Toh 672Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names

Summary

In Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight
Names, the Buddha Śākyamuni recites fourteen verses about the
goddess Śrīdevī Kālī, a samaya mantra for the goddess, and a number of verses on
the qualities and virtue that will result from keeping the names of Śrīdevī Kālī
in mind.

Acknowledgements

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

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Ryan Damron edited the translation
and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was
in charge of the digital publication process.

Introduction

Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight
Names opens at Vulture Peak Mountain, where the Buddha Śākyamuni
is delivering a teaching on what constitutes “correct names” (bden pa’i mtshan) to a retinue
of bodhisattvas. When the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī rises from her
seat, circumambulates the Buddha, and then sits at his side,
another bodhisattva in the retinue is intrigued by her appearance and asks
the Buddha to enumerate the qualities of this bodhisattva who is dressed
like a rākṣasī.

The Buddha then recites fourteen verses on the names of Śrīdevī Kālī
and a concluding verse containing a samaya mantra for the goddess. The
Buddha also enumerates the qualities and virtues that will ensue when one
keeps the names of Śrīdevī Kālī in mind, and how such a person will quickly
traverse the levels of śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas.

The Tibetan term mtshan (Skt.
nāman) in the title of this text
and throughout its sections of prose and verse is somewhat challenging to
translate into English. In this translation we have rendered it “name,”
since it is clear that this work was composed within the genre of texts
devoted to the enumeration of the “one hundred and eight names” of a given
deity, a genre that appears to have been recognized by the compilers of the
ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works. However, the content of the verses in this text do not actually
constitute a list of names or epithets for Śrīdevī Kālī, but are rather
an extensive list of her various qualities. However, an alternative translation of the term
mtshan could also be “quality,” a translation that resonates with the uses
of the term nāman in Sanskrit
literature as a “characteristic mark or sign.” Finally, the text itself
does in fact draw a direct correlation between the Buddha’s enumeration of Śrīdevī Kālī’s one
hundred and eight names with the virtues she possesses. Thus, while the
term mtshan/nāman is translated as “name” in the title of this work, the
reader should bear this double meaning in mind and understand that the text's title is a reference to a broader genre
of Tibetan Buddhist literature (and South Asian Sanskritic devotional
literature) that is organized around the chanting of the one hundred and
eight names of a deity.

There is currently no known Sanskrit witness to this text, and the
text does not include a translators’ colophon. It does not appear in either
of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works and does
also not appear as an independent work in the Chinese canon. As a
result, it is difficult to determine the provenance of the work at this
time.

The Translation

Śrīdevī Kālī’s One Hundred and Eight Names

Homage to all buddhas and
bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling on Vulture
Peak Mountain, where he was delivering a teaching on correct names to all
causal and resultant bodhisattvas. At that time, Śrīdevī
Mahākālī approached the Blessed One, circled him three times, and sat to one
side in the presence of the Blessed One. The bodhisattva Virility of
a Lion asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what are the different names of
this bodhisattva who acts for the benefit of the world while adorned as a
rākṣasī?”

The Blessed One considered the bodhisattva Virility of a Lion,
looked at Śrīdevī Kālī, and said:

“You are identified as the cause, effect, and conditions

That are paramount for listening, contemplating, and meditating.

Supreme among the wise, you benefit beings.

You are the exalted Śrīdevī Kālī.

“You are a bodhisattva emanation,

A foundation as stable as the earth,

You gather good qualities like water,

And cause awakening to ripen, like fire.

“You gather virtue like the blowing wind

And your insight is pure, like space.

Thus are you like the great elements,

Praised by great hosts of beings.

“You know the actions and ripenings

For accumulating merit and wisdom.

You know how to tame with your prideful form

And travel the path of insight and compassion.

“You are like a beautiful vessel

With water like a wish-fulfilling jewel.

You are a wish-fulfilling tree that benefits all

And have a radiance like the sun.

“Your mind shines like the moon,

