Loading translation...
’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas, karma rang byung kun khyab, folios 8.a–8.b. Tibetan: rgyud ’di rgyud ’bul phal che ba na yod/ bla ma snga ma rnams kyi rgyud sde spyi’i rnam zhag dkar chag phal che ba bya rgyud du byas/ de yang rgyud gsung ba po rta mgrin yin pa dang / de spyan ras [F.8.b] gzigs kyi rigs yin pa la bsam nas pad+ma’i rigs kyi rgyud kyi nang du bgrang bar byed do.
Following N, H, and S: dur khrod ha ha drag tu rgod pa’i gnas nas. D: dur khrod ha ha drag tu rgod pa’i gnas.
Following D and S: dri spos khrag gis chag chag bya. This translation is tentative. It is entirely possible that this phrase should simply be translated as “perfume, incense, and blood,” as it is here. However, it seems more likely that the first two members of the Tibetan compound dri spos khrag would also refer to bodily substances or their substitutes. The Tibetan dri may be a shortened form of dri ma, which can refer to any bodily excretion or excrement. The term spos might be translated here as “sulphur” (Skt. gandha), a coded term commonly used for either vaginal secretion or, in the case of mercury sulfide, an alchemical preparation that corresponds to the combined male and female sexual fluids in Buddhist and, particularly, Śaiva tantric and alchemical literature.
Following D and S: de dbus thod chen nang du ni. The Tibetan thod chen literally translates as “a large skull” but might also be interpreted as a coded term for “a human skull.” Given the size of the bali offering it contains here, the former is more likely the primary reading.
Following D and S: ldo yi nang du bla rdos dril. This translation is tentative. Here it is assumed that the mantra is rolled with a “soul stone” (bla rdo), and then placed inside the bali offering. The Tibetan ldo yi nang du might be amended here to lto yi nang du, which would translate “inside the abdomen,” and could refer to placing the soul stone wrapped in a life force mantra inside an effigy of some sort.
Following D and S: drag po e yi nang du ni. The literal translation of this line is “inside of a fierce e.” This refers to the fact that the Sanskrit syllable e is depicted as a triangle in a number of Sanskrit scripts.
Following Y, K, N, C, H, and S: rtag gtor rgyun gtor g.yas dang g.yon. D: rta gtor rgyun gtor g.yas dang g.yon.
D: k+She tra ya big+h+nAn. S: k+She tra big+h+nAM. This transliteration is amended based on the way this mantra has been rendered previously in the Degé Kangyur, which is confirmed by the transliteration in the Stok Palace Kangyur.
Following N, H, and S: ma hA kA lA ya. D: ma hA kA la ya. The reading in the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs reflects the correct Sanskrit declension.
D: shA sa na u pa ka ri Ni. S: shA sa na u pa ha ri Ni. This transliteration amends the reading in the Degé Kangyur to reflect the correct vowel sandhi and spelling of this compound.
D: pra ti dz+nyA. S: prati dzraM. This transliteration amends the reading in the Degé Kangyur to the correct Sanskrit declension.
Following S: bi la sa. D: pi las. This transliteration amends the reading in the Stok Palace Kangyur to the correct Sanskrit spelling.
D and S: gru gsum dbus su gdug pa’i shing. This translation amends the reading in the Tibetan witnesses to bdug pa’i shing, which is an attested translation of the Sanskrit dhūpavṛkṣa. The literal reading of gdug pa’i shing translates as “poisonous wood,” though the Negi dictionary also notes that the spelling gdug pa is attested as a synonym (or perhaps scribal error) for bdug pa and is an attested translation of the Sanskrit term dhūpa.
D and S: spyi tshar dag tu lding du gzhug. This translation is tentative. The phrase spyi tshar dag tu is relatively obscure. In this translation, the term tshar is read as tshar rgyug, which can refer to any switch of bendable wood made from a young tree branch or shoot.
D: phaT hUM hUM ka ya nA vi nA n g+ha vi tra kShe kShiM la kA hA ma badz+ra oM. This is the reverse recitation of the Mahākāla mantra oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ. The vowel and consonant order have been altered here somewhat to properly transliterate this reverse mantra using an English alphabet system.
Following N, H, and S: mi nag dag la snying stobs dang. D: mi nag bdag la snying stobs dang.
D and S: gsang sngags ’di yis gnad la bor. The antecedent to the pronoun “their” is not clear here, but it most likely refers to one or all of the beings that have been inscribed in the mantra wheel.
The name of a particular absorption.
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.
