Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text is a sādhana, a liturgical manual for the deity yoga of Vajravārāhī. The work guides the practitioner through the visualization of the deity's emergence from the seed syllable PAṂ upon a red lotus. It describes the iconographic attributes of the central figure, specifically her blood-oriented characteristics and her posture with the right leg extended, while identifying her retinue of ḍākinīs, including Lāmā, Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī. The text commits the reader to a specific ritual sequence involving the mental construction of a sacred environment and the recitation of heart mantras. By providing both the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and the specific mantra strings, the text functions as a technical guide for achieving a non-dual identification with the deity through precise visual and sonic triggers.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhana dedicated to the deity Vajravārāhī, the Vajravārāhīsādhana belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. It was translated into Tibetan by Marpa Chos kyi dbang phyug and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟ, where it is situated within the collection of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. Spanning two pages in this edition, the work enacts a ritual process of deity yoga. It guides the practitioner through the visualization of a red lotus arising from the syllable PAṂ and the appearance of a black wind maṇḍala. The text details the iconography of Vajravārāhī—noting her delight in blood and her posture with the right leg extended—and identifies her retinue of ḍākinīs, including Lāmā, Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today for its technical ritual instructions, specifically the precise sequence of visual constructions and the recitation of the heart and near-heart mantras intended to facilitate the practitioner's engagement with the deity.
Sanskrit title
Vajravārāhīsādhana
Indian author
not recorded
Tibetan translators
bod kyi lo tsA ba ban+de mar pa chos kyi dbang phyug
The text is significant as it illustrates the synthesis of Sanskrit liturgical forms and Tibetan translation practices in the Anuttarayoga Tantra tradition. It provides insight into the specific iconographic and mantric requirements used to evoke the feminine principle of wisdom in a wrathful or semi-wrathful form.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Visualization
Provides the titles in Sanskrit and Tibetan and begins the visualization of the deity arising from a seed syllable.
2
Iconography and Mantra
Describes the deity's appearance, her retinue of dakinis, and the specific mantras for recitation.
Themes
Deity Yoga and Visualization (1-2)
Mantric Recitation (2)
Iconography of the Wrathful Feminine (2)
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’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of Vajravārāhī). Homage to the Blessed Lady Vajravārāhī.
From the complete transformation of the syllable PAṂ, a red lotus arises. Upon that, from the complete transformation of the syllable YAṂ, a black wind maṇḍala in the shape of a bow, adorned with banners, appears. From the complete transformation of the syllable RAṂ, a red triangular fire maṇḍala marked by blazing flames appears. From the complete transformation of the syllable VAṂ, a white circular water maṇḍala marked by a vase appears. From the complete transformation of the syllable LAṂ, a green four-sided earth maṇḍala marked by a vajra appears. From the complete transformation of the syllable SUṂ, Mount Meru, four-sided and composed of the four precious substances, beautifully adorned with eight peaks, appears. In its center, from the complete transformation of the syllable VAṂ, a multicolored lotus arises. In its center, from the complete transformation of the syllable HŪṂ, a multicolored vajra arises. In its center is the union of the vowels and consonants. In its center, from the complete transformation of the syllable VAṂ, a vajra appears, with the syllable VAṂ at its hub. From the complete transformation of that, the Venerable Vajravārāhī appears, red in color, with disheveled hair and naked. She is adorned with a girdle of bone fragments and a hanging garland of fifty fresh human heads. In her left hand, she holds a skull-cup containing the blood of the hateful Māras and others. With her right hand, she makes the threatening gesture with a vajra to strike down the hateful in all directions. She blazes intensely like the fire at the end of an eon.
Delighting in blood, dripping with blood, she sits upon her seat with her right leg extended. The ḍākinīs are likewise Lāmā, Khaṇḍarohā, and Rūpiṇī. The mantra for its recitation is: OṂ VAJRAVAIROCANĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This is the heart mantra. OṂ SARVABUDDHAḌĀKINĪYE VAJRAVARNĀNĪYE HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This is the near-heart mantra. This concludes the sādhana of Vajravārāhī, who emerged from the abode of the glorious Oḍḍiyāna Vajrayoginī. It was translated by the Tibetan translator, the monk Marpa Chökyi Wangchuk himself.