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The Sanskrit title of this work on the title page of this translation reflects the emended reading from the Tohoku catalog.
Mārīcī is referred to with this title in the opening line of the Sanskrit witness corresponding to Toh 565, but the reference is lost in the variant reading that survives in the Tibetan.
There are counterparts to many of the forms of Mārīcī described in these texts among the thirty-seven sādhanas for the goddess Mārīcī preserved in the Tengyur that were translated in the twelfth century, and it might be reasonable to assume that Toh 565 and Toh 566 were translated during the same period.
This matter might be settled by a close comparison of the Chinese and Tibetan translations of these works, which we have unfortunately not been able to complete for this publication.
Multiple Sanskrit witnesses are preserved among the Sanskrit manuscript collections at the University of Tokyo, Cambridge University, and the Kathmandu National Archive.
NE 1480/9 reads yāddṛstāpustakaṃ dṛstāstādṛsatvā [sic for yathādṛṣṭaṃ pustakaṃ tathā likhitaṃ?] mayā | yadi suddham asuddham vā mama dokho [sic for doṣo] na dīyate | śrī 3 śrī 3 vajrāccāryyaravṛndrabhadrare [sic for ravīndrabhadreṇa?] lekhyāko yo postakaḥ śubham. This fragment of the scribal colophon might be tentatively translated, “I have copied this down exactly as it appeared in the book. If it is pure or corrupted, the fault should not be placed on me. This was copied down by Śrī (3) srī (3) Vajrācārya Ravīndrabhadra. May there be prosperity and good fortune.” The identification of Ravīndrabhadra as the scribe for this text is traced to the NGMCP catalog card. Given the high honorific prefixes that precede this name in the scribal colophon, it is possible that the text was transcribed for (and not by) the Vajrācārya Ravīndrabhadra.
Following D and S lha mo ’od zer can la phyag ’tshal lo. NE 1480/9 reads namo vaj [ra]sattvāya, preserving an alternative reading that would be translated “Homage to Vajrasattva.”
D reads tsan+dana dkar pos yan lag byugs la me tog gi phreng bas brgyan te, S reads can dana dkar pos yan lag byugs la me tog gi ’phreng bas brgyan te, and NE 1480/9 reads sitacandanaliptāṅgāḥ puṣpamālavibhuṣitāḥ. The Sanskrit witness makes it clear that the vases, and not the person performing the rite, are anointed with sandalwood. This is also supported by a similar line in The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565, 1.89) that includes the step of anointing the vases with white sandalwood.
D and S read de nas rnam par rgyal ba’i bum pa la brgad brgya sngags te, and NE 1480/9 reads vijayakalaśa [ṃ] aṣṭasatābhimaṇtritaṃ. It is not entirely clear, but this most likely refers to using the six-syllable Mārīcī mantra.
D and S read gos zung gis gdung dkris la, and NE 1480/9 reads vastrayugena mukhaveṣṭitaḥ. This translation is tentative and interprets this line as a reference to the practice of a disciple being blindfolded prior to entering a consecration maṇḍala. It is not entirely clear that this is the case here, and this line might simply refer to the disciple’s head being wrapped with two pieces of cloth.
Following NE 1480/9 oṃ arkamasi svāheti pūrvasyā diśi nyase [t]. D reads oM ark+ka ma si swA hA zhes bya ba ni shar phyogs su dgod do, and S reads oM ark+ka ma si swA hA/ zhes bya ba ni shar phyogs su dgod do. In this text, the components of Mārīcī’s dhāraṇī are explicitly identified as the vidyā goddesses surrounding Mārīcī in her maṇḍala. The text itself only refers to the vidyās for these goddesses being installed in the cardinal and ordinal directions, but it is clear that they are identified as goddesses with distinct iconographic features. This translation follows the syntax in NE 1480/9, where the vidyā stands alone at the beginning of each of these short sections describing the vidyā goddesses in Mārīcī’s maṇḍala.
This is the only instance in this series of instructions that explicitly mentions “depicting” these goddesses.
D and S read ge’u ri gser gyi mdog can gzhon nu ma’i rnam pa ’chang ba, Y, K, J, and C read dge’u ri gser gyi mdog can gzhon nu ma’i rnam pa ’chang, and NE 1480/9 reads gaurīdevī kaṇakavārṇā kumārākārarūpadhāriṇī. The Sanskrit text tells us that ge’u ri / dge’u ri is a Tibetan transliteration of gaurī. Although the Sanskrit indicates that this is the goddess Gaurī (gaurī devī), this translation follows the Tibetan, which treats the term as a modifier for gser (“yellow”) to give us the color “pale yellow.” There is no equivalent of the term devī here in the Tibetan text.
Following NE 1480/9 aṣṭasu [sic for aṣṭeṣu] sṭhāneṣu sā [sic for tāṃ?] nyased devīm anupūrvataḥ. D and S read go rims bzhin du byang gi phyogs su gnas brgyad du lha mo dgod par bya’o. The readings in all witnesses are a bit corrupted. The alternate reading in the Tibetan witnesses is “install a goddess in the eight directions in the north in the proper order.” NE 1480/9 also reads “in the eight directions” (aṣṭasu sthāneṣu), but in both cases this line is followed only by a list of four goddesses who occupy the ordinal directions.
Following S oM u da ya ma si swA hA. D reads oM ut+ta yama si swA hA, and NE 1480/9 reads oṃ uktayamasi svāhā.
Following S oM ba na ma si swA hA and NE 1480/9 oṃ vanamasi svāhā. D reads oM ba nA ma si swA hA.
Following D sa ma sa mU ra tI. S reads sarb+ba mU rti, and NE 1480/9 omits. Although this transliteration follows the reading in D—the meaning of which is not clear and which is likely corrupt—this same phrase has been rendered as sarvasattvamudrati (“she who delights all beings”) in the Sarnath Sanskrit edition of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī (Toh 564, 1.8), and it is possible that this is the preferred reading here as well. The reading in S might tentatively be translated “she who is an embodiment of all.”
D and S read snam bu, and NE 1480/9 omits. This translation is tentative. The Tibetan term snam bu likely translates the Sanskrit terms paṭa or paṭṭaka/paṭṭika here. This implies that the material on which these mantras are written is likely a small cloth canvas, or perhaps a small wooden, metal, or stone tablet.
This renders the Tibetan thong zhing yid ches pa (Skt. dṛṣṭapratyaya). This term seems to occur most frequently in reference to enthralling a king, as it does here.
Following NE 1480/9 dūrvāghṛtāktena. D reads dUr ba la smyugs pas bya’o, and H, J, K, C, and S read dur ba la bsnyugs pas bya’o.
D reads gos thod du bcings pa yang rnyed do, and NE 1480/9 reads paṭabandhañca labhate. “Receiving a turban” should likely be understood as an idiomatic phrase that refers to receiving a rank at a king’s court.
Following S aM tardA na ma si, which is supported by NE 1480/9 anta [r]dhānamasi. D reads An+d+hardA na ma si.
D reads byi la nag mo’i dri ma dang / byi ma la dang mig sman la, S reads byi la nag mo’i dri ma dang / /byi la dang / byi mi la dang / mig sman la, and NE 1480/9 reads kṛṣṇabidālāmalaṃ. This translation is tentative. The only phrase in the Tibetan that appears in NE 1480/9 is byi la nag mo’i dri ma (kṛṣṇabidālāmalaṃ). It is possible that the seemingly redundant phrase byi ma la is actually a gloss for the phrase byi la nag mo’i dri ma, with the Tibetan dri ma rendered in the transliterated Sanskrit mala. On its own, the Sanskrit can be read either as “excrement (mala) of a female black cat (kṛṣṇabiḍālā)” or “a rheum (mala) of black collyrium (kṛṣṇabiḍālā).” The translation here reflects an attempt to capture both meanings, which is likely the intent of the Tibetan rendering.
Following D and S triphatri. Y and K read tipatri, and NE 1480/9 reads dipyādipya [sic for dīvyadīpya?]. Although this transliteration follows the reading in D and S, it is likely that the amended reading dīvyadīpya in NE 1480/9 is the preferred one. We have not adopted it here, however, because it is somewhat different from the reading in the Tibetan witnesses.
D and S omit this, and NE 1480/9 reads akṣasūtrapaśaṃ, adding a noose to the list (paśa [sic for pāśa]) for a total of five hand implements.
D and S read me lha bzang po, and NE 1480/9 reads pāvakāgni. Note that the Sanskrit refers to this peaceful form of Agni by the name of a specific form of the deity, Pāvaka Agni. This peaceful form is also the subject of the Agni homa practice in The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565, 1.107), where the Tibetan refers to the form as mang sa be da’o zhes bya ba’i me lha.
D reads de nas phyis bkod pa, S reads de nas phyi bkod par, and NE 1480/9 reads tataḥ paścān nyaset. This translation is tentative. The term “deity” does not appear in the Tibetan or Sanskrit witnesses, but it can be infered based on the context. It is also not clear just where the deity should be installed, but it is presumably in the fire itself.
D and S read bdag nyid gal te dngos grub ’dod na, and NE 1480/9 reads yadi cet [?] siddhim ātmanaḥ. This translation is tentative. It is not entirely clear to whom the term bdag nyid (ātmanaḥ) refers here. The reading in NE 1480/9 might translate, “if one possesses siddhi.”
Following S gal te sa gzhi bdag por ’dod pa ’am yin na’o and Y and K gal te sa gzhi bdag por ’dod pa’am yin na’o, which are supported by NE 1480/9 yadi cchet bhupatitvaṃ vā. D reads gal te sa gzhi bdag por ’dod pa ma yin na’o.
D reads sna tshogs rdo rjes bkang bas mnan pa bri bar byas na, S reads sna tshogs rdo rje rkang pas, and NE 1480/9 reads viśvavajrapādātrānya likhet. This translation is tentative.
D and S read ’od zer can ’byung ba’i dkyil ’khor du dbang bskur ba bla ma, and NE 1480/9 reads mārīcyudayamaṇḍalābhiṣiktasya. The opening line of NE 1480/9 preserves a different spelling that reads mārīcyutbhave [sic udbhāve] tantre (Tib. ’od zer can ’byung ba’i rgyud), and the Tibetan transliteration of the Sanskrit title reads mārīcyai jāta. Unfortunately, the single Sanskrit manuscript witness at our disposal is incomplete and is missing its colophon title page. In light of these and other variations in the way it is spelled in our witnesses, this phrase is only tentatively presented here as the proper title of a work. This seems reasonable, however, because the current text begins with a set of instructions for Mārīcī’s consecration maṇḍala referred to as “the maṇḍala of Mārīcī’s arising,” and both the current text and The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565) claim to derive from a source text called The Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising.
Following S ’thug pa’i skra brdzes pa’i gzugs yid du ’ong ba. D reads thu ba brdzes pa’i gzugs yid du ’ong ba, and NE 1480/9 reads mānavārūrūpāṃ [?] manoramāṃ.
Following NE 1480/9 mā me paśyantu satvā, meaning “may beings not see me.” The reading in the Tibetan witnesses appears to be a corruption of this phrase—D and S read ma me pA shAM tu sta swA hA, and Y and K read ma me pA shAM stu swA hA.
Following the reading in NE 1480/9 (oṃ māṃ), which includes Mārīcī’s heart mantra. The Tibetan witnesses only provide the seed syllable oṃ.
D reads ’dod pa bzhi sbyin pa bskyed pa ’di, C and S read ’dod pa bzhin sbyin pa bskyed pa ’di, and NE 1480/9 reads catuṣkāmapradaṃ. The precise identity of these four is not clear.
D and S read ’od zer can ’byung ba zhes bya ba’i ’od zer can ’byung ba’i rgyud ’di gsungs pa ni, and NE 1480/9 reads mārīcyutpadayam nāma mārīcyudbhave tantre nīgaditaṃ. These witnesses do not include any term that would indicate that this is an excerpt from a “section” of the root text, but it seems reasonable to assume that this is the case.
D and S read pa tA kra ma si, and NE 1480/9 reads padākramasi. This transliteration follows the reading in the Sanskrit witness.
