Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text, titled Ro bsreg pa’i cho ga (The Ritual for Cremating the Corpse), provides a technical manual for the cremation process within a Vajrayana Buddhist framework. The text outlines a synthesis of physical preparations and meditative visualizations, requiring the practitioner to construct wooden stakes and draw thirty-two deities. It commits the reader to a precise sequence of liturgical actions, including the generation of deities from the heart and the recitation of specific Sanskrit mantras to consecrate offerings such as incense, lamps, and divine food. The ritual integrates the physical act of cremation with the internal realization of emptiness and luminosity, as evidenced by the invocation of Vajrasattva and the conceptualization of the deity as an illusion. By aligning external offerings with internal wisdom, the text aims to transform the funerary process into a spiritual practice centered on the non-dual nature of existence.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the cremation of the corpse, the Ro bsreg pa’i cho ga belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Āryadeva. It was translated into Tibetan by Śraddhākaravarman and the monk Rin chen bzang po, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ངི, as part of the Guhyasamāja and Related Tantras collection. Spanning four pages in this edition, the text enacts a complex funerary process that synthesizes physical preparations with meditative visualization. It directs the practitioner to construct wooden stakes, draw thirty-two deities, and generate samaya deities from the heart. The ritual further requires the recitation of specific mantras to consecrate offerings of incense, lamps, divine food, and ghee, all while invoking the luminous and empty nature of the non-dual Lord of Hatred-Vajra and Vajrasattva. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the technical intersection of liturgical action and internal realization, specifically how the physical act of cremation is transformed through the invitation of the wisdom maṇḍala and the purification of the sins of deceased sentient beings.
Sanskrit title
not recorded
Indian author
Āryadeva
Tibetan translators
bod kyi lo tsa ba dge slong rin chen bzang po, Śraddhākaravarman
The work is significant as it demonstrates the application of complex tantric visualization and mantra practice to the practical necessity of corpse disposal. Its attribution to the translator Rinchen Zangpo suggests it belongs to a foundational period of translation from Indian to Tibetan sources, illustrating how Indo-Tibetan traditions ritualized death to facilitate liberation.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Invocation
Provides the Indian and Tibetan titles and an invocation to Vajrasattva and the Lord of Hatred-Vajra.
2
Physical and Visual Preparations
Instructions on ritual striking, the drawing of thirty-two deities, and the construction of wooden stakes.
3
Liturgical Offerings
A series of mantras for the consecration of mouth-rinsing water, flowers, incense, scented water, lamps, and food.
4
Meditative Integration
Guidance on visualizing Vajrasattva in the heart and the sequence for satisfying deities through offerings.
5
Colophon
Attribution of the translation and editing to the monk Rinchen Zangpo.
Themes
Ritual Consecration (3)
Deity Generation and Visualization (2, 4)
Non-duality and Emptiness (1, 4)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Mahāhomavidhiḥ. In the language of Tibet: Ro bsreg pa’i cho ga (The Ritual for Cremating the Corpse). Homage to the glorious Vajrasattva!
To the one who is all-empty and luminous, the non-dual Lord of Hatred-Vajra, who has become the vessel for the ocean of existence—to him I prostrate with deep devotion. In order to purify the sins of deceased sentient beings born of karma and to liberate them from the cage of cyclic existence, I shall compose this cremation ritual of the glorious Guhyasamāja.
In a location such as a great hermitage adorned with flowers, fruits, and the like, or in a secluded mountain region, the master skilled in the rites and the ritual assistants (karmavajra) are instructed to perform the cremation there. First, regarding the sequence of the ritual, since the Guru himself has extensively explained it in twenty procedures, I have not written those stages here.
Having performed the stages in that manner, at the time of the preparatory rites (sādhana), in order to purify and grant blessings, one should wash the corpse with scents and nectar and properly apply the blessed protection cord. One should also arrange the seed-syllables of the Sugatas. Then, for the laying of the maṇḍala lines, one should lay them according to the method of the twenty procedures and then prepare the hearth.
The dimensions of the hearth are the same as the palace; the dimensions of the palace are the same as the maṇḍala. I shall make it to whatever extent I desire. The height should be understood to be the same as the extent of the vajra-fence. One should dig it one cubit and four finger-widths deep. Having smeared it with cow dung and performed the cleaning in that way, one should then take hold of the initial lines.
