Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This text presents a series of short, poetic testimonies regarding the nature of reality and the state of realization, framed as a gathering of thirty-five wisdom ḍākiṇīs in the charnel ground of Śītavana. Organized as a gaṇacakra hosted by the ḍākinī Sukharasā, the work functions as a collection of a-prioristic insights where each figure offers a brief song or statement on the non-dual nature of existence. The text argues that ultimate reality transcends the binary of existence and non-existence, describing it as a self-arisen display of space that is empty of essence and beyond linguistic expression. By presenting these realizations as spontaneous utterances, the work commits the reader to a non-conceptual understanding of the dharmakāya, suggesting that the experience of great bliss is an ineffable state that cannot be captured by affirmation or negation, but must be directly realized.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise detailing the realizations of thirty-five wisdom ḍākinīs, the ye shes kyi mkha' 'gro ma sum cu rtsa lnga'i rtogs pa brjod pa belongs to the classical Tibetan tradition. The work is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, where it comprises six pages and is situated within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. It was translated into Tibetan by zha ma lo tsA ba. Set in the charnel ground of Śītavana, the work enacts a gaṇacakra hosted by the ḍākinī Sukharasā, during which various figures, including Candrasūryakanthā, Me-kha-la, Ro-lang bde-ma, Siṃhamukhī, and Tejorājñī, deliver songs of realization. These poetic testimonies argue that ultimate reality transcends the binaries of affirmation and negation, describing existence as a self-arisen display of space that remains beyond linguistic identification. By presenting these insights as spontaneous utterances, the work guides the reader toward a non-conceptual understanding of the dharmakāya and the ineffable nature of great bliss. Scholars and serious readers consult this text to examine how the non-dual nature of reality is articulated through the voices of the ḍākinīs, offering a model of realization that bypasses conceptual distraction and the illusions of saṃsāra.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Tales of the Realizations of the Thirty-Five Wisdom Ḍākiṇīs” (Toh 2450), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2450
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant for its representation of the feminine principle in the transmission of high-level Buddhist philosophy and the use of the gaṇacakra as a pedagogical setting. It illustrates the intersection of tantric imagery and Madhyamaka-style dialectics regarding the emptiness of phenomena.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
The setting of the gaṇacakra in Śītavana and the request by Sukharasā for the ḍākiṇīs to share their realizations.
2-6
Testimonies of Realization
A sequence of brief, poetic statements from various ḍākiṇīs, including Me-kha-la, Siṃhamukhī, Tejorājñī, Lha dpal gyi ye shes, Sūryāśvā, Sūryarājñī, and Siṃhacchavi.
Themes
The Ineffability of Experience (3, 6)
Non-duality and the Transcendence of Existence/Non-existence (2, 3, 4, 5)
The Nature of Space and Dharmakāya (2, 3, 5)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaTales of the Realizations of the Thirty-Five Wisdom Ḍākiṇīs·
Namo Ratna Guru. In the great charnel ground of Śītavana, the ḍākinī Sukharasā (Delightful Corpse-Eater) arranged a gaṇacakra for the principal ladies of the basic space (dharmadhātu). Afterwards, she served grape wine from a vessel of precious metal and requested each of them to sing a song of realization (dohā).
First, the ḍākinī Candrasūryakanthā (She with the Sun and Moon Topknot) sang this song of realization:
"Kye ho! When certainty arises in the uncontrived, genuine awareness, that is the Buddha. If these appearances of white and red objects are understood as symbols, that is the Guru."
The ḍākinī Jaṭāmauli (She with the Topknot of Tresses) sang this song of realization:
"Kye ho! If there is no duality, there is no bondage or liberation. If there is nothing to be identified, there are no obscurations. If there is no inherent nature, there is no attachment or aversion. If there is nothing to be remembered, there is no distraction."
The ḍākinī Vāyu-pakṣā (She with Wings of Wind) sang this song of realization:
"Kye ho! All phenomena are groundless, like a dream. Appearances arise through conditions, like a reflection. Self-arising and self-cognizing, like a bubble. The great rootless state is like space."
The ḍākinī Candrasūrya-kaṇṭhā (She with the Garland of Sun and Moon Skulls) sang this song of realization:
"Kye ho! For any person who experiences that very reality, the expanse of great bliss cannot be contained. Tell me, is there anything to point this out? I see without seeing anything at all."
The ḍākinī Kambalavastrā (She Wearing a Woolen Garment) sang this song of realization:
"Kye ho! The stamen of the lotus awakens in the center of the heart. The flower of clarity is free from the stains of mud. By what cause does it possess fragrance and color?"
"What negation or affirmation could there be in this?" she said.
The Vidyādhara (Realization) of the Ḍākinī Me-kha-la:
"Kye ho! This miraculous display arising from space,
Since it is produced by space itself,
It is self-arisen within the state of space;
Do not perceive this as a fault." She said.
The Vidyādhara (Realization) of the Ḍākinī Ro-lang bde-ma:
"Kye ho! Having found supreme great bliss through the kindness of the guru,
Know that other methods are stable only in delusion.
No one is able to find a path to bliss
Other than this." She said.
The Vidyādhara (Realization) of the Ḍākinī Ye-shes rdo-rje:
"Kye ho! Knowing these various appearances
To be reflections of mindfulness,
And knowing that mindfulness itself is empty,
There is no need to seek the bliss of the expanse."
The Vidyādhara (Realization) of the Ḍākinī Srid-pa'i rgyal-mo:
"Kye ho! If one sees this king of self-awareness,
Everything and everything is the path to liberation.
If self-awareness itself is not realized,
Liberation will never exist." She said.
The Vidyādhara (Symbolic Realization) of the Ḍākinī Padma-zhabs:
"Kye ho! In that which is free from the duality of existence and non-existence,
Who is able to perform analysis?
