Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Clear Realization of Mahākāla is a ritual manual designed to facilitate the attainment of supernatural powers and spiritual accomplishments through the propitiation of the deity Mahākāla. The text prescribes a rigorous regimen of asceticism, solitude, and precise visualization, specifically directing the practitioner to identify as the two-armed, black-complexioned Bhadrapati. It commits the reader to a disciplined practice of mantra recitation, torma offerings, and specific ritual timings to eliminate defects and achieve high-level realizations, including the yoga of the eighth bhūmi. Beyond spiritual liberation, the text provides a series of pragmatic, magical applications for the mantras, ranging from the paralysis of animals and the binding of human speech to the expulsion of individuals and the creation of empowered objects. The work functions as a comprehensive guide for the mantrin, integrating devotional confession and refuge with the technical execution of coercive and predictive rites, ultimately promising mastery over the three worlds through the correct application of the deity's power.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the manifest realization of Mahākāla, the nag po chen po'i mngon par rtogs pa belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Sahajapāda. It was translated into Tibetan by Narendrabhadra and bod kyi lo tsa ba u rgyan pa rin chen dpal, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཤ, where it comprises nine pages. Within the canonical structure, it is situated among the Other Wisdom Tantras. The work enacts a ritual process beginning with ascetic practice in solitude, such as in a charnel ground, and the purification of the body. It directs the practitioner to recite specific mantras and engage in a detailed visualization of oneself as the two-armed, black-complexioned Bhadrapati, who is depicted with three eyes, orange-red hair, and a garland of heads, standing upon a corpse seat. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the precise requirements of this visualization and the accompanying liturgical elements, including the confession of faults and the cultivation of the Brahma-abodes for the liberation of all sentient beings.
Sanskrit title
not recorded
Indian author
Sahajapāda
Tibetan translators
Narendrabhadra, bod kyi lo tsa ba u rgyan pa rin chen dpal
This text is significant as it illustrates the intersection of high Buddhist soteriology and the tradition of ritual magic (siddhis) within the Indo-Tibetan framework. It demonstrates how wrathful deities are utilized not only for spiritual purification but for worldly control and protection. For the modern reader, it provides primary evidence of the specific mantras and material requisites used in Mahākāla praxis.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Preliminary Practices
Instructions on ascetic dwelling, solitude, confession of faults, and taking refuge.
3-5
Visualization and Mantra Discipline
Detailed iconography of Bhadrapati and requirements for the precise, undistracted recitation of mantras to achieve accomplishments.
6-10
Ritual Applications and Magical Rites
Specific mantras and procedures for binding speech, paralyzing snakes, influencing kings, and creating empowered sandals.
11-12
Offerings and Consecration
Instructions on meat and blood oblations for divination and the formal process of consecration and transmission from the guru.
Themes
Siddhis and Supernatural Power (5-10)
Deity Visualization (3)
Ritual Purity and Discipline (1-4)
Wrathful Propitiation (11)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Mahākālābhisamaya. In the language of Tibet: Nag po chen po’i mngon par rtogs pa (The Manifest Realization of Mahākāla). Homage to the glorious Mahākāla!
First, abiding in ascetic practice, in a place such as a charnel ground, dwelling in total solitude, one should completely purify the body and recite this mantra:
OṂ MAHĀKĀLA PŪRVA INDRA BANDHA | DAKṢIṆA YAMA BANDHA | PAŚCIMĀ VARUṆA BANDHA | UTTARA KUBERA ADHIPATI BANDHA | ĪŚĀNA BHŪTA ADHIPATI BANDHA | AGNI PAIŚĀCĀNĀM | NAIṚTYE RAKṢASA BANDHA | VĀYAVE VĀYUDEVATĀ | ŪRDHVE SITA MAHO BANDHA | ADHAḤ PṚTHIVĪNĀGENDRA | CANDRASŪRYADEVA GRAHA | MĀTRJAMIKABHŪTA | KATAPŪTANAŚCA JAKṢĀṢṬARGHAṬE | YE KECID DUṢṬĀNĀM | SARVĀN | BANDHA BANDHA | KĪLAYA KĪLAYA | VAJRAMUṄGAREṆA KHA KHA KHA KHA | ŚABDA PATALA | ĀKOṬAYA ĀKOṬAYA HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
Having cleared away the obstructors with this, the practitioner should then exert effort in the mantra accomplishment. From the complete transformation of the syllable RAṂ at the heart of one’s own body, a blue HŪṂ appears in the center of a sun maṇḍala. Light rays radiate from it, inviting the assembly of gurus, buddhas, and bodhisattvas. Requesting them to remain in the sky with the gaze of an elephant, one makes offerings with the offering goddesses—such as Puṣpā and Dhūpā—emanating from the seed syllable at the heart. One should also confess misdeeds: "From beginningless saṃsāra, throughout all the successions of my births, whatever collection of misdeeds I have committed, or in which I have rejoiced..."
