སྤྱན་འདྲེན་རྒྱུད་གསུམ་པ།

The Threefold Invocation Ritual

Toh 846

Degé Kangyur, vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folios 1.b–3.b.

Translated by The Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2020
Current version v 1.1.13 (2021)
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co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Threefold Invocation Ritual invokes all the deities of the threefold world that have “entered the path of compassion” and are “held by the hook of the vidyāmantra” to gather, pay heed to the person reciting this text (or the person for whom it is recited), and bear witness to the proclamation of that person’s commitment to the Buddhist teachings. A profound aspiration to practice ten aspects of a bodhisattva’s activity is then followed by a dedication and a prayer for the teachings.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and edited by Ryan Damron.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Compendium of Incantations (gzungs ’dus) opens with the present work, The Threefold Invocation Ritual. A very large majority of the 250 texts in this two-volume section appended to the Degé Kangyur are simply duplicates of texts in other sections, but this is one of the dozen or so that are unique to the compendium.1 Nevertheless, it is present in all Kangyurs of predominantly Tshalpa (tshal pa) lineage, being included in the Tantra sections of those that do not have a separate section of dhāraṇī. Kangyurs of the Thempangma lineage do not include this work at all.

i.­2

The Tōhoku catalog (the standard reference for the Degé Kangyur) appears to have grouped two texts together under the catalog number Toh 846, despite the fact that the Degé Kangyur (as well as other Tshalpa Kangyurs) marks these as independent works with their own titles. Of the handful of witnesses for this text that have survived among the Pelliot Dunhuang manuscripts, preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, the manuscripts that Marcelle Lalou presented in her 1938 study, edition, and French translation confirm that these two sections of Toh 846 are in fact independent works, respectively entitled The Threefold Ritual (rgyud gsum pa) and An Invocation of the Great Deities and Nāgas (lha klu chen po rnams spyan dran pa).2 The confusion over whether or not these two texts should be catalogued as a single work might have derived from the fact that the initial title in the Kangyur versions is a combination of parts of the two titles of these older versions of the text. The version in all Tshalpa Kangyurs of the present text, The Threefold Invocation Ritual, also adds a passage of aspiration in prose from the Lokottaraparivarta, chapter 44 of the Buddhāvataṃsaka­sūtra,3 and a concluding set of verses that are not included in the Dunhuang witnesses.

i.­3

The Threefold Invocation Ritual does not appear in either the Denkarma or Phangthangma royal Tibetan catalogues of works translated in the early period. It also does not appear to have been translated into Chinese at any point. Its opening line does not contain an original Indic title, and it is possible that this text is Tibetan in origin. Most of the subject matter of the invocation, however, is unmistakably Indian. The text begins by calling upon the great kings and guardians of the cardinal and ordinal directions, zenith, and nadir. The text then calls upon the attendants of Śiva and the deity Jambhala and his four treasures (Padma, Mahāpadma, Śaṅkha, and Mahāśaṅkha), follows with a list of sixteen yakṣa generals, and concludes by calling upon a number of nāga kings, rākṣasīs, and goddesses. This pantheon of worldly deities is invoked in the first part of the text to bear witness to the person who is reciting the liturgy (or the person for whom the liturgy is being recited). A short aspiration prayer in prose follows that confirms that person’s commitment to the bodhisattva path in the presence of all who have gathered as witnesses. The aspiration (1.­22) is an extract from the Lokottaraparivarta, and details ten essential practices a bodhisattva should undertake, setting out each practice as a contrasting but complementary pair of attitudes drawn respectively from relative and ultimate perspectives. This is followed by a short set of instructions on the power of the Buddhist teachings that employs the cosmogonic myth from the Purāṇas, the churning of the ocean of milk, encoding elements of the myth with a broader Buddhist significance.

