syllable of the sublime first [letter] upon a sun maṇḍala arising from the syllable re pha. Then, in a certain direction such as a charnel ground, having prepared a square maṇḍala of sandalwood or the like, and having made the ground beautiful with various kinds of flowers, one should sit upon a great hide or similar seat in the vajra posture. Having settled with the hands gathered in the mudrā of meditative absorption, one should visualize the guru, buddhas, and bodhisattvas residing in the maṇḍala of the space of the sky through a mass of light rays from the syllable hūṃ, and then perform the offerings and so forth.
Regarding that, the offerings are as follows:
With hands like lotuses, displaying the gestures of light,
The goddesses of grace and the rest
Should perform the offerings perfectly.
One should confess, according to the ritual,
The sins and so forth accumulated
Throughout beginningless existence,
In the presence of the assembly of Sugatas.
I confess the mass of my own sins
Before the assembly of the Sugatas.
With faith, I rejoice
In the perfect merit of the Munis and their heirs,
And of all beings in the three realms of existence.
I offer myself to the Victorious Ones
Who have utterly conquered all conceptual thoughts.
With a single mind, I shall generate the bodhicitta
That definitively destroys the creator of existence.
In all ten directions, I shall
Turn the wheel of Dharma.
In these Three Jewels of peace,
I take refuge from this very moment.
For the benefit of beings in the three realms,
I shall follow the precious path.
All things are empty by nature, signless, and without cause; because one is liberated through such conceptualization, one becomes free from aspiration. Having thus clearly visualized all things and contemplated them as being like an illusion, the cessation of ignorance and other defects occurs through their cessation.
Recite: oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’ham and cultivate the divine pride. If one desires the body, speech, and mind through the power of the accumulation of merit and wisdom:
Visualize a multicolored vajra with its prongs spread out, resting upon a sun disk, marked with the seed syllable hūṃ. From this, clearly imagine the fourfold enclosure and so forth arising. Then, from the syllable bhrūṃ, a ten-spoked wheel is produced, revolving like a mountain. Upon that, on a lotus and sun disk, the peerless Yamāntaka and the others are generated from hūṃ and their respective signs. Imagine them in a posture with the left leg extended, trampling the fickle ones.
In the center of that, from hūṃ and a vajra, Vajrahūṃkāra is born. His body is beautiful, like a mass of sapphire light. Adorned with various garments and ornaments, he is both terrifying and graceful. With his lotus hands joined, he performs the supreme mudrā at his heart. Wearing a precious crown, the Vajra of Mind resides within his heart. He is embraced by the goddess Tārā, whose maṇḍala of full breasts and whose limbs are marked by the mountain of the enemy who lacks devotion.
In the place of the thoroughly condensed ultimate, the one characterized by hatred is trampled by the left leg extended upon a lotus, appearing in a state of great grace. This is the purity of the wisdom as previously explained. Yamāntaka, Aparājita, Hayagrīva, and Amṛtakuṇḍalī—these heroes are blue, white, red, and like collyrium, respectively; they have orange-red beards, flickering eyebrows, and hair bristling upward. Their bodies are adorned as if by a great forest; they have protruding bellies and short statures. Their lower bodies are wrapped in tiger skins, and they wear lion skins. Their bodies are beautified by nāgas from whose mouths poisonous flames emanate. In their lotus hands are the mallet, the staff, the lotus, and the split vajra. They are adorned on their supreme limbs by Vairocana, Akṣobhya, Amitāyus, and Amoghasiddhi. These should be visualized in the east, south, west, and north. In the corners of fire, the south-west, the wind, and the north-east are Kāmarāja, Nīladaṇḍa, Mahābala, and Acalā, all blue in color. In their hands, in sequence, are the hook, the blue staff, the trident, and the sword. They are crowned by Akṣobhya and the others, and adorned with excellent jewels.
