Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text provides a comprehensive ritual manual for the practice of Vajrabhairava, integrating a sādhanā for spiritual attainment with specific rituals for worldly activities. The work guides the practitioner through a sequence of meditative visualizations, beginning with the realization of emptiness and the construction of a complex maṇḍala featuring the deity and his directional protectors. It details the iconographic attributes of Vajrabhairava, including his buffalo face and the animals he tramples, and prescribes the use of specific mantras for offerings and empowerment. Beyond internal cultivation, the text commits the reader to a series of external ritual actions, some of which are highly transgressive or aggressive, such as the use of human blood, bone powder, and charnel ground materials to cause conflict or death. The work concludes by mapping the five Dhyāni Buddhas onto the practitioner's body and emphasizing the necessity of one-pointed concentration to achieve the desired siddhis, thereby bridging the gap between voidness and the manifestation of power.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhana focused on the deity Vajrabhairava, the Śrīvajrabhairavasādhanakarmopacāravidhisattvasaṃgraha belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Amoghavajra (II). It was translated into Tibetan by Amoghavajra (II) and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume མི, where it comprises 14 pages. Within the Tibetan canon, it is situated among the Other Skillful Means Tantras. The work enacts a ritual process for the benefit of the worlds, guiding the practitioner through the realization of emptiness and the visualization of the maṇḍala of Vajrabhairava. It prescribes the use of specific mantras and the visualization of light rays and syllables, such as HŪṂ and MŪṂ, to facilitate offerings and meditative absorption. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the integration of meditative visualization and ritual action, specifically how the practitioner transitions from the meditation on the emptiness of all phenomena to the construction of the deity's environment and the recitation of mantras to establish the nature of the self.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Glorious Vajrabhairava with A Ritual for Engaging in Activities called “The Collection of Beings”” (Toh 1982), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh1982
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its illustration of the intersection between high tantric philosophy, such as the meditation on emptiness, and the 'activity' (karmas) of the wrathful tradition. It provides a primary example of how Vajrabhairava practice incorporates both soteriological goals and the manipulation of worldly circumstances through ritual technology.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-4
Preliminary and Meditative Foundation
Includes homage, the visualization of the maṇḍala, and the essential meditation on emptiness and the nature of phenomena.
5-9
Deity Visualization and Iconography
Describes the directional protectors, the specific physical attributes of Vajrabhairava, and the layout of the charnel grounds surrounding the maṇḍala.
10-11
Empowerment and Mantra Practice
Details the process of receiving empowerment from the Tathāgatas and provides essence mantras for accomplishing activities.
12-17
Rituals for Worldly Activities
Prescribes specific rituals for killing, causing conflict, and attaining prosperity, involving the use of tormas, effigies, and charnel ground materials.
18-19
Internal Yoga and Final Attainment
Instructions on mapping the five Buddhas onto the body and maintaining the visualization of the wisdom-being to achieve siddhi.
Themes
Emptiness and Visualization (3, 19)
Wrathful Iconography (7, 8)
Ritual Magic and Aggressive Activities (12, 14, 15, 16)
Mantra and Empowerment (6, 10, 11)
Somatic Mapping of Buddhas (18)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Sādhana of the Glorious Vajrabhairava with A Ritual for Engaging in Activities called “The Collection of Beings”·
In the language of India: Śrīvajrabhairavasādhanakarmopacārasattvasaṃgraha. In the language of Tibet: dPal rdo rje ’jigs byed sgrub pa’i thabs dang las bya ba’i cho ga sems dpa’ bsdus pa. Homage to the Blessed One, Mañjuśrī Yamāntaka.
To the Lord of Victors, Mañjughoṣa,
To the Protector, the Glorious One, I prostrate.
For the benefit of the worlds,
I shall explain his sādhana.
Possessing a body devoid of intrinsic nature,
A great source of illusory forms,
He is renowned as the foremost son
Of the emanations of the Buddhas.
