Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This technical manual provides precise instructions for the construction and application of yantras (ritual wheels) associated with the deity Red Yamāntaka. The text functions as a prescriptive guide for the material and symbolic execution of ritual diagrams, detailing the specific substrates, inks, and instruments required to achieve different metaphysical outcomes. It categorizes these requirements based on the intended ritual purpose: summoning, paralyzing, bewildering, pacifying, enriching, killing, or expelling. The text commits the practitioner to a rigorous adherence to material correspondences, where the choice of wood, plant juices, or organic matter (such as human bone) is inextricably linked to the ritual's efficacy. By specifying the geometric configuration of the wheels—ranging from eight to sixteen spokes—and the surrounding iconography of the maṇḍala, the work establishes a systematic methodology for transforming a physical diagram into a functional tool for spiritual or worldly intervention.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise detailing the construction and consecration of ritual wheels, the Raktayamāntakayantroddyotaka belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Bodhigarbha. It was translated into Tibetan by Niṣkalaṅkapāda and dpyal lo tsa ba dpal chos kyi bzang po, and is preserved in the Tengyur (vol. ཙི) within the collection of Other Skillful Means Tantras. Spanning four pages in this edition, the work enacts a precise technical methodology for creating yantras associated with Red Yamāntaka. It provides prescriptive instructions on the geometric configuration of wheels—specifically those with eight, twelve, and sixteen spokes—and dictates the exact material substrates and instruments required for their execution. The text specifies the use of nyagrodha leaves, red sandalwood, and khadira wood, alongside various plant juices and minerals, to achieve specific ritual outcomes such as summoning, paralyzing, or bewildering. A scholar or serious reader consults this manual today to understand the rigorous material correspondences and symbolic requirements necessary for the efficacy of these ritual diagrams, as well as the specific mantras and consecration rites that govern their application.
Sanskrit title
Raktayamāntakayantroddyotaka
Indian author
Bodhigarbha
Tibetan translators
Niṣkalaṅkapāda, dpyal lo tsa ba dpal chos kyi bzang po
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Illuminating the Yantra of Red Yamāntaka” (Toh 2033), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2033
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its detailed preservation of the material culture of Indo-Tibetan ritualism, specifically the use of botanical and organic substances in yantra construction. It illustrates the intersection of geometry, alchemy, and deity yoga in the pursuit of specific ritual results. For the modern reader, it provides evidence of the complex classification of ritual activities into categories such as pacifying, enriching, and subjugating.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Introduction and Basic Geometry
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan and outlines the basic structural configurations of the eight, twelve, and sixteen-spoked wheels.
3-5
Material Requirements for Specific Ritual Acts
Details the specific pens, inks, and substrates required for various ritual functions, including summoning, paralyzing, enriching, and killing.
In the language of India: Rakta-yamāntaka-cakra-uttara. In the language of Tibet: Gshin-rje-gshed dmar-po’i ’khor-lo’i gsal-byed (The Clarification of the Wheel of Red Yamāntaka). Homage to the Blessed One, Yamāntaka.
The materials for writing these are the leaves of the nyagrodha tree and so forth. First is a circular wheel with eight spokes; second, one with twelve spokes; and third, one with sixteen spokes. On the eight spokes of the first wheel, one should arrange the syllables Ya, Ma, and so forth. On the intermediate petals, one should arrange the syllables of the name of the person to be accomplished. On the eight spokes between the spokes of the sixteen-spoked wheel, the person to be accomplished is likewise placed at the corners.
In the central hub of the first wheel, the syllable Ya is to appear. In the east is Ma. On the first spoke of the twelve-spoked wheel is Rā; on the second, Dza; on the third, Sa; and on the fourth, Do. On the southern spoke of the eight-spoked wheel is Me. Again, on the fifth petal of the twelve-spoked wheel is Ru; on the sixth, Ṇa; and on the seventh, Yo. Again, on the western petal of the eight-spoked wheel is Da. Again, on the eighth spoke of the twelve-spoked wheel is Ni; on the ninth, Rā; and on the tenth, Ya. Again, on the northern spoke of the eight-spoked wheel is Kṣe. Again, on the eleventh spoke of the twelve-spoked wheel is Ccha; and on the twelfth, Ni. Thus it is taught:
YAMARĀJASADO MEYA | YAME DARUṆAYO DAYA | YADAYONI RAYAKṢEYA | YAKṢEYACCHANIRĀ MAYA
This is the root mantra. The sixteen syllables are on the sixteen spokes. One is for the principal deity, which thus appears in the center: YAMARĀJASADOME RURUṆAYO.