Mahābala and Nīladaṇḍa are also like Yamāntaka, with their fangs bared in wrath. Above, from the seed-syllable BHRŪṂ and a wheel, emerges Uṣṇīṣacakravartin, with a complexion like refined gold, beautifully adorned with a wheel in his hand, and decorated with jewels and the like; upon his jeweled crown resides Vairocana. Below resides Sumbharāja, blue in color, holding a stake, with Akṣobhya residing upon his jeweled crown, and endowed with various ornaments. All of them possess the radiance of a solar maṇḍala and are the purification of the ten cognitions of suffering and so forth, completely subduing the maṇḍala of Māra. One should visualize that the left hands of all of them hold a nāga-noose and display the threatening gesture at the heart. This is the principal of the protection wheel, which should be made as the principal of the protection wheel according to one's preference. Then, the principal of the protection wheel melts and becomes a lunar orb, beautifully adorned by an upward-pointing triangle, clearly manifesting in all directions. One should visualize the source of phenomena (dharmodaya) as the vajra-lotus, the very nature of the inner space, completely pure. There, by the seed-syllables YAṂ, RAṂ, VAṂ, and LAṂ, the maṇḍalas of wind, fire, water, and the earth-holder are to be produced respectively; this is the visualization of the purification of the bhūtas and the sense faculties.
There, one should visualize Vairocana arising from the syllable Bhrūṃ and a cakra. From the mass formed by the unification of the maṇḍalas of wind and the other elements, it becomes the locus of the perfect accumulations of merit and wisdom, the pure qualities of all the tathāgatas, and the form in which the three realms are of a single taste. With the mantra Oṃ sarvatathāgatajñānakāyavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ, one should maintain the divine pride and meditate on the tiered celestial palace.
Above that, in the center, one should visualize the āli and kāli doubled. Through their complete melting, they become the maṇḍalas of the moon and sun. One should understand these as the nature of the mirror-like wisdom, the wisdom of equality, the thirty-two major marks of a great being, and the eighty minor marks. From the seed syllables Hūṃ and A, a supreme crossed vajra arises, which marks a vessel born from a lake; this marking is the nature of the discerning wisdom of all phenomena. Its light rays emerge as the hosts of Munis, pacifying the intense suffering of all beings; their return and entry is the all-accomplishing wisdom. With the mantra Vajrātmako ’haṃ, one should maintain the divine pride of the utterly pure self. These should be understood as the purification of the elements and the nature of the five sense faculties. As it is said: "Once the four Buddha-abodes are perfected, one should meditate on the five aspects."
Thus it is said. By these words, the five faculties are explained as being endowed with the signs and so forth. Such a Blessed One is the embodiment of the gathered atoms of the peerless assembly of Victors. The radiance of his limbs is like the autumn moon; he is all-pervasive and equal to space, arising from the nature of the indivisibility of emptiness and compassion. His three faces are blue, red, and white, and the five goddesses are black. These are to be visualized as the Great Vajradhara, the essence of supreme bliss.
By the masses of light from his heart, the assemblies of Tathāgatas are summoned and absorbed. They are then emanated as the goddesses of form and so forth, and should be absorbed into one’s own goddess. Having fully completed the maṇḍala of Śrī Heruka in the center of her lotus, the worldly Gandharva—renowned as being like a shadow or an illusion—is summoned and absorbed, thereby conferring empowerment. Sitting together in the center of the goddess’s lotus, one should visualize the three syllables placed between two blazing hoḥ syllables. As the syllables of great passion melt into light, one should view them as becoming like liquid mercury. One should then contemplate being exhorted by the primordial Dhūpā and the others, who are like dreams and illusions:
“You are the pure mind that completely protects the vajra faults. Your excellent body is perfectly adorned with the most sublime dharma. O Dhūpā, look upon me today and cast aside emptiness!”
Arise, O Guide born from the causes of the world! You are the body that completely purifies the vajra of delusion, the Dharmakāya adorned with phenomena like reflections. O Protector, look upon me, the mountain-dweller, and abandon emptiness! Arise, O Guide born from the causes of the world! You are the pure speech that fully sustains the vajra of passion, the excellent body adorned with definitive individual discernment. O Protector, look upon me, the fierce woman, today, and abandon emptiness! Arise, O Guide born from the causes of the world! You are the form that protects all Buddhas, adorned with the equality of all things. O Protector, look upon me, the outcaste woman, today, and abandon emptiness! Arise, O Guide born from the causes of the world!
Thus it is said. Having thus first generated the intention of great compassion, the yogi perceives that the bindu has declined. He visualizes a vessel born from the lake marked by the seed-syllables Hūṃ and Aṃ, which is marked by a crossed vajra. Having first established the five aspects of meditative absorption and so forth, which are the objects of emanation and withdrawal in their own essence, and having stabilized them therein, he becomes the glorious Heruka, the body of the complete purity of all Tathāgatas, with four feet treading upon the four Māras, and sixteen arms like forest branches holding a collection of skull-cups.