The Blessed Protector, the Knower of Reality,
The glorious pervasive lord, the master of karma,
Like a great wish-fulfilling jewel,
Manifests in whatever form is desired.
First, the yogi should seek
A place that delights his own mind:
Mountains, forests, and caves,
Riversides, and crossroads,
The great ocean, delightful places,
Solitary trees, and charnel grounds.
Although these specific locations have been taught,
In whatever place one finds joy,
By applying this practice there,
The fruits of one’s desires will be bestowed.
There, having sat upon a comfortable and spacious seat,
One should contemplate this application:
In the center of a lotus in the space of the heart,
Visualize a sun maṇḍala.
In its center is that supreme reality,
The virtuous nature of the five wisdoms,
The essence of blazing multicolored light rays,
Which should be radiated everywhere.
Abiding in the state of mind-only,
One should take the vows of bodhicitta.
Then, one should visualize that light rays radiate from the syllable HŪṂ mentioned previously, filling the entire expanse of space with the maṇḍala of the deity Vajrabhairava. These Blessed Ones are mounted on various birds and adorned with all the ornaments of a youthful Buddha. To make offerings to them, one should visualize the syllable MŪṂ at one’s own heart. Then, light rays radiating like the six goddesses invite the Tathāgatas of the ten directions; by reciting JAḤ HŪṂ BAṂ HOḤ, one should proceed until they are fully pleased. Again, light rays of the goddesses radiate from one’s heart to perform prostrations. Then, one should perform the seven-limbed prayer: making offerings, confessing misdeeds, vowing not to commit them again, rejoicing in merit, dedicating merit, requesting the Tathāgatas not to pass into parinirvāṇa, and exhorting them to turn the wheel of Dharma. Then, recite the verse: “I prostrate to the Three Jewels.” Following the command of the Tathāgatas, one should meditate on the four immeasurable abodes (brahmavihāra). First, meditate on loving-kindness; second, meditate on compassion; third, meditate on joy; and finally, equanimity. The intention to benefit sentient beings is loving-kindness. The removal of harm from others is compassion. Rejoicing in the attainment of others’ welfare is joy. Maintaining equanimity toward the harm of others is equanimity.
Then the mantra practitioner should meditate on emptiness. All phenomena are emptiness, completely free from subject and object; one should meditate on oneself as having that very nature and recite this mantra: OṂ ŚŪNYATĀ-JÑĀNA-VAJRA-SVABHĀVA-ĀTMAKO ’HAṂ. OṂ SVABHĀVA-ŚUDDHAḤ SARVA-DHARMĀḤ SVABHĀVA-ŚUDDHO ’HAṂ. Then, from the emptiness of all phenomena, which is like space, one should visualize in the center of space a wind maṇḍala arising from the syllable YAṂ. It is bow-shaped, blue in color, marked with a banner, and swirling with smoke-colored rays of light. Above that, from the syllable RAṂ, is a triangular fire maṇḍala, red in color, swirling with garlands of blazing flames, adorned with vajra ornaments, and like the light of the midday sun. Above that, from the syllable VAṂ, is a circular water maṇḍala, white like snow, swirling with white rays of light, and adorned with the ornament of a vase. Above that, from the syllable LAṂ, is a square earth maṇḍala, yellow in color, marked with a vajra, and swirling with yellow rays of light. Above that, from the syllable SUṂ, is Mount Meru, composed of the seven precious substances, beautifully adorned with eight terraces, and swirling with rays of various colors. Above that, from the syllable BAṂ, is a multicolored lotus. Above that, from RAṂ, is a sun maṇḍala. Above that, from the complete transformation of the syllable HŪṂ, is a crossed vajra. From its rays of light arise a vajra fence, a vajra canopy, a vajra awning, and a lattice of arrows.