In that same manner, one should perform the ritual striking. Then, the thirty-two deities should be drawn according to the proper method. One should also construct the wooden stakes. Then, either together with the consort or having emanated them from the heart, one should generate them in sequence and bring forth the samaya deities. Having invited the wisdom maṇḍala, and having performed the entry, binding, and the generation of joy, one should present offerings, offer praise, and perform the requests and so forth. Once completed, the corpse is led forth. Adorned with various parasols, victory banners, and streamers, it is ushered through the eastern gate and circumambulated three times. Then, the empowerments should be conferred in sequence. Once the empowerments are finished, it is placed in its proper position. Facing north, I [the master] shall perform the ritual according to the manner of the twenty procedures.
Arrange the offering substances and so forth in the proper manner. Perform the sprinkling and purification with Amṛtakuṇḍalī. Kindle the fire with a fan. OṂ JVALA JVALA HŪṂ PHAṬ. Invite the principal deity and generate the fire god (Agni). The fire god, arising from the syllable RAṂ, is white in color with blazing rays of light. He has three eyes and a topknot of matted hair, and his four hands hold the yajñopavīta (sacred thread). With his right hands, he holds a hammer and performs the gesture of supreme generosity (varada).
Holding a guṇḍī [bell] and a rosary in the left hand, and having performed the ritual in that manner, one should invite the wisdom fire deity (jñānāgni).
OṂ ṬAKKI TI NI PĀPAKA AGNAYE ṬAKKINI HŪṂ JAḤ.
One should perform the entry, binding, and the generation of delight. To that [deity], one should offer water for the face, the water for the offering, and the five or seven substances for the burnt offering (homa).
OṂ JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ KHAṂ RAṂ. This is the mantra for the water for the offering.
OṂ NIRITI HŪṂ KHAṂ. This is the mantra for the water for the face.
This is for the mouth-rinsing: OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA PUṢPE SVĀHĀ. This is for the flowers. OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA DHŪPE SVĀHĀ. This is for the incense. OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA GANDHE SVĀHĀ. This is for the scented water. OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA DĪPE SVĀHĀ. This is for the lamp. OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA NAIVIDYE SVĀHĀ. This is for the divine food. OṂ AGNAYE SVĀHĀ. This is for the ghee. OṂ SARVA PĀPAṂ DAHANA VAJRĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the sesame. OṂ VAJRA VIJAYĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the dūrvā grass. OṂ VAJRA MAHĀVEGĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the curd. OṂ VAJRA MAHĀBALĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the rice. OṂ VAJRA GHAṢMARI SVĀHĀ. This is for the kuśa grass. OṂ VAJRA ĀJÑĀPAYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the udumbara. OṂ BODHIBHR̥KṢĀYE SVĀHĀ. This is for the aśvattha. OṂ VAJRA LATĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the palāśa. OṂ VAJRA KUBERĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the nyagrodha. OṂ VAJRA HASAKARĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is for the mango.
King of the fire gods, chief of activities,
You who act with impartiality toward all tasks,
Lord of all things, to you, the perfectly balanced one, I pay homage.
Having offered praise, make this supplication to the fire god:
Fire god, chief of vajra activities,
For the sake of purifying the deceased sentient being
And for the sake of satisfying the deities,
Please perform your enlightened activity right here.
This is called the twofold enlightened activity.
From the heart of the King of Fire Gods,
The blazing fire of primordial wisdom is emitted,
To burn away the discordant factors,
Conceptual thoughts, and habitual tendencies of the deceased sentient being,
And to satisfy the deities.
Having burned away the entities of conceptualization,
Blessed as Vajrasattva, who is like an illusion or the moon in water, Vajrasattva—the deity—resides in the heart in the manner of wisdom. Regarding the stages for satisfying [the deities], the yogi should offer the water for the mouth to oneself and offer the burnt offerings in their proper sequence according to the measure of accomplishment. At the beginning of the mantra, append one's own mantra. The aggregates, which have become ashes, should be visualized at the end of the excrement and urine. Then, perform the praise and the dissolution; the dissolution is performed with the three syllables. "By my performing this cremation ritual for the sake of the deceased, through whatever virtue is obtained from this, may all attain non-duality. May this deceased sentient being, having received empowerment and generated the bodhicitta, and having satisfied the deities and burned the entities of conceptualization, reach the culmination of the generation stage and attain vajra recitation. Having attained vajra recitation, may the yogi attain focus upon the mind. Having attained focus upon the mind, may they attain the stage of self-consecration. Having attained the stage of self-consecration, may they attain the clear light. Having attained the clear light, from the dharmakāya which is like space, may the saṃbhogakāya of union emerge like a cloud. From that, may the nirmāṇakāya, like rain, manifest within the ocean of existence and liberate all sentient beings." The cremation ritual of Guhyasamāja composed by Āryadeva is complete. The Indian abbot Śraddhākaravarman and...
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.