The central face and the root face are blue like the rain clouds at the time of destruction. The right and left lotus faces possess a radiance like the full moon and like the newly risen sun. The upper face is wide open and terrifying. The remaining four faces are extremely fearsome like the limbs of a bee. Adorned with a garland of twenty-four eyes, he dwells in the dance of the half-lotus posture. He wears a tiger-skin lower garment, his orange-red locks of hair blaze upward like a forest, and he holds the supreme, excellent vajra. One should visualize him as most beautiful, adorned with the five mudrās.
Cough, asthma, and fever; pulmonary hemorrhage, leprosy, and smallpox; abdominal distension and liver disease—these are the natural [diseases]. An elephant, a horse, a donkey, a camel, a human, a lion, and likewise a cat: these are the eight skulls in the right hands, to be known in order starting with the elephant. Earth, water, wind, fire, the moon, the sun, Yama, and Vaiśravaṇa: these are the eight skulls in the left hands, to be known in order starting with earth. These are the purities of Īśvara and the others. "The meditation on Samantabhadra is the sādhana of one's own chosen deity"—by this statement, the five concentrations, including that with conceptual thought, are to be visualized.
Having completely abandoned the aggregates of cyclic existence and nirvāṇa, one should cultivate the pride of the dharmadhātu through the indivisibility of emptiness and compassion. This is done by reciting: oṃ dharmadhātu-svabhāva-ātmako ’ham. Following that, at the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and heart, there are maṇḍalas of the moon. Upon these, from the complete melting of the seed syllables oṃ hūṃ trāṃ hrīḥ khaṃ hūṃ and the curved knives, there arise the White, Blue, Yellow, Red, Green, and Sky-colored [deities]: Delusion, Anger, Avarice, Slander, Desire, and Envy, as well as Vajra Nairātmyā. These are to be visualized as holding curved knives and skull-cups, standing upon short-lived [beings]. At the heart, throat, and crown are the seed syllables hūṃ aṃ oṃ. From these arise Khecarī, Bhūcarī, and Pātālacarī, who are blue, red, and white in color. Having arranged them and performed the preliminary emanations and so forth, they should be consecrated. One should cultivate the pride with: oṃ khecarī-citta-vajra-svabhāva-ātmako ’ham, oṃ bhūcarī-vāk-vajra-svabhāva-ātmako ’ham, and oṃ pātālavāsini-kāya-vajra-svabhāva-ātmako ’ham. Then, at one’s own heart, there is the samayasattva just as it is. With the mass of light from the symbols and seed syllables in the heart of the jñānasattva, one makes offerings to the assembly of Munis.
From that, emanated from light, a host of goddesses emerge, holding lotuses in their hands with vases filled with the water of bodhicitta. One should then perform the empowerment upon oneself with this pride: "Oṃ sarvatathāgatābhiṣekavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ." One should visualize the five Tathāgatas conferring the empowerment as a crown ornament.
The body consists of the four branches: joy, supreme joy, the joy of separation, and natural joy. These are the aspects of liberation from the forms of those with inferior intellect and so forth, being the manifold, the compressed, and that which is free from characteristics. Directly in front of that is Vajranairātmyā, who is the central [consort]. In her right hand, which is like a creeper, she holds a threatening forefinger and a curved knife. With her left hand, which is like a creeper and holds a skull-cup filled with the blood of gods and asuras, she embraces the neck of the Lord of Victors. She has one face.
To completely purify her, one should bless the head, heart, navel, secret place, the two thighs, and the limbs with the syllables Oṃ Hūṃ Āṃ Svā Hā, which are the identities of the Body, Mind, Jewel, Red Lotus, and Action families. One should purify the lotus and the navel with the seed-syllables Hūṃ and Āṃ. With Hūṃ and Āṃ, one generates the vajra and the jewel. Yellow Phaṭ syllables are placed in the apertures.
Then, one should cultivate the divine pride with the mantra: oṃ sarvatathāgatānurāgaṇavajrasvabhāvātmako ’ham. Through the ritual of the Sugatas entering into oneself, one should perform the act of passion. This is the first yoga.