It is surrounded by a blazing outer fire. OṂ ME DINĪ VAJRĪ BHAVA VAJRA BANDHA HŪṂ. OṂ VAJRA PRĀKĀRA HŪṂ BAṂ HŪṂ. OṂ VAJRA PAÑJARA HŪṂ YAṂ HŪṂ. OṂ VAJRA VITĀNA HŪṂ KHAṂ HŪṂ. OṂ VAJRA SARA JĀLA TRAṂ SAṂ TRAṂ. OṂ VAJRA JVALA ANALĀRKA HŪṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ. Then, there is the eight-spoked wheel of the command of the glorious Yamāntaka, blazing with light. Above that, everywhere, are lotuses; above those, sun disks; and above those, the corpses of the world-protectors. Upon the center of the lotus maṇḍala are the vowels and consonants. From the vowels and consonants arise the moon and sun. In their center, from the syllables BAṂ and HŪṂ, one should draw a vajra hammer, its handle marked with BAṂ and HŪṂ. From the unification of these, the complete body of Yamāntaka arises: black in color, greatly wrathful, terrifying even to the terrifying, embracing Vajravetālī. He has six faces, six arms, and two legs. The consort, the Blessed Lady, is just like the Blessed One. In his right hands, the first holds a vajra hammer, the second a wheel, and the third a white club. In his left hands, the first holds a lotus, the second a jewel, and the third a sword. His first face is blue, the right red, and the left white. The second right face is green, and the second left face is yellow. The upper face is a gaping sky-face. He is mounted upon a buffalo, trampling its horns with his left leg extended in a striding posture, and the buffalo’s hoof tramples the corpses of the four Māras.
Then, from the union of the father and mother, the eight directional protectors, the Lords of Death (Yama), assume the forms of messengers: in the eastern direction is Yamāntaka; in the southern direction is Yama, the Dharma King; in the western direction is Telpa; in the northern direction is the Ox-Headed One; in the northeast is the Nine-Tufted One; in the northwest is Smrigpa; in the southwest is Phya-sangs; and in the southeast is Mig-dmar. One should meditate on these eight great Lords of Death with their respective colors and forms. Then, from the pores of one's own body, light rays radiate in the ten directions in the form of wrathful deities above and kīla-tipped spikes below. Having invited the Tathāgatas, they reside upon the crown of the head. In that manner, perform the radiation and reabsorption while reciting the mantra:
OṂ HRĪḤ ṢṬRĪḤ VIKṚTĀNANA HŪṂ HŪṂ SARVA ŚATRŪṂ NĀŚAYA STAMBHAYA PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
This is the heart mantra.
OṂ HRĪḤ KĀLARŪPA HŪṂ KHAṂ.
This is the near-heart mantra.
OṂ HRĪḤ KRUṂ BHRŪṂ TRŪṂ JRUṂ HŪṂ GAṂ.
This is the supreme heart mantra.
OṂ HRĪḤ HAVVA MAHĀKRODHA ĀGACCHA ĀGACCHA ASMAT PŪJA PRATIGṚHṆA PRASĀDHAME DHĪMANKURU SVĀHĀ.
This is for the invitation.
OṂ HRĪḤ ṢṬRĪḤ AḤ. This is for the argha offering.
OṂ HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ. This is for the sprinkling of purification.
OṂ VIKṚTĀNANA DUṢṬASATTVA DAMAKA KAḤ GAḤ GAḤ. This is for the incense.
OṂ KUMĀRARŪPIṆI JAḤ JAḤ HŪṂ HAḤ. This is for the flowers.
OṂ HRĪḤ HA HA HE PHAṬ PHAṬ. This is for the incense smoke.
OṂ KĀLARŪPA SARVASATTVA DAMAKA MAHĀBHŪTAPATI IDAṂ BALIṂ GṚHṆA GṚHṆĀPAYA SVĀHĀ.
This is the mantra for the torma offering: OṂ DĪPTALOCANA VIKṚTĀNANA MAHĀṬṬĀṬṬAHĀSANA DINI DĪPTĀYA SVĀHĀ. This is the mantra for the lamp offering: OṂ JAYA JAYA VIŚVARŪPADHARI GACCHA GACCHA SVABHĀVANAM KṚTATE TATHĀGATĀNĀM SARVABHŪTASVAPI SARJAYA MAMA KĀRYAṂ KURU SVĀHĀ. This is the mantra for requesting the deities to depart. This is the ritual for making offerings to the Wheel of the Command of Black Yamāntaka.
