Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This short liturgical fragment serves as a devotional invocation and praise of the deity Vajrabhairava. The text establishes the deity's ontological origin as an emanation of Mañjuśrī, arising from emptiness and situated within the expanse of space. By employing traditional imagery of the eight charnel grounds and the nine dramatic expressions, the text frames Vajrabhairava as the King of Wrath, characterized by an intensity compared to the fire at the end of an eon. The work functions as a formal act of prostration, committing the practitioner to a state of submission and reverence toward the wrathful manifestation of wisdom. The structure is a direct address that moves from the deity's cosmic origin to his specific iconographic attributes and finally to the practitioner's physical gesture of homage.
Provenance
About this text
A eulogy in praise of the deity Vajrabhairava, the Vajrabhairavastuti is a work of the classical Tibetan period. It is preserved in the Tengyur, volume མི, where it comprises two pages and is situated within the Other Skillful Means Tantras collection under the Tibetan title rje 'jigs byed kyi bstod pa. The work enacts a formal act of prostration and devotional invocation, framing the deity as a compassionate, wrathful emanation of Mañjuśrī who arises from emptiness. By detailing the deity's dark blue color, dwarf-like form, and specific iconographic attributes—including nine faces, thirty-four arms, and sixteen legs—the text situates the figure within the eight charnel grounds as the King of Wrath. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the ontological relationship between Mañjuśrī and his wrathful manifestation, as well as the specific imagery of the nine dramatic expressions and the cosmic intensity compared to the fire at the end of an eon.
The text is significant for illustrating the conceptual link between the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and the wrathful deity Vajrabhairava within the Anuttarayoga Tantra tradition. It demonstrates how emptiness and compassion are synthesized into a wrathful form to overcome spiritual obstacles.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Invocation and Prostration
A concise praise detailing the origin, attributes, and nature of Vajrabhairava, concluding with an act of prostration.
Themes
Wrathful manifestation of wisdom (1)
Emptiness and space (1)
Iconography of the charnel grounds (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
Namo Vajrabhairavāya. Abiding in the expanse of space, arisen from emptiness, is Mañjuśrī’s compassionate wrathful Vajrabhairava. Surrounded by the eight charnel grounds and endowed with the nine dramatic expressions, I prostrate to the King of Wrath, blazing like the fire at the end of an eon. With nine faces, thirty-four arms, and sixteen legs, dark blue in color, of a dwarf-like form, naked, and with the face of a buffalo, you possess the fierce sounds of "Phem!" and "Ha ha hi hi!" I prostrate and praise you, the unchanging Mañjuśrī of great bliss. Slayer of Yama, you who destroy the four māras through fierce power; you who grant the breath of life to the eight great siddhas and bestow the supreme sense bases; compassionate one who performs activities to fulfill the hopes of sentient beings, I prostrate to you, the supreme equality in which untainted bliss flourishes.
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.