Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm, Toh 558 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016).
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Queen of Incantations: The Great Peahen, Toh 559 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023).
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., Great Cool Grove, Toh 562 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023).
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra, Toh 563 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016).
The colophon to the Stok Palace version reads, “Later, the great lotsāwa Butön revised [the translation] to correct the mantras in consultation with two manuscripts from Magadha” (slar yang yul dbus kyi rgya dpe gnyis dang bstun nas sngags rnams dag par bu ston lo ts+tsha chen pos bcos pa la phyi mo).
Gergely Hidas created two separate Sanskrit editions, one for the Gilgit fragments and another comprising eastern Indian and Nepalese manuscripts. We have primarily consulted the latter, unless otherwise noted.
That is, to Mahāpratisarā as the deified “great amulet.” The homage to Mahāpratisarā is absent in the Sanskrit edition.
This number is based on the attested Sanskrit cutraśītibhir koṭīniyutaśatasahasraiḥ. The Tibetan reads bye ba khrag khrig ’bum phrag brgyad cu rtsa bzhi.
Here we follow the Sanskrit in reading pañcaputraśataparivārāya instead of the Tibetan bu lnga brgya’i du ma can. The Sanskrit compound lacks an equivalent of du ma (“many”).
We follow the Sanskrit reading of jātavedas, which is a name for the Agni, the god of fire. The Tibetan has me’i lha.
Skt. ṣāṣtyā koṭarayā; Tib. shing gseb kyi lha drug cu. The referent for this set of sixty divinities is uncertain. The term koṭara (masc.) indicates the hollow of a tree or other kind of cavity, but this may not be intended literally. The feminine koṭarā is the name of figure associated with Skanda, the son of Śiva.
Skt. udgatakīrtiśabdaśloka; Tib. grags pa dang sgra dang tshigs su bcad pas ni ’phags. This translation is tentative and takes kīrti to refer broadly to “speech,” rather than the more common sense of “fame.” The term kīrti is used in the sense of “speech” elsewhere in the Sanskrit text.
Skt. mahāvajraratnapadmagarbhasiṃhāsana; Tib. rdo rje rin po che’i pad+ma’i snying po’i seng ge’i khri chen po.
This translation is based on the Sanskrit compound anekavajraratnaśālākāvibhūṣitadaṇḍāta [em. ºvibhūṣitoddaṇḍāta º]patrakoṭīniyutaśatasahasrakṛtachāyāparikara. We follow this instead of the Degé reading, gdugs rtsa ba dang bcas pa/ rdo rje rin po che’i shar bu du mas rnam par brgyan pa/ bye ba khrag khrig ’bum phrag du mas rnam par brgyan pa/ bye ba khrag khrig ’bum phrag du mas kun nas bskyabs pa.
In the Sanskrit this matrix of light is named revealer of all buddhas (sarvabuddhasandarśana).
Skt. mūlakarman; Tib. rtsa ba’i las. The precise meaning of this term is ambiguous but seems to refer to a specific form of magical rite, possibly involving concoctions made from the roots of plants. In the Mānavadharmaśāstra (Olivelle 2005, pp. 205 and 801) the term is used together with other terms for hostile magic, including abhicara, and commentators on that text describe mūlakarman as a type of magical rite to bring another person under one’s control (vaśīkaraṇa). For this use of the term and for similar uses in secular Sanskrit literature, see Olivelle 2005, p. 340, note 11.64. The term is used in what appear to be similar contexts in Chapter 14 of the Guhyasamāja Tantra; (Matsunaga 1978, p. 63) and Chapter 18, verse 51 of the Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa (Vaidya 1964, p. 134).
It is unclear whether these names are intended to be feminine, as given here, or are the nominative singular form of the masculine names Supaśin and Vajrapaśin.
Tib. sangs rgyas bsrungs shes bya ba. The Sanskrit reads buddhā kṣitikanāyikā, “Buddhā, the leader of earth dwellers”. Hidas (2012 p. 207 n. 107) notes that the Sanskrit could also be read to refer two separate figures, Buddhā and Kṣitikanāyikā. He further suggests that the problematic kṣitika is a metrical lengthening of kṣiti. The term kṣitikanāyikā would then mean “leader of/on the earth.” Hidas also plausibly argues that the Tibetan text is a translation of buddhā rakṣati nāmakā or a similar phrase.
Here we follow the Sanskrit in reading this name as feminine. The Tibetan reads lang ka’i bdag po, which indicates a male deity.
In the following passage we have followed the convention of the Tibetan translators in rendering some passages in transliterated Sanskrit while translating others.
This translation follows the Sanskrit edition, H, N, and S in reading ratnamakuṭamālādhari (Tib. rin po che’i cod pan dang phreng ba mnga’ ba). The Degé reads rig pa chen po’i cod pan dang phreng ba mnga’ ba.
The syntax of the Tibetan is ambiguous. The Degé reads de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyis spyi bo nas. The equivalent Sanskrit is in compound: sarvatathāgatamūrdhābhiṣikte.
We follow C, J, K, and Y in reading de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi. The Degé reads de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyis.
This translation is tentative. Here we interpret indravat not as a possessive but as a comparative. The Tibetan translators preferred the former, reading it as dbang po dang ldan pa. The Sanskrit is also ambiguous, reading indre indravati indravyavalokite svāhā.
We follow the Sanskrit reading, which allows for these two phrases to be read in apposition. The Tibetan reads tshangs pa dang tshang pa la gnas pa (“Brahmā and he who lives/those who live in the Brahma [realm]”).
We follow H, K, Y, N, and S in reading gnon po. Degé reads gnod byed. This line is absent in the Sanskrit.
The terms for “all those who are wicked minded” and the verb “blaze” are rendered in transliterated Sanskrit in the Tibetan text, but the rest of the line is translated into Tibetan. The entire line has been translated into English for clarity, but the syntax of both the Sanskrit and Tibetan is ambiguous; thus the translation is tentative.
This translation is tentative. In the Sanskrit edition “all thus-gone ones” (sarvatathāgatāḥ) is the subject of the optative verb “consecrate” (abhiṣiñcantu). The Tibetan translation aligns more closely with the Gilgit fragments in reading “all thus-gone ones” not as the subject of the main verb but in compound with “consecrations of the incantation” (vidyābhiṣekaiḥ).
For the sake of narrative clarity, these initial lines are taken from S, which uniquely preserves material found in some Sanskrit manuscripts but not incorporated in the Sanskrit edition. These lines are absent in the Degé and other Tibetan sources. See Hidas 2012, p. 127 for the Sanskrit sources that include this statement.
This folio is missing from the BDRC edition of the Degé text. We therefore base the translation of this folio on the Comparative Edition.
Skt. brahmadatta iti saṅkhyāṃ gacchati; Tib. tshangs pas byin zhes bya ba’i grangs su chud pa.
This translation follows the syntax of the Sanskrit, which omits an existential verb equivalent to the Tibetan yin pa. The Sanskrit compound sarvatathāgatanetra[ḥ] is interpreted as a genitive bahuvrīhi.
In the Sanskrit, the vocative address “great brahmin” is absent, and the term brāhmaṇa refers instead to the local layman who intervenes to help the monk.
Skt. dharmarāja; Tib. chos kyi rgyal po. Here dharma/chos does not refer to the Buddhist teachings specifically, but broadly to normative socio-cultural rules, expectations, and obligations.
Skt. garbhasandhāraṇī; Tib. mngal na ’dzin pa. The translation follows the Sanskrit, which uses the feminine gender, in taking this line to refer to the woman bearing the child. The Tibetan could be interpreted to refer to the child in the womb.
The Sanskrit can be read to say that the king grew steadily from the abundant milk (nityakālaṃ ca mahākṣīreṇa pravardhate).
To be precise, he gave him a dīnāra (Tib. di na ra), a unit of currency used in India around the turn of the Common Era and into the first half of the first millennium. This type of currency would likely have been in circulation at the time this text was compiled.
The Sanskrit deviates from the Tibetan translation here. After generating the motivation to awaken and then regarding all beings as equal, the pauper commissions (niryātita) a jewel replica of the great amulet.
The phrase “took up practices in between” renders the term yāvat (Tib. bar du), which is used to elide a longer list of statements that would have been well known to the text’s original audience and thus did not need be stated in full.
Skt. paṭṭabandhaṃ kṛtvā; Tib. blon thabs byin te. The Sanskrit term paṭṭabandha, which literally means to “tie on a headband,” refers to what was a way of marking one’s formal entrance into royal service. A king’s conferral of paṭṭabandha was considered a highly prized achievement in royal circles.
This translation follows the Sanskrit and S in reading pūrvam . . . parijñātā (sngon yongs su shes). Degé omits pūrvaṃ/sngon (“previously”).
The Sanskrit edition has camphor (karpura), rather than saffron as reported in the Tibetan (gur gum).
The Sanskrit includes a pāda of verse not found in the Tibetan sources that states that these four stakes are used to measure the maṇḍala into sections of uniform size (samabhāgena māpya).
Based on the syntax of the Sanskrit, it is the mountains that are “invincible” (durdharṣa), not the boy as suggested by the Tibetan syntax.
The Sanskrit can be interpreted to say that these nāgas sit on a vajra at the center of the lotus (te ’pi sarve prayatnena hṛdi vajrapratiṣṭhitāḥ).
