Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Sādhana of the Seven Syllables is a ritual manual detailing a complex visualization and meditative process centered on the transformation of seed-syllables into deities and mandalas. The text guides the practitioner through the construction of a cosmic environment, including the manifestation of the four elements and Mount Meru, and the emergence of specific deities such as Vajracaṇḍī and Vajraḍākinī. It commits the reader to a rigorous set of somatic and mental disciplines, including the use of specific mantras for bodily protection, the performance of mudrās, and the ritual consumption of consecrated amṛta. The practice culminates in an externalized ritual performance involving specific postures, timing, and directional orientations intended to summon heroes and yoginīs. By integrating internal energetic manipulation with external ritual action, the text aims to facilitate a state of non-dual realization and spiritual empowerment through the alchemy of sound and visualization.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual practice centered on the Seven Syllables, the Saptākṣarasādhana belongs to the tradition of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Avadhūtipa Advayavajra. It was translated into the classical Tibetan language by Mar pa chos kyi dbang phyug and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཞ, where it extends over eight pages under the title yi ge bdun pa'i sgrub thabs. The work enacts a complex meditative process involving the visualization of the three kāyas and the invitation of buddhas, bodhisattvas, and yoginīs. It specifically guides the practitioner in the transformation of seed-syllables—Yaṃ, Raṃ, Vaṃ, and Laṃ—into the colored maṇḍalas of the four elements, and the manifestation of Mount Meru from the syllable Suṃ. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the precise mechanics of these visualizations and the ritual offerings directed toward the Blessed One, the guru, and the yoginīs, as well as the specific homage paid to Vajraḍākinī.
Sanskrit title
Saptākṣarasādhana
Indian author
Avadhūtipa Advayavajra
Tibetan translators
bod kyi lo tsa ba mkhas pa mar pa chos kyi dbang phyug
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Seven Syllables” (Toh 1483), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1483
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant as a representative example of Vajrayāna ritual technology, demonstrating the intersection of mantra, mandala, and deity yoga. For the modern reader, it provides a precise look at the technical requirements of tantric practice, specifically the use of seed-syllables as the primary building blocks of a visualized reality.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-3
Preliminary Homage and Visualization
Initial offerings and the transformation of seed-syllables into the four elemental mandalas and Mount Meru.
4-5
Deity Manifestation
The emergence of the Pervasive Lord and the goddesses Vajracaṇḍī and Vajraḍākinī.
6
Purification and Protection
The application of mantra-based armor to specific points of the practitioner's body.
7-8
Consecration and Amṛta Ritual
The ritual melting of deities and syllables into a skull-cup to create and consume consecrated nectar.
9
External Ritual Performance
Instructions for midnight practice, including posture, orientation, and the summoning of yoginīs.
Themes
Seed-Syllable Transformation (3, 5, 8)
Deity Yoga and Visualization (4, 5)
Ritual Protection and Purification (6)
Tantric Alchemy and Consecration (7, 8)
Somatic and Environmental Ritualism (9)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Saptākṣarasādhana. In the language of Tibet: Yi ge bdun pa’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Seven Syllables). Homage to the glorious Vajraḍākinī!
To the Dharmakāya, which is the utter abandonment of all conceptual construction; to the Saṃbhogakāya, beautified by the power of incomparable bliss; and to the Nirmāṇakāya, which acts for the benefit of those in the world—may the Blessed Vajrasattva grant you well-being!
He who dances with the ḍamaru and khaṭvāṅga resoundingly in his hands, who causes the three worlds to tremble and the mountain peaks to shake, thereby agitating the masses of water; he who possesses beautiful eyes and faces, and whose treading upon the earth within the ocean turns the ground red; may this glorious Heruka, accompanied by the assembly of yoginīs, be ever victorious upon the earth!
Having bowed to the blue deity with three faces and six arms, whose body is embraced by the wisdom consort who is his own manifestation, and who is the protector of the six goddesses born from the syllable HŪṂ, I shall write this sādhana.
