In the list of ten sūtras, this text is designated as having the function of purification or ablution (rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa khrus kyi mdo). There are several different accounts of the significance of the “Five Royal Sūtras.” One holds that each concisely summarize one of the five great sūtra collections (’bum sde lnga), of which this text is said to represent the Ratnakūṭa collection, corresponding to the body (out of body, speech, mind, qualities, and activity). According to another explanation, each is simply “royal” or sovereign in its category, which in this case is, again, that of purificatory ablution (khrus). See “bsdu sgrigs gsal bshad,” in Khomthar Jamlö 2014, vol. 1, pp. 2–4.
Works by these authors are among ten commentaries on the Vajravidāraṇā preserved in the Tengyur (Toh 2678–87).
Several of the most important or popular commentaries are presented in Khomthar Jamlö 2014, vol. 1.
This text, Toh 949, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, waM), are listed as being located in volume 101 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 102. 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.
“Invulnerable” (Tib. mi thub pa) is missing in all Sanskrit witnesses consulted and from all consulted witnesses of Buddhaguhya’s rin po che gsal ba. As well as in the Degé, it is present in the Choné, Lhasa, Lithang, and Kangxi Kangyurs, but absent in the Dunhuang manuscript and in the Narthang, Yongle, and Stok Palace Kangyurs.
varakilikilmiṣa] Ia; Iwamoto notes that Ib omits this mantra after oṁ and reads it as °kilmiṣāya.
krodhavajrāya kilikilāya] I; krodhamahākilikiliāya] E; krodha krodha vajrakilikīlāya] Dh, Fy.
oṃ culu 2 caṇḍāli kilikilāya] I; oṃ curu 2 candrakilikilāya] E; oṃ curu curu caṇḍakilikīlāya] Dh.
- amukham māraya phaṭ | (“Slay so-and-so, phaṭ!”), + mamasarvaśatrūn māraya hūṁ phaṭ svāhā |] E (“Slay all of my enemies, hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!”).
maṭā ulamāḍe prativajramahāvimalena] E; ma hA ba la / bi ga / ra Na / ra Na] IOL Tib J 416c.3.4.
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to fierce Vajrapāṇi, the great commander of yakṣas! This is it: oṁ, cut, cut! Sever, sever! Break, break! Shatter, shatter! Spin, spin! Wind up, wind up! Awaken, awken all beings! Fully awaken, fully awaken them! Confuse, confuse! Bewilder, bewilder! All buddhas and awakened ones, smash, smash, demolish, demolish all enemies! Cut, cut, sever, sever all essence mantras, vajra vajra! Burst asunder, vajra! Divide vajra vajra! Enact, vajra vajra! Move, vajra vajra! Churn, vajra vajra! To Blue Vajra Bellowing Laughter, the exalted vajra, svāhā! oṁ phalini phalini, grhṇa grhṇa, enact enact! mili mili curu curu, enact, enact! To Victorious Vajra, svāhā! oṁ, to *Vajrakilikilmiṣa, svāhā! oṁ, *divide, divide! Enact, enact! Howl, howl! Grind! To the grinder, svāhā! oṁ, go, go! Roam, roam! husara husara (Fx: hara hara/ sara sara, for ‘seize, seize! Attack, attack!’) Slay! To Vajra Conqueror, svāhā! oṁ, cut, cut! Break, break! To Great Kilikila, svāhā! oṃ, restrain, restrain, to fierce Vajrakilikila, svāhā! oṃ culu culu Caṇḍāli, to Kilikila, svāhā! oṃ, make them tremble! To Kilikila, svāhā! oṁ, seize, seize! To Vajra Bearer, svāhā! oṁ attack, attack! To Vajra Smasher, svāhā! O Stable Miracle Vajra, Stable Hearing Vajra, Steadfast Vajra, Great Vajra, indestructible Vajra, Efficacious Vajra, come, come quickly vajra, to Vajra, svāhā! oṁ *dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru huṃ huṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā! oṁ, homage to [the enactor of all the power] of the ever-awakened ones, oṁ Great Powerful One, divide! O Swiftly Moving One, O Unmoving, killer of the maṇḍala, Superior Vajra, he who was worshiped by Great Agitator (*mahāvegaraṇapūjite) blaze, blaze, ṭi ṭi ṭi ṭi ṭi. O burn, burn them, Vajra Splendorous One, tiri tiri, bind, bind! O Great Powerful Vajra, Vajra Blazing Noose, svāhā!”
“Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Fierce Vajrapāṇi, the great commander of yakṣas! This is it: oṁ, seize, seize, vajra! Crush, crush, vajra! Roar, roar, vajra! Burn, burn, vajra! Cook, cook, vajra! Hold, hold, vajra! Bind, bind, vajra! Clutch, clutch, vajra! Cut, cut, vajra! Break, break, vajra hūṁ phaṭ! oṃ, Homage to fierce Vajrapāṇi, the great Wrathful One! huru huru vajra bind, seize, seize! O Deathless One, hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!”
hulu hulu. Monier-Williams defines this as an exclamation of joy. Edgerton directs the reader to phuluphulu, the sound made by the hordes of Māra. Mipham’s commentary glosses tshur drangs for “to pull towards,” or drag tu khug for “to violently summon.”
“Oṁ. Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to fierce Vajrapāṇi! Huru huru remain, remain! Halt, halt! Bind, bind! Kill, kill! O Deathless One, hūṃ phaṭ!”
All Tibetan recensions have rgyud here, read as “tantra,” while the Sanskrit versions all read instead “mantra.”
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.
An Indian paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
An incantation, spell, or formula, that “holds” or allows to be “retained” (Skt. √dhṛ) a particular meaning, point of realization, or protective power, and is expounded by a realized being so that it may be used to attain mundane and supramundane goals. In the case of many texts (like the present one) in which dhāraṇīs are expounded, the term dhāraṇī is also used to designate the text itself.
A type of evil spirit that exerts a harmful influence on the human body and mind. Grahas are closely associated with the planets and other astronomical bodies.
An Indian Kashmiri paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. He worked with several Tibetan translators on the translation of several sūtras. He is also the author of the Nyāyabindupiṇḍārtha (Toh 4233), which is contained in the Tengyur (Tib. bstan ’gyur) collection.
A Buddhist deity, the embodiment of the eponymous dhāraṇī revealed in The Dhāraṇī “Vajra Conqueror” and a form of the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi.
A Buddhist bodhisattva and protective yakṣa whose name can be translated “vajra-in-hand.”
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.
“Āryavajravidāraṇānāmadhāraṇī.” Dhīḥ 40 (2005): 159–64.
Iwamoto, Yutaka, ed. Kleinere Dhāraṇī Texte. Vol. 2. Beiträge zur Indologie. Kyoto: Iwamoto Yutaka, 1937.
Vajravidāraṇahṛdayamantradhāraṇī. The Nepalese-German Manuscript Cataloguing Project: Catalogue nos. E 1414/8 and E 1774/3.
rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajravidāraṇanāmadhāraṇī). Toh 750, Degé Kangyur vol. 95 (rgyud, dza), folios 265.b–266.b.
rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajravidāraṇanāmadhāraṇī). 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. 98, pp. 112–17.
rnam ’joms gzungs (Vidāraṇadhāraṇī). Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 109 (rgyud ’bum, tsha), folios 85.b–87.b.
IOL Tib J 416. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.
Jinamitra. rigs pa’i thigs pa’i don bsdus pa (Nyāyabindupiṇḍārtha). Toh 4233, Degé Tengyur vol. 189 (mtshad ma, we), folios 99.b–100.b.
Buddhaguhya. rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs kyi rgya cher ’grel pa rin po che gsal ba (Vajravidāraṇanāmadhāraṇīṭīkāratnabhāsvara). Toh 2680, Degé Tengyur vol. 71 (rgyud, thu), folios 176.a–186.b.
Vimalamitra. rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba’i rnam par bshad pa (Vajravidāraṇanāmadhāraṇīṭīkā). Toh 2681, Degé Tengyur vol. 71 (rgyud, thu), folios 186.b–193.a.