Following D and S bi pa ri ma si. NE 1480/9 reads cīramasi [?]. Though this transliteration follows the reading in D and S, this is the only time that the name of this vidyā goddess appears in any of the works devoted to Mārīcī in the Kangyur witnesses. If we follow the (somewhat) standard sequence of these vidyās that is established in The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī (Toh 564), The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565), and elsewhere in this text, it is likely that this vidyā should read cīvaramasi. NE 1480/9 is unfortunately not helpful here.
D reads g.yon pa’i phyogs kyi zhal ni, and S reads g.yon pa phyogs kyi zhal ni. NE 1480/9 reads vāmamukhaṃ varāhaṃ, noting that the left face of this form of Mārīcī is that of a boar.
Following H and S mchod rten kyi rkad ba la. D reads mchod rten gyi ske ba la, and NE 1480/9 omits.
D and S read g.yas brkyang ba’i zhabs kyis bzhugs pa. NE 1480/9 reads pratyālidhasthāsthitaṃ, providing a variant here that has Mārīcī standing with the left leg extended (g.yon brgyang, pratyālīḍha), not the right.
S reads khab dang skud pa’i shing rta’i mchog mas, and D reads khab dang skud par byed pa’i shing rta’i mchog las.
The reading sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭānāṃ is emended following precedent for how this phrase is rendered in this text and Toh 564 and 565, which reflects the proper Sanskrit declension. D and S read sarba duSh+Ta pra duSh+tA cak+Shur mu khaM. NE 1480/9 reads sarvaduṣṭānāṃ mukha, reflecting the proper declension but omitting some material preserved in the Tibetan witnesses.
Following S ba rA ha mu khi. D reads bA rA hA mu khi, and NE 1480/9 reads valāhamukhi [sic for varāhamukhi].
Following S ba rA ha mu khi. D reads bA rA hA mu khi, and NE 1480/9 reads varāhamuṣi [sic for varāhamukhi].
D reads sarba duShTAM me ba sha ma nA ya swA hA, S reads sarb+ba du Sh+ta n me ba sha ma nA ya swA hA, and NE 1480/9 reads sarvasattvān meḥ [sic for me] vaśam ānaya svāhā. This transliteration emends the reading me ba sha ma nA ya, based on the reading in NE 1480/9, to me vaśam ānaya, which would be translated “bring under my control.” The variant “all wicked beings” (Tib. sar ba duShTAM) in the Tibetan witnesses is retained here instead of the reading “all beings” (Skt. sarvasattvān) that appears in NE 1480/9.
It is not clear in the text whether this refers to performing the rite for seven consecutive days or simply performing the rite seven times. It is also not clear whether the entire rite is performed seven times or just the mantra recitation. This translation assumes that it is the mantra recitation.
The terms “siddhis” and “ritual powers” are not in the Tibetan text but are added here for clarity.
D and S read steng g.yogs yod pa’i phyogs su, and NE 1480/9 reads pracchanne guptadeśe. The Tibetan term steng g.yogs translates the Sanskrit pracchanna.
D and S read chos ’byung du, and NE 1480/9 reads bhage. The Sanskrit text indicates that this “source of phenomena” might be a code word for the female genitalia. The target of this enthralling rite is clearly feminine in the Sanskrit, but this translation preserves the gender ambiguity in the Tibetan.
D reads sin d+hu ra’i rdul gyis mdzes pa’i snod du bstan pa’i sman chen pos, S reads sin+d+hu ra’o rdul gyis mdzas pa’i snod du bstan pa’i sman chen pos, Y, K, and C read sin du ra’o rdul gyis mdzas pa’i snod du bstan pa’i sman chen pos, and NE 1480/9 reads pratikṛtvā sindureṇa rajitā purvoktai mahoṣadhai. The Sanskrit clarifies a problem in all the Tibetan translations here, which render the phrase sngon du bstan pa (purvokta) as snod du bstan pa.
Following NE 1480/9 ṣadagniveṣṭitai, which suggests that the Tibetan me dug gis bskor ba (in D and S) should be emended to me drug.
D and S read g.yas brkyang ba’i zhabs kyis bzhugs pa, and NE 1480/9 reads pratyālīḍhasthānasthā.
D and S read dge ba’i skar ma bzang ba rgyal la, Y reads dge ba’i sgar ma bzang ba rgyal la, and NE 1480/9 reads śubhanakṣatre puṣye. Although the term for “day” is missing in both the Tibetan and the Sanskrit, this phrase is read as a variant of the phrase dge ba’i nyin skar ma rgyal la, which appears below in this same group of instructions.
Following the emended reading in NE 1480/9 caityālaṅkṛtamūrdhajāṃ (for caityānaṇkṛtamurddhajā). D and S read mchod rten gyi dpal la brgyan pa’i mgo skyes can, and C reads mchod rten gyis dbul la brgyan pa’i mgo skyes can.
This translation is tentative and follows D zla ba dang / nyi ma’i rang bzhin gyi lha ma yin dang / phag pa’i shing rta dang nye bar sbyar ba and S zla ba dang nyi ma’i rang bzhin gyi lha ma yin dang / phag pa’i shing rta dang nye bar sbyar ba. NE 1480/9 reads śasibhālupamaṃ [sic for śasibālusamanvitaṃ?] caityasurarathaniyojitaṃ [sic for caityasurathaniyojitaṃ?], providing an alternate reading that, when it is emended following the corrections suggested above, would be translated, “She is accompanied by the sun and moon, and her chariot is furnished with a caitya.” It is also possible to leave the compound caityasurarathaniyojitaṃ as it stands, which would be translated, “a chariot of the gods that has a caitya.” The Sanskrit may also support a number of valid readings.
Following D and S g.yon brkyang ba’i zhabs. NE 1480/9 reads āliḍha, which says that Mārīcī stands with her right leg forward, not her left.
Following NE 1480/9 ha, which is consistent with the depiction of Rāhu and his whirlwind that has already been provided in the Tibetan and Sanskrit witnesses above. D and S read haṁ, Y reads hū, and K reads hūṁ.
Following D and S khab yod pa’i sa phyogs gcig yangs pa’i gnas su. NE 1480/9 reads pracchane bhupradeśe gṛhe (“in a house on a plot of land that is hidden”).
Following NE 1480/9 kanakarajatatāmra athavā mṛnmayakalaśa [sic]. D and S read gser dngul dang / zangs ma’o/ /yang na ’dab chags rang bzhin gyi bum pa la bya’o. The Tibetan ’dab chags rang bzhin gyi bum pa for mṛṇmayakalaśa is obscure.
Following NE 1480/9 vairocanamahāmudrāṃ samādhāya atmānaṃ. D reads rnam par snang mdzad phyag rgya rgya chen po’i gzung ba la bsam par bya’o, and Y, K, C, H, and S read rnam par snang mdzad phyag rgya chen po’i gzung ba la bsam par bya’o.
D reads de nas sngon du gsungs pa’i bum pa tsan+dana dkar pos byugs la me tog phreng ba ’dzin pa la rig pa ’dzin pas brgya phrag brgyad bzlas te/ arg+ha byin la bum pa de gzhag par bya, S reads de nas sngon du gsungs pa’i bum pa tsan dana dkar pos byugs pa me tog gi ’phreng ba ’dzin pas brgya phrag brgyad bzlas te arga byin la bum pa de gzhag par bya’o, and NE 1480/9 reads evaṃ purvoktena kalaśena sitacandrena liptena śṛṇgāmālāvibhuṣitena aṣṭaśatajaptena vidyādhareṇa.
D and S read bcom ldan ’das ma bdag nyid la dbang bskur zhing, and NE 1480/9 reads bhagavatīm ātmānam abhiṣiñcayet. Both the Tibetan and Sanskrit indicate that Mārīcī is the object of the verb here, which means that the Sanskrit term abhisiñcayet (Tib. dbang bskur) likely refers not to the practitioner receiving a consecration or empowerment but to the act of sprinkling the statue of Mārīcī with the offering water.
Following NE 1480/9 tato mārīcyā sāhaṃkāragarvitena japabhāvanā ca kāryā. D and S read de nas ’od zer can bdag la bsnyen pas bzlas pa dang bsgom pa bya.
D and S read tsan+dana dmar po dang / gi’u wang gis, and NE 1480/9 reads raktacandanakuṁkama [sic]rocanayā (“with red sandalwood, saffron, and bovine bezoar”).
Following NE 1480/9 gugguludhupitaṁca deyaṃ. D reads gur gum gyi bdug spos sbyin, and S reads gur kum gyi bdug spos sbyin. The reading in D and S prescribes making the incense offering with saffron.
D reads skroṃ, Y, K, and S read strom, C reads sgrom, and NE 1480/9 reads strīṃ strīṃ strīṃ.
D reads byi la nag po’i dri ma dang / khyi nag po’i mig dang / rta nag po’i mig dang / khwa nag po’i mig dang / phag nag po’i rna ba g.yon pa dang / khrag dang, S reads byi ma nag po’i dri ma dang khyi nag po’i mig dang / rta nag po’i mig dang / khwa nag po’i mig dang / phag nag po’i rna ba g.yon pa dang / khrag dang, and NE 1480/9 reads kṛṣṇamājārāmālalecanaṅ [?]kṛṣṇākṣikṛṣṇavarāhavāmekarṇarudhireṇa marditaṃ. The verb “ground up” (Skt. marditaṃ) is adopted from NE 1480/9 and seems to be omitted in the Tibetan witnesses.
D and S read rdo rje ’od mas mnyes la, and NE 1480/9 reads vajrīkṣīreṇa [sic?] veṣṭitā. The Sanskrit is corrupt here, but it is still clear that the Tibetan should read rdo rje’i ’o ma.
Following NE 1480/9 prāsādikān. D reads bong ring ba, Y reads bong ba ring ba, K reads bong ge ring ba, and S reads bongs ring ba.
Following D and S bi pu la ba re na ge. NE 1480/9 reads vipule pravare nāge, which is most likely the preferred reading.
Following D and S nA ga ku la ya va ti swa ni. NE 1480/9 reads nāgakulavidhvaṁsani, which is most likely the preferred reading.
Following Y, K, and S sarba duSh+Ta, which is supported by NE 1480/9 sarvaduṣṭa. D reads sarba duSh+TAM.
Following S sarba duShTa, which is supported by NE 1480/9 sarvaduṣṭa. D reads sarba duSh+TAM.
Following H phye ma dang ’o ma’i klu. D and S read phye ba dang ’o ma’i klu, and NE 1480/9 reads śaktapāyaśena.
D and S read rnam pa sna tshogs pa ji ltar rnyed pa’i chu, and NE 1480/9 reads nānāvidharasā yathāsaṃvidyamānā. The Sanskrit witness indicates that the Tibetan term chu translates rasa, which can mean “water” but often also refers to a nectar, liquor, drink, or juice and has many more potential interpretations. The term nānāvidharasa might refer to substances that contain the various “flavors,” even though this is not the way that the Tibetan translator has interpreted the passage.
D and S read lus rnams la sha dkar gyi mdze ’byung bar ’gyur, and NE 1480/9 reads sarvaśarītvāṇi [sic for śarīrāṇi?] citrā [sic for citrāṇi?] bhavanti. The Sanskrit witness uses the term for spots (citrāṇi) as a synonym for leprosy (kuṣṭha), while the Tibetan includes a more specific reference to the condition vitiligo, rendered here as a variety of “white leprosy” (dkar gyi mdze).
D and S read se’u ’bru’i yal ga la lan nyi shu rtsa gcig bzlas pa bya zhing brgya rtsa brgyad kyang bzlas pa byas la/ klu’i gzugs brnyan gyi gzugs rdzogs par bya’o, and NE 1480/9 reads dāḍimalatayā [ṃ] ekaviṁśati vā rambari [sic?] japtayā [ṃ] aṣtottarasataparijaptayā [ṃ] vā mantrena nāgapratitūpakam aya [ṃ] mārjāyitavyaṃ. This translation is tentative and adopts the participle form mārjāyitavyaṃ from the Sanskrit in place of the Tibetan rdzogs par bya.
