Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text provides a ritual procedure for a concise fire offering dedicated to Vajrapāṇi. It outlines the physical and mental preparations required for the rite, beginning with the construction of a circular white hearth and the use of specific fuels such as white sandalwood or milky sap wood. The practitioner is instructed to invite the jñānasattva and perform the sevenfold purification and floral offerings. The ritual concludes with a meditative shift toward non-referential visualization and the dismissal of the fire deity. The text commits the reader to a disciplined sequence of material offerings and mental transformations, framing the practice within a lineage of Secret Mantra. The inclusion of a bodhicitta vow and homage to Guru Vajradhara and the vidyādhara line situates the technical ritual within the broader ethical and spiritual framework of the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, emphasizing the necessity of compassion and insight.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual for a concise fire offering dedicated to the glorious Vajrapāṇi, this work belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The text is attributed to the master Karmavajra. It was translated into Tibetan by glan chung dar ma tshul khrims and is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཛི, where it is situated within the Other Skillful Means Tantras. Spanning three pages in this edition, the work enacts a precise liturgical sequence beginning with the construction of a circular white hearth and the use of white sandalwood or milky sap wood. It guides the practitioner through the invitation of the jñānasattva, the sevenfold purification, and offerings of cooked rice and ghee, concluding with a non-referential visualization and the dismissal of the fire god. The ritual is framed by a vow of bodhicitta and homage to Guru Vajradhara and the vidyādhara lineage. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the technical intersection of material offerings and mental transformations within the Secret Mantra tradition, observing how a concise rite integrates physical preparation with the broader ethical and spiritual commitments of the Mahayana and Vajrayana frameworks.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Concise Fire Offering to the Glorious Vajrapāṇi” (Toh 2195), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2195
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as a representative example of the concise ritual manuals used in the Vajrayana tradition to invoke the power of Vajrapāṇi. It demonstrates the integration of material elements, such as specific woods and hearth designs, with advanced meditative states like non-referentiality. For the modern reader, it illustrates the intersection of ritual technology and the cultivation of bodhicitta.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Ritual Preparation and Offerings
Instructions for constructing the hearth, selecting fuel, and performing initial purifications and offerings.
2
Conclusion of Rite
Instructions for non-referential visualization and the dismissal of the fire god, attributed to the master Karmavajra.
3
Vows and Homage
The generation of bodhicitta and expressions of devotion to Guru Vajradhara and the vidyādhara lineage.
Themes
Ritual Materiality (1)
Non-referentiality (2)
Bodhicitta and Lineage (3)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Concise Fire Offering to the Glorious Vajrapāṇi·
A Concise Fire Offering of Glorious Vajrapāṇi
In an auspicious location, construct a circular, white hearth. Stack white sandalwood or milky sap wood into a circle, invite the wisdom being (jñānasattva) into it, and first perform the sevenfold purification. Then, make offerings of white flowers at the three times of day and perform a fire offering of cooked rice and ghee. By performing this one hundred and eight times, whatever is the object of focus will be pacified. Śāntiṃ kuru svāhā.
In a place for increasing prosperity, construct a square, yellow hearth. Stack yellow wood into a square, make offerings of yellow flowers at the three times of day, and perform a fire offering of the five precious gems and the five types of grain. By doing so, whatever is the object of focus will be increased. Puṣṭiṃ kuru svāhā.
In a place for enrichment, construct a semi-circular, red hearth. Stack red acacia wood into a semi-circle, make offerings of red flowers at the three times of day, and perform a fire offering of flowers and medicinal substances. By doing so, whatever is the object of focus will be brought under control. Jaḥ jaḥ hoḥ.
In a place such as a charnel ground, construct a triangular, dark blue hearth. Stack black, thorny wood into a triangle, make offerings of blue flowers at the three times of day, and perform a fire offering of various poisons, human flesh, human fat, white mustard, and black mustard upon the effigy (liṅga) of the obstructing spirit one hundred and eight times. Even an enemy possessing the lifespan of Brahmā will be killed. Māraya hūṃ phaṭ.
The sequence is as follows: first, prepare the maṇḍala; then, make offerings to the deities; then, perform the invitation; then, perform the sevenfold purification; and finally, perform the fire offering to the fire god (Agni).
Then, the hearth should be visualized as non-referential. Then, the fire god is requested to return to his own abode. This concludes the work composed by the master Karmavajra.
HŪṂ! Chief of the Sugatas, Caṇḍa, and the deities who surround you in the cardinal directions, for the sake of purifying the continuums of myself and all sentient beings, please come forth in a mere instant!
OṂ EHYEHI BHAGAVĀN MAHĀKĀRUṆIKA HOḤ SAMAYA STVAṂ SAMAYA JAḤ VAJRA AṄKUŚA JAḤ. With this, invite them. Offer a general purification with the hundred-syllable mantra. OṂ SAMAYA STVAṂ SAMAYO HAṂ. With this, offer water for the face. OṂ PRĀVARA-SATKĀRA-ĀDICCHA SVĀHĀ. With this, offer water for the feet. OṂ KAMALĀYA SVĀHĀ. With this, offer flowers and the seat.
To the one who, by the mere recollection of whom, destroys the faults of saṃsāra and brings about the attainment of unsurpassed enlightenment—to the feet of the Guru, I prostrate.
In the supreme and holy abode of Alakāvatī, the Blessed Vajracaṇḍa, in whose body all qualities are perfected—to the flawless body, I prostrate.
Though unmoved from the state of the emptiness of dharmatā, you manifest in various forms for the sake of skillful means—to the assembly of the Victors' Sons, the Garuḍas, I prostrate.
To all the Buddhas residing in the ten directions, I offer mentally whatever offerings I can, like the great offering clouds of Samantabhadra; may they become the supreme delight for your body, speech, and mind.
All the non-virtuous deeds I have committed without exception since beginningless time, I individually confess in the presence of the Blessed Vajrapāṇi.
Just as the Victors of the three times have generated the bodhicitta
Endowed with insight and compassion, so shall I generate it in their wake.
I shall never forsake that bodhicitta.
To the Guru Vajradhara, to Vajradhara, the Lord of all Secret Mantra,
And to the yogis who uphold the vidyādhara lineage, I rejoice in your virtuous deeds.
To the Bhagavān Caṇḍavajra and his retinue, I offer my body;
Having accepted it, please grant me the accomplishments in accordance with my needs.
Having first generated the mind of supreme enlightenment, whatever virtue I have practiced now, I dedicate it toward enlightenment for the sake of myself and all sentient beings. This is the Sevenfold Purification of Vajrapāṇi.
Gold that has not been scorched by fire, turquoise that has not been pierced, pearls, the "spear-taking" precious stone, the essence of dependent origination written in saffron, a peacock’s eye, the essence of the garuḍa written in wrathful gold, musk, camphor, sulfur, aconite, guggulu, Gośīrṣa sandalwood, bezoar, and vulture fat—wrap these in the skin of a monkey. Aṭhi.
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.