Drawing in the hosts of Munis with a web of light from the seed-syllable at the heart, one should cause them to enter oneself. Having stabilized the wheel of yoginīs generated by the friction of the churning sticks within the lotus of the goddess, one should grasp it by following the guru’s oral instructions and then radiate it everywhere.
In that regard, from the complete melting of the seed-syllable gaṃ, there appears one who resembles the moon, holding a hook in her right hand. With her left lotus hand, she is intent on the threatening gesture toward the malevolent. She is the purity of the mirror-like wisdom, the aggregate of form, and the three types of faith. She should be placed at the eastern gate.
Similarly, from the seed-syllable caṃ, there is Caṇḍālī, who resembles refined gold. In her right hand, she holds a great life-force vajra-noose. She should be placed at the southern gate. One should visualize her as the purity of the wisdom of equality, the aggregate of feeling, and diligence.
From the seed-syllable vaṃ, there is Vetālī, who is as beautiful as the rising sun. She is the nature of the aggregate of perception and the wisdom of individual discernment. In her right hand, she holds a vajra chain, binding one to perfect awakening. She is at the western gate.
From the seed-syllable GHAṂ, there appears the most beautiful body of the goddess Śabarī, radiant like a greenish-yellow jewel. Her right hand holds a vajra and bell, sounding them; she is the nature of the aggregate of formations, the all-accomplishing wisdom, and the purity of meditative absorption, and resides at the northern gate. In the intermediate directions of Ishāna, Agni, Nairṛti, and Vāyu are Pukkasī, Śavarī, Caṇḍālī, and Ḍombī; their colors are blue, white, dark blue, and variegated.
From the seed-syllable PAṂ, Pukkasī appears, holding a lioness and a bell of perfectly complete bodhicitta; she is the nature of the earth element, great compassion, and so forth. From the seed-syllable ŚAṂ, Śavarī appears with two hands holding a vessel born from the ocean in which a monk resides, and a rabbit; she is the nature of the water element, great love, and so forth. From the seed-syllable TSAṂ, Caṇḍālī appears in a playful manner, holding a wheel and a fire-hearth in her two hands; she is the nature of the fire element and the purity of great joy. From the seed-syllable ḌAṂ, Ḍombī appears, holding a great vajra banner in her right and left hands; she is the nature of the wind element and the purity of great equanimity, and so forth.
These [deities] arise from various oceans upon the maṇḍala of the sun, [surrounded by] Brahmā, Indra, Viṣṇu, Rudra, Yama, Kubera, Nairṛti, and...
The nature of the Vemacitrins is such that their feet, like lotuses, press down in the posture of the left leg extended. They are adorned with ornaments of human bone; their orange-red hair blazes upward, and they wear a skull-crown upon their heads. With great compassion for the sake of sentient beings, they are supremely diligent and exquisitely graceful with supreme joy, possessing three eyes.
Having thus beheld the completely perfected maṇḍala, one should draw forth the dhāraṇī of the maṇḍala of the assembly of Victors with the hook of light from the seed-syllable at the heart. Looking toward the side of the eastern gate, one should offer the water for the face with "Oṃ arghaṃ pratīccha svāhā." One should offer the water for the feet with "Oṃ pādyaṃ pratīccha svāhā," and having offered flowers as a seat, one should perform the perfect worship.
Then, with "Oṃ vajragaurī ākarṣaya jaḥ," "Oṃ vajracaurī praveśaya hūṃ," "Oṃ vajravettālī bandha vaṃ," and "Oṃ vajraghasmarī toṣaya hoḥ," one should summon, cause to enter, bind, and please [the deities]. Having performed the blessing of the eyes and so forth, and the blessing of the body, speech, and mind, for the sake of conferring empowerment, one should visualize Vairocana, Ratnasambhava, Amitābha, and Vajradhara, as well as Gandharvī and the others, as the crown ornaments, and further visualize the Mind, Body, Vajra, Ratna, and Amitāyus [deities] as the crown ornaments.
