Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text, titled in Sanskrit as Homavidhi-śakṛṣṇayamāri-nāma and in Tibetan as the Ritual for the Cremation of the Corpse of Yamāntaka, provides a liturgical framework for a cremation ceremony centered on the deity Black Yamāri. The text transitions from formal homage to a theoretical discussion on the nature of the mind, specifically the distinctions between conceptual, non-conceptual, and utterly non-conceptual states. It commits the practitioner to a process of mental cultivation and the use of auspicious prayers to prepare for the ritual action. The procedure requires the assembly of mudrās and the generation of the practitioner as either the primary deity or Vajrasattva. The text concludes with specific Sanskrit consecration mantras intended to identify the practitioner's body and speech with the vajra-nature of all Tathāgatas, thereby transforming the physical presence of the ritualist into a divine vessel for the cremation rite.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual for the cremation of the corpse of Yamāntaka, the Kṛṣṇayamāriśmahomavidhināma is a work of the classical Tibetan period. The Indian author is Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍita. It was translated into Tibetan by Prajñājñānakīrti and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume མི, where it comprises three pages. Within the canonical structure, it is situated among the Other Skillful Means Tantras. The work enacts a liturgical framework for cremation, beginning with homage to Yamāntaka and a theoretical exploration of the conceptual, non-conceptual, and utterly non-conceptual distinctions of the mind. It directs the practitioner through the cultivation of desire and the offering of auspicious prayers arising from the gaṇacakra for the benefit of the deceased. The ritual procedure requires the assembly of mudrās and the generation of the practitioner as Vajrasattva or the deity, followed by the recitation of consecration mantras to align the practitioner's body, speech, and mind with the vajra-nature of all Tathāgatas. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific intersection of cremation rites, mental cultivation, and the deity-yoga practices associated with the Black Yamāri tradition.
The work is significant as it demonstrates the integration of high-level Buddhist epistemology regarding the mind's conceptual states with the practical, somatic requirements of a cremation ritual. It illustrates the Tantric method of deity yoga, where the practitioner must undergo a conceptual and ontological shift before performing a ritual act.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Homage
Provides the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and offers homage to Yamāntaka.
2
Mental Cultivation
Discusses the distinctions of the mind and the necessity of auspicious prayers.
3
Ritual Procedure and Consecration
Details the assembly of mudrās, the generation of the deity, and the recitation of consecration mantras.
Themes
Epistemology of the Mind (2)
Deity Yoga and Self-Generation (3)
Ritual Consecration (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Homavidhi-śakṛṣṇayamāri-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Gshin rje gshed kyi ro sreg gi cho ga zhes bya ba (The Ritual for the Cremation of the Corpse of Yamāntaka). Homage to the glorious Yamāntaka!
I bow to the unsurpassed essence, the vajra of body, speech, and mind, the vajra endowed with profundity; I shall now explain the ritual for cremation.
Sentient beings possess the essence of the Buddha; the ritual of cremation is the specific method for perfectly applying them to buddhahood itself. This should be understood to be of two types: cremation for the sake of accomplishment and cremation in the charnel ground.
Cremation for the sake of accomplishment is of four types: first, the wheel of enjoyment; second, the detailed classification; third, the near-accomplishment itself; and fourth, the ritual of the stūpa.
First, having bathed the corpse and completed the ritual of protection, one should offer the outer torma. Then, beginning with the accumulation of merit, once the clear realization is complete, one should place the corpse upon an excellent throne and adorn it well with ornaments. Having administered camphor and other substances into the mouth, one should consecrate it as nectar. Having attached a dhāraṇī cord to the heart, one should perform approximately ten thousand recitations of the root mantra interspersed with the three "Tattvas."
Then, having performed the specific activities, one should wrap the skull, the brain, the five sense organs, the four [organs] such as the heart, the four tendons, the fat, the five nectars, the locations, the eight limbs, and the nine orifices of the "eight-footed" [corpse] with the threads of expansion. Having rolled these into the inner bark, one should set them aside. Then, as for the feast offering:
Conceptual, non-conceptual, and utterly non-conceptual—these and so forth are the distinctions of the individual’s mind. These are also applied through thorough cultivation, the expansion of other desires, and the play of non-conceptual moisture. Then, having offered auspicious prayers arising from the gaṇacakra, one should perform the dedication thoroughly for the sake of the deceased. That is the wheel of enjoyment. From that very maṇḍala of aspiration and the reality of the deity, one should make vast prayers for the sake of the deceased. One should know there are three purifications: first, grind the ashes and sift them; then, mix them with fragrance. To the hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ, append the mantra that purifies all lower realms and recite it one thousand or ten thousand times. Then, having smeared a level maṇḍala surface with the five products of a cow, mark a drop of fragrance upon the ground scented with sweet perfumes. Then, taking soil that is free of insects, supple, soft, and white, moisten it with fragrant water. Mix that with the ashes and form a well-prepared lump of clay. Then, with light radiating from the seed syllable at the heart, summon the deceased from their lower abode and purify their body, speech, and mind. Then, by uttering hūṃ hūṃ, they melt into a drop of fluid; clearly visualize a short white a. From that, light rays radiate and gather the vowels and consonants. From that, it becomes a vajra marked with hūṃ, from which light radiates...
One should gather the assemblies of mudrās. Then, having generated oneself as one’s own deity or as Vajrasattva, one should gather the bodies. Furthermore, for the consecration: OṂ SARVA-TATHĀGATA-KĀYA-VAJRA-SVABHĀVA-ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ. OṂ SARVA-TATHĀGATA-VĀK-VAJRA-SVABHĀVA-ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ. OṂ SARVA-TATHĀGATA-CITTA-VAJRA-SVABHĀVA-ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ. Then, having recited the consecration mantra twenty-one times and dissolved the root maṇḍala, one should visualize it as a mass of light. Then, reciting and casting the mantra of dependent origination, one should meditate on the wheel. Upon the center of the previous maṇḍala, adorned with drops of fragrance, one should arrange heaps of flowers and invite the deities to remain. Then, it is adorned with wheels, victory banners, parasols, and streamers. Then, white robes are offered, and having made the arrangement extremely beautiful, one performs the summoning, entering, offering, and praising of the sense bases, body, speech, mind, and empowerments. Having tasted the nectar and performed the radiation and reabsorption of the recitation, one completes the practice and makes the dedication and aspiration prayers. Then, having requested them to remain within the excellent celestial mansion, one should offer worship constantly. This is the ritual for the sa-ccha of the bones from the cremation of the corpse. The ritual for the cremation of the corpse of Yamāntaka, composed by the master Kṛṣṇapāda, 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.