Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The Essence Extraction of the Internal and External Elixirs is a technical manual focused on the intersection of pharmacological preparation and tantric somatic practice. The text outlines a dual system of longevity and spiritual attainment, combining the administration of external medicinal substances with internal yogic visualizations. It prescribes specific timing for medicine intake based on seasonal cycles and the lunar calendar to maximize potency, specifically mentioning the use of arura and sugar. Simultaneously, the work details a meditative process involving the recitation of seed syllables and the visualization of nectar flowing through the body's channels to purge impurities. By integrating these external chemical elixirs with internal energetic manipulations, the text commits the practitioner to a rigorous regime of physical and mental discipline designed to transform the body's constitution and achieve long life through the non-duality of medicine and mantra.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise on the attainment of longevity and spiritual accomplishment, the Bāhyāntarāmṛtakalpa focuses on the synergy between medicinal formulations and tantric practice. Attributed to the Indian author Bhyari, the work was translated into the Tibetan language by Ratnaphala. It is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, where it comprises three pages and is situated within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The text enacts a dual system of physical and energetic transformation, prescribing the seasonal administration of substances such as arura and sugar alongside the recitation of seed syllables. It details a meditative process in which nectar is visualized flowing through the body's channels to purge impurities, specifically invoking the power of Vajrayoginī. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the intersection of pharmacological preparation and somatic visualization within the classical Tibetan tradition, observing how the text integrates external chemical elixirs with internal yogic manipulations to refine the practitioner's physical and spiritual state.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Essence Extraction of the Internal and External Elixirs” (Toh 2424), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2424
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant for its illustration of the synthesis between Ayurvedic-style pharmacology and Vajrayana internal yoga. It demonstrates how the tradition viewed the physical body as a site for chemical and energetic refinement. For the modern reader, it provides evidence of the specific substances and seasonal timing used in historical Tibetan longevity practices.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Provides the Indian and Tibetan titles, a devotional opening, and the stated goal of attaining long life.
2
External Medicinal Formulations
Instructions on the timing and seasonal composition of medicinal elixirs, including the use of arura and sugar.
3
Internal Yogic Practice
Description of a visualization practice involving seed syllables and the movement of nectar to cleanse the body of impurities.
Themes
Pharmacology and Longevity (1-2)
Somatic Visualization (3)
Seasonal Timing (2)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaEssence Extraction of the Internal and External Elixirs·
In the language of India: Bāhyāntaramṛtakaḷpanāma. In the language of Tibet: Phyi nang bdud rtsi’i bcud len zhes bya ba. Homage to Vajrayoginī!
Through the secret elixir of the continuous nectar, the methods of practice and the medicinal formulations are revealed. If practiced, one will attain longevity and spiritual accomplishment. Therefore, I shall explain the practice of the "Watchman" (Bya ra).
If a yogi performs the outer practice, they should purify their own body with the five nectars. Vairocana, Akṣobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitābha, and Amoghasiddhi—those who do not know how to practice while remaining within their own bodies [should listen]. I shall explain the practice compiled from the Māmakī Tantra.
Take Vairocana and stir it with vajra-water. Squeeze it and place it in a vessel for half a session. Perform the blessing and offerings, then pound it in a place free of wind. For those with wind disorders, mix it with molasses; for those with phlegm disorders, mix it with the "three hot" spices. Squeeze the stainless Vairocana and dry it in the shade. Grind it finely and mix it with butter and honey. Knead it with Akṣobhya and consume it as food and drink. Eat meat and milk, and avoid alcohol. This practice of Vairocana was spoken by the Watchman (Bhyari).
Boil Akṣobhya and mix it with butter and sugar. Once cooled, the yogi should drink it. If one avoids alcohol and women, accomplishment is attained in six months. This elixir of Akṣobhya is spoken by the Watchman.
For Ratnasambhava, take gandha, mercury, goat’s milk, honey, and bīṭa. Grind them finely and mix with sugar and the like. Extract the butter-oil and anoint the yogi’s body.
When administering medicines, give them during the period of fullness. Unlike others, this produces the power of Bhāri. During the three months of summer, take the arura of Amoghasiddhi mixed with hot medicines. During the three months of autumn, mix sugar with arura and the yogi should eat it on an empty stomach. During the three months of winter, mix it with the three fruits and eat it. During the three months of spring, mix the three fruits with butter and honey and eat it. Through the essence-extraction (rasāyana) of Amoghasiddhi, the yogi clears away diseases and accomplishes all aims. If one eats licorice, honey, butter, the three fruits of Amitābha, and calcite (cong zhi), diseases are cleared away. In any case, the yogi must rely on the oral instructions of the guru. This essence-extraction of Amitābha was spoken by Bhāri. After six months, the yogi should boil and administer costus (ru rta). One should rely on the three whites and three sweets, and drink boiled water as a support. In short, gradually abandon whatever foods are necessary. Having applied it to the rock, Bhāri should rely upon it. Having explained the cessation of food, the secret explanation shall be told. From the center of the heart, the yidam deity herself is Vajravārāhī, with one face and two hands. Seated in the sattva posture, she holds a vase of nectar. Reciting "HŪṂ," the heart is turned upward. By the light of the Mother, the boundary between white and black is severed. Reciting "OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ," nectar drips from her mouth. It flows from the boundary where white and black are severed. Imagine one's own body as hollow, filled like milk. This is the samādhisattva, as I have explained. In the sky before one is the jñānasattva; recollecting this mentally, by its light, the skull from the brow upward is severed.
The wisdom being utters OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ, causing the nectar to drip from the skull cup and enter the channels. Below the vase, a blazing RAṂ pours in nectar; as it mixes, the body is filled with nectar. By the power of that non-duality, imagine the lymph and other impurities dripping downward from the secret place. Then, from the lower edge upward, the nectar fills one’s own body. Furthermore, from the broken edge of the yogi’s skull cup, imagine a finger’s breadth of nectar overflowing and filling it. If the yogi’s wind element is disturbed, imagine the vase at the heart being filled with butter. For bile, jaundice, fever, or descending diseases, imagine the body cooled like camphor in water. If the yogi suffers from a cold disease, one should meditate on the power of warming medicines. If weariness arises despite meditating, the wise should recite the syllable HRĪṂ. I, Bhryari, have spoken this secret alchemy of essence; the yogi should accomplish it with a stable mind. Through the qualities of experience, diseases are cleared away; in six months, insight and intelligence increase, and the natural state arises. This concludes the instructions on the outer and inner alchemy of nectar spoken by the master Bhryari. The Indian Paṇḍita Ratnapāla translated this into his own language and taught the instructions of the Explanatory Tantra without interruption.
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.