I confess each and every [fault] individually; henceforth, I shall not commit them. I take refuge in the Three Jewels; I openly confess everything individually. I rejoice in all merit; I hold the awakening of the Buddha in my mind. By meditating on the Brahma-abodes, [I shall liberate all beings]. From beginningless saṃsāra, for all sentient beings—headed by my mother, father, brothers, sisters, and so forth—I shall abide with a mind of love like that for an only child and shall deliver them to the far shore of saṃsāra. Possessing such a mind of great love, one should generate the resolve to completely deliver those sentient beings tormented by suffering in the perilous thickets of saṃsāra. Contemplating the nature of suffering, one should generate great compassion. With a mind of great joy, one should cause all to possess a mind of great bliss, making it equal and pervasive for all. Then, one should visualize oneself as having attained the form of the glorious Mahākāla, the accomplished one, and, having utterly abandoned the eight worldly dharmas, one should abide in a mind of great equanimity. In that way, one should firmly establish the four Brahma-abodes. Within that, one should view the nature of one's own physical conduct: OṂ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA DHARMĀḤ SVABHĀVA ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ. OṂ ŚŪNYATĀ JÑĀNA VAJRA SVABHĀVA ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ. In an instant, in the center of space, upon the hub of a multicolored lotus, from the syllable RAṂ arises a sun disk, and from a black HŪṂ, the complete Mahākāla.
One should visualize oneself as Bhadrapati, with two arms, one face, and a deep black complexion. He has three eyes, is adorned with a garland of heads, and his orange-red hair stands upright. He stands upon a corpse seat, with his fangs bared, striking terror even into the hosts of the fearful. He is adorned with the eight nāgas, has a dwarf-like form, and is endowed with majesty. He is sealed by Akṣobhya. In his right hand he holds a curved knife (kartṛkā), and in his left he holds a skull-cup (kapāla) and a khaṭvāṅga tucked under his arm. With a fiercely wrathful expression, his mouth is dripping with blood as he drinks it. His tongue is flickering and curling, and his fangs are bared. One should visualize oneself in this way. The nature of the forms depicted on the cloth painting should also be completed in this manner. By having these [images] sit before one, accomplishment is swiftly attained. One should mix poison, blood, garlic, and white mustard seeds together and fumigate [the images] with the resulting incense; cast, painted, and other such images should also be fumigated. One should offer a torma to Mahākāla consisting of rice cooked with peas, liquor, flowers, incense, ointments, the five meats, and the five nectars. When these are complete, one should recite the mantra: OṂ MAHĀKĀLĀYA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This king of mantras is like a wish-fulfilling tree or a precious wish-fulfilling jewel. One should imagine it emerging from the heart and the mouth, descending into the lotus of the navel. Furthermore, it should be recited neither too fast nor too slow.
One should recite the syllables without omission and without distraction; the mantrin should act in this way. Thus, all defects of the mantra are abandoned. Having offered the torma during the three watches of the night—abandoning the light of dusk, midnight, and dawn—one should recite with a stable mind, and success will be achieved in six months. The siddhis will also be bestowed; what are these siddhis? First, there are magnetizing and summoning. Second, there are paralyzing and expelling. Third, there are dividing and killing, as well as pacifying and enriching. In the fifth, all aims are accomplished. Having thus achieved the eight siddhis, one should always persevere in the yoga of accomplishing Mahākāla, just as the current of a river flows and makes a sound. By practicing with an undistracted mind, success is achieved without doubt. Through an unwavering mind, even the siddhi of a Buddha is bestowed.