Then, having summoned and drawn in the yellow goddesses and the others with the hook of light rays from the seed syllable at the heart, one should visualize them in the center of the lotus of one’s own consort like wish-fulfilling jewels. Holding the breath for a moment, one should contemplate them. In that way, the hosts of goddesses such as the yellow one emerge from the pores of one’s own consort. They fill the entire expanse of space with vessels filled with the moon and so forth, held in their transformed lotus hands. The wise should view these as being like an illusion and so forth, and thus be liberated from the conceptualization of duality. One should cultivate the divine pride with: oṃ sarvatathāgata pūjā-vajra-svabhāva-ātmako ’ham. Then, one should visualize the entire assembly offering praise like an echo:
"You are completely surrounded by the assembly of yoginīs. You have fully attained your own enlightened mind. You have purified all moving and non-moving beings, and you act with the strength of a compassionate heart toward sentient beings. You cause the vajra to increase amidst the elaborations of illusion. O, how wonderful! I praise the glorious Heruka, the Vajra of the Mind, the one who has attained realization."
One should cultivate the divine pride with: oṃ sarvatathāgata stuti-vajra-svabhāva-ātmako ’ham. Following that, there is a wind maṇḍala arising from aṃ and marked with yaṃ. Above that is a fire maṇḍala arising from raṃ and marked with raṃ. Above that is a lotus vessel arising from a and marked with yaṃ.
Upon that, the five nectars (amṛta) and the Tārās are marked by the Tathāgatas; by igniting and radiating these, they are freed from all stains. Then, from the syllable HŪṂ, a DHĪṂ marked by HŪṂ appears, and it is consecrated in the manner of a crystal. There, by the syllable OṂ, the nature of the wisdom nectar is drawn in; one should view it as possessing the supreme flavor of the inseparable mantra and as having the nature of the power of ripening. Having visualized the tongue marked by a vajra and HŪṂ, one should arrange the maṇḍala within the drop (bindu) of the seed-syllable at the heart and thoroughly satisfy it. The tongue is consecrated with the mantra OṂ VAJRA JIHVĀ HŪṂ. One should maintain the divine pride (ahaṃkāra) with the mantra OṂ SARVA TATHĀGATA AMṚTA ĀHĀRA VAJRA SVABHĀVA ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ. These are the absorption of the Supreme King of Maṇḍalas.
By the light rays from the heart, all the Tathāgatas are transformed into the form of Śrī Heruka and dissolve into the maṇḍala. The maṇḍala deities dissolve into oneself; oneself dissolves into the wisdom being (jñānasattva); the wisdom being dissolves into the sign; the sign dissolves into the seed-syllable; the seed-syllable dissolves into the drop; and the drop dissolves into the maṇḍala wheel. One should contemplate this as being completely perfected in a single instant, and perform the emanations and so forth in the same manner. This is the yoga of the drop (binduyoga).
All sentient beings are placed within all the tathāgatas and dissolved. At the tip of the center of the lotus, in the middle of one’s own cihna, within a space the size of a mustard seed made of the five kinds of jewels, one should visualize the maṇḍala wheel in its entirety, remaining firm and stable until the five signs have arisen. Thereafter, through the anuyoga, one should perform the emanation and reabsorption and so forth; this is the subtle yoga. Having accomplished wisdom in an instant, one should meditate until the emanation of infinite masses of light rays and the vision of oneself and others have become perfectly complete. If weariness arises, one should perform the mantra recitation day and night according to the oral instructions. If one is unable to perform that mantra recitation, one should recite: oṃ dhara dhāraya marda marda vajradhṛk hūṃ phaṭ. If weariness arises, one should restore the experience by causing a stream of nectar to drip from the syllable oṃ residing on a moon at the crown of the head, thereby bringing about complete satisfaction. Having played with the bliss and great joy of the goddess’s song, one should contemplate the offerings and so forth. When one wishes to arise, without distraction of speech or body, the wise one should offer to and praise this wheel, then arise and act for the benefit of beings. The five qualities of desire are primordially pure and stainless; whether as the actual goddesses of form and so forth, or as the yidam deity, or as the Vajra-holder—
One should enter here into the abode of the Sugatas, such as the Vajra Body and so forth. Having drunk the supreme nectar, the essence of compassion, one is eternally and perfectly blissful. One should perform all these without error, in order to be carried toward the perfect state of nirvāṇa and to exhaust all faults.
Having become empowered by the flavor of compassion, one should meditate on the glorious Karmavajra. At the heart, one should visualize a multicolored vajra arising from the syllable khaṃ and marked by it, upon a moon disc. From the mass of light rays emanating from that, the goddesses should bestow empowerment. In the form of the Tathāgata’s speech, abiding in the wheel, one should utterly destroy all obstructing spirits (vighna).