Next, one should meditate on the maṇḍala. From the complete transformation of that previous Lord of the Wheel of the Command, the celestial palace (vimāna) arises. It is square with four doors, adorned with four archways (tōraṇa). In brief, it is the embodiment of the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment, with the doors and corners adorned with vajras and jewels, lattices and half-lattices, and crescent moons. In its center is a maṇḍala of a lotus, sun, and moon; in the corners and at the doors, there are also maṇḍalas of a lotus, sun, and moon. In the center, upon a lotus seat, is a moon and sun disk arisen from the vowels and consonants, upon which is a vajra arisen from the syllable HŪṂ. From the complete transformation of these, there arises the Great Vajrabhairava, black in color, extremely fierce, who strikes terror even into those who are terrifying. He treads upon the earth with his strides, makes the threatening gesture (tarjanī) at the gods and asuras, has nine faces, sixteen legs, and thirty-four arms. He has the head of a buffalo, his fangs are bared like the blazing fire at the end of an aeon, and he licks his tongue. He is greatly agitated.
He is the one who causes the gods and asuras to offer prayers. His tawny hair is bristling upward; he is the Great Fierce One, standing in the posture with the left leg extended. His phallus is erect and his belly is large. His first face is that of a buffalo, terrifying and licking its tongue. On the right horn, the first face is blue, the second is red, and the third is yellow, slightly wrathful. On the left horn, the first face is white, the second is smoke-colored, and the third is black and wrathful. On the space between the horns is a red, terrifying face dripping with blood. The second face is yellow, adorned with the ornaments of a youth, with five topknots and a mass of matted hair. With the first two hands, he stretches out and holds an elephant hide. In the other right hands, the first holds a curved knife, the second a bhindipāla spear, the third a pestle, the fourth a dagger, the fifth a kana-ya sword, the sixth a battle-axe, the seventh a lance, the eighth an arrow, the ninth a hook, the tenth a club, the eleventh a khaṭvāṅga, the twelfth a wheel, the thirteenth a vajra, the fourteenth a vajra hammer, the fifteenth a sword, and the sixteenth a small drum. In the first left hand is a skull-cup, the second the head of Brahmā, the third a shield, the fourth a human leg, the fifth a lasso, the sixth a bow, the seventh human intestines, the eighth a bell, the ninth a human hand, the tenth a cemetery cloth, the eleventh a sulaviṇa lute, the twelfth a blazing fire, the thirteenth a skull-fragment, the fourteenth a threatening gesture, the fifteenth a banner, and the sixteenth a wind-cloth.
With the first of his right legs he treads upon a human; with the second, a buffalo; with the third, an ox; with the fourth, a donkey; with the fifth, a camel; with the sixth, a dog; with the seventh, a sheep; and with the eighth, a pig. With the first of his left legs he tramples a vulture; with the second, an owl; with the third, a crow; with the fourth, a lion; with the fifth, a hawk; with the sixth, a garuḍa; with the seventh, a parrot; and with the eighth, a crane. He is adorned with a garland of one hundred and fifty heads and beautified by the five mudrās; he wears a garland of skulls. In the corners and at the gates are the eight goddesses who trample the eight obstructors underfoot: those who trample, in order, a vulture, an owl, a hawk, a crow, a female osprey, a blue jay, a crow, and a peacock. These are Yamadūtī, Yamadaṃṣṭrī, Kālarātrī, Kālavatī, Vajrāṅkuśī, Yamapāśī, Yamalārṣaṇī, and Yamamathinī. All of them have one face and two arms, with loose, flowing hair; they are naked, licking their tongues, and baring their fangs. They summon all malevolent beings and perform all activities in the proper manner. They are black in color and each holds a skull-cup and a curved knife in their hands. These goddesses, too, should be generated in their respective seats upon their thrones by means of the instantaneous samādhi from their own seed-syllables, just like the Blessed One. In front of the Blessed One, one should visualize a skull-cup completely filled with various samaya substances.