Next, another point shall be explained: the fruit of the mantrin through diligence shall be described. By exerting effort for six months and reciting three hundred thousand times, one’s intellect will become extremely sharp, and one will possess stainless and all-pervading insight. By reciting six hundred thousand times, even the gods will be brought under one’s power, so what need is there to mention inferior humans? They will be brought under control exactly as one acts. By reciting nine hundred thousand times, all poisons will be brought under control, and one will possess great merit and fame. If one recites up to ten million times, the three worlds will be brought under one’s power.
If recited twenty million times, one will possess the great accomplishments. All deities as one has visualized in the mind will be accomplished. If even the yoga of the eighth bhūmi is accomplished, what is the use of saying more? The moment this king of mantras—which concerns the Dharma, substances, purposes, desires, and liberation—is uttered, all misdeeds are exhausted. By reciting it a hundred times constantly, accomplishment is granted. With ten thousand recitations, women are brought under control; with one hundred thousand, kings are brought under control; and with five hundred thousand, gods and yakṣas are certainly accomplished. If so, what need is there to mention human women? This is the mantra of power.
Next, the classification of activities will be explained. The fruit of all activities is granted, and as soon as it is known, accomplishment will occur swiftly. OṂ KṢI HA BU HA AMUKA CAṬAYA HŪṂ PHAṬ. By reciting this ten thousand times, if a liṅga is made from the bones of a charnel ground and buried at the door of an enemy, they will certainly be expelled within seven days. OṂ MAṂ JHAṂ KṢA AMUKAṂ STAMBHAYA HŪṂ PHAṬ. By reciting this a hundred times, the enemy will be paralyzed. OṂ JRA HŪṂ HA STAṂ STAṂBHAYA HŪṂ PHAṬ. By reciting this seven times over the tail of a rat and striking [the target], an elephant will be paralyzed. OṂ KHA HA PHAṬ. By reciting this over beef and striking [the target], a horse will be paralyzed. OṂ MU HAṂ SARVA ŚUNA STAMBHAYA MOHAYA HŪṂ PHAṬ. By reciting this seven times over a tiger skin and striking [the target], all livestock such as tigers and the like will be paralyzed. There is no doubt about this.
If one recites "Oṃ mahānanta hūṃ" seven times over an offering cake (bali) and strikes [the victim], it will paralyze a snake. To bind the speech of a person, recite: "Oṃ mukha stambhaya amuka śabhaṃ phaṭ." This binds the speech of a person.
Next, the mantra for the offering cake is: "Oṃ hraka hakaha malini mukhṛ praśathaya praśathaya | mahākāla bhūta ajra prahotoṣi māraya kāraya kāraya | sarva duṣṭa praduṣṭa gṛhṇa gṛhṇa | māra māra | kha kha | khāhi khāhi | śīghraṃ daha daha | paca paca | hulu hulu | maṃ raṃ hūṃ phaṭ | idaṃ baliṃ gṛhṇa gṛhṇa śiḥ svāhā."
For those who harm the Buddha's teaching and those who engage in disputes and intense contention, one should place an offering cake smeared with blood and adorned with meat or "great meat" (mahāmāṃsa) inside a human skull and offer it on the eighth day of the dark fortnight. Immediately, the enemy, along with their retinue, will be ruined. Furthermore, this is the ritual for the offering cake for those who are blind, those afflicted by epidemics, those with broken heads, or those suffering great harm.
Next, the sādhana of the Piśācī (flesh-eater) shall be explained: "Namo ratnatrayāya | oṃ mahākāla piśācīni sādhaya hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā." By reciting this ten thousand times, the preliminary service (sevā) is accomplished. Then, one should enter the main sādhana: "Oṃ khara mukhi mahāpiśācīni dehi dadābhyah svāhā." If one consecrates the deity with this mantra twenty-one times and offers it into the offering vessel for one month, twenty-one paṇa coins will be constantly bestowed.
