Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a ritual manual, or sādhana, for the practice of the deity Vajrayoginī. It functions as a technical guide for the practitioner to achieve spiritual accomplishment through a combination of visualization, mantra recitation, and physical mudrās. The text begins with traditional invocations and the 'three purities' to cleanse the practitioner's perception. It then moves into highly specialized instructions for the extraction of mantras from seed syllables, requiring the practitioner to manipulate specific Tibetan letters according to oral instructions. The ritual concludes by emphasizing the necessity of intense familiarity and the role of the guru. By committing to these precise somatic and mental exercises, the reader is led toward a state of non-duality where they identify with the nature of the deity, described as a multifaceted gem, regardless of their initial level of merit.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of the deity Vajrayoginī, the Śrīvajrayoginīsādhana 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 Śābarīśvara. It was translated into the classical Tibetan language by Varendraruci and the translator rma ban chos ’bar, and is preserved in volume ཟ of the Tengyur, where it extends over five pages. The text enacts a technical process for spiritual accomplishment, guiding the practitioner through a sequence of visualizations, the recitation of the three purities, and the use of physical mudrās. It specifically details the extraction of mantras from seed syllables within a triangular maṇḍala, described as the source of phenomena. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the precise somatic and mental exercises required to identify with the nature of the deity, whose essence is defined as emptiness and compassion. By following these instructions, the practitioner seeks to achieve a state of non-duality through the yoga of the two mudrās, a process intended to bring about accomplishment in an instant.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Glorious Vajrayoginī” (Toh 1550), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1550
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as it exemplifies the complex intersection of linguistics, geometry, and somatic practice in Vajrayāna Buddhism. It demonstrates how the manipulation of seed syllables is viewed as a direct method for extracting spiritual power. For the modern reader, it illustrates the reliance on oral transmission to supplement written ritual instructions.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Preliminary Invocations and Purifications
Includes the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, homage to the deity, and the recitation of the three purities.
3-5
Ritual Mechanics and Mantra Extraction
Instructions on the use of swastika mudrās and the precise technical process of extracting mantras from specific Tibetan letters and seed syllables.
6
Conclusion and Efficacy
A statement on the results of the practice, the importance of familiarity, and the role of the guru.
Themes
Somatic Ritualism (2-5)
Mantra Extraction (3-4)
Non-dual Identification (6)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrīvajrayoginīsādhanam. In the language of Tibet: dPal rdo rje rnal ’byor ma’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Glorious Vajrayoginī). Homage to the glorious Vajrayoginī!
I bow to the glorious Vajrayoginī, whose nature is emptiness and compassion, the very essence of the three realms, blazing with light like the fire at the end of an aeon. The stages of the lineage of gurus are the domain of a single realization; I shall now explain the concise sādhana of Vajrayoginī.
First, the practitioner, with a mind of profound devotion toward the guru and the Buddhas, should firmly grasp the bodhicitta. Having correctly received the empowerment, although all phenomena are by nature luminous clarity, one should turn toward the perfect fulfillment of the welfare of oneself and others. In a secluded place conducive to the mind, such as a charnel ground, one should sit upon a soft cushion, gazing at the site praised for the play of yoga.
Following that, to completely purify body, speech, and mind: one should prepare an excellent drink made from grapes, sugarcane, or rice, endowed with the five samayas as available, and place it in an offering vessel. Having consecrated it with the three-syllable mantra, one should wash all the limbs and digits, beginning with the left hand, using that very water, and sprinkle it as a purification over the offering substances. Following that:
OṂ BAṂ HOṂ YOṂ HRĪṂ MOṂ HREṂ HRĪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ. With these mantra syllables, one should apply them to the fingers of the left hand and recite the three purities: OṂ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA DHARMĀḤ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ; OṂ VAJRA ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA DHARMĀ VAJRA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ; OṂ YOGA ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA DHARMĀ YOGA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ.
Then, one should visualize one’s own body as the celestial palace of the three realms in their state of complete purity. In an instant, at the navel maṇḍala, one appears as Vajrayoginī, holding a curved knife and a skull-cup in her two hands. Her hair is loose and hangs downward; she is naked, with three eyes, and possesses perfect form and youth. She is adorned with the five mudrās and crowned with the five buddhas. She stands upon a moon, sun, and fire maṇḍala in the half-lotus posture, her complexion like that of vermilion. The yogi should always meditate on the goddess in such a form.
To her right is the sow’s face, and likewise to her left is the wrathful face. By nature, she is renowned as having two faces: the conventional and the ultimate. Through the path of the guru’s oral instructions, one should realize the stages in detail. Within her lotus, one should meditate on the cakra that accomplishes all aims. Marked by three stages and possessing red-colored light rays, it revolves like a potter’s wheel, fully complete with the mantra syllables. One should meditate on the rākṣasa face as slightly constricted and intensely blazing. The sow’s face should be gazing upward.
