Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This ritual text provides a procedural guide for the Gaṇacakra (feast offering), designed to accumulate merit and pacify obstructing spirits. The work outlines a sequence of liturgical actions beginning with the purification of the practitioner's body and ritual implements through the syllable HŪṂ and the visualization of Vajrasattva and Samantabhadra. It directs the practitioner to generate a deity maṇḍala, invite the wisdom deity, and perform the consecration of alcohol and other offerings. The text includes a specific invocation to appease a variety of spirits and deities, including Kṛṣṇa and Rudra, followed by a dedication of merit rooted in universal compassion and the goal of buddhahood. The ritual concludes with the distribution of offerings to maṇḍala deities and directional protectors before the practitioner partakes in the feast. By following these instructions, the reader commits to a structured synthesis of visualization, mantra recitation, and material offering intended to remove spiritual obstacles and benefit all sentient beings.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual guide for the Gaṇacakra designed to accumulate merit and pacify obstructing spirits, the Gaṇacakravidhi belongs to the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works. The work is attributed to the Indian author Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍita. It was translated into the Tibetan language by Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍita and the translator ’gos lhas btsas, as preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཟི, where it extends over five pages. The ritual enacts a sequence of liturgical procedures beginning with an homage to Avalokiteśvara and the purification of the practitioner's tongue, hands, and ritual implements—the vajra and bell—using the syllable HŪṂ. It further directs the practitioner to visualize Vajrasattva and Samantabhadra, generate a deity maṇḍala, and invite the wisdom deity. Particular attention is given to the consecration of alcohol, utilizing specific colored syllables to purify its color, remove foul odors, and destroy ordinary potency. A scholar or serious reader consults this classical Tibetan work to examine the precise procedural requirements for the feast offering, from the initial meditational preparations to the final dissolution of the wisdom deity, ensuring the ritual is performed exactly according to the scriptures and pith instructions.
The text is significant as it illustrates the integration of Indian tantric ritual elements with Tibetan translation practices, specifically attributing the work to Kṛṣṇācārya and the translation to Kṛṣṇapa and 'Gos Lhas btsas. It demonstrates the technical application of seed syllables and the role of the Gaṇacakra in managing both spiritual merit and external obstructions.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-2
Introduction and Preliminary Purification
Statement of purpose and the blessing of the practitioner's body and ritual implements.
3
Maṇḍala Generation and Offering Consecration
Instructions for generating the deity maṇḍala and purifying the ritual alcohol.
4-5
Invocation of Spirits and Dedication
A list of obstructing spirits to be pacified and a compassionate dedication for the liberation of all beings.
6
Distribution and Consumption
The allocation of offerings to maṇḍala deities and directional protectors, followed by the practitioner's consumption.
7
Colophon
Attribution of authorship to Kṛṣṇācārya and translation to Kṛṣṇapa and 'Gos Lhas btsas.
Themes
Ritual Purification (2-3)
Pacification of Obstructing Spirits (1, 4)
Universal Compassion and Merit (1, 5)
Offerings and Consumption (3, 6)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Gaṇacakra-vidhiḥ. In the language of Tibet: Tshogs kyi ’khor lo’i cho ga (The Ritual of the Gaṇacakra). Homage to the noble Lord Avalokiteśvara.
In order to accumulate the collections and to pacify obstructing spirits, I shall write down the Gaṇacakra, the ultimate merit, exactly according to the scriptures and pith instructions.
Regarding that, first, in a delightful place such as a Gaṇacakra hall that is anointed with fragrant scents like sandalwood, a practitioner who possesses the divine pride of the deity of all activities should sprinkle the ground with water, prepare a maṇḍala, scatter flowers, arrange the offerings, and set out extensive torma offerings for the directional guardians and so forth.
Then, having invited the master and requested him to be seated in an appropriate place, one should consecrate the vase of all activities, complete with its ornaments and accoutrements. One should also arrange the offering vases as appropriate.
Then, having summoned all those yogis who are worthy to assemble, they should make this supplication:
"O Blue Wrathful One, beautiful one,
You are excellent and pleasing;
Holding a staff bound with a precious jewel in your hand,
In order to liberate me from saṃsāra,
O Hero, please grant your permission and let me enter.