i.­4

The names of all the deities invoked in this text have been rendered in Sanskrit whenever possible. The Sanskrit names and classifications for these deities have been derived by triangulating between the Negi Tibetan–Sanskrit dictionary, Edgerton’s Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, Monier-Williams’ Sanskrit-English dictionary, and the Sanskrit of the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī. The reader will notice that a number of familiar names from Sanskrit epic and Purāṇa literature appear among lists of yakṣa generals, nāga kings, rākṣasīs, and goddesses in this text. As is the case in other dhāraṇī texts, it is likely that their role as worldly deities in this work supercedes their characterizations in the Sanskrit epics and Purāṇas. This phenomenon is also observed in the Mahāmāyūrī, where the goddesses Mārīcī and Kālī, for instance, are listed as rākṣasīs. Similarly, several figures such as Daśagrīva, Vibhīṣaṇa, Meghanāda, Sugrīva, and Hanuman who are known from the Rāmāyaṇa appear here as yakṣa generals and nāga kings.

i.­5

This translation is based on the version of The Threefold Invocation Ritual found at the opening of the Compendium of Incantations section in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the text as it appears in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur. The prose section that is derived from the Lokottaraparivarta was checked against the Tibetan translation of that text from the Ornaments of the Buddhas (phal chen) section of the Degé Kangyur, and also against Śikṣānanda’s Chinese.

The Threefold Invocation Ritual
1.

The Translation

1.­1
[F.1.b] I take refuge with sincere devotion and reverence
In the highest guru, the unsurpassed Three Jewels,
And the greatest of them all, the sublime supreme lord.
1.­2
Brahmā and Śakra—lords of heaven and earth,
Source of all beings’ wealth, and protectors
Of the Dharma, the supreme teaching; great kings Dhṛtarāṣṭra,
1.­4
Vaiśravaṇa, Īśāna, and Pṛthivīdevatā;
The Sun, Moon, grahas, nakṣatras, the elephants of the quarters,
And the general, minister, and queen; the guardians of the directions,
1.­5
Each with their full retinue of queens and princes;
Renowned great commanders of the gods
Such as Viṣṇu, Gaṇapati, Nandi, and Kārttikeya;
1.­9
Triśirṣaka,4 Sāgara, Nanda, Upananda,
Anavatapta, Manasvin, Vāsuki, and the hosts of grahas;5
Rṣis, vidyādharas, gods of the rains and harvest,
1.­10
Gods of the road, of the day, the night, conjunctions, lunar phases, and moments;
Powerful beings such as Hanuman and the like;
Vāgīśvarī, Svaraghoṣā, and Sarasvatī;
1.­12
The seven mothers, the seven sisters, and the four sisters;
Great goddesses and great yakṣiṇīs
Such as Mahākālī and Ekajaṭī and so forth;
1.­13
Great rākṣasīs and great piśācīs
Revered for their youthful forms, nurturing, and magical powers,
Awesome in their great hides and praised in battle by the army of the gods;
1.­14
Marvelous, renowned great lay practitioners,
Young gods and nāgas,
Young vidyādharas and ṛṣis,
1.­15
And their five hundred kinsmen, all of them venerated by monks;
This entire group of resplendent youthful ones
Including the young yakṣa Tiraka and the like;
1.­16
Gods and nāgas who are lords of all beings;
Yakṣas, gandharvas, uragas, asuras,
Garuḍas, kumbhāṇḍas, rākṣasas, kinnaras,
1.­17
Bhūtas, piśācas, local deities, and evil spirits;
All you wise ones who have entered the path of compassion,
All you who are held by the hook of the vidyāmantra, listen to me. [F.2.b]
1.­18
May (insert name), a person blazing with good fortune
Who has heard and recited the names
Of the Three Jewels with their vowels and consonants
1.­19
Have a prosperous and long reign,7
Serve and venerate the Three Jewels, which possess immeasurable
Benefits and good qualities, have faith in the scriptures,
1.­20
And, of course, study and practice the Dharma.
Upon death, may (insert name) depart for the divine pleasure groves
With their vast bounty of scriptures.
1.­21
This one who is conscientious and devoted is crowned
With the teachings of the sun-like omniscient Dharma lord,
The supreme radiant jewel that crowns the king of the gods
Who brings victory in battle over the asuras and hosts of Māra.8
1.­22