Here the term graha (Tib. gza’) is translated as “planet,” rather than “celestial bodies” as it is elsewhere. Typically the term refers to nine celestial bodies: the sun, moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the eclipse (Rāhu), and comets/meteors (Ketu). Because the sun, moon, eclipse, and comets/meteors are listed separately here, the remaining “eight” are all likely planets. It is unclear what the eighth planet would be in this case.
The Tibetan term yan lag rnam has been translated as “retribution” following the attested Sanskrit term pratyaṅgirāḥ.
“Royal consumption,” rājayakṣman in Sanskrit, is translated into Tibetan with khrag skyugs (“vomiting blood”). According to Daud Ali (2006, pp. 242–43), who cites the classic Āyurvedic treatise Carakasaṃhitā, rājayakṣman is primarily a mental disorder that afflicts kings who are excessively fixated on sex and other indulgences.
This translation follows the syntax of the Sanskrit edition, which reads anena kṛtarakṣas. This reading is followed by S, which has ’di yis bsrung ba byas. Degé reads ’di las bsrung ba byas.
This translation follows the Sanskrit edition and H, N, and S in understanding this deity to be female. Degé reads snod sbyin chen po dpal yon can.
We follow the Sanskrit, H, K, Y, N, and S in omitting me ke she su sha attested in the Degé.
The term maṇḍala (Tib. dkyil ’khor) is used here and below to describe both the square base made of earth and dung and the colored image to be painted on it.
We follow the Sanskrit in reading “adept” (Skt. budha; Tib. mkhas pa) in the singular. The Tibetan has the plural m khas pa rnams.
Where the Tibetan reads “in order to tame a great being” (sems can chen po gdul ba’i phyir), the Sanskrit has “destroyer of the great trichiliocosm” (mahāsahasrapramardanam), which corresponds closely to the title of one of the Pañcarakṣā texts, The Sūtra “Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm” (Toh 558, Mahāsāhasrapramardanīnāmasūtra). This is perhaps meant to indicate which oblation rite is to be performed. See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm, Toh 558 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016).
Skt. vimāna; Tib. gzhal med khang pa. A vimāna is a type of flying palace used by gods and other powerful beings for transport.
The god of fire.
An ingredient used to make incense.
An incantation goddess in this sūtra
A goddess in this sūtra.
A goddess in this sūtra.
A class of nonhuman beings believed to cause epilepsy, fits, and loss of memory. As their name suggests—the Skt. apasmāra literally means “without memory” and the Tib. brjed byed means “causing forgetfulness”—they are defined by the condition they cause in affected humans, and the term can refer to any nonhuman being that causes such conditions, whether a bhūta, a piśāca, or other.
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
Mindfulness, discrimination, diligence, joy, pliability, absorption, and equanimity.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
The lowest hell, the eighth of the eight hot hells.
An asura lord.
A goddess.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
A king of Vārāṇasī.
A goddess.
The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten, meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.
A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site, sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain relics.
A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as objects of veneration and merit making.
The moon personified.
Astronomical bodies that are believed to exert influence on individuals and the world according to Indic astrological lore. There are traditionally nine: the sun, the moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the eclipse (Rāhu), and comets/meteors (Ketu).
Tibetan scholar and translator.
A class of nonhuman beings.
A great śrāvaka disciple of the Buddha Śākyamuni known for possessing miraculous powers.
A class of powerful nonhuman female beings who play a variety of roles in Indic literature in general and Buddhist literature specifically. Essentially synonymous with yoginīs, ḍākinīs are liminal and often dangerous beings who can be propitiated to acquire both mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishments. In the higher Buddhist tantras, ḍākinīs are often considered embodiments of awakening and feature prominently in tantric maṇḍalas.
A member of the audience in this sūtra.
An Indian scholar who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
A member of the audience in this sūtra.
A member of the audience in this sūtra.
A great yakṣī.
Literally “retention” (the ability to remember) or “that which retains, contains, or encapsulates,” this term refers to mnemonic formulas or codes possessed by advanced bodhisattvas that contain the quintessence of their attainments, as well as to the Dharma teachings that express them and guide beings toward their realization. They are therefore often described in terms of “gateways” for entering the Dharma and training in its realization, or “seals” that contain condensations of truths and their expression. The term can also refer to a statement or incantation meant to protect or bring about a particular result.
See “dhāraṇī.”
A prominent merchant in Kuśinagara.
One of the Four Great Kings, he presides over the eastern quarter and rules over the gandharvas.
The kinnara king Druma is a well-known figure in canonical Buddhist literature, where he frequently appears, mostly in minor roles. For example, King Druma appears in The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Toh 113), where he is one of the four kinnara kings attending the Buddha’s teaching. He is also included in The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Toh 127), where he arrives with his queens to make an offering of his music to the Buddha. He is also a bodhisattva who teaches and displays a profound understanding of the doctrine of emptiness in The Questions of the Kinnara King Druma (Toh 157), where his future awakening is also prophesied by the Buddha.
(His name has been translated into Tibetan both as “sdong po” and “ljon pa.”)
A female “messenger” deity.
The danger from or fear of (1) drowning, (2) thieves, (3) lions, (4) snakes, (5) fire, (6) threatening spirits, (7) imprisonment, and (8) elephants.
The eighty secondary physical characteristics of a buddha and of other great beings (mahāpuruṣa), they include such details as the redness of the fingernails and the blackness of the hair. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two marks of a great being.
A rākṣasī.
The five kinds of “eye” or vision possessed by a buddha. They are (1) the physical eye, (2) the divine eye, (3) the wisdom eye, (4) the Dharma eye, and (5) the eye of the buddhas.
The two arms, two legs, and head.
These basic precepts are five in number for the laity: (1) not killing, (2) not stealing, (3) chastity, (4) not lying, and (5) avoiding intoxicants. For monks, there are three or five more; avoidance of such things as perfumes, makeup, ointments, garlands, high beds, and afternoon meals. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
Jayā, Vijayā, Ajitā/Jayantī, and Aparājitā. Along with their brother Tumburu (a form of Śiva), they comprise an important cult in the Vidyāpiṭha tradition of tantric Śaivism. This set of deities appears frequently in Buddhist literature, especially in Dhāraṇīs and Kriyātantras.
Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahārājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).
The ancient Indian army was composed of four branches (caturaṅga)—infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
Another name of Gaṇeśa, the elephant-headed god invoked to remove obstacles.
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
There are three, namely emptiness as a gateway to liberation, signlessness as a gateway to liberation, and wishlessness as a gateway to liberation. Among them, emptiness is characterized as the absence of inherent existence, signlessness as the absence of mental images, and wishlessness as the absence of hopes and fears.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
A Śākya girl.
A type of nonhuman being known to exert a harmful influence on the human body and mind, they are thought to be responsible for epilepsy and seizures.
A yakṣī or rākṣasī. Once an eater of children, she was converted by the Buddha to become a protector.
rig pa’i rgyal mo so sor ’brang ba chen mo (Mahāpratisarāvidyārājñī). Toh 561, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 117.b–138.b.
rig pa’i rgyal mo so sor ’brang ba chen mo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 90, pp. 355–420.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
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C Choné Kangyur
H Lhasa (Zhol) Kangyur
J Lithang Kangyur
K Peking Kangxi Kangyur
N Narthang Kangyur
S Stok Palace Kangyur
Y Peking Yongle Kangyur
The Noble Queen of Incantations: The Great Amulet, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. As its title suggests, The Great Amulet prescribes the use of amulets into which the incantation is physically incorporated. These devices are then worn around the neck or arm, attached to flags, interred in stūpas and funeral pyres, or otherwise used anywhere their presence is deemed beneficial. Wearing or encountering the incantation promises a range of effects, including the prevention and healing of illness, the conception and birth of male offspring, and control over the world of nonhuman spirit entities. The text also protects against consequences of negative deeds, delivering evildoers from negative rebirths and ensuring their place among the gods. The promise of augmenting merit even extends in one passage to an increase of mindfulness and liberation from saṃsāra.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by James Gentry, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of DJKR, Herlintje, Hadi Widjaja, Lina Herlintje, Ocean Widjaja, Asia Widjaja, Star Widjaja and Gold Widjaja.
The Noble Queen of Incantations: The Great Amulet is the third scripture in a series of five works that are widely popular in the Buddhist world for their power to bring about practical and liberative benefit. In addition to The Great Amulet, the other four texts are Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm (Mahāsāhasrapramardanīsūtra, Toh 558), The Great Peahen (Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī, Toh 559), The Sūtra of the Great Cool Grove (Mahāśītavatīsūtra, Toh 562), and Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Mahāmantrānusāriṇīsūtra, Toh 563). Together these scriptures have been apotheosized in the Mahāyāna tradition as five goddesses known collectively as the Pañcarakṣā, or the Five Protectresses. In the Tibetan tradition this collection is known as the gzungs chen grwa lnga, the Five Great Dhāraṇīs.