Khomthar Jamlö (khoM thar ’jam los), editor for si khron pod yig dpe rnying bsdu sgrig khang. rgyal po mdo bcu’i rtsa ’grel phyogs bsgrigs [The Ten Sūtras of the King, collected texts and commentaries]. 10 vols. Sichuan: si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang [Sichuan Minorities Publishing House], 2014.
Mipham Gyatso (mi pham rgya mtsho). “rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs kyi mchan ’grel.” In Khomthar Jamlö 2014, vol. 1, pp. 443–58.
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.
Bühnemann, Gudrun. “A Dhāraṇī for Each Day of the Week: The Saptavāra Tradition of the Newar Buddhists.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 77, no. 1 (2014): 119–36.
Douglas, K., and G. Bays, trans. The Life and Liberation of Padmasambhava: Padma Bka’i Thang. Emeryville: Dharma Publishing, 1978.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. “The Lhan kar ma as a Source for the History of Tantric Buddhism.” In The Many Canons of Tibetan Buddhism: Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Leiden 2000, edited by Helmut Eimer and David Germano, 129–49. Leiden: Brill, 2002.
Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit–English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2012.
Yoshimura, Shyuki, ed. The Denkar-ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Vol. 18. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.
((+)) Uncertain reading of manuscript.
* Uncertain translation from Sanskrit.
Dh “Āryavajravidāraṇānāmadhāraṇī” in Dhīḥ (2005).
E Vajravidāraṇahṛdayamantradhāraṇī. NGMCP: E 1414/8.
Fx rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajravidāraṇanāmadhāraṇī), Toh 750.
Fy rdo rje rnam par ’joms pa’i gzungs zhes bya ba (Vajravidāraṇanāmadhāraṇī), Toh 949.
I Iwamoto, Yutaka, ed. Kleinere Dhāraṇī Texte. Vol. 2. Kyoto: Iwamoto Yutaka, 1937.
Ia Dhāraṇī Sammulung (Manuscript A), consulted in Iwamoto (1937).
Ib Dhāraṇī Sammulung (Manuscript B), consulted in Iwamoto (1937).
S Stok Palace Kangyur.
In this concise text, Vajrapāṇi, through the power and blessings of the Buddha and all bodhisattvas, proclaims a series of powerful dhāraṇī-mantras. The text concludes with verses on the benefits of the dhāraṇī and a simple ablution ritual.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. It was translated by Nicholas Schmidt with consultation from Kashinath Nyaupane and Ryan Damron. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text. Wiesiek Mical subsequently provided editorial feedback.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Vajra Conqueror is a short dhāraṇī text with an illustrious history in several different Buddhist communities. The text begins with a brief narrative introduction and a sweeping statement on the qualities and function of the dhāraṇī. After a series of three dhāraṇī-mantras, the text concludes with ten verses, which first extol the benefits of the practice and finally outline a concise purification ritual. In the narrative introduction, set abstractly “in the vajra” (Skt. vajreṣu, Tib. rdo rje la), Vajrapāṇi, through the power of the Buddha Śākyamuni, reveals the dhāraṇī. The elaborations on this narrative found in the Indic commentarial tradition inform us that the dhāraṇī was revealed in order to cure the ailments afflicting King Ajātaśatru of Magadha after he had usurped the throne of his father, King Bimbisāra, and terrorized the Gangetic basin with his martial adventurism.
The Sanskrit dhāraṇī is popular among Newar Buddhists in Nepal, where it is included in a set of daily dhāraṇī practices referred to collectively as the Saptavāra (Seven Days), of which the National Archives in Kathmandu today holds more than two hundred Sanskrit witnesses.
The fourteenth-century Tibetan Chronicles of Padma (padma bka’ thang) mentions that the dhāraṇī was first translated into Tibetan during the imperial period and was included in the Ten Royal Sūtras (Tib. rgyal po mdo bcu), the recitation of which was prescribed by Padmasambhava to the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen (Tib. khri srong lde bstan, 755–97
This translation is based on the Degé Kangyur xylograph, while the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace Kangyurs were consulted to clarify problematic readings. Within the Degé canon, the dhāraṇī is included twice: once in the Tantra section (Tib. rgyud, Toh 750), and once in the Dhāraṇī section (Tib. gzungs ’dus, Toh 949). The two versions are generally equivalent, preserving the same translation colophon and very few variant readings. This translation is also informed by the earliest and most extensive commentary, attributed to Buddhaguhya (Toh 2680), as well as the Sanskrit edition presented in Dhīḥ (2005).
