Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a ritual manual (sādhana) for the practice of Tārā according to the Oḍḍiyāna tradition. It guides the practitioner through a process of spiritual transformation aimed at liberation from negative actions and the attainment of Buddhahood. The work commits the reader to a rigorous meditative discipline involving the visualization of the deity, the placement of a twenty-four syllable mantra upon the body, and the conceptualization of all phenomena as empty of intrinsic nature. The practice integrates the visualization of twelve goddesses of the charnel grounds and the internal movement of nectars (amṛta) within the body's continuum. By synthesizing ethical virtues, such as the four divine abodes, with higher yoga tantra techniques, the text seeks to collapse the distinction between the practitioner, the deity, and the external environment, ultimately transforming all appearance into the form of Tārā.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of Tārā according to the Oḍḍiyāna tradition, the Uḍḍiyānakramatārādevīsādhana serves as a guide for spiritual transformation. The work is attributed to the Indian author Ḍākiṇī Vajraśālinī. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the work of the translators Kaśmīri Parahita and lo tsa ba nag tsho dge slong shes rab rgyal mtshan, and is preserved in the Tengyur (vol. ཤ) within the Other Wisdom Tantras collection. Written in classical Tibetan, the text spans seven pages in this edition. It enacts a meditative discipline aimed at liberation from negative actions and the attainment of Buddhahood, instructing the practitioner to conquer conceptual thoughts and recognize that all phenomena are empty of intrinsic nature. The practice involves the visualization of the deity and the placement of a twenty-four syllable mantra upon the body, specifically across the wheel of the yoginī’s abodes, including the crown, ears, and hands. A scholar or serious reader consults this sādhana today to examine the specific techniques used to collapse the distinction between the practitioner and the deity, transforming all objects of appearance into Tārā through the realization of suchness.
Sanskrit title
Uḍḍiyānakramatārādevīsādhana
Indian author
Ḍākiṇī Vajraśālinī
Tibetan translators
Kaśmīri Parahita, lo tsa ba nag tsho dge slong shes rab rgyal mtshan
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of Tārā According to the Oḍḍiyāna Tradition” (Toh 1711), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1711
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as it represents the transmission of the Oḍḍiyāna lineage of Tārā practice into the Tibetan tradition. Its importance lies in its combination of emptiness philosophy with complex somatic visualizations and mantra work, reflecting the methodology of higher yoga tantra.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Introduction and Intent
Titles in Sanskrit and Tibetan, homage to Tārā, and the aspiration for liberation and the transformation of all beings into the deity.
3
Mantra and Somatic Placement
Instruction on the placement of a twenty-four syllable mantra on the yoginī's abodes within the body.
4
Visualization of Deities
Detailed description of the twelve goddesses of the charnel grounds, including their colors, ornaments, and implements.
5-6
Empowerment and Perception
The process of receiving wisdom through empowerment and the yogi's perception of all sentient beings as Tārā.
7-8
Ethical and Meditative Framework
The role of the ten virtues and four divine abodes, and the meditation on the continuum of body, speech, and mind involving the syllable OṂ and nectars.
9
Colophon
Attribution of the text to the ḍākinī Vajradhāriṇī and identification of the translators Parahita and Nagtsho Sherab Gyaltsen.
Themes
Deity Yoga and Transformation (2, 5)
Emptiness and Non-elaboration (2, 7)
Somatic Visualization (3, 8)
Tantric Iconography (4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Sādhana of Tārā According to the Oḍḍiyāna Tradition·
In the language of India: Oḍḍiyānakramatārāsādhananāma. In the language of Tibet: Urgyan-gyi rim-pa’i sgrol-ma’i sgrub-thabs zhes-bya-ba (The Sādhana of Tārā of the Oḍḍiyāna Stage). Homage to the Blessed Lady, the Goddess, the Noble Tārā, the Sovereign of the Great Sacred Site.
These vajra words were spoken in the secret tantra:
"This pith instruction for realizing suchness,
Which is free from elaboration and non-conceptual,
I shall explain, having first arisen from [that state].