In the midst of the assembly of yoginīs,
Open the excellent door and let me in!"
Having made this supplication, they are led inside. They are sprinkled with water from the activity vase and given the rinsing water. Then, having arranged them in their respective rows, they offer flowers to the Vajra Master and make supplications. Flowers should also be scattered for all the yogis and they should be exhorted.
Then, the master should meditate on the meditational deity and, through mere devotion, bless the tongue and hands. The vajra and bell should also be blessed with the syllable HŪṂ, and the visualization should be recited:
HŪṂ. The primordial being, Vajrasattva, the Tathāgata, Samantabhadra, the self of all, the lord of the Vajra-pride. OṂ MAHĀVAJRA HŪṂ.
As for the bell: ĀḤ. Because existence is pure by nature, it is pure by its very essence from the beginning. Through the being who is pure by nature, existence is made into the supreme, sacred state. OṂ VAJRA GHAṆṬE ĀḤ.
Then, all the various offerings should be blessed with the three syllables. Next, with light rays from the seed syllable at the heart, one should visualize the deities together with the guru in the sky, and offer the water for the mouth, the water for rinsing the face, and the water for washing the feet, followed by the offerings from flowers up to the melodious music in sequence. Then, one should offer praise according to either the five suchnesses or whichever text is appropriate. One should perform the seven-branch prayer, whether in brief or in detail. Having requested forbearance with the hundred-syllable mantra, one should request the deities to depart.
Then, one should meditate on emptiness with the Śūnyatā mantra. From the appearance of the syllable HŪṂ, one should meditate on the enclosure, the lattice, and the ground. Then, one should meditate on the successive layers of the elements and Mount Meru, which is of the nature of precious jewels. Upon that, at the center of a multicolored lotus, one should visualize a crossed vajra. At its center, from the syllable BHRŪṂ, one should generate the celestial mansion together with the seats.
There, generate the maṇḍala of whichever deity is appropriate, invite the wisdom deity, and having made offerings, dissolve them inseparably. Then, perform the protection and consecration of the alcohol according to the root text. Purify the color with a red syllable HA, clear away foul odors with a white syllable HO, and destroy [ordinary] potency with a dark blue syllable HRĪḤ, imagining it to become the nature of nectar. Then, with light rays from that [syllable], summon the wisdom nectar and dissolve it [into the alcohol]. Next, make offerings to the deities of the root maṇḍala by reciting their individual names. Then, using the ring finger together with nectar, draw a triangular maṇḍala and sprinkle nectar upon it, imagining that moon seats appear in the cardinal and intermediate directions. There, visualize the wisdom wheel through mere devotion and make offerings of nectar. Then, make offerings to oneself by sprinkling [the nectar] with the thumb and ring finger on the tip of the tongue, the center between the eyebrows, and the crown of the head. Then, imagine those [visualizations] as non-referential, and make offerings to the principal maṇḍala with special offerings such as water for the feet, and offer praise without requesting the deities to depart.
Then, present a vast torma to the field protectors. Purify, increase, and transform it with the three syllables. Having made a nine-square maṇḍala by drawing lines, visualize the wisdom wheel in the center. In the cardinal and intermediate directions, invite the eight field protectors together with the thirty-two mamos and make offerings.
OṂ. In solitary trees and charnel grounds,
On mountains and in mountain caves,
In villages and at crossroads,
And especially in empty houses,
Those of low caste, those dwelling in houses, on the plains, and especially in the water; Kṛṣṇa, Rudra, and Mahāraudra, who dwell together with Devadatta; Kṛṣṇadaṃṣṭra and the Ugly One; the Vighnas who have transcended joy; Jāradgavī, Raudrī, Virūpā, Madhyamā, Jayā, Vijayā, Aparājitā, and Aparājitā; Kālī, Bhadrakālī, Mahākālī, Kāsthakālī, and Yoginī; Indrāṇī and Candrā; Pracaṇḍā and Lambā; Hārī and Piṅgalā; the Yoginīs from the city of Bhairava; Raudrī, Rūpā, and Mahārūpā; Daṃṣṭriṇī and Mahāmuṇḍā; Muṇḍamālā, Mālāvatī, and Khaṭvāṅgī; those holding great snakes, swords, and axes; and likewise those holding vajras and bows; the Tathāgata Mahākāśa, who accomplishes all activities; and likewise the Lord Vajreśvara, that great body of the Tathāgata, who brings forth the stainless yoga. By this command of Vajreśvarī, "Gather here all without exception!"