The Sanskrit retained here was compiled by comparing the Sanskrit transliteration of the Degé edition (Toh 750) with the two editions of the Sanskrit Vajra Conqueror dhāraṇī—those of Iwamoto (1937) and Dhīḥ (2005). Finally, we referred to a late Devanāgarī manuscript witness (NGMCP: E 1414/8). For assistance in interpreting and translating the Sanskrit of the dhāraṇī-mantras, we have also consulted Ju Mipham’s (’ju mi pham, 1846–1912) synthesis of the commentarial traditions of Buddhaguhya, Padmasambhava, Smṛtijñānakīrti, and Vimalamitra.
Following the Tibetan precedent of leaving the syllables of mantras (Skt. mantrapada) in transliteration and untranslated, we have reproduced the mantric syllables as they appear in the Degé Tibetan version in the translation’s main body, while noting the variants found in the consulted Sanskrit editions. Note that within Sanskrit editions, numerals following Sanskrit terms indicate a repetition of the last term. In the endnotes, following the three constituent dhāraṇī-mantras, we have included an English interpretative translation of the Sanskrit mantras as edited by Iwamoto.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was abiding in the vajra. Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi consecrated his entire body as vajra and entered the vajra absorption. Then, through the power of the Buddha, the blessings of all buddhas, and the blessings of all bodhisattvas, Vajrapāṇi proclaimed the vajra essence that emanated from vajra wrath. It is invulnerable, indivisible, indestructible, true, durable, stable, completely indestructible, and completely invincible. It routs all beings, expels all beings, interrupts all spells, subdues all spells, counters all activities, and routs all actions. It destroys all grahas, liberates all grahas, summons all bhūtas, and annihilates all bhūtas. It enacts the activities of all spells, accomplishes what has not been accomplished, and preserves what has been accomplished. It fulfills all desires and protects all beings. It pacifies and enriches. It paralyzes all beings and stupefies all beings. Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi proclaimed this exceedingly powerful mantra:
“namo ratnatrayāya | namaś caṇḍavajrapāṇaye | mahāyakṣasenāpataye | tadyathā | oṁ truṭa truṭa | troṭaya troṭaya | sphuṭa sphuṭa | sphoṭaya sphoṭaya | ghūrṇa ghūrṇa | ghūrṇapaya ghūrṇapaya | sarvasatvāni | bodhaya bodhaya | saṃbodhaya saṃbodhaya | bhrama bhrama | saṃbhramaya saṃbhramaya | sarvabhūtāni kuṭa kuṭa | saṃkuṭaya saṃkuṭaya | sarvaśatrūn ghaṭa ghaṭa | saṃghaṭaya saṃghaṭaya | sarvavidyā vajra vajra | sphoṭaya vajra vajra | kaṭa vajra vajra | maṭa vajra vajra | matha vajra vajra | aṭṭahāsanīla vajra | suvajrāya svāhā | he phullu | niruphullu | nigṛhṇa kullu | mili cullu | kurukullu | vajravijayāya svāhā | kīli kīlāya svāhā | kaṭa kaṭa | maṭa maṭa | raṭa raṭa | moṭana pramoṭanāya svāhā | caranicara | hara hara | sara sara māraya | vajravīdārāya svāhā | chinda chinda | bhinda bhinda | mahākīlikīlāya svāhā | bandha bandha | krodha krodha | kīlikīlāya svāhā | curu curu caṇḍalakīli kīlāya svāhā | trāsaya trāsaya | vajrakīli kīlāya | hara hara vajradharāya svāhā | prahara prahara | vajraprabhañjanāya svāhā | matisthira vajra | śrutisthira vajra | pratisthira vajra | mahāvajra | apratihata vajra | amogha vajra | ehi vajra | śīghraṁ vajrāya svāhā | dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru sarvavajrakulamāvartāya svāhā | amukam māraya phaṭ | namas samantavajrānām | sarvabalam āvartaya | mahābale | kaṭabale | tatale | acale | maṇḍalamāye | ativajra | mahābale | vegaraṇa | ajite | jvala jvala | ti ṭi ti ṭi | piṅgale | daha daha | tejovati | tili tili | bandha bandha | mahābale | vajrāṃkuśajvālaya svāhā |
“ namo ratnatrayāya | namaś caṇḍavajrapāṇaye | mahāyakṣasenāpataye | tadyathā | oṁ hara hara vajra | matha matha vajra | dhuna dhuna vajra | daha daha vajra | paca paca vajra | dhara dhara vajra | dhāraya dhāraya vajra | dāruṇa dāruṇa vajra | chinda chinda vajra | bhinda bhinda vajra | hūṁ phaṭ ||
“ namaś caṇḍavajrakrodhāya | hulu hulu | tiṣṭha tiṣṭha | bandha bandha | hana hana | amṛte hūṁ phaṭ ||
This concludes the dhāraṇī “Vajra Conqueror.”