The name of an Indian preceptor and abbot of the Vajrāsana at Bodhgayā who lived sometime in the eleventh–twelfth century and was responsible for translating a large number of works found in the various recensions of the Tengyur.
A class of malevolent spirit beings.
The name of the great southeastern charnel ground.
An epithet for the deity Mahākāla.
Mahākāla is a wrathful Buddhist protector deity. In Tibetan, the name Mahākāla was mostly translated literally with nag po chen po (“Great Black One”) but on occasion it was rendered mgon po nag po (“Black Lord”). In \1\2Toh 440, for which the Sanskrit is extant, we have an attested example of this. Hence we have rendered both Tibetan terms in this text as Mahākāla. Outside the Buddhist tradition, Mahākāla is also a name for a wrathful form of Śiva.
A term for the Mahākāla practice (sgrub thabs, sādhana).
The exact identification of these substances is not explicitly stated in The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla. The Suśrutasaṁhitā refers to seven “bodily essences” (Skt. sāra). These are vital fluid (Skt. sattva, perhaps signifying the amniotic fluid), semen (Skt. śukra), marrow (Skt. majjan), bone (Skt. asthi), lymph (Skt. medas), flesh (Skt. māṃsa), and blood (Skt. rakta). It is entirely possible, however, that these “bodily essences” correspond to the various bodily fluids that often accompany offerings of the five types of meat in the performance and maintenance of samaya.
An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.
A term for the ritual that is performed at the conclusion of a rite, most often in the form of a fire offering (homa, sbyin sreg).
A command that appears in the Mahākāla mantra. The bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo notes that this is the equivalent of the syllable dzaH (Skt. jaḥ) and that it is a type of attracting mantra syllable (dzaH zer ba ste drag las skabs kyi dgug sngags gras shig).
A hand-held double-sided drum.
A term for the forehead mark worn by the protector deity Mahākāla.
This term refers to rites to enhance the performance of specific ritual action when the initial attempt has failed or when one has not received any clear sign that the ritual was successful.
A form of the deity Hayagrīva.
One of the four immeasurables.
Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahārājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).
The meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra).
In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).
The name of a vināyaka who is present in the charnel ground palace where this tantra begins.
An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.
A term for the imperative commands that appear in a mantra.
The name of a sandalwood grove in the charnel ground Aṭṭahāsa.
An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.
The name of a particular type of mantra.
An article of clothing that is commonly associated with the deity Mahākāla as well as a number of wrathful forms of Buddhist tantric deities.
An epithet for the deity Mahākāla.
Mahākāla is a wrathful Buddhist protector deity. In Tibetan, the name Mahākāla was mostly translated literally with nag po chen po (“Great Black One”) but on occasion it was rendered mgon po nag po (“Black Lord”). In \1\2Toh 440, for which the Sanskrit is extant, we have an attested example of this. Hence we have rendered both Tibetan terms in this text as Mahākāla. Outside the Buddhist tradition, Mahākāla is also a name for a wrathful form of Śiva.
An epithet for the deity Mahākāla.
In the eight-chapter of The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla (Toh 667), this ritual includes washing off the painting and other ritual implements one has used in the performance of a killing rite.
The name of a Tibetan translator who lived during the eleventh century.
A term for the substances that are used for casting mantras and performing a number of ritual actions directed at a particular target.
A ritual that is performed to bring hail down on an enemy’s lands or country.
A term for the substances that are offered to a deity as part of the propitiator’s fulfillment of the samaya vow.
gdug pa’i shing is an alternate spelling for the Tibetan bdug pa’i shing, which translates the Sanskrit dhūpavṛkṣa—one of many names for the sarala pine or Pinus roxburghii, but the literal meaning of this term (“a tree that gives off aromatic smoke”) might apply to a number of different trees such as juniper, which is commonly used in Tibetan smoke offering rites.
A term that appears in mantras to indicate where the practitioner should insert the name of the target of the rite. The term is often translated into Tibetan as che ge mo.
A stone that is said to be tied to the life essence and vitality of a particular being, and can thus act as an iconic representation of that being’s life essence and vitality in the performance of a rite.
The name of a work in the various recensions of the Kangyur detailing a number of rites for the deity Mahākāla.
The exact identity of these three is unclear and may in fact change from one ritual to the next.
The exact identity of these three is unclear and may in fact change from one ritual to the next.
The exact identity of these three is unclear and may in fact change from one ritual to the next.
The Sanskrit kirāta can refer to a specific tribe, but it can also signify any “tribal” people.
A term for a “leader” of any group of beings, such as a teacher or guru, or a term signifying any being who “removes” obstacles.
