Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text provides a ritual procedure, or sādhana, for the propitiation of the Piśācī Ālumbinī. The work begins by establishing the ritual's identity in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by the presentation of a specific dharani or mantra. The text then transitions into prescriptive instructions for the practitioner, specifying the necessary environmental conditions and timing for the rite. Specifically, it mandates the use of an empty house and the commencement of the practice on the first day of the dark fortnight, beginning with the lighting of a firewood fire. The text commits the reader to a precise set of spatio-temporal and material requirements to successfully engage with the deity, framing the practice as a disciplined ritual operation rather than a theoretical meditation.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual procedure for the propitiation of the Piśācī Ālumbinī, the Ālumbinīpiśācīsādhana belongs to the genre of sādhana. The work is attributed to the Indian author Prajñārakṣita. It entered the Tibetan tradition through the translation efforts of 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. In the classical Tibetan tradition, the work is titled sha za a lum+bi ni'i sgrub thabs. The text enacts a disciplined ritual operation, beginning with a specific mantra and proceeding to prescriptive instructions for the practitioner. It mandates precise environmental and temporal conditions, requiring the practitioner to be naked in an empty house and to commence a fire offering on the first day of the dark fortnight. A scholar or serious reader consults this one-page fragment today to examine the specific spatio-temporal and material requirements necessary to engage with the deity, observing how the practice is framed as a rigorous ritual activity rather than a theoretical meditation.
Sanskrit title
Ālumbinīpiśācīsādhana
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 Piśācī Ālumbinī” (Toh 2078), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2078
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant as an example of the integration of Indian tantric elements into Tibetan ritual practice, specifically regarding the propitiation of Piśācī-class entities. It illustrates the technical precision required in tantric sadhanas, where timing and environment are considered essential for efficacy.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Instructions
Contains the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, the mantra, and the initial requirements for the ritual setting and timing.
Themes
Ritual Prescription (1)
Mantra (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Alumbinīpiśācisādhanam. In the language of Tibet: Sha za a lum bi ni’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of the Piśācī Alumbinī).
Oṃ lumbini vilumbini śaṃ piśācini svāhā.
In an empty house, starting from the first day of the dark fortnight, one should kindle a fire of firewood. In a hearth for all activities, one should perform a fire offering (homa) while naked, using one thousand tooth-sticks of khadira wood smeared with one’s own blood, the blood of a naturally occurring [animal], garlic, cat dung, alcohol, a five-piece skull cup, and the blood of a bull, while issuing the command. Upon seeing her, she will become like a mother or a sister. If one asks for sixteen niṣkas, she will give eight. When she appears, one should offer the guest-water (arghya) mixed with one’s own blood and alcohol.
This concludes the Sādhana of the one called Alumbinī.
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.