Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual manual provides technical instructions for performing a pacification fire offering (homa) dedicated to the deity Śrī Cakrasaṃvara. The text focuses on the precise physical and meditative requirements necessary to initiate the rite, beginning with the material specifications for the hearth, such as its color, circular shape, and specific dimensions in cubits. It then transitions to the internal mental preparation, requiring the practitioner to visualize a mandala of thirty-seven deities. The ritual concludes with a specific mudra and the invocation of the fire god Agni to facilitate the offering process. By following these instructions, the reader commits to a synthesis of physical construction, visualization, and mantra recitation intended to achieve a pacifying effect. The text functions as a concise procedural guide, prioritizing the correct alignment of external materials and internal meditative states over theoretical justification.
Provenance
About this text
A concise ritual for the peaceful homa of Śrī Cakrasaṃvara, this work belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. It is preserved in volume ཞ of the Tengyur, where it is situated within the canonical collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras, spanning two pages. The work enacts a pacification fire offering, detailing the precise physical construction of a white, circular hearth and the visualization of thirty-seven deities within a maṇḍala. It further prescribes the use of a specific mudra and the invocation of the fire god Agni through mantra to facilitate the sacrifice. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the technical synthesis of material specifications, meditative visualization, and mantra recitation required to perform this specific rite.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Concise Ritual of Pacification Fire Offerings of the Glorious Saṃvara” (Toh 1474), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1474
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its integration of Vedic elements, such as the invocation of Agni, within a Vajrayana Buddhist framework. It demonstrates the technical precision required in Tibetan ritual practice, where the physical dimensions of the hearth and specific mudras are considered essential for the efficacy of the rite.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Hearth Specifications
Details the physical requirements for the fire altar, including color, shape, and dimensions.
2
Ritual Execution
Describes the visualization of deities, the use of a mudra to invite the fire god, and the recitation of mantras for offerings.
Themes
Ritual Materiality (1)
Visualization and Mudra (2)
Invocation of Agni (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Concise Ritual of Pacification Fire Offerings of the Glorious Saṃvara·
The Concise Ritual for the Peaceful Homa of Śrī Cakrasaṃvara
Homage to the glorious Cakrasaṃvara!
The hearth for the peaceful homa is white in color and circular in shape. It should be one cubit in width and half that in depth. Alternatively, one may use an unbaked clay bowl as the hearth. Within the maṇḍala of that hearth, one should draw the wheel of great bliss, then outside of that the wheel of mind, then outside of that the wheel of speech, then outside of that the wheel of body, and finally outside of that the wheel of samaya. All the hand symbols should be drawn as curved knives (kartṛkā). If performing the seven-syllable mantra, place a vajra and a curved knife at the center of the hearth, and arrange curved knives on the petals. Alternatively, if performing an extremely concise version, simply place a vajra and a curved knife.
Next, for the arrangement of substances: either dry wood or dry cow dung is suitable. Any burning substances available, such as grains or sesame seeds, are acceptable. Having purified, ignited, and consecrated them, arrange them. Fill the hearth with wood and kindle the fire. Then, in an instant, generate oneself as the yidam deity. Meditate on the hearth and so forth as being unobservable, and from the syllable HŪṂ, generate the hearth as before. Inside it, from RAṂ, generate a triangular fire. Inside that, visualize the syllable A. From the melting of the A, a staff appears, marked with an A. From the total transformation of that, generate the fire deity Agni, white in color and adorned with all ornaments, with one face and four arms. At his heart, from YAṂ, visualize wind, and from RAṂ, a triangular fire. At the three corners, place OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ.
In the center, meditate on the thirty-seven deities. Then, with the thumb of the right hand, press down the ring finger, and invite the supramundane fire god (Agni) to dissolve [into the fire]. Offer the offerings and the substances for the fire sacrifice (homa) with this mantra:
OṂ AGNAYE. OṂ HRĪḤ HA HA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ. [Name of the person], SARVA PĀPAṂ ŚĀNTIṂ KURU SVĀHĀ. SARVA VIGHNAṂ. SARVA JVARA. SARVA GRAHE. SARVA UPADRAVE. SARVA DUḤSVAPNE. SARVA DURNIMITTE. SARVA AKĀLAMṚTYŪPRAŚAMANA SVĀHĀ. SARVA VYĀKULA-CITTA-YAŚĀNTIṂ KURU SVĀHĀ.
Come, come, O great being! O King of Fire Gods, supreme sage, please remain here in this very place in order to accept the burnt offerings and the food. EHYEHI AGNE JAḤ JAḤ.
Whatever faults I have committed in this well-performed rite due to my own deluded mind, since you are the refuge of all embodied beings, may the Protector forgive them all.
O Lord, if I lacked the capacity, or if the ritual was incomplete, or if the materials were not found, please forgive all that I have done here.
Having accomplished the welfare of myself and of sentient beings, O Consumer of Offerings, please be satisfied and pleased, and then depart to your own pure abode.
This concludes the abbreviated ritual for the fire sacrifice of Cakrasaṃvara.