Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This short liturgical work, attributed to Abhayākaragupta, serves as a concise devotional praise to the deity Vajravārāhī. The text functions as a ritual instrument designed to cultivate faith and secure spiritual attainment. It begins with a formal homage to Tārā and proceeds to characterize Vajravārāhī through hyperbolic imagery, identifying her as the leader of countless ḍākinīs and attributing to her a radiance comparable to millions of suns. The work concludes with a formal commitment to seek refuge in the deity until the attainment of awakening and a dedicatory prayer requesting the supreme accomplishment for the benefit of all sentient beings. By combining descriptive praise with a vow of refuge, the text commits the practitioner to a path of sustained devotion and merit-accumulation aimed at achieving a specific tantric realization.
Provenance
About this text
A concise eulogy dedicated to the deity Vajravārāhī, the Vajravārāhīsaṃkṣiptastotra belongs to the tradition of the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Abhisaṅkata, though the concluding lines of the translation name Abhayākaragupta as the composer. It entered the Tibetan language through the efforts of the translators Vāgīśvara and klog skya lo tsa ba, appearing in the classical Tibetan period. This particular version is preserved in volume འ of the Tengyur, where it extends over two pages. The work enacts a ritual of devotion, beginning with an homage to Tārā and employing hyperbolic imagery to describe Vajravārāhī as the radiant chief of tens of millions of ḍākinīs. Through the description of her attributes—including the skull-cup, hook, curved knife, khaṭvāṅga, and noose—the text facilitates a formal commitment to seek refuge in the deity until the heart of awakening is reached. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the intersection of descriptive praise and the accumulation of merit for all sentient beings, as the work concludes with a prayer for the granting of supreme accomplishment.
The work is significant as a representative of the Indo-Tibetan tradition of concise praise (stotra), illustrating the synthesis of Indian composition and Tibetan translation. Its attribution to Abhayākaragupta suggests its placement within a broader corpus of tantric literature focused on the feminine principle of awakening.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Invocation and Praise
Homage to Tārā and a description of Vajravārāhī's status and radiance.
2
Vow and Dedication
A commitment to refuge and a prayer for the supreme accomplishment for all beings.
Themes
Devotional Refuge (2)
Divine Radiance and Authority (1)
Universal Benefit (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Vajravārāhīsaṃkṣiptastotra. In the language of Tibet: rDo rje phag mo’i mdor bsdus pa’i bstod pa (A Concise Praise of Vajravārāhī). Homage to the Venerable Tārā!
Chief of tens of millions of ḍākinīs, possessing the radiance of tens of millions of suns, your right hands are beautifully adorned with a skull-cup, a hook, and a curved knife. A khaṭvāṅga and a noose, along with a severed head, are renowned as being in your left hands. You trample upon the Night of Time and are graced by a dancing posture. With your fangs slightly bared, you are red like a hibiscus flower. You are adorned by the yoginīs, such as Yama, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and the rest, who dwell upon the petals of the lotus. Within the vajra garland, you are further adorned by the eight charnel grounds. I prostrate to the World Protectors who experience the bliss of divine substances. Furthermore, the male and female servants remain with palms joined in reverence.
This Mother of all Buddhas bestows the supreme accomplishments of miraculous power. For the sake of the liberation of gods and others, I take refuge in you alone. With a mind of compassionate fluidity, you gaze with divine eyes. For the sake of their supreme petition, you dwell throughout the directions. Knowing who among the accomplished ones of great intelligence are vessels for accomplishment, you grant the accomplishment of the mudrā together with the ḍākinīs and others. Homage and praise to Vajravārāhī! The ocean of the Goddess’s qualities cannot be fully described even in tens of millions of eons; this is but a brief and slight summary.
Through my faith, I have made this certain: until I reach the heart of awakening, I shall always go for refuge. By this merit of myself and all sentient beings, may the supreme accomplishment be granted. This concludes the "Brief Praise of Vajravārāhī" composed by Abhayākaragupta. It was translated by the Paṇḍita Vāgīśvara and the translator Lo-tsā-ba of sKlog-skya.