Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text is a sādhana, a liturgical manual for deity yoga, focused on the visualization of the goddess Candradevī (also identified as Apacārā). The fragment establishes the ritual's identity through its bilingual titles in Sanskrit and Tibetan and initiates the practitioner into the meditative process. It commits the reader, specifically a yogin of the Noble Yamāntaka tradition, to a precise mental construction of the deity, emphasizing her aesthetic beauty and ornamental adornment. By situating the practice within the Yamāntaka cycle, the text integrates the visualization of Candradevī as a specific component of a broader tantric system. The primary objective is the generation of a vivid, idealized image of the goddess in the practitioner's foreground to facilitate the subsequent stages of the ritual process.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhana focused on the visualization of the goddess Candradevī, also identified as Apacārā, this work belongs to the tradition of the Noble Yamāntaka. The Indian author is Prajñārakṣita. The text was translated into Tibetan by Dānaśīla (III) and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཙི, where it spans two pages. It is situated within the canonical collection known as The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri. The work enacts a ritual process of deity yoga, instructing a yogin to visualize the goddess adorned with ornaments and beauty in the foreground after performing summoning and offerings. A scholar or serious reader consults this classical Tibetan text to examine the precise mental constructions and liturgical requirements of the Yamāntaka cycle, specifically how the visualization of Candradevī functions as a component of this broader tantric system.
Sanskrit title
Śrīcandradevīnāmasādhana
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 Glorious Candradevī” (Toh 2058), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2058
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for illustrating the intersection of the Yamāntaka tradition with specific female deities. It demonstrates the standard Tibetan practice of preserving Sanskrit titles alongside Tibetan translations to maintain canonical authenticity.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Visualization
Provides the bilingual title and instructs the practitioner on the initial visualization of the goddess Apacārā/Candradevī.
Themes
Deity Yoga (1)
Visualization (1)
Yamāntaka Tradition (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Śrī-candradevī-nāma-sādhana. In the language of Tibet: The Sādhana of the Glorious Goddess Candrā. Oṃ Śrī Candradevī. As before, the yogin of the Noble Yamāntaka should visualize in front of him the goddess named Apacārā, adorned with all ornaments and exceedingly beautiful. Having performed the summoning and so forth, as well as the offerings, as before, if one contemplates her arrival, she will certainly be accomplished. If one wishes to accomplish her through recitation, then at a mountain peak or a place secluded from people, one should perform the offerings as before and recite the mantra one hundred thousand times. Then, on the day of the full moon, having made offerings according to one's means, one should perform the recitation throughout the night with a butter lamp. At dawn, the goddess will arrive. Upon her arrival, one should offer an offering of sandalwood water. If she asks, "What shall I do for you?" one should say, "Become my wife." Thereafter, she will bestow all things such as the signs of accomplishment, mercury, and alchemy. Whoever accomplishes her will live for a thousand years. The Sādhana of the Goddess Candrā is complete.
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.