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Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 925 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 925, n.1, for details.
This text, Toh 925, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 101. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.
Reading lha ma yin (“asuras”) from C, K, KY, and L instead of lha (“devas”). This accords with Toh 761 and 762.
Tib. tshig bzhi bcu rtsa gcig po. Not counting the initial tadyathā, the request for protection and the final mantra, the above vidyāmantra, as it stands, comprises fifty-one words rather than forty one.
A class of nonhuman beings believed to cause epilepsy, fits, and loss of memory. As their name suggests—the Skt. apasmāra literally means “without memory” and the Tib. brjed byed means “causing forgetfulness”—they are defined by the condition they cause in affected humans, and the term can refer to any nonhuman being that causes such conditions, whether a bhūta, a piśāca, or other.
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).
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
Ocimum basilicum. Commonly known in India as tulsi. A sacred plant in the Hindu tradition.
A yellowish substance obtained from the solidified bile of cattle.
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
Sons of the goddess Diti.
An Indian paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
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 class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
Grahas are understood to be both evil spirits and evil influences that are contained within or connected with a particular spirit or deity. They are also closely associated with the planets and other astronomical bodies. Grahas can inflict great harm on the human body and mind. For more information, see: Gail Hinich Sutherland, The Disguises of the Demon: The Development of the Yakṣa in Hinduism and Buddhism, (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992), pp. 166–167.
A cave on Vaidehaka Mountain.
Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.
This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.
A class of dangerous female spirits.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
A class of beings that rob the strength of beings.
An obscure Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit term. Sanskrit equivalent: avastāraka. Translated into Tibetan as “suppressor, one who presses down on someone.” Presumably from avastṛ (“to cover over, as with a blanket”).
A class of spirits causing excess bile.
A class of nonhuman beings that, like several other classes of nonhuman beings, take spontaneous birth. Ranking below rākṣasas, they are less powerful and more akin to pretas. They are said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh. This could account for the name piśāca, which possibly derives from √piś, to carve or chop meat, as reflected also in the Tibetan sha za, “meat eater.” They are often described as having an unpleasant appearance, and at times they appear with animal bodies. Some possess the ability to enter the dead bodies of humans, thereby becoming so-called vetāla, to touch whom is fatal.
A class of disease-causing spirits associated with cemeteries and dead bodies. The name probably derives from the Skt. pūta, “foul-smelling,” as reflected also in the Tib. srul po. The smell is variously described in the texts as resembling that of a billy goat or a crow. The morbid condition caused by the spirit shares its name and comes in various forms, with symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, skin eruptions, and festering wounds, the latter possibly explaining the association with bad smells.
A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.
A class of deities, perhaps of astrological origins, that is associated with disease.
The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.
A class of beings.
A class of spirits causing imbalance of all three agents of wind, bile, and phlegm.
A class of spirits causing excess phlegm.
A class of nonhuman beings who are said to cause mental illness.
A mountain in Videha.
A class of spirits causing excess wind.
A class of nonhuman beings that deceive, harm, or otherwise obstruct humans, especially practitioners. Their name literally means “those who lead astray.”
’phags pa thams cad la mi ’jigs pa rab tu sbyin pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Āryasarvābhayapradānāmadhāraṇī). Toh 609, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba) folios 41.b–43.a.
’phags pa thams cad la mi ’jigs pa rab tu sbyin pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Āryasarvābhayapradānāmadhāraṇī). Toh 925, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e) folios 271.a–272.b.
’phags pa lcags mchu zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Āryalohatuṇḍanāmadhāraṇī). Toh 761, Degé Kangyur vol. 96 (rgyud ’bum, wa) folios 52.a–53.a. English translation The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] 2025.
’phags pa lcags mchu zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Āryalohatuṇḍanāmadhāraṇī). Toh 762, Degé Kangyur vol. 96 (rgyud ’bum, wa) folios 53.a–54.b. English translation The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2] 2025.
’phags pa thams cad la mi ’jigs pa rab tu sbyin pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs. 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. 132–37.
’phags pa thams cad la mi ’jigs pa rab tu sbyin pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs. 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. 97, pp. 822–27.
’phags pa thams cad la mi ’jigs pa rab tu sbyin pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs. Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur vol. 104 (rgyud, pa), folios 384.a–386.a.
’phags pa lcags mchu zhes bya ba’i gzungs. Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur vol. 105 (rgyud, tsha), folios 198.b–200.a.
’phags pa lcags mchu zhes bya ba’i gzungs. Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur vol. 105 (rgyud, tsha), folios 200.a–201.b.
