Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary Vajrayoginī sādhana provides a ritual manual for the visualization and propitiation of the deity. The text begins with a formal invocation and homage, establishing the deity's status as the sovereign mother and a source of benefit for sentient beings. It then transitions into a detailed iconographic description, instructing the practitioner on the specific posture, adornments, and physical attributes of the deity to be visualized during meditation. Finally, the text outlines a quantitative system of mantra recitation, linking specific numerical thresholds of repetition to the removal of obstacles and the expulsion of spirits or entities from urban centers. By following these instructions, the reader commits to a disciplined practice of mental imagery and repetitive vocalization intended to achieve specific spiritual and worldly outcomes, moving from the internal state of visualization to the external application of ritual power.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the visualization and propitiation of the deity, the Vajrayoginīsādhana 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 Lakṣmīṃkarā. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the text appears in the Tengyur, volume ཟ, under the Tibetan title rnal 'byor ma'i sgrub pa'i thabs, where it extends over two pages. The work enacts a precise spiritual discipline, beginning with homage to Vajrayoginī as the sovereign mother and the drop of the three worlds. It provides specific instructions for the practitioner regarding the location of practice and the visualization of the deity's terrifying form, including her posture, loose hair, and adornments of skulls and severed heads. Furthermore, it establishes a quantitative system of mantra recitation, asserting that specific numerical thresholds—ranging from one hundred thousand to five hundred thousand repetitions—result in the expulsion of obstructing spirits and the accomplishment of the practitioner's desires. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the intersection of iconographic visualization and the ritual efficacy of repetitive vocalization within the Indo-Tibetan tradition.
The text is significant as it illustrates the intersection of deity yoga and the ritual management of obstacles within the Vajrayana tradition. It demonstrates the traditional belief in the efficacy of precise numerical mantra repetitions to effect change in the physical environment.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Invocation
Formal titles in Sanskrit and Tibetan followed by an homage to Vajrayoginī.
2
Visualization
Instructions on the deity's posture, ornaments, and physical appearance.
3
Mantra Practice
Guidelines on the number of mantra recitations required to expel obstructing spirits and entities.
Themes
Iconography (2)
Ritual Efficacy (3)
Devotional Homage (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Vajrayoginīsādhanam. In the language of Tibet: Rnal ’byor ma’i sgrub pa’i thabs (The Sadhana of the Yoginī).
Within the maṇḍala of yoga, you are the sovereign mother; you are the drop of the three worlds, and you bring benefit to all sentient beings. Homage to Vajrayoginī! Oṃ āḥ hūṃ.
First, the practitioner should go to any suitable location and, having sat down, should apply themselves to the meditation of Vajrayoginī. To do so, one should visualize a blooming red lotus at one’s navel, and upon that, a very red maṇḍala of the sun. Above that, in the center of a source of phenomena (dharmodaya) the color of vermilion, one should visualize the syllables Hrīṃ Hrīṃ. From the complete transformation of the syllable Hrīṃ residing there, one should visualize the Venerable Yoginī above it, yellow in color. Having severed her own head with her own curved knife (kartṛka), she holds it aloft with her left hand, while her right hand, together with the curved knife, is extended downward. She is naked, with her right leg extended and her left drawn in.
One should visualize a stream of blood dripping from the severed neck, entering her own mouth, while the other two [streams] turn upward and remain, flowing into the mouths of the two yoginīs. On the right and left sides are Vajravarṇanī, who is dark blue in color, and Vajravairocanī, who is yellow in color. They hold curved knives in their right hands and skull-cups in their left hands.
The right leg on the right side is extended, the left leg on the left side is extended, and the other legs are drawn in. She is adorned with a skull and a severed head, and her limbs are decorated with all the ornaments. One should visualize her with her hair loose. One should meditate on the extremely terrifying Yoginī in the center between the two sides. That is the meditation.
The offering is now described. Having prepared a maṇḍala, one should draw a source of phenomena (dharmodaya) resting upon a solar base, together with the syllable HRĪḤ. Then, through the meditation previously taught, one should visualize the Venerable Lady in the center. One should make offerings in the center of the source of phenomena with the mantra: OṂ SARVA BUDDHA ḌĀKINĪYE, and so forth.
Subsequently, one should make offerings with the mantra: OṂ SARVA BUDDHA ḌĀKINĪ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ, using water for the mouth (argha), flowers, incense, perfumes, and so on. After that, on the left side, one should use the mantra: OṂ VAJRA VARṆANĪYE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. Then, on the right side, one should use: OṂ VAJRA VAIROCANĪYE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ.
Furthermore, one should also make offerings with the mantra: EḌĪYANA SULA GIRIKA MAKASHIRI HA HA TA. Furthermore, one should also make offerings with the mantra: DHARMASAMBHAGA NIRMA MAHĀSUKHA.
OṂ SARVA BUDDHA ḌĀKINĪYE | OṂ VAJRA VARṆANĪYE | OṂ VAJRA VAIROCANĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
If one first performs one hundred thousand recitations of this mantra, all obstructing spirits (vighna) will be expelled. If one recites it three hundred thousand times, a city will be expelled. If one recites it four hundred thousand times, a town will be expelled. If one recites it five hundred thousand times, whatever one desires will be accomplished. One should perform the practice at a river confluence, a charnel ground, a solitary tree, a temple of the gods, a temple of the mamos, or at the border of a country. With hair loose, naked, having abandoned all doubts, and observing silence, one should meditate. OṂ SARVA BUDDHA ḌĀKINĪ | OṂ VAJRA VARṆANĪYE | OṂ VAJRA VAIROCANĪYE | GANDHAṂ PUṢPAṂ | BALIṂ GṚHṆA MAMA RAKṢA RAKṢA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ PHAṬ. This concludes the Sādhana of the Yoginī composed by the glorious Princess Lakṣmīṅkarā.