སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོའི་རྒྱུད།
The Mahāmāyā Tantra
Mahāmāyātantra
དཔལ་སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོའི་རྒྱུད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi rgyal po
The King of Tantras, the Glorious Mahāmāyā
Śrīmahāmāyātantrarājanāma

Toh 425
Degé Kangyur, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 167.a–171.a.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2013
Current version v 2.16.3 (2019)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.1.18
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Summary
The Mahāmāyātantra, named after its principal deity Mahāmāyā, is a tantra of the Yoginītantra class in which Mahāmāyā presides over a maṇḍala populated primarily by yoginīs and ḍākinīs. The practitioner engages the antinomian power of these beings through a threefold system of yoga involving the visualization of the maṇḍala deities, the recitation of their mantras, and the direct experience of absolute reality. As well as practices involving the manipulation of the body’s subtle energies, the Mahāmāyātantra incorporates the transgressive practices that are the hallmark of the earlier tantric systems such as the Guhyasamājatantra, specifically the ingestion of sexual fluids and other polluting substances. The tantra promises the grace of Mahāmāyā in the form of mundane and transcendent spiritual attainments to those who approach it with diligence and devotion.
Acknowledgments
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. The translation was prepared by Ryan Damron with the assistance of Catherine Dalton, and was edited by Andreas Doctor.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Colophon
It was translated and edited by the Indian paṇḍita Jinavara and the great Tibetan translator Gö [515] Lhetsé.
Abbreviations
G | Guṇavatīṭīkā |
---|---|
S | Mahāmāyātantrasya vṛtti smṛti |
SM | Mahāmāyāsādhanam (in Sādhanamālā) |
Notes
Bibliography
Sanskrit and Tibetan Sources
dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Toh. 425. Degé Kangyur, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 167a–171a.
dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. Lhasa Kangyur, vol. 82 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 43a–49b.
sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud. Narthang Kangyur, vol. 83 (rgyud ’bum, nga), folios 38a–44b.
dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud. Peking Kangyur, rgyud ’bum, vol. nga, folios 153a–157a.
sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud. Stok Palace Kangyur, vol. 94 (rgyud ’bum, ga), folios 344b–349b.
dpal sgyu ’phrul chen po’i rgyud kyi rgyal po. 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), 2006-2009, vol. 80 (rgyud ’bum, nga), pp 536-547.
Kṛṣṇavajra. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i rgyud kyi ’grel pa dran pa (*Mahāmāyātantrasya vṛtti smṛti) [Recollection: A Commentary on the Mahāmāyā Tantra]. Toh. 1624, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), ff. 201.a–219.a. (S)
Ratnākaraśānti. Guṇavatīṭīkā [A Commentary Endowed with Qualities]: (1) dpal sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i ’grel pa yon tan ldan pa. Toh. 1623, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 180b–201a. (2) Mahāmāyātantram with Guṇavatī by Ratnākaraśānti. Rare Buddhist Text Series vol. 10. Edited by Samdhong Rinpoche and Vrajavallabh Dwivedi. Varanasi: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1992. (G) (3) Kaiser Library, Kathmandu (ms. 226). Palm leaf manuscript in Golmola script. (4) Nepal National Archives, Kathmandu (ms. 2–906). Nepali paper manuscript in Devanāgarī script.
____________. Mahāmāyāsādhanam [A Sādhana for the Mahāmāyātantra]: (1) sgyu ma chen mo’i sgrub thabs (Mahāmāyāsādhanam). Toh. 1643, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud ’grel, ya), folios 269b–273b. (2) In Sādhanamālā vol. 2. Edited by Benoytosh Bhattacarya. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968. pp. 458–64. (SM)
Tāranātha. dpal rgyud kyi rgyal po sgyu ’phrul chen mo ma ha ma ya’i rgya cher bshad pa de kho na nyid kyi sgron ma [The Lamp of Suchness: A Detailed Explanation of the Glorious King of Tantras, the Mahāmāyātantra]. In gsung ’bum, ’dzam thang par ma ed., vol. 11 (da), pp 465-657. dzam thang dgon: [s.n.], 199-. (TBRC W22276)
____________. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i khrid yig rgyal ba’i lam bzang [The Excellent Path of the Victorious Ones: The Instruction Manual for Mahāmāyā]. Ibid., vol. 11 (da), pp 447 - 464.
____________. dpal ma ha ma ya’i dkyil ’khor gyi sgrub thabs rin chen myu gu [The Jeweled Sprout: A Practice Manual for the Maṇḍala of the Glorious Mahāmāyā]. Ibid., vol. 11 (da), pp 431 - 445.
’gos lo tsa wa gzhon nu dpal. deb ther sngon po. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1974. Translated as The Blue Annals, see below.
English Sources
Dalton, Jacob (2004). “The Development of Perfection: The Interiorization of Buddhist Ritual in the 8th and 9th Centuries.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 23 (2004): 1–30.
___________ (2005). “A Crisis of Doxography: How Tibetans Organized Tantra during the 8th–12th Centuries.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 28:1 (2005): 115–181.
