Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a concise sādhana, a ritual manual for the meditative accomplishment of the deity Heruka. It guides the practitioner through a structured process of visualization and mental transformation, beginning with the purification of the environment and the generation of a seed syllable (OṂ) that transforms into a lunar disc and a central HŪṂ. The text commits the reader to a complex visualization of the deity's iconography, detailing the specific implements held in the multiple arms of both the central figure and a female consort, including the khaṭvāṅga, skull-cup, and curved knife. The ritual concludes with the recitation of specific mantras and a prayer for future rebirths characterized by devotion to the guru and the preservation of samaya vows. By synthesizing mantra, visualization, and aspiration, the work aims to facilitate the practitioner's identification with the deity and the realization of the Cakrasaṃvara tradition.
Provenance
About this text
A concise method for accomplishing the Glorious Heruka, the Śrīherukabhaṭṭārakaprasādhanopāyikāpiṇḍikā is a ritual work attributed to the Indian author Bhṛṅgārapāda. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the translator Kumārakalaśa and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཞ, where it comprises four pages. Within the Tibetan canon, it is situated among the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work enacts a structured ritual process beginning with physical purification and the use of five-nectar pills, followed by the meditative transformation of the syllable OṂ into a white moon disc and the syllable HŪṂ. Through these visualizations, the practitioner makes offerings to the guru and buddhas, performs confession, and invokes a complex deity iconography featuring multiple arms holding implements such as the khaṭvāṅga, a skull-cup of blood, a curved knife, and the head of Brahmā. A scholar or serious reader consults this classical Tibetan translation to examine the specific iconographic details and the sequence of mental transformations required for the meditative accomplishment of the deity Heruka.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Concise Sādhana of the Great and Glorious Heruka” (Toh 1482), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1482
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as a representative example of the Anuttarayoga Tantra tradition, specifically the Cakrasaṃvara cycle. It demonstrates the technical precision required in Vajrayana deity yoga, where specific colors, implements, and syllables are essential for the ritual's efficacy.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Preliminary and Generation
Initial homage and the visualization of the seed syllable OṂ transforming into a moon disc and the syllable HŪṂ.
3-4
Iconography of the Deities
Detailed descriptions of the physical attributes and ritual implements held by Heruka and his consort.
5
Mantras and Aspiration
Recitation of specific mantras and a concluding prayer for future births and spiritual commitment.
Themes
Deity Yoga and Visualization (2-4)
Ritual Implements and Iconography (3-4)
Samaya and Devotion (5)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Concise Sādhana of the Great and Glorious Heruka·
In the language of India: Śrīherukabhaṭṭārakaprasādhanopāyikapañjikā-nāma. In the language of Tibet: rJe btsun dpal he ru ka sgrub pa’i thabs mdor bsdus pa zhes bya ba (The Concise Method for Accomplishing the Glorious Heruka). Homage to the glorious Vajraḍākinī.
First, having risen from bed and purified the face and so forth, place a pill of the five nectars (amṛta) in the mouth. Recite the vowels and consonants (āli-kāli) three times. Seated upon a soft cushion with the body held straight, gaze at the tip of the nose.
One should remain motionless like a mountain, touching the very tip of a hair in the space between the teeth. Then, generating the divine pride (ahaṃkāra) of the respective deities for the five aggregates (pañcaskandha), one should meditate on the form of the Blessed One as explained below for the benefit of oneself and others.
First, [recite]: OṂ SUMBHANI SUMBHA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ GṚHṆA GṚHṆA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ GṚHṆĀPAYA GṚHṆĀPAYA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ ĀNAYA HO BHAGAVĀN VIDYĀRĀJA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ GHA GHA GHĀTAYA GHĀTAYA SARVA DUṢṬĀṂ PHAṬ | OṂ KĪLAYA KĪLAYA SARVA PĀPAṂ PHAṬ | HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ | VAJRA KĪLAYA | VAJRA DHARA ĀJÑĀPAYATI KĀYA VĀK CITTAṂ VAJRAṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ VAJRA MUDGARA VAJRA KĪLĀKOṬAYA HŪṂ PHAṬ.
With these and other mantras, one should snap the fingers in the ten directions. Then, in the space of one’s own heart, from a yellow syllable PAṂ, there arises a multicolored lotus.
From the complete transformation of the syllable OṂ, there is a white moon disc. In the center of the joined moon and sun maṇḍalas, which are the complete transformation of the vowels and consonants, is a black syllable HŪṂ. With its light rays, one makes offerings to the guru, the buddhas, and so forth, and performs the confession of misdeeds and other practices. In front, one visualizes the three seed syllables—OṂ, HŪṂ, and ĀḤ—in white, blue, and red, respectively, according to their number. From the complete transformation of the central seed syllable, there is a vajra; one visualizes the syllable HŪṂ at the central prong of that vajra. With the light rays of those three syllables, the realms of sentient beings are purified. They are then reabsorbed and enter their respective seed syllables.
