Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a sādhana, a liturgical manual for the deity yoga practice of Vajravārāhī. It guides the practitioner through a systematic process of visualization and mental transformation to achieve a state of non-abiding. The work begins with the establishment of a spatial maṇḍala derived from seed syllables, followed by the detailed construction of the deity's form, including her specific attributes, gestures, and the figures she tramples. The practice commits the reader to a rigorous meditative discipline involving the placement of syllables on the deity's body, speech, and mind, and the recitation of a specific mantra to sustain the visualization. By synthesizing visual imagery, mantra, and the conceptualization of innate nature, the text aims to facilitate a transformative experience of bliss and spiritual realization. The work is attributed to the scholar Advayavajra and was translated into Tibetan by Vajrapāṇi and Tsurtön Wang-ngé.
Provenance
About this text
A liturgical manual for the deity yoga practice of Vajravārāhī, the Vajravārāhīsādhana belongs to the genre of sādhana and is situated within the collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Advayavajra. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the translator Vajrapāṇi and is preserved in the classical Tibetan period within the Tengyur, specifically volume ཟ, where it extends over three pages. The practice enacts a systematic process of visualization and mental transformation to achieve a state of non-abiding. It guides the practitioner through the establishment of a spatial maṇḍala derived from seed syllables and the detailed construction of the deity's form, including her specific attributes, gestures, and the figures she tramples. By synthesizing visual imagery and the conceptualization of innate nature, the work aims to facilitate a transformative experience of bliss and spiritual realization. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific meditative disciplines and iconographic details required for the visualization of Vajravārāhī and the ḍākinīs of the directions.
The text is significant as a representative example of the complex visualization techniques central to Vajrayāna Buddhist practice. Its attribution to Advayavajra and the specific translation team provides a point of reference for studying the transmission of Indian tantric materials into the Tibetan canon.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Title, homage, and the stated purpose of the practice.
2
Maṇḍala Construction
Instructions for arising in the center of a space maṇḍala through the transformation of seed syllables.
3
Deity Visualization
Detailed description of the physical form, attributes, and iconography of Vajravārāhī.
4
Mantra and Meditation
Instructions for syllable placement and the recitation of the mantra.
5
Colophon
Attribution of authorship and translation.
Themes
Deity Yoga (2-4)
Iconography (3)
Mantra Recitation (4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Vajravārāhīsādhanam. In the language of Tibet: rDo rje phag mo sgrub pa’i thabs (The Sādhana of Vajravārāhī). Homage to Vajravārāhī! Furthermore, I shall teach the sādhana of the ḍākinīs of the directions, who bestow bliss upon children and women.
The yogin should rise early in the morning, perform the cleansing of the face and so forth, and place the samaya pill in his mouth. In a delightful place such as a mountain or a dense forest, seated upon a multicolored cushion, he should recite the vowels and consonants three times. Having assumed the divine pride of Vajravārāhī and performed all the purifications, he should visualize a red syllable VAṂ upon a vajra and sun disk at his heart.
Its red light rays, like the fire at the end of an eon, radiate as far as Akaniṣṭha. They summon Vajravārāhī—with the hands and implements to be described later—as well as the gurus, buddhas, and bodhisattvas, who then reside perfectly in the sky before him. Then, light rays emerge, and having made offerings before them, he should perform the confession of misdeeds, the vow to refrain from them, the rejoicing in merit, the dedication of merit, the taking of refuge in the Three Jewels, the generation of the mind of awakening, and so forth, and then meditate upon the four brahmā abodes.
Then, having actualized it with the mantra: OṂ ŚŪNYATĀ-JÑĀNA-VAJRA-SVABHĀVA-ĀTMAKO ‘HAṂ.
