Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text outlines the preliminary procedures for an offering ceremony dedicated to the deity Mañjuvajra. The work functions as a technical manual for the practitioner, initiating with a formal homage to Mañjughoṣa and the physical preparation of the ritual space. The text directs the practitioner to use a specific mantra to consecrate a square maṇḍala with saffron, followed by the placement of specific mantras at the cardinal and ordinal points of the compass. These mantras associate the directions with the four elements or sensory qualities—form, sound, smell, and taste—integrated with the vajra-flower motif. By following these precise spatial and phonetic instructions, the reader commits to a structured ritual environment designed to invite the deity. The fragment concludes abruptly with a line of Sanskrit verse regarding the cessation of phenomena, suggesting a transition from external ritual preparation to a philosophical or meditative realization.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the offering ceremony of Mañjuvajra, the Mañjuvajrapūjāvidhi belongs to the tradition of the Guhyasamāja and Related Tantras. The work is attributed to the Indian author Śrīdatta. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the translation of Vibhūticandra, appearing under the title 'jam pa'i rdo rje mchod pa'i cho ga. This classical Tibetan version is preserved in the Tengyur, volume པི, where it extends over two pages. The work enacts the technical preparation of a ritual space, beginning with homage to Mañjughoṣa and the consecration of a square maṇḍala using saffron and the five nectars. It provides precise phonetic and spatial instructions for placing mantras at the cardinal and ordinal points, associating the directions with sensory qualities such as form, sound, smell, and taste alongside the vajra-flower motif. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific procedural requirements for inviting the deity and to analyze the integration of Sanskrit mantras within the structured environment of the maṇḍala.
The text is significant as an example of the synthesis between Indian Sanskrit ritual models and Tibetan translation practices. It illustrates the importance of sacred geometry and the use of seed syllables in Vajrayana ritualism to transform a physical space into a divine palace.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Preliminary Ritual Preparations
Includes the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, homage, and instructions for the saffron consecration of the maṇḍala and the placement of directional mantras.
3
Concluding Verse
A single line of Sanskrit verse referring to the cessation of phenomena.
Themes
Ritual Space Consecration (1-2)
Mantra and Sensory Qualities (2)
Cessation (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Mañjuvajrapūjāvidhiḥ. In the language of Tibet: ’Jam pa’i rdo rje mchod pa’i cho ga (The Ritual of Offering to Mañjuvajra). Homage to the Blessed One, Mañjughoṣa.
With the mantra oṃ vajrasattva sarvavighnān usāraya hūṃ phaṭ, smear the maṇḍala in a square shape with saffron and the five nectars. Visualize that in an instant, the four elements and Mount Meru are present. With oṃ vajrarekhe hūṃ, make a circular maṇḍala in the center. Offer flowers with oṃ surekhe sarvatathāgatādhiṣṭhantu maṇḍalakāṃ svāhā, wash the hands, and in an instant, either from the seed syllable at one’s own heart or from Akaniṣṭha, invite the wisdom maṇḍala and visualize it seated upon the maṇḍala. Make offerings with the mantras for the water for the feet and so forth: oṃ pravārasatkāra arghaṃ pādyaṃ añcamanaṃ pratīccha svāhā.
In the center, offer to the Father and Mother three times with: oṃ āḥ vajradhṛk dveṣavajrāya vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā and oṃ āḥ mañjuvajraye puṣpe hūṃ svāhā. In the east: oṃ a jinajik mohavajrāya vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā. In the south: oṃ āḥ ratnadhṛk piśunavajrāya vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā. In the west: oṃ āḥ ārolik rāgavajrāya vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā. In the north: oṃ āḥ prajñādhṛk īrṣyāvajrāya vajrapuṣpe hūṃ. In the southeast: oṃ āḥ moharati vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā. In the southwest: oṃ āḥ dveṣarati vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā. In the northwest: oṃ āḥ rāgarati vajrapuṣpe hūṃ svāhā.
In the northeast: OṂ ĀḤ VAJRA RATI VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. Then, in the outer southeast: OṂ ĀḤ RŪPA VAJRAYE JAḤ VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. In the southwest: OṂ ĀḤ ŚABDA VAJRAYE HŪṂ VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. In the northwest: OṂ ĀḤ GANDHE VAJRAYE VAṂ VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. In the northeast: OṂ ĀḤ RASA VAJRAYE HOḤ VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. To the left of the eastern gate: OṂ ĀḤ SPARŚA VAJRAYE KHAṂ VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. To the right: OṂ ĀḤ DHARMADHĀTU VAJRAYE RAṂ VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. At the eastern gate: OṂ ĀḤ YAMĀNTAKṚT VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. At the southern gate: OṂ ĀḤ PRAJÑĀNTAKṚT VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. In the west: OṂ ĀḤ PADMĀNTAKṚT VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. In the north: OṂ ĀḤ VIGHNĀNTAKṚT VAJRA PUṢPE HŪṂ SVĀHĀ. Having made offerings in this sequence, present incense and so forth with their respective mantras and praise them. Ring the bell, recite the hundred-syllable mantra, make supplications for the desired aims, offer prayers of aspiration, and perform the recitation. Then, with OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ MU, request them to depart. Through the light rays of the seed syllable at the heart, the wisdom beings should be dissolved into the maṇḍala just as they were invited. This concludes the ritual of offering to Mañjuvajra composed by the master Śrīdatta. It was edited by the Śākya monk Blo gros seng ge and translated into Tibetan by the great paṇḍita Vibhūticandra himself. Ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetun teṣāṃ tathāgato hyavadat.
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.