Outside the maṇḍala, on the wheel of command, one should meditate on the eight great Yamas, the directional protectors previously mentioned, assuming the forms of messengers. Outside of that are the eight great charnel grounds, adorned with various birds, and filled with gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and so forth, as well as other hosts of ḍākinīs, mātṛkās, and bhūtas, laughing fiercely with "ha ha" and causing great havoc. In this manner, the yogin should meditate on himself in the form of Vajrabhairava. If, with a one-pointed mind and faith, one rests in meditative equipoise upon the yoga, even the eight great siddhis will be attained; what need is there to mention the minor siddhis? Then, upon a lotus at one's heart, from a sun maṇḍala, the syllable HŪṂ completely transforms into a vajra; at its hub, upon a sun maṇḍala, is the syllable HŪṂ marked by a sun. From that HŪṂ, light rays of the five wisdoms radiate into the ten directions, inviting the Tathāgatas of the ten directions, and one recites the secret mantra previously mentioned. Having offered water for the feet, the ritual sprinkling, and so forth to those invited Tathāgatas with the secret mantras as before, and having pleased them, for the sake of conferring empowerment, those Tathāgatas should confer empowerment by means of ten vases, which are the complete transformation of the ten syllables. Regarding the supplication for that:
“Tathāgatas, please confer empowerment upon me!” To this, the Tathāgatas say:
“Just as all the Buddhas
Confer the empowerment obtained by birth,
So too, by means of pure divine water,
I shall confer empowerment upon you.”
Having spoken thus, one should visualize that immediately upon receiving the empowerment, one is crowned by Akṣobhya. The eight goddesses are crowned by Mañjughoṣa, and the eight directional protectors, the Lords of Death (Yama), are crowned by glorious Yamāntaka. In this way, Vajrabhairava and the others are blessed as the sense bases, such as the eyes, and are characterized by the deities of body, speech, and mind, as well as the wisdom beings (jñānasattva).
Once the meditation, offerings, and empowerment are complete, one should perform the recitation for the approach stage. Regarding that, this is the root essence mantra:
OṂ YAMARĀJA SADO ME YA | YAME DO RUṆA YO DA YA | YA DA YO NI RA YA KṢE YA | YA KṢE YA TSCHA NI RĀ MA YA | HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
This thirty-two syllable mantra should be preceded by one hundred thousand recitations as the approach stage; thereafter, it should be applied to the activities.
The secret essence mantra is:
OṂ HRĪḤ ṢṬRĪḤ VIKṚTĀNANA HŪṂ PHAṬ.
This ten-syllable mantra, if preceded by three hundred thousand recitations as the approach stage, accomplishes all activities.
OṂ YAMĀNTAKA HŪṂ PHAṬ.
This seven-syllable mantra, if each syllable is recited one hundred thousand times, accomplishes all activities.
OṂ HRĪḤ ṢṬRĪḤ VIKṚTĀNANA HŪṂ SARVA ŚATRŪṂ NĀŚAYA STAMBHAYA PHAṬ PHAṬ SVĀHĀ.
If one recites this essence mantra one million times, it accomplishes all activities. OṂ HRĪḤ KĀLARŪPA HŪṂ KHAṂ. If one recites each syllable of this near-essence one hundred thousand times, it accomplishes all activities. OṂ HRĪḤ KRUṂ BHRŪṂ TRUṂ JRUṂ HŪṂ GAṂ. If one recites each syllable of this supreme essence one hundred thousand times, it accomplishes all activities. OṂ MAÑJU GHOṢA HRĪḤ JAḤ. If one recites this one million times, it accomplishes all activities. OṂ AKRODHEKA YAMĀNTAKA HANA MATHA BHAÑJA HŪṂ PHAṬ. This is the seventeen-syllable essence mantra.