Tibetan redactors of Kangyur collections have cataloged these five texts together within the Kriyātantra section of the Collected Tantras (rgyud ’bum) division of the canon. Indeed, these scriptures do contain elements that resonate with standard Kriyātantra practice as understood in Tibet: the use of powerful incantations, an emphasis on external ritual hygiene, the pragmatic application of ritual and mantra, and so forth. Yet, nearly absent from the five Pañcarakṣā texts are detailed descriptions of the contemplative visualization exercises, specialized ritual gestures (mudrā), elaborate maṇḍala diagrams, and initiation ceremonies typical of full-blown Buddhist tantra. A close perusal of these five texts might then lead the reader to construe them as Mahāyāna texts with a preponderance of elements—magical mantra formulas, ritual prescriptions, pragmatic aims, and so forth—that developed into a tantric practice tradition with its own unique view, meditation, and conduct. To complicate things further, core features of texts in this collection are rooted in Indian Buddhist traditions that are not specifically esoteric or even explicitly part of the Mahāyāna tradition. The great peahen incantation, for example, appears as a remedy for snakebites in the Mūlasarvāstivādavinayavastu. This accords with Gregory Schopen’s general observation, based on inscriptional evidence, that “Dhāraṇī texts were publically [sic] known much earlier and much more widely than the texts we think of as ‘classically’ Mahāyāna.”
The rites and incantations found in the Pañcarakṣā texts have long functioned as important techniques for addressing pragmatic concerns throughout the Mahāyāna-Vajrayāna world. While it seems certain that these texts each developed independently and were only later combined into a five-text corpus, their popularity is attested by their eventual spread from India to Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. In East Asia, the textual tradition associated with The Great Peahen in particular was instrumental in integrating Buddhist and indigenous notions of divine kingship. Moreover, the tradition of all five goddesses and their texts still to this day occupies a place of central importance in the Vajrayāna Buddhism practiced by the Newar population of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Newar Buddhist communities have even translated the texts of the Five Protectresses into the modern vernacular, based on which they continue to stage a number of annual rites for a broad range of pragmatic purposes.
The designation “Five Protectresses” denotes the set of texts, the incantations presented therein, and the five goddesses presiding over each. It is believed that all these texts, specifically their incantations, provide special protection from a wide range of illnesses and misfortunes for those who memorize, recollect, read, copy, teach, wear, or otherwise come into contact with them. Each text promises protection from specific misfortunes, with considerable overlap witnessed between the texts. Despite the pragmatic thrust of these scriptures, each text also contains numerous allusions to doctrinal notions, the range of effects described therein sometimes, though rarely, extending beyond the pragmatic sphere to include the purification of negative karma, deliverance from the lower realms, and even the attainment of buddhahood.
The Great Amulet represents what became the most popular scripture throughout the Mahāyāna world prescribing, as its title suggests, the production and use of protective threads and amulets (pratisara). The tradition of using protective threads or amulets for a broad range of goals is most likely rooted in the Atharvaveda and was only later integrated within a specifically Buddhist framework. Eventually, the dispensation of magically potent amulets became a staple component of the Buddhist community’s medicinal and ritual intercessions on behalf of the monastic and lay community. Indeed, The Great Amulet stipulates that it should be painted or written down and worn around the neck or arm of anyone and everyone, regardless of gender or ordination status. The Great Amulet can be attached to flags, interred in stūpas or funeral pyres, or otherwise used in circumstances for which it is deemed to be especially beneficial. The text also outlines the ritual procedures and material protocols that must be followed precisely when writing and affixing the scripture to ensure its efficacy. The effects promised by wearing the scripture include the prevention and alleviation of illnesses and nonhuman interference; the conception and birth of male offspring; the protection of travelers and seafarers; the protection of persons and fields from natural disasters, from unwanted creatures and pests, and from the elements in general; protection against military invasion and corporal punishment; and control over the world of nonhuman spirit entities. Wearing and otherwise coming into physical contact with The Great Amulet is even claimed to protect from the consequences of negative deeds, delivering evildoers from negative rebirths and ensuring their place among the gods. The promise of augmenting merit even extends in one passage to an increase of mindfulness, liberation from saṃsāra, and the attainment of nirvāṇa.
The Great Amulet is structured according to its two dhāraṇīs and four mantra formulas and a series of nine narrative vignettes and two ritual procedures. The narratives are presented as proof of the scripture’s power and efficacy and often provide the background for the ritual preparations described in each episode. The text first unfolds without the dialogic structure of the Buddha responding to the questions of his entourage. Rather, after illuminating the universe with his brilliance, the Buddha simply states his desire to teach the scripture out of his compassion for beings, and without further ado he begins to dispense The Great Amulet. Only later in the text does a certain “great brahmin” emerge as the Buddha’s main interlocutor. Like The Great Peahen but with much less elaboration and specificity, The Great Amulet stipulates the invocation of the pantheon of Indian gods and goddesses, including the profusion of place-deities who dwell throughout the subcontinent. These litanies have the effect of hierarchically ordering the categories of nonhuman entities, rendering them all subordinate to the command of the Buddha and his community. Appeals to the pantheon are framed as methods both to protect against the violence of its members and enlist their protection in confronting other threats.
The popularity of The Great Amulet is attested by the significant number of surviving Sanskrit witnesses, the earliest among which are manuscript fragments discovered in Gilgit that date to approximately the early seventh century. Also among the earliest Sanskrit versions are four manuscript fragments dating to the latter half of the second millennium that were found in East Turkestan. The majority of Sanskrit witnesses comprises manuscripts from eastern India, which can be dated to the tenth and eleventh centuries, and a large number of manuscripts that were scribed in Nepal beginning in the ninth century and continuing into modern times. In addition to manuscript sources, the main Sanskrit incantations from The Great Amulet have been found on amulets, copper plate inscriptions, and bricks that date between the eighth and eleventh centuries. These material applications of the incantations were discovered across a wide geographic range, from Central and East Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia. Comparisons of these surviving Sanskrit versions of The Great Amulet indicate that this text may have gone through two major recensions—once in the sixth century and another in the late seventh century—before it was grouped with the other four Protectresses in the early eighth century.
The Great Amulet was first translated into Tibetan under Tibetan imperial patronage sometime during the early ninth century by a team that included the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé (ban+de ye shes sde, ca. late eighth–early ninth centuries) and the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Their translation is listed in the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) catalog, along with the other Pañcarakṣā texts, under the category “the Five Great Dhāraṇīs” (gzungs chen po lnga). The translation was revised several centuries later by Gö Lotsāwa Shönu Pal (’gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal, 1392–1481), who based his work on a Sanskrit manuscript that had been in the possession of Chak Lotsāwa Chöjé Pal (chag lo tsA ba chos rje dpal, 1197–1263/64). The Stok Palace Kangyur contains another recension of Yeshé Dé’s translation that was revised by Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) based on two Sanskrit manuscripts from India.
The Great Amulet was translated into Chinese twice. The earlier of the two translations is the Foshuo suiqiu jide dazizai tuoluoni shenzhou jing (佛說隨求即得大自在陀羅尼神呪經, Taishō 1154), which was translated by Ratnacinta (Baosiwei 宝思惟, ca. seventh–eighth centuries) in 693. The second, the Pubian guangming qingjing chicheng ruyibao yinxin wunengsheng damingwang dasuiqui tuoluoni jing (普遍光明淸淨熾盛如意寶印心無能勝大明王大隨求陀羅尼經, Taishō 1153), was prepared in the eighth century by Amoghavajra (Bukong 不空, 705–74). Hidas notes evidence that a third translation was made by Vajrabodhi (Jingang zhi 金刚智, ca. seventh–eight centuries) but is now lost.
This English translation is based primarily on the Degé edition of the Tibetan translation, with close consultation of Gergely Hidas’ Sanskrit editions of the Gilgit fragments and Indian/Nepalese manuscript sources. We have also consulted his English translation and study of the incantation. In addition to these sources, we have relied on the Stok Palace version of the Tibetan translation and on the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur. Unless otherwise noted, the transcriptions of the Sanskrit incantations and mantras follow those given in the Degé edition. Minor orthographic emendations have not been noted.
I pay homage to Mahāpratisarā, queen of incantations, and to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling on the summit of great vajra Mount Meru, in a mansion resting on the ground of great vajra meditative absorption. The site was beautifully adorned with great vajra wish-fulfilling trees and illuminated by the luster of the jewels and lotuses in a great vajra pond. The ground was strewn with great vajra sand and consecrated as a great vajra. The site had a surrounding courtyard made of great vajras and was bedecked with billions of great vajra lion thrones of Śakra, lord of the gods. The site was consecrated by the blessings of all buddhas as a place of miracles where Dharma was taught, where the equality of all phenomena is entered, and that was perfected by omniscience.
The Blessed One was dwelling there together with eighty-four hundred sextillion bodhisattvas. They all had one rebirth remaining, had become irreversible from unexcelled, completely perfect awakening, and had attained great power. Through their great vajra liberation and their meditative absorption, they could manifest in numerous buddhafields and display great miracles. With the minutest moment of thought they could, with breadth and eloquence, give various Dharma teachings that were melodious, vast, and profound, and that were appropriate for the mentalities and conduct of all beings. Possessing miraculous powers, they could worship thus-gone ones in multiple buddhafields with clouds of great offerings. Their mindstreams were replete with the gates of liberation, retention, meditative absorption, control, higher knowledges, the unique qualities, and the aspects of awakening, with the paths, levels, and perfections, with skillful means, and with the means of magnetizing, as well as with love, compassion, joy, and impartiality, with the power of love, and with truth and complete purity.
These eighty-four hundred sextillion bodhisattvas included, among others, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajragarbha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajragātra, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajramati, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrahasta, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrasaṃhata, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajranārāyaṇa, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajravikurvita, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrakūṭa, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrarāśi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Suvajra, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajraketu.