English, Elizabeth. Vajrayoginī: Her Visualizations, Rituals, and Forms. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2002.
’gos lo tsa wa. The Blue Annals. Translated by George N. Roerich. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988.
Gray, David B. The Cakrasaṃvara Tantra (The Discourse of Śrī Heruka): A Study and Annotated Translation. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2007.
Isaacson, Harunaga. “Ratnākaraśānti’s Hevajrasahajasadyoga: Studies in Ratnākaraśānti’s Tantric Works I.” In Le Parole e i Marmi: studi in onore di Raniero Gnoli nel suo 70° compleanno. Serie Orientale Roma XCII. vol. 1. Roma: Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, 2001, pp. 457–487.
Kongtrul, Jamgön. The Treasury of Knowledge: The Elements of Tantric Practice. Translated by Elio Guarisco and Ingrid McLeod. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2008.
Sanderson, Alexis. “The Śaiva Age.” In Genesis and Development of Tantra, edited by Shingo Einoo, pp. 17–349. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009.
Glossary
Akaniṣṭha
- ’og min
- འོག་མིན།
- Akaniṣṭha
The highest of the buddhafields. The term can be used to indicate the pure realm of the dharmakāya in general or can refer to the the six realms between the highest heaven of the form realm and the realm of dharmakāya.
Āli kāli
- A li kA li
- ཨཱ་ལི་ཀཱ་ལི།
- āli kāli
The vowels (āli) and consonants (kāli) of the Sanskrit alphabet.
Commitment
- dam tshig
- དམ་ཚིག
- samaya
The level of commitments specifically associated with tantric practice. Also rendered here as “samaya.”
Completion stage
- rdzogs pa’i rim pa
- རྫོགས་པའི་རིམ་པ།
- niṣpannakrama
The second of the two stages of tantric sādhana practiced. Its practices are specific to individual tantric systems but typically include sexual yogas, the consumption of illicit substances, manipulation of the subtle energetic anatomy or resting in an uncontrived state.
Ḍākinī
- mkha’ ’gro ma
- མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ།
- ḍākinī
Like yoginīs, these are semi-divine female beings who have long haunted the margins of South Asian culture. They are frequently propitiated in order to acquire mundane and transcendent spiritual accomplishment.
Development stage
- skyed pa’i rim pa
- སྐྱེད་པའི་རིམ་པ།
- utpattikrama
The first of the two stages of tantric practice focused on the visualized development of the tantric maṇḍala and its deities and the recitation of mantra.
Egg of Brahmā
- tshangs sgo nga
- ཚངས་སྒོ་ང།
- brahmāṇḍā
Traditional Brahmanical term for the created universe.
Gö Lhetsé
- ’gos lhas btsas
- འགོས་ལྷས་བཙས།
- —
11th century translator and teacher of Guhyasamājatantra.
Great Illusion
- sgyu ’phrul chen mo
- སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོ།
- Mahāmāyā
The female central deity of the Mahāmāyā Tantra who appears in the form of the male Heruka. She was also a popular form of the Brahmanical great goddess (Mahādevī), to whom the Buddhist figure is intimately related. Also rendered here as “Mahāmāyā.”
Guhyaka
- gsang ba pa
- གསང་བ་པ།
- guhyaka
A type of semi-divine being frequently found in the entourage of Kubera, the lord of wealth.
Heruka
- he ru ka
- ཧེ་རུ་ཀ
- Heruka
The wrathful form of Akṣobhya, buddha of the vajra family, who appears in the center of many tantric maṇḍalas. He is typicaly depicted wearing mortuary implements and wreathed in flame.
Indra’s Web
- mig ’phrul
- མིག་འཕྲུལ།
- indrajāla
Traditional Brahmanical term for the illusory structure of mundane reality.
Khaṭvāṅga
- kha TwAM ga
- ཁ་ཊྭཱཾ་ག
- khaṭvāṅga
A staff with a single or three pointed tip and a freshly decapitated head, a rotting head and a skull skewered on its shaft.
Knowledge
- rig ma
- རིག་མ།
- vidyā
An epithet of the female deity of the maṇḍala (most frequently as the consort of the main deity) who represents knowledge; the tantric consort; knowledge; frequently used in the sense of magical incantations and magical power. Also rendered here as “vidyā.”
Kṛṣṇavajra
- nag po rdo rje
- ནག་པོ་རྡོ་རྗེ།
- Kṛṣṇavajra
An 11th or 12th century Buddhist commentator. Wrote Recollection: a commentary on the Mahāmāyā Tantra.
Kukkuripa
- ku ku ri pa
- ཀུ་ཀུ་རི་པ།
- Kukkuripa
Counted among the most famous of the Indian Buddhist Mahāsiddhas and renowned for his association with packs of dogs (kukkura), he is a central figure in a number of tantric lineages, specifically of the Guhyasamāja Tantra and Mahāmāyā Tantra. He was active sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries.
