Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Sarvasiddhikara-nāma (Accomplishing All Activities) is a technical manual attributed to Carpaṭi that outlines the temporal and elemental conditions necessary for the successful execution of yogic activities. The text focuses on the precise timing of ritual or meditative practices based on astrological and elemental cycles. It establishes a rigorous schedule that correlates specific durations of time, measured in ghaṭikās and praharas, with the dominance of the four elements: wind, fire, earth, and water. By distinguishing between nocturnal and diurnal cycles, the work commits the reader to a disciplined synchronization of practice with the natural environment. The text functions as a prescriptive guide, asserting that the efficacy of yoga depends upon the correct sequence of auspicious planetary alignments and the corresponding elemental shifts, thereby framing spiritual accomplishment as a product of precise cosmic timing.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise describing the spectacle of yoga in its proper sequence, the Sarvasiddhikara originates from the Indian tradition and is attributed to the author Carpaṭi. The work was translated into the classical Tibetan language by the monk dge slong rgya mtsho. It is preserved in the Tengyur, specifically volume ཞི, where it is situated within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works and spans two pages. The text enacts a technical synchronization of practice with the natural environment, arguing that the efficacy of yoga depends upon the correct sequence of auspicious planetary alignments and corresponding elemental shifts. It provides a prescriptive guide for the practitioner, correlating specific durations of time—measured in ghaṭikās and praharas—with the dominance of the elements wind, fire, earth, and water across nocturnal and diurnal cycles. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to understand the precise temporal and elemental conditions deemed necessary for the successful execution of yogic activities, as it outlines a rigorous schedule for aligning spiritual practice with astrological cycles.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Accomplishing All [Activities]” (Toh 2340), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2340
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant for its integration of Indian astronomical measurements and elemental theory within a Tibetan Buddhist context. It illustrates the tradition's reliance on external cosmic timing to ensure the success of internal yogic practices. For the modern reader, it provides evidence of the technical sophistication of the Sarvakarmasiddhi genre.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Provides the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles, an invocation to the Supreme Siddha, and the intended scope of the work.
2
Elemental Timing
Details the specific durations of elemental dominance during the night and day using ghaṭikā and prahara measurements.
3
Colophon
Records the completion of the work, the author Carpaṭi, and the translator Gyatso.
Themes
Elemental Cycles (2)
Temporal Measurement (2)
Yogic Sequence (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Sarvasiddhikara-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Thams cad grub par byed pa zhes bya ba. Homage to the Supreme Siddha.
The spectacle of yoga shall be described in its proper sequence, beginning with the auspicious [planets] and so forth.
First, at the time when the planet Mars (Maṅgala) rises: Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Earth is one ghaṭikā and two ghaṭikā; Water is two ghaṭikā. At night: Fire is one prahara; Earth is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Water is two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is two ghaṭikā.
At the time when Mercury (Budha) rises: Earth is one prahara; Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Earth is one prahara. At night: Water is two ghaṭikā; Earth is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is two ghaṭikā.
For Jupiter (Bṛhaspati): Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Earth is one prahara; Water is two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā. At night: Fire is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Earth is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Water is two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā.
For Venus (Śukra): Fire is one prahara; Earth is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Water is two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā; Earth is two ghaṭikā. At night: Earth is one prahara; Water is two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Earth is two ghaṭikā.
When Saturn (Śani) rises: Water is two ghaṭikā; Wind is two ghaṭikā; Fire is one prahara; Earth is one prahara and two ghaṭikā; Water is two ghaṭikā.
At night, wind is for two ghaṭikās, fire for one prahara, earth for one prahara, and water for two ghaṭikās. When the sun rises, water is for two ghaṭikās, wind for two ghaṭikās, fire for one prahara and two ghaṭikās, earth for one prahara, and water for two ghaṭikās. At night, wind is for two ghaṭikās, fire for one prahara and two ghaṭikās, earth for one prahara, water for two ghaṭikās, and wind for two ghaṭikās. When the moon rises, fire is for one prahara, earth for one prahara and two ghaṭikās, water for two ghaṭikās, wind for two ghaṭikās, and fire for two ghaṭikās. At night, earth is for one prahara, water for two ghaṭikās, wind for two ghaṭikās, fire for one prahara, and earth for one prahara.
The yogi should act in this way: wind and fire are to be avoided. The nature of the increasing fire and all the activities of wind lead to delusion; therefore, one should understand all eight activities of water and earth, and having understood them, avoid fire and wind. Among the activities of consecrating a king, digging a well, performing a wedding, and performing consecrations, earth is the primary element. For eye-salve, pills, the two types of sandals, the sword, the arghya offering, the pādya offering, the topknot, battle, killing, food, the treasury, and the construction of hermitages, earth is the primary element. For the practice of asceticism and for begging, fire is the primary element. For expulsion, wind is the primary element. For paralyzing and summoning, water is the primary element, as are the activities of pacifying and enriching. It is also primary for spectacles, composing treatises, and purification.
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.