D and S read klu de’i gzugs ’gul zhing sbrul mgo’i gar yang byed do. This translation is informed by NE 1480/9 sa nagapratirūpaka [ḥ] prakrāmati phaṇaṃ ca karoti, where we see that the Tibetan phrase sbrul mgo’i gar yang byed (“performs a snake-hood dance”) translates the Sanskrit phrase phaṇam ca karoti, which simply means “opens its hood.”
D reads lhag ma’i klu’i rus pa’i gong po rnams yongs su bskam par bya’o, and NE 1480/9 reads tata sarvanāgabhavanāni pradipyante nāgā | asthisakalān na vaśiṣṭāḥ parimucyante.
Following S ma lus pa’i yul dang / phyogs kyi nam mkha’, which is supported by NE 1480/9 saka [la]digdiśāvyomu [sic for vyomā?]. D reads ma lus pa’i yum dang / phyogs kyi nam kha’.
Following D and S zhabs gnyis rol pas gnas shing. NE 1480/9 reads krodhālīḍhapadam ubhayasṭhitā, according to which Mārīcī should be visualized in a wrathful (krodha) and not a playful (kriḍa) posture.
The Vedic god of fire.
Lit. “Not Disturbed” or “Immovable One.” The buddha in the eastern realm of Abhirati. A well-known buddha in Mahāyāna, regarded in the higher tantras as the head of one of the five buddha families, the vajra family in the east.
A goddess.
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).
A type of ritual action.
A type of ritual action.
A type of ritual action.
This term refers to a wide variety of offering practices and substances. In most cases in which a bali offering is prescribed for a particular rite, it is accompanied by a clear description of the form and function of the offering.
An epithet meaning “noble lady” commonly associated with the goddess Tārā in Buddhist literature, it is also applied to other goddesses in the Buddhist and Hindu pantheons. In The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī, the term appears as either an epithet of the goddess Durgā or perhaps Mārīcī.
A type of ritual action.
The name of a text mentioned in The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī. The name of this text appears as the source for an excerpted chapter titled “The Mantra Wheel: A Jewel That Fulfills Every Wish.”
In The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī, this term refers to the transformation of a practitioner’s body into the body of a deity through adopting a particular hand mudrā and affixing the syllables of the deity’s mantra on the body.
A hand gesture associated with the bestowal of gifts.
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.
A location where dead bodies are burned, buried, or left to decay.
An ointment or concoction that is applied to the eyes. This is also the name of a type of siddhi that includes applying ointments of various ritually prepared substances to the eyes.
Literally “the agent who enacts the regional laws,” this term refers to the court of a king or any governing body.
A writing implement made from some part of a crow, presumably one of its feathers.
A measure of length. One unit is the distance from the elbow to the tips of the fingers, about eighteen inches.
The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.
A term for a magical spell or formula.
Cynodon dactylon. A species of grass commonly known as Bermuda grass or dhub grass.
A set of eight vidyādharas mentioned in The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī. The identities of these eight vidyādharas are not specified.
A type of ritual action.
A power that advanced practitioners gain by reciting the six-syllable Mārīcī mantra. It is not clear whether this term refers to the ability to enter doors to the hidden chambers of deities and nonhuman beings, to entering the bodies of other beings, or to both.
A type of ritual action.
A type of ritual action.
A unit of measurement that is roughly equal to one inch.
See “fire that consumes the world at the end of an eon.”
Perfumes, flowers, incense, lamps, and food.
Corn (dhānya), sesame (tila), mung beans (mudga), barley (yava), and white mustard (śvetasarṣapa) or māṣa beans (māṣa).
The five are either gold, diamond, sapphire, ruby, and pearl or gold, silver, coral, pearl, and rāgapaṭṭa.
A fever that returns every four days.
The name of the famous elephant-headed deity, a protector deity common to Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions.
See “Mārīcī.”
This phrase literally means “sun, moon, and fire,” but these three terms are correlated to the precious metals gold, silver, and copper, respectively.
In The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī, the goddess Mārīcī is said to be Vairocana’s “great consort.”
The name of a wrathful being (krodha) in The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī .
An array of symbolic hand gestures, which range from the gesture of touching the earth displayed by the Buddha upon attaining awakening to the numerous gestures used in tantric rituals to symbolize offerings, consecrations, etc. Iconographically, mudrās are used as a way of communicating an action performed by the deity or a specific aspect a deity or buddha is displaying, in which case the same figure can be depicted using different hand gestures to signify that they are either meditating, teaching, granting freedom from fear, and so forth.
One of the many names of the Hindu god Śiva.
A name associated with the wrathful form of Vajrasattva and the wrathful forms of several male deities in the Vajrayāna Buddhist pantheon.
A type of ritual action.
This phrase appears in The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī in conjunction for ritual actions that allow one to gain the favor of or enthrall kings.
The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.
The name of a river believed to flow from the golden juice of the fruits of the great Jambu tree on Mount Meru.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
A nāga king.
An iconographic or real implement in the form of a staff with a trident ending; it may have human skulls impaled on it.
’phags ma ’od zer can gyi dkyil ’khor gyi cho ga (Āryamārīcīmaṇḍalavidhi). Toh 566, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 165.b–186.a.
’phags ma ’od zer can gyi dkyil ’khor gyi cho ga. 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. 508–72.
’od zer can ’byung ba’i rgyud stong phrag bcu gnyis pa las/ mchog tu shin tu’ang snying por gyur pa’i ’od zer gyi rtog pa brgya phrag bdun pa phyung ba [colophon title]. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 104 (rgyud, pha), folios 143.a–170.b.
sgyu ma’i ’od zer can ’byung ba’i rgyud las phyung ba’i rtog pa’i rgyal po (Māyāmārīcījātatantrād uddhṛtakalparāja) [The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising]. Toh 565, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 158.b–165.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee, 2024a.
Abhayākaragupta. Niṣpannayogāvalī. Edited and translated by Lokesh Chandra and Nirmala Sharma. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 2015.
“Āryamārīcī-nāma-dhāraṇī.” Dhiḥ 42 (2006): 155–58.
Mārīcīkalpa. Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project (NGMCP) no. E 1480/9. Kathmandu: Nepal National Archive.
Mārīcīkalpatantra. Institute for the Advanced Study of World Religions (IASWR) no. MBB-1973-112 (MBB II 112).
Bhattacharyya, Benoytosh, ed. Sādhanamālā. Vol. 1. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1968.
Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub). The Collected Works of Bu-Ston. Edited by Lokesh Candra. 28 vols. Śata-piṭaka Series 41–68. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71.
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.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2004.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue. Accessed January 31, 2019.
Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit–English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
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, 1993–2005.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies. University of Vienna. Accessed November 9, 2018.
Tarthang Tulku. The Nyingma Edition of the sDe-dge bKa’-’gyur/bsTan-’gyur: Research Catalogue and Bibliography. Vol. 2. Oakland, CA: Dharma Press, 1982.
Yoshimuri, Shyuki. bka’ bstan dkar chag ldan dkar ma/ dbu can bris ma/. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.
Bhattacharyya, Dipakchandra. “An Interesting Image of the Godess [sic] Marici.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 26, part 1 (1964): 91–94.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2024a). The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Māyāmārīcījātatantrād uddhṛtakalparāja, Toh 565). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2024b). The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī (Mārīcīnāmadhāraṇī, Toh 564). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Donaldson, Thomas Eugene. “Orissan Images of Vārāhī, Oḍḍiyāna Mārīcī, and Related Sow-Faced Goddesses.” Artibus Asiae 55, no. 1/2 (1995): 155–82.
Hall, David A. The Buddhist Goddess Marishiten: A Study of the Evolution and Impact of Her Cult on the Japanese Warrior. Boston: Global Oriental, 2014.
Hummel, Siegbert. “Notizen zur Ikonographie der Mārīcī.” Monumenta Serica 37 (1986–87): 227–32.
C Choné Kangyur
D Degé Kangyur
H Lhasa (Zhol) Kangyur
J Lithang Kangyur
K Kangxi Kangyur
NE 1480/9 Mārīcīkalpa (NGMCP E 1480/9, Nepal National Archive, Kathmandu). This witness is identical to Mārīcīkalpatantra (IASWR MBB-1973-112 [MBB II 112]).
S Stok Palace Kangyur
U Urga Kangyur
Y Yongle Kangyur
The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī contains a collection of elaborate instructions for the visualization and depiction of a number of maṇḍalas and forms of the goddess Mārīcī and her retinue of vidyā goddesses.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The text was translated, checked against the Sanskrit and Tibetan, and edited by Adam C. Krug.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Nathaniel Rich edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī opens with a description of Mārīcī’s maṇḍala from its source tantra, The Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, which describes the maṇḍala’s external features, progresses to the entrance and consecration of a disciple, and concludes with a detailed explanation of the internal features of the maṇḍala. The introductory section of this tantra thus provides brief instructions for a ritual that is critical for the successful performance of the many ritual actions presented in the remainder of the tantra—initiation into Mārīcī’s maṇḍala.
After its initial description of Mārīcī’s maṇḍala, the text turns to its primary subject matter—the various ritual actions that someone who has been consecrated in Mārīcī’s maṇḍala can accomplish. The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī contains instructions for a broad range of ritual actions such as attracting, binding, paralyzing, enthralling, enchanting, expelling, killing, piercing, pacifying, and subjugating various targets, as well as rites for sowing discord, curing diseases, controlling rainfall, finding lost treasure, and increasing a ritual target’s wealth and well-being. These ritual actions can presumably be performed for oneself or any patron, and many of them are also concerned with the performance of rituals that either target or can be used to benefit kings and members of a royal court. This text also provides a list of seven siddhis that can be accomplished using Mārīcī’s rites—invisibility, collyrium, shoes, sword, pill, bovine bezoar, and flight.
Much like The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī (Toh 564) and The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565), The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī is primarily concerned with the performance of ritual actions and the attainment of siddhis toward worldly ends. The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī expands upon the relationship between Vairocana and Mārīcī found in Toh 565, describing the goddess as the Buddha Vairocana’s “great consort” (Skt. mahāmudrā; Tib. phyag rgya chen po). Despite her association with Vairocana, who is identified as the buddha who taught the original source text for The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising and The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī, neither of these texts give us any indication that Mārīcī’s rituals can be used toward the attainment of an ultimate soteriological goal or realization that might allow one to advance on the path to awakening. This is consistent with The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī, taught by the Buddha Śākyamuni, which functions solely as a protective spell.
Tarthang Tulku’s catalog of the Nyingma edition of the Degé Kangyur divides The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī into three chapters. However, since the text itself tells us that its material is extracted from a much larger work, it is likely the case that the three chapter colophons that appear in this text are not indicative of the structure of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī itself but are instead artifacts from its source text. The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī and The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising both indicate that they are compilations of ritual instructions from a larger tantra dedicated to the goddess Mārīcī. The title of Toh 565 refers to its source text as The Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, and the title for The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī refers to this work as The Twelve-Thousand Line Tantra of Mārīcī’s Arising. The opening section of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī also refers to its source text as Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, which indicates that these two ritual manuals may derive, at least in part, from the same longer tantra dedicated to the goddess Mārīcī.
Unlike The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī, neither The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising nor The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī contain a translators’ colophon, and neither work appears in either of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. As a result, it is difficult to say with any real precision when these texts were first translated into Tibetan. However, as Lancaster notes, Tian Xizai’s tenth-century translation of the Mārīcīdhāraṇīsūtra (Taishō 1257) contains a translation of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī as well as both ritual manuals in the cycle on the goddess Mārīcī that correspond to those preserved in the Degé Kangyur. It thus seems possible that all three of the works dedicated to Mārīcī in the Tibetan Kangyurs—The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī, The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, and The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī—belong to the same later textual tradition of the goddess Mārīcī that was translated into Chinese in the tenth century. As noted in the English translation of Toh 565, however, the version of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī described in the opening section of The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565) appears to be a slightly different version than the translation preserved in the Kangyur as a standalone text (Toh 564).