Then, OṂ dissolves into ĀḤ, and ĀḤ dissolves into the tip of the vajra. The tip dissolves into the vajra; the vajra dissolves into the vowel Ū; Ū dissolves into HA; HA dissolves into the head; the head dissolves into the crescent moon; the crescent moon dissolves into the drop (bindu); the drop dissolves into the nada; and the nada dissolves into the mere sound. Having been thus gradually withdrawn and entered into the subtle element, the external vessel world is purified. Simultaneously, from the complete transformation of the syllable HŪṂ in the center of the vowels and consonants within the subtle element, one should view oneself in the form of Heruka.
The Blessed One has four faces, three eyes, a black body, and twelve arms. He stands in the posture with the right leg extended, trampling Mahābhairava and Kālarātri under his feet. His two arms embrace Vajravārāhī, holding a vajra and a bell. His two upper arms hold an elephant hide.
In the third right hand is a hand-drum; in the fourth, a battle-axe; in the fifth, a curved knife; and in the sixth, a trident brandished aloft. In the third left hand is a khaṭvāṅga marked with a vajra; in the fourth, a skull-cup filled with blood; in the fifth, a vajra-noose; and in the sixth, he holds the head of Brahmā. He wears a crown of matted locks adorned with a crescent moon and a crossed vajra. His faces are contorted, with fangs bared. He possesses the expressions of the [nine] moods, such as the erotic and so forth. The left face is yellow; the western face is like a ruby; the right face is like emerald. He wears a lower garment of tiger skin and a garland of human heads strung on intestines.
The necklace, armlets, earrings, and the jewel upon the crown, the sacrificial thread, and the ashes—these are renowned as the six mudrās. They are the seal of the six pure perfections. In front of him is the Blessed Lady Vajravārāhī, red in color, with one face and two hands. She has three eyes and loose hair. She is naked, wearing a girdle adorned with bone fragments. Her two embracing hands hold a vessel filled with the blood of the wicked, Māras, and so forth. With her right hand, she holds a curved knife marked with a vajra, making the threatening gesture toward the wicked of all directions. She is as terrifying as the fire at the end of an eon, delighting in blood and dripping with blood. Embracing his two calves, she is the embodiment of great bliss and compassion.
The ḍākinīs, Lāmās, Khaṇḍarohās, and Rūpiṇīs, who bestow all accomplishments, are to be placed upon the petals of the directions.
Black, yellow, red, and green, she has one face and four arms. In her left hands she holds a skull-cup and a khaṭvāṅga; in her right hands she holds a hand-drum and a curved knife. She has three eyes and her hair is loose. With her left leg extended, she is clothed in the directions. Her face has bared fangs, and her body is adorned with the five mudrās. Filled with bodhicitta, four skulls are situated in the four corners. In the east, north, west, and south gates, there are those with the faces of a crow, an owl, a dog, and a pig. Likewise, in the southeast, the southwest, and the northeast, one should arrange Yama-dahani, Yama-dūti, Yama-daṃṣṭriṇī, and Yama-mathani. Just as with the ḍākinīs and so forth, one should likewise view the crow-faced and others. Likewise, the goddesses in the corners hold two beautiful, captivating forms. Seated upon the seats of pretas, they are great and fierce, acting for the supreme benefit of wandering beings.
OṂ ŚRĪ VAJRA HE HE RU RU KAṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ ḌĀKINĪ JĀLAŚAMBARAṂ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ VAJRA VAIROCANĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ HRĪḤ HA HA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ SARVA BUDDHA ḌĀKINĪYE VAJRA VARṆANĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ ḌĀKINĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ LĀMĀYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ KHAṆḌAROḤĀYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ RŪPIṆĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ KĀKĀSYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ ULŪKĀSYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ ŚVĀNĀSYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ SŪKARĀSYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ.
OṂ YAMADĀDHĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ YAMADŪTĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ YAMADAṂṢṬRIṆĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ | OṂ YAMAMATHANĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ |
May I be born in every lifetime as one who is undeluded regarding all beings, who possesses the samaya, who reveals Cakrasaṃvara, who is devoted to the guru, and who possesses compassion.
May I be born in every lifetime as one who holds the vajra and bell, who teaches the profound Dharma, and who receives the śukra of the consort.
This is the aspiration prayer.
"You have accomplished all the welfare of sentient beings; please grant the accomplishments in accordance with what is appropriate. I request you to depart to the realm of the Buddhas, but please return again for the sake of migratory beings." With the word MUḤ, they are requested to depart.
Reciting: OṂ AKĀRO MUKHAṂ SARVADHARMĀṆĀM ĀDYANUTPANNATVĀT OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ, and forming the utpala mudrā, the torma is offered.
This concludes "The Concise Sadhana of the Glorious Venerable Heruka," composed by the presence of the Brahmin Bhṛṅgāra. It was translated by the Indian abbot Kumārabhṛṅgāra and later edited by the translator Marpa Chökyi Wangchuk under the guidance of the Paṇḍita Sumatikīrti.