The name of the great king who presides over the western direction.
dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud (Śrīmahākālatantra). Toh 667, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folios 199.a–201.b.
dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud (Śrīmahākālatantra). 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. 91, pp. 726–34.
dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud (Śrīmahākālatantra). Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 105 (rgyud, pha), folios 175.b–178.a.
’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas, karma rang byung kun khyab. dpal nag po chen po’i rgyud. In dpal ldan shangs pa’i chos skor rnam lnga’i rgya gzhung. Sonada, West Bengal, vol. 1 (ka): folios 2.a–9.a. BDRC WA23922.
nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po (Mahākālatantrarājanāma). Toh 440, Degé Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud ’bum, ca), folios 45.b–86.a. English translation The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla 2025.
dkar chag ’phang thang ma. Pe cin: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2004.
Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon, accessed June 11, 2019, http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/index.html.
Monier-Williams, Sir Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 2005.
Negi, J.S. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary (Bod skad legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). Sarnath: Dictionary Unit, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993.
Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies, Universität Wien, accessed June 11, 2019. http://www.rkts.org.
The Buddhist Canons Research Database. American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies, accessed June 11, 2019. http://databases.aibs.columbia.edu.
Yoshimuri, Shyuki. bka’ bstan dkar chag ldan dkar ma/ dbu can bris ma. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.
84000. The Glorious Sovereign Tantra of Mahākāla (Śrīmahākālatantrarājanāma, dpal nag po chen po zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po, Toh 440). Translated by Adam C. Krug. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
Lessing, Ferdinand D. and Wayman, Alex, trans. Mkhas grub rje’s Fundamentals of Buddhist Tantras. The Hague: Mouton, 1968.
Stablein, William George. “The Mahākālatantra: A Theory of Ritual Blessings and Tantric Medicine.” PhD diss., Columbia University, 1976.
C Choné (co ne)
D Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)
H Lhasa (lha sa/zhol)
J Lithang (li thang)
K Kanxi (kang shi)
N Narthang (snar thang)
S Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)
U Urga (phyi sog khu re)
Y Yongle (g.yong lo)
The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla opens with Hayagrīva summoning Mahākāla from his abode in the palace called Joyous, located in a sandalwood grove in the great southeastern charnel ground, Aṭṭahāsa. This prompts the great king Virūpakṣa to request that Hayagrīva teach the rites and practices related to Mahākāla. Hayagrīva then delivers a series of instructions on the propitiation and worship of Mahākāla and rituals for destroying the enemies of the Buddhist teachings.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam C. Krug and edited by Ryan Conlon.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla opens with a description of the deity Mahākāla, surrounded by a retinue of nonhuman beings in a palace named Joyous located in a sandalwood grove in the great southeastern charnel ground Aṭṭahāsa. Then, in the western world system, the deity Hayagrīva, or “The King of Horses,” enters into absorption, utters a Hayagrīva mantra, and summons Mahākāla before himself and the Four Great Kings. The great king of the western quarter, Virūpakṣa, then supplicates Hayagrīva and asks him to teach the secret practices related to the deity Mahākāla.
Hayagrīva then provides instructions on Mahākāla’s sādhana and wrathful rites as well as instructions for when the rite does not work, a description of the signs of success, and a rite for generating hailstorms. As Hayagrīva notes, the enemy that is designated as the target of these rites is anyone who seeks to destroy the Buddhist teachings or create obstacles for yogins.
It is not clear how popular the eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla may have been in India and Nepal prior to its translation into Tibetan. We are not aware of any surviving Sanskrit version of the text, or any Indic commentary.
The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla does not appear in the Denkarma or Pangthangma royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. Thus, based on the information from the translators’ colophon, the first Tibetan translation of the text was likely completed in the eleventh century by the Indian preceptor Amoghavajra and the Tibetan translator Phurbu Ö. The text also does not appear to have been translated into Chinese.
George Stablein notes in his study of the fifty-chapter Mahākālatantra (Toh 440) that the eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla is mentioned by Khedrub Jé (mkhas grub rje dge legs dpal bzang, 1385–1438) in his survey of tantras devoted to Mahākāla. The eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla also appears as the opening work in the cycle of texts on Mahākāla in Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé’s (’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas, 1813–99) nineteenth-century publication of The Indian Works of the Five-Part Dharma Corpus of the Glorious Shangpa Lineage (dpal ldan shangs pa’i chos skor rnam lnga’i rgya gzhung), which survives in a reprinted edition published and annotated by the late Kalu Rinpoche (karma rang byung kun khyab, 1905–89). In his short note on the text, Kalu Rinpoche tells us the following:
“This tantra is in most collections of offering rituals, and in most of the catalogs of past masters, which present the common tantras, it is classified as a kriyātantra. Hayagrīva is the one who taught the tantra, [F.8.b] and given that he is of Avalokiteśvara’s family, the tantra is counted among those of the lotus family.”