Approach,9 children of the Victors! Knowing that10 we and all beings are already beyond suffering and thus not fearing that sentient beings will fail to transcend it, may we still insatiably cultivate the accumulations of merit and wisdom. May we know that things are intrinsically conditioned, yet not dismiss their characteristics. May we not reject the form body of a buddha, yet attain freedom from all attachment. May we be free from attachment to all phenomena, yet seek the wisdom that knows everything. May we completely purify all phenomena as buddha realms without depending on others, yet understand the space-like characteristic of buddha realms. May we never weary of bringing beings to maturity, yet never abandon the characteristics of lacking self-identity. May we magically display supernatural powers, yet never waver from the sphere of reality. May we not stop setting our mind on enlightenment, yet may omniscient wisdom arise in us. May we satisfy all beings by turning the wheel of the Dharma, yet not pass beyond the inexpressible nature of reality. May we [F.3.a] demonstrate the magical emanations and blessings of a tathāgata, without nevertheless discarding the body of a bodhisattva, and yet in all the perceptions of beings may we appear and then display the great parinirvāṇa. Children of the Victors, uphold these aspects of the teachings and practice these obverse and direct ways of engaging in practice.11 These ten teachings are the most excellent activity of a buddha. Children of the Victor, these are the awakened activity of a bodhisattva. The spontaneous activity of the bodhisattvas is independent of others and is the perfect attainment of unsurpassed awakening.12

1.­23
King of the gods, great sovereign, boon-granting lord,
Fearless hero famous throughout the world
Whose face is radiant with insight like the full moon—
The aspiration and activity of a great being is your sole companion.
1.­24
Brahmā, Śakra, and the other world protectors
Used the vajra-like samādhi, Mt. Sumeru, as the churning stick
And, along with compassion and effort, the nāga rope,
Churned forth an elixir, the holy Dharma,
From the ocean of great insight that spread everywhere like a feast of amṛta.
1.­25
With this jewel of merit, the renowned Dharma, as the crown jewel,
You were victorious in battle over the armies of rākṣasas and the asuras.
I dedicate this to the mighty helmet of the kingdom of the gods.13
I dedicate this so that our radiance, retinues, and wealth may increase
And in particular so that we may attain powerful and strong standings.
1.­26
I dedicate this so that we may perfect all the means of liberation
Such as the magical powers, supernatural cognitions, and perfections
And accomplish all our virtuous actions and intentions.
I dedicate this so that our bodies may be pervaded by the bliss of the Dharma nectar,
Liberating us from minds that are plagued by suffering.
1.­27
Spiritual teachers, kind and loving friends,
We are wounded by the blade of the afflictions.
Please sustain us with your compassionate blessing
And ensure that whomever is granted the crown is powerful
And protects the teachings of the Tathāgata.
1.­28
We are faulted beings who are confused and act inappropriately—please forgive us!
Those who know the time, vidyāmantra, and ritual, please be patient with us. [F.3.b]
We pray that the good fortune of this Dharma offering to the hosts of gods
Shall ensure prosperity and cause the supreme Dharma to flourish.

This concludes “The Threefold [Invocation] Ritual.”14

n.