This text was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, along with the Tibetan translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
In this concise text, Vajrapāṇi, through the power and blessings of the Buddha and all bodhisattvas, proclaims a series of powerful dhāraṇī-mantras. The text concludes with verses on the benefits of the dhāraṇī and a simple ablution ritual.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. It was translated by Nicholas Schmidt with consultation from Kashinath Nyaupane and Ryan Damron. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text. Wiesiek Mical subsequently provided editorial feedback.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Vajra Conqueror is a short dhāraṇī text with an illustrious history in several different Buddhist communities. The text begins with a brief narrative introduction and a sweeping statement on the qualities and function of the dhāraṇī. After a series of three dhāraṇī-mantras, the text concludes with ten verses, which first extol the benefits of the practice and finally outline a concise purification ritual. In the narrative introduction, set abstractly “in the vajra” (Skt. vajreṣu, Tib. rdo rje la), Vajrapāṇi, through the power of the Buddha Śākyamuni, reveals the dhāraṇī. The elaborations on this narrative found in the Indic commentarial tradition inform us that the dhāraṇī was revealed in order to cure the ailments afflicting King Ajātaśatru of Magadha after he had usurped the throne of his father, King Bimbisāra, and terrorized the Gangetic basin with his martial adventurism.
The Sanskrit dhāraṇī is popular among Newar Buddhists in Nepal, where it is included in a set of daily dhāraṇī practices referred to collectively as the Saptavāra (Seven Days), of which the National Archives in Kathmandu today holds more than two hundred Sanskrit witnesses.
The fourteenth-century Tibetan Chronicles of Padma (padma bka’ thang) mentions that the dhāraṇī was first translated into Tibetan during the imperial period and was included in the Ten Royal Sūtras (Tib. rgyal po mdo bcu), the recitation of which was prescribed by Padmasambhava to the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen (Tib. khri srong lde bstan, 755–97
This translation is based on the Degé Kangyur xylograph, while the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace Kangyurs were consulted to clarify problematic readings. Within the Degé canon, the dhāraṇī is included twice: once in the Tantra section (Tib. rgyud, Toh 750), and once in the Dhāraṇī section (Tib. gzungs ’dus, Toh 949). The two versions are generally equivalent, preserving the same translation colophon and very few variant readings. This translation is also informed by the earliest and most extensive commentary, attributed to Buddhaguhya (Toh 2680), as well as the Sanskrit edition presented in Dhīḥ (2005).
The Sanskrit retained here was compiled by comparing the Sanskrit transliteration of the Degé edition (Toh 750) with the two editions of the Sanskrit Vajra Conqueror dhāraṇī—those of Iwamoto (1937) and Dhīḥ (2005). Finally, we referred to a late Devanāgarī manuscript witness (NGMCP: E 1414/8). For assistance in interpreting and translating the Sanskrit of the dhāraṇī-mantras, we have also consulted Ju Mipham’s (’ju mi pham, 1846–1912) synthesis of the commentarial traditions of Buddhaguhya, Padmasambhava, Smṛtijñānakīrti, and Vimalamitra.
