Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This fragment presents a discourse on the nature of the coemergent, delivered from the perspective of the deity Vajrayoginī. The text employs the metaphor of an arrow to illustrate a philosophical point regarding the ontological status of phenomena. By claiming to have shot the arrow of the coemergent and noting that no target was hit because no target exists, the text argues for the inherent emptiness or non-substantiality of all phenomena. The speaker asserts that a thorough understanding of how to characterize phenomena leads to the realization that there is no fixed object or target to be attained. The reader is committed to a non-dualistic framework where the act of perception or action (the arrow) reveals the absence of a separate, objective reality (the target), thereby framing the coemergent not as a thing to be acquired, but as a realization of voidness.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise delivered from the perspective of the deity Vajrayoginī, the bi rU byed pa'i rdo rje'i glu belongs to the classical Tibetan period. It is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, as part of the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The work consists of a single page in this edition. Through the metaphor of an arrow, the text enacts a discourse on the nature of the coemergent, arguing for the non-substantiality of all phenomena. By asserting that the arrow of the coemergent hits no target because no target exists, the work illustrates a philosophical point regarding the inherent emptiness of reality. A scholar or serious reader consults this fragment to examine how the act of perception reveals the absence of a separate, objective reality, framing the coemergent as a realization of voidness rather than an object to be acquired.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Song of the Vajrin, Virūpa” (Toh 2356), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2356
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its use of deity-centric rhetoric to convey high-level philosophical arguments regarding emptiness. It illustrates the intersection of tantric imagery and Madhyamaka-style dialectics within the Indo-Tibetan tradition.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction to the Coemergent
The speaker identifies as Vajrayoginī and uses the metaphor of the arrow to deny the existence of a target, introducing a discourse on the coemergent.
Themes
Emptiness and Non-substantiality (1)
The Coemergent (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
Homage to the Buddha!
I am the Vajrayoginī who holds the arrow; having thoroughly understood how to characterize all phenomena, I have shot the arrow of the coemergent. Not a single target was hit, for there is no target at all. Listen to this discourse on the coemergent!
The arrow that joins everything to substantiality—I have shot the arrow of the coemergent. Not a single target was hit, for there is no target at all. From those, there is no sensation; the duality of "this is that" has vanished. I have shot the arrow of the coemergent. Not a single target was hit, for there is no target at all. There are no twenty cowries to pay as a fee; such a servant I make of Virūpa. I have shot the arrow of the coemergent. Not a single target was hit, for there is no target at all.
The Vajra Song of Virūpa 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.