Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The King of Consecrations is a ritual manual designed to empower physical objects—such as statues, scriptures, and temple furnishings—by transforming them into supports for enlightened presence. The text outlines a comprehensive process that begins with the purification of the practitioner and the ritual space through fumigation and the conceptualization of a celestial palace. It proceeds through a series of precise liturgical actions, including the invitation of the Earth Goddess as a witness, the ritual bathing of deities, and the application of specific mantras to 'open' the sensory organs of a statue. By integrating the three wisdoms (equality, individual discernment, and all-accomplishing action) into the empowerment process, the ritual commits the practitioner to a rigorous synthesis of visualization and mantra recitation. The ultimate goal is to ensure the longevity of the dharma support and to facilitate the attainment of the nirmāṇakāya for the benefit of all sentient beings, concluding with offerings to directional guardians and local spirits.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual for consecration compiled from all the tantras, the rab tu gnas pa'i cho ga rab gnas kyi rgyal po bzhugs belongs to the classical Tibetan period. The work is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཀུ, where it comprises twelve pages as part of the Yoga Tantra Treatises collection. The text enacts a complex liturgical process beginning with homage to the glorious Vajrasattva and the requirements for the yogi, who must have entered the maṇḍala, received empowerment, and taken the vows of awareness. The ritual involves the physical preparation of the space through the fumigation of bells, streamers, victory banners, and parasols with guggulu incense, alongside the use of white mustard seeds to ward off obstructing spirits. It further guides the practitioner through the purification of the tongue and hands, the generation of the bodies of four wrathful deities, and the conceptualization of a celestial palace upon the summit of Mount Meru. By integrating the yoga of birth and the meditation on emptiness, the ritual transforms the practitioner's own body into a method for purification. Scholars and serious readers consult this manual to understand the precise synthesis of visualization and ritual action required to establish a consecrated environment.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Consecration Ritual called “The King of Consecrations”” (Toh 2528), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2528
Summary & commentary
Significance
This text is significant as a representative example of Yoga Tantra praxis, demonstrating how material objects are ontologically shifted into sacred icons through ritual technology. For the modern reader, it illustrates the intersection of Buddhist metaphysics and the physical maintenance of religious heritage.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-5
Preliminary Purifications and Setup
Initial prostrations, fumigation of ritual implements, conceptualization of the vajra ground, and the invitation of the Earth Goddess.
6-7
Ritual Bathing and Empowerment
The ritual bathing of deities and the conferral of empowerments based on the three wisdoms.
8-9
Offerings and Adornment
Mantras for offering robes, incense, ornaments, and food offerings to the maṇḍala.
10-12
Consecration of the Image and Text
The 'opening' of the ears and nose of the statue, the adornment of the thirty-two marks, and the visualization of scriptures as the body of Vajradharma or Amitābha.
13-15
Final Offerings and Dedication
Offerings of auspicious substances, requests for the deity to remain until the end of the eon, and offerings to guardians.
Themes
Ritual Purification (2-5)
The Three Wisdoms (7)
Sensory Opening and Iconography (10-11)
Materiality and Sacredness (11-15)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Consecration Ritual called “The King of Consecrations”·
The King of Consecration Rituals: A Ritual for Consecration
Homage to the Blessed One, the glorious Vajrasattva!
Having prostrated with total devotion to the glorious Vajrasattva, I shall explain the ritual for consecration, compiled from all the tantras.
In this regard, first of all, the yogi who has entered the maṇḍala and received empowerment, who has taken the vows of awareness, who understands the performance of secret offerings, who is courageous, stable, and of great enthusiasm, who is disciplined and possesses the conduct of the four activities, who has trained in secret wisdom, and who is devoted to meditating on the four mudrās; and the companions for accomplishment who have generated the mind of awakening, who understand the performance of secret rituals, who are pure, skilled in secret activities, and endowed with intelligence and fortitude—such yogis, if they wish to perform the consecration of an image—whether cast, carved in relief, or painted, whether peaceful, magnetizing, enriching, or wrathful, in a city, town, forest, region, monastery, or temple: they should smear the ground of the maṇḍala with fragrant unguents and, focusing on the Three Jewels, the deities to be consecrated, and the Vajra Master, they should prepare five maṇḍalas and arrange the five offerings. Then, having put on the upper and lower robes and donned the crown and ornaments, and being equipped with a rosary and purifying substances, they should bathe on the day of the Puṣya constellation and the planet Jupiter, and eat the three white foods.