One should constantly engage in listening every day; if even a single cowrie shell remains, one will not obtain any more later. Furthermore: Oṃ anale kuṇḍale gṛhṇa piṇḍa piśācīni svāhā. If one consecrates the leftovers seven times and gives them for seven days, every three months a pair of garments will be given. Furthermore: Oṃ alaghus ti gṛhṇaṃ piṇḍa piśācī svāhā. By consecrating this mantra eight times and giving the leftovers for one month, one will always be given a gold tina coin. This should be used constantly.
Next, the ritual for the Heroine (Vīrī) is described: Oṃ mahākāla hriṃ hriṃ hriṃ ha. By reciting this mantra one hundred and eight times, the preliminary service (puraścaraṇa) is accomplished. Oṃ cale cale cite cedo muñca pāya svāhā. By reciting this eight hundred times, at the very moment of contact, the woman's fluid will be emitted and her passion will greatly increase.
Take datura, orpiment, vijapura fruit, and rooster dung; grind these four substances together and fumigate them with incense for Mahākāla. Oṃ mahākāla amukaṃ mūḍhaṃ kuru jaḥ. The enemy will become insane and delirious. If one shaves their hair, they will be liberated.
Next, the rite of summoning with the feet: Namaḥ sarvabhūtebhyo gamini bhama jilāya svāhā. If one strikes with the ashes of one who has recited this mantra, they will be brought under control. By washing the ashes, they will be liberated.
Next, for the rite of invisibility: Namo bodhisattvebhyaḥ hūṃ śigini svāhā.
Following that, by reciting [the mantra] one hundred times, one acts as the measuring-line for all kings, and they will become bewildered. At that time, one will also attain the nature of power. If this mantra is recited seven hundred times over white mustard seeds and then applied to a door by reciting it one hundred and eight times, the door will open.
Then, for the rite of paralyzing: Namo buddhebhyaḥ, stambhaya jambhaya mohaya svāhā. Following that, take the ashes of a deceased Brahmin woman together with her husband. Recite the mantra over the ashes one hundred times and scatter them over whichever Buddha [is the target]; if it paralyzes even a Buddha, what need is there to mention people of inferior merit? By merely uttering this mantra, all weapons of those who have entered into battle will be paralyzed.
Then, for the rite of cooling fire: Namo 'rhantebhyaḥ, ruhayasacaruhajvalani praveśima sitalomo bhavatu svāhā. Following that, take buffalo butter and the green medicinal herb called nags-kyi spo-ba (forest-peak herb). Grind them together into one and anoint your own body. Having empowered it with the mantra, even if you enter into the midst of fire, your body will not be burned.
Then, for the rite of paralyzing a king: Namo ratnatrayāya, jaya jaya stambhani svāhā. Take the root of the triśagati medicinal plant and empower it one hundred times; it will paralyze the king.
Then, for the ritual of binding water: Namo bhagavate, vighnān jalaṃ praviśame svāhā. While staying in the water, recite the mantra. Place a jewel in the mouth of a small fish, take it in your own hand, and [recite].
By walking upon water, the water will be bound. Then, to perform the rite of expulsion, take a crow feather and recite the mantra one hundred times. By burying it at someone’s door, they will be expelled. If it is removed, they will be pacified. The mantra for that is: namo ratnatrayāya, cala pracala śīghraṃ bhagini svāhā. Then, for the rite of hatred: namo ratnatrayāya, deva yama mahāpreṣaka mahāvilambitu svāhā. Take the hair of a brahmin woman, a novice monk, and a rat, grind them together, and bury them in the earth while uttering the name of the person; they will all become enemies. If they are removed, they will be released. Then, one should perform the fire offering ritual: mixing beef with alcohol, if one performs the offering in three sessions, even a Buddha will be brought under one's power within one month, let alone a human woman. If one consecrates jackal meat and burns it one hundred times, within three months one will eliminate poverty along with one's lineage and descendants. For the fire offering of a crow feather, make ink from the fat of a large amount of ghee; recite oṃ mahākāla siddhi añca jñāna sādhaya svāhā ten thousand times. If one constantly applies this as eye salve to the eyes, one will see hidden treasures and the like. Then, the accomplishment of the sword is described: forge a sword from radiant iron, hold it in the right hand, apply a mark to the forehead with the eye of one who travels through the sky, and take the leaves of a white brahmin tree to first present a vast offering.
