Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Sādhana known as the Glorious Jewel Drop (Śrīratnabindu-nāma-sādhana-nopika) is a ritual manual designed to facilitate the realization of Great Bliss through deity yoga and internal alchemy. The text guides the practitioner in visualizing a central deity characterized by three eyes and the embrace of Īśvarī, whose radiance and adornments signify specific tantric achievements. The practice commits the reader to a process of transforming the five nectars into the nature of the five Tathāgatas, utilizing the union of primordial wisdom fire and wind to refine these substances via seed syllables. The work concludes by attributing its origin to the land of Oḍḍiyāna and the figure Śrīdākā, framing the text as a mnemonic record intended for the use of yoginīs. By integrating somatic visualization with the manipulation of subtle energies, the text aims to dissolve the practitioner's ordinary perception into a state where nothing remains to be seen.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual practice known as the Glorious Jewel Drop, the Śrīratnabindunāmasādhanopāyikā belongs to the Non-dual Tantra collection. The work is attributed to the Indian author Prajñāgupta. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the translator Prajñāgupta and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཏ, where it extends over three pages in the classical Tibetan language as the dpal rin chen thigs pa zhes bya ba'i sgrub pa'i thabs. The work enacts a process of spiritual accomplishment centered on Great Bliss, beginning with prostrations to the glorious Heruka. It guides the practitioner through the visualization of a deity with three eyes, embraced by Īśvarī, who is adorned with Akṣobhya and the six mudrās. The practice involves the transformation of the five nectars into the nature of the five Tathāgatas, utilizing the union of primordial wisdom fire and wind to melt and refine these substances through the application of seed syllables and mantras. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific somatic visualizations and the manipulation of subtle energies used to realize the state of Great Bliss.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana called “The Jeweled Bindu”” (Toh 1332), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1332
Summary & commentary
Significance
This text is significant as an example of the Oḍḍiyāna tradition's influence on Tibetan ritual practice, specifically regarding the transformation of bodily substances. It illustrates the intersection of deity yoga and the alchemy of the five nectars common in higher tantric systems.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Introduction and Visualization
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan and describes the physical attributes and adornments of the central deity and his consort Īśvarī.
3
Alchemical Process
Details the transformation of the five nectars into the nature of the five Tathāgatas through the application of primordial wisdom fire and wind.
4
Colophon
States the text's origin in Oḍḍiyāna from Śrīdākā and the author's purpose in recording the instructions.
Themes
Deity Yoga (1-2)
Internal Alchemy and the Five Nectars (3)
Lineage and Provenance (4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrīratnabindu-nāma-sādhana-nopika. In the language of Tibet: dPal rin chen thigs pa zhes bya ba’i sgrub pa’i thabs (The Sādhana known as the Glorious Jewel Drop). Homage to the glorious Great Bliss!
Possessing the limbs of Great Bliss,
I myself am Great Bliss.
Dwelling in the state of Great Bliss,
To the glorious Heruka, I prostrate.
For the sake of the accomplishment of the fortunate,
I shall explain this concise sādhana.
First, the Lord of Yogins
Should abide in this application.
In the lotus of the anus is the syllable YAṂ;
From that, the maṇḍala of wind arises.
In the triangular lotus is the syllable RAṂ;
From that, the maṇḍala of fire arises.
By the closing and opening [of the petals],
The wind shall lift the fire.
Within the lotus of the bhaga,
One should meditate on it as truly blazing.
With the blazing fire, the entire body’s
Conceptual nature is to be incinerated.
By its light, the wheel of bliss
Is entirely melted into light.
The nectar of that melted light
Flows from within the life-channel.
By an uninterrupted stream,
That which was previously burned is thoroughly satisfied.
One’s own body, the nature of wisdom,
Is seen in the form of Akṣobhya.
OṂ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA DHARMĀḤ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ.
OṂ ŚŪNYATĀ JÑĀNA VAJRA SVABHĀVA ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ.
From the syllable HŪṂ, in an instant,
I arise as the Heruka endowed with the wheel.
In the center of the triangular mudrā,
Upon a sun disk, I am in a dancing posture.
With four faces and eight arms,
I possess the form of a blue lotus.
With three eyes and the right leg extended, he is embraced by the well-born Īśvarī. He wears a necklace of a garland of fresh skulls and is equal in radiance to ten million suns. His head is adorned with Akṣobhya, and his limbs are adorned with the six mudrās. His head is adorned with a garland of skulls and a crown protrusion (uṣṇīṣa) with a half-moon. He possesses faces that are black, yellow, red, and green, arranged in a counter-clockwise rotation from the left. In the embracing right hand he holds a vajra, and in the left a bell. In the right hands he holds the sun, an arrow, and a kapāla; in the left hands he holds the moon, a bow, and a khaṭvāṅga. The well-pleased Īśvarī is similar to him. Alternatively, she is remembered as having two hands, holding a curved knife (kartṛkā) and a kapāla, with her lower body embracing [the deity]. From herself, the supreme reality of light arises, abiding in the state of non-duality. The well-pleased lady, Vajrāyudhā, and likewise Vajrahastinī, are similar to the face of the Blessed One. One should meditate on them within a triangle. She has one face with three eyes, or four faces and stands with the left leg extended. She holds kapālas filled with musk, saffron, and camphor in her two graceful hands. She places the triangular mudrā upon her crown, with the two index fingers pointing downward. With loose hair and naked, she is adorned with a necklace of fresh skulls. Upon a corpse, she is most terrifying, her limbs adorned with the five mudrās. The practitioner of accomplishment should understand the purification of the lalanā and so forth. Then, within the four wheels of great bliss, inside the lotus vessels—
The five nectars are the supreme deities, the very nature of the five Tathāgatas. Above, the fire of primordial wisdom (jñānāgni) and below, the wind—through their union, the fire blazes. By this, the nectar is melted; then, by the seed syllables of the wisdom of the three vajras, it is made white, realized, and ignited. Through the blessing of the mantra, place it upon the lotus petal of one’s own tongue. With that, one should thoroughly satisfy the forms of the outer and inner self, the wheel. OṂ YOGA AMṚTA ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA DHARMĀ YOGA AMṚTA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ. Then, for the sake of accomplishing everything, recite the heart mantra of the Protector: OṂ VAJRA TEJO GRAHRIṂ GRAHRIṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ. OṂ GLRĪṂ BLRĪṂ JLRĪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. OṂ VAJRA SĀGARĪ HŪṂ PHAṬ. OṂ VAJRA SURATA HŪṂ PHAṬ. OṂ VAJRA KUÑJARI HŪṂ PHAṬ. At the time of offering, one should make offerings to the yoginīs dwelling in the triangle. Then, one should give the torma (bali) for the protection of sentient beings: OṂ AKĀRO MUKHAṂ SARVA DHARMĀṆĀM ĀDYUTPANNA TVĀT OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. Then, the yogi should rest. Above and below are abandoned; in the center of the deep place, one possesses the insight of self-awareness. Within the sixty-four petals, there is the perfectly stainless, unmixed portion. In its center is the supreme manner, pervading the two stainless purities. One sees that which is the perfection of one’s own nature; there is neither generation nor completion. It is a nature without waves. With a mind without waves, the supreme reality is found.
In that, there is not even the slightest thing to be seen. This was found by me in the land of Oḍḍiyāna from the supreme lotus-face of the glorious Śrīdākā. Later, for the sake of my own memory, I have written down these words. May the yoginīs grant their forbearance. This concludes the Ratnabindu-nāma-sādhana, a manual of practice composed by the lord of yogins, the glorious Prajñāguhya.