Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The provided fragment of The Song of Virūpa serves as a hagiographic panegyric designed to establish the spiritual authority of the figure Virūpa. The text employs a dialectic between external perception and internal reality, contrasting the negative reputation Virūpa holds among the wicked with his actual possession of stainless, profound qualities. By utilizing the metaphor of the utpala flower—which remains dry despite being gathered from water—the text argues that Virūpa exists within the mundane world without being contaminated by it. This framing commits the reader to viewing Virūpa not as a conventional practitioner, but as a master of illusions who transcends dualistic categories of purity and impurity. The fragment suggests a structure that moves from a formal invocation of the Buddha to a specific characterization of the mahasiddha's nature and his interaction with worldly environments, such as the marketplace.
Provenance
About this text
A panegyric celebrating the spiritual nature of Virūpa, the bi rU pa'i glu is a treatise belonging to the classical Tibetan period. This work is preserved in the Tengyur, specifically within volume ཟི, where it occupies two pages as part of the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works collection. The text enacts a hagiographic defense of Virūpa, contrasting the misconceptions of the wicked with his actual stainless qualities. By employing the metaphor of the utpala flower remaining dry while gathered from water, the work argues that Virūpa is a master of illusions who moves through marketplaces and villages without being contaminated by the mundane world. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the dialectic between external perception and internal reality, observing how the text establishes the authority of a practitioner who transcends dualistic categories of purity and impurity through a formal invocation of the Buddha.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “The Song of Virūpa” (Toh 2369), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2369
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant as it exemplifies the mahasiddha tradition's emphasis on non-dual realization and the subversion of conventional social norms. It illustrates the tension between the outward appearance of a practitioner and their internal realization, a central theme in Vajrayana Buddhism.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction and Characterization
An opening homage followed by a defense of Virūpa's character against public criticism and a metaphor for his transcendence.
Themes
Transcendence of mundane contamination (1)
Appearance versus reality (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
Homage to the Buddha!
Though the wicked speak ill of him throughout the world,
He possesses profound, stainless, and cherished qualities.
When an utpala flower is gathered from within the water, it is not touched by the water.
Such a master of many illusions is Virūpa.
Whether he goes to a marketplace, a village, or a riverbank,
No one knows where his body has fallen.
When an utpala flower is gathered from within the water, it is not touched by the water.
Such a master of many illusions is Virūpa.
The world’s wicked speech is but a lie.
In his wrath, he reversed the flow of the Ganges.
When an utpala flower is gathered from within the water, it is not touched by the water.
Such a master of many illusions is Virūpa.
He pledged the sun as collateral and drank wine.
He struck fear into Indra and destroyed the city of Bhīma.
When an utpala flower is gathered from within the water, it is not touched by the water.
Such a master of many illusions is Virūpa.
The 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.