In that which is without mindfulness and free from the intellect,
Who is able to think or meditate?" She said.
The Vidyādhara (Realization) of the Ḍākinī Rgyal-ba'i blo-gros:
"Kye ho! Possessing the creative power of the awareness of emptiness,
It displays the miraculous display of the unborn arising.
Without negation or affirmation, it is liberated in its own place;
I have found nothing to be done in this." She said.
The realization of the ḍākinī Siṃhamukhī:
"Kye ho! If one says it exists, it cannot be identified. If one says it does not exist, the manifold arises. Since existence and non-existence transcend space, I cannot point to it as 'this'." Thus she spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Tejorājñī:
"If there is nothing to be remembered, do not be distracted. Through distraction, saṃsāra is like a dream. If realized, it is like a person waking from sleep. I have not seen saṃsāra." Thus she spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Śrībhadrā:
"Kye ho! This appearance and existence is Mahāmudrā. Since these sensory qualities are pure, there is no meeting or parting from the innate meaning. I pray, run upon the plain of great bliss!" Thus she spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Śrīprabhā:
"Kye ho! In the treasury of the innate ultimate meaning, the wish-fulfilling jewel of the nature of mind resides. The holy guru holds the key. Would you be pleased to follow it?" Thus she spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Bhadrā:
"Look! Look at your own mind. By looking, it is not found; the root is lost. As for the branches, do as you please. I am the self-liberation of conceptual thought." Thus she spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Vajrasukhā:
"Though beings are deluded by karma, bliss is none other than oneself. Look again at that very meaning of your own; the mind will be liberated from karma." Thus she spoke.
The realization of the great being Sūryeśvara:
"With the brilliance of a thousand suns..." Thus he spoke.
Just as appearance and existence are clarified and incinerated,
By the great non-dual wisdom,
All phenomena are clarified and overcome.
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Lha dpal gyi ye shes:
"Kye ho! I am neither born nor destroyed;
I am the unchanging vajra wisdom.
All phenomena arising from me
Are liberated simultaneously within my essence."
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Stag gi gdong pa can:
"Kye ho! Unborn, unceasing, and beyond thought,
Free from words that characterize it as 'this.'
The supreme path of great primordial liberation—
It is inconceivable; leave it in its own place."
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Zhi ba bzang mo:
"Kye ho! The suchness of the mind is inexpressible;
The suchness of the nature is inconceivable;
The suchness of phenomena is unidentifiable;
The suchness of the path is beyond meditation."
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Gha gha dpal:
"Kye ho! My son, look at that very mind!
Free from elaboration, it is not seen.
Who can meditate on that which is inconceivable?
Without striving, rest in the ground."
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Ye shes dbang phyug:
"If one does not see that suchness,
Even if one practices virtuous deeds of body and speech,
One will not meet with supreme great bliss;
It will be nothing more than temporary happiness."
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Bde ba'i rdo rje:
"Kye ho! Whatever is seen, heard,
Recalled, or felt in any way—
Within the clarity of the wisdom of the mind,
These arise as mere reflections."
Thus he spoke.
"It is not established in the ground; it is empty of essence," she said.
The avadāna of the ḍākinī Sūryāśvā:
"If one sees that which was not seen, the mind is the self-liberated dharmakāya. The stallion of the winds is left behind; the man of the mind travels through space," she said.
The avadāna of the ḍākinī Padmāṅkura:
"Beings are bound by the garland of the mind. By killing the mind and cutting the garland-string, it is like a venomous snake struck by a weapon; it can neither help nor harm," she said.
The avadāna of the ḍākinī Dhāturājñī:
"Kye ho! When the sky is completely clear, it cannot be changed by colors. A person possessing realization cannot be bound by karma. To act like a powerful athlete without confidence is like a fox wearing a lion’s skin," she said.
The avadāna of the ḍākinī Candramukhī:
"Kye ho! The supreme path of great primordial wisdom (jñāna). The level of suchness without traveling. The meaning spontaneously present without being accomplished. Emaho! How fortunate is the yogin!" she said.
The avadāna of the ḍākinī Jvalantīvidyutāvalī:
"My eyes do not see by looking. My mind does not remember by thinking. My tongue does not speak by saying. My path is not reached by traveling," she said.
The avadāna of the ḍākinī Sphaṭikajaṭā:
"In the natural awareness that is not meditated upon, there is no grasping or not grasping with mindfulness. In the relaxation of the three doors that is not practiced, there is no deliberate refutation or establishment."
Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Sūryarājñī:
"Kye ho! This self-arisen wisdom of great bliss cannot be expressed if it is not realized. Once realized, how could it be described? Experience is the mute’s mouth—beyond words." Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Siṃhacchavi:
"Do not look at him; look at me. I am the great wisdom. He is my emanation. Non-dual wisdom transcends the intellect." Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Raktamukhī:
"Kye ho! At the boundary between mindfulness and non-mindfulness, the mental consciousness transcends thought. Know this from the mouth of the guru; it will not be realized by others." Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Śrīpradīpā:
"Kye ho! Since this wisdom of the mind—how can you see it by looking? It will not be realized by analysis; leave it as it is, without seeking." Thus he spoke.
The realization of the ḍākinī Ālokaspharaṇarājñī:
"Beings are bound by the cords of karma, like a brahmin spinning thread. Let the mind loosen the cord; if freed from karma, there is no bondage." Thus he spoke.
From the Secret Treasury of the Ḍākinīs, the realization of the thirty-five wisdom ḍākinīs, which was compiled after the principal ladies of the basic space (dharmadhātu) conferred together and granted it to the noble Lord of India (Dampa Sangye), translated by the translator Zhama.
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.