Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragment provides the introductory instructions for a sādhanā dedicated to the deity Ucchuṣmā. The text begins by establishing the title in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by the presentation of the deity's seed mantra. It then transitions into the specific ritual requirements for the practice, committing the practitioner to a precise temporal and material regimen. Specifically, the text mandates a period of recitation extending from the full moon to the fourteenth day of the subsequent lunar month. The ritual process involves the continuous recitation of the mantra over a specific physical object, identified here as a single morse. The text functions as a prescriptive guide, linking the sonic repetition of the mantra with a strict lunar calendar and a material substrate to achieve the intended ritual outcome.
Provenance
About this text
A sādhanā dedicated to the deity Ucchuṣmā, the Ucchuṣmānāmasādhana 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, as part of the canonical collection known as The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel, a Sādhana Activity Garland of Red Yamāri. The text enacts a prescriptive ritual regimen that links the sonic repetition of a mantra with a strict lunar calendar and a material substrate. Specifically, it mandates a period of recitation extending from the full moon until the fourteenth day of the following month, during which the practitioner recites the mantra over morsels of food obtained through alms. A scholar or serious reader consults this one-page fragment today to examine the precise temporal and material requirements of the practice, as well as the relationship between the deity's seed mantra and the physical actions required to achieve the intended ritual outcome.
Sanskrit title
Ucchuṣmānāmasādhana
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 intersection of mantra recitation, lunar timing, and material conduits in Vajrayāna ritual practice. For the modern reader, it provides a primary example of how specific deities like Ucchuṣmā are approached through time-bound commitments and the use of physical supports.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Ritual Instructions
Contains the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, the mantra, and the timing and material requirements for the practice.
Themes
Ritual Timing (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: Ucchuṣmā-nāma-sādhana. In the language of Tibet: The Sādhana of the One Called Ucchuṣmā. Oṃ ucchuṣmāyai svāhā.
The ritual for this is as follows: from the day of the full moon until the fourteenth day of the following month, one should recite the mantra over a single morsel of food obtained through alms and eat it oneself. Over a second morsel, one should recite the mantra and cast it into the water. On the twenty-first day, she will appear in the form of a Caṇḍālī and give instructions to the practitioner; one should not feel any sense of revulsion toward her. Thereafter, she will abide in her own form and, having become a mother, a sister, or a wife, she will follow the practitioner after making a vow. For a person who has accumulated merit, she will be accomplished in seven days. Even for one with little merit, she will be accomplished in twenty-one days, even if they have killed a Brahmin. Once accomplished, she will give five dināras every day. When giving the morsel of food, one should eat the food in a place where no people are present and sleep alone at night. This concludes the Sādhana of the One Called Ucchuṣmā.
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.