Having drawn the parasols, victory banners, streamers, and bells, fumigate them with the smoke of guggulu incense and ward off obstructing spirits with white mustard seeds. Then, for the approach practice: if conceptualization is slight, perform the purification through emptiness; bless the tongue and bless the hands; generate the bodies of the four wrathful deities; dispel obstructing spirits with the three wrathful deities; bind the directions with the six wrathful deities; and form the fence and lattice with the three wrathful deities. Having blessed the offerings, emanate the maṇḍala with the vajra-wheel. Perform the offerings and prostrations, the confession of misdeeds, the rejoicing, the exhortation to turn the wheel of Dharma, and the supplication not to pass into parinirvāṇa. Offer clouds of offerings and the body, dedicate the roots of virtue, generate the mind of awakening, and take the vows. Having generated the deity as a reflected image, perform the equal palms, the vajra palms, the vajra-binding, and the loosening of the binding. Bring down the wisdom beings, and perform the withdrawal of the descent. Summon those in the lower realms and tear asunder their misdeeds. Dissolve the maṇḍala into the heart. Generate the deity through the five manifest awakenings, perform the blessing, the meditation of samādhi, the empowerment at the heart, and take up the vajra conduct of enlightened activity. Generate the great yoga, enter the realm of the Tathāgatas through the subsequent yoga, perform the blessing, the empowerment, the offerings, and the praises.
Having perfected the maṇḍala of oneself as the method, one should meditate on the purification by wisdom, which is emptiness; generate the vajra ground, the sequential stacking of the elements, the celestial palace together with the seats; place the body at the summit of Mount Meru as the state of death; meditate on the intermediate state as the formless absorptions; and generate the yoga of birth as the Bodhisattva Amoghasiddhi. Then, having arisen from the immovable samādhi, one should meditate on the initial application, the supreme king of the maṇḍala, and the supreme king of activities. Having caused the wisdom being to enter through the eight activities of the entry of the wisdom being, one should seal it, confer empowerment, make all the offerings, and meditate accordingly.
One should meditate in this way until the signs are obtained, or perform the recitation of one hundred thousand for the principal deity and ten thousand for each of the retinue. Then, as in the Uttarottaratantra, one should perform the approach for four or six months. Having performed the approach in that manner, one should perform the ritual of the site—whether the ground is purified or not—exactly as prescribed, and then perform the consecration of the site.
In that regard, having arranged the offerings and gathered the substances, one should adorn oneself with all ornaments, scent the face, and wear a garland of flowers. On the day of the constellation Puṣya and the planet Jupiter, one should perform the protection wheel together with its supports, the visualization for accumulating the accumulations, the actual path of accumulation together with the generation of the awakening mind, the vajra descent according to the ritual, and the binding of the great mudrā according to the ritual.
Having generated the being in front according to the ritual and completed oneself, one should invite the Earth Goddess upon the generated foundation of the elements and Mount Meru, request her to act as witness according to the ritual, and then generate enthusiasm as appropriate. Then, having actualized the meditative absorptions of the dhyānas and the formless realms, one should visualize being born in Akaniṣṭha in the form of Amoghasiddhi and invite all the Buddhas of the ten directions. Then, having meditated on the initial application, the supreme king of the maṇḍala, and the supreme king of activities, and having performed the ritual for accumulating the collection of merit exactly as it is, the practice companions should offer supplications with the one hundred and eight names. One should then recite the proclamation for the sake of becoming a universal monarch. Having performed the praise of the wrathful deities in the maṇḍala in the sky and the command to the obstructors, one should create the fence and the lattice with the vajra gaze, clear away the obstructors with the dance steps, and establish the protection wheel with mantras and mudrās. Having summoned the secret maṇḍala and driven in the ritual daggers as its limbs according to the procedure, one should clear away the obstructors with the Vajrayakṣa, arrange drops of perfume and heaps of flowers, and perform the ritual for the deities to take their place. Then, one should perform the ritual for the consecration of the vases, the ritual for the consecration of the fire offering, and the ritual for the consecration of the torma exactly as they are. Then, having placed an earthen bowl inside a triangular wooden frame, one should pour fire into it and make three hollows from dough at the three corners.
