Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual manual specifies the material and symbolic requirements for a fire offering dedicated to wrathful activities, specifically the act of slaying. The text prescribes a precise physical configuration for the ritual space, mandating a triangular, black hearth adorned with vajras and curved knives. It describes the central visual element as a mountain of fire with upward-rising peaks, which must be treated with nectar and pigments. Furthermore, the text dictates the specific nature of the fuel, requiring black and thorny wood. By adhering to these strict aesthetic and material parameters, the practitioner commits to a ritual environment designed to align with the aggressive and destructive nature of the intended activity. The text functions as a technical guide for the physical manifestation of a wrathful rite, ensuring that the external environment mirrors the internal intent of the ritual operation.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual manual for the fire offering of slaying, the drag po'i sbyin sreg sbyor ka belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. It is attributed to the Indian author Bhavapa. The work was translated into Tibetan by lo tsa ba gzhon nu tshul khrims and is preserved in volume ཛི of the Tengyur. The text enacts a wrathful rite by prescribing the precise material and symbolic configuration of the ritual space. It mandates the use of a triangular, black hearth adorned with curved knives and vajras, centered around a mountain of fire treated with pigments and nectar. Furthermore, it dictates the use of black, thorny wood for both the fuel and the sacrificial samidh. A scholar or serious reader consults this one-page guide today to understand the technical requirements for manifesting a ritual environment that aligns with the aggressive and destructive nature of the intended activity, ensuring the physical manifestation of the rite mirrors the practitioner's internal intent.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Fire Offering Ritual for Wrathful Activities” (Toh 2180), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2180
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its illustration of the use of color, shape, and specific materials to evoke wrathful energies within the Indo-Tibetan ritual tradition. For the modern reader, it provides a concrete example of how symbolic architecture and material culture are employed to facilitate specific spiritual or psychological outcomes.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Ritual Application for the Fire Offering of Slaying
Detailed instructions on the color, shape, and ornamentation of the hearth, the visual representation of the fire, and the type of fuel wood required.
Themes
Ritual Materiality (1)
Wrathful Iconography (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Fire Offering Ritual for Wrathful Activities·
The ritual application for the fire offering of slaying: The hearth is triangular and black in color. Inside and above it are vajras and curved knives; in between, a mountain of fire with its peaks rising upward. It should be smeared with nectar and other pigments. The fuel wood is black and thorny; the sacrificial wood (samidh) is of the same type, twelve finger-widths in length. Black substances are auspicious for the offering materials and so forth. Specifically, the flesh of a "face-bearing" animal, along with human fat, black butter, and so on—these are the auspicious burnt offerings (homa) arising from the tantras. At the hours of midnight or midday, upon a high seat on the ground, with the ornaments of the extended and contracted postures complete, one should perform the generation stage and the ritual of igniting the fire and so forth. Having generated the fire god as desired, one should invite the wisdom deity and present the offerings and so on. Since these pith instructions for the yogic application are said to be extremely profound, they should be learned from the mouth of the master in order to refute reckless speculation. Once the ritual of the deity is complete, one should contemplate the fire god, perform the purification, gather all the substances, and complete the ritual and so forth. This concludes the fourth section, the application of wrathful activities.
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.