Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text provides technical instructions for the preparation and offering of inner torma cakes to the deity Tārā. The work is structured as a procedural manual, beginning with the physical composition of the offering—specifying the use of a vessel with auspicious characteristics and the combination of nectar, blood, alcohol, and five types of meat—and detailing the cooking process over a tripod fire. The text then transitions into a liturgical list of offerings, enumerating a vast array of precious gems, animals, diverse foods, beverages, textiles, and livestock. By following these instructions, the practitioner commits to a specific material and symbolic protocol designed to appease or honor the deity through the presentation of both simulated and actual substances. The text functions as a bridge between the physical act of preparation and the conceptualization of an expansive, idealized offering.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the preparation and offering of inner torma to the deity Tārā, the sgrol ma'i nang gi gtor cho ga belongs to the Other Wisdom Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Candragomin. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the text appears in volume ཤ of the Tengyur, where it extends over three pages. The ritual enacts a precise material protocol, beginning with the technical preparation of a vessel containing nectar, blood, alcohol, and five types of meat, boiled over a tripod fire and purified through mantras of Body, Speech, and Mind. This physical process transitions into a liturgical sequence of offerings, including precious gems, livestock, diverse foods, and fine garments, intended to free the practitioner from the eight fears and facilitate the attainment of the elixir. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the intersection of physical substance and symbolic offering within the ritual landscape of the Other Wisdom Tantras, observing how the specific composition of the torma serves as a bridge between material preparation and the conceptualization of an expansive divine offering.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Ritual for Inner Torma Cake Offerings to Tārā” (Toh 1738), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1738
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its illustration of the 'inner torma' tradition, which utilizes substances like meat and blood to represent the sensory desires of deities. For the modern reader, it provides primary evidence of the intersection between material culture and ritualized devotion in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist practice.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Preparation of the Torma
Instructions on the ingredients and the physical process of boiling the offering.
2
Enumeration of Offerings
A list of precious objects, animals, and consumables presented to the deity.
Themes
Ritual Materiality (1-2)
Offerings to Tārā (1-2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Ritual for Inner Torma Cake Offerings to Tārā·
The Inner Torma Ritual of Tārā
Homage to the Venerable Tārā!
For those who wish to offer a torma, fill a vessel endowed with auspicious characteristics with the five kinds of meat and nectar, blood, and various types of alcohol. Boil it over a fire supported by a tripod and wind. Having purified it with the mantras of the Body, Speech, and Mind, and having made offerings to the wheel [of deities] in front of oneself, empower it with the mantra and make the prayer of aspiration. Perform the confession and dedicate the roots of virtue.
Namaḥ sarvabuddhabodhisattvānāṃ | he he bhagavati mahāsattva sarvabuddha avalokite | mabilampatāra ekajaṭi | idaṃ baliṃ gṛhṇāpaya hūṃ | sarvavisare svāhā |
Hūṃ! To the assembly of deities of the Lotus family, to the Great Compassionate Avalokiteśvara, and to the Venerable Tārā Ekajaṭī: I present this sublime offering. To Gaurī and Mahābalā, Caṇḍā and Māraṇī, Kālī and Kālarātrī, Rakṣaṇī and Gopānī, Brahmāṇī and Vedanī, Guhyakā and Svastikā, Śavarī and Yoginī, Siddhā, Caṇḍī, and Amṛtā, Puṇyanidhi and Antakā, Raudrī and Mahāvratinī, Hitakarī and Trāṇakarī, Siddhārthā and Dhanadā—to Ekajaṭī together with her retinue, to the ḍākinīs of the eight charnel grounds, to all the mātṛs and ḍākinīs without exception, and to all the gods and asuras: accept this torma of sacrificial offering. As I pray for the attainment of siddhis, [grant] material wealth, crops, and fruits.
May the various kinds of precious gems,
Animals, quadrupeds, humans, and livestock,
Food of a hundred flavors and diverse edibles,
Beverages, sweet and sour, and various wines,
Fine garments, thin and soft, and diverse raiment,
Thoroughbred horses, elephants, and wish-fulfilling cows,
Fields, palatial mansions, and wish-granting trees—
May I be freed from the eight fears.
May I attain the elixir of longevity, be free from disease, and live long.
May I triumph over the lords of the directions, the eight classes of spirits,
And the Mara of the Lord of Death.
May I obtain the sword, eye-ointment, and the excellent vase,
Swift-footedness, treasures, and wealth,
Keen intellect, insight, and eloquent speech,
And may I understand the Dharma I have not yet heard.
May the four castes, such as the royal class and others,
Be brought under my influence.
May the six classes of beings be liberated from the lower realms.
May harm, demons, and obstacles be pacified.
May my life, strength, and retinue increase.
May the enemies of the Guru’s body be liberated in an instant.
Wherever I am born and wherever I dwell,
May I never be separated from the path of Secret Mantra,
And may I enjoy the wheel of Dharma.
In short, whatever I desire,
May my intentions be fulfilled according to my wishes,
And having swiftly parted from all that is unwanted,
May the welfare of all sentient beings be accomplished.
May I behold the face of the Great Compassionate One, Avalokiteśvara,
And the face of the Venerable Tārā.
May the two siddhis of Ekajaṭī
Be swiftly attained through contemplation and practice.
The Inner Torma Ritual of the Venerable Tārā, composed by the master Candragomin, is complete.
Translated in the Nepalese fortress.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations, and not in progress there. Translations published elsewhere have not been searched for, so one may exist. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.