84000. The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] (Lohatuṇḍadhāraṇī, lcags mchu’i gzungs, Toh 761). Translated by Lowell Cook. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
84000. The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2] (Lohatuṇḍadhāraṇī, lcags mchu’i gzungs, Toh 762). Translated by Lowell Cook. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025.
Hidas, Gergely. A Buddhist Ritual Manual on Agriculture: Vajratuṇḍasamayakalparāja – Critical Edition. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110621051
Muller, Charles A., ed. “Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (entry for 施護).” Accessed December 6, 2023.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is set in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain where Śakra requests the Buddha for a teaching to help him subdue the asuras, the famed adversaries of the devas. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. This vidyāmantra specifically frees one from dangers associated with disease, poisons, weapons, malevolent nonhuman beings, and conflicts. Among the harmful nonhuman beings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various types of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the vidyāmantra, he offers Śakra ritual instructions on how to incant the vidyāmantra on threads, ritual substances, or armor which, when placed on the body, ensures protection and the successful outcomes of one’s rituals.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Torsten Gerloff edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is a short dhāraṇī work in the Action Tantra section of the Kangyur, which is also contained in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is set in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain where Śakra requests the Buddha for a teaching to help him subdue the asuras, the famed adversaries of the devas. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. A vidyāmantra is an esoteric formula used to accomplish a ritual goal and, in this text, is largely used interchangeably with dhāraṇī. This vidyāmantra specifically frees one from the dangers associated with disease, poisons, weapons, malevolent nonhuman beings, and conflicts. Among the harmful nonhuman beings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various types of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the vidyāmantra, he offers Śakra ritual instructions on how to incant the vidyāmantra on threads, ritual substances, or armor that, when placed on the body, ensure protection and the successful outcomes of one’s rituals.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers shares a great deal of intertextuality with The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] (Toh 761) and, to a lesser degree, with Toh 762, also titled The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2]. These three works share an identical narrative structure, are set in Indra’s Rock Cave, and feature Śakra as their interlocutor. While the dhāraṇī formulas in The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers and Toh 761 are, in most places, nearly identical, they are entirely different from the much shorter formulas found in Toh 762. One notably absent feature from The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers but found in Toh 761 and Toh 762 is the emphasis on the dhāraṇī’s efficacy for weather control rituals aimed at favorable agriculture. Many sections of the dhāraṇī formula were challenging to comprehend. We did not attempt to venture any conjectural emendations and, instead, presented it largely as it appears in the Tibetan.
There is no extant Indic manuscript for The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers and it is unclear what status it held in India. It was translated into Chinese during the Northern Song Dynasty as the Shi yiqie wuwei tuoluoni jing (T1373, 施一切無畏陀羅尼經). This translation was produced by Dānapāla (Shihu 施護, ?–1017 ᴄᴇ), an Indian scholar-monk from Uḍḍiyāna who translated over one hundred works into Chinese. The Tibetan translation describes in its colophon how it was produced by the prolific Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé in collaboration with the Indian masters Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Therefore, the Tibetan translation would have been completed during the late eighth or early ninth centuries. Though the dhāraṇī’s colophon reports that it was translated during the imperial period, it does not appear in either of the imperial catalogs. The dhāraṇī, therefore, may be among the many tantric works of literature that were intentionally not registered in the imperial catalogs or, perhaps, the colophon may be a later attribution to imperial period translators. Beyond passing references to its title, The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers does not appear to have been widely cited or mentioned in later Tibetan literature. It has also has not been the subject of any sustained scholarly research that we are aware of. Without any extant Sanskrit to study, our translation was based on the textual witness from the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the variant readings attested in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur and the Stok Palace Manuscript (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was traveling through the land of Magadha when he arrived at a mango grove. At that mango grove, he took up residence in the Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. Śakra the lord of the devas then appeared before the Blessed One. He bowed his head at the Blessed One’s feet and sat to one side.
Having sat to one side, Śakra the lord of the devas told the Blessed One, “Blessed One, the asuras are causing me great harm. Blessed One, the asuras are adversaries who have been hostile to me for a long time. Blessed One, please offer me a teaching.”