While a relatively large number of Sanskrit witnesses of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī have survived, there is to our knowledge only one surviving manuscript witness of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī. This witness is preserved in an unpublished manuscript from Nepal that contains Sanskrit versions of all three works in the cycle of texts in the Degé Kangyur on the goddess Mārīcī. The fact that this witness contains all three texts in the exact order in which they appear in the Degé Kangyur may indicate its relationship to the textual tradition from which the translations of Toh 564, 565, and 566 were produced. The Sanskrit manuscript unfortunately cuts off at the material corresponding to the middle of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī. The fragment of scribal colophon that survives notes that the text was copied by one Vajrācārya Ravṛndrabhadra (perhaps a misspelling of Ravīndrabhadra), but it does not indicate when or where the text was copied. The manuscript comes from the private collection of Manavajra Vajrācārya and was microfilmed and cataloged by both the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMPP) and the International Association for the Study of World Religions (IASWR). The readings in this Sanskrit witness reflect a relatively close relationship to these texts as they are received in the Tibetan Kangyur recensions, and it has proved a valuable resource for this translation.
This English translation is based on the Tibetan translation as found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) section in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Tibetan translation in the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur. The Tibetan was also checked against the Sanskrit manuscript witness cataloged in the NGMCP microfilm collection under the title Mārīcīkalpa (NGMCP E 1480/9) and the IASWR microfilm collection under the title Mārīcīkalpatantra (MBB II 112). All instances in which the English translation deviates from the reading in the Degé Kangyur in favor of a reading in the Sanskrit witness or another Tibetan witness are noted in the translation.
Homage to the goddess Mārīcī.
I will explain the maṇḍala of Mārīcī’s arising from the tantra called Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, which was taught by the perfect Victor.
Fill the vases with the five great medicines, the five grains, the five precious substances, and perfumed water, and wrap them with two strips of cloth. Anoint the body of each vase with white sandalwood, adorn them with flower garlands, and furnish them with the various divine food offerings and a row of lamps. Then, recite the mantra one hundred and eight times over the all-victorious vase, furnish it with the five supreme medicines and five jewels, decorate it with white, yellow, red, green, and blue colored strips of cloth, and set it down.
If there is not one there already, make a canopy out of two pieces of cloth and raise it, hang flower garlands on the various victory banners, fumigate the area with sweet-smelling incense, and have the disciple enter. The disciple’s face should be veiled by two pieces of cloth. Place a turban on his head, anoint him with sandalwood, adorn him with a flower garland, and then confer the consecration.
All the ritual implements should be incanted with the mantra oṃ mārīcyai svāhā.
In the middle is the goddess Mārīcī, whose golden complexion flickers like gold from the Jambu River. She wears a blue lower robe and a blue upper garment and shawl, is adorned with all her various ornaments, bracelets, and the like, and is installed in the middle. She has six arms, three faces, and three eyes. She is mounted on a boar, and her hair has grown into a caitya crown. Her left hands hold a bow, thread, and aśoka branch. Her right hands hold an arrow, vajra, and needle. She sits in the middle of a caitya with her right foot extended.
oṃ arkamasi svāhā. The goddess installed in the eastern quarter is adorned with all her ornaments. She is like the sun at dawn and is a young girl in the prime of her youth. She wears a blue upper garment and holds in her two hands a needle and thread that she uses to sew eyes and mouths shut.
oṃ markamasi svāhā. The goddess in the southern quarter should be depicted as a young girl with a pale-yellow complexion wearing a blue lower robe and a blue upper garment and shawl. Her two hands hold an aśoka branch and a needle and thread, and she is adorned with all her ornaments. That is the goddess of the southern quarter.
oṃ antardhānamasi svāhā. In the western quarter is a young girl adorned with all her ornaments. She holds a noose and an aśoka branch, has a yellow complexion, wears a blue lower robe, upper garment, and shawl, and rides a boar. She has two arms, blazes like fire, and dwells in the western quarter.
oṃ tejomasi svāhā. In the northern quarter is a young girl adorned with all her ornaments. She has a red complexion and wears a blue lower robe, upper garment, and shawl. Her two hands hold an arrow and bow.
A goddess should be installed in the eight directions in the proper order.
Install the goddesses in that order. Following proper ritual procedure, imagine that they all have the face of a boar, are extremely powerful, and are preceded by a charging boar.
The two mantras oṃ padākramasi svāhā and oṃ varāli svāhā are written on a card in the southern quarter.
The two mantras oṃ parākramasi svāhā and oṃ varāli svāhā are written on a card in the western quarter.
The two mantras oṃ gulmamasi svāhā and oṃ varāli svāhā are written on a card in the northern quarter.
The two mantras oṃ mahācivaramasi svāhā and oṃ varāhamukhi svāhā are written on a card in the eastern quarter.
Here is the description of the protectors who guard the gates, beginning in the east. They are the colors of the tathāgatas Akṣobhya and so forth, they hold implements such as the vajra, the hook, and the rest, and they all bear the same objects and have the same complexions as the goddesses Vattāli, Arkamasi, and so forth.
The two goddesses on the cards beginning in the southern quarter are the color of the tathāgata of that quarter. Imagine all of them in due order holding a vajra, aśoka branch, arrow, bow, needle, thread, hook, and noose. They all have the face of a boar, have three eyes, are mounted on a boar, and are adorned with all their ornaments.
A maṇḍala that has been visualized in this way will remove all negative deeds, make that person successful and prosperous, and bring wealth and good harvests. He will attain whatever good result he desires just by reciting the mantra on a regular basis.
This is another rite. The mantra oṃ mārīcyai svāhā and its supreme seed syllable oṃ māṃ are effective for all rites. Add the syllable dri to the mantra for rites of pacifying, increasing, enthralling, subjugating, and attracting.
If he imagines the syllable hūṁ blazing in his heart and mounted on a whirling firebrand while performing the attracting rite with the hook and noose, it will attract a divine woman who is within one hundred leagues.
If he wants to enthrall a king, he should make an effigy out of salt and offer it into the fire at the three junctions of the day, and in seven days the king will give an indication of his trust and be enthralled. If he wants to pacify him, he should make it out of dūrvā grass anointed with ghee.
If he wants him to have a long life, he should kindle the fire with uḍumbara, bodhi tree, banyan, and butea branches, coat aśoka flowers with the three sweets, and perform one hundred thousand fire offerings. The king will be enthralled and give an indication of his trust within seven days, and he will even receive a turban.
Another rite is as follows: The most important ingredient is the outer layers of the right horn of a tawny cow. He should prepare a collyrium that contains equal proportions of that and the blood from the left ear of a boar and incant it with the mantra oṃ mārīcyai antardhānamasi svāhā for the duration of a lunar eclipse, and it will be activated. He will become invisible by simply applying it to the eye. He should coat a collyrium mixed with a female black cat’s excrement with the three types of metal and place it in his mouth during the lunar eclipse while reciting the mantra for the duration of the eclipse, and it will be rendered effective.
This is the most advanced invisibility spell—it ensures that one cannot be seen, cannot be seized, cannot be bound, cannot be stopped, cannot be opposed, cannot be enchanted, cannot be cut by a blade, cannot be decapitated, cannot be injured, cannot be burned, and cannot be brought under an enemy’s control. Use the mantra oṃ mārīcyai antardhāna svāhā for all invisibility rites.
The following is the description of the fire pit:
He should scatter kuśa grass on the four sides, place a water vessel to the left, and place all the ritual implements to the right. He should recite the mantra oṃ mārīcyai hūṁ phaṭ svāhā over the water and sprinkle it, expel all the vighnas, and then invoke the deity Agni with the following mantra:
oṃ ehy ehi mahābhūtadevagaṇa ṛṣidvijasattama gṛhītvā āhuti āhāra asmin sannihito bhava oṃ agnaye triphatri svāhā āviśa āviśa mahāśriye havyakavyavāhanāya svāhā
This mantra will summon and install Agni in the middle of the fire pit. He sits on a sun disk, has three eyes and four arms, and holds a boon-granting water vessel, a lotus garland, a staff, and a string of akṣa beads. His tawny hair blazes upward. Agni is peaceful, and he is supreme among those who eliminate all manner of misdeeds. The oblation should be offered into his mouth three times.
After that, the deity is installed. He should imagine that the image of a sun disk appears out of the syllable raṃ, the syllable a appears on that, and a lunar disk emerges from it like a blazing fire. Then, he should imagine that the goddess Mārīcī is installed upon the lunar disk just as before, and he should offer the oblation into her mouth three times.
If he desires a particular siddhi, the vajrācārya should ritually purify himself and wash his body. He should wear white robes for the pacifying rite, yellow robes for the increasing rite, red robes for the enthralling rite, and black robes for the subjugating rite. He must learn the rite through a vajrācārya’s instructions.
He should perform one thousand fire offerings of lotuses dipped in yogurt, honey, and ghee. Or, if he wants to become a local ruler, he should offer the one thousand lotuses in front of the painting. Then he will see Mārīcī in her true form or enjoy great prosperity. This is the best rite for engendering all manner of happiness in this life. Also, if the fire offering is performed with a hundred thousand red and blue lotuses, he will attain any type of material wealth he desires and have a vision of Blessed Mārīcī.
Another rite is as follows: He should recite the mantra oṃ mārīcyai vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi sarvaduṣṭānāṃ cakṣurmukhaṃ bandha bandha svāhā seven times over his robe as he ties a knot. Then, if he inserts a teakwood dagger that is four fingers long into the knot and sets off on a journey, robbers and the like will perceive him as a king of elephants baring his tusks, and every thief will be restrained. All the multitudes of living beings will adore him and be enchanted.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should draw the effigy on a copper vessel. Then he should inscribe the mantra augmented with the target’s name with the end of a double vajra using yellow arsenic, turmeric, and sulfur, and it will paralyze them. He should place the vessel in water, and they will give an indication of their trust.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should draw the effigy with bovine bezoar and horse blood on a copper pot, augment the mantra with the target’s name, and write it in the center. Then he should place the pot in water and recite the mantra, and it will summon any being within one thousand leagues. If he imagines the man or woman seated on a whirlwind and summons them with the noose and hook, they will undoubtedly be drawn to him.
If he performs the following offering to both the deity and a guru who has been consecrated in the maṇḍala of Mārīcī’s Arising, he will perfect the goddess’s mantra, which was taught by the perfect Victor. He should install the four syllables in the four directions with a lunar disk in the middle like a mountain of blue sapphire whose light spreads for a thousand leagues. Then, he should imagine himself as the deity emanation that appears out of the syllable māṃ at the center of the lunar disk.
She is bright yellow, has beautiful tresses of thick hair, and wears a black lower robe. She wears a blue upper garment and shawl. She has six arms, three boar-faces, and three eyes. She is adorned with all her ornaments and wears a caitya on her head. In her right hands she holds a garland of luminous, blazing vajras, an arrow, and a needle. In her left hands she holds a bow, thread, and an aśoka branch. She is seated on a lunar disk in a boar-drawn chariot with a beautiful deep golden color. Whether he imagines that it is evening and she sits on a lunar disk, or that it is day and she sits on a solar disk, the visualization will be just as effective.
oṃ vaṃ yaṃ raṃ vaṃ maṃ mā me paśyantu sattvā antardhānamasi svāhā. If he recites this mantra while traveling, it will ensure that he cannot be seen, cannot be seized, cannot be bound, cannot be stopped, cannot be opposed, cannot be enchanted, cannot be cut by a blade, cannot be decapitated, cannot be injured, cannot be burned, and cannot be brought under an enemy’s control.
He should mix realgar and bovine bezoar with a collyrium and sit at the base of the northern side of a crepe jasmine bush, naked and with his hair down, during a lunar or solar eclipse. He should combine the previous ingredients, make them into a pill, and wrap the pill in gold, silver, and copper. He should place it in his mouth and hide. This pill is the best for making one invisible for an entire day. It is said that “oṃ māṃ is the supreme heart mantra. It is the essence of the essence, and the most secret of secrets. It grants the four desirable gifts, and through it one can attain buddhahood.”
