Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text serves as a liturgical praise directed toward the deities of the Mahāmāyā Tantra maṇḍala. It functions as a devotional invocation, beginning with a formal homage to Vajraḍākinī, who is identified as the sovereign of the ḍākinīs. The text characterizes the central deity not merely as a mythological figure but as the embodiment of the three kāyas and the five wisdoms, thereby framing her as the ontological expression of enlightenment. By extending this homage to the wider assembly of Vajraḍākinīs, the text emphasizes the role of these deities in the soteriological process, specifically their capacity to sever the bonds of conceptual thought. The reader is committed to a framework of tantric visualization and veneration where the deities act as the active agents of liberation for wandering beings, bridging the gap between conceptual delusion and the realization of the three kāyas.
Provenance
About this text
A eulogy directed toward the deities of the Mahāmāyā maṇḍala, this work belongs to the tradition of the Other Wisdom Tantras. It is attributed to the Indian author Kukuripa. The text is preserved in the classical Tibetan period within the Tengyur, specifically volume ཡ, where it occupies one page. In terms of its function, the work enacts a devotional invocation through formal homages to Vajraḍākinī and the assembly of Vajraḍākinīs. It frames the sovereign of the wheel of ḍākinīs as the embodiment of the three kāyas and the five wisdoms, while characterizing the deities as active agents of liberation capable of severing the bonds of conceptual thought to protect wandering beings. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific liturgical framework of tantric visualization and veneration, observing how the deities are positioned as the ontological expression of enlightenment and the primary means of bridging the gap between conceptual delusion and spiritual realization.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Praise of the Deities of the Maṇḍala of the Mahāmāyā Tantra” (Toh 1631), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1631
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its explicit identification of the ḍākinī with the three kāyas and five wisdoms, illustrating the non-dual nature of the deity in the Mahāmāyā tradition. For the modern reader, it provides a concise example of how tantric praise utilizes the language of Buddhist philosophy to transform a ritual invocation into a statement on the nature of reality.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Praise to the Deities
An opening homage to Vajraḍākinī and the assembly of Vajraḍākinīs, detailing their attributes and spiritual functions.
Themes
The Three Kāyas and Five Wisdoms (1)
Severing Conceptual Thought (1)
Vajraḍākinī as Sovereign (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Praise of the Deities of the Maṇḍala of the Mahāmāyā Tantra·
The Praise to the Deities of the Maṇḍala of Mahāmāyā.
Homage to the glorious Vajraḍākinī, the sovereign of the wheel of ḍākinīs, who is the five wisdoms and the three kāyas, and who protects all wandering beings.
Homage to all the Vajraḍākinīs, who sever the bonds of conceptual thought and engage thoroughly in the activities of the world.
Homage and praise to the Buddhaḍākinī, the non-dual wisdom ḍākinī who tastes the innate equality and is the Mahāmudrā, the essence of selflessness.
Homage and praise to the Vajraḍākinī, the supreme, utterly pure bodhicitta, the unchanging vajra expanse, the great wisdom of Akṣobhyavajra.
Homage and praise to the Ratnaḍākinī, the bestower of the supreme, great bliss, the inexhaustible vajra-jewel expanse, who confers the unsurpassed empowerment.
Homage and praise to the Padmaḍākinī, the stainless Dharma, utterly pure, whose body, speech, and mind are free from signs, and who is the pride of stainless great wisdom.
Homage and praise to the Karmaḍākinī, whose vajra activity is unimpeded, the lord of yogins and protector of beings, who is the pride of the wisdom of diligent application.
This is the praise to the deities of the glorious Maṇḍala of Mahāmāyā, composed at the time of the vision of the great master Kukuripa.