It is thus clear that the eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla was relatively well known in Tibet, perhaps even more than the twenty-five chapter (Toh 416) and fifty-chapter (Toh 440) Mahākālatantras.
This translation is based on the recension that appears in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) of the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
Homage to the body of Enthralling Paramāśva.
Thus did I hear at one time. At the southeastern charnel ground Aṭṭahāsa, in the sandalwood grove called Joyous, the vināyaka Glorious Mahākāla was present in the palace where a multitude of male and female nonhuman beings gathered. At the time, in the midst of a retinue of cruel beings, he was known as “Mahākāla Who Controls the Life Breath of Living Beings.”
At the same time, in the western world system, the King of Horses, Bringer of Death, was surrounded by an assembly of the Four Great Kings and the rest. He entered the absorption that tames arrogant beings while using the hook mudrā and reciting the mantra oṃ vajrakrodha hayagrīva hūṁ hulu hulu hūṁ vaṃ. Powerless to do otherwise, Mahākāla appeared before the King of Horses, Bringer of Death, from his abode in the Aṭṭahāsa charnel ground.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, and politely offered his own mark, the essence of his life force, oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ.
This is chapter 1 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla,” the “Introduction.”
Then King Virūpakṣa supplicated the King of Horses, Bringer of Death, with the following verses:
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ |
This is chapter 2 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “The Worship Rite and Sādhana.”
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ | oṃ mahākālāya śāsanopakāriṇi eṣa apaścimakālo ’yam idaṃ ratnatrayāya apakāriṇaṃ yadi pratijñāṃ smarasi tadā idaṃ duṣṭaṃ kha kha khāhi khāhi | māra māra | ghṛhṇa ghṛhṇa | bandha bandha | hana hana | daha daha | paca paca | dinam ekena māraya hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ | hūṁ vināyakavilāsa traṃ vi tri hūṁ ja si ma bu vināyaka create obstacles for the life force of so-and-so whose name has been written ja māraya I implore you! |
This is chapter 3 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “Severing the Life Force from the Body.”
This is chapter 4 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “The Concluding Rite.”
oṃ vajrakrodha hayagrīva hūṁ hulu hulu hūṁ phaṭ | phaṭ hūṁ hūṁ akayāniv nānghivarteṣk ṃiṣk alākāhamarjav oṃ |
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ mend mend svāhā |
This is chapter 5 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “The Enhancing Rite for When the Rite Does Not Work and the Mending Rite.”
This is chapter 6 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “A Series of Signs of Accomplishment.”
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ | torment the nāga’s mind | phu create obstacles ja khroṃ śar hril bhyo |
This is chapter 7 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “Hailstorms.”
After he said that, King Virūpakṣa along with the rest of the assembly rejoiced, promised to maintain Mahākāla’s teaching, and then vanished.
This concludes chapter 8 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla.”
This text was translated by the Indian preceptor Amoghavajra and the Tibetan translator Phurbu Ö.
The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla opens with Hayagrīva summoning Mahākāla from his abode in the palace called Joyous, located in a sandalwood grove in the great southeastern charnel ground, Aṭṭahāsa. This prompts the great king Virūpakṣa to request that Hayagrīva teach the rites and practices related to Mahākāla. Hayagrīva then delivers a series of instructions on the propitiation and worship of Mahākāla and rituals for destroying the enemies of the Buddhist teachings.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam C. Krug and edited by Ryan Conlon.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla opens with a description of the deity Mahākāla, surrounded by a retinue of nonhuman beings in a palace named Joyous located in a sandalwood grove in the great southeastern charnel ground Aṭṭahāsa. Then, in the western world system, the deity Hayagrīva, or “The King of Horses,” enters into absorption, utters a Hayagrīva mantra, and summons Mahākāla before himself and the Four Great Kings. The great king of the western quarter, Virūpakṣa, then supplicates Hayagrīva and asks him to teach the secret practices related to the deity Mahākāla.
Hayagrīva then provides instructions on Mahākāla’s sādhana and wrathful rites as well as instructions for when the rite does not work, a description of the signs of success, and a rite for generating hailstorms. As Hayagrīva notes, the enemy that is designated as the target of these rites is anyone who seeks to destroy the Buddhist teachings or create obstacles for yogins.