The mantra for offering the torma during the three times of the approach stage is: OṂ KĀLARŪPA SARVA SATVA DAMAKA MAHĀBHŪTA PATI IDAṂ BALIṂ GṚHṆA GṚHṆĀPAYA SVĀHĀ. Furthermore, one should make offerings with whatever offerings are available. Then, once the signs are obtained, one should apply the mantra to whatever activities are desired: subjugation, summoning, expelling, killing, separating, suppressing, the sword, the sharp eye, the pill, the elixir of rejuvenation (rasāyana), wealth, prosperity, spirits, hungry ghosts, zombies, yakṣas, rākṣasas, piśācas, yakṣiṇīs, nāgas, and so forth. The practitioner should accomplish these according to the ritual. At the time of the activity, one should perform the torma and fire offering. On the first day, one should offer the torma to Vajrabhairava and his retinue. On the second day, one should offer the torma to the wheel of the retinue of Yamāntaka.
On the third day, one should offer the torma to the assembly of messengers, such as Yama, the King of Dharma. Then, on the fourth day, one should seek out a cloth from a charnel ground; it may even be the cloth of a hero slain by a weapon in battle. Having smeared it with human blood, one should then thoroughly coat it with flour made from wheat and other grains. Then, using a cord from a corpse, one should lay out the lines for the wheel. By laying four lines, there is a nine-square grid surrounded by three concentric circles: the center is a nine-square grid, the second is a twelve-square grid, and the third is a sixteen-square grid.
As for the ingredients for the ink, one should mix the fruit of batōli, the fruit of nimpa, the leaves of poison, and charcoal from a cremated corpse, and then draw the wheel. If these are not found, one should visualize them. Regarding the mudrā for drawing: join the two palms together, touch the tips of the two middle fingers, bend the joints of the two ring fingers, join the two little fingers in the same way, and hook the two index fingers. Joining the two thumbs evenly is the samaya mudrā; with this, one should draw. This is its samaya essence mantra:
OṂ HRĪḤ ṢṬRĪḤ VIKṚTĀNANA MAMA ŚATRŪN MĀRAYA NĀŚAYA STAMBHAYA BANDHAYA HŪṂ HŪṂ PHAṬ PHAṬ.
One should recite this samaya mantra of Yamāntaka and draw [the wheel]. As for the material for the pen, one should draw with the quills of a crow and an owl. If the aforementioned substances are not found, one should draw with the three: human blood, goat blood, and dog blood. Between the letters YA and YA, one should write the name and the clan.
On the outside, the sixteen letters of the alphabet should be written. On the second layer, the name and clan should be written interspersed with hūṃ and phaṭ. Between ya and ya, the writing should be placed in the central hub. All the fierce letters should also be written. Just as in the aforementioned location, hūṃ and phaṭ should be written. Yama-antaka, who is contained within that very wheel, should also be drawn. Furthermore, a second wheel should be drawn in the counter-clockwise direction; these two should be joined together, placed inside a pair of joined earthen bowls, and wrapped with black thread.
Then, one should perform the consecration. Forming the eye mudrā, one recites: hūṃ yamāntakṛt vajradharmacakṣu praveśaya na. Forming the face mudrā: oṃ yamāntaka deva śodhaya traṃ praveśaya phaṭ. Forming the uṣṇīṣa mudrā: oṃ yamāntaka vajra hrīḥ. Binding the fang mudrā: oṃ vajraguhya guhalam. Then, having performed the offerings and praises, one should recite the secret mantra while endowed with meditative visualization.
On the first day: yamārāja sadomeya amukaṃ bhrāmaṇaṃ kuru hūṃ phaṭ. On the second day: yamedorunayodaya amukaṃ raktaṃ caḍhavānaya hūṃ phaṭ. On the third day: yadayonirayakṣeya amukaṃ mūrcchāpāya hūṃ phaṭ. On the fourth day: yakṣeyacchanirāmaya amukaṃ māraya hūṃ phaṭ.