The yogi should rise early in the morning, place the samaya pill in his mouth, and sit upon a viśvavajra seat in a delightful place such as a mountain or a dense forest. Visualizing a blue syllable HŪṂ resting upon a sun disk at his heart, he should emanate five-colored rays of light from that HŪṂ, completely pervading the three realms throughout the expanse of space. With those rays of light, he should invite the Blessed One residing in the realm of Akaniṣṭha, who possesses the color, hands, and implements as described.
Having invited all the yoginīs, buddhas, and bodhisattvas, like a pod full of sesame seeds, to be perfectly seated in the space before one, those rays of light are then reabsorbed into one’s own seed-syllable. Then, with the specific outer, inner, secret, and suchness offerings emanated from one’s own seed-syllable, one should worship and prostrate to the Blessed One, the yoginīs, the guru, the buddhas, and the bodhisattvas according to the ritual.
Then, in their presence, one should perform the confession of misdeeds, the vow not to commit them again, the rejoicing in merit, the dedication of merit, the taking of refuge in the Three Jewels, the generation of the mind of awakening (bodhicitta), the offering of one’s own possessions, the exhortation, and the supplication. Following that, one should meditate on the four brahmā abodes.
Then, all phenomena are the vajra nature of the wisdom of emptiness. Reciting "Oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ," one realizes the suchness of the mantra that condenses the suchness of all things without exception. One should then abide perfectly for a moment in the essence of non-abiding, the samādhi of luminosity that is unborn and unceasing.
Then, by the power of the force of previous aspirations, one arises from the state of luminosity. Viewing the various appearances as being like a dream or an illusion, one should meditate on oneself as the glorious Heruka for the sake of sentient beings.
From the complete transformation of Yaṃ, Raṃ, Vaṃ, and Laṃ, there arise the maṇḍalas of the four elements—blue, red, white, and yellow—in the shapes of a bow, a triangle, a circle, and a square, stacked one above the other. Above that, from the syllable Suṃ, arises Mount Meru, square in shape, composed of the seven precious substances, and beautifully adorned with eight peaks.
Above that, with the mantras: Oṃ medinī vajrībhava vajrabandha hūṃ; Oṃ vajraprākāra hūṃ vaṃ hūṃ; Oṃ vajrapañjara hūṃ vaṃ hūṃ; Oṃ vajravitāna hūṃ khaṃ hūṃ; Oṃ vajrasara jvala traṃ saṃ traṃ; and Oṃ vajrajvālānalārka hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ—one should visualize the six aspects, such as the vajra ground and so forth. Within that, one should meditate on a multi-storied palace, square and so on.
In its center, upon a variegated lotus, one should imagine a six-spoked wheel surrounded by garlands of vajras, lotuses, and wheels. Inside that, upon the center of a lotus, is a sun maṇḍala arising from Raṃ. In the center of the union of the moon and sun, which arise from the complete transformation of the rows of vowels and consonants, one should meditate on the blue syllable Hūṃ, the very essence of Vajrasattva.
From the complete transformation of all these, there arises the Blessed One Vajraḍāka, born from Hūṃ, embracing Vārāhī. He is the embodiment of the five wisdoms, such as the mirror-like wisdom and so forth, according to the oral instructions of great bliss. He has six arms and three faces: the central, right, and left faces are black, yellow, and green.
The three-eyed Pervasive Lord, possessing the nature of the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs, holds a vajra and bell in his embracing hands. With his other two hands, he drapes a human skin over his shoulders. In his left hands, he holds a khaṭvāṅga and a skull-cup filled with blood; in his right, he holds a trident. He is adorned with a blazing crown of skulls and arrayed in the six mudrās. Around his waist, he wears a garment of tiger skin. His mass of matted hair is adorned with a crossed vajra and a crescent moon. One should meditate on him standing upon a variegated lotus and sun disk, treading with his legs extended—the left over the left ear and the right over the right breast of Bhairava and Kālarātri, who are the very nature of cyclic existence and nirvāṇa.