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should visualize Blessed Mārīcī in the middle of a lunar disk and seated on a lunar disk. Mārīcī is beautiful and shines like gold from the Jambu River. She has three faces, three eyes, and six arms. She wears a blue lower robe and a blue upper garment and shawl. She is adorned with her various ornaments and wears a caitya on her head. Her primary face is yellow and smiling. Her left face is a terrifying black boar that bares its fangs. Its tongue lolls about as it snarls and strikes fear in the enemy. Her right face is white and casts a light as pure as the autumn moon. Her left hands hold a bow, thread, and aśoka branch. Her right hands brandish an arrow, needle, and vajra. She is lovely and grants whatever one desires. She is efficacious and grants all the siddhis.
This is the maṇḍala that was taught by the Victor. The section in The Tantra of Mārīcī’s Arising called Mārīcī Appears says:
He should install the goddesses in the maṇḍala in this way and make offerings, and they will grant anything he desires. The aforementioned sequence should also be used to draw the painting. When a disciple is consecrated in the maṇḍala, they should be close to attaining the siddhis and should offer their own wealth or their own body.
This concludes “The Four-Syllable Ritual.”
In the sky is the syllable māṃ inside a sun and moon caitya. The syllable transforms into a youthful girl who is yellow like the color of molten gold. She is radiant and blazes forth like the sun at dawn. She has a garland of a thousand light rays that radiate outward. She wears a lower robe as red as the scarlet mallow and hibiscus flower. She wears an upper garment and shawl of various shades of red, bracelets, earrings, a girdle, and bangles for her feet. She wears anklets, and her arms have various types of armlets. She is adorned with all her ornaments, Vairocana is seated on her crown, and her head is ornamented with an aśoka wreath. She has eight hands, three faces, and three eyes. In her left hands she brandishes a bow, aśoka branch, thread, and noose. In her right hands she brandishes a blazing vajra, needle, hook, and arrow. She is lovely.
Her primary face is peaceful and open like a flower in full bloom. It is bright yellow like gold with eyes like blue lotuses and lips that look as if they have been smeared with vermillion powder. Its countenance is charming and playful.
The face on the left is wrathful and contorted, bares its fangs, and is terrifying. It radiates like blue sapphire or lapis lazuli. Its radiance is equal to that of twelve suns. Its snarling grimace is wrathful, it has a curling tongue, and it is unbelievably terrifying.
The face on the right is bright red and wreathed in red flowers on the blooming branches spreading from an aśoka tree trunk that has been planted in the middle of a caitya and blaze forth like the light of a divine ruby.
At the base beneath her is Lord Vairocana with his crown of matted locks, peaceful demeanor, and golden yellow complexion, baring the hand mudrā of supreme awakening.
She is seated with her right leg extended inside a caitya that has been placed on a boar-drawn chariot. She is a young girl in the prime of her youth.
Down in front of the chariot there is a whirlwind, on which is the syllable ha, and out of which appears an emanation of the great celestial deity Rāhu, who eclipses the sun by day and the moon by night. She is surrounded by four goddesses, and her mantra is oṃ mārīcyai svāhā.
The goddess on the lead chariot summoned into the space in front of her has four arms, is red, has the face of a boar, and wears a red lower robe. She wears a red upper garment and shawl and is adorned with all her ornaments. She rides the lead chariot brandishing a needle and thread, and she holds a hook with which she draws in her target, a noose, and a branch. He should recite the mantra oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi svāhā, and whatever woman or man he wishes will be conveyed on a whirlwind and be drawn to him.
The mantra for the goddess who dwells in the southern quarter is oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭānām cakṣurmukhaṃ bandha bandhami svāhā. This mantra shuts the mouths of wicked people. She has four arms and a golden complexion, and she wears a red lower robe and a red upper garment and shawl. One set of hands holds an aśoka branch and a noose, and the other set holds a sewing needle and thread. Her head is wreathed with a garland of aśoka flowers.
The mantra for the goddess who dwells in the western quarter is oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhāmukhi sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭānāṃ stambhaya svāhā. Imagine this goddess with four arms in the space behind Mārīcī. She holds a vajra, noose, branch, and needle. She has a golden complexion and wears a red lower robe and a red upper garment and shawl. She appears as a young girl adorned with all her ornaments, with her head wreathed with a garland of aśoka flowers.
oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi sarvaduṣṭām me vaśam ānaya svāhā. The goddess who dwells in the northern quarter has four arms and the various ornaments. She wears a red lower robe and a red upper garment and shawl. She emits a radiant light like the sun at dawn and blazes like the fire of passion. Her left hands hold a blazing bow and aśoka branch, and her right hands hold an arrow and luminous vajra. The goddess stands there like the fire that consumes the world at the end of an eon, and she enthralls all beings.
To begin, he should first hold a feast for the noble saṅgha. He should have an artist who maintains the precepts draw the painting of Blessed Mārīcī on a new canvas. The faithful one should arrange the upper robe on one side and complete the painting. Then he should hold a feast for the fully ordained nuns as well as for the young women. Then he should display the image inside a reliquary caitya located at a pool, at the ocean, on a mountain, in a charnel ground, at the base of a banyan tree, in a garden, in a shrine, or in a house, and he should recite the hundred-thousand-syllable mantra using the five customary offerings.
The first, second, and third recitations will purify misdeeds. At the fourth, he will have a vision in which he crosses the ocean, comes to rest on a mountain, and encounters a young girl. He should understand this as an indication that his misdeeds are now purified. At the fifth, the tip of the lamp will grow, and a sweet smell will fill his nose. At the sixth he will see the buddhas and bodhisattvas. At the seventh he will have a vision of Mārīcī. When the practitioner sees these signs, the siddhis have been stabilized.
If at some point the practitioner sees an inauspicious sign such as serpents, monkeys, cats, donkeys, horses, elephants, buffalo, or dogs quarreling with one another and becomes worried, he should recite the mantra two hundred thousand times. At that point he will actually see the form of Blessed Mārīcī and perfect the rite that is taught in the ritual manual.
The mantra oṃ mārīcyai svāhā can be used for any rite. If he recites it one hundred and eight times without interruption, his intellect will sharpen, and he will be able to remember one thousand texts. He will have a long life, be healthy and powerful, and be worthy of all beings’ offerings. Someone who has completed ten thousand recitations will gain the siddhi of extending their lifespan to one thousand years. If he continually offers the five things while reciting the mantra ten million times, he will attain siddhis.
This is precisely what Vairocana taught. It brings about many miraculous things such as the invisibility, collyrium, shoes, sword, pill, bovine bezoar, and flight siddhis and the ritual powers of enthralling, attracting, expelling, killing, sowing discord, paralyzing, enchanting, binding, overcoming, pinning with a dagger, attracting yakṣiṇīs, and piercing ḍākinīs. It cures things such as fever, illness, poison, and the four-day fever, and it grants the power of entering, attracting divine beings, and finding lost treasure. The mantra must be recited continually by one who has performed the king of mantras invocation and is perfectly endowed with the pride of Mārīcī.
The following is the ritual for enthralling and attracting: In a private and secret place, he should smear a maṇḍala with white sandalwood or cow dung in front of the deity image. He should draw the effigy with the sap of aśoka flowers, red lac, red sandalwood, and bovine bezoar, add the target’s name to the mantra, and place it in the middle. Then he should place his left hand on its genitals, recite the mantra, and imagine that the target’s legs give out and that they exhibit various types of madness such as letting their hair down and trembling with intense passion. Performing this rite on the one who bears that name will enthrall the desired target within three days.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should make an effigy of the target out of the soil from both banks of a river and soil from a footprint. Using the same substances described above, he should augment the mantra with the target’s name and write it on birch bark or a piece of cloth from the cremation ground and place it in the middle. This rite should be performed when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya. He should take an aśoka wood dagger eight fingers long and stab the effigy’s vagina. Then, he should place the dagger in his left hand and recite the mantra while bearing the target’s name in mind. This will enthrall even Maheśvara’s wife within three days, not to mention the spouse of another human being.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should make the effigy out of beeswax, write the mantra augmented with the target’s name on a piece of birch bark with vermillion powder using the aforementioned great medicines colored with vermillion powder, and place it in the middle. All these rites should be performed when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya. He should stab the effigy in the genitals with an aśoka wood dagger, smear the body with black mustard seed, and offer incense in a fire kindled with teakwood. This rite will enthrall even Śakra’s daughter in three days’ time, not to mention the daughter of a human being. The mantra recitation also works on men.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should make the effigy out of ash from a charnel ground, dirt from an anthill, clay from a potter’s wheel, and soil from a footprint, write the mantra augmented with the target’s name on a piece of birch bark with red sandalwood and bovine bezoar, and place it in the middle. He should burn it in a fire kindled with teakwood while reciting the mantra in front of the painting for seven days at the three junctures of the day, and any human king will give an indication of his trust and be enthralled.
There is another more advanced procedure for a faithful disciple that is described as follows: He should gather the collyrium from the left eye of a dead person, the left ring finger, and a left rib bone six fingers long. Then, using a male skull, he should prepare an ink of red sandalwood, red lac, bovine bezoar, and aśoka flowers when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya. He should write the king of mantras augmented with the target’s name on a lotus with eight petals. He should imagine the goddess surrounded by six fires, filled with the wind seed-syllable, and standing on a sun disk with her right leg extended. As he draws the target in with the hook and noose, a whirlwind will draw in any target who is within one thousand leagues. This is the supreme siddhi of attracting a woman.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should draw a clear likeness of the king on a plank of aśoka wood and write his name in the center with his own blood, bovine bezoar, and red saffron. It should be surrounded by the syllable māṃ, and that should be surrounded by the syllable cyai. He should trample the plank with his left foot while bearing the king’s name in mind and reciting the mantra, and he will undoubtedly draw near within three days.
If he wants to attract a yakṣiṇī, he should go to a charnel ground on an auspicious day when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya and fashion a piece of banyan wood measuring one cubit into an effigy of a girl in the prime of her youth that clearly resembles a yakṣiṇī. She should be adorned with all her ornaments, and her right foot should be slightly bent. She should be holding a banyan branch with her left hand, with a flirtatious air that indicates she is intent on fulfilling her sexual desire. He should write the mantra augmented with the target’s name using the aforementioned great medicines and place it in the middle. At night, in a private and secret place where there are no people to distract him, he should smear a maṇḍala on the ground with sandalwood and place it in front of the painting. He should scatter flowers on it, light the lamps, and make an incense offering of bdellium. He should recite the mantra while bearing the yakṣiṇī’s name in mind, and she will come. A sign will appear on the first day, and the next day she will reveal herself. At that point he should remain silent, and if he maintains a vow of silence for an entire month, he will attain the siddhi. The yakṣiṇī will bestow on him the supreme siddhi. The practitioner should call her mother, sister, or wife. Then, she will take him on her hip and transport him to her realm. The practitioner will live as long as he wants, up to one eon. If at any point he makes a mistake and does not heed this instruction, he will not gain the siddhi and will become a great patron. At that point he will obtain great and vast wealth, and he will be born into a family of yakṣas in his next rebirth. That is called the yakṣiṇī practice ritual.
If he wants to enthrall a king, he should make an effigy on a banyan branch that hangs down to the base of the tree. It should be well made and clearly resemble the target. He should write the target’s name clearly in the middle with bovine bezoar, red lac, and red saffron, summon them with the noose and hook, and imagine that their two legs give out as he recites the mantra. At that point the target will be his servant for as long as they live. This is a highly advanced practice, and it requires perseverance and determination.