Notes

n.­1
The present text, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 101. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhā­nāmakālacakra­tantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the present volume, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.
n.­2
See Lalou, “Notes de mythologie.” The reader should also note that the titles of these texts in the Kangyur differ from the titles in Lalou’s Dunhuang witnesses. Lalou’s first Dunhuang witness entitled The Threefold Ritual (rgyud gsum pa) corresponds to the first twenty-one stanzas in the present translation, and does not include either the passage (1.­22) added from the Lokottaraparivarta (Toh 44-44), or the verses that follow (1.­23–1.­28). Lalou’s second Dunhuang witness, entitled An Invocation of the Great Deities and Nāgas (lha klu chen po rnams spyan dran pa) corresponds to the text that appears next in the Degé Kangyur, with the title The Threefold Ritual (rgyud gsum pa), which 84000 and other databases have designated Toh 846a.
n.­3
We thank Ryan Damron for identifying this section of The Threefold Invocation Ritual as an excerpt from the Lokottaraparivarta (Toh 44-44). See n.­9 for the location of this passage in the Degé Kangyur Buddhāvataṃsaka itself.
n.­4
The Tibetan reads stong gsum or Trisahasra. Marcelle Lalou translates this as Triśirṣaka, who is listed as a nāgarāja in Bendall’s edition of the Mahāmegha (Toh 235). Here, following Lalou’s lead, stong gsum has been amended to gdong gsum or Triśirṣaka, “the three-faced one.”
n.­5
gdon la ’jebs. The translation of this term remains tentative. An alternate translation that adheres closely to the meaning that the term ’jebs pa bears in Tibetan might indicate that this is either a collective noun or a proper name and translate as “Pleasing to the Grahas.” This name does not have any Sanskrit equivalent of which we are currently aware. The Negi dictionary notes that the Tibetan ’jebs pa translates the Sanskrit prācuryam (“multitude,” “abundance,” “plenty”) in the Mahāyāna­sūtrālaṅkāra. I have attempted to integrate this reading of ’jebs pa into the translation “hosts of grahas,” based on the assumption that the Tibetan reading may have read an incorrect grammatical particle into the original compound.
n.­6
Possibly also “Śrīdevi.” We have gone with Śrīmati here because this yakṣiṇī is witnessed in the Mahāmāyūrī.
n.­7
gzha’ gzung yun gyi chu srid ’thob ’gyur na/. The la bdun particle na at the end of this line might also be read as a conditional, though that reading seems unlikely.
n.­8
The first text in Marcelle Lalou’s edition of the Dunhuang manuscripts for the rgyud gsum pa ends here with the final line of this stanza, and does not contain the full invocation that we see in the Kangyur versions of this text. See Lalou, “Notes de mythologie,” 132.
n.­9
This line begins a passage quoted from the Lokottaraparivarta, chapter forty-four of the Buddhāvataṃsaka­sūtra (Toh 44-44). See ’phags pa sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i mdo, Degé Kangyur vol. 37 (phal chen, ga), ff. 248.a.5–248.b.5. The pairing of phrases that is implied in the mention of “obverse and direct ways” toward the end of the passage, and is necessary to end up with the “ten teachings,” is not entirely obvious from the Tibetan but has been aided here by consulting the Chinese of the Buddhāvataṃsaka.
n.­10
While the text here in the Degé Kangyur reads mya ngan las ’das par bgyis la, the equivalent phrase in the Degé text of the Lokottaraparivarta reads mya ngan las ’das par shes par gyis la.
n.­11
Tib. snrel zhir sgrub pa mngon par bsgrub par rnams nye bar sgrub pa.
n.­12
The section that is reproduced from the Lokottaraparivarta ends here.
n.­13
lha yi rgyal srid dbu rmog btsan par bsngo/. The phrase dbu rmog btsan pa appears in imperial era Tibetan inscriptions and Dunhuang documents as one of a number of terms that are used to describe a ruler’s sovereign power, and these materials suggest that it should be understood as a martial metaphor for the territory over which a ruler has sovereignty. An alternate translation of this line might hold the phrases lha yi rgyal srid and dbu rmog btsan pa in apposition and translate as, “I dedicate this to the kingdom of the gods, the mighty helmet.”
n.­14
The concluding statement includes only the shorter form of the title rgyud gsum pa, also used for the following text.
b.

Bibliography

Source Texts

’phags pa sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i mdo (Buddhāvataṃsaka­sūtra). Toh 44, vol. 35–38 (phal chen, ka–a), folios 1.a–396.a.

spyan ’dren rgyud gsum pa. Toh 846, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folios 1.b–3.b.

spyan ’dren rgyud gsum pa. 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. 97, pp. 3–9.

Works Cited

Bendall, C. “The Mahāmegha Sūtra,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1880), 286–311.

Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2004.

Kapstein, Matthew. The Tibetans. Malden: Blackwell Publishing, 2006.

Lalou, Marcelle. “Notes de mythologie bouddhique.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 3 no. 2 (July 1938): 128–36.

Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.

