Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual manual provides a detailed spatial and symbolic mapping of the charnel grounds associated with the Oḍḍiyāna tradition of yoga and yoginī practice. The text functions as a descriptive guide to a sacred landscape, identifying the specific deities, protectors, and supernatural entities—such as nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas—that inhabit various directional sectors. By detailing the presence of miraculous stūpas, corpse-filled huts, and specific ritual implements like curved knives and skull-cups, the work establishes a ritual environment designed for the practitioner's engagement with the transgressive and the macabre. The reader is committed to a visualization practice where the physical environment is transformed into a mandala of natural enjoyment, requiring the recognition of specific guardians and the adherence to samaya commitments with ḍākinīs. The text blends elements of tantric geography with the iconography of the cemetery to facilitate the realization of the non-dual state associated with the yogic path.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual detailing the sacred landscape of the charnel grounds, the Uḍḍiyānaśrīyogayoginīsvayambhūsambhogaśmaśānakalpa belongs to the tradition of yoga and yoginī practice. The work is attributed to the Indian author Virūpa. It was translated into the Tibetan language by Prajñāśrījñānakīrti and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཤ, where it is categorized within the Other Wisdom Tantras. Spanning five pages in this edition, the work enacts a symbolic mapping of the environment, identifying the deities, protectors, and supernatural entities—including nāgas and yakṣas—that inhabit specific directional sectors. It describes the presence of miraculous stūpas and corpse-filled huts, while referencing the practices of the Guhyasamāja, Kṛṣṇayamāri, and Hevajra Tantras. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to understand the visualization of a ritual environment where the physical landscape is transformed into a mandala of natural enjoyment. Through the identification of figures such as the Ratna-ḍākinī and the water-lord Khaṭvāṅgin, the text provides a guide for the practitioner's engagement with the macabre and the transgressive, emphasizing the recognition of guardians and the maintenance of samaya commitments with ḍākinīs.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Ritual Manual for Charnal Grounds, The Natural Realm of Enjoyment of the Yogīs and Yoginīs of Oḍḍiyāna” (Toh 1744), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1744
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its representation of the Oḍḍiyāna tradition's influence on the conceptualization of the charnel ground as a site of spiritual attainment. It provides insight into the intersection of local spirit propitiation and high tantric visualization. For the modern reader, it illustrates the specific iconographic markers used to define sacred space in Indo-Tibetan ritual manuals.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-5
Introduction and Spatial Mapping
The text opens with titles in Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by a sequential description of the inhabitants, protectors, and architectural features of the charnel grounds.
Themes
Sacred Geography and Charnel Grounds (1-5)
Protective Deities and Elemental Spirits (2-5)
Tantric Iconography and Ritual Implements (2-5)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Ritual Manual for Charnal Grounds, The Natural Realm of Enjoyment of the Yogīs and Yoginīs of Oḍḍiyāna·
In the language of India: Śrī-uragī-yoga-yoginī-svabhūta-sambhoga-śmaśāna-kalpa-nāma. In the language of Tibet: The Glorious Uḍḍiyāna Yoga and Yoginī’s Natural Enjoyment: The Manual of the Charnel Grounds. Homage to the sublime gurus! Homage to the Vajrayoginīs!
In the eastern charnel ground, Caṇḍogra, the circumference is twelve yojanas and the width is five yojanas. Its shape is like a three-wheeled chariot. It is blessed by the principal master, Nāgārjunapāda. The tree is golden in color with leaves branching in a hundred directions. The field-protector is white, holding a curved knife and a skull-cup, with the face of an elephant. The directional guardian is Śakra, together with his elephant mount and retinue. There is the Vajraḍākinī who devours the preta hungry ghosts. A Great Enlightenment Stūpa supports the ground. The blue nāga Ananta bows down, and the entire area is filled with huts of stacked skulls. There dwell a great many kings of yogins, such as Āryadeva and others. The yoginīs include Lāsyā, Sattvavatī, and so forth. They follow the Guhyasamāja Tantra and take Nāgārjuna as their mental focus.
In the southern charnel ground, Yamaloka Jvālāvana, the circumference is sixty-two yojanas and the distance is fifteen yojanas plus one krośa. Its shape is like a wheel. It is blessed by Ḍombi Heruka. The tree is the color of lapis lazuli with leaves branching in a hundred directions. The field-protector is black, holding a curved knife and a skull-cup, with the face of a buffalo. The directional guardian is Yama, together with his buffalo mount and retinue.