There were also many great śrāvakas present. They were all arhats whose defilements had been exhausted and whose bonds to existence had been completely severed. Their minds were liberated through perfect knowledge. They had attained the great powers of magical prowess and the ability to create manifestations through inconceivable miracles, and they had a view free of desire. They had all attained freedom from stains and had completely scorched the seeds of afflictive habitual patterns.
They included, among others, venerable Śāriputra, venerable Pūrṇo Maitrāyaṇīputraḥ, venerable Kaphina, venerable Subhūti, venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, venerable Cunda, venerable Nanda, venerable Kāśyapa, venerable Mahākāśyapa, and venerable Uruvilvākāśyapa.
There were also the gods from the pure abodes, immeasurably limitless and beyond description, led by the god Maheśvara; many gods from the Brahmā realm, led by Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world; the god Suyāma along with his retinue of gods from the Heaven Free from Strife; and the gods Santuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Paranirmitavaśavartin as well as Śakra, lord of the gods, and his many entourages of gods.
There were infinite, innumerable, and limitless asura lords, including Vemacitrin, lord of the asuras, Balin, Prahlāda, Rāhu, and Vairocana.
There were infinite, innumerable, and limitless nāga kings led by Sāgara, king of the nāgas, Takṣaka, Vāsuki, Śaṅkhapāla, Karkoṭaka, Padma, and Mahāpadma.
The kinnara king Druma and his entourage of many kinnara kings were there, as were the gandharva king Pañcaśikha with his entourage of many gandharva kings, the vidyādhara king Sarvārthasiddha along with his entourage of many vidyādhara kings, the garuḍa king Suparṇākṣa with his entourage of many garuḍa kings, and the yakṣa kings Vaiśravaṇa, Māṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, and Pāñcika along with their entourages of many yakṣa kings.
Hārītī and her entourage of five hundred children were there, as were the seven mothers of the world, the seven great rākṣasīs, and the seven great and foremost ṛṣis.
Also in attendance were the lunar mansions that course in the sky, the gods of all the planets, the gods of the cardinal and intermediate directions, Pṛthivī, Sarasvatī, bhutās, vighnas, vināyakas, pretas and bhūtas with great magical powers, all the mountain kings, and Varuṇa, protector of the world, along with his entourage of ocean gods.
Also present were Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, Daṇḍapāṇi, Nairṛta, Jātavedas, the seven great wind gods, and Īśāna with his wife and billionfold entourage. Nārāyaṇa and his entourage were present, as were Dattaka, Dāmaka, Śaśin, and Lohaka. Mahāgaṇapati was present, as was Megholka, the lord of vināyakas, with his entourage of many vināyakas and vighnas. The sixty koṭarās were present, as were as the Four Bhaginīs and their brother. Also present were Vajrasaṅkalā, the sixty-four vajradūtīs, Vajrasena, Subāhu, and Mūrdhaṭaka, together with their manifold entourages of members of the vajra family.
There were, moreover, infinite, innumerable, and limitless gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, chāyās, unmādas, apasmāras, skanda s, sādhyas, vyālagrāhas, and ostārakas, all with intense faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Also present were the god of the sun, the god of the moon, the god of the dusk, the god of the dawn, all the gods of the seasons, and the god of the earth.
The Blessed One, turner of the wheel of Dharma, had fully perfected the deeds of a buddha. He had completed the accumulations of merit and wisdom, had fully taken hold of omniscience, and had mastered the perfections and levels for the sake of awakening. His body, adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great being, blazed brightly. His limbs and extremities were decorated with the eighty sublime characteristics, the top of his head was beyond the sight of all beings, and he understood all the activities of Māra. He comprehended the mentality and conduct of all beings and possessed the five eyes. He was replete with the most supreme of all characteristics and the wisdom of omniscience. He possessed all the qualities of a buddha, had defeated all the hordes of māras and foes, and was exalted in his use of speech, words, and verses. He roared with the roar of a bull and a lion and had completely removed the darkness of ignorance. He had been unflagging for immeasurable, countless billions of eons in the practice of the perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, insight, means, power, aspiration, and wisdom, as well as in the performance of austerities. His body was beautiful, adorned with the thirty-two major marks and the eighty sublime characteristics of a great being.
He took his seat on a great lion throne that sat at the heart of a lotus upon a vajra and jewel. The throne chimed with the sound of many vajras, jewels, pearls, and lattices of bells. It sat solidly on a plinth made of many vajras and jewels and was arrayed with a pile of cushions bound with strings of red pearls that issued from the mouths of numerous sea monsters made of vajra and jewels. The throne sparkled brilliantly with the luster of jewels—chrysoberyl, great chrysoberyl, sapphire, great sapphire, and topaz—that were affixed to the pericarps of many jeweled lotuses. It was entirely alluring and was completely shaded with billions of parasols whose shafts were festooned with many sprigs of vajras and jewels. It was also abundantly beautified with many wish-fulfilling trees.
As the Blessed One sat on the vajra-jewel lotus throne the size of Mount Meru, his splendor blazed forth like the king of golden mountains. The area was engulfed in an orb of light brighter than a thousand suns. Like a full moon, he shone pleasingly throughout all worlds. He taught the Dharma while, like a great wish-fulfilling tree, he was in full blossom with the qualities of a buddha. He gave instructions on religious life that were virtuous in the beginning, middle, and end, excellent in word and meaning, and unique, perfect, pure, pristine, and genuine.
Then, from the hair between the eyes of the Blessed One streamed a matrix of light rays called the revealer of the fields of all buddhas. This matrix of light rays flooded the entire trichiliocosm with its brilliance. It flooded with its brilliance as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, where many blessed buddhas, seated on their lion thrones in celestial palaces, were teaching the Dharma to śrāvakas, bodhisattva mahāsattvas, monks, nuns, male and female laypeople, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.
Then the Blessed One spoke to the vast assembly:
Tadyathā oṁ vipula vipulagarbhe vipulavimale vipulagarbhe vimale jayagarbhe vajrajvālāgarbhe gatigahane gaganaviśodhane sarvapāpaviśodhane oṁ guṇavati gaganavicāriṇi gagariṇi gigi giri giriṇi giriṇi gamari gamari gaha gaha gargari gargari gagari gagari gambhari gambhari gabhi gabhi gahi gahi gamani gamani gari gari gubha gubha guha guha guru guru guruṇi cale guhaṇi guhaṇi guruṇi culu culu cale cale mucele mucele jaye vijaye sarvabhayavigate satva sarvagarbhasaṃrakṣaṇi siri siri bhiri bhiri miri miri miri miri giri giri ghiri ghiri ghiri ghiri samantaparṣaṇi.
Blessed lady, guide of beings, universal guide, vanquisher of all foes, protect me from all dangers, threats, plagues, and illnesses! Protect me!
Ciri ciri viri viri dhiri dhiri vigatāvaraṇe viśodhane vividhāvaraṇavināśani muri muri muci muci muli muli cili cili kili kili mili mili kamale vimale jaye vijaye vijayāvahe jayavati viśeṣavati.
Blessed lady who wears a jeweled crown and garland and who wears manifold types of garments! Blessed lady, great goddess of incantations who purifies all evil! Fully protect me everywhere! Protect me!
Huru huru muru muru rakṣa rakṣa mama.
I have no protection, refuge, or recourse! Protect me! Protect me! Deliver me from all suffering!
Caṇḍe caṇḍe caṇḍe caṇḍe caṇḍeni caṇḍeni vegavati sarvaduṣṭanivāriṇi vijayavāhini huru huru muru muru curu curu turu turu āyuḥpālani suravarapramathani sarvadevagaṇapūjite ciri cirri dhiri dhiri samantāvalokite prabhe prabhe suprabhe suprabhaviśuddhe sarvapāpaviśuddhe sarvapāpaviśodhane dhuru dhuru dharaṇi dhare dhare dhara sumu sumu sumu sumu musu musu ruru cale cālaya.
You of splendorous body, protect me from the ill intentioned! Fulfill my wishes!
Jayakamale kṣiṇi kṣiṇi varadāṅkuśe oṁ padmaviśuddhe śodhaya śodhaya śuddhe śuddhe bhara bhara bhiri bhiri bhuru bhuru maṅgalaviśuddhe pavitramukhi khaḍgini khaḍgini khara khara jvalitaśikhare samantāvalokitaprabhe suprabhaviśuddhe samantaprasāritāvabhāsitaśuddhe jvala jvala sarvadevagaṇagrahanakṣatrasamākarṣaṇi satyaprati oṃ hrī traṃ tara tara tāraya tāraya.
O lady who peers with an elephant’s gaze! Deliver me from harm by humans!
Lahu lahu hulu hulu hutu hutu turu turu kiṇi kiṇi kṣiṇi kṣiṇi huṇi huṇi sarvagrahabhakṣaṇi piṅgali piṅgali mucu mucu cumu cumu suvicare tara tara.
O lady who peers with an elephant’s gaze! With the binding of the directions and the binding of the vajra fence and vajra lasso, deliver me from the eight great dangers, everywhere and in all ways!
Vajrajvālāviśuddhe bhuri bhuri dhara dhara tiri tiri turu turu bhagavati garbhaviśuddhe garbhasaṃsodhaṇi kukṣisampūraṇi jvala jvala cala cala jvālani.
May divine water pour down everywhere!
Amṛtavarṣaṇi devatāvatāraṇi.