There, having lit a lamp and prepared three handfuls of dough, one should ward off obstructing spirits with white mustard seeds while reciting the mantra of Vajroṣṇīṣa or the mantra of Vajrayakṣa. Whatever consecration is being performed—whether for a statue, a scripture, or the like—one should cover it with cloth and set it aside, protected by the three syllables HŪṂ BHRŪṂ HRĪḤ. Then, one should request the deities to attend:
"Just as all the Buddhas,
While dwelling in Tuṣita,
Entered the womb of the goddess Māyādevī,
So too, please abide here in this image.
O Protector, having remained steadfast here,
For the sake of generating the mind of awakening
And for the benefit of [the patron] so-and-so,
Please accept these offerings,
Such as flowers and the rest,
According to my available wealth.
I pray that you look upon me and my disciples
With compassion.
May all of you grant your blessings here
And remain in this very place."
Then, when the sun has risen, one should lay out the lines of the maṇḍala and perform the maṇḍala ritual for arranging the colors and deities as explained in the manuals. Having gathered the ritual substances, they should be spread around the perimeter of the maṇḍala, and any excess or deficiencies should be rectified. The vases should then be placed. To the north of the maṇḍala, one should construct or draw a delightful bathing chamber with a crystal floor adorned with precious pillars and embellished with pearls and jewels. One who wishes to perform the consecration should first invite the deities into that bathing chamber, and place them upon a throne; or, if it is a painted scroll or a manuscript, place it in front.
Displaying a mirror, one should perform the ritual bathing of the deities with vases accompanied by melodic hymns. Regarding those hymns: "Just as at the moment of birth, the Tathāgatas were bathed with the pure waters of the gods, so too do I now perform this ritual bathing of the body." OṂ SARVA-TATHĀGATA-ABHIṢEKATA-SAMAYA-ŚRIYE HŪṂ.
Then, the body of the deity, which possesses the excellence of all aspects, is blessed at the three places with the three syllables OṂ ĀḤ HŪṂ. The master takes hold of vases made of gold, silver, or copper—broad-bellied, long-necked, and with drooping spouts—filled with the five medicines, the five grains, and the five precious gems, their necks bound with new cloth and their openings adorned with willow branches. These are filled with the scented water from the previous service. Having cleansed the mirror with a brush containing scented paste, sesame oil, and five clusters of flowers, one should perform the ritual bathing accompanied by auspicious verses and the sound of musical instruments such as clay drums.
Regarding the mantras: the mantra for the sesame oil is OṂ SARVA-TATHĀGATA-KĀYA-VIŚODHANYE SVĀHĀ. The mantra for the scent is GANDHA-MĀLYE SVĀHĀ. The mantra for the kusha-grass brush is OṂ MALA-SAṂŚODHANE SVĀHĀ.
Then, the melodic hymn for the ritual bathing is as follows: "The aggregate of form is completely pure; it purifies the affliction of ignorance. Through the mirror-like primordial wisdom, I perform the ritual bathing of the glorious body. The aggregate of feeling is completely pure; it purifies the affliction of pride..."
By the wisdom of equality, the empowerment of glorious qualities is conferred. By the wisdom of individual discernment, which purifies the aggregate of perception and cleanses the affliction of attachment, the empowerment of glorious speech is conferred. By the wisdom of all-accomplishing action, which purifies the aggregate of formations and cleanses the affliction of jealousy, the empowerment of glorious activity is conferred. By the wisdom of the expanse of phenomena, which purifies the aggregate of consciousness and cleanses the affliction of hatred, the empowerment of glorious mind is conferred.
