Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
This sādhana provides a ritualized method for the accomplishment of Mañjuśrī, structured around the stages of manifest enlightenment in twenty aspects. The text guides the practitioner through a sequence of meditative visualizations and mantra recitations designed to purify the practitioner and establish a sacred space. It begins with prostrations and offerings to the tathāgatas, followed by the invocation of wrathful deities to remove obstructions via the kīla. The practitioner is then committed to visualizing a complex mandala involving elemental forces and a central deity residing on a golden Garuḍa. The ritual culminates in the visualization of a multi-colored retinue of deities associated with Akṣobhya, each holding specific symbolic implements such as the vajra, bell, and hook. By synthesizing these visual and sonic elements, the text aims to facilitate the practitioner's identification with the enlightened qualities of Mañjuśrī.
Provenance
About this text
A ritual method for the accomplishment of the blessed Mañjuśrī through the stages of awakening in twenty aspects, the Viṃśatyākārābhisambodhikramena bhagavanmañjuśrīsādhana belongs to the genre of sādhana and the tradition of the Yoga Tantra Treatises. The work is attributed to the Indian author Somaśrī. It was translated into the classical Tibetan language by Mahājana and the lo tsa ba gzhon nu ’od. This translation is preserved in the Tengyur, volume ཅུ, where it extends over six pages. The work enacts a ritualized process of spiritual accomplishment, beginning with prostrations and offerings to the tathāgatas and the invocation of Mañjuśrī Jñānasattva. Through a sequence of mantra recitations and meditative visualizations, the practitioner is guided to purify misdeeds and establish a sacred space. A scholar or serious reader consults this text today to examine the specific synthesis of visual and sonic elements used to facilitate identification with the deity, including the visualization of a complex mandala and a multi-colored retinue of deities associated with Akṣobhya holding symbolic implements such as the vajra, bell, and hook.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Sādhana of the Bhagavan Mañjuśrī in Terms of the Stages of Manifest Enlightenment in Twenty Aspects” (Toh 2618), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2618
Summary & commentary
Significance
The work is significant as a representative of the Indo-Tibetan synthesis of ritual technology, combining seed-syllable visualization with the architecture of the mandala. Its attribution to Somashri and translation by Mahajñana and Zhönnu Ö places it within the early period of Tibetan translation efforts to import Indian tantric methodologies.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1-3
Preliminary Rites
Includes the title, homage, and initial mantras for prostration, offerings, and the generation of bodhicitta.
4
Protective and Elemental Visualization
Visualization of wrathful deities removing obstructions and the establishment of the vajra fence and elemental mandalas.
5-6
Deity Visualization
Detailed description of the central deity on a Garuḍa and the surrounding retinue of colored deities and their implements.
7
Colophon
Attribution of authorship to Somashri and translation to Mahajñana and Zhönnu Ö.
Themes
Ritual Purification (2-4)
Mandala Visualization (4-6)
Iconography of the Retinue (5-6)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
AnuvādaA Sādhana of the Bhagavan Mañjuśrī in Terms of the Stages of Manifest Enlightenment in Twenty Aspects·
In the language of India: Viṃśatyākārabodhikramabhagavanmañjuśrīsādhanam. In the language of Tibet: Rnam pa nyi shus byang chub pa'i rim pas bcom ldan 'das 'jam dpal sgrub pa'i thabs (The Method for Accomplishing the Blessed One Mañjuśrī through the Stages of Awakening in Twenty Aspects).
Homage to Mañjuśrī Jñānasattva!
I prostrate and bow to that glorious one, who acts for the benefit of beings through the skillful means of various vehicles, yet whose very nature is the single vehicle.
I prostrate and bow to that great being, who is the single flavor of supreme faith, the object of realization in the immovable state.
I prostrate to that one who, though not perceived through the distinctions of faith, acts like a sentient being under the power of attachment, abiding even within desire and the like.
I prostrate to that Protector, the embodiment of the Three Jewels, the benefactor who acts for the sake of the Three Jewels, and who protects all beings without partiality.