Mahāmāyā
- sgyu ’phrul chen mo
- སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ་ཆེན་མོ།
- Mahāmāyā
The female central deity of the Mahāmāyā Tantra who appears in the form of the male Heruka. She was also a popular form of the Brahmanical great goddess (Mahādevī), to whom the Buddhist figure is intimately related. Also rendered here as “Great Illusion.”
Mahāyoga
- rnal ’byor chen po’i rgyud
- རྣལ་འབྱོར་ཆེན་པོའི་རྒྱུད།
- mahāyogatantra
A term used to describe the later tantras of the Yoga class that incoporated more transgressive pactices and a wrathful aesthetic. Typified by the Guhyasamājatantra and Guhyagarbhatantra.
Marpa Chökyi Lodrö
- mar pa chos kyi blo gros
- མར་པ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས།
(1012 - 1097) Tibetan translator and lay practitioner from Lhodrak, traveled several times to Nepal and India to receive tantric Buddhist teachings, notably from Nāropa and Maitripā, and in Tibet established an important set of lineages through his “four pillar” disciples Milarepa, Ngoktön Chöku Dorje, Tshurtön Wangki Dorje, and Metön Tshönpo.
Movement of breath
- srog dang rtsol ba
- སྲོག་དང་རྩོལ་བ།
- prāṇāyāma
The manipulation of breath by means of yogic exercise. The Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit compound prāṇāyāma is more usually the compound srog rtsol.
Nāropa
- na ro pa
- ན་རོ་པ།
- Nāropa
Indian scholar and practitioner (956 - 1041), a major figure in the transmission of tantric Buddhism to Tibet; earlier in his life he was an important paṇḍita of Nālandā, but left to become a yogi and siddha, the student of Tilopā, and later the teacher of Kukkuripa, Marpa, and others.
Ratnākaraśānti
- rin chen ’byung gnas zhi ba
- རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས་ཞི་བ།
- Ratnākaraśānti
An important 11th century Buddhist monastic scholar who wrote prolifically on a number on both Mahāyāna and Mantrayāna works.
Sacramental substances
- dam tshig gyi rdzas
- དམ་ཚིག་གྱི་རྫས།
- samayadravya
Sacramental substances ingested as part of tantric ritual; frequently composed of bodily fluids or illicit meats.
Sādhana
- sgrub thabs
- སྒྲུབ་ཐབས།
- sādhana
The method of practice. Experiential methods for actualizing spiritual attainments and liberation.
Samaya
- dam tshig
- དམ་ཚིག
- samaya
The level of commitments specifically associated with tantric practice. Also rendered here as “commitment.”
Semen
- byang chub kyi sems
- བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
- bodhicitta
In normative Mahāyāna doctrine, bodhicitta refers to the awakened mind both in its relative and absolute aspects. In tantric thought it is frequently used as a code word for semen in the context of its generation and manipulation in sexual yogic rites.
Spiritual attainment
- dngos grub
- དངོས་གྲུབ།
- siddhi
The mundane and transcendent abilities that are conferred through the perfection of yogic practices.
Unexcelled Yoga tantra
- bla na med pa’i rnal ’byor gyi rgyud
- བླ་ན་མེད་པའི་རྣལ་འབྱོར་གྱི་རྒྱུད།
- yoganiruttaratantra
A category of tantra that includes the so-called father tantras like the Guhyasamāja Tantra and the “mother,” or Yoginī, tantras into a single genre of tantra.
Vidyādhara
- rig pa ’dzin pa
- རིག་པ་འཛིན་པ།
- vidyādhara
A type of semi-divine being whose identiy has shifted over time and genre. In their most popular form they are spell (vidyā) wielding (dhara) beings capable of granting magical abilities to those they favor. The Buddhist tradition associated them more closely with soteriological aims, identifying them as realized beings who possess (dhara) knowledge or awareness (vidyā).
Virile One
- dpa’ bo
- དཔའ་བོ།
- vīra
Closely associated with notions of virility, this term can denote the male deity of the maṇḍala (whose consort is the Vidyā) or the yogī who practices this mode of Tantra.
Yoga
- rnal ’byor
- རྣལ་འབྱོར།
- yoga
A term which is generally used to refer to a wide range of spiritual practices. It literally means to be merged with or “yoked to,” in the sense of being fully immersed in one’s respective discipline.
Yoginī
- rnal ’byor ma
- རྣལ་འབྱོར་མ།
- yoginī
With a long history in South Asian folklore and religious traditions, yoginīs are liminal, trangressive and often ferocious semi-divine female figures associated with the bestowal of temporal and transcendent spiritual accomplishment. In Buddhist tantra they are identical to ḍākinīs.
Yoginītantra
- rnal ’byor ma’i rgyud
- རྣལ་འབྱོར་མའི་རྒྱུད།
- yoginītantra
The last development of Buddhist tantra in India; focused upon the figure of the yoginī and the meditative manipulation of the subtle energetic anatomy of the physical body. Typified by the Hevajratantra, Cakrasaṃvaratantra and the Mahāmāyātantra.