Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The text, titled Vajrayānasthūlāpatti in Sanskrit and rDo rje theg pa’i sbom po’i ltung ba in Tibetan, is a technical treatise focused on the gross transgressions or downfalls associated with the Vajrayāna path. The fragment indicates that the author intends to enumerate and analyze eight specific categories of offenses. By framing the work with a traditional homage to Vajrasattva and the guru, the author positions the text within the ethical and disciplinary framework of Tantric Buddhism. The work commits the reader to a rigorous understanding of the behavioral and spiritual boundaries of the Vajra Vehicle, emphasizing the consequences of violating these specific vows. The text functions as a manual of discipline, aiming to define the parameters of spiritual failure and the nature of gross offenses within the context of advanced Buddhist practice.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise detailing the gross downfalls of the Vajrayāna, the Vajrayānasthūlāpatti is attributed to the Indian author Nāgārjuna. The work entered the Tibetan tradition through the efforts of the translators Padmākaravarman and zhu chen gyi lo tsa ba dge slong rin chen bzang po. It is preserved in the Tengyur, specifically volume ཟི, where it occupies two pages as part of the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. In terms of its content, the work begins with homages to Vajrasattva and the guru, proceeding to enumerate and analyze eight specific types of gross offenses as taught in the tantras. By defining these behavioral and spiritual boundaries, the text functions as a manual of discipline within the Vajra Vehicle. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to understand the ethical and disciplinary framework of advanced Buddhist practice, specifically regarding the nature of spiritual failure and the consequences of violating the vows associated with the path.
Sanskrit title
Vajrayānasthūlāpatti
Indian author
Nāgārjuna
Tibetan translators
Padmākaravarman, zhu chen gyi lo tsa ba dge slong rin chen bzang po
Cite thisAnuvāda, “Gross Transgressions of the Vajra Vehicle” (Toh 2482), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2482
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant for its focus on the ethical boundaries of Tantric practice, which often differ from monastic vinaya. It provides insight into how the tradition categorizes spiritual failure and the mechanisms of accountability for practitioners of the Vajrayāna.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Provides the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles, an invocation to Vajrasattva, and the beginning of a list of eight gross offenses.
Themes
Vajrayāna ethics and transgressions (1)
Guru devotion (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Vajrayānasthūlāpatti. In the language of Tibet: rDo rje theg pa’i sbom po’i ltung ba (The Downfalls of the Gross Offenses of the Vajrayāna). Homage to the glorious Vajrasattva!
Having prostrated with total devotion at the lotus feet of the guru, I shall write down the eight types of gross downfalls as they are taught in the tantras.
Taking [the consort] by the power of insight;
Taking her nectar by the power of force;
Not keeping secrets from those who are unsuitable vessels;
Engaging in disputes within the gaṇacakra;
Teaching other doctrines to those who possess faith;
Staying among the śrāvakas for seven days;
Boasting of oneself as a yogi through falsehood;
Teaching the Dharma to those without faith.
These are the eight gross downfalls.
The sequence of root downfalls and gross downfalls
Should be understood through the ritual procedures;
If they are impaired, one must perform confession.
The Downfalls of the Gross Offenses of the Vajrayāna, composed by the master Nāgārjuna, is hereby complete.
It was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian abbot Padmakaravarma and the chief editor-translator, the monk Rinchen Zangpo. Later, it was revised and corrected by the Indian abbot, the venerable great paṇḍita Maṇikaśrījñāna, and the translator Chag, the Śākya monk Chöje Pal.
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.