“Maha­mayuri­vidyarajni (Mmvr).” Input by Klaus Wille based on Takubo, Shūyo, ed. Ārya-Mahā-Māyūrī-Vidyā-Rājñī. Tokyo: Sankibo, 1972. Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Accessed May 23, 2018. http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/1_sanskr/4_rellit/buddh/mmayuvru.htm.

Negi, J.S. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad dang legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). 16 vols. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993.

g.

Glossary

g.­1

Agni

  • me lha
  • མེ་ལྷ།
  • Agni

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Agni guards the southeast quarter.

g.­2

Anavatapta

  • ma dros
  • མ་དྲོས།
  • Anavatapta

Name of a nāga king.

g.­3

Āṭavaka

  • ’brog gnas
  • འབྲོག་གནས།
  • Āṭavaka

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­4

Brahmā

  • tshangs pa
  • ཚངས་པ།
  • Brahmā

As one of the three primary deities of the Hindu pantheon, in the Purāṇic cosmogony Brahmā is said to issue the four Vedas (Ṛg, Yajus, Sāma, and Athārva) from his four mouths, from which the entirety of creation unfolds. In Buddhist traditions, Brahmā is said to be a worldly deity who exists at the zenith of cyclic existence. He is thus added to the list of the eight guardians of the directions as the guardian of the zenith. In most narratives of the life of the Buddha, Brahmā is said to appear together with Śakra to request that the Buddha Śākyamuni teach the Dharma.

g.­5

Daśagrīva

  • mgrin bcu
  • མགྲིན་བཅུ།
  • Daśagrīva

Name of a nāga king; also a name for Rāvaṇa, the primary adversary of Rāma in the Rāmāyaṇa.

g.­6

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

  • yul ’khor srung
  • ཡུལ་འཁོར་སྲུང་།
  • Dhṛtarāṣṭra

One of the great kings of the four cardinal directions, Dhṛtarāṣṭra guards the eastern quarter of the heavens.

g.­7

Durgā

  • mkhar
  • མཁར།
  • Durgā

A goddess; another name for Pārvatī, the wife of Śiva.

g.­8

Ekajaṭī

  • ral pa cig
  • རལ་པ་ཅིག
  • Ekajaṭī

A goddess.

g.­9

Elephants of the quarters

  • phyogs kyi glang po
  • ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་གླང་པོ།
  • diggaja

The eight elephants corresponding to the eight cardinal and ordinal directions and the eight world protectors.

g.­10

Gagana­ghoṣa

  • nam mkha’i dbyangs
  • ནམ་མཁའི་དབྱངས།
  • Gagana­ghoṣa

Name of a nāga king. Also known as Gaganasvara.

g.­11

Gaṇapati

  • tshogs bdag
  • ཚོགས་བདག
  • Gaṇapati

Gaṇapati, or Ganeśa, is the lord of the gaṇas, a class of demigods usually associated with the god Śiva. In the Purāṇic traditions Gaṇapati is portrayed as the elephant-headed son of Śiva and Pārvatī.

g.­12

Gaṅgā

  • gang gA
  • གང་གཱ།
  • Gaṅgā

A river goddess.

g.­13

Garuḍa

  • gser ’dab
  • གསེར་འདབ།
  • garuḍa

A class of bird deities.

g.­14

Gaurī

  • dkar sham
  • དཀར་ཤམ།
  • Gaurī

A goddess; a rākṣasī in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­15

Ghaṇṭākarṇa

  • dril rna
  • དྲིལ་རྣ།
  • Ghaṇṭākarṇa

The name of a worldly deity who is identified variously as an attendant of Skanda, an attendant of Śiva, a piśāca attendant of Kubera, and a rākṣasa.

g.­16

Graha

  • gza’
  • གཟའ།
  • graha

Deities associated with the planets.

g.­17

Guardian of Speech

  • brjod skyob
  • བརྗོད་སྐྱོབ།
  • —

A goddess.

g.­18

Haimavata

  • gangs la gnas
  • གངས་ལ་གནས།
  • Haimavata

Name of a yakṣa general in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­19

