Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This instructional fragment details the specific ritual requirements for performing a killing rite within the context of Vajrayoginī (Vajravārāhī) practice. The text prescribes a precise set of conditions for the practitioner, including the timing of the ritual at midday and the cultivation of a specific psychological state characterized by wrathful pride. It further mandates the use of specific material substances, namely charcoal sourced from a charnel ground, to serve as the medium for sorcery. The text begins to outline the geometric requirements of the rite, directing the yogi to draw a six-petaled wheel in a counter-clockwise direction. By following these instructions, the reader is committed to a highly specialized form of tantric ritual that utilizes wrathful means and cemetery-derived materials to achieve a specific, violent objective through the intersection of visualization and material substance.
Provenance
About this text
A set of pith instructions for the ritual of killing in Vajrayoginī practice, this work belongs to the genre of instruction within the Śaṃvara and Related Tantras. The text is attributed to the Indian author Abhiyukta. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the work is found in volume འ of the Tengyur. The fragment enacts a specific rite of sorcery intended for the practitioner of Vajravārāhī, prescribing that the ritual be performed at midday while maintaining a state of wrathful pride. It mandates the use of charcoal sourced from a charnel ground to draw a six-petaled wheel in counter-clockwise rotation, upon which specific mantras are written on the spokes to achieve a violent objective. A scholar or serious reader consults this single-page text today to examine the intersection of visualization and wrathful means in tantric ritual, specifically regarding the use of cemetery-derived materials and the precise geometric and temporal requirements necessary to execute such a specialized rite.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Personal Instructions on Violent Activities in Vajrayoginī Practice” (Toh 1598), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1598
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for illustrating the presence of 'violent activities' and sorcery within certain tantric lineages, contrasting with more common peaceful interpretations of Vajrayoginī. For the modern reader, it provides primary evidence of the ritual use of charnel ground materials and the role of specific emotional states in wrathful practice.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
The Ritual of Killing
Instructions on the timing, mental state, materials, and initial geometric drawing required for the rite.
Themes
Wrathful Ritualism (1)
Ritual Materials (1)
Vajrayoginī Practice (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaPersonal Instructions on Violent Activities in Vajrayoginī Practice·
The Pith Instructions for the Ritual of Killing in Vajrayoginī Practice
Whatever yogi aims to accomplish the practice of Vajravārāhī, at midday, with a wrathful pride, should use charcoal from a charnel ground as the substance for the rite of sorcery. Drawing a six-petaled wheel in counter-clockwise rotation, one should write "OṂ [Name] MĀRAYA VAṂ" upon the four spokes. In the center, one should write the form of Heruka or the syllables, interspersed with the name of the target. This should be written on a cloth from a charnel ground or a leaf from a sacrificial tree using a pen made of human bone.
Having fashioned an effigy from charnel ground ash, one should insert the [mantra] into its heart, smear it with mustard seeds, and prepare a fierce hearth in one's own home according to the proper rites. There, holding the effigy with iron tongs, one should burn it until it turns to ash. One should then dig a pit at the site of a cremation and place [the ashes] inside. Repeatedly heating it over a charnel ground fire, one should strike the heart with a kīla of human bone and fill the gaps without interruption with thorns. If one pours boiling water into the heart, death is certain.
The Pith Instructions for the Ritual of Killing in Vajrayoginī Practice, composed by the master Abhijukta, is complete.