The following rite is also performed on an auspicious day when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya, and the statue should be made from a piece of aśoka wood that measures one cubit. Victorious Blessed Mārīcī has eight arms, three faces, and three eyes. Her hair adorns the top of her head like a caitya. She wears a wreath of aśoka flowers and is ornamented with gold earrings, a neck ornament, a half-length necklace, bracelets, a girdle, bangles for her feet, and hundreds of various garlands. Her body is blazing and radiant like gold from the Jambu River, and it emanates a light as bright as ten thousand suns. She wears a red lower robe and a multicolored upper garment and shawl. In her left hands she holds a bow, aśoka branch, noose, and thread. In her right hands she brandishes a blazing vajra, arrow, needle, and hook.
She has the face of a boar on the left and the right. Her primary face shines like a flower in full bloom. Her complexion is like molten gold. Her eyes are like blooming flowers. Her beautiful face is radiant, and her lips are as red as coral, scarlet mallow, and hibiscus flowers. Her left face is wrathful, bares its fangs, is terrifying, and has a horrific scowl. Its gaze does not waver and is never deterred. Its tongue curls back, and it is unbelievably terrifying. The complexion of her left face is like blue sapphire. Her right face is that of a boar, and its complexion is like a red ruby. It is adorned with a flowering aśoka branch.
Her chariot is furnished with the sun and moon and driven by the asuras and a boar. The youthful goddess stands with her left leg forward. Down in front of the chariot there is a whirlwind with the syllable ha on it, out of which appears the celestial deity Rāhu, who eclipses the sun by day and the moon by night.
When the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya, he should offer whatever he has and carefully prepare a feast for the young maiden. When the statue is finished, the wise one should coat a relic pill with gold and place it inside the base of the caitya that crowns her head. That statue is known as a statue that contains a relic.
Then, in a place where there is a house with a vast amount of land, he should make a maṇḍala in front of the statue by smearing the ground with sandalwood or cow dung, and he should perform the offering while reciting the mantra. He should scatter it with flowers, drape it with flower garlands and long and short lattices, decorate it with a garland of lamps, and offer perfumes, fragrances, offering cakes, sandalwood, and bdellium.
Now I will describe the vessel for the water offering. He should use a vessel made of conch or pearl oyster shell, a vessel made out of gold, silver, or copper, or a vase made of clay. He should focus on Vairocana’s great consort just as before, recite the mantra oṃ mārīcyai ehy ehi antasannihito bhava to summon Blessed Mārīcī, and visualize her approaching and standing there in that form. Then the practitioner should make offerings to her with the five customary offerings while reciting the following mantra:
oṃ mārīcyai devatāyai antasannihito me bhava anurakto me bhava sutoṣyo me bhava sarvasiddhiṃ me bhava prayaccha
The vidyā master should incant the aforementioned vessel that has been anointed with white sandalwood and adorned with flower garlands with the mantra one hundred and eight times and then place the vessel down as the water offering. He should sprinkle Blessed Mārīcī with the water and supplicate her, saying, “From this day forward, please ensure that your mantra is effective for me.” Then he should recite the mantra and perform the visualization with pride in himself as Mārīcī, and he should recite the hundred-thousand-syllable mantra.
Afterward, signs of the siddhis will appear. The statue of Mārīcī might shake or tremble, or he might see a string of points of light, smell a sweet fragrance, experience heat, see smoke, or see fire. If he does not see any of these signs, he should double the mantra recitation. When he has performed ten million mantra recitations, he will attain siddhi. He will see the actual body of Blessed Mārīcī and attain siddhi. She will bestow the highest state along with whatever siddhi he wishes, be it the sword, collyrium, shoes, bovine bezoar, invisibility, pill, or alchemical elixir.
The sword siddhi refers to becoming a lord of the vidyādharas and frolicking with the vidyādharīs simply by taking hold of the beautiful siddhi-sword.
The collyrium siddhi refers to enthralling gods, asuras, and human beings when he looks at them, simply by applying the collyrium to the eye.
The shoe siddhi refers to wearing shoes that allow him to travel a thousand leagues.
The bovine bezoar siddhi refers to taking on manifold forms and enthralling kings by placing a bindi on the forehead using the bovine bezoar.
The pill siddhi refers to placing a pill in his mouth that allows him to travel the vast earth and take whatever form he wishes, just like a yakṣa.
The mercury siddhi refers to acquiring mercury that can transform any element into gold and make his body indestructible.
The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī contains a collection of elaborate instructions for the visualization and depiction of a number of maṇḍalas and forms of the goddess Mārīcī and her retinue of vidyā goddesses.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The text was translated, checked against the Sanskrit and Tibetan, and edited by Adam C. Krug.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Nathaniel Rich edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī opens with a description of Mārīcī’s maṇḍala from its source tantra, The Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, which describes the maṇḍala’s external features, progresses to the entrance and consecration of a disciple, and concludes with a detailed explanation of the internal features of the maṇḍala. The introductory section of this tantra thus provides brief instructions for a ritual that is critical for the successful performance of the many ritual actions presented in the remainder of the tantra—initiation into Mārīcī’s maṇḍala.
After its initial description of Mārīcī’s maṇḍala, the text turns to its primary subject matter—the various ritual actions that someone who has been consecrated in Mārīcī’s maṇḍala can accomplish. The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī contains instructions for a broad range of ritual actions such as attracting, binding, paralyzing, enthralling, enchanting, expelling, killing, piercing, pacifying, and subjugating various targets, as well as rites for sowing discord, curing diseases, controlling rainfall, finding lost treasure, and increasing a ritual target’s wealth and well-being. These ritual actions can presumably be performed for oneself or any patron, and many of them are also concerned with the performance of rituals that either target or can be used to benefit kings and members of a royal court. This text also provides a list of seven siddhis that can be accomplished using Mārīcī’s rites—invisibility, collyrium, shoes, sword, pill, bovine bezoar, and flight.
Much like The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī (Toh 564) and The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565), The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī is primarily concerned with the performance of ritual actions and the attainment of siddhis toward worldly ends. The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī expands upon the relationship between Vairocana and Mārīcī found in Toh 565, describing the goddess as the Buddha Vairocana’s “great consort” (Skt. mahāmudrā; Tib. phyag rgya chen po). Despite her association with Vairocana, who is identified as the buddha who taught the original source text for The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising and The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī, neither of these texts give us any indication that Mārīcī’s rituals can be used toward the attainment of an ultimate soteriological goal or realization that might allow one to advance on the path to awakening. This is consistent with The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī, taught by the Buddha Śākyamuni, which functions solely as a protective spell.
Tarthang Tulku’s catalog of the Nyingma edition of the Degé Kangyur divides The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī into three chapters. However, since the text itself tells us that its material is extracted from a much larger work, it is likely the case that the three chapter colophons that appear in this text are not indicative of the structure of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī itself but are instead artifacts from its source text. The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī and The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising both indicate that they are compilations of ritual instructions from a larger tantra dedicated to the goddess Mārīcī. The title of Toh 565 refers to its source text as The Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, and the title for The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī refers to this work as The Twelve-Thousand Line Tantra of Mārīcī’s Arising. The opening section of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī also refers to its source text as Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, which indicates that these two ritual manuals may derive, at least in part, from the same longer tantra dedicated to the goddess Mārīcī.
Unlike The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī, neither The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising nor The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī contain a translators’ colophon, and neither work appears in either of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. As a result, it is difficult to say with any real precision when these texts were first translated into Tibetan. However, as Lancaster notes, Tian Xizai’s tenth-century translation of the Mārīcīdhāraṇīsūtra (Taishō 1257) contains a translation of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī as well as both ritual manuals in the cycle on the goddess Mārīcī that correspond to those preserved in the Degé Kangyur. It thus seems possible that all three of the works dedicated to Mārīcī in the Tibetan Kangyurs—The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī, The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, and The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī—belong to the same later textual tradition of the goddess Mārīcī that was translated into Chinese in the tenth century. As noted in the English translation of Toh 565, however, the version of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī described in the opening section of The King of Ritual Manuals from the Tantra of Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising (Toh 565) appears to be a slightly different version than the translation preserved in the Kangyur as a standalone text (Toh 564).
While a relatively large number of Sanskrit witnesses of The Mārīcī Dhāraṇī have survived, there is to our knowledge only one surviving manuscript witness of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī. This witness is preserved in an unpublished manuscript from Nepal that contains Sanskrit versions of all three works in the cycle of texts in the Degé Kangyur on the goddess Mārīcī. The fact that this witness contains all three texts in the exact order in which they appear in the Degé Kangyur may indicate its relationship to the textual tradition from which the translations of Toh 564, 565, and 566 were produced. The Sanskrit manuscript unfortunately cuts off at the material corresponding to the middle of The Maṇḍala Rites of Noble Mārīcī. The fragment of scribal colophon that survives notes that the text was copied by one Vajrācārya Ravṛndrabhadra (perhaps a misspelling of Ravīndrabhadra), but it does not indicate when or where the text was copied. The manuscript comes from the private collection of Manavajra Vajrācārya and was microfilmed and cataloged by both the Nepal-German Manuscript Preservation Project (NGMPP) and the International Association for the Study of World Religions (IASWR). The readings in this Sanskrit witness reflect a relatively close relationship to these texts as they are received in the Tibetan Kangyur recensions, and it has proved a valuable resource for this translation.
This English translation is based on the Tibetan translation as found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) section in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Tibetan translation in the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur. The Tibetan was also checked against the Sanskrit manuscript witness cataloged in the NGMCP microfilm collection under the title Mārīcīkalpa (NGMCP E 1480/9) and the IASWR microfilm collection under the title Mārīcīkalpatantra (MBB II 112). All instances in which the English translation deviates from the reading in the Degé Kangyur in favor of a reading in the Sanskrit witness or another Tibetan witness are noted in the translation.
Homage to the goddess Mārīcī.
I will explain the maṇḍala of Mārīcī’s arising from the tantra called Māyā Mārīcī’s Arising, which was taught by the perfect Victor.
Fill the vases with the five great medicines, the five grains, the five precious substances, and perfumed water, and wrap them with two strips of cloth. Anoint the body of each vase with white sandalwood, adorn them with flower garlands, and furnish them with the various divine food offerings and a row of lamps. Then, recite the mantra one hundred and eight times over the all-victorious vase, furnish it with the five supreme medicines and five jewels, decorate it with white, yellow, red, green, and blue colored strips of cloth, and set it down.
If there is not one there already, make a canopy out of two pieces of cloth and raise it, hang flower garlands on the various victory banners, fumigate the area with sweet-smelling incense, and have the disciple enter. The disciple’s face should be veiled by two pieces of cloth. Place a turban on his head, anoint him with sandalwood, adorn him with a flower garland, and then confer the consecration.
All the ritual implements should be incanted with the mantra oṃ mārīcyai svāhā.
In the middle is the goddess Mārīcī, whose golden complexion flickers like gold from the Jambu River. She wears a blue lower robe and a blue upper garment and shawl, is adorned with all her various ornaments, bracelets, and the like, and is installed in the middle. She has six arms, three faces, and three eyes. She is mounted on a boar, and her hair has grown into a caitya crown. Her left hands hold a bow, thread, and aśoka branch. Her right hands hold an arrow, vajra, and needle. She sits in the middle of a caitya with her right foot extended.
oṃ arkamasi svāhā. The goddess installed in the eastern quarter is adorned with all her ornaments. She is like the sun at dawn and is a young girl in the prime of her youth. She wears a blue upper garment and holds in her two hands a needle and thread that she uses to sew eyes and mouths shut.
oṃ markamasi svāhā. The goddess in the southern quarter should be depicted as a young girl with a pale-yellow complexion wearing a blue lower robe and a blue upper garment and shawl. Her two hands hold an aśoka branch and a needle and thread, and she is adorned with all her ornaments. That is the goddess of the southern quarter.
oṃ antardhānamasi svāhā. In the western quarter is a young girl adorned with all her ornaments. She holds a noose and an aśoka branch, has a yellow complexion, wears a blue lower robe, upper garment, and shawl, and rides a boar. She has two arms, blazes like fire, and dwells in the western quarter.
oṃ tejomasi svāhā. In the northern quarter is a young girl adorned with all her ornaments. She has a red complexion and wears a blue lower robe, upper garment, and shawl. Her two hands hold an arrow and bow.
