Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Method of Binding the Sun and the Moon (Somasūryabandhanopāya-nāma) begins with a formal invocation to the deity Siddhārthā. The fragment provided introduces a narrative or didactic sequence concerning the Saṅgha, contrasting the inherent, indescribable qualities of the community with a specific instance of expulsion. The text describes a practitioner who is cast out for speaking of faults upon the sounding of the gaṇḍī (staff). By framing the work through this tension between the ideal nature of the monastic community and the reality of disciplinary conflict, the text commits the reader to an exploration of the conditions under which a practitioner is marginalized or removed from the spiritual collective. The work appears to utilize a narrative opening to set the stage for a specific method or ritual practice indicated by the title.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the method of binding the sun and the moon, the Somasūryabandhanopāya belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. It is attributed to the Indian author Kamāri. Preserved in the classical Tibetan tradition, the work appears in volume ཟི of the Tengyur under the Tibetan title nyi zla bcing pa'i thabs/, where it extends over two pages. The translation opens with an invocation to the Mother, Siddhārthā, and introduces a sequence concerning the Saṅgha. It contrasts the indescribable qualities of the community with a narrative of expulsion, describing a practitioner who is cast out for speaking of faults upon the sounding of the gaṇḍī, yet who possesses the wondrous ability to gather flowers while walking upon water without sinking. A scholar or serious reader consults this work to examine the tension between the ideal nature of the monastic community and the reality of disciplinary conflict, as the text utilizes this narrative opening to set the stage for the specific method or ritual practice indicated by its title.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “The Method of Binding the Sun and the Moon” (Toh 2397), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2397
Summary & commentary
Significance
The text is significant for its depiction of the internal disciplinary dynamics of the Saṅgha and the use of the gaṇḍī as a signal for communal action. It provides insight into the intersection of ritual titles and narrative accounts of monastic expulsion within the Indo-Tibetan tradition.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Contains the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles, an homage to Siddhārthā, and the beginning of a narrative regarding a member's expulsion from the Saṅgha.
Themes
Monastic Discipline (1)
Expulsion and Fault-finding (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaThe Method of Binding the Sun and the Moon·
In the language of India: Somasūryabandhanopāya-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Nyi zla bcing ba’i thabs zhes bya ba. Homage to the Mother, Siddhārthā.
The qualities of the Saṅgha are beyond description; yet, when the sound of the gaṇḍī was struck, he was expelled for speaking of faults. Walking upon the water, he gathered flowers without sinking into the depths. He is renowned as the most wondrous Virūpa.
Wandering through the market streets, he ate the leftovers of others. In a moment of anger, he reversed the flow of the Ganges. Walking upon the water, he gathered flowers without sinking into the depths. He is renowned as the most wondrous Virūpa.
He did not become angry with the wine-sellers, but said, "I have placed the sun as a deposit in your house." Walking upon the water, he gathered flowers without sinking into the depths. He is renowned as the most wondrous Virūpa.
By casting a sidelong glance at the non-Buddhist shrine, the liṅga was destroyed. Seeing this, Viṣṇu’s shrine trembled. Having staked the sun as a deposit, Virūpa drank the wine. He said, "The people of the world are like cattle," and was thus called Virūpa.
The coemergent nature of mind is subtle and stainless. Walking upon the water, he gathered flowers without sinking into the depths. He is renowned as the most wondrous Virūpa.
The method for binding the sun and moon, composed by Kāmarī and transmitted from the master Virūpa, is hereby 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.