Hanuman

  • ha nu man ta
  • ཧ་ནུ་མན་ཏ།
  • Hanuman

Name of a nāga king; a monkey god; Rāma’s companion and devotee in the Rāmāyaṇa.

g.­20

Hārītī

  • sras ’phan
  • སྲས་འཕན།
  • Hārītī

A yakṣiṇī; a rākṣasī in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­21

Hosts of grahas

  • gdon la ’jebs
  • གདོན་ལ་འཇེབས།
  • —

The translation of this term remains tentative but is read here as a potential translation of the Sanskrit compound *grahaprācurya in which the Tibetan has employed an incorrect grammatical particle. An alternate translation that favors the meaning that the term ’jebs pa bears in Tibetan and the Tibetan reading of the compound indicates that this could be either a collective noun or a proper name that translates as “Pleasing to the Grahas.”

g.­22

Indra

  • dbang po
  • དབང་པོ།
  • Indra

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter.

g.­23

Īśāna

  • dbang bdag
  • དབང་བདག
  • Īśāna

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Īśāna guards the northeast quarter.

g.­24

Jambhala

  • gnod ’dzin
  • གནོད་འཛིན།
  • Jambhala

A yakṣa king associated with wealth and often identified with Kubera/Vaiśravaṇa.

g.­25

Jinarṣabha

  • rgyal ba’i khyu mchog
  • རྒྱལ་བའི་ཁྱུ་མཆོག
  • Jinarṣabha

Name of a yakṣa general; a son of Kubera.

g.­26

Kālī

  • nag mo
  • ནག་མོ།
  • Kālī

A goddess; a rākṣasī in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559); one of Durgā’s attendants.

g.­27

Kārttikeya

  • ka rti ka
  • ཀ་རྟི་ཀ
  • Kārttikeya

Kārttikeya (alt. Skanda) is the son of Śiva and Pārvatī. Like Gaṇapati, Kārttikeya is said to lead the gaṇas in battle against demonic beings and is considered a god of war.

g.­28

Kinnara

  • mi ’am ci
  • མི་འམ་ཅི།
  • kinnara

A class of semi-divine beings that are half-human, half-animal. Typically they have animal heads atop human bodies. The term literally means “Is that human?”

g.­29

Kubera

  • lus ngan po
  • ལུས་ངན་པོ།
  • Kubera

One of the great kings of the four directions, Kubera guards the northern quarter of the heavens. Also known as Vaiśravaṇa.

g.­30

Kumbhakarṇa

  • bum rna
  • བུམ་རྣ།
  • Kumbhakarṇa

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­31

Kumbhāṇḍa

  • grul bum
  • གྲུལ་བུམ།
  • kumbhāṇḍa

Vampire demon; a type of yakṣa.

g.­32

Mahābala

  • stobs po che
  • སྟོབས་པོ་ཆེ།
  • Mahābala

Listed as the great yakṣa general of Rājagṛha in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­33

Mahākāla

  • nag po chen po
  • ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།
  • Mahākāla

Mahākāla (“the great black one”) is both a name for one of the god Śiva’s wrathful manifestations and an important Buddhist protector deity. The Mahābhārata and Harivaṁśa list Mahākāla as one of Śiva’s attendants.

g.­34

Mahākālī

  • nag mo chen mo
  • ནག་མོ་ཆེན་མོ།
  • Mahākālī

A goddess; one of Durgā’s attendants.

g.­35

Mahākarṇa

  • rna bo che
  • རྣ་བོ་ཆེ།
  • Mahākarṇa

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­36

Mahāpadma

  • pad+ma chen po
  • པདྨ་ཆེན་པོ།
  • Mahāpadma

“The great lotus.” One of the four great treasures and the being who presides over it.

g.­37

Mahāśaṅkha

  • dung chen
  • དུང་ཆེན།
  • Mahāśaṅkha

“The great conch shell.” One of the four great treasures and the being who presides over it.

g.­38

Manasvin

  • gzi can
  • གཟི་ཅན།
  • Manasvin

Name of a nāga king.

g.­39

Maṇibhadra

  • nor bu bzang
  • ནོར་བུ་བཟང་།
  • Maṇibhadra

Name of a yakṣa general; brother of Pūrṇabhadra in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­40