It is not clear how popular the eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla may have been in India and Nepal prior to its translation into Tibetan. We are not aware of any surviving Sanskrit version of the text, or any Indic commentary.
The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla does not appear in the Denkarma or Pangthangma royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. Thus, based on the information from the translators’ colophon, the first Tibetan translation of the text was likely completed in the eleventh century by the Indian preceptor Amoghavajra and the Tibetan translator Phurbu Ö. The text also does not appear to have been translated into Chinese.
George Stablein notes in his study of the fifty-chapter Mahākālatantra (Toh 440) that the eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla is mentioned by Khedrub Jé (mkhas grub rje dge legs dpal bzang, 1385–1438) in his survey of tantras devoted to Mahākāla. The eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla also appears as the opening work in the cycle of texts on Mahākāla in Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé’s (’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas, 1813–99) nineteenth-century publication of The Indian Works of the Five-Part Dharma Corpus of the Glorious Shangpa Lineage (dpal ldan shangs pa’i chos skor rnam lnga’i rgya gzhung), which survives in a reprinted edition published and annotated by the late Kalu Rinpoche (karma rang byung kun khyab, 1905–89). In his short note on the text, Kalu Rinpoche tells us the following:
“This tantra is in most collections of offering rituals, and in most of the catalogs of past masters, which present the common tantras, it is classified as a kriyātantra. Hayagrīva is the one who taught the tantra, [F.8.b] and given that he is of Avalokiteśvara’s family, the tantra is counted among those of the lotus family.”
It is thus clear that the eight-chapter Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla was relatively well known in Tibet, perhaps even more than the twenty-five chapter (Toh 416) and fifty-chapter (Toh 440) Mahākālatantras.
This translation is based on the recension that appears in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) of the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
Homage to the body of Enthralling Paramāśva.
Thus did I hear at one time. At the southeastern charnel ground Aṭṭahāsa, in the sandalwood grove called Joyous, the vināyaka Glorious Mahākāla was present in the palace where a multitude of male and female nonhuman beings gathered. At the time, in the midst of a retinue of cruel beings, he was known as “Mahākāla Who Controls the Life Breath of Living Beings.”
At the same time, in the western world system, the King of Horses, Bringer of Death, was surrounded by an assembly of the Four Great Kings and the rest. He entered the absorption that tames arrogant beings while using the hook mudrā and reciting the mantra oṃ vajrakrodha hayagrīva hūṁ hulu hulu hūṁ vaṃ. Powerless to do otherwise, Mahākāla appeared before the King of Horses, Bringer of Death, from his abode in the Aṭṭahāsa charnel ground.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, and politely offered his own mark, the essence of his life force, oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ.
This is chapter 1 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla,” the “Introduction.”
Then King Virūpakṣa supplicated the King of Horses, Bringer of Death, with the following verses:
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ |
This is chapter 2 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “The Worship Rite and Sādhana.”
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ | oṃ mahākālāya śāsanopakāriṇi eṣa apaścimakālo ’yam idaṃ ratnatrayāya apakāriṇaṃ yadi pratijñāṃ smarasi tadā idaṃ duṣṭaṃ kha kha khāhi khāhi | māra māra | ghṛhṇa ghṛhṇa | bandha bandha | hana hana | daha daha | paca paca | dinam ekena māraya hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ | hūṁ vināyakavilāsa traṃ vi tri hūṁ ja si ma bu vināyaka create obstacles for the life force of so-and-so whose name has been written ja māraya I implore you! |
This is chapter 3 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “Severing the Life Force from the Body.”
This is chapter 4 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “The Concluding Rite.”
oṃ vajrakrodha hayagrīva hūṁ hulu hulu hūṁ phaṭ | phaṭ hūṁ hūṁ akayāniv nānghivarteṣk ṃiṣk alākāhamarjav oṃ |
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ mend mend svāhā |
This is chapter 5 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “The Enhancing Rite for When the Rite Does Not Work and the Mending Rite.”
This is chapter 6 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “A Series of Signs of Accomplishment.”
oṃ vajramahākāla kṣiṃ kṣetravighnān vināyaka hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ | torment the nāga’s mind | phu create obstacles ja khroṃ śar hril bhyo |
This is chapter 7 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla” on “Hailstorms.”
After he said that, King Virūpakṣa along with the rest of the assembly rejoiced, promised to maintain Mahākāla’s teaching, and then vanished.
This concludes chapter 8 in “The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla.”
This text was translated by the Indian preceptor Amoghavajra and the Tibetan translator Phurbu Ö.