A goddess should be installed in the eight directions in the proper order.
Install the goddesses in that order. Following proper ritual procedure, imagine that they all have the face of a boar, are extremely powerful, and are preceded by a charging boar.
The two mantras oṃ padākramasi svāhā and oṃ varāli svāhā are written on a card in the southern quarter.
The two mantras oṃ parākramasi svāhā and oṃ varāli svāhā are written on a card in the western quarter.
The two mantras oṃ gulmamasi svāhā and oṃ varāli svāhā are written on a card in the northern quarter.
The two mantras oṃ mahācivaramasi svāhā and oṃ varāhamukhi svāhā are written on a card in the eastern quarter.
Here is the description of the protectors who guard the gates, beginning in the east. They are the colors of the tathāgatas Akṣobhya and so forth, they hold implements such as the vajra, the hook, and the rest, and they all bear the same objects and have the same complexions as the goddesses Vattāli, Arkamasi, and so forth.
The two goddesses on the cards beginning in the southern quarter are the color of the tathāgata of that quarter. Imagine all of them in due order holding a vajra, aśoka branch, arrow, bow, needle, thread, hook, and noose. They all have the face of a boar, have three eyes, are mounted on a boar, and are adorned with all their ornaments.
A maṇḍala that has been visualized in this way will remove all negative deeds, make that person successful and prosperous, and bring wealth and good harvests. He will attain whatever good result he desires just by reciting the mantra on a regular basis.
This is another rite. The mantra oṃ mārīcyai svāhā and its supreme seed syllable oṃ māṃ are effective for all rites. Add the syllable dri to the mantra for rites of pacifying, increasing, enthralling, subjugating, and attracting.
If he imagines the syllable hūṁ blazing in his heart and mounted on a whirling firebrand while performing the attracting rite with the hook and noose, it will attract a divine woman who is within one hundred leagues.
If he wants to enthrall a king, he should make an effigy out of salt and offer it into the fire at the three junctions of the day, and in seven days the king will give an indication of his trust and be enthralled. If he wants to pacify him, he should make it out of dūrvā grass anointed with ghee.
If he wants him to have a long life, he should kindle the fire with uḍumbara, bodhi tree, banyan, and butea branches, coat aśoka flowers with the three sweets, and perform one hundred thousand fire offerings. The king will be enthralled and give an indication of his trust within seven days, and he will even receive a turban.
Another rite is as follows: The most important ingredient is the outer layers of the right horn of a tawny cow. He should prepare a collyrium that contains equal proportions of that and the blood from the left ear of a boar and incant it with the mantra oṃ mārīcyai antardhānamasi svāhā for the duration of a lunar eclipse, and it will be activated. He will become invisible by simply applying it to the eye. He should coat a collyrium mixed with a female black cat’s excrement with the three types of metal and place it in his mouth during the lunar eclipse while reciting the mantra for the duration of the eclipse, and it will be rendered effective.
This is the most advanced invisibility spell—it ensures that one cannot be seen, cannot be seized, cannot be bound, cannot be stopped, cannot be opposed, cannot be enchanted, cannot be cut by a blade, cannot be decapitated, cannot be injured, cannot be burned, and cannot be brought under an enemy’s control. Use the mantra oṃ mārīcyai antardhāna svāhā for all invisibility rites.
The following is the description of the fire pit:
He should scatter kuśa grass on the four sides, place a water vessel to the left, and place all the ritual implements to the right. He should recite the mantra oṃ mārīcyai hūṁ phaṭ svāhā over the water and sprinkle it, expel all the vighnas, and then invoke the deity Agni with the following mantra:
oṃ ehy ehi mahābhūtadevagaṇa ṛṣidvijasattama gṛhītvā āhuti āhāra asmin sannihito bhava oṃ agnaye triphatri svāhā āviśa āviśa mahāśriye havyakavyavāhanāya svāhā
This mantra will summon and install Agni in the middle of the fire pit. He sits on a sun disk, has three eyes and four arms, and holds a boon-granting water vessel, a lotus garland, a staff, and a string of akṣa beads. His tawny hair blazes upward. Agni is peaceful, and he is supreme among those who eliminate all manner of misdeeds. The oblation should be offered into his mouth three times.
After that, the deity is installed. He should imagine that the image of a sun disk appears out of the syllable raṃ, the syllable a appears on that, and a lunar disk emerges from it like a blazing fire. Then, he should imagine that the goddess Mārīcī is installed upon the lunar disk just as before, and he should offer the oblation into her mouth three times.
If he desires a particular siddhi, the vajrācārya should ritually purify himself and wash his body. He should wear white robes for the pacifying rite, yellow robes for the increasing rite, red robes for the enthralling rite, and black robes for the subjugating rite. He must learn the rite through a vajrācārya’s instructions.
He should perform one thousand fire offerings of lotuses dipped in yogurt, honey, and ghee. Or, if he wants to become a local ruler, he should offer the one thousand lotuses in front of the painting. Then he will see Mārīcī in her true form or enjoy great prosperity. This is the best rite for engendering all manner of happiness in this life. Also, if the fire offering is performed with a hundred thousand red and blue lotuses, he will attain any type of material wealth he desires and have a vision of Blessed Mārīcī.
Another rite is as follows: He should recite the mantra oṃ mārīcyai vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi sarvaduṣṭānāṃ cakṣurmukhaṃ bandha bandha svāhā seven times over his robe as he ties a knot. Then, if he inserts a teakwood dagger that is four fingers long into the knot and sets off on a journey, robbers and the like will perceive him as a king of elephants baring his tusks, and every thief will be restrained. All the multitudes of living beings will adore him and be enchanted.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should draw the effigy on a copper vessel. Then he should inscribe the mantra augmented with the target’s name with the end of a double vajra using yellow arsenic, turmeric, and sulfur, and it will paralyze them. He should place the vessel in water, and they will give an indication of their trust.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should draw the effigy with bovine bezoar and horse blood on a copper pot, augment the mantra with the target’s name, and write it in the center. Then he should place the pot in water and recite the mantra, and it will summon any being within one thousand leagues. If he imagines the man or woman seated on a whirlwind and summons them with the noose and hook, they will undoubtedly be drawn to him.
If he performs the following offering to both the deity and a guru who has been consecrated in the maṇḍala of Mārīcī’s Arising, he will perfect the goddess’s mantra, which was taught by the perfect Victor. He should install the four syllables in the four directions with a lunar disk in the middle like a mountain of blue sapphire whose light spreads for a thousand leagues. Then, he should imagine himself as the deity emanation that appears out of the syllable māṃ at the center of the lunar disk.
She is bright yellow, has beautiful tresses of thick hair, and wears a black lower robe. She wears a blue upper garment and shawl. She has six arms, three boar-faces, and three eyes. She is adorned with all her ornaments and wears a caitya on her head. In her right hands she holds a garland of luminous, blazing vajras, an arrow, and a needle. In her left hands she holds a bow, thread, and an aśoka branch. She is seated on a lunar disk in a boar-drawn chariot with a beautiful deep golden color. Whether he imagines that it is evening and she sits on a lunar disk, or that it is day and she sits on a solar disk, the visualization will be just as effective.
oṃ vaṃ yaṃ raṃ vaṃ maṃ mā me paśyantu sattvā antardhānamasi svāhā. If he recites this mantra while traveling, it will ensure that he cannot be seen, cannot be seized, cannot be bound, cannot be stopped, cannot be opposed, cannot be enchanted, cannot be cut by a blade, cannot be decapitated, cannot be injured, cannot be burned, and cannot be brought under an enemy’s control.
He should mix realgar and bovine bezoar with a collyrium and sit at the base of the northern side of a crepe jasmine bush, naked and with his hair down, during a lunar or solar eclipse. He should combine the previous ingredients, make them into a pill, and wrap the pill in gold, silver, and copper. He should place it in his mouth and hide. This pill is the best for making one invisible for an entire day. It is said that “oṃ māṃ is the supreme heart mantra. It is the essence of the essence, and the most secret of secrets. It grants the four desirable gifts, and through it one can attain buddhahood.”
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should visualize Blessed Mārīcī in the middle of a lunar disk and seated on a lunar disk. Mārīcī is beautiful and shines like gold from the Jambu River. She has three faces, three eyes, and six arms. She wears a blue lower robe and a blue upper garment and shawl. She is adorned with her various ornaments and wears a caitya on her head. Her primary face is yellow and smiling. Her left face is a terrifying black boar that bares its fangs. Its tongue lolls about as it snarls and strikes fear in the enemy. Her right face is white and casts a light as pure as the autumn moon. Her left hands hold a bow, thread, and aśoka branch. Her right hands brandish an arrow, needle, and vajra. She is lovely and grants whatever one desires. She is efficacious and grants all the siddhis.
This is the maṇḍala that was taught by the Victor. The section in The Tantra of Mārīcī’s Arising called Mārīcī Appears says:
He should install the goddesses in the maṇḍala in this way and make offerings, and they will grant anything he desires. The aforementioned sequence should also be used to draw the painting. When a disciple is consecrated in the maṇḍala, they should be close to attaining the siddhis and should offer their own wealth or their own body.
This concludes “The Four-Syllable Ritual.”
In the sky is the syllable māṃ inside a sun and moon caitya. The syllable transforms into a youthful girl who is yellow like the color of molten gold. She is radiant and blazes forth like the sun at dawn. She has a garland of a thousand light rays that radiate outward. She wears a lower robe as red as the scarlet mallow and hibiscus flower. She wears an upper garment and shawl of various shades of red, bracelets, earrings, a girdle, and bangles for her feet. She wears anklets, and her arms have various types of armlets. She is adorned with all her ornaments, Vairocana is seated on her crown, and her head is ornamented with an aśoka wreath. She has eight hands, three faces, and three eyes. In her left hands she brandishes a bow, aśoka branch, thread, and noose. In her right hands she brandishes a blazing vajra, needle, hook, and arrow. She is lovely.
Her primary face is peaceful and open like a flower in full bloom. It is bright yellow like gold with eyes like blue lotuses and lips that look as if they have been smeared with vermillion powder. Its countenance is charming and playful.
The face on the left is wrathful and contorted, bares its fangs, and is terrifying. It radiates like blue sapphire or lapis lazuli. Its radiance is equal to that of twelve suns. Its snarling grimace is wrathful, it has a curling tongue, and it is unbelievably terrifying.
The face on the right is bright red and wreathed in red flowers on the blooming branches spreading from an aśoka tree trunk that has been planted in the middle of a caitya and blaze forth like the light of a divine ruby.
At the base beneath her is Lord Vairocana with his crown of matted locks, peaceful demeanor, and golden yellow complexion, baring the hand mudrā of supreme awakening.
She is seated with her right leg extended inside a caitya that has been placed on a boar-drawn chariot. She is a young girl in the prime of her youth.
Down in front of the chariot there is a whirlwind, on which is the syllable ha, and out of which appears an emanation of the great celestial deity Rāhu, who eclipses the sun by day and the moon by night. She is surrounded by four goddesses, and her mantra is oṃ mārīcyai svāhā.
The goddess on the lead chariot summoned into the space in front of her has four arms, is red, has the face of a boar, and wears a red lower robe. She wears a red upper garment and shawl and is adorned with all her ornaments. She rides the lead chariot brandishing a needle and thread, and she holds a hook with which she draws in her target, a noose, and a branch. He should recite the mantra oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi svāhā, and whatever woman or man he wishes will be conveyed on a whirlwind and be drawn to him.
The mantra for the goddess who dwells in the southern quarter is oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭānām cakṣurmukhaṃ bandha bandhami svāhā. This mantra shuts the mouths of wicked people. She has four arms and a golden complexion, and she wears a red lower robe and a red upper garment and shawl. One set of hands holds an aśoka branch and a noose, and the other set holds a sewing needle and thread. Her head is wreathed with a garland of aśoka flowers.