The Blessed One told Śakra the lord of the devas, “Lord of the devas, uphold the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. It accomplishes all aims and quells all dangers. It alleviates all diseases, neutralizes all poisons, and stops all weapons. It paralyzes all legless, two-legged, and four-legged beings. It defeats all adversaries. It defeats asuras, garuḍas, daityas, piśācas, apasmāras, unmādas, brahmanical rākṣasas, bhūtas, vetālas, śakuni grahas, pūtanas, revatīs, ostāraka grahas, ostārakas, apasmāra grahas, deva grahas, nāga grahas, yakṣa grahas, gandharva grahas, kinnara grahas, vināyaka grahas, and mātṛ grahas. And it utterly defeats ojohāras, beings who feed on garlands, fragrances, flowers, incense, blood, pus, filth, and urine for sustenance. It completely overcomes all infectious diseases, vātikas, paittikas, śleṣmikas, sānnipātikas, and malevolent beings. It brings perfect peace from all conflicts, disputes, wars, and scandals. I will recite the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers:
tadyathā | aḍe maḍe pramaḍe pravaṃ madiri gole mavoli vose modde vadde kharadte kharane graṇa graṇe gaṇa pragaṇe moṇe pratimoṇe kālī prakālī caṇḍe mahācaṇḍe praticaṇḍe vege ativege sona gona mohā pramohā mota pramoṭā nāśāni pranāśāni dhavanī pradhavanī valaganī pravalanī nṛdtyanī pranṛdtyanī pāniṭhāni krodhāni pratikrodhāni hana hana vihana vihana sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭān nāśaya sarvābhayaprade | Protect myself and all those around me from all dangers, all grahas, and all transmittable diseases. Protect. Accomplish all my aims in this place. Thus: khidi khidi cumbe sarvasattvahite rate namaḥ sarvabuddhānāṃ svāhā
“Lord of the devas, anyone who ties a knot in a thread with this vidyāmantra of forty-one words that confers freedom from all dangers and wears it, ties it in their hair, chants it, incants mustard seeds or bezoar with it once and rubs that on themselves, or incants armor with it will be invulnerable to weapons. They will be invulnerable to poison, infectious diseases, single-day fevers, two-day fevers, three-day fevers, four-day fevers, fires, mantras, vetālas, venoms, and diseases. They will never die by drowning. They will accomplish all applications of vidyāmantras and mantras that they practiced yet failed to accomplish through their applications. Others will never be able to harm their accomplished applications. They will be freed from bondage caused by opposing forces. They will destroy others’ vidyāmantras and make their own vidyāmantras multiply. They will defeat all grahas and, if the grahas do not release them, the grahas’ heads will burst into seven pieces like the foliage of a basil plant.”
Thereupon, Śakra the lord of the devas himself disappeared. After the Blessed One had spoken, Śakra the lord of the devas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
This concludes the noble dhāraṇī “Conferring Freedom from All Dangers.”
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla along with the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé; later revised according to the new language reforms and then finalized.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is set in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain where Śakra requests the Buddha for a teaching to help him subdue the asuras, the famed adversaries of the devas. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. This vidyāmantra specifically frees one from dangers associated with disease, poisons, weapons, malevolent nonhuman beings, and conflicts. Among the harmful nonhuman beings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various types of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the vidyāmantra, he offers Śakra ritual instructions on how to incant the vidyāmantra on threads, ritual substances, or armor which, when placed on the body, ensures protection and the successful outcomes of one’s rituals.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Torsten Gerloff edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is a short dhāraṇī work in the Action Tantra section of the Kangyur, which is also contained in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers is set in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain where Śakra requests the Buddha for a teaching to help him subdue the asuras, the famed adversaries of the devas. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. A vidyāmantra is an esoteric formula used to accomplish a ritual goal and, in this text, is largely used interchangeably with dhāraṇī. This vidyāmantra specifically frees one from the dangers associated with disease, poisons, weapons, malevolent nonhuman beings, and conflicts. Among the harmful nonhuman beings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various types of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the vidyāmantra, he offers Śakra ritual instructions on how to incant the vidyāmantra on threads, ritual substances, or armor that, when placed on the body, ensure protection and the successful outcomes of one’s rituals.
The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers shares a great deal of intertextuality with The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] (Toh 761) and, to a lesser degree, with Toh 762, also titled The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2]. These three works share an identical narrative structure, are set in Indra’s Rock Cave, and feature Śakra as their interlocutor. While the dhāraṇī formulas in The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers and Toh 761 are, in most places, nearly identical, they are entirely different from the much shorter formulas found in Toh 762. One notably absent feature from The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers but found in Toh 761 and Toh 762 is the emphasis on the dhāraṇī’s efficacy for weather control rituals aimed at favorable agriculture. Many sections of the dhāraṇī formula were challenging to comprehend. We did not attempt to venture any conjectural emendations and, instead, presented it largely as it appears in the Tibetan.