Just as the noble Śvetaketu descended from Tuṣita, was born from the womb of the beautiful goddess, and was bathed, so too is the bath offered to the delightful nirmāṇakāyas, together with the stainless relics of the physical remains.
Reciting: Oṃ sarvatathāgata supratiṣṭha svāhā, one should sprinkle a mixture of pea flour, wheat flour, turmeric, parched rice, sesame oil, honey, milk, and gandhabhadra upon the physical form itself or upon a mirror. Having applied drops of sandalwood and camphor fragrance, one should wash it with flowers using a brush of kuśa grass. Having thus washed the body and so forth three or five times, one should wipe the body with a clean cloth scented with fragrance. Then, for the images of the Tathāgatas, one should offer the upper robe and the outer robe. For the Bodhisattvas, one should offer various types of garments, and for the wrathful deities, blue and red garments. Finally, one should recite verses of auspiciousness.
Regarding that, the mantra for donning the saṃghāṭī robe is: oṃ dīpa-pravaye svāhā. The mantra for offering incense is: oṃ vajra-gandhe svāhā. The mantra for offering ornaments to the bodhisattvas and so forth is: oṃ āvaraṇa-vibhūṣaṇe svāhā.
Then, having invited the great maṇḍala, if it is a temple, the beautiful images should be arranged in front or in the proper direction without being crooked. The deities of the maṇḍala, together with the principal deity, are displayed in front; having accomplished the maṇḍala, one meditates on oneself as inseparable from the principal deity and performs the offerings (pūjā).
After thus completing the offerings to one's own maṇḍala, one presents the five offerings to the deities of the consecration. The samayasattva is then cleared away by the syllable hūṃ, and the jñānasattva is invited. Having sealed [the deity] with the four mudrās arising from the tantras and conferred empowerment, one should make offerings with the five actual offerings, the eight mentally emanated offerings, and the sixteen vidyā goddesses.
Regarding that, the verse for offering flowers is:
These supreme, excellent flowers,
Born from water and from the land,
I offer with the highest faith;
Please accept them as you please.
oṃ vajra-puṣpe āḥ hūṃ.
This sublime incense of divine substance,
Both innate and compounded,
I offer with the highest faith;
Please accept it as you please.
oṃ vajra-dhūpe āḥ hūṃ.
This supreme fragrance of gods and humans,
Both innate and compounded,
I offer with the highest devotion;
Please accept it as you please.
Oṃ vajra-gandhe āḥ hūṃ. This food, complete with all that is to be eaten and chewed, possessing color, fragrance, and flavor—this offering of all that is available, I present; please accept it. Oṃ vajra-naivedye āḥ hūṃ. Regarding the verses for the goddesses such as Lāsyā and the rest: "When Vajrasattva is gathered, the unsurpassed Vajraratna, by singing the song of Vajradharma, may the activities of Vajrakarma be performed." Reciting this, one should sing the songs beginning with "Vajrasattva susaṃgrahata." One should also make offerings with the mudrās of the sixteen vidyās arising from the Vajra Melody Action Maṇḍala. Then, one should offer the seven precious jewels, the wish-fulfilling tree, the excellent vase, the cow of plenty, the eight auspicious substances, the ten types of musical instruments, a hundred or a thousand vessels of fragrance, a hundred or a thousand vessels of flavor, or a hundred or a thousand pairs of fine fabrics for touch; at the very least, one should offer a single pair in general. Having thus made offerings with all the qualities of sensory desire, and having performed the fire offering and the torma offering, one should sleep during the day. On the following morning, just as the sun rises, the eyes should be opened with: "Just as the King, the physician of eyes, removed the cataracts of the world, so too shall I open the eyes of the Victors for the sake of sentient beings. Oṃ cakṣu cakṣu samanta-cakṣu viśodhani svāhā." With this, one should open the eyes using a probe made of gold or the like. Then, the ears should be opened; holding an earring of gold or the like, one should say:
Just as the Victorious One beat the drum of Dharma for beings who were destitute of learning, so too, for the sake of sentient beings, I shall open the ears of the Victorious One. OṂ DĪVYAKARṆĀYE SVĀHĀ.