By the power of that, I shall now explain for the benefit of sentient beings the realization in twenty aspects of the non-dual Mañjuśrī.
First, having arisen, the yogi, possessing the divine pride of their own deity, should perform the purification rites according to the ritual and gather the inferior offerings.
Oṃ vajra vighna hūṃ. Thus, the impurities should be cleared away.
Oṃ samantaparīkṣa guhya cara cara hūṃ. Following that, one should sweep the area.
Oṃ nirmāṇi śodha hūṃ. With drops of scented water, one should also prepare a maṇḍala for the Protector.
Oṃ mahāmaṇḍala hūṃ. In the very place where one previously arose, one should sit upon a soft cushion.
Oṃ amuka padmobhasundhara dhare maṇḍala la hūṃ. With light rays from the seed-syllable at the heart, having seen the buddhas, one should prostrate: Oṃ sarvatathāgata kāyavākcitta praṇame na vajra vandanaṃ karomi. Having made various offerings, one should first prostrate and perform others as well. Then, the fortunate one should emanate and make offerings. Through the offering of the misdeeds committed, one should perform the confession of sins and so forth: Whatever I have done or caused to be done, whether small or immeasurable, and whatever I have rejoiced in—may the Protectors depart from those. Through my engagement, may those sentient beings, by their own engagement in karma, be praised for what they have done. I take refuge in the buddhas, and likewise in the Jewel of the Dharma. Whatever is to be tamed by the buddhas, to those great-minded protectors, I am unable to endure the suffering that is difficult to cross; therefore, may they dispel that very [suffering]. May I become a protector of the world. Just as the sentient beings, the gurus, the buddhas, and the bodhisattvas are, so too may I, as a disciple in accordance [with them], enter the path. Whatever portion of my virtue remains stainless, by that, for the sake of sentient beings, may I always be in accordance. Oṃ mahā sarvapāpaṃ kāyavākcitta samanabhūtaṃ ragadhiśamūha damadamanana abhiṣitayaṃ kṛttaṃ tatte ka le kaṃ hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ. Sarvapāpaṃ sphoṭaya me svāhā.
Oṃ sarvapāpaṃ prahīṇaya me svāhā. Oṃ sarvatathāgatānām ātmabhāvaṃ nirvartayāmi. Sarvatathāgatapratigṛhṇāna svamimaṃ svāhā. Oṃ sarvatathāgatapūjye jñānasaṃbhara anumodaye svāhā. Oṃ sarvatathāgatasamantabhadra mahāvajrasamayaṃ mahābodhicittotpādaṃ utpādayāmi svāhā. Oṃ sarvatathāgataśānasatye sarvasattvānāṃ sarvasiddhisatsatyānati sarvatathāgataśca adeśanati. Oṃ sarvaśuddhaḥ sarvadharmāḥ svabhāvaśuddho ’haṃ. May these sentient beings be happy; may all their suffering be dispelled. May they be satisfied by that happiness; may they be free from afflictions. Because of the lack of intrinsic nature, purity, and so forth, the signless, and the absence of mental distress—for all these reasons, from what have I been deluded? Oṃ śūnyatājñānavajrasvabhāvātmako ’haṃ. Then, by the command of the Victorious One, one should see two moons. Having shown that as well, they become one, and having become that very essence, the Great Intelligence should enter into the equality of all Buddhas. Oṃ bodhicittotpādayāmi. Oṃ jñānarasme veśra jaḥ hūṃ. Oṃ tiṣṭha stha vajra hūṃ. Oṃ spharaṇa vajra. Oṃ saṃharaṇa vajra. Oṃ jñāna vajra. Oṃ sarvatathāgatajñānavajra. Oṃ vajrātmako ’haṃ. Oṃ yathā sarvatathāgata tathā ahaṃ. Then, for the sake of acting for the benefit of others, one should again meditate in this way: by assuming the form of a wrathful deity...