In an instant, abiding in the nature of non-abiding, one arises in the center of the maṇḍala of space through the power of previous aspirations. From the complete transformation of the syllables Yaṃ, Raṃ, Vaṃ, and Laṃ, there appear blue, red, white, and yellow bow-shaped, triangular, circular, and square maṇḍalas of the four great elements, stacked one above the other. Above that, from the syllable Suṃ, Mount Meru arises, square and adorned with eight peaks made of the four kinds of precious gems. Above that,
Oṃ medinī vajrībhāva vajrabandha hūṃ vaṃ hūṃ. Oṃ vajraprakāra hūṃ vaṃ hūṃ. Oṃ vajrapañjara hūṃ vaṃ hūṃ. Oṃ āḥ vajravidāraṇa hūṃ khaṃ hūṃ. Oṃ vajraśarajvālā traṃ saṃ traṃ. Oṃ vajrajvālānalārka hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ. With these mantras, one should meditate upon the six [elements], such as the vajra ground and so forth. Within that, one should visualize a palace and so forth, square and endowed with all the defining characteristics. Above that is an eight-petaled lotus. From the complete transformation of the vowels and consonants, one should visualize a red syllable Vaṃ, naturally luminous, contained within a red vajra in the center of a union of moon and sun. From the complete transformation of all those, one visualizes oneself as the Blessed Lady Vajravārāhī, resembling the flower of the Bhaluka tree, with two arms, one face, and three eyes, with loose hair, adorned with the six mudrās, clothed in space, and the embodiment of the five wisdoms.
One should meditate on the innate nature: with the right hand, she holds a vajra and makes the threatening gesture; with the left, she holds a skull-cup and a khaṭvāṅga. With her left leg extended, she tramples Bhairava and Kālarātri. Her body is adorned with a garland of fifty [heads], and she is visualized as drinking the flowing blood.
Then, on the four petals in the east and so forth, one should meditate on Ḍākinī, Lāmā, Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī, in counter-clockwise order. They are black, blue, red, and white respectively, each with one face. With their left hands, they hold a khaṭvāṅga and a skull-cup; with their right hands, they hold a ḍamaru and a curved knife. They have three eyes, loose hair, and are naked. Standing with the left leg extended, they are adorned with the five mudrās.
On the four intermediate petals, one should visualize skull-cups filled with bodhicitta and so forth. Following that, light rays emanating from the seed syllable at the heart of the Blessed Lady summon the wisdom wheel with the syllable JAḤ; the commitment wheel is properly inserted with the syllable HŪṂ; it is bound with the syllable BAṂ; and it is pleased with the syllable HOḤ. Then, one should purify with the syllables BHRŪṂ, HŪṂ, KHAṂ, AṂ, HAṂ, and HĀṂ. One should don the armor of the Blessed Lady with the mantras of the six goddesses: OṂ BAṂ at the navel; HAṂ YOṂ at the heart; HRĪṂ MOṂ at the mouth; HRĪṂ HRĪṂ at the head; HŪṂ HŪṂ at the crown; and PHAṬ PHAṬ as the weapon for all the limbs.
Then, one should place the syllables OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ at the locations of the body, speech, and mind of the Blessed Lady. If one becomes weary from meditation, one should recite the mantra. Then, the mantra is: OṂ VAJRA VAIROCANĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. One should meditate on the Blessed Lady, preceded by the offering cake (bali) in three sessions. Regarding the sequence for this offering cake: the yogi, having placed a samaya pellet in his mouth, should press down with his left leg extended, rely on a high place, face south, and have his hair loose. At midnight, while naked, pressing his feet and looking upward, he should sound the syllable PEṂ and open his vajra palms upward. Following that, he should bind the mudrā of recollection and, circling and revolving it, summon the heroes and yoginīs. OṂ ARALLI HO JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ VAJRA ḌĀKINĪ SAMAYA STVAṂ DṚŚYA HO. Thus, one should recite this three, four, or five times. Following that, having completed the ritual of tasting the nectar (amṛta), one should offer the offering cake with this mantra: OṂ KHA KHA KHĀHI KHĀHI SARVA YAKṢA RĀKṢASA SARVA BHŪTA PRETA PIŚĀCAUNĀMADA APASMĀRA ḌĀKINYADAYA IMAṂ BALIṂ GṚHṆĀTU SAMAYA RAKṢANTU MAMA SARVA SIDDHIM ME PRAYACCHANTU YATHĀIVAṂ YATHAIṢṬAṂ BHUÑJATHA PIVATHA MĀTIKRAMATHA MAMA SARVA KĀRYAṂ SATSUKHAṂ VIVṚDDHAYE SĀHĀYIKĀ BHAVANTU HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. Then, while remaining, one abides in the form of the Blessed Lady. This concludes the Sādhana of Vajravārāhī.