Following the Tibetan precedent of leaving the syllables of mantras (Skt. mantrapada) in transliteration and untranslated, we have reproduced the mantric syllables as they appear in the Degé Tibetan version in the translation’s main body, while noting the variants found in the consulted Sanskrit editions. Note that within Sanskrit editions, numerals following Sanskrit terms indicate a repetition of the last term. In the endnotes, following the three constituent dhāraṇī-mantras, we have included an English interpretative translation of the Sanskrit mantras as edited by Iwamoto.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was abiding in the vajra. Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi consecrated his entire body as vajra and entered the vajra absorption. Then, through the power of the Buddha, the blessings of all buddhas, and the blessings of all bodhisattvas, Vajrapāṇi proclaimed the vajra essence that emanated from vajra wrath. It is invulnerable, indivisible, indestructible, true, durable, stable, completely indestructible, and completely invincible. It routs all beings, expels all beings, interrupts all spells, subdues all spells, counters all activities, and routs all actions. It destroys all grahas, liberates all grahas, summons all bhūtas, and annihilates all bhūtas. It enacts the activities of all spells, accomplishes what has not been accomplished, and preserves what has been accomplished. It fulfills all desires and protects all beings. It pacifies and enriches. It paralyzes all beings and stupefies all beings. Through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi proclaimed this exceedingly powerful mantra:
“namo ratnatrayāya | namaś caṇḍavajrapāṇaye | mahāyakṣasenāpataye | tadyathā | oṁ truṭa truṭa | troṭaya troṭaya | sphuṭa sphuṭa | sphoṭaya sphoṭaya | ghūrṇa ghūrṇa | ghūrṇapaya ghūrṇapaya | sarvasatvāni | bodhaya bodhaya | saṃbodhaya saṃbodhaya | bhrama bhrama | saṃbhramaya saṃbhramaya | sarvabhūtāni kuṭa kuṭa | saṃkuṭaya saṃkuṭaya | sarvaśatrūn ghaṭa ghaṭa | saṃghaṭaya saṃghaṭaya | sarvavidyā vajra vajra | sphoṭaya vajra vajra | kaṭa vajra vajra | maṭa vajra vajra | matha vajra vajra | aṭṭahāsanīla vajra | suvajrāya svāhā | he phullu | niruphullu | nigṛhṇa kullu | mili cullu | kurukullu | vajravijayāya svāhā | kīli kīlāya svāhā | kaṭa kaṭa | maṭa maṭa | raṭa raṭa | moṭana pramoṭanāya svāhā | caranicara | hara hara | sara sara māraya | vajravīdārāya svāhā | chinda chinda | bhinda bhinda | mahākīlikīlāya svāhā | bandha bandha | krodha krodha | kīlikīlāya svāhā | curu curu caṇḍalakīli kīlāya svāhā | trāsaya trāsaya | vajrakīli kīlāya | hara hara vajradharāya svāhā | prahara prahara | vajraprabhañjanāya svāhā | matisthira vajra | śrutisthira vajra | pratisthira vajra | mahāvajra | apratihata vajra | amogha vajra | ehi vajra | śīghraṁ vajrāya svāhā | dhara dhara dhiri dhiri dhuru dhuru sarvavajrakulamāvartāya svāhā | amukam māraya phaṭ | namas samantavajrānām | sarvabalam āvartaya | mahābale | kaṭabale | tatale | acale | maṇḍalamāye | ativajra | mahābale | vegaraṇa | ajite | jvala jvala | ti ṭi ti ṭi | piṅgale | daha daha | tejovati | tili tili | bandha bandha | mahābale | vajrāṃkuśajvālaya svāhā |
“ namo ratnatrayāya | namaś caṇḍavajrapāṇaye | mahāyakṣasenāpataye | tadyathā | oṁ hara hara vajra | matha matha vajra | dhuna dhuna vajra | daha daha vajra | paca paca vajra | dhara dhara vajra | dhāraya dhāraya vajra | dāruṇa dāruṇa vajra | chinda chinda vajra | bhinda bhinda vajra | hūṁ phaṭ ||
“ namaś caṇḍavajrakrodhāya | hulu hulu | tiṣṭha tiṣṭha | bandha bandha | hana hana | amṛte hūṁ phaṭ ||
This concludes the dhāraṇī “Vajra Conqueror.”
This text was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, along with the Tibetan translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
