Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a ritual manual (sādhana) dedicated to the deity Red Yamāri. It functions as a prescriptive guide for the practitioner, beginning with formal invocations and the recitation of specific mantras in both Sanskrit and Tibetan. The text is structured as a series of liturgical instructions that commit the reader to the precise vocalization of seed syllables and dharanis to invoke the deity's power. A significant portion of the provided fragment focuses on the application of the ritual for specific outcomes, including the use of mantras intended to counteract poison or neutralize the effects of harmful substances (viṣa cūrṇa) administered to a target person. By combining devotional homage with functional, goal-oriented spells, the text positions the practitioner as an agent capable of manipulating external circumstances through the spiritual authority of Red Yamāri.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of Red Yamāri, the Raktayamārisādhanavidhi belongs to the genre of sādhana. The work is attributed to the Indian author Vīrarāja. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the efforts of the translators Ravīndraruci and chag lo tsa ba dge slong chos rje dpal, and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཙི, where it comprises three pages. Within the canonical structure, it is situated among the Other Skillful Means Tantras. The work enacts a series of liturgical prescriptions, beginning with homage to the deity and the recitation of mantras. It provides specific instructions for the practitioner, including the use of red sandalwood or lac for writing and the construction of an eight- or twelve-spoked wheel centered on the syllable Ya. The text functions as a guide for achieving particular outcomes, such as pacification and the neutralization of poison or harmful substances administered to others. A scholar or serious reader consults this classical Tibetan translation to examine the precise intersection of devotional homage and the application of goal-oriented spells, observing how the practitioner utilizes the spiritual authority of Red Yamāri to manipulate external circumstances.
Sanskrit title
Raktayamārisādhanavidhi
Indian author
Vīrarāja
Tibetan translators
Ravīndraruci, chag lo tsa ba dge slong chos rje dpal
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana Ritual of Red Yamāri” (Toh 2021), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2021
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as an example of the intersection between meditative deity yoga and the practical application of ritual magic in the Indo-Tibetan tradition. It illustrates how wrathful deities are employed not only for internal transformation but for protective or corrective interventions in the physical world.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Invocations and Mantras
Contains the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, homage to Red Yamāri, and a series of mantras and ritual formulas for specific applications.
Themes
Ritual Invocation (1)
Protective and Counteractive Magic (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Rakta-yamāri-sādhana-vidhi. In the language of Tibet: Gshin-rje-gshed-dmar-po’i-sgrub-thabs-kyi-chog (The Ritual of the Sādhana of Red Yamāri). Homage to the glorious Red Yamāri!
Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā. Namaḥ devadattasya śāntiṃ kuru namaḥ svāhā. This is the rite of pacification. One should write [the mantra] using lac or red sandalwood mixed with the blood of a ring finger.
Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ hoḥ. Devadattasya vaśyaṃ kuru hoḥ. Vaśyaṃ kuru bauṣaṭ. This is the rite of subjugation. On cloth, with lac juice: Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ jaḥ hrīḥ [name] māṃ ākarṣaya hrīḥ jaḥ. This is the rite of summoning the feet. On cloth, with orpiment or turmeric juice: Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ. Laṃ a deva devadatta svasthānāt stambhaya stambhaya laṃ. This is the rite of paralyzing.
Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ baṃ. Devadattasya mukhaṃ bandha mano bandha mukhaṃ. Kuru baṃ mohaya vyāpāra hara viṣya baṃ. On cloth, with poison, mustard seeds, black mustard oil, the juice of forest neem leaves and datura leaves, charcoal and ash from a cremation ground, and blood, using a pen made of a crow’s feather: Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ. Devadatta māraya hūṃ. Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ hara [name] māraya hūṃ phaṭ. This is the rite of killing. In that same manner:
Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ. Devadatta and Yajñadatta. Vidiṣaya hūṃ phaṭ [of] such-and-such [person]. Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā. [Of] such-and-such [person], yanake na ci jagriṇayantre mantre viṣa cūrṇa prayogati tata sarva utghāṭaya svāhā.
First, the wheel should be extracted: in the center of an eight-spoked or twelve-spoked [wheel], [place] Ya. In the east, Kṣe; in the south, Ma; in the west, Me; in the north, the letter Da. Starting with the letter Ya, write "Rājaya sadoruṇayonirayacchani" on the twelve petals. In the sixteen-spoked [wheel], in the squares inserted between each [petal], one should write "Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā," and so forth. In the other eight squares, write the complete "Oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ" and so on, ending with "svāhā," and write: "Devadattasya śāntiṃ kuru puṣṭiṃ kuru vaśyaṃ kuru stambhaya mohaya śāya ucchaṭaya māraya amukaṃ kuru svāhā." In the intermediate directions, [place] the name of Devadatta.
The Sādhana of Red Yamāri. Whatever virtue has been accumulated by writing this, by that may all sentient beings quickly attain supreme bliss. Composed by the glorious Śūra-rāja, it is complete. Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian abbot and guru, the venerable Sūryaprabhāraśmi, and the translator Chag Lo-tsā-ba, the monk Chos-rje-dpal.
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.