Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text provides the preliminary instructions for a sādhanā dedicated to the deity Subhagā. The work functions as a ritual manual, establishing the necessary linguistic and environmental conditions for the practice. It begins by providing the title in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by the specific mantra associated with the deity. The text commits the practitioner to a rigorous discipline of repetition and spatial isolation, specifying that the mantra must be recited ten thousand times daily for one month. This practice is to be conducted in a secluded or sacred setting, such as a mountain peak or a temple. The fragment concludes abruptly during the instructions for the full moon, suggesting that the ritual culminates in a specific lunar event, though the subsequent requirements remain unspecified due to the incomplete nature of the passage.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhanā dedicated to the deity Subhagā, the Subhagāsādhana belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Prajñārakṣita. It was translated into Tibetan by Dānaśīla (III) and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཙི, where it occupies two pages. Within the canonical structure, it is situated in the collection known as The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri. The work enacts a rigorous ritual discipline, prescribing that the practitioner recite a specific mantra ten thousand times daily for one month while situated in a temple or upon a mountain peak. It further specifies a particular recitation schedule for the night of the full moon. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the precise linguistic and environmental requirements of the practice, as well as the specific mantra and repetitive disciplines associated with the deity Subhagā.
Sanskrit title
Subhagāsādhana
Indian author
Prajñārakṣita
Tibetan translators
Dānaśīla (III)
Canonical collection
The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri
The text illustrates the intersection of mantra recitation and ascetic spatiality in Indo-Tibetan ritual practice. Its significance lies in the prescriptive nature of the 'ten thousand repetitions' requirement, reflecting standard tantric methods for achieving spiritual efficacy through cumulative discipline.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Preliminary Instructions
Provides the titles, the mantra, and the requirements for location and frequency of recitation.
Themes
Ritual Discipline (1)
Sacred Space (1)
Mantra Recitation (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Subhagasādhanam. In the language of Tibet: Legs par dga' ma'i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of Subhagā). Oṃ subhage svāhā.
On a mountain peak or in a temple, one should recite [the mantra] ten thousand times each day for the duration of one month. Then, on the day of the full moon, one should also recite it at night. Following that, if one goes to sleep and, with a very gentle hand, [visualizes] a kinnarī massaging one's feet, and then develops attachment [to her] and thinks, "May she become my wife," then every day she will grant eight pieces of wealth and two bolts of cotton cloth. The Sādhana of Subhagā 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.