If success is not achieved after four days, one should perform offerings, torma rituals, and fire offerings, and recite the secret mantra forty thousand times, then apply it to the previous activity.
Then, one should ignite that clay bowl with the fire of a charnel ground using nimba wood and heat it. Then, the two bowls joined together should be buried in a charnel ground. Since the Nine-Tufted One, Red-Eyed One, Black Night of Yama, and Time-Sign are especially engaged in the activity of killing, one should entrust [the rite] to them. The Ox-Headed One, Smrigpa, the Female Messenger of Yama, and the Fanged Female of Yama are auspicious for the activity of intoxicating the target. Yama the Bald, the King of Dharma, the Iron Hook Female of Yama, and the Lasso Female of Yama are auspicious for the activity of making the target vomit blood. Yama the Divider, White-Complexioned One, the Chain Female of Yama, and the Descending Female of Yama are auspicious for the activity of causing the target to enter a retinue. Through the application of these, the yogi should perform all the offering cakes, offerings, preliminary service, and the entrustment of the activity. This is the ritual procedure for wrathful activities.
Then, for one who wishes to cause a rift between friends, one should wrap the feathers of a crow and an owl with the hair of a Brahmin and the hair of a heretic, and burn them in datura wood. Then, having taken the ashes and buried them at the target's place of sleep, if one entrusts the activity to the Time-Sign, they will be separated. This is the ritual procedure for causing division.
Then, if one wishes to cause those targets to fight, one should write the mantra interspersed with the names of the targets using substances such as poison and blood on a cloth from a charnel ground. Wrap it in the fur of a mongoose and the skin of a snake.
If one makes a lamp, whoever sees it will fall into conflict. This is the ritual for causing conflict. Furthermore, if one wishes to kill: having made an effigy of the enemy from excrement and urine, and having smeared it with human bone powder, one should emerge naked at midnight in the yoga of Vajrabhairava. With hair disheveled, facing south toward a fire from a cremation ground, one should interpose the name of the target with the mantra and cut the effigy into pieces. If one burns them, the target will die quickly. The application for this is as before.
Then, if the yogin wishes to suppress: having written the wheel of Yamāntaka on a stone or cloth with turmeric or realgar, interposing the mantra and the name, the target will be suppressed. Furthermore, if one wishes to kill: having written the wheel of Yama on a cloth from a cremation ground with substances such as poison, interposing the name and the mantra, and having smeared one's own body with mahātila (great sesame), one should make an effigy of the enemy from mahāmāṃsa (great flesh). Having placed the wheel in its heart, if one cuts it into pieces and burns it in a fire of wood from a cremation ground, the target will die. The yoga of the deity is as before.
Then, if one wishes to cause madness: having recited the mantra with the yoga of the deity over the powder of datura fruit, mahāmāṃsa, and the remains of worms, and having mixed it into food and drink, if one gives it to the enemy, they will go mad in an instant. They will die in seven days.
Then, if one wishes to bring [someone] under control: [using] earth dug up by the balākhya worm, saffron, and...
Mix the gorocana pigments and fashion an image sixteen finger-widths in height. Then, using gorocana and the blood from the ring finger, draw a wheel on a birch bark leaf; place it in the heart of the image and worship it at the proper time with red flowers. Facing west, if one recites the ten-syllable mantra while in the yoga of Vajrabhairava, the target will be brought under one's power. If even Śakra is subdued by this, what need is there to mention ordinary beings?
Then, if one wishes to summon, join two skull-cups together and place the wheel inside. Light a fire with khadira wood and heat it. Reciting the secret mantra interspersed with the name of the target, they will be summoned by the force of the wind.
Then, if one wishes to expel, light a fire on nimba wood with the flesh of a dog, a frog, and a tortoise, the blood of a rat, and the dung of a camel. Performing a fire offering in the center of a wind mandala while reciting the secret mantra interspersed with the name of the target, they will be expelled.