O you with the body composed of the supreme ambrosia of the Sugata’s sublime speech, please anoint me! Purify all strife, contention, quarrels, disputes, nightmares, bad omens, inauspiciousness, and evil! Vanquish all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and nāgas! Protect me, always and everywhere, from all threats of harm and from all fears, calamities, epidemics, and illnesses! Protect me!
Bala bala balavati jaya jaya vijaya vijaya.
Grant me victory always and everywhere! May this great incantation be successful for me! Accomplish the great maṇḍala! Accomplish the secret mantras! Destroy all obstructions!
Jaya jaya siddhi siddhi sidhya sidhya budhya budhya sūcaya sūcaya pūraya pūraya pūraṇi pūraṇi.
Fulfill my wishes! O blessed lady whose body has risen from all incantations, triumphant one, supremely triumphant one who is the pristine essence of the thus-gone ones, please remain! Please remain! Honor your commitment! See me through the dreadful eight great dangers!
Sara sara prasara prasara sarvāvaraṇaviśodhani samantākāramaṇḍalaviśuddhe vigate vigate vigatamale sarvamalaviśodhani kṣiṇi kṣiṇi sarvapāpaviśuddhe malavigati jayavati tejo tejovati vajra vajravati svāhā.
Oṁ dhuru dhuru svāhā turu turu svāhā muru muru svāhā hana hana sarvaśatrūn svāhā daha daha sarvaduṣṭānāṃ svāhā paca paca sarvapratyarthikapratyamitrānāṃ svāhā.
Let the body of all those wicked-minded beings who are hostile to me blaze, svāhā!
Hulu hulu svāhā oṁ svāhā svaḥ svāhā bhūḥ svāhā bhūvaḥ svāhā bhūr bhuvaḥ svāhā ciṭi ciciṭi svāhā viṭi viṭi svāhā dhāraṇi svāhā dhāraṇi svāhā agni svāhā tejovayuḥ svāhā cili cili svāhā mili mili svāhā sili sili svāhā budhya budhya svāhā sidhya sidhya svāhā maṇḍalabandhe svāhā sīmābandhe svāhā dhāraṇibhandhe svāhā sarvaśatrūṇāṃ bhañjaya svāhā jambhaya jambhaya svāhā stambhaya stambhaya svāhā chinda chinda svāhā bhinda bhinda svāhā bhañja bhañja svāhā bandha bandha svāhā mohaya mohaya svāhā maṇiviśuddhe svāhā sūrye svāhā sūryaviśuddhe svāhā śodhani svāhā viśodhani svāhā caṇḍe caṇḍe paripūrṇacaṇḍe svāhā grahebhyaḥ svāhā nakṣatrebhyaḥ svāhā śivibhyaḥ svāhā śāntibhyaḥ svāhā puṣṭibhyaḥ svāhā svastiyanebhyaḥ svāhā garbhadhare svāhā śivaṅkari svāhā śaṅkari svāhā śāntiṅkari svāhā puṣṭiṅkari svāhā balavardhani svāhā balavardhinikari svāhā śrīkari svāhā śrīvardhani svāhā śrījvālini svāhā muci svāhā namuci svāhā muruci svāhā vegavati svāhā.
“Oṁ, blessed lady, stainless supreme body of all thus-gone ones! Pacify all my evil! May auspiciousness be mine!
Oṁ muni muni vimuni vimuni dhari cala calani bhagavati bhayavigate bhayahariṇi bodhi bodhi bodhaya bodhaya buddhili buddhili cumbuli cumbuli svāhā sarvatathāgatahṛdayajuṣṭe svāhā. Oṁ muni muni munivare.
May I be consecrated with the consecrations of the incantations of all thus-gone ones, all of which have been sealed with the great vajra armor seal!
Sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭitavajre svāhā.
A great brahmin and his retinue then entered into the assembly. The Blessed One addressed the great brahmin, “Great brahmin, this is the queen of incantations, the great amulet, a dhāraṇī that is an invincible essence-seal, a wish-fulfilling gem that sparkles all around with a pristine garland of flames.
“A son or daughter of noble family is freed from all their misdeeds as soon as they hear this dhāraṇī. Great brahmin, the body of a person in whose heart this incantation resides should be understood to be a vajra. Fire cannot harm their body. How do I know? Once, in the great city of Kapilavastu, the child Rāhulabhadra resided in his mother’s womb. At that time the Śākya girl Gopā threw herself into a fire, but a lotus appeared within it. Rāhulabhadra had brought this incantation to mind while he was dwelling in the womb, and he instantly quelled the fire by simply recollecting it. The fire did not touch the body of the Śākya girl Gopā. Why? This incantation has been blessed by all the thus-gone ones. That is why, great brahmin, the fire did not burn her.
“Poison, too, cannot separate one from life. How so? Well, great brahmin, once, in the city called Śūrpāraka, a wealthy and powerful merchant had a son who cast incantations. Through the power of his incantation he summoned the nāga king Takṣaka, but he was careless after summoning him and failed to control him. The nāga king angrily bit him, causing a painful sensation. He thought, ‘This is how my life ends.’ Although several magicians were called, none could cure him of the poison.
“A very compassionate woman with lay vows named Vimalaviśuddhi lived in the city of Śūrpāraka. She knew to recite this great queen of incantations, so she went to where the man was staying and uttered this great incantation. By just reciting it to him once, the poison vanished and he regained consciousness. After he was delivered from that intense suffering, the merchant’s son took the mantra of the great incantation to heart, precisely according to the prescribed procedure.
“But how do we really know, great brahmin? In the great city of Vārāṇasī, during the reign of a king known by the name Brahmadatta, the monarch who ruled the land along the eastern border amassed a four-division army and surrounded Vārāṇasī in preparation for attack. The ministers said to King Brahmadatta, ‘Your Majesty, if the enemy army should take the city, what tactic could we employ to defeat them? Please tell us!’ The king then declared, ‘Do not worry! I have a queen of incantations called the great amulet. With it I will defeat and pulverize this four-division army!’ The ministers all bowed their heads and said, ‘O great king! What is this thing about which we have never before heard?’ The king replied, ‘I will demonstrate it.’ Thereupon, King Brahmadatta washed his head with various perfumes, donned clean clothes, and wrote down the great queen of incantations precisely as prescribed. Placing it inside his topknot, he used the great queen of incantations as his armor and entered into battle. He then singlehandedly defeated the entire four-division army. Defeated, the enemy monarch was released once he took refuge in the incantation.
“Great brahmin, this directly reveals the great power of the queen of incantations, which has been blessed by the essence and seal of all thus-gone ones. Given this evidence, it should be upheld. It should be seen as equal to all thus-gone ones. It should be viewed as something that at a future time, in future contexts, will benefit beings who have short lifespans, little merit, and meager possessions. Great brahmin, anyone who writes the great amulet, queen of incantations precisely as prescribed and fastens it around their arm or around their neck should be understood to be blessed by all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have the body of all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have a great vajra body. They should be understood to possess the essence of the relics of all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have the eye of all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have a great vajra body. They should be understood to possess a body of blazing flame. They should be understood to possess indestructible armor. They should be understood as one who vanquishes all foes. They should be understood as one who overcomes all obscurations and misdeeds. They should be understood as one who purifies migration to the hells.
“Why? This can be understood from a previous event. Great brahmin, in another land there was a monk who lacked faith, had lapsed in his training in the family of the Thus-Gone One, and had become a thief. He stole from the communal supplies and consumed the articles amassed by the saṅgha from the four directions, taking them all as his own. Later, he was afflicted with a severe illness and experienced intense pain.
“Distressed, and with no recourse or protection, he wailed loudly. Then, great brahmin, a man with lay vows who lived in the area heard his wailing. He approached the monk, wrote down the queen of incantations, the great amulet, and fastened it around the monk’s neck. As soon as he attached the queen of incantations, the great amulet, around the monk’s neck, the monk’s painful sensations were completely soothed, and he was released from every illness. He spent that night restored to health, and then he died in a state of mindfulness. When he discarded his body, he was born in the great Avīci Hell. The other monks placed his corpse on the funeral pyre, with the queen of incantations, the great amulet, still fastened to his neck. As soon as the monk was born in the Avīci Hell, all the painful sensations of the beings there were completely quelled, and they were satiated with every comfort. All the roaring fires in the Avīci Hell went out completely. Yama’s minions were all surprised and reported in detail to Yama, king of the law:
The Noble Queen of Incantations: The Great Amulet, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. As its title suggests, The Great Amulet prescribes the use of amulets into which the incantation is physically incorporated. These devices are then worn around the neck or arm, attached to flags, interred in stūpas and funeral pyres, or otherwise used anywhere their presence is deemed beneficial. Wearing or encountering the incantation promises a range of effects, including the prevention and healing of illness, the conception and birth of male offspring, and control over the world of nonhuman spirit entities. The text also protects against consequences of negative deeds, delivering evildoers from negative rebirths and ensuring their place among the gods. The promise of augmenting merit even extends in one passage to an increase of mindfulness and liberation from saṃsāra.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by James Gentry, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of DJKR, Herlintje, Hadi Widjaja, Lina Herlintje, Ocean Widjaja, Asia Widjaja, Star Widjaja and Gold Widjaja.