Then, the nose should be opened. Holding a golden probe or similar instrument: Just as the Victorious One, having abandoned the odor of the contaminated aggregates, acts for the benefit of wandering beings and attained pure fragrance, so shall the nose of the Victorious One be opened. DĪVYAGHRĀṆĀYE SVĀHĀ.
Then, holding a probe, the mouth should be opened: Just as [the Buddha] satisfied all wandering beings, this sublime food endowed with a hundred supreme flavors is offered; may the peaceful mouth be opened. OṂ DĪVYAMUKHĀYE SVĀHĀ.
Then, holding a razor: If it is the form of one who has gone forth, act as if shaving the hair. Just as the Teacher, in the presence of the self-arisen stūpa, abandoned the signs of a householder, so for the sake of wandering sentient beings, the signs of a householder are to be abandoned.
Having donned the saṃghāṭī, the lower robe, and the upper robe: Just as Jīvaka, the king of physicians, offered robes to the body of the Victorious One, so for the benefit of wandering beings, I offer the supreme garments of moral shame and dread of blame. OṂ DĪVYAVASTRĀṆĀYE SVĀHĀ.
Holding the water filter and the alms bowl: OṂ IMUYUGASAPARIKARĀYE SVĀHĀ.
Then, holding a vajra at the heart: In order to generate the major and minor marks and so forth, may [the body] be adorned with the conch, the glorious knot, the swastika, and the eight auspicious substances.
May they serve as a complete adornment for the hearts of the Victors! OṂ DVĀTRIṂŚAD-MAHĀ-PURUṢA-LAKṢAṆA-ŚITĪ-ANUVYAÑJANĀYA SVĀHĀ. If the object is a volume or a manuscript, visualize it as arising from the syllables ĀḤ and HRĪḤ as the body of Vajradharma or Amitābha; or alternatively, from the syllable BHRŪṂ, visualize the Mother Prajñāpāramitā, either with one face and two arms, or one face and four arms. Her first two hands hold the mudrā of turning the wheel of Dharma; the second right hand holds a rosary, and the second left hand holds a manuscript of the Prajñāpāramitā atop a lotus. Having invited the wisdom-being (jñānasattva) to enter and sealed it, confer the empowerment and present all the offerings. Offer the raiment with the seven branches of enlightenment, seal it with the seven successive layers, and contemplate it melting into the nature of the written syllables.
The mantra for offering the raiment is: DI-VYA-VASTRĀYE SVĀHĀ. Tie a knot on top of the raiment, seal it with sindhūra over beeswax, and recite: OṂ VAJRA-MUDRĀ-BANDHAYA ADHIṢṬHA SVĀHĀ. The verse for offering the raiment is: "With the light rays of the sublime Dharma speech, which is the purity of the branches of enlightenment, I offer this stainless raiment to the sublime Dharma."
If the object is a stūpa, visualize it as the nirmāṇakāya of the five families. Having invited the wisdom-being to enter, seal it and confer the empowerment. Present all the offerings, and finally, while it remains in the form of a stūpa, offer white earth with: OṂ ĀRAJE VĪRAJE SVĀHĀ.
With "Oṃ hara maye svāhā," one should offer the grain-measure (drona). With "Cakravara catanāye svāhā," one offers the wheel. With "Oṃ cchatraṃ ye svāhā," one offers the parasol. With "Oṃ kuṃbhiradhvajaye svāhā," one offers the makara-banner. With "Oṃ paṭaṃkaye svāhā," one offers the banner. With "Oṃ paṭalaṃbhaye svāhā," one ties the silk streamers. With "Oṃ puṣpamālaye svāhā," one hangs the flower garlands. With "Oṃ cāmara ye svāhā," one should wave the yak-tail fans.