The Sovereign, having risen at dawn, should perform the offerings and so forth, as well as the recitation and meditation according to the ritual. In the afternoon, having placed the wheel within the mind, one should always sleep with awareness. All virtues should be dedicated constantly as the cause for the perfect awakening of sentient beings. Whether by day or at midnight, one should likewise arise and contemplate extensively. Thus, one should meditate on the six branches and the three samādhis.
If one asks how the six branches are to be meditated upon, it is said:
"Having perfected the four abodes of the Buddhas,
One should meditate on the five aspects.
Having meditated on the five aspects,
One should meditate on Samantabhadra.
The means of accomplishment (sādhana) of one's own chosen deity,
And likewise the arrangement of the maṇḍala,
The offerings, praises, tasting the nectar (amṛta), and so forth—
Meditating on these in their proper sequence
Is held to be the six branches of yoga."
Thus it is said. Here, too, some maintain that [the deity] arises as the nature of the maṇḍala of Samantabhadra; others maintain that [he] is born from the seminal fluid; and some maintain that the resultant entity is the nature of the maṇḍala. These three absorptions should be understood in this context.
Then, if a yogin wishes to meditate on the entire condensed maṇḍala, he should meditate on the five maṇḍalas, each with its respective shape and seat, arising from the melting of Vairocana. Regarding the five modes of manifest awakening for the five principal deities in their respective locations, these are the same; however, they differ in their respective seed syllables, hand symbols, and colors. From these, the five causal Blessed Ones are generated. Then, according to the ritual, through the melting [of the deities], they are exhorted by the words of the songs arising from the tantras of the goddesses of their respective boundaries.
Furthermore, from their respective hand symbols and seed syllables, their bodies are perfected exactly as described. Then, having performed the individual branches of blessing the lotuses and so forth, and blessing the secret places, one should emanate the central maṇḍala in the forward order. The goddesses of each respective maṇḍala are perfected exactly as described, possessing their respective hand symbols, colors, and shapes, using the first letter of each of their names. They should then be placed in their respective locations. Having dissolved the wisdom maṇḍala into them, the procedures from the blessing of the eyes up to the tasting of the amṛta are generally the same.
Alternatively, from the secret place of the consort of the Heruka of Hatred, one should emanate the respective principal deities along with their retinues from their individual seed syllables; the rest is in accordance with the previous [method]. The seed syllables for the four principal deities are BHRŪṂ, ĀṂ, JRĪṂ, and KHAṂ. Those for the four female gatekeepers are SAṂ, PAṂ, BAṂ, and AṂ. Those for the intermediate deities are PAṂ, DUṂ, DAṂ, and MAṂ. Those for the female gatekeepers of Vajrasūrya are SUṂ, DUṂ, RAṂ, and TAṂ. Those for the intermediate deities are LAṂ, HAṂ, NRAṂ, and GRIṂ. Those for the four female gatekeepers of Padmanarteśvara are PAṂ, DAṂ, YAṂ, and ŚLAṂ. Those for the intermediate deities are BAṂ, VIṂ, MUṂ, and MUṂ. Those for the female gatekeepers of Hayagrīva are TAṂ, KUṂ, KAṂ, and PAṂ. Those for the intermediate deities are LAṂ, MAṂ, PAṂ, and TAṂ. Hevajra is very clear [in this regard]. Regarding the recitation of the mantra garlands, the heart mantras and near-heart mantras are taught in the tantra.
May the merit arising from reciting and performing this sādhana of the Protector Heruka—which [removes] the distractions of the self, the collection of views of "mine," and the afflictions that dwell like water, and which [liberates] all those who dwell in the midst of the river of saṃsāra and experience the birth of suffering like the end of their life-force—may that merit always carry the worldly beings to suchness and bring about their liberation.
Through the merit of translating this sādhana of the Vajrapañjara, the King of Tantras, with the intention to benefit all beings through both faith and diligence, may all beings enter the Vajrapañjara.
The Sādhana of the Ḍākinī Vajrapañjara Following the Condensed Maṇḍala, composed by the great master known as Devavrata, is hereby complete.
Translated by Marpa Chökyi Lodrö. The Teacher Śākyamuni, at the foot of the Vajra Seat in India, renounced the kingdom of King Śuddhodana and ignited the sacred Dharma like a fire; apply yourself with diligence and take this to heart.