Mārīcī

  • ’od zer can
  • འོད་ཟེར་ཅན།
  • Mārīcī

A goddess; a rākṣasī in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­41

Meghanāda

  • ’brug sgra
  • འབྲུག་སྒྲ།
  • Meghanāda

Name of a nāga king; name of Rāvaṇa’s son in the Rāmāyaṇa.

g.­42

Mighty helmet

  • dbu rmog btsan pa
  • དབུ་རྨོག་བཙན་པ།
  • —

A martial metaphor for the territory that falls under the rule of a particular king.

See also n.­13.

g.­43

Nairṛta

  • bden bral
  • བདེན་བྲལ།
  • Nairṛta

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Nairṛta guards the southwest quarter. Also known as Nirṛti.

g.­44

Nakṣatra

  • skar
  • སྐར།
  • nakṣatra

Deities associated with the stars.

g.­45

Nanda

  • dga’ bo
  • དགའ་བོ།
  • Nanda

Name of a nāga king.

g.­46

Nandi

  • na n+ti
  • ན་ནྟི།
  • Nandi

Nandi is the bull attendant of Śiva and the guardian of Śiva’s realm in Kailāsa. He is commonly depicted at Śaiva temples as a bull positioned outside of the main gate of the temple gazing in upon Śiva’s liṅga with utter devotion.

g.­47

Padma

  • pad+ma
  • པདྨ།
  • Padma

“The lotus.” One of the four great treasures and the being who presides over it.

g.­48

Pāñcāla­gaṇḍa

  • lnga len tshigs
  • ལྔ་ལེན་ཚིགས།
  • Pāñcāla­gaṇḍa

Name of a yakṣa general in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­49

Pāñcālaka

  • lnga ser
  • ལྔ་སེར།
  • Pāñcālaka

Name of a nāga king.

g.­50

Pāñcika

  • lngas rtsen
  • ལྔས་རྩེན།
  • Pāñcika

Name of a yakṣa general in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­51

Pārvatī

  • ri
  • རི།
  • Pārvatī

A goddess; wife of Śiva in the Purāṇic traditions.

g.­52

Pṛthivīdevatā

  • sa yi lha
  • ས་ཡི་ལྷ།
  • Pṛthivīdevatā

The name of the earth deity.

g.­53

Pūrṇa

  • gang po
  • གང་པོ།
  • Pūrṇa

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­54

Pūrṇabhadra

  • gang pa bzang po
  • གང་པ་བཟང་པོ།
  • Pūrṇabhadra

Name of a yakṣa general; brother of Maṇibhadra in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­55

Reign

  • chu srid
  • ཆུ་སྲིད།
  • —

Rule, kingdom, government, lit. “water domain.” See Kapstein 2006, p. 4.

g.­56

Sāgara

  • rgya mtsho
  • རྒྱ་མཚོ།
  • Sāgara

Name of a nāga king.

g.­57

Śakra

  • brgya byin
  • བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
  • Śakra

Sometimes functioning as an alternate name for Indra, Śakra is considered to be the ruler of the god realm and the leader of the army of devas.

g.­58

Sañjaya

  • yang dag rgyal ba
  • ཡང་དག་རྒྱལ་བ།
  • Sañjaya

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­59

Sañjñeya

  • yang dag shes
  • ཡང་དག་ཤེས།
  • Sañjñeya

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­60

Śaṅkha

  • dung
  • དུང་།
  • Śaṅkha

“The conch shell.” One of the four great treasures and the being who presides over it.

g.­61

Śaṅkhinī

  • dung can
  • དུང་ཅན།
  • Śaṅkhinī

A rākṣasī in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­62

Sarasvatī

  • dbyangs can
  • དབྱངས་ཅན།
  • Sarasvatī

A river goddess.

g.­63

Sātāgiri

  • bde ri
  • བདེ་རི།
  • Sātāgiri

Name of a yakṣa general in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­64