There is no extant Indic manuscript for The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers and it is unclear what status it held in India. It was translated into Chinese during the Northern Song Dynasty as the Shi yiqie wuwei tuoluoni jing (T1373, 施一切無畏陀羅尼經). This translation was produced by Dānapāla (Shihu 施護, ?–1017 ᴄᴇ), an Indian scholar-monk from Uḍḍiyāna who translated over one hundred works into Chinese. The Tibetan translation describes in its colophon how it was produced by the prolific Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé in collaboration with the Indian masters Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Therefore, the Tibetan translation would have been completed during the late eighth or early ninth centuries. Though the dhāraṇī’s colophon reports that it was translated during the imperial period, it does not appear in either of the imperial catalogs. The dhāraṇī, therefore, may be among the many tantric works of literature that were intentionally not registered in the imperial catalogs or, perhaps, the colophon may be a later attribution to imperial period translators. Beyond passing references to its title, The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From All Dangers does not appear to have been widely cited or mentioned in later Tibetan literature. It has also has not been the subject of any sustained scholarly research that we are aware of. Without any extant Sanskrit to study, our translation was based on the textual witness from the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the variant readings attested in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur and the Stok Palace Manuscript (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was traveling through the land of Magadha when he arrived at a mango grove. At that mango grove, he took up residence in the Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. Śakra the lord of the devas then appeared before the Blessed One. He bowed his head at the Blessed One’s feet and sat to one side.
Having sat to one side, Śakra the lord of the devas told the Blessed One, “Blessed One, the asuras are causing me great harm. Blessed One, the asuras are adversaries who have been hostile to me for a long time. Blessed One, please offer me a teaching.”
The Blessed One told Śakra the lord of the devas, “Lord of the devas, uphold the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers. It accomplishes all aims and quells all dangers. It alleviates all diseases, neutralizes all poisons, and stops all weapons. It paralyzes all legless, two-legged, and four-legged beings. It defeats all adversaries. It defeats asuras, garuḍas, daityas, piśācas, apasmāras, unmādas, brahmanical rākṣasas, bhūtas, vetālas, śakuni grahas, pūtanas, revatīs, ostāraka grahas, ostārakas, apasmāra grahas, deva grahas, nāga grahas, yakṣa grahas, gandharva grahas, kinnara grahas, vināyaka grahas, and mātṛ grahas. And it utterly defeats ojohāras, beings who feed on garlands, fragrances, flowers, incense, blood, pus, filth, and urine for sustenance. It completely overcomes all infectious diseases, vātikas, paittikas, śleṣmikas, sānnipātikas, and malevolent beings. It brings perfect peace from all conflicts, disputes, wars, and scandals. I will recite the vidyāmantra that confers freedom from all dangers:
tadyathā | aḍe maḍe pramaḍe pravaṃ madiri gole mavoli vose modde vadde kharadte kharane graṇa graṇe gaṇa pragaṇe moṇe pratimoṇe kālī prakālī caṇḍe mahācaṇḍe praticaṇḍe vege ativege sona gona mohā pramohā mota pramoṭā nāśāni pranāśāni dhavanī pradhavanī valaganī pravalanī nṛdtyanī pranṛdtyanī pāniṭhāni krodhāni pratikrodhāni hana hana vihana vihana sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭān nāśaya sarvābhayaprade | Protect myself and all those around me from all dangers, all grahas, and all transmittable diseases. Protect. Accomplish all my aims in this place. Thus: khidi khidi cumbe sarvasattvahite rate namaḥ sarvabuddhānāṃ svāhā
“Lord of the devas, anyone who ties a knot in a thread with this vidyāmantra of forty-one words that confers freedom from all dangers and wears it, ties it in their hair, chants it, incants mustard seeds or bezoar with it once and rubs that on themselves, or incants armor with it will be invulnerable to weapons. They will be invulnerable to poison, infectious diseases, single-day fevers, two-day fevers, three-day fevers, four-day fevers, fires, mantras, vetālas, venoms, and diseases. They will never die by drowning. They will accomplish all applications of vidyāmantras and mantras that they practiced yet failed to accomplish through their applications. Others will never be able to harm their accomplished applications. They will be freed from bondage caused by opposing forces. They will destroy others’ vidyāmantras and make their own vidyāmantras multiply. They will defeat all grahas and, if the grahas do not release them, the grahas’ heads will burst into seven pieces like the foliage of a basil plant.”
Thereupon, Śakra the lord of the devas himself disappeared. After the Blessed One had spoken, Śakra the lord of the devas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
This concludes the noble dhāraṇī “Conferring Freedom from All Dangers.”
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla along with the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé; later revised according to the new language reforms and then finalized.