Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a sādhanā, a liturgical manual for the ritual accomplishment of the deity Secret Jambhala. The work provides a structured sequence for the practitioner, beginning with physical and ritual purification and the assumption of a specific posture. It details the complex iconography of the deity, including the crown of Ratnasambhava and a mandala of subordinate figures such as Manibhadra and Vaishravana positioned on flower petals. The text commits the reader to a disciplined practice of recitation and visualization, specifying precise timing—such as dawn when crows are silent—and environmental conditions, such as being in the midst of water. The ultimate goal of the practice is the attainment of material wealth and sovereignty over the three worlds, linking the ritual performance of the sādhanā to tangible worldly results and the invocation of other wealth deities like Vasudhārā.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhanā for the ritual accomplishment of the deity Secret Jambhala, the Guhyajambhalasādhana belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Buddhaśrījñānapāda. It was translated into Tibetan by Jayasena and btsun pa d+harma yon tan and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume དི, where it is situated within the collection of the Guhyasamāja and Related Tantras. Spanning two pages in this edition, the work enacts a precise liturgical sequence. It directs the practitioner to perform physical purifications and generate bodhicitta while visualizing a complex mandala featuring the crown of Ratnasambhava and subordinate figures such as Manibhadra and Vaishravana. The ritual prescribes specific conditions for recitation, such as performing the practice at dawn in the midst of water, to ensure that wealth is never exhausted and to attain sovereignty over the three worlds. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the intersection of ritual visualization and the pursuit of material prosperity, as well as the invocation of wealth deities like Vasudhārā through the use of gold leaves and disciplined recitation.
The work is significant as an example of the wealth-attainment rituals prevalent in the Indo-Tibetan tradition, where Buddhist praxis intersects with the pursuit of prosperity. It demonstrates the integration of complex mandala visualization with specific temporal and environmental requirements to ensure ritual efficacy.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Preliminary Rites
Instructions on purification and the initial posture of the practitioner.
2
Iconographic Description
Detailed visualization of Secret Jambhala's attire and the arrangement of associated deities on utpala petals.
3
Ritual Application and Benefits
Instructions on the timing and conditions of recitation and the resulting promises of wealth and sovereignty.
Themes
Ritual Purification (1)
Deity Visualization (2)
Material Prosperity (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Guhyajambhalasādhana. In the language of Tibet: gSang ba'i dzam bha la'i sgrub thabs (The Secret Sādhana of Jambhala). Homage to the noble Jambhala!
In this regard, first of all, the practitioner, having performed the purification of the face and so forth, should sit upon a comfortable seat in a secluded place. Generating the bodhicitta, one should think: "I shall please the venerable Jambhala and establish all sentient beings in supreme bliss." Visualizing a yellow syllable jaṃ upon a moon maṇḍala at one's heart, one should contemplate the guru, the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and the venerable Jambhala in the space before oneself. Having made perfect offerings and prostrations, one should perform the confession of misdeeds and so forth:
"Out of fear, I confess all misdeeds;
Out of joy, I rejoice in the virtue of beings;
I take refuge in the Three Jewels;
I shall firmly grasp the mind of perfect enlightenment."
Following that, one should meditate on love, compassion, joy, and equanimity. With the mantra oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako 'haṃ, one should meditate on everything as emptiness.
Thereafter, through the power of aspiration, from the seed syllables naṃ, khaṃ, baṃ, and laṃ, an eight-petaled multicolored lotus arises. Upon it, on a moon disc, from a yellow jaṃ, one should meditate on the Blessed One Jambhala. He wears all the ornaments, is golden in color, and has a protruding belly. With his left and right hands, he holds a mongoose and a seed-filled vessel.
He wears a crown of Ratnasambhava and holds a garland of utpala flowers. On the petals in the east and so forth are Manibhadra, Purnabhadra, Dhanada, and Vaishravana. On the petals in the southeast and so forth are Karkotaka, Vikata, Lila-mala, and Gramesvara, and likewise Carisvara, according to the order of explanation. There, one should visualize Vasudhara, Candravati, Datta, Sudatta, Arya, Subhadra, Gupta, Devi, and Sarasvati—these yakshinis. Vasudhara is together with Jambhala. All the yakshinis are like Vasudhara; all the yakshas are like Jambhala. Having visualized in this way, one should recite the mantras. For the yakshas, they are: OM JAMBHALA JALENDRA YA DHANAM ME DEHI DEHI SVAHA; OM MANIBHADRAYA SVAHA; OM PURNABHADRAYA SVAHA; OM DHANADAYA SVAHA; OM VAISHRAVANAYA SVAHA; OM PICIKUNDILINE SVAHA; OM KILIMALINE SVAHA; OM MUKHENDRAYA SVAHA; OM CARENDRAYA SVAHA. Then, the mantras of the yakshinis are: OM VASUDHARINYAI SVAHA; OM CANDRAKANTYAI SVAHA; OM DATTAYAI SVAHA; OM SUDATTYAI SVAHA; OM ARYAYAI SVAHA; OM SUBHADRAYAI SVAHA; OM GUPTAYAI SVAHA; OM DEVYAI SVAHA; OM SARASVATYAI SVAHA.
By reciting this in three sessions, one will grant eight handfuls of water, which bestows the sovereignty of the three worlds. If one recites it at dawn while the crows are silent, in the midst of water, wealth will never be exhausted but will increase. Then, having drawn Vasudhārā together with a yakṣiṇī on a leaf of gold or the like, and on a second leaf the Blessed One Jambhala surrounded by yakṣas, and having mixed these with butter, honey, and sugar, and having performed the consecration well and pleased them, the eight great accomplishments will be granted. One should constantly offer a torma consisting of rice mixed with curd and molasses, along with meat and wine, while reciting the mantra.
This concludes the Secret Jambhala Sādhana composed by the master Buddhajñānapāda. It was translated by the great scholar Jayasena and the venerable Dharmaghoṣa.
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.