With a mind free from anxiety, draw [the design] upon the ground.
Having prepared a maṇḍala, fill a skull-cup with the five nectars.
Meditate on the wind and fire [elements] to purify it, and with the blazing nectar,
Anoint the body and purify the outer and inner.
Sitting on a soft cushion in the vajra posture,
Firmly established by the wisdom mudrā,
View all the three realms of beings, though empty, as appearances,
Like a dream, an illusion, or a city of gandharvas.
In the center of the sky within the heart, upon a moon disc,
Is the syllable TĀṂ, radiating five-colored light rays.
Visualize all the Buddhas of the ten directions,
Together with Tārā and all the accomplished ones,
As the wisdom body in every respect.
With the light rays of wisdom, establish all sentient beings
Of the ten directions in unsurpassed awakening, the ground of the Buddhas.
Viewing all beings as Tārā,
Offer the various non-dual offerings of wisdom.
Taking refuge in the Three Jewels,
And for the sake of all sentient beings, through these three,
Confess all misdeeds along with ignorance."
May I be swiftly liberated from negative actions and become a Buddha. May I myself and all wandering beings become Tārā, and may all objects of appearance be transformed into Tārā. By completely conquering all conceptual thoughts, all phenomena are empty of intrinsic nature and selfless. Oṃ śūnyatā-jñāna-vajra-svabhāva-ātmako ’haṃ.
In the expanse of space, in the center of a moon, is the wisdom of emptiness. In the center of that moon, from the syllable Tāṃ, there arises the vajra, wind, and fire, the purity of movement. Through the blessing of wisdom, the yogins, yoginīs, and Tathāgatas of all the Buddha-fields, and the protectors of the bodhisattvas, are moved from all sides. They dissolve into the non-dual syllable of the wisdom wind, and from that, all wisdom without exception becomes omniscient. Through that filling and merging, one generates oneself and all wandering beings in the form of Tārā. She is red, blue, and green, slightly wrathful; her upper face is yellow, heroic, and peaceful. Her head is adorned with a garland of skulls and the five wisdoms. Adorned with every ornament without exception, she holds a vajra, a sword, an utpala, a jewel, a skull-cup, a khaṭvāṅga, a bell, and a ḍamaru, from which the fruit of the wisdom of bliss arises. Wearing a tiger-skin lower garment, she stands in the dancing posture of half-lotus. Firmly established in the center of a multicolored lotus and moon, she is wrathful with compassion. With three red eyes, she gazes upon all. To her left, she dwells upon a wind maṇḍala. In the midst of a host of supreme yoginīs emanated throughout the field, she remains, bestowing all bliss.
PU JĀ O A GO RĀ DE MĀ KĀ O TRI KO KA LA KĀ HI PRE GRI SAU SU NĀ SI MA KU. These twenty-four syllables are to be placed upon the body, the wheel of the yoginī’s abodes. One should thoroughly accomplish the mastery of the yoginīs. At the crown, the top of the head, the left ear, and the nape of the neck; at the right ear, the brow, the eyes, and the two hands; likewise, the two armpits, the two breasts, the navel, the tip of the nose, the mouth, the throat, and the heart; the stomach, the secret place, the anus, and likewise the thighs; the shins, the tops of the feet, the soles of the feet, the toes, the knees—in this sequence, these are to be placed upon the body. Then, the sequence of the deities is to be placed. First, the goddess Surateśvarī; second, Suratasandhorī; third, Suratacandra; fourth, Suratamālinī; fifth, Suratabhakṣī; sixth, Suratakāminī; seventh, Suratoṣṭra; eighth, Suratottamā. One should meditate on the goddesses from the sites and the near-sites. The mastery of the yoginīs is supreme bliss. White, green, blue, and yellow are the four colors; yellow, white, red, and blue are the eight colors. Holding skull-cups, khaṭvāṅgas, bells, and ḍamarus; the eight directions are adorned with garlands of skulls and all ornaments. Together with the wrathful Śikhebhima and Śikhaṇḍī, Kerālī, Jatrālī, likewise Udrajotrī, and likewise Candrī, Maunḍī, Vikata, and Utkas, Kirīṭī, Nartakī, Kaṅkūpūjī, Pukkasī, Ḍombinī, and Mataṅgī—surrounded by these, the fields and near-fields, the chandohas and near-chandohas, the meeting places and near-meeting places.