The swastika swirls rapidly; through the yoga of the two mudrās, even the three realms will be accomplished. The yogin himself is accomplished in an instant; for the yogin, there is no other way. Furthermore, that which is to be explained next is the supreme ritual for extracting the mantras. In a delightful triangular maṇḍala, which is said to be the source of phenomena (dharmodaya) arising from the play of the vajra, that very bhaga of the consort is also present. There, through the divisions of the vowels (āli) and consonants (kāli), the sequence of the eight classes is as follows: form, fire, arrow, sage, aperture, Rudra, and desire itself. The cakras should be arranged in order according to the oral instructions. Starting from the letter A and ending with the letter Ha, one should write them in the manner of a circular arrangement, just as the ocean of Cakrasaṃvara is taught. The first of the dva letters should be tripled and adorned with a drop (bindu) and a nāda. The letter following bha and the letter following cha are the actual letters; they are adorned at the head by the letter ṭa. Taking the space between ca and sa, the lower ṭa is joined below. The connection between the letters following śa and ṣa should be understood as being joined in that same way. The letter whose head is li is adorned by that which resides below ña. The letter following pa is endowed with the lower ṭa; the letter following pha is bound by the lower tha. The letter residing between ha and ṭa is adorned by the letter ṇa residing at the head. It is grasped by that which resides below ṣa. The seat below bha is joined with the letter below ṇa. The letter residing above ha is the letter itself, possessing a double-stacked ra above. The upper ṭa should be joined; it is renowned as the head.
Abiding upon the letter pha, it is adorned by the letter dra. Adorned by the letter ña and the letter ṇa, it should be understood according to the oral instructions. Take the letter situated between ca and sa. Join the letter beneath bha with the letter beneath ṇa. Likewise, take the letter above cha. Likewise, adorn it with the letter above ta. Adorn the letter beneath na with the letter above tha. Take the letter situated beneath pha. From the letter situated between dha and va, it is adorned by the letter beneath tha. The letter situated between ña and la should be adorned by the letter above ṇa. To the letter situated between sa and [the following], attach the letter beneath rāṃ. Endowed with the bindu and nāda, it is divided into three parts. The letter beneath na and the letter beneath ra should be made threefold as before. Adorn it with the head of the letter ṣa beneath śa. Join the letter situated beneath ña. Take the letter situated between ma and va. Adorn it with the face of the letter jha. Through the path of the guru’s oral instructions, the extraction of the mantra should be understood. A practitioner who reads from a book, by abandoning the proper sequence, will not attain the state of accomplishment even if they practice for ten million eons. Furthermore, I shall explain the offering to the Vajra-holder: specifically on the tenth day, endowed with the five offerings, together with food, drink, and the outer and secret offerings. In a stainless, purified vessel, one should apply saffron and so forth. With excellent water, the powder of sindūra is strained. With the application of a golden pen, the wise one should draw the shape of E. In the center is the King of Mantras.
They should be drawn in successive order. The mudrā of the swirling swastika should be placed upon the side of the virtuous wheel. Various kinds of flowers, both those born from water and those born from the land, as well as lamps, cāru sweets, and the great samaya, and likewise the young maiden, should be offered. These specific offerings must be performed with certainty. Having loosened one’s hair and become naked, and having looked toward the ten directions as previously explained, one must remain in a state of extreme secrecy. At the time of offering, one should remain in meditative equipoise. If it is not kept secret, obstacles will arise, and likewise, the accomplishments (siddhi) will be lost. When the samaya is impaired, various diseases will occur. It would be better to give up one’s life and reach the time of death than to fail in this. If one desires the supreme accomplishment, one must always guard the samaya. All beings of the three realms, both the stable and the moving, arise from the left. One should move the left first; the yogi should always act with the left. Offerings are made with the left hand, and eating and drinking are likewise done with the left. The conduct of the five families should be examined as being of a single family. Abandoning the distinction between what is edible and what is not, as well as what is drinkable, and casting aside notions of impurity and shame, one is definitively liberated from all conceptual constructions. Having completely abandoned all disputes, one binds the net of the ḍākinīs and acts like a lion among heroes. The mantra is the nature of the yoginī, and the yoginī is the form of the mantra. If one desires the supreme state, one must not treat them as separate. Whatever a person meditates upon—
Having become perfectly endowed with the mind, one will thereby become its very nature, just like a multifaceted gem. Through yoga that accords with the mind, whoever practices with intense familiarity—even a person of meager merit—will undoubtedly achieve accomplishment.
The Guru is the Buddha, the Guru is the Dharma, and likewise the Guru is the Saṅgha. The Guru is the glorious Vajra-holder; here, the Guru is unsurpassed. Those who desire the fruit of Buddhahood should therefore honor the Guru.
This concludes the sequence of the unsurpassed intention originating from the glorious and highly praised sacred site of Oḍḍiyāna, the Great Secret of the Glorious Vajrayoginī, transmitted from ear to ear and from mouth to mouth. It was translated by the Indian Abbot Punyasambhava-bhadra and the Tibetan translator Ma-ban Chos-’bar.