The Noble Queen of Incantations: The Great Amulet is the third scripture in a series of five works that are widely popular in the Buddhist world for their power to bring about practical and liberative benefit. In addition to The Great Amulet, the other four texts are Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm (Mahāsāhasrapramardanīsūtra, Toh 558), The Great Peahen (Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī, Toh 559), The Sūtra of the Great Cool Grove (Mahāśītavatīsūtra, Toh 562), and Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Mahāmantrānusāriṇīsūtra, Toh 563). Together these scriptures have been apotheosized in the Mahāyāna tradition as five goddesses known collectively as the Pañcarakṣā, or the Five Protectresses. In the Tibetan tradition this collection is known as the gzungs chen grwa lnga, the Five Great Dhāraṇīs.
Tibetan redactors of Kangyur collections have cataloged these five texts together within the Kriyātantra section of the Collected Tantras (rgyud ’bum) division of the canon. Indeed, these scriptures do contain elements that resonate with standard Kriyātantra practice as understood in Tibet: the use of powerful incantations, an emphasis on external ritual hygiene, the pragmatic application of ritual and mantra, and so forth. Yet, nearly absent from the five Pañcarakṣā texts are detailed descriptions of the contemplative visualization exercises, specialized ritual gestures (mudrā), elaborate maṇḍala diagrams, and initiation ceremonies typical of full-blown Buddhist tantra. A close perusal of these five texts might then lead the reader to construe them as Mahāyāna texts with a preponderance of elements—magical mantra formulas, ritual prescriptions, pragmatic aims, and so forth—that developed into a tantric practice tradition with its own unique view, meditation, and conduct. To complicate things further, core features of texts in this collection are rooted in Indian Buddhist traditions that are not specifically esoteric or even explicitly part of the Mahāyāna tradition. The great peahen incantation, for example, appears as a remedy for snakebites in the Mūlasarvāstivādavinayavastu. This accords with Gregory Schopen’s general observation, based on inscriptional evidence, that “Dhāraṇī texts were publically [sic] known much earlier and much more widely than the texts we think of as ‘classically’ Mahāyāna.”
The rites and incantations found in the Pañcarakṣā texts have long functioned as important techniques for addressing pragmatic concerns throughout the Mahāyāna-Vajrayāna world. While it seems certain that these texts each developed independently and were only later combined into a five-text corpus, their popularity is attested by their eventual spread from India to Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia. In East Asia, the textual tradition associated with The Great Peahen in particular was instrumental in integrating Buddhist and indigenous notions of divine kingship. Moreover, the tradition of all five goddesses and their texts still to this day occupies a place of central importance in the Vajrayāna Buddhism practiced by the Newar population of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Newar Buddhist communities have even translated the texts of the Five Protectresses into the modern vernacular, based on which they continue to stage a number of annual rites for a broad range of pragmatic purposes.
The designation “Five Protectresses” denotes the set of texts, the incantations presented therein, and the five goddesses presiding over each. It is believed that all these texts, specifically their incantations, provide special protection from a wide range of illnesses and misfortunes for those who memorize, recollect, read, copy, teach, wear, or otherwise come into contact with them. Each text promises protection from specific misfortunes, with considerable overlap witnessed between the texts. Despite the pragmatic thrust of these scriptures, each text also contains numerous allusions to doctrinal notions, the range of effects described therein sometimes, though rarely, extending beyond the pragmatic sphere to include the purification of negative karma, deliverance from the lower realms, and even the attainment of buddhahood.
The Great Amulet represents what became the most popular scripture throughout the Mahāyāna world prescribing, as its title suggests, the production and use of protective threads and amulets (pratisara). The tradition of using protective threads or amulets for a broad range of goals is most likely rooted in the Atharvaveda and was only later integrated within a specifically Buddhist framework. Eventually, the dispensation of magically potent amulets became a staple component of the Buddhist community’s medicinal and ritual intercessions on behalf of the monastic and lay community. Indeed, The Great Amulet stipulates that it should be painted or written down and worn around the neck or arm of anyone and everyone, regardless of gender or ordination status. The Great Amulet can be attached to flags, interred in stūpas or funeral pyres, or otherwise used in circumstances for which it is deemed to be especially beneficial. The text also outlines the ritual procedures and material protocols that must be followed precisely when writing and affixing the scripture to ensure its efficacy. The effects promised by wearing the scripture include the prevention and alleviation of illnesses and nonhuman interference; the conception and birth of male offspring; the protection of travelers and seafarers; the protection of persons and fields from natural disasters, from unwanted creatures and pests, and from the elements in general; protection against military invasion and corporal punishment; and control over the world of nonhuman spirit entities. Wearing and otherwise coming into physical contact with The Great Amulet is even claimed to protect from the consequences of negative deeds, delivering evildoers from negative rebirths and ensuring their place among the gods. The promise of augmenting merit even extends in one passage to an increase of mindfulness, liberation from saṃsāra, and the attainment of nirvāṇa.
The Great Amulet is structured according to its two dhāraṇīs and four mantra formulas and a series of nine narrative vignettes and two ritual procedures. The narratives are presented as proof of the scripture’s power and efficacy and often provide the background for the ritual preparations described in each episode. The text first unfolds without the dialogic structure of the Buddha responding to the questions of his entourage. Rather, after illuminating the universe with his brilliance, the Buddha simply states his desire to teach the scripture out of his compassion for beings, and without further ado he begins to dispense The Great Amulet. Only later in the text does a certain “great brahmin” emerge as the Buddha’s main interlocutor. Like The Great Peahen but with much less elaboration and specificity, The Great Amulet stipulates the invocation of the pantheon of Indian gods and goddesses, including the profusion of place-deities who dwell throughout the subcontinent. These litanies have the effect of hierarchically ordering the categories of nonhuman entities, rendering them all subordinate to the command of the Buddha and his community. Appeals to the pantheon are framed as methods both to protect against the violence of its members and enlist their protection in confronting other threats.
The popularity of The Great Amulet is attested by the significant number of surviving Sanskrit witnesses, the earliest among which are manuscript fragments discovered in Gilgit that date to approximately the early seventh century. Also among the earliest Sanskrit versions are four manuscript fragments dating to the latter half of the second millennium that were found in East Turkestan. The majority of Sanskrit witnesses comprises manuscripts from eastern India, which can be dated to the tenth and eleventh centuries, and a large number of manuscripts that were scribed in Nepal beginning in the ninth century and continuing into modern times. In addition to manuscript sources, the main Sanskrit incantations from The Great Amulet have been found on amulets, copper plate inscriptions, and bricks that date between the eighth and eleventh centuries. These material applications of the incantations were discovered across a wide geographic range, from Central and East Asia to the Philippines and Indonesia. Comparisons of these surviving Sanskrit versions of The Great Amulet indicate that this text may have gone through two major recensions—once in the sixth century and another in the late seventh century—before it was grouped with the other four Protectresses in the early eighth century.
The Great Amulet was first translated into Tibetan under Tibetan imperial patronage sometime during the early ninth century by a team that included the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé (ban+de ye shes sde, ca. late eighth–early ninth centuries) and the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Their translation is listed in the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) catalog, along with the other Pañcarakṣā texts, under the category “the Five Great Dhāraṇīs” (gzungs chen po lnga). The translation was revised several centuries later by Gö Lotsāwa Shönu Pal (’gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal, 1392–1481), who based his work on a Sanskrit manuscript that had been in the possession of Chak Lotsāwa Chöjé Pal (chag lo tsA ba chos rje dpal, 1197–1263/64). The Stok Palace Kangyur contains another recension of Yeshé Dé’s translation that was revised by Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) based on two Sanskrit manuscripts from India.
The Great Amulet was translated into Chinese twice. The earlier of the two translations is the Foshuo suiqiu jide dazizai tuoluoni shenzhou jing (佛說隨求即得大自在陀羅尼神呪經, Taishō 1154), which was translated by Ratnacinta (Baosiwei 宝思惟, ca. seventh–eighth centuries) in 693. The second, the Pubian guangming qingjing chicheng ruyibao yinxin wunengsheng damingwang dasuiqui tuoluoni jing (普遍光明淸淨熾盛如意寶印心無能勝大明王大隨求陀羅尼經, Taishō 1153), was prepared in the eighth century by Amoghavajra (Bukong 不空, 705–74). Hidas notes evidence that a third translation was made by Vajrabodhi (Jingang zhi 金刚智, ca. seventh–eight centuries) but is now lost.
This English translation is based primarily on the Degé edition of the Tibetan translation, with close consultation of Gergely Hidas’ Sanskrit editions of the Gilgit fragments and Indian/Nepalese manuscript sources. We have also consulted his English translation and study of the incantation. In addition to these sources, we have relied on the Stok Palace version of the Tibetan translation and on the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur. Unless otherwise noted, the transcriptions of the Sanskrit incantations and mantras follow those given in the Degé edition. Minor orthographic emendations have not been noted.
I pay homage to Mahāpratisarā, queen of incantations, and to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling on the summit of great vajra Mount Meru, in a mansion resting on the ground of great vajra meditative absorption. The site was beautifully adorned with great vajra wish-fulfilling trees and illuminated by the luster of the jewels and lotuses in a great vajra pond. The ground was strewn with great vajra sand and consecrated as a great vajra. The site had a surrounding courtyard made of great vajras and was bedecked with billions of great vajra lion thrones of Śakra, lord of the gods. The site was consecrated by the blessings of all buddhas as a place of miracles where Dharma was taught, where the equality of all phenomena is entered, and that was perfected by omniscience.