The goddesses of the charnel grounds and near-charnel grounds are twelve, half red and half green, with garlands of skulls. Their heads are adorned with various ornaments and their hair is loose. They are slightly haughty and wear a crown of Vairocana. They hold a skull-cup, a khaṭvāṅga, a wheel, and a vajra. The four gatekeepers are of various colors, baring their fangs and standing with the right leg extended and the left drawn in. In the center, upon a multicolored lotus and sun, is Akṣobhya, adorned with a topknot of samaya. He holds a skull-cup, a khaṭvāṅga, a curved knife, and a human head. Adorned with snakes, he stands upon the four Māras. All are clad in the garments of the directions. Through compassion, they are adorned with the lords of pure bliss and the jewels of wisdom. The Lord of Great Bliss resides in the center of the navel; the excellent and great Tārā Yoginī is there. All the Lords of Joy and Bliss are on the petals. Moving counter-clockwise and clockwise, they are the Lords of the Expanse. The many wheels of the Mistress of Beings begin with Śikṣā and end with Candra. They circle in the dance posture of Nīti. At the four gates, Kaṃbula and the others reside, moving counter-clockwise. At the crown, heart, navel, secret place, and thighs, and sequentially at the knees, in the center of their respective marks, are the five families of the five wisdoms: the very excellent Vṛṃ, Hūṃ, Āṃ, Trāṃ, and Khaṃ. Having arranged the characteristics of the mind and so forth in the centers of the vajra, lotus, wheel, and so on, the wheel is summoned by the light rays of wisdom. With an equanimous mind, one offers the water for the feet and so forth, and the water for the feet of the five wisdom nectars.
Having made offerings and offered praise, the wisdom enters into me. Through my own emanation, a stream of wisdom water confers empowerment; through the wisdom of intense emanation, offerings are emanated. The yogi perceives all sentient beings in the form of Tārā. This is the meditation of the yoginī to be meditated upon. The essence of the supreme reality of the fields, the stages of the yoginī’s pith instructions and samaya, I have obtained by following the guru. Realized through the kindness of the guru’s feet, it is realized through the essence of the realization of wisdom. There is no wisdom free from the stains of conceptualizing wisdom. It is the non-conceptual selflessness of phenomena, the state of equality. It is devoid of color, shape, and the nature of syllables. It is the suchness of all phenomena, without distance. It is the supreme maṇḍala, the abode of yogic wisdom. This is the supreme of supreme recitations of suchness. This is thoroughly accomplished by the lords of yoga. Through the excellent accomplishment of my own suchness, in all these maṇḍalas of the yoginīs, the syllables of the names abide in the center. By joining the initial seed-syllable and appending HŪṂ and PHAṬ at the end, the goddesses of the four gates are gathered. By joining JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ above that, the yoga is to be performed at all times. Like cooking the meat of slaughtered cattle into a divine feast, the yoginī companions and the meditator always consume what is edible and inedible, as well as what is drinkable and undrinkable, and engage in what is to be approached and not to be approached. These maṇḍalas of the assembly of yoginīs—
The dharma of stable equanimity, unstained by negativity, is the secret that bestows the higher yoga upon yogis. This most secret, supreme of the lower [tantras], is to be concealed and not spoken of; it is accomplished in this very life.
Possessing the ten virtues and the four divine abodes, with the fortitude to practice extensive generosity and the like, one should meditate upon the supreme and the non-supreme. According to the sequence of one's family, whichever yoginī one is devoted to—whether she sits upon a deer skin or a variegated lotus and sun—visualize yourself as the venerable Tārā.