Just as the Protector is, so too are the color, hands, and other features of Vajravārāhī. However, having abandoned the human skin, she holds a bow and arrow in those hands. One should visualize the goddess embracing the Blessed One with both knees and being intoxicated with supreme joy. Then, one should visualize the six goddesses on the six spokes, proceeding counter-clockwise. Among them, on the eastern spoke, from the syllable PHAṬ, arises the first goddess, Śrī Herukavajrī, blue in color. On the next spoke, from the syllable HŪṂ, arises the second, Vajrabhairavī, yellow in color. On the next spoke, born from the syllable HA, is the third, Caṇḍakṣī, red in color. On the next spoke, arising from the syllable HA, is Vajraghoṇā, green in color.
On another spoke, from the syllable Hrīḥ, the fifth, Vajracaṇḍī, is perfectly born, smoke-colored. On another spoke, from the syllable Oṃ, the sixth, Vajraḍākinī, is white in color. These goddesses have one face and four arms; with two hands they hold and sound a ḍamaru and a bell. With the others, they hold a human skin over their shoulders. All are great wrathful goddesses with three eyes, disheveled hair, and clad in the directions as their garments. They dwell upon pretas and the sun, wearing crowns of garlands of skulls, and sit upon their seats with the left leg extended. One should visualize them wearing the five mudrās and bestowing accomplishments.
Following that, light rays emanating from the seed syllable at the heart of the Blessed One, together with the syllable Jaḥ, summon the wisdom wheel. With the syllable Hūṃ, it is made to enter the samaya wheel like water into water. With the syllable Baṃ, it is bound, and with the syllable Hoḥ, it is pleased. Having visualized the seed syllable at the heart of the wisdom being, the five elements are blessed with Laṃ, Maṃ, Paṃ, Taṃ, and Khaṃ. The aggregates of form and so forth are likewise blessed with the syllables Oṃ, Āṃ, Hrīḥ, Hoḥ, Hūṃ, and Hi. The sense bases are purified with the syllables Bhrūṃ, Hūṃ, Khaṃ, A, Haṃ, and He. Then, one should don the armor of the nature of the six deities: Oṃ Ha at the heart; Namaḥ Hi at the head; Svāhā Hu at the crown; Vauṣaṭ He on the two shoulders; Hūṃ Hūṃ Ho at the two eyes; and Phaṭ Haṃ as the weapon for all the limbs.
The Mantras of the Purification of the Six Goddesses
One should don the armor of the Blessed Lady with the words of the mantras: OṂ BAṂ at the navel; HAṂ YOṂ at the heart; HRĪṂ MOṂ at the mouth; HREṂ HRIṂ at the crown; HŪṂ HŪṂ at the top of the head; and PHAṬ PHAṬ as the weapon for all the limbs. Following that, one should place OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ upon the paths of the Blessed Lady’s body, speech, and mind. Then, exhorted by the light rays emanating from the seed syllable at one’s own heart, all the Tathāgatas are summoned. Having requested empowerment, one says: “O Blessed Ones, all Tathāgatas, please bestow empowerment upon me!”
The Tathāgatas, the Buddhas, appear in various emanated forms and the like, holding vases filled with the five nectars (amṛta) and performing the act of conferring empowerment. Reciting: “The great vajra empowerment, honored by the inhabitants of the three realms, is bestowed from the source of the three secrets of all the Buddhas. OṂ SARVA TATHĀGATA ABHIṢEKASAMAYA ŚRIYE HŪṂ,” as the empowerment is conferred, one should visualize the empowerment of the mind as becoming a crown. One should contemplate that the crowns of hatred, malice, envy, desire, delusion, and the dharmadhātu arise upon the goddesses in their respective order.
From the syllable HŪṂ, a vajra is born; for the goddess, from the syllable E, a three-petaled lotus is born. One should meditate on the heart mantra born from A and the anthers born from OṂ.
Drawn in by light rays in the form of vajra hooks, one should arouse passion for the intoxicant at the tip of the lotus, which is in a state of extreme intoxication. With the sounds of the mantra oṃ sarvatathāgatānurāgaṇavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ, all the tathāgatas enter, become impassioned, and melt into the heart; they are then emitted through the path of the vajra into the center of the lotus.