Having fashioned sandals from wooden strips and bound them with ox-hide, if one recites the mantra ten thousand times, at that time the sandals will be accomplished. OṂ MAHĀKĀLA SIDDHA DADA DUKA SĀDHAYA SVĀHĀ. Through this and so forth, all the accomplishments of the three worlds will be achieved. This is by means of possessing the yoga of Mahākāla. One should not give this away, but keep it secret with great effort and diligence. By keeping it secret and not giving it away, accomplishment will be achieved through great effort. If it is spoken of and given away, it will not be accomplished. It will not be accomplished if the samaya is impaired. One should not give anything at all, but keep it secret. It should be given to those who possess the Vajrayāna and are engaged in the practice. These and other activities are as they appear within the tantras. The yogi, possessing the nature of that, is a yogi endowed with the accomplishment of liberation. Embracing the Wisdom Kālī, he is well-disposed and respectful toward me. Through the supreme union of the vajra and lotus, he views the three worlds as empty. Because the essence of emptiness is itself empty, the great emptiness is the emptiness of all. Because the three worlds are selfless, it is the activity of great bliss. Through effort, Buddhahood will be attained. Because there is no inherent nature, all obscurations are abandoned. The wisdom body is the emanation and reabsorption; it joins the minds of beings with the beyond. Then, one should offer the torma that accomplishes all activities. Its mantra is: OṂ ŚRĪ KṢI HŪṂ PHAṬ | MATA MAYA | PUṢPA | DHŪPA | MĀLE PĀTĀLE | AṢṬA NĀGA DEVA JAKṢA RĀKṢASA | GṚHṆA GṚHṆA | IDAṂ BALIṂ | HA HA HA HŪṂ.
KHĀHI KHĀHI, KHA KHA, HŪṂ HŪṂ JHA, PHUṂ PHEṂ MAHĀṬṬAHĀSA, GHĀJHA GHĀJHA KṚṢṆABHĀṆAYA PHREṂ PHREṂ SVĀHĀ. By constantly offering an oblation (bali) in a vessel completely filled with a gruel mixed with meat and peas, as well as peas, blood, and dough, one will be shown what is auspicious and what is inauspicious within twenty-one days. If offered for one month, all goals will be accomplished. By offering for the duration of one year, whatever is conceived in the mind will be accomplished.
OṂ KĀRĀLA VIKĀRĀLA, HULU HULU, KILI KILI, MAHĀKĀLA, HALA, KṢIṂ ŚRIṂ CAṆḌA CAṆḌA MAṂ HAṂ HŪṂ, MAHĀNANDREŚVARĀYA SVĀHĀ. By reciting this mantra seven times over water and using it to wash the face, all people will become harmonious, and all enemies will be bewildered. OṂ MAHĀKĀLA HRĪṂ HRĪṂ HRĪṂ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ. This is the mantra that accomplishes everything. Nothing that has not occurred will occur.
Next, the ritual for painting the cloth image (paṭa) shall be explained. One should take the menstrual blood of a woman of the five families and mix it with great clarified butter (mahā-sarpis). Having placed it in the site of a cremation ground, on the afternoon of the eighth day of the dark fortnight, an artist who has received empowerment and is drinking liquor should have bloodshot eyes. Having arranged offerings of whatever samaya substances are available, one should mix them with charcoal from a cremation and paint Mahākāla as previously described. It should be painted on the fourteenth day of the dark fortnight. The pigment should also be mixed with silver, and on the second watch of the night, it should be applied to the eyes.
The consecration is also performed in that very same way. Having made offerings to the guru according to one's means, one should respectfully teach the sādhana. Having displayed the painted scroll (paṭa) and being provided with the requisites such as the torma and so forth, one should first perform three hundred thousand recitations of the preliminary service. Then, by reciting one hundred thousand, accomplishment will be attained. One will perform all activities and become a Buddha who acts for the benefit of all sentient beings. This concludes the Sādhana of Mahākāla. It was composed by the glorious Sahajapāda, who attained the supreme siddhi of Mahāmudrā. It was translated at the neck of the great mountain of Pūtra by the Indian abbot Śrī Narendrabhadra and the Tibetan translator Orgyenpa Rinchen Pal.
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.