Holding the form of the Venerable Tārā, she is of variegated colors with four legs in the extended and tucked postures, perfectly and firmly seated. She is green, yellow, red, and her upper face is white with bared fangs. A skull-cup rests upon her head, and she wears a crown of Amoghasiddhi, ornaments of human bone, and loose hair. Her form is beautified by three red eyes; she brandishes a sword and a vajra, holds a wheel, a hook, a bell, and a threatening gesture at her heart. She holds a curved knife, a human head, and a supreme utpala flower in a skull-cup. Holding a khaṭvāṅga, she is draped in a human skin over the skin of Brahmā.
Standing upon Maheśvara and Viṣṇu, she dwells with her lotus feet treading upon them, her mind agitated. She resides in the center of the maṇḍala described previously. The entire assembly of yoginīs is of variegated colors, wearing the directions as their garments and concealing the secret. The glorious yoginī of the northern direction is the supreme yoga of the higher stages. The entire lineage sequence is unsurpassed; the yoga of concentration is the unsurpassed heart of the yoginīs.
By this, all virtuous actions are performed. Through purification, one should meditate on the non-elaboration of sinful conduct. Whichever yogi [is engaged], for the subterranean, the surface of the earth, and the heavens, as well as the outer and inner of the body—all of which are the nature of the field of the body—how should one abide in bliss? At the heart is HŪṂ; at the forehead, OṂ; at the crown, HAṂ; and in the eyes, HŪṂ. One should place HAṂ and PHAṬ throughout the body and all the limbs. The nature of the field of the body is the essence of the yidam deity. Having viewed all beings as such, the recitation and meditation of Tārā, who liberates from existence, is supreme.
In charnel grounds, solitary trees, mountain retreats, dwellings, or caves; at caityas, in borderlands, or the abodes of yoginīs; in the dwellings of courtesans, on roads, or in royal cities; at the banks of great rivers, at a single signpost, or in the abodes of great Īśvarīs, ponds, or pools; or in any abode of worldly ḍākinīs—there, with diligence and without companions, in the nature of the essence, the joyful yogi [should practice]. Through the lineage of the field, the lineage of the tantra, and the lineage of the family, the mistress of the yoginīs is thoroughly consumed. One should meditate on the lineage of the cakras and the lineage of wisdom. This stable essence of indivisible bodhicitta, through the lineage of the gurus, is well-established. By means of the certain knowledge of the indivisible, one abandons the conceptualization of unreal objects and phenomena.
Accomplishment through meditation on the continuum of body, speech, and mind: Above the crown of the head, upon a moon maṇḍala, the five nectars (amṛta) descend and radiate perfectly. One should meditate on the syllable OṂ with stability. Just as the yoga of the indivisible [deity] causes [the nectar] to flow from above, through this yoga of the yoginī, one’s own essence becomes majestic. Having completely abandoned all suffering, the body of the venerable Tārā, the great object of worship, is rich in the meaning of the suchness (tattva) of concentration. As spoken by the glorious Vajrasattva: Place the syllable BAṂ on the lips and the syllable A on the tongue. This supreme wish-fulfilling jewel removes and pacifies all suffering. Seeing the nature of that very wisdom—may the yogin who meditates on this, the bodhisattva of great renown, accomplish the three pacifications. Possessing the yoga of the nature of the goddess Tārā, this Vajra Word Sādhana of Tārā, written above in the Vajra Secret Tantra, is that which causes sentient beings to attain wisdom. It should not be given to those without faith, those who do not practice generosity, those of evil conduct, those who are lustful or wrathful, nor to those who are not disciples or sons. The Ācārya should not give this sādhana to others who possess a mind of suffering. From the land of Oḍḍiyāna in the north, within the abode of the Brahmins, the Vajra Words of the assembly of yoginīs of the field’s daughters were accomplished. This concludes the Sādhana of the Blessed Lady, the Goddess Tārā, according to the stages of Oḍḍiyāna.
This was spoken by the ḍākinī Vajradhāriṇī. It was translated by the paṇḍita Parahita, a disciple of the mahācārya Ratnaśrī, and the translator, the monk Nagtsho Sherab Gyaltsen.