Śrīmati

  • dpal gyi lha mo
  • དཔལ་གྱི་ལྷ་མོ།
  • Śrīmati

A goddess; a yakṣiṇī in the Mahā­māyūrī­vidyārājñī (Toh 559).

g.­65

Sugrīva

  • mgrin bzang
  • མགྲིན་བཟང་།
  • Sugrīva

Name of a yakṣa general; in the Rāmāyaṇa, Sugrīva is the monkey king who lends his army to Rāma to defeat Rāvaṇa.

g.­66

Supūrṇa

  • shin tu gang
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་གང་།
  • Supūrṇa

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­67

Svaraghoṣā

  • sgra dbyangs
  • སྒྲ་དབྱངས།
  • Svaraghoṣā

A goddess.

g.­68

Tiraka

  • ti ra ka
  • ཏི་ར་ཀ
  • Tiraka

Name of a yakṣa.

g.­69

Trikarṇa

  • rna gsum
  • རྣ་གསུམ།
  • Trikarṇa

Name of a yakṣa general.

g.­70

Triśirṣaka

  • stong gsum
  • སྟོང་གསུམ།
  • Triśirṣaka

Name of a nāga king.

g.­71

Upananda

  • bsnyen dga’ bo
  • བསྙེན་དགའ་བོ།
  • Upananda

Name of a nāga king.

g.­72

Uraga

  • lto ’phye
  • ལྟོ་འཕྱེ།
  • uraga

A serpent deity that inhabits specific localities. Also known as a kākorda.

g.­73

Vāgīśvarī

  • tshig dbang lha mo
  • ཚིག་དབང་ལྷ་མོ།
  • Vāgīśvarī

A goddess.

g.­74

Vaiśravaṇa

  • rnam thos bu
  • རྣམ་ཐོས་བུ།
  • Vaiśravaṇa

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Vaiśravaṇa guards the northern quarter. Also known as Kubera.

g.­75

Varuṇa

  • chu lha
  • ཆུ་ལྷ།
  • Varuṇa

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Varuṇa guards the northeast quarter.

g.­76

Vāsuki

  • nor rgyas
  • ནོར་རྒྱས།
  • Vāsuki

Name of a nāga king.

g.­77

Vatsavatī

  • be’u ’dra
  • བེའུ་འདྲ།
  • Vatsavatī

A goddess.

g.­78

Vāyu

  • rlung gi lha
  • རླུང་གི་ལྷ།
  • Vāyu

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Vāyu guards the northwest quarter.

g.­79

Vibhīṣaṇa

  • rnam ’jigs
  • རྣམ་འཇིགས།
  • Vibhīṣaṇa

Name of a nāga king; name of a yakṣa; name of Rāvaṇa’s brother in the Rāmāyaṇa.

g.­80

Vidyāmantra

  • rig pa
  • རིག་པ།
  • vidyāmantra

A type of incantation or spell used to accomplish a ritual goal. This can be associated with either ordinary attainments or those whose goal is awakening.

g.­81

Virūḍhaka

  • ’phags skyes
  • འཕགས་སྐྱེས།
  • Virūḍhaka

One of the great kings of the four cardinal directions, Virūḍhaka guards the southern quarter of the heavens.

g.­82

Virūpākṣa

  • mig mi bzang
  • མིག་མི་བཟང་།
  • Virūpākṣa

One of the great kings of the four carinal directions, Virūpākṣa guards the western quarter of the heavens.

g.­83

Viṣṇu

  • khyab ’jug
  • ཁྱབ་འཇུག
  • Viṣṇu

In the schema of the eight guardians of the directions, Viṣṇu guards the nadir.

g.­84

Vowels and consonants

  • yi ge gnyis
  • ཡི་གེ་གཉིས།
  • svaravyañjana

A dvandva compound signifying (in this text) linguistic expression in general and the basic components of the Sanskrit alphabet in particular.

g.­85

Yama

  • gshin rje
  • གཤིན་རྗེ།
  • Yama

One of the eight guardians of the directions, Yama guards the southern quarter.

g.­86

Yamunā

  • ya mu na
  • ཡ་མུ་ན།
  • Yamunā

A river goddess.

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