The Blessed One was dwelling there together with eighty-four hundred sextillion bodhisattvas. They all had one rebirth remaining, had become irreversible from unexcelled, completely perfect awakening, and had attained great power. Through their great vajra liberation and their meditative absorption, they could manifest in numerous buddhafields and display great miracles. With the minutest moment of thought they could, with breadth and eloquence, give various Dharma teachings that were melodious, vast, and profound, and that were appropriate for the mentalities and conduct of all beings. Possessing miraculous powers, they could worship thus-gone ones in multiple buddhafields with clouds of great offerings. Their mindstreams were replete with the gates of liberation, retention, meditative absorption, control, higher knowledges, the unique qualities, and the aspects of awakening, with the paths, levels, and perfections, with skillful means, and with the means of magnetizing, as well as with love, compassion, joy, and impartiality, with the power of love, and with truth and complete purity.
These eighty-four hundred sextillion bodhisattvas included, among others, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajragarbha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajragātra, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajramati, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrahasta, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrasaṃhata, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajranārāyaṇa, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajravikurvita, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrakūṭa, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajrarāśi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Suvajra, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Vajraketu.
There were also many great śrāvakas present. They were all arhats whose defilements had been exhausted and whose bonds to existence had been completely severed. Their minds were liberated through perfect knowledge. They had attained the great powers of magical prowess and the ability to create manifestations through inconceivable miracles, and they had a view free of desire. They had all attained freedom from stains and had completely scorched the seeds of afflictive habitual patterns.
They included, among others, venerable Śāriputra, venerable Pūrṇo Maitrāyaṇīputraḥ, venerable Kaphina, venerable Subhūti, venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, venerable Cunda, venerable Nanda, venerable Kāśyapa, venerable Mahākāśyapa, and venerable Uruvilvākāśyapa.
There were also the gods from the pure abodes, immeasurably limitless and beyond description, led by the god Maheśvara; many gods from the Brahmā realm, led by Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world; the god Suyāma along with his retinue of gods from the Heaven Free from Strife; and the gods Santuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Paranirmitavaśavartin as well as Śakra, lord of the gods, and his many entourages of gods.
There were infinite, innumerable, and limitless asura lords, including Vemacitrin, lord of the asuras, Balin, Prahlāda, Rāhu, and Vairocana.
There were infinite, innumerable, and limitless nāga kings led by Sāgara, king of the nāgas, Takṣaka, Vāsuki, Śaṅkhapāla, Karkoṭaka, Padma, and Mahāpadma.
The kinnara king Druma and his entourage of many kinnara kings were there, as were the gandharva king Pañcaśikha with his entourage of many gandharva kings, the vidyādhara king Sarvārthasiddha along with his entourage of many vidyādhara kings, the garuḍa king Suparṇākṣa with his entourage of many garuḍa kings, and the yakṣa kings Vaiśravaṇa, Māṇibhadra, Pūrṇabhadra, and Pāñcika along with their entourages of many yakṣa kings.
Hārītī and her entourage of five hundred children were there, as were the seven mothers of the world, the seven great rākṣasīs, and the seven great and foremost ṛṣis.
Also in attendance were the lunar mansions that course in the sky, the gods of all the planets, the gods of the cardinal and intermediate directions, Pṛthivī, Sarasvatī, bhutās, vighnas, vināyakas, pretas and bhūtas with great magical powers, all the mountain kings, and Varuṇa, protector of the world, along with his entourage of ocean gods.
Also present were Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, Daṇḍapāṇi, Nairṛta, Jātavedas, the seven great wind gods, and Īśāna with his wife and billionfold entourage. Nārāyaṇa and his entourage were present, as were Dattaka, Dāmaka, Śaśin, and Lohaka. Mahāgaṇapati was present, as was Megholka, the lord of vināyakas, with his entourage of many vināyakas and vighnas. The sixty koṭarās were present, as were as the Four Bhaginīs and their brother. Also present were Vajrasaṅkalā, the sixty-four vajradūtīs, Vajrasena, Subāhu, and Mūrdhaṭaka, together with their manifold entourages of members of the vajra family.
There were, moreover, infinite, innumerable, and limitless gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, chāyās, unmādas, apasmāras, skanda s, sādhyas, vyālagrāhas, and ostārakas, all with intense faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Also present were the god of the sun, the god of the moon, the god of the dusk, the god of the dawn, all the gods of the seasons, and the god of the earth.
The Blessed One, turner of the wheel of Dharma, had fully perfected the deeds of a buddha. He had completed the accumulations of merit and wisdom, had fully taken hold of omniscience, and had mastered the perfections and levels for the sake of awakening. His body, adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great being, blazed brightly. His limbs and extremities were decorated with the eighty sublime characteristics, the top of his head was beyond the sight of all beings, and he understood all the activities of Māra. He comprehended the mentality and conduct of all beings and possessed the five eyes. He was replete with the most supreme of all characteristics and the wisdom of omniscience. He possessed all the qualities of a buddha, had defeated all the hordes of māras and foes, and was exalted in his use of speech, words, and verses. He roared with the roar of a bull and a lion and had completely removed the darkness of ignorance. He had been unflagging for immeasurable, countless billions of eons in the practice of the perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, insight, means, power, aspiration, and wisdom, as well as in the performance of austerities. His body was beautiful, adorned with the thirty-two major marks and the eighty sublime characteristics of a great being.
He took his seat on a great lion throne that sat at the heart of a lotus upon a vajra and jewel. The throne chimed with the sound of many vajras, jewels, pearls, and lattices of bells. It sat solidly on a plinth made of many vajras and jewels and was arrayed with a pile of cushions bound with strings of red pearls that issued from the mouths of numerous sea monsters made of vajra and jewels. The throne sparkled brilliantly with the luster of jewels—chrysoberyl, great chrysoberyl, sapphire, great sapphire, and topaz—that were affixed to the pericarps of many jeweled lotuses. It was entirely alluring and was completely shaded with billions of parasols whose shafts were festooned with many sprigs of vajras and jewels. It was also abundantly beautified with many wish-fulfilling trees.
As the Blessed One sat on the vajra-jewel lotus throne the size of Mount Meru, his splendor blazed forth like the king of golden mountains. The area was engulfed in an orb of light brighter than a thousand suns. Like a full moon, he shone pleasingly throughout all worlds. He taught the Dharma while, like a great wish-fulfilling tree, he was in full blossom with the qualities of a buddha. He gave instructions on religious life that were virtuous in the beginning, middle, and end, excellent in word and meaning, and unique, perfect, pure, pristine, and genuine.
Then, from the hair between the eyes of the Blessed One streamed a matrix of light rays called the revealer of the fields of all buddhas. This matrix of light rays flooded the entire trichiliocosm with its brilliance. It flooded with its brilliance as many buddhafields as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, where many blessed buddhas, seated on their lion thrones in celestial palaces, were teaching the Dharma to śrāvakas, bodhisattva mahāsattvas, monks, nuns, male and female laypeople, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.
Then the Blessed One spoke to the vast assembly:
Tadyathā oṁ vipula vipulagarbhe vipulavimale vipulagarbhe vimale jayagarbhe vajrajvālāgarbhe gatigahane gaganaviśodhane sarvapāpaviśodhane oṁ guṇavati gaganavicāriṇi gagariṇi gigi giri giriṇi giriṇi gamari gamari gaha gaha gargari gargari gagari gagari gambhari gambhari gabhi gabhi gahi gahi gamani gamani gari gari gubha gubha guha guha guru guru guruṇi cale guhaṇi guhaṇi guruṇi culu culu cale cale mucele mucele jaye vijaye sarvabhayavigate satva sarvagarbhasaṃrakṣaṇi siri siri bhiri bhiri miri miri miri miri giri giri ghiri ghiri ghiri ghiri samantaparṣaṇi.
Blessed lady, guide of beings, universal guide, vanquisher of all foes, protect me from all dangers, threats, plagues, and illnesses! Protect me!
Ciri ciri viri viri dhiri dhiri vigatāvaraṇe viśodhane vividhāvaraṇavināśani muri muri muci muci muli muli cili cili kili kili mili mili kamale vimale jaye vijaye vijayāvahe jayavati viśeṣavati.
Blessed lady who wears a jeweled crown and garland and who wears manifold types of garments! Blessed lady, great goddess of incantations who purifies all evil! Fully protect me everywhere! Protect me!
Huru huru muru muru rakṣa rakṣa mama.
I have no protection, refuge, or recourse! Protect me! Protect me! Deliver me from all suffering!
Caṇḍe caṇḍe caṇḍe caṇḍe caṇḍeni caṇḍeni vegavati sarvaduṣṭanivāriṇi vijayavāhini huru huru muru muru curu curu turu turu āyuḥpālani suravarapramathani sarvadevagaṇapūjite ciri cirri dhiri dhiri samantāvalokite prabhe prabhe suprabhe suprabhaviśuddhe sarvapāpaviśuddhe sarvapāpaviśodhane dhuru dhuru dharaṇi dhare dhare dhara sumu sumu sumu sumu musu musu ruru cale cālaya.
You of splendorous body, protect me from the ill intentioned! Fulfill my wishes!
Jayakamale kṣiṇi kṣiṇi varadāṅkuśe oṁ padmaviśuddhe śodhaya śodhaya śuddhe śuddhe bhara bhara bhiri bhiri bhuru bhuru maṅgalaviśuddhe pavitramukhi khaḍgini khaḍgini khara khara jvalitaśikhare samantāvalokitaprabhe suprabhaviśuddhe samantaprasāritāvabhāsitaśuddhe jvala jvala sarvadevagaṇagrahanakṣatrasamākarṣaṇi satyaprati oṃ hrī traṃ tara tara tāraya tāraya.