OṂ KAKKĀḌHĀNA VABANDHANA KHAKKHADHANA SARVADUṢṬĀṂ HANA HANA GHĀTAYA GHĀTAYA AMUKA HŪṂ JAḤ.
Having summoned them with this, visualize them dwelling upon lotus seats. Consecrate the five offerings and present them. Visualize that their tongues are consecrated as vajras from the syllable HŪṂ, and that the nectar is offered through the light of the vajra-tubes. Then, explain the Dharma, reciting: "All phenomena are like reflections," and so forth. After that, make aspiration prayers.
May all sentient beings be free from sin; may all sentient beings be happy. May those who travel upon the path encounter the state of buddhahood itself. I shall ferry across those who have not crossed; I shall liberate those who are not liberated. With such compassion, I shall establish [them] in the state of the yoga treatises. Having made this dedication, one does not request the deities to depart.
Then, all the male and female practitioners should visualize themselves as the maṇḍala of deities. First, they should offer water for the face. Then, they should offer flowers, incense, and lamps in the proper manner. Next, they should offer wine mixed with nectar. Then, holding the wine in the right hand and forming the three-pronged gesture with the left, they should offer the wine with these words:
"Behold the beautiful samaya-dharma! There is no doubt regarding it. Realizing that the brahmin, the dog, and the outcaste are of one nature, one should partake." Having said this, they should offer it.
The recipient says:
"The dharma that has come well from the priceless, free from the stains of desire, completely abandoned of subject and object—to suchness, I prostrate." Having said this, they should receive it while performing the lotus-circling gesture (padakora).
Then, when offering to those below, they should say:
"For the sake of the siddhi of union, all unions are likewise suchness. The yogi should practice them in every way; one should enjoy them as is blissful." Having said this, they should offer it.
After that, they should offer meat, butter, and so forth. Then, the food is served to each individually. The first portions (phud) of all these are collected and offered to the master. The master divides that first portion into two parts.
Bless one portion and place it to the left to offer to the deities of the maṇḍala. Bless the other portion and place it to the right to offer as the torma for the directional protectors, making the offering with the mantra oṃ akāro mukhaṃ. Then, enjoy and partake of it as you please. At that time, sing auspicious songs. Then, having received permission from the deities of the maṇḍala and the directional protectors and having asked for their forbearance, request them to depart. Then, having asked the wisdom deities for forbearance with the hundred-syllable mantra, request them to depart with vajra muḥ. For the samaya deities, recite oṃ ātma tiṣṭha hūṃ and dissolve them into one’s own heart. With oṃ sarva duṣṭa gṛhṇa gaccha hūṃ, request the external deities to depart. Then, collect the leftovers: the leftovers of the household are dedicated to the non-human spirits of that very house. The leftovers of the yogins are given to the non-human spirits such as the flesh-eaters outside and carried to the outer gate. Even for those who have no fortune to eat such leftovers, the master bestows nectar from his own mouth. Then, offer auspicious verses and prayers of aspiration to the patrons. Then, when the torma-bearers return, at the door of the feast hall, make offerings of a mirror, a hand-drum, yogurt mixed with water, and dough. Then, having gone inside, make offerings to the male and female yogins as well. For those future beings who wish to accumulate the two gatherings and for practitioners who have definitely entered the path of training, according to the stainless scriptures and the oral instructions of the guru—
This was written without error for the benefit of oneself and others. The ritual for the offering of the gaṇacakra composed by the master Kṛṣṇācārya is hereby complete. It was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian abbot Kṛṣṇapa himself and the Tibetan translator 'Gos Lhas btsas.
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.