The mantra for the goddess who dwells in the western quarter is oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhāmukhi sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭānāṃ stambhaya svāhā. Imagine this goddess with four arms in the space behind Mārīcī. She holds a vajra, noose, branch, and needle. She has a golden complexion and wears a red lower robe and a red upper garment and shawl. She appears as a young girl adorned with all her ornaments, with her head wreathed with a garland of aśoka flowers.
oṃ vattāli vadāli varāli varāhamukhi sarvaduṣṭām me vaśam ānaya svāhā. The goddess who dwells in the northern quarter has four arms and the various ornaments. She wears a red lower robe and a red upper garment and shawl. She emits a radiant light like the sun at dawn and blazes like the fire of passion. Her left hands hold a blazing bow and aśoka branch, and her right hands hold an arrow and luminous vajra. The goddess stands there like the fire that consumes the world at the end of an eon, and she enthralls all beings.
To begin, he should first hold a feast for the noble saṅgha. He should have an artist who maintains the precepts draw the painting of Blessed Mārīcī on a new canvas. The faithful one should arrange the upper robe on one side and complete the painting. Then he should hold a feast for the fully ordained nuns as well as for the young women. Then he should display the image inside a reliquary caitya located at a pool, at the ocean, on a mountain, in a charnel ground, at the base of a banyan tree, in a garden, in a shrine, or in a house, and he should recite the hundred-thousand-syllable mantra using the five customary offerings.
The first, second, and third recitations will purify misdeeds. At the fourth, he will have a vision in which he crosses the ocean, comes to rest on a mountain, and encounters a young girl. He should understand this as an indication that his misdeeds are now purified. At the fifth, the tip of the lamp will grow, and a sweet smell will fill his nose. At the sixth he will see the buddhas and bodhisattvas. At the seventh he will have a vision of Mārīcī. When the practitioner sees these signs, the siddhis have been stabilized.
If at some point the practitioner sees an inauspicious sign such as serpents, monkeys, cats, donkeys, horses, elephants, buffalo, or dogs quarreling with one another and becomes worried, he should recite the mantra two hundred thousand times. At that point he will actually see the form of Blessed Mārīcī and perfect the rite that is taught in the ritual manual.
The mantra oṃ mārīcyai svāhā can be used for any rite. If he recites it one hundred and eight times without interruption, his intellect will sharpen, and he will be able to remember one thousand texts. He will have a long life, be healthy and powerful, and be worthy of all beings’ offerings. Someone who has completed ten thousand recitations will gain the siddhi of extending their lifespan to one thousand years. If he continually offers the five things while reciting the mantra ten million times, he will attain siddhis.
This is precisely what Vairocana taught. It brings about many miraculous things such as the invisibility, collyrium, shoes, sword, pill, bovine bezoar, and flight siddhis and the ritual powers of enthralling, attracting, expelling, killing, sowing discord, paralyzing, enchanting, binding, overcoming, pinning with a dagger, attracting yakṣiṇīs, and piercing ḍākinīs. It cures things such as fever, illness, poison, and the four-day fever, and it grants the power of entering, attracting divine beings, and finding lost treasure. The mantra must be recited continually by one who has performed the king of mantras invocation and is perfectly endowed with the pride of Mārīcī.
The following is the ritual for enthralling and attracting: In a private and secret place, he should smear a maṇḍala with white sandalwood or cow dung in front of the deity image. He should draw the effigy with the sap of aśoka flowers, red lac, red sandalwood, and bovine bezoar, add the target’s name to the mantra, and place it in the middle. Then he should place his left hand on its genitals, recite the mantra, and imagine that the target’s legs give out and that they exhibit various types of madness such as letting their hair down and trembling with intense passion. Performing this rite on the one who bears that name will enthrall the desired target within three days.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should make an effigy of the target out of the soil from both banks of a river and soil from a footprint. Using the same substances described above, he should augment the mantra with the target’s name and write it on birch bark or a piece of cloth from the cremation ground and place it in the middle. This rite should be performed when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya. He should take an aśoka wood dagger eight fingers long and stab the effigy’s vagina. Then, he should place the dagger in his left hand and recite the mantra while bearing the target’s name in mind. This will enthrall even Maheśvara’s wife within three days, not to mention the spouse of another human being.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should make the effigy out of beeswax, write the mantra augmented with the target’s name on a piece of birch bark with vermillion powder using the aforementioned great medicines colored with vermillion powder, and place it in the middle. All these rites should be performed when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya. He should stab the effigy in the genitals with an aśoka wood dagger, smear the body with black mustard seed, and offer incense in a fire kindled with teakwood. This rite will enthrall even Śakra’s daughter in three days’ time, not to mention the daughter of a human being. The mantra recitation also works on men.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should make the effigy out of ash from a charnel ground, dirt from an anthill, clay from a potter’s wheel, and soil from a footprint, write the mantra augmented with the target’s name on a piece of birch bark with red sandalwood and bovine bezoar, and place it in the middle. He should burn it in a fire kindled with teakwood while reciting the mantra in front of the painting for seven days at the three junctures of the day, and any human king will give an indication of his trust and be enthralled.
There is another more advanced procedure for a faithful disciple that is described as follows: He should gather the collyrium from the left eye of a dead person, the left ring finger, and a left rib bone six fingers long. Then, using a male skull, he should prepare an ink of red sandalwood, red lac, bovine bezoar, and aśoka flowers when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya. He should write the king of mantras augmented with the target’s name on a lotus with eight petals. He should imagine the goddess surrounded by six fires, filled with the wind seed-syllable, and standing on a sun disk with her right leg extended. As he draws the target in with the hook and noose, a whirlwind will draw in any target who is within one thousand leagues. This is the supreme siddhi of attracting a woman.
Another application of the mantra is as follows: He should draw a clear likeness of the king on a plank of aśoka wood and write his name in the center with his own blood, bovine bezoar, and red saffron. It should be surrounded by the syllable māṃ, and that should be surrounded by the syllable cyai. He should trample the plank with his left foot while bearing the king’s name in mind and reciting the mantra, and he will undoubtedly draw near within three days.
If he wants to attract a yakṣiṇī, he should go to a charnel ground on an auspicious day when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya and fashion a piece of banyan wood measuring one cubit into an effigy of a girl in the prime of her youth that clearly resembles a yakṣiṇī. She should be adorned with all her ornaments, and her right foot should be slightly bent. She should be holding a banyan branch with her left hand, with a flirtatious air that indicates she is intent on fulfilling her sexual desire. He should write the mantra augmented with the target’s name using the aforementioned great medicines and place it in the middle. At night, in a private and secret place where there are no people to distract him, he should smear a maṇḍala on the ground with sandalwood and place it in front of the painting. He should scatter flowers on it, light the lamps, and make an incense offering of bdellium. He should recite the mantra while bearing the yakṣiṇī’s name in mind, and she will come. A sign will appear on the first day, and the next day she will reveal herself. At that point he should remain silent, and if he maintains a vow of silence for an entire month, he will attain the siddhi. The yakṣiṇī will bestow on him the supreme siddhi. The practitioner should call her mother, sister, or wife. Then, she will take him on her hip and transport him to her realm. The practitioner will live as long as he wants, up to one eon. If at any point he makes a mistake and does not heed this instruction, he will not gain the siddhi and will become a great patron. At that point he will obtain great and vast wealth, and he will be born into a family of yakṣas in his next rebirth. That is called the yakṣiṇī practice ritual.
If he wants to enthrall a king, he should make an effigy on a banyan branch that hangs down to the base of the tree. It should be well made and clearly resemble the target. He should write the target’s name clearly in the middle with bovine bezoar, red lac, and red saffron, summon them with the noose and hook, and imagine that their two legs give out as he recites the mantra. At that point the target will be his servant for as long as they live. This is a highly advanced practice, and it requires perseverance and determination.
The following rite is also performed on an auspicious day when the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya, and the statue should be made from a piece of aśoka wood that measures one cubit. Victorious Blessed Mārīcī has eight arms, three faces, and three eyes. Her hair adorns the top of her head like a caitya. She wears a wreath of aśoka flowers and is ornamented with gold earrings, a neck ornament, a half-length necklace, bracelets, a girdle, bangles for her feet, and hundreds of various garlands. Her body is blazing and radiant like gold from the Jambu River, and it emanates a light as bright as ten thousand suns. She wears a red lower robe and a multicolored upper garment and shawl. In her left hands she holds a bow, aśoka branch, noose, and thread. In her right hands she brandishes a blazing vajra, arrow, needle, and hook.
She has the face of a boar on the left and the right. Her primary face shines like a flower in full bloom. Her complexion is like molten gold. Her eyes are like blooming flowers. Her beautiful face is radiant, and her lips are as red as coral, scarlet mallow, and hibiscus flowers. Her left face is wrathful, bares its fangs, is terrifying, and has a horrific scowl. Its gaze does not waver and is never deterred. Its tongue curls back, and it is unbelievably terrifying. The complexion of her left face is like blue sapphire. Her right face is that of a boar, and its complexion is like a red ruby. It is adorned with a flowering aśoka branch.
Her chariot is furnished with the sun and moon and driven by the asuras and a boar. The youthful goddess stands with her left leg forward. Down in front of the chariot there is a whirlwind with the syllable ha on it, out of which appears the celestial deity Rāhu, who eclipses the sun by day and the moon by night.
When the moon is in the lunar asterism Puṣya, he should offer whatever he has and carefully prepare a feast for the young maiden. When the statue is finished, the wise one should coat a relic pill with gold and place it inside the base of the caitya that crowns her head. That statue is known as a statue that contains a relic.
Then, in a place where there is a house with a vast amount of land, he should make a maṇḍala in front of the statue by smearing the ground with sandalwood or cow dung, and he should perform the offering while reciting the mantra. He should scatter it with flowers, drape it with flower garlands and long and short lattices, decorate it with a garland of lamps, and offer perfumes, fragrances, offering cakes, sandalwood, and bdellium.
Now I will describe the vessel for the water offering. He should use a vessel made of conch or pearl oyster shell, a vessel made out of gold, silver, or copper, or a vase made of clay. He should focus on Vairocana’s great consort just as before, recite the mantra oṃ mārīcyai ehy ehi antasannihito bhava to summon Blessed Mārīcī, and visualize her approaching and standing there in that form. Then the practitioner should make offerings to her with the five customary offerings while reciting the following mantra:
oṃ mārīcyai devatāyai antasannihito me bhava anurakto me bhava sutoṣyo me bhava sarvasiddhiṃ me bhava prayaccha
The vidyā master should incant the aforementioned vessel that has been anointed with white sandalwood and adorned with flower garlands with the mantra one hundred and eight times and then place the vessel down as the water offering. He should sprinkle Blessed Mārīcī with the water and supplicate her, saying, “From this day forward, please ensure that your mantra is effective for me.” Then he should recite the mantra and perform the visualization with pride in himself as Mārīcī, and he should recite the hundred-thousand-syllable mantra.
Afterward, signs of the siddhis will appear. The statue of Mārīcī might shake or tremble, or he might see a string of points of light, smell a sweet fragrance, experience heat, see smoke, or see fire. If he does not see any of these signs, he should double the mantra recitation. When he has performed ten million mantra recitations, he will attain siddhi. He will see the actual body of Blessed Mārīcī and attain siddhi. She will bestow the highest state along with whatever siddhi he wishes, be it the sword, collyrium, shoes, bovine bezoar, invisibility, pill, or alchemical elixir.
The sword siddhi refers to becoming a lord of the vidyādharas and frolicking with the vidyādharīs simply by taking hold of the beautiful siddhi-sword.
The collyrium siddhi refers to enthralling gods, asuras, and human beings when he looks at them, simply by applying the collyrium to the eye.
The shoe siddhi refers to wearing shoes that allow him to travel a thousand leagues.
The bovine bezoar siddhi refers to taking on manifold forms and enthralling kings by placing a bindi on the forehead using the bovine bezoar.
The pill siddhi refers to placing a pill in his mouth that allows him to travel the vast earth and take whatever form he wishes, just like a yakṣa.
The mercury siddhi refers to acquiring mercury that can transform any element into gold and make his body indestructible.