If it is the attire of a bodhisattva, one should offer a comb, a needle, a thimble, a knife, and a small blade, saying:
"For the sake of benefiting all wandering sentient beings,
May you train in the five fields of knowledge;
Just as you have taken your vast vow,
I offer these requisites of cyclic existence."
With "Oṃ apayukasa parikaraye svāhā."
Then, for the Tathāgatas or Bodhisattvas in common, one should offer the seven precious jewels, the eight auspicious substances, and for worldly beings, the auspicious bilva fruit, targa, yogurt, a roll of white cotton cloth, and a parasol with a golden handle. First, having purified them with the water of all-activity and arranged drops of perfume and heaps of flowers, one says:
"Just as a sovereign universal monarch
Is accompanied by the assembly of the seven precious jewels,
To the Victors and the Bodhisattvas,
I offer the assembly of the seven precious jewels.
Just as the Lord of Gods, having conquered the asuras in battle..."
The eight auspicious goddesses make offerings. To the Victors and the Bodhisattvas, I make offerings with the eight auspicious substances. Just as the householders of the world, having attained glory, present the bilva fruit, the tārka fruit, and the auspicious vase while performing rites of auspiciousness, so too do I offer them to the Victors and their Sons.
Then, if resources are available, one should perform a fire offering (homa). If not, one should set up three white hearth-stones and, in a clean vessel made of clay, place various medicinal herbs upon a base of the three white and three sweet substances. One should boil these over the fire of the ritual or the fire of awareness while reciting the hundred-syllable mantra. Then, one should offer the tsāru (sweet rice).
Next, to request the deities of the maṇḍala to depart:
Perfect Buddhas and their Sons,
The hosts of gods such as Brahmā,
And whoever has any deficiency in the ritual—
It is right that you grant forgiveness for these.
Having brought about universal peace and prosperity,
And having greatly increased the lifespan of the patron,
Even as you depart for the Buddha-fields,
I pray that you return once again.
As long as the earth, water, fire, and wind
Do not destroy the world at the end of the aeon,
So long, O Blessed One, protect the forms of all the deities.
With a noble and joyful mind,
Protect the master and the disciples,
Along with their children and grandchildren;
Then, I pray, depart to your own auspicious abodes.
Then, the samayasattva is dissolved into oneself. Afterward, both the patron and the master take hold of the throne of the image and offer a garland of flowers, saying:
"As long as fire and water..."
Until the eon is destroyed by wind, for the sake of all sentient beings, O Blessed One, please remain! Then, having offered torma to the guardians of the directions, Mahākāla, and the local obstructors, one should say: "For the sake of wandering sentient beings, until the Sugatas have passed into parinirvāṇa, for the sake of the welfare of yourself and others, please protect this emanated image." Having said this, one should also present offerings to the Blessed One Vajrapāṇi and say: "Since you have pledged to protect the emanation body of the Sugata, I pray that you continue to protect it for as long as the Blessed One remains." Then, to the elders who provide protection and the lay leaders, one should say: "This is the emanation body for this age of the five degenerations; protect it without letting it decline." If it is a cast metal image, a painted scroll, or a scripture, one should dress it in fine robes, place it upon a chariot, apply drops of perfume, and circumambulate the city in order to inspire faith in the people. The patrons should also perform songs, dances, don ornaments, and recite auspicious verses. Regarding the time for the consecration, from "the first or middle month of spring" up to "it will be accomplished in birth after birth," it is in accordance with the tantras. In the Secret Mantra Vajrayāna, because the essence of the teaching cannot be maintained [by all], through the individual inclinations of yogins, the emanation body in this world of Jambudvīpa is an image that has come according to whatever is desired.
Through performing the consecration ritual for images such as cast statues, may the nirmāṇakāya be attained. This concludes the consecration ritual of the Yoga Tantra, titled "The King of Consecrations."
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.