Then, it shall emerge from the central hub-spoke. Now, rakṣa yaccha; then, it ends with na. This is the determination for the eight-spoked and twelve-spoked wheels. Then, on the petals between the sides of the sixteen-spoked wheel, these mantras should be written up to the name of the person to be accomplished: oṃ hrīḥ ṣṭrīḥ vikṛtānana hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā. For the purpose of separating the hostile, the principal letter in the center is ya. For killing, la; for subjugation, ra shall emerge; for enrichment, rā; for suppression, kṣe; for summoning, da; for deluding, me; for making powerful, do; for pacifying, sa; for expelling, ccha; for inflicting punishment, ṇa; for suppressing the mind, ru; for victory, ja; for intense torment, yo; for destroying the enemy, ni. Here, according to the nature of the rite, the letter that serves as the principal in the center should be written in that position. This determination for the wheel of Yamāntaka was extracted from the Ādibuddha.
The ritual for drawing the wheels for these activities, such as pacifying and so forth, will now be explained. Among them, for the pacifying and enriching wheels, one should use a writing surface of moist nyagrodha leaves, with water in which śāli rice has been ground, and a pen of dūrvā grass. For enriching, one should write with white aja-goda [goat-hair] and so forth. Likewise, for killing and expelling, one should use a cloth from a charnel ground, with poison, blood, and charcoal, and a pen of human bone. For expelling, one should write with a crow's feather and a reed pen. For subjugation and summoning, one should use birch bark, with saffron and gorocanā, and a golden stylus.
For summoning, use red sandalwood and a pen made of khadira wood. For paralyzing and bewildering, use yellowed leaves of the yajña tree mixed with the juice of the three fruits, and apply orpiment or turmeric. For the purpose of bewildering, use a pen made of kapittha wood or a yajña pen; this is the certainty.
The ritual for the consecration of those wheels is now explained. Having drawn the wheels for pacifying and enriching, they should be bound with white thread, in such a way that the wheels are not visible. Likewise, according to the specific activity, they should be bound with white or yellow thread. Then, for pacifying and enriching, they should be placed in a pair of joined clay bowls filled with ghee, milk, and honey. For killing and expelling, they should be placed in a skull-cup filled with blood. For magnetizing and summoning, they should be covered with beeswax and heated over a fire in a pair of joined shards. For suppressing and bewildering, they should be placed in the center of a brick filled with orpiment water. For pacifying and enriching, they should be placed upon a clean and moist mandala. For killing and expelling, they should be buried in a pit after pouring curd and ghee inside. For summoning and magnetizing, they should be placed beneath the hearth. For suppressing and bewildering, they should be buried in dry earth. The practitioner must certainly understand these results of virtuous and non-virtuous actions. The certainty regarding the outer wheels of those drawn wheels is now taught.
In that regard, the outer perimeter of the peaceful maṇḍala should be encircled by a moon maṇḍala and surrounded by a line. For the enriching rite, it should be encircled by elephants, such that the maṇḍala is contained within the belly of an elephant. For the rite of killing, it is in the form of a preta. For the rite of expelling, it is in the belly of a camel. For the rite of subjugation, it is in the belly of a deer. For the rite of summoning, it is in the belly of a horse. For the rite of bewildering, it is in the belly of a goat or a sheep. For the rite of suppressing, it is in the belly of a tortoise. How does the maṇḍala become the belly? The outer form is likewise. Then, it should be wound with the thread mentioned above. Regarding the timing for those vidyās, it is taught by the determination of the watches: during the first half-watch, when the water maṇḍala flows in the left, one should face north and accomplish the peaceful activity. During the second half-watch, likewise for the enriching activity, one should face the northeast. During the first half of the second watch, when the wind maṇḍala flows in the right, one should face east and accomplish the rite of killing. During the latter half of the second watch, facing the southeast, one accomplishes the rite of expelling. During the first half of the third watch, at the time of the fire maṇḍala in the right, one should face south and accomplish the rite of subjugation. During the latter half of the third watch, facing the southwest, one accomplishes the rite of summoning. During the fourth watch, at the time of the earth maṇḍala arising in the right, one should face west and accomplish the rite of suppressing. During the first half of the fourth watch, facing the northwest, one accomplishes the rite of bewildering.
For subjugation and summoning, write on birch bark with saffron and bezoar using a golden pen. For pacifying and enriching, write on a leaf of the nyagrodha tree with dūrvā grass and rice-water. For killing and expelling, use human bone on cloth from a charnel ground and the like. For suppressing and bewildering, use brick powder or turmeric. This concludes the abbreviated ritual of the wheel. Translated from the presence of the Paṇḍita Vajrāsana (Vajrāsana-pāda) by the translator Pyal Lo-tsā-ba Dpal Chos kyi bzang-po.
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.