Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This short liturgical text, attributed to the Brahmin Vararuci, functions as a praise and petition addressed to the deity Mahākāla. The work is structured as a direct invocation, beginning with a formal homage and a description of the deity's dual nature: he is presented as a rākṣasa capable of subduing malevolent forces, yet fundamentally a bodhisattva dedicated to destroying suffering. The text transitions from descriptive praise to a series of specific requests for protection and prosperity. Specifically, it asks Mahākāla to safeguard the Buddhist teachings, protect practitioners (yogis) from obstacles, and ensure the flourishing of the Dharma. By framing the deity as a constant companion, the text commits the reader to a relationship of spiritual dependence and protection, positioning Mahākāla as the active guardian of the Buddhist tradition and its adherents.
Provenance
About this text
A eulogy in praise of the deity Mahākāla, the Śrīmahākālastotra is a work of the Indo-Tibetan tradition. It is attributed to the Indian author and Brahmin master Vararuci. The work is preserved in the classical Tibetan period within the Tengyur, specifically in volume ཤ, where it spans two pages. It is categorized within the Other Wisdom Tantras collection under the Tibetan title dpal nag po chen po la bstod pa. The text enacts a ritual petition, beginning with homage and a description of the deity as a rākṣasa and bodhisattva who subdues malevolent forces and destroys the triple-layered city. It functions as a request for the protection of the Sage's teachings and the safeguarding of yogis from obstacles, seeking to ensure that prosperity and the Dharma flourish. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific iconographic descriptions of the deity—characterized as dark in color, short in stature, and majestic—and to understand the liturgical framework used to position Mahākāla as a constant companion and active guardian of the Buddhist tradition.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Praise of the Glorious Mahākāla” (Toh 1774), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1774
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its depiction of Mahākāla as a bodhisattva, illustrating the integration of fierce protector deities into the Buddhist framework. It reflects the tradition of attributing Tibetan liturgical texts to Indian masters to establish lineage authority.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Invocation and Description
Homage to Mahākāla and a description of his role as a bodhisattva in the form of a rākṣasa.
2
Petition and Colophon
Requests for the protection of the Dharma and practitioners, followed by an attribution to Vararuci.
Themes
Protective Function (1-2)
Bodhisattva Nature of Fierce Deities (1)
Preservation of the Dharma (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrī Mahākālastotra. In the language of Tibet: dPal nag po chen po la bstod pa (Praise to the Glorious Great Black One). Homage to the Glorious Great Black One!
Hūṃ! In the form of a rākṣasa, you subdue the malevolent; you are a bodhisattva who destroys the triple-layered city. To you, the fierce one, I offer praise.
Dark in color, short in stature, and majestic, you subdue the wicked with a curved knife in your right hand. In your left, you hold a vessel filled with the blood of the malevolent. To you, the one adorned with a garland of skulls, I offer praise.
With your wrathful stamping, the earth shakes; with your terrifying laughter, Mount Meru is toppled. You rip out the hearts of those who have violated their samaya. To you, the one who possesses the samaya, I offer praise.
Hūṃ! With one face and two hands, you hold a curved knife and a skull-cup. Your dark-brown matted hair swirls upward; your three eyes are like the color of fire. Your fangs are like the crescent moon; you wear a necklace of skulls. With a large, protruding belly, you have the form of a wrathful dwarf.
You are the one who pledged to protect the teachings of the past, future, and present. You are that Black One, the terrifying form who subdues the wicked. Your dark-brown hair bristles upward, striking fear into the hosts of gods above. With eyes wide, fangs bared, and tongue curled, you threaten the hosts of demons in the intermediate space.
In your right hand, you hold a curved knife to subdue enemies and obstructors and to sever the heads of māras. In your left, you hold a skull-cup filled with the blood of those with harmful intent, which you consume. With your two wrathful feet stamping, you trample the bodies of those with harmful intent.
Protect the teachings of the Sage; protect the yogis from obstacles. Cause the Dharma and prosperity to flourish; accompany us like a shadow follows the body. This praise to the glorious Mahākāla, composed by the master Brahmin Vararuci, is complete.
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.