Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text provides the introductory instructions for a ritual practice (sādhana) dedicated to the dog-faced nāgī Vasupālamukhā. The text establishes the ritual's identity through its Sanskrit and Tibetan titles and opens with a seed syllable mantra. It commits the practitioner to a rigorous preliminary phase consisting of one hundred thousand recitations of an approach practice. Following this accumulation, the practitioner is directed to perform a specific dietary act—consuming rice milk—at a precise geographical location where two rivers converge, coinciding with further recitation. The text functions as a prescriptive guide for a specialized deity practice, linking mantra recitation, dietary restriction, and sacred geography to achieve a specific spiritual or worldly result.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of the nāga lady Vasupālamukhā, the Nāgīvasupālamukhīnāmasādhana belongs to the genre of sādhana. The work is attributed to the Indian author Prajñārakṣita. It was translated into the Tibetan language by Dānaśīla (III) and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཙི, as part of the canonical collection known as The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri. This classical Tibetan text enacts a prescriptive ritual process, beginning with the requirement of one hundred thousand recitations of an approach practice. It further directs the practitioner to consume rice milk at the confluence of two rivers while reciting a mantra eight thousand times to induce the emergence of a beautiful woman from the abode of the nāgas. A scholar or serious reader consults this single-page text today to examine the specific intersection of mantra recitation, dietary acts, and sacred geography within the framework of deity practice.
Sanskrit title
Nāgīvasupālamukhīnāmasādhana
Indian author
Prajñārakṣita
Tibetan translators
Dānaśīla (III)
Canonical collection
The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Dog-Faced Nāgī” (Toh 2050), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2050
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its depiction of the intersection between mantra practice and environmental ritualism in the Indo-Tibetan tradition. It illustrates the role of nāga deities in the Buddhist pantheon and the specific requirements of accumulation practices. The emphasis on the confluence of rivers suggests a reliance on traditional Indian concepts of sacred space for ritual efficacy.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Preliminary Instructions
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, the opening mantra, and the requirements for preliminary recitations and ritual consumption.
Themes
Ritual Accumulation (1)
Sacred Geography (1)
Nāga Cults (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Nāgī Vasupālamukhasādhana. In the language of Tibet: The Sādhana of the Nāga Lady Known as Vasupālamukhā. Phuḥ Śrīḥ Phuḥ.
Having performed one hundred thousand recitations of the approach practice, one should then eat rice milk at a place where two rivers meet and recite the mantra eight thousand times. A beautiful woman will then emerge from the abode of the nāgas. Upon her appearance, offer her flowers and say, "Be my wife." Thereafter, she will perform all the duties of a wife and grant the sensory enjoyments of the gods every day. This is the samaya of Vasupālamukhā.
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.