Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragmentary text provides a ritual procedure (sādhana) for the invocation of a specific female spirit identified as the sneezing piśāca Kuṇḍalī (or Kṣukṣuse-rikundari). The text begins by establishing the ritual's nomenclature in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by a mantra dedicated to the entity. The procedural instructions commit the practitioner to a specific set of material and spatial requirements, namely the use of charcoal sourced from a charnel ground to draw the image of a ḍākinī on an eastern wall. The fragment focuses on the preparatory phase of the ritual, emphasizing the necessity of using substances associated with death and decay to attract or manifest the spirit. By prescribing these specific materials and orientations, the text positions the practice within the tradition of spirit propitiation or subjugation, where the practitioner must align their environment with the nature of the entity being summoned.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual procedure for the invocation of a female spirit, the Kṣukṣuserikuṇḍalīsādhana 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. This classical Tibetan text enacts a specific ritual process involving the creation of a ḍākinī image on an eastern wall using charcoal sourced from a charnel ground, accompanied by a mantra and strict spatial requirements such as the absence of fire. A scholar or serious reader consults this two-page fragment today to examine the material and spatial requirements of spirit propitiation, specifically how the use of substances associated with death and decay is employed to manifest the entity identified as the sneezing piśāca Kuṇḍalī.
Sanskrit title
Kṣukṣuserikuṇḍalīsādhana
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 Sneezing Piśāca Kuṇḍalī” (Toh 2080), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2080
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its illustration of the intersection between Buddhist ritual technology and the propitiation of non-Buddhist spirits (piśācas). It provides evidence of the specific material culture of Tibetan ritual practice, particularly the use of charnel ground substances to facilitate supernatural contact.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Ritual Instructions
Contains the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, the mantra, and the initial instructions for drawing the spirit's image.
Themes
Ritual Materiality (1)
Spirit Propitiation (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Kṣukṣuse-rikundari-sādhanam. In the language of Tibet: Kṣukṣuse-rikundari’i sgrub thabs (The Sādhana of Kṣukṣuse-rikundari).
Namo piśācanyai kṣukṣuse-rikundari svāhā.
With charcoal from a charnel ground, draw the form of a female spirit (ḍākinī) on the eastern wall of a house. Ensure that no fire is lit inside. At sunset, sit before that image, place your hand upon its head, and recite the mantra one thousand and eight times. Then, sleep in its presence. On the first night, you will smell the scent of the charnel ground. On the second, you will smell the fragrance of incense such as agarwood. On the third, a soft tactile sensation will arise in your body. Remaining there motionless like a tree trunk, you will achieve the accomplishment from that very night; she will grant eight cowries.
The Sādhana of Kṣukṣuse-rikundari 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.