Then, if one wishes to suppress a girl, knead thorns, poison, and mustard seeds with one's own blood and perform a fire offering a thousand times; the girl will be suppressed. There is no doubt if one performs the recitation of the ten-syllable secret mantra.
Then, if one wishes to pacify, face the east and perform one hundred and eight recitations over ghee, honey, milk, and kuśa grass in a fire of palāśa wood; all battles will be pacified.
Then, if one wishes to increase, [use] sesame and barley...
With rice and ghee, while maintaining the deity yoga of the yellow-colored one, one should face north and perform a fire offering one thousand times at the three times of day; then, prosperity will be attained. These activities must be performed with a one-pointed mind. If performed with a mind that is not in meditative equipoise, they will not succeed and will lead to downfall. Therefore, some yogins should go to places such as charnel grounds and perform these at all times through the application of Vajrabhairava. At the time of performing any activity, one should recite the name of the target along with the exhortation. In that regard, the secret mantra consists of thirty-two syllables and so forth; for all [activities], the mantra is recited individually according to the specific requirements.
In that context, at the time of killing, one should visualize oneself through the application of Vajrabhairava, emitting rays of light like a host of messengers as previously described. These rays summon the life-force and consciousness of the target and dissolve them into the center of the wheel. Then, by means of the light rays of the secret mantra, one should separate the life-force, consciousness, flesh, and blood, and contemplate that only a skeleton remains. For activities such as expelling or suppressing, one should also act through such an application. For summoning, magnetizing, and so forth, one should meditate on oneself through the application of the red-colored one. For pacifying, one should meditate on the white-colored one. For all activities, the deity application is performed through the application of Vajrabhairava. Furthermore, I shall now briefly describe the internal application.
In that regard, the lower part of the body should be viewed as the nature of Amoghasiddhi. Above that, the triangular region should be viewed as the nature of Amitābha. Above that, the navel should be viewed as the nature of Akṣobhya. Above that, the chest should be viewed as the nature of Ratnasambhava. The space between the eyebrows should be viewed as the nature of Vairocana. Above that is a thirty-two-petaled lotus, and above that is a moon maṇḍala. Above that, one should visualize the Immortal [Amṛta] lying face down, from which nectar constantly drips. In the navel maṇḍala, there are sixty-four lotus petals. In its center is a sun maṇḍala, and in the middle of that, one should visualize the primordial syllable, from which the fire of wisdom constantly blazes upward. Above that, at the heart, is an eight-petaled lotus. In its center is a sun maṇḍala filled with nine seed-syllables; in the center of the syllable HŪṂ is a moon maṇḍala. In the middle of that, one should contemplate Mañjuvajra, the transformation of the syllable MUṂ, the very nature of the wisdom of all the tathāgatas. Above that, at the throat, is a sixteen-petaled lotus. In its center is a sun maṇḍala, and above that is a red eight-petaled lotus. In its center is the red syllable A. On its petals are the seed-syllables of the eight goddesses, such as Rūpavajrā and the rest. One should contemplate this as the nature of experiencing the perfect wisdom-enjoyment of all the tathāgatas.
In this way, one should constantly meditate on Akṣobhya at the crown of the head of the one visualized as Vajrabhairava, and at the heart, the wisdom-being (jñānasattva) endowed with the vajras of body, speech, and mind. One will thereby attain the siddhi desired. One should not give rise to a distracted mind for even a single moment; for in this world and in others, there is no method other than this. Therefore, for the sake of siddhi and for the sake of slaying, one should practice this meditative concentration for six months. Having completely abandoned all other thoughts, one should investigate for half a month. By the merit of this, may all see [the truth], and may I too be victorious over harm. May I liberate beings from the ocean of existence, from the great turbulent waves of disease, harm, death, and old age.
The Sādhana of Glorious Vajrabhairava, composed by the Ācārya Amoghavajra, is complete. It is his own translation. It was translated and edited by the Indian abbot Mañjuśrījñāna and the Tibetan translator Rongzom Chökyi Zangpo, and later again translated and definitively established by Chuktsam Wangchuk Gyalpo.
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.