Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragment provides specific liturgical instructions for the performance of torma offerings within the Śābaripāda system. The text focuses on the precise formulation of mantras intended for crows and other entities, presenting these as a series of phonetic strings combining seed syllables and Sanskrit terms related to the recipients of the offerings. By prescribing these exact mantras, the text commits the practitioner to a rigorous adherence to ritual speech and the correct invocation of specific siddhas or entities associated with the animal offerings. The excerpt functions as a technical manual for ritual execution, prioritizing the accurate transmission of the mantra over theoretical or philosophical justification, thereby ensuring the efficacy of the offering process within the broader framework of the system's essential practices.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise detailing the essential meaning of the heart, the snying po'i don bsdus pa bstan pa, belongs to the tradition of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Nāgadatta. It was translated into classical Tibetan by Dānaśīla (III) and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟ, where it extends over two pages. The work enacts specific liturgical procedures, providing the precise formulation of mantras required for torma offerings to crows and other entities. These phonetic strings combine seed syllables and Sanskrit terms to ensure the correct invocation of the recipients of the offerings. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today as a technical manual for ritual execution, prioritizing the accurate transmission of mantra and ritual speech over theoretical or philosophical justification to ensure the efficacy of the offering process.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Teaching on the Concise Meaning of the Essential Practices [of the Śābaripāda System]” (Toh 1566), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1566
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its documentation of the intersection between Buddhist ritual and the propitiation of non-human entities through torma offerings. It provides primary evidence of the specific mantra structures used in the Śābaripāda tradition, offering insight into the ritualized management of environmental or spiritual obstacles.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Mantras for Torma Offerings
Instructions and specific mantra formulations for offerings to crows and related entities.
Themes
Ritual Offerings (1)
Mantra Formulation (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Teaching on the Concise Meaning of the Essential Practices [of the Śābaripāda System]·
Then, the mantras for the torma offerings to the crows and so forth are written as follows:
OṂ KLAṂ KLAṂ KLAṂ DHARMATĀ ĀKĀ ŚĀCĀRIṆAḤ SIDDHI VĀYASANAḤ KAṂ VĀYA ŚAṂPALA SIDDHA KĀKASANA TANA PRASUTA KĀKA BALIṂ GṚHṆATA KLAṂ KLAṂ KLAṂ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ ŚLAṂ ŚLAṂ ŚLAṂ APRATIṢṬHA CALĀ CĪRIṆĀḤ ŚYĀMA ŚAVALA SIDDHI ŚUNAKĀ SAṂTĀ NAJĀ ŚUNAKĀ BALIṂ GṚHṆANTU GṚHṆANTU ŚLAṂ ŚLAṂ ŚLAṂ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ BHRĪṂ BHRĪṂ ŚŪNYATĀ DAŚĀŚĀŚĀCĀRIṆAḤ NISAMBHALĀ BHAṂ BHALĀ SIDDHA BHŪTA GOTA JANI BHŪTANI BALIṂ GṚHṆANTU GṚHṆANTU BHRĪṂ BHRĪṂ BHRĪṂ BHRŪṂ SVĀHĀ.
OṂ OṂ OṂ HROṂ HROṂ HROṂ PEṬKĀRA PEṬKĀRIṆAḤ KULAPRA SUTĀ SIVĀ HILI HILI BALIṂ GṚHṆANTU SARVA SIDDHIṂ DADANTU DADANTU HROṂ HROṂ HROṂ SVĀHĀ.
On the tenth day, with flowers, one should worship the Vajraḍākinī. One should give silk bracelets. With the great substances of accomplishment and butter, in a secret place, one should perform the homa, recitation, and give the necklace. With the sky-threatening mudrā and the Mahāmudrā, the essence was compiled by the Lord of the Hermitage (Śavarīśvara). This is the teaching that summarizes the essential meaning by the yogi Paṇḍita Nāgadatta. It was translated from the divine language into the Tibetan language by the great Paṇḍita of Eastern India, Dānaśīla, at the place of accomplishment, Ṛṣirākṣasagiri, as a self-translation.