The Ratna-ḍākinī performs the empowerment of the Kaṅka. The stūpa that displays miracles supports the earth. The white nāga Śaṅkhapāla pays homage. The hut is filled with skull-bone fragments. The yogins are the Avadhūti and the Phag-mo, and so forth. They follow the Guhyasamāja and the Kṛṣṇayamāri, and meditate upon Ḍombi Heruka. In the western charnel ground, the water-lord Khaṭvāṅgin resides with a circumference of forty-eight yojanas and a width of twelve yojanas. Its shape is circular, like a water-wheel, and it was blessed by the scholar Aśvaghoṣa. The tree is coral-colored with flourishing foliage. The field-protector is red, holding a curved knife and skull-cup, with the face of a makara. The directional guardian is Varuṇa, together with his retinue, seated upon a makara. The Padma-ḍākinī teaches the Dharma to Kunda. The stūpa of the Descent from Heaven supports the earth. The red nāgas, such as Nanda, pay homage. The hut is completely filled with stacked corpses. The yogin there is Kukuripa, and the yoginī is Hṛdayālaṃkārā; they all follow the Mahāmāyā Tantra and meditate upon the master Aśvaghoṣa. In the northern charnel ground, Kubera and Bhairava reside with a circumference of eighty yojanas and a width of twenty yojanas. Its shape is like a four-wheeled chariot, and it was blessed by the master Padmavati. The tree is emerald green with a hundred-branched foliage. The field-protector is green, holding a curved knife and skull-cup, with the face of a bull.
The directional guardian Yakṣa Vṛṣabha, together with his retinue, resides upon a lotus seat. The Karmadākinīs abide in the samaya of activity. The earth is supported by a Stūpa of Accumulated Auspiciousness. The green Nāga Karkoṭaka bows down. The field is completely filled with huts of corpses. There, the yogin is Bhadra and the yoginīs are Kumbhakārī and the rest. They follow the Hevajra Tantra and keep the master Saroruha in mind.
In the southeast cremation ground, the Fire Quarter, called Śrīkarṣaṇa, the circumference is twelve yojanas and its width is three yojanas. Its shape is like the palm of a young man's hand. It was blessed by the lord Saraha. The tree is an Amra tree with lush foliage. The yellow field protector, holding a curved knife and a skull-cup, has the face of a goat. The directional guardian is the Fire God (Agni), together with his retinue upon a goat seat. The various Dākinīs and Vetālas perform fire offerings. The earth is supported by a Lotus Heap Stūpa. The white Nāga Mahāpadma bows down. The field is completely filled with huts of hungry ghosts and corpses. There, the yogin is Guṇakaraṇaka and the yoginīs are Padmavajrā and the rest. They follow the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra and keep the glorious Saraha in mind.
In the southwest cremation ground, the Ishana Quarter, called Ha-ha-sphoṭa, the circumference is six yojanas and its width is four yojanas. Its shape is like a blooming white lotus. It was blessed by the feet of Śrīparamāśva. The Indranīla tree has lush foliage.
The field-protector is the black one with a human face, holding a curved knife and a skull-cup. He is accompanied by the directional guardian, the rākṣasa, and the class of hungry ghosts. You samaya ḍākinīs, please appear! The great demon-subduing stūpa supports the earth. The nāgas, brilliant white and red in color, bow down. The place is filled with skeletons, hungry ghosts, and leaf-huts. There, the yogin is the powerful son of a brahmin, the golden-colored yogin, and the yoginīs are the wrathful-faced one and so forth. They follow the two Heart Tantras and the Hayagrīva Tantra, and they keep the glorious Kṛṣṇapāda in mind.
In the northwest is the charnel ground called Great Darkness, the realm of the Nirṛti. It is fourteen yojanas in circumference and twelve yojanas in width. Its shape is like a swirling pattern of water, blessed by the learned Kukkuripa. The trees are the color of crystal and their foliage is lush. The field-protector is blue, holding a curved knife and a skull-cup, with the color of a deer. He is accompanied by the directional guardian, the wind god, and the class of deer. All the ḍākinīs teach the secret Dharma. The stūpa of the pure topknot supports the earth. The white lotus nāgas bow down. The place is filled with grass huts and those adorned with bone ornaments. There, the yogin is the stream-enterer, and the yoginīs are the field [yoginī] and so forth. They follow the Yoginī Tantra and keep the glorious Kukkuripa in mind.
In the northeast is the charnel ground called Resounding Noise, twenty yojanas in circumference and five yojanas in width.
The shape is like a monk’s alms bowl, blessed by the ḍākinī Vajravārāhī. There is a jewel-colored conch-white tree with flourishing foliage. The field-protector is white, holding a curved knife and skull-cup, with the face of a horse. The directional guardians and elemental spirits, together with their horse-mounts, stir the worldly ḍākinīs and hold offering cakes. The earth is supported by a stūpa of the wheel of Dharma. The earth itself, colored by the vowel sign naro, is bowed to by the supreme nāgas. The entire area is filled with huts built of stacked bricks. Therein dwell the yogin, the glorious Heruka, and the yoginīs, such as Nairātmyā and Amṛtā. This follows the Mahāmāyā Tantra, which is equal to space, and brings to mind Vajravārāhī. This is the Conceptualization of the Charnel Ground, the natural enjoyment of the glorious yogins and yoginīs of Oḍḍiyāna, extracted from the work composed by the master Virūpa. It was translated into Tibetan by the yogin Prajñāśrījñānakīrti himself.
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.