At the heart, from a lotus, sun, and HŪṂ, the ten wrathful deities strike the chief of obstructors with the kīla of body, speech, and mind. Having emanated the vajra fence and so forth on the outside, one meditates on the maṇḍalas of wind, water, and fire in sequence, arising from the syllables YAṂ, VAṂ, and RAṂ situated below the two HŪṂ syllables. In the sky, from the syllable BHRŪṂ, there arises a vessel filled with a stream of nectar, born from the limbs of the eternal. In the center of the two HŪṂ syllables, from the syllable BAṂ, through the samādhi of the Vajra Body, it becomes a firm and solid golden maṇḍala. On the summit of Mount Meru, born from the syllable SUṂ and flanked by two HŪṂ syllables, one should meditate on the glorious, tiered celestial palace arising from BHRŪṂ. In its center, upon a multicolored lotus, is a lion throne. There, from the first vowel, is Vairocana, possessing the light of a kunda flower, seated upon the nectar maṇḍala, with four faces and the mudrā of meditative equipoise. In front of him is Akṣobhya, holding a vajra and bell, seated upon an elephant and a moon, to be visualized as the color of the sky. To the south is Vajrasūrya, seated upon a horse and a moon, holding a jewel and a bell, to be visualized as golden in color. To the west is Padmanarteśvara, seated upon a peacock and a moon, holding a lotus and a bell, to be visualized as the color of a ruby. In the northern direction is Hayagrīva...
Abiding upon a golden Garuḍa, beautiful with a crossed-vajra and bell, one should meditate on the one possessing various colors. At their hearts, one should first meditate on the Buddha, glorious, with five faces and eight arms, bearing the complexion of añjana. Possessing faces of wondrous wrath, charm, and laughter, the Great Being holds a sword and a book in each of the four right and left hands. With a terrifying form, he brings satisfaction to sentient beings. At the heart of each is a wheel with twelve spokes, endowed with the vowel letters; on the outside are the consonants, and within is the mantra oṃ sarvadharmā. For all of them without distinction, above that is the wheel of insight, marked on the outside by a, ā, and so forth, and the inner rim endowed with the āli. Specifically, the wheel of the principal deity has six spokes and is endowed with the six secret mantras. For the others as well, there are their respective marks, together with oṃ and yate namaḥ. Joining namaḥ to one spoke, the remainder are stacked according to the number of syllables. One should meditate on the non-dual Mañjuśrī, the principal, as the wisdom-being (jñānasattva). Each pair possesses the mudrā of their own family, holding an utpala and a book. For the others as well, without distinction, the right hand is marked with a sword. The left hands hold a vajra, a jewel, a water-born lotus, and a crossed-vajra bell. Furthermore, the second and fifth, and the first and fourth, are the wisdom bodies. All are adorned with the ornaments of a youth, possessing a form the color of a kunda flower. Vajrasattva is white.
Holding a vajra and a bell, the yellow King holds a hook. The red Passionate One holds a bow and arrow. The green Excellent One bestows excellence. They abide as the retinue of Akṣobhya. The yellow Jewel One holds a bell; like the sun, he holds a sun in his right hand. The green Crest One holds a victory banner. Both rest their left hands upon their seats. The white Laughter One holds a row of teeth. Like the previous ones, with the left hand, they abide as the retinue of Ratnasambhava. The red Dharma One holds a lotus stalk. The white Sharp One holds a sword and a book. The yellow Wheel One holds a wheel. The green Speaker holds a tongue. Both rest their left hands upon their seats. They abide as the retinue of Padmanarteśvara. The green Karma One holds a crossed-vajra. The yellow Protection One wears armor. The black Yakṣa holds fangs. The yellow Fist One holds a fist. They abide as the retinue of Amoghasiddhi. Having thus visualized the great wheel, one should make offerings in sequence. The stages of offering should be understood from the ritual of the maṇḍala itself. With the heart mantra and the near-heart mantra, one should please all the Victors. For the remaining ones, the recitation mantra should be known as the three syllables. Having visualized the others together with the maṇḍala of the Victors in their respective places, and possessing the pride of that, one should perform the purification as appropriate. At the time of possessing the yoga, having praised the Victors and their retinues with the Chanting of the Names and with praises, one should perform the recitation of the names at the three times of day. This is the sādhana of awakening through the twenty aspects.
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.