Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a liturgical praise dedicated to the deity Cakrasaṃvara, structured as a series of invocations and offerings. It employs the aesthetics of the wrathful tantras, utilizing imagery of cremation-ground activities—such as the consumption of flesh, blood, and brains—to signify the transmutation of mundane perception and the overcoming of cyclic existence. The work functions as a devotional instrument intended to evoke the presence of the deity and the Vajraḍākinīs. By combining terrifying iconography with appeals for compassion, the text commits the reader to a practice of non-dual realization, specifically requesting an explanation of the samaya of the ḍākinīs and the esoteric union of vowels and consonants. The movement from the description of the deity's wrathful form to a prayer for instruction suggests a trajectory from external visualization to the internal realization of tantric commitments.
Provenance
About this text
A stotra in praise of the deity Cakrasaṃvara, the Śrīcakrasaṃvaranāmaśatāṣṭakastotra belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. Preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཝ, the work is part of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras collection and is titled in Tibetan as the dpal 'khor lo sdom pa'i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa'i bstod pa. Spanning three pages in its source edition, the work enacts a devotional ritual through the invocation of the glorious Heruka and Vajraḍākinī. It utilizes the aesthetics of wrathful tantra, employing imagery of the charnel grounds and the consumption of flesh, blood, and brains to signify the overcoming of cyclic existence. The text functions as a prayer for the Blessed One to explain the samaya of the ḍākinīs and the union of vowels and consonants. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the intersection of terrifying iconography and great compassion, observing how the text moves from the visualization of a body the color of a blue lotus to a request for esoteric instruction on the nature of the stable and the moving.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Praise of the Hundred and Eight Names of Glorious Cakrasaṃvara” (Toh 1425), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1425
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as a representative of the Anuttarayoga Tantra tradition, specifically the Cakrasaṃvara cycle, which emphasizes the transformation of desire and aggression into wisdom. For the modern reader, it illustrates the use of transgressive imagery to challenge conventional notions of purity and impurity within a ritual context.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Invocation and Iconography
Homage to Vajraḍākinī and a description of the deity's terrifying form and ritual activities.
3
Prayer and Request
Prostrations to Heruka and a request for the explanation of the ḍākinīs' samaya.
Themes
Wrathful Iconography (1-2)
Tantric Samaya (3)
Compassion and Sentient Beings (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaPraise of the Hundred and Eight Names of Glorious Cakrasaṃvara·
In the language of India: Śrīcakrasaṃvara-nāmāṣṭaśataka-stotra. In the language of Tibet: dPal ’khor lo sdom pa’i mtshan brgya rtsa brgyad pa’i bstod pa. Homage to the glorious Vajraḍākinī!
Possessing a terrifying body blazing like the fire at the end of an aeon, you who strike fear with your wrath, your body is the color of a blue lotus born from the lake. Seated upon a maṇḍala of the sun, you hold a khaṭvāṅga and a vajra. With the pure syllables Oṃ Oṃ, you sever the heads of the gods Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and Rudra, and use them to adorn your head. Possessing the wheel of syllables Hūṃ Hūṃ Phaṭ Phaṭ Ṭa Ṭa, you suppress the Lion of Men and strike fear. Through great compassion, you generate the manner of the emanated wheel. Jaḥ Hūṃ Baṃ Hoḥ: you firmly press upon the breasts of the glorious goddess.
Adorned upon the crown of the head by the Sugatas, you trample with your feet the crowns of all the gods. With the sound of "A-la-la," you terrify the vighnas. Ringing a hand-drum, you wear the skin of the fierce Viṣṇu. You act as the universal monarch of the vajra goddesses' circle. Proclaiming Hu lu hu lu, ji ji, traṃ traṃ, and jaṃ jaṃ, you are adorned with a garland of heads strung on intestines. In the form of a Vajraḍākinī, you sing the song of terror. Intoxicated by Kruṃ Kruṃ and Hu lu hu lu, you are fully adorned as a Vajraḍākinī. In the charnel ground, with the sound of the dance and ha la ha la, you cause the yakṣas to be utterly terrified.
Excellently exhorted by the songs of the Vajra Ḍākinīs, you partake of flesh, blood, intestines, and internal organs. With the sounds of haṃ haṃ and a a, you make the deities manifest; holding a skull-cup filled with brains, you consume it. With the laughter of ka ha ka ha, you terrify cyclic existence (saṃsāra); adorned with bone ornaments from the terrifying charnel grounds, you conquer the three realms (dhātu) with the vajra laughter of ha ha. With the syllables ha ha hi hi ja ja, you make the threatening gesture (tarjanī). With the laughter of ha ha, you topple mountains from their peaks. You call out to the yoginīs and heroes with the sound of hrī hrī. The Lion of Men, with the trident, performs the welfare of sentient beings. With four fanged faces and a blue-colored body, you proclaim brūṃ brūṃ and generate the Great Seal (mahāmudrā).
Extending a tongue that flickers like a vajra lightning bolt, you ring the vajra bell and draw the bow and arrow with the sound of kraṃ kraṃ. With the left leg extended, you are crowned with snakes; you never abandon the welfare of sentient beings throughout countless eons (kalpa). Proclaiming hana daha phaṭ phaṭ, you provide protection; through the power of yoga, you perform the deeds of the Victors. You are neither an entity nor a non-entity, the meditator and the Vajra-holder. Proclaiming caṭa caṭa graṃ graṃ khaṃ khaṃ, the elaborations of the Buddha’s body, speech, and mind are emptiness (śūnyatā). Through the view of play, you are free from all stains. Proclaiming golū golū jaṃ jaṃ yaṃ yaṃ, you are peaceful; you possess the power of abiding in the meditative absorption (samādhi) equal to space. With the sound of maṃ maṃ, you are the very nature of great bliss (mahāsukha).
I prostrate and offer praise to the glorious Heruka, the nature of the stable and the moving, who through great compassion never abandons sentient beings. I pray that the Blessed One, the Sugata of the five families, may explain the samaya of the ḍākinīs, the union of the vowels and consonants. By uttering this homage, gods and sages will certainly come to realize that glorious Heruka who holds the secret body. This concludes the praise of the one hundred and eight names of the glorious Cakrasaṃvara.