The sixteen offering goddesses are emanated from every pore of the skin, and one should present the water for the face, the water for the feet, and so forth, according to the ritual. Oṃ śrīheruka arghaṃ pratīccha svāhā. Oṃ śrīheruka pādyaṃ pratīccha svāhā. Oṃ śrīheruka añcamanaṃ pratīccha svāhā. Afterwards, the ḍākinīs should be honored with perfumes and flowers and praised.
Then, one should contemplate the tasting of the amṛta. From the complete transformation of the syllable yaṃ comes the wind maṇḍala. Above that, from the complete transformation of raṃ comes the fire maṇḍala. Above that is a lotus vessel born from a red syllable a resting upon three heads. In its center are bhrūṃ trāṃ jrīṃ khaṃ hūṃ laṃ maṃ paṃ taṃ; from the complete transformation of these come the five amṛtas and the five lamps, each marked by its own seed syllable. Its lid is the syllable oṃ, and above that is a moon born from the syllable āḥ, marked by a vajra seed syllable arising from hūṃ. The wind ignites the fire, and through that arising, [the contents] are purified.
All the Tathāgatas, the syllable Oṃ, the moon, and the vajras melt and fall into that skull-cup. Then, reciting Oṃ Āḥ Hūṃ, summon the amṛta of all the deities and cause it to enter into that very [vessel]. By means of this, perform the consecration. At the tip of the tongue, from the syllable Hūṃ, there is a white vajra the size of a barley grain; one should taste that amṛta through the hollow of the vajra. One should offer it into the mouths of the Blessed One and the assembly of goddesses. Then, through meditative concentration, maintain the divine pride of Cakrasaṃvara and recite the mantra. This is the mantra: Oṃ Hrīḥ Ha Ha Hūṃ Hūṃ Phaṭ. By reciting it, one should remember the purification of faults.
Mindfulness, the branch of awakening, is Śrī Heruka. The branch of awakening of the thorough discrimination of phenomena is Śrī Raktapānī. The branch of awakening of diligence is Śrī Vajrabhairavī. The branch of awakening of pliancy is Vajrālokā. The branch of awakening of absorption is Vajracaṇḍī. The branch of awakening of equanimity is Vajraḍākinī. The necklace, bracelets, armlets, rings, ashes, and threads should be understood as the purification of the six perfections. Preceded by the preparation of the torma offering, one should contemplate the Blessed One during the three sessions. In that regard, this is the sequence for the torma: the yogin stands with the right leg extended.
Relying on a high place and facing south, naked and with hair disheveled, at midnight, one should press the feet together and gaze upward. Uttering the sound "Phem" upward and performing the blazing mudrā, one should circle and circle to summon the heroes and yoginīs. Following that, with the vajra palms opened upward, one should recite the mantra once, twice, three, four, or five times: OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA ARALLI HO JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ VAJRA ḌĀKINĪ SAMAYA STVAṂ DṚŚYAYA HOḤ.
After that, the torma should be offered with: OṂ KHA KHA KHĀHI KHĀHI SARVA YAKṢA RĀKṢASAṂ BHŪTA PRETA PIŚĀCA UNMĀDA APASMĀRA ḌĀKINYĀDAYAḤ | IMAṂ BALIṂ GṚHṆANTU | SAMAYA RAKṢANTU | MAMA SARVA SIDDHIṂ ME PRAYACCHANTU | YATHAIṢĀṂ | YATHAIṢṬAṂ | BHUÑJATHA | PIVATHA | JIGHRATHA | MĀTIKRAMATHA | MAMA SARVA KĀRTAYA SATSUKHAṂ VIŚUDDHAYE SAHĀYIKĀ BHAVANTU HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. Having offered the torma, one should perform the dissolution according to the oral instructions. The yogin should then remain in whatever way is comfortable, with the conviction that all beings are like an illusion, without reversing the appearance of the forms of Śrī Cakrasaṃvara as the objects of the sense faculties.
This Seven-Syllable Sādhana was composed by the non-dual Advayavajra. By whatever merit is obtained, may the world be bound in the Cakrasaṃvara. This Seven-Syllable Sādhana composed by the Paṇḍita Advayavajra is complete. Translated, edited, and finalized by the learned Tibetan translator Marpa Chökyi Wangchuk.