O lady who peers with an elephant’s gaze! Deliver me from harm by humans!
Lahu lahu hulu hulu hutu hutu turu turu kiṇi kiṇi kṣiṇi kṣiṇi huṇi huṇi sarvagrahabhakṣaṇi piṅgali piṅgali mucu mucu cumu cumu suvicare tara tara.
O lady who peers with an elephant’s gaze! With the binding of the directions and the binding of the vajra fence and vajra lasso, deliver me from the eight great dangers, everywhere and in all ways!
Vajrajvālāviśuddhe bhuri bhuri dhara dhara tiri tiri turu turu bhagavati garbhaviśuddhe garbhasaṃsodhaṇi kukṣisampūraṇi jvala jvala cala cala jvālani.
May divine water pour down everywhere!
Amṛtavarṣaṇi devatāvatāraṇi.
O you with the body composed of the supreme ambrosia of the Sugata’s sublime speech, please anoint me! Purify all strife, contention, quarrels, disputes, nightmares, bad omens, inauspiciousness, and evil! Vanquish all yakṣas, rākṣasas, and nāgas! Protect me, always and everywhere, from all threats of harm and from all fears, calamities, epidemics, and illnesses! Protect me!
Bala bala balavati jaya jaya vijaya vijaya.
Grant me victory always and everywhere! May this great incantation be successful for me! Accomplish the great maṇḍala! Accomplish the secret mantras! Destroy all obstructions!
Jaya jaya siddhi siddhi sidhya sidhya budhya budhya sūcaya sūcaya pūraya pūraya pūraṇi pūraṇi.
Fulfill my wishes! O blessed lady whose body has risen from all incantations, triumphant one, supremely triumphant one who is the pristine essence of the thus-gone ones, please remain! Please remain! Honor your commitment! See me through the dreadful eight great dangers!
Sara sara prasara prasara sarvāvaraṇaviśodhani samantākāramaṇḍalaviśuddhe vigate vigate vigatamale sarvamalaviśodhani kṣiṇi kṣiṇi sarvapāpaviśuddhe malavigati jayavati tejo tejovati vajra vajravati svāhā.
Oṁ dhuru dhuru svāhā turu turu svāhā muru muru svāhā hana hana sarvaśatrūn svāhā daha daha sarvaduṣṭānāṃ svāhā paca paca sarvapratyarthikapratyamitrānāṃ svāhā.
Let the body of all those wicked-minded beings who are hostile to me blaze, svāhā!
Hulu hulu svāhā oṁ svāhā svaḥ svāhā bhūḥ svāhā bhūvaḥ svāhā bhūr bhuvaḥ svāhā ciṭi ciciṭi svāhā viṭi viṭi svāhā dhāraṇi svāhā dhāraṇi svāhā agni svāhā tejovayuḥ svāhā cili cili svāhā mili mili svāhā sili sili svāhā budhya budhya svāhā sidhya sidhya svāhā maṇḍalabandhe svāhā sīmābandhe svāhā dhāraṇibhandhe svāhā sarvaśatrūṇāṃ bhañjaya svāhā jambhaya jambhaya svāhā stambhaya stambhaya svāhā chinda chinda svāhā bhinda bhinda svāhā bhañja bhañja svāhā bandha bandha svāhā mohaya mohaya svāhā maṇiviśuddhe svāhā sūrye svāhā sūryaviśuddhe svāhā śodhani svāhā viśodhani svāhā caṇḍe caṇḍe paripūrṇacaṇḍe svāhā grahebhyaḥ svāhā nakṣatrebhyaḥ svāhā śivibhyaḥ svāhā śāntibhyaḥ svāhā puṣṭibhyaḥ svāhā svastiyanebhyaḥ svāhā garbhadhare svāhā śivaṅkari svāhā śaṅkari svāhā śāntiṅkari svāhā puṣṭiṅkari svāhā balavardhani svāhā balavardhinikari svāhā śrīkari svāhā śrīvardhani svāhā śrījvālini svāhā muci svāhā namuci svāhā muruci svāhā vegavati svāhā.
“Oṁ, blessed lady, stainless supreme body of all thus-gone ones! Pacify all my evil! May auspiciousness be mine!
Oṁ muni muni vimuni vimuni dhari cala calani bhagavati bhayavigate bhayahariṇi bodhi bodhi bodhaya bodhaya buddhili buddhili cumbuli cumbuli svāhā sarvatathāgatahṛdayajuṣṭe svāhā. Oṁ muni muni munivare.
May I be consecrated with the consecrations of the incantations of all thus-gone ones, all of which have been sealed with the great vajra armor seal!
Sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭitavajre svāhā.
A great brahmin and his retinue then entered into the assembly. The Blessed One addressed the great brahmin, “Great brahmin, this is the queen of incantations, the great amulet, a dhāraṇī that is an invincible essence-seal, a wish-fulfilling gem that sparkles all around with a pristine garland of flames.
“A son or daughter of noble family is freed from all their misdeeds as soon as they hear this dhāraṇī. Great brahmin, the body of a person in whose heart this incantation resides should be understood to be a vajra. Fire cannot harm their body. How do I know? Once, in the great city of Kapilavastu, the child Rāhulabhadra resided in his mother’s womb. At that time the Śākya girl Gopā threw herself into a fire, but a lotus appeared within it. Rāhulabhadra had brought this incantation to mind while he was dwelling in the womb, and he instantly quelled the fire by simply recollecting it. The fire did not touch the body of the Śākya girl Gopā. Why? This incantation has been blessed by all the thus-gone ones. That is why, great brahmin, the fire did not burn her.
“Poison, too, cannot separate one from life. How so? Well, great brahmin, once, in the city called Śūrpāraka, a wealthy and powerful merchant had a son who cast incantations. Through the power of his incantation he summoned the nāga king Takṣaka, but he was careless after summoning him and failed to control him. The nāga king angrily bit him, causing a painful sensation. He thought, ‘This is how my life ends.’ Although several magicians were called, none could cure him of the poison.
“A very compassionate woman with lay vows named Vimalaviśuddhi lived in the city of Śūrpāraka. She knew to recite this great queen of incantations, so she went to where the man was staying and uttered this great incantation. By just reciting it to him once, the poison vanished and he regained consciousness. After he was delivered from that intense suffering, the merchant’s son took the mantra of the great incantation to heart, precisely according to the prescribed procedure.
“But how do we really know, great brahmin? In the great city of Vārāṇasī, during the reign of a king known by the name Brahmadatta, the monarch who ruled the land along the eastern border amassed a four-division army and surrounded Vārāṇasī in preparation for attack. The ministers said to King Brahmadatta, ‘Your Majesty, if the enemy army should take the city, what tactic could we employ to defeat them? Please tell us!’ The king then declared, ‘Do not worry! I have a queen of incantations called the great amulet. With it I will defeat and pulverize this four-division army!’ The ministers all bowed their heads and said, ‘O great king! What is this thing about which we have never before heard?’ The king replied, ‘I will demonstrate it.’ Thereupon, King Brahmadatta washed his head with various perfumes, donned clean clothes, and wrote down the great queen of incantations precisely as prescribed. Placing it inside his topknot, he used the great queen of incantations as his armor and entered into battle. He then singlehandedly defeated the entire four-division army. Defeated, the enemy monarch was released once he took refuge in the incantation.
“Great brahmin, this directly reveals the great power of the queen of incantations, which has been blessed by the essence and seal of all thus-gone ones. Given this evidence, it should be upheld. It should be seen as equal to all thus-gone ones. It should be viewed as something that at a future time, in future contexts, will benefit beings who have short lifespans, little merit, and meager possessions. Great brahmin, anyone who writes the great amulet, queen of incantations precisely as prescribed and fastens it around their arm or around their neck should be understood to be blessed by all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have the body of all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have a great vajra body. They should be understood to possess the essence of the relics of all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have the eye of all thus-gone ones. They should be understood to have a great vajra body. They should be understood to possess a body of blazing flame. They should be understood to possess indestructible armor. They should be understood as one who vanquishes all foes. They should be understood as one who overcomes all obscurations and misdeeds. They should be understood as one who purifies migration to the hells.
“Why? This can be understood from a previous event. Great brahmin, in another land there was a monk who lacked faith, had lapsed in his training in the family of the Thus-Gone One, and had become a thief. He stole from the communal supplies and consumed the articles amassed by the saṅgha from the four directions, taking them all as his own. Later, he was afflicted with a severe illness and experienced intense pain.
“Distressed, and with no recourse or protection, he wailed loudly. Then, great brahmin, a man with lay vows who lived in the area heard his wailing. He approached the monk, wrote down the queen of incantations, the great amulet, and fastened it around the monk’s neck. As soon as he attached the queen of incantations, the great amulet, around the monk’s neck, the monk’s painful sensations were completely soothed, and he was released from every illness. He spent that night restored to health, and then he died in a state of mindfulness. When he discarded his body, he was born in the great Avīci Hell. The other monks placed his corpse on the funeral pyre, with the queen of incantations, the great amulet, still fastened to his neck. As soon as the monk was born in the Avīci Hell, all the painful sensations of the beings there were completely quelled, and they were satiated with every comfort. All the roaring fires in the Avīci Hell went out completely. Yama’s minions were all surprised and reported in detail to Yama, king of the law: