Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual manual provides technical instructions for the preparation and offering of a maṇḍala. The text prescribes a sequence of physical actions and vocalizations, beginning with the purification of a properly dimensioned maṇḍala using the five cow products and fragrant paste, accompanied by specific seed syllables and mantras. The ritual process integrates the physical arrangement of the space with liturgical requests, specifically exhorting the turning of the wheel of Dharma and supplicating the Buddhas to remain in the world rather than entering parinirvāṇa. The text commits the practitioner to a precise synthesis of material offerings, mantra recitation, and the dedication of merit. It concludes by transitioning to the offering of a maṇḍala specifically dedicated to the yidam, repeating the requirement for fragrant paste and associated mantras, thereby linking general cosmic offerings with specific deity practice.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the preparation and offering of the maṇḍala, the maN+Dal gyi cho ga belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is attributed to the Indian author Saṃvarabhadra. It was translated into Tibetan by ’bro lo tsa ba and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཚི, where it is situated within the Other Skillful Means Tantras collection. The text enacts a precise sequence of physical and vocalizations, prescribing the use of fragrant paste and the five products of a cow upon a maṇḍala of proper dimensions. These material actions are synchronized with the recitation of mantras and seed syllables, including invocations to the various ratnas and the yidam. The ritual process further includes the exhortation of the turning of the wheel of Dharma, a supplication for the Buddhas to avoid parinirvāṇa, and the dedication of the roots of virtue. A scholar or serious reader consults this single-page text today to examine the technical synthesis of material offerings and liturgical requests, observing how the practitioner integrates physical space with mantra recitation to facilitate a specific cosmic offering.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Ritual for [Offering] a Maṇḍala” (Toh 2121), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2121
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text illustrates the intersection of material culture and liturgy in Indo-Tibetan ritual, specifically the use of substances like cow products to sanctify a space. It highlights the traditional Buddhist practice of requesting the continued presence of enlightened beings to ensure the availability of the Dharma.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
General Maṇḍala Offering
Instructions for preparing the maṇḍala with cow products and fragrant paste, followed by a series of mantras.
2
Liturgical Supplication and Yidam Offering
Instructions for exhorting the Dharma wheel, dedicating virtue, and performing a specific offering to the yidam.
Themes
Ritual Purification (1-2)
Mantra Recitation (1-2)
Supplication and Merit Dedication (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
Homage to the holy ones! Then, having offered the maṇḍala: upon a maṇḍala of the proper dimensions, smear it with the five products of a cow and apply a fragrant paste while reciting: vajrarekhe hūṃ. Then recite: oṃ haṃ mahāmeravāya namaḥ; oṃ yaḥ gajaratanāya namaḥ; oṃ ra puruṣaratanāya namaḥ; oṃ la strīratnāya namaḥ; oṃ va aśvaratanāya namaḥ; oṃ ya khaḍgaratanāya namaḥ; oṃ ra maṇiratnāya namaḥ; oṃ vaḥ sarvanidhikumbhāya namaḥ; oṃ la cakraratanāya namaḥ. In this manner, arrange nine clusters of flowers for each. Offer the seats with: paṃ padma maṇḍala, ma sūrya maṇḍala, and a candra maṇḍala. Upon those seats, invite the gurus, such as Candrapa and others, and prostrate to them:
"Embodiment of all the Buddhas,
The very essence of the Vajra Holder,
The root of the Three Jewels—
To the gurus, I prostrate."
Then perform circumambulations. Next, make offerings:
"Great offering of great passion,
Which brings joy to all sentient beings;
Great offering of great hatred,
The great enemy of all afflictions;
Great offering of great delusion,
The deluded mind that dispels delusion;
Great offering of great anger,
The great enemy of great wrath;
Great offering of great attachment,
Which clears away all attachment;
Great desire, great bliss,
Great joy, great satisfaction."
oṃ vajra puṣpe hūṃ; oṃ vajra dhūpe hūṃ; oṃ vajra āloke hūṃ; oṃ vajra gandhe hūṃ; oṃ vajra naivedye hūṃ; oṃ vajra śabda hūṃ. Then, confess your misdeeds.
Exhort the turning of the wheel of Dharma and supplicate [the Buddhas] not to pass into parinirvāṇa. Then, dedicate the roots of virtue. Next, offer the maṇḍala of the yidam. For a maṇḍala of the proper dimensions, smear it with fragrant paste.
OṂ VAJRA REKHE HŪṂ
OṂ BUDDHA MAÑJUŚRĪ NAMAḤ
OṂ VAJRA SATVA HŪṂ NAMAḤ
OṂ VAJRA RATNA HŪṂ NAMAḤ
OṂ VAJRA PADMA HŪṂ NAMAḤ
OṂ VAJRA KARMA HŪṂ NAMAḤ
PAṂ PADMA MAṆḌALA
MA SŪRYA MAṆḌALA
Perform the summoning and absorption of the wisdom beings (jñānasattva) into that. Then, prostrate:
Dharmakāya, Sambhogakāya, and Nirmāṇakāya,
Though inseparable like a rainbow in the sky,
To Vairocana, Akṣobhya, Ratnasambhava,
Amitābha, and Amoghasiddhi,
I prostrate with devotion of body and speech.
To the one who maintains a youthful body,
Perfectly adorned with the lamp of wisdom,
Who dispels the darkness of the three worlds,
To Mañjuśrī, I prostrate.
Having arranged the offerings as before, the dedication of the roots of virtue and so forth are the same as above. Then, request the wisdom beings to depart and dissolve the samaya beings into oneself. Perform the confession with the hundred-syllable mantra. This concludes the ritual for the maṇḍala of the guru and the maṇḍala of the yidam, translated by Dro Lotsāwa.
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.