Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text provides the initial instructions for a sādhanā, a ritual practice dedicated to the deity Pūrṇabhadra. The text establishes the ritual's linguistic identity by providing both the Sanskrit title and its Tibetan translation, followed by a seed syllable mantra. It prescribes a specific commitment for the practitioner: the recitation of a mantra eight thousand times over a period of seven days. This process is to be conducted in the presence of Vajradhara, the primordial Buddha. The fragment concludes at the beginning of the seventh day, indicating that the culmination of the practice involves the presentation of a great offering. The text functions as a technical manual for a time-bound ritual cycle, committing the reader to a rigorous schedule of repetition and devotional offering to achieve a specific spiritual or supernatural result.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the practice of Pūrṇabhadra, the Pūrṇabhadrāsādhana belongs to the genre of sādhana within 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 comprises two pages. This text is part of the canonical collection known as The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri. The work enacts a rigorous, time-bound ritual cycle, prescribing that the practitioner recite a mantra eight thousand times over seven days in the presence of Vajradhara. This process culminates on the seventh day with the presentation of a great offering and the performance of rituals involving white dough. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the technical specifications of this devotional practice, from its seed syllable mantras to the precise schedule of repetition and offering required to achieve its intended spiritual or supernatural results.
Sanskrit title
Pūrṇabhadrāsādhana
Indian author
Prajñārakṣita
Tibetan translators
Dānaśīla (III)
Canonical collection
The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri
The text is significant as it illustrates the transmission of Sanskrit ritual technology into the Tibetan tradition. It demonstrates the standard structure of sādhanā practices, specifically the emphasis on precise mantra counts and the role of Vajradhara as the presiding deity.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Ritual Instructions
Provides the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, the seed syllables, and the specific requirements for mantra recitation and offerings.
Themes
Ritual Prescription (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: Pūrṇabhadrasādhana. In the language of Tibet: Gang ba bzang po’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of Pūrṇabhadra). Oṃ hrīḥ jaḥ. In the presence of the glorious Vajradhara, recite [the mantra] eight thousand times for seven days. On the seventh day, having made a great offering and performed the ritual previously explained with white dough and so forth, he will arrive at midnight. When he has arrived, offer a flower-water offering. Being pleased, he will become a servant, bestow a kingdom, fulfill all desires, and cause the practitioner to live for a thousand years. Furthermore, according to the practitioner’s wish, he will kill or bring to life others. This concludes the Sādhana of the one called Pūrṇabhadra. In this same manner, other spirits should also be thoroughly accomplished. Joining the fingers of both hands together and touching the tips of the two middle fingers is the mudrā of Aparājita (Unconquerable). Keeping that same mudrā with the tips of the middle fingers joined and extended outward, while bending the two index fingers, is the mudrā of Ajita (Invincible). Curling the index fingers toward oneself in that same [mudrā], extending the two little fingers outward, and leaving them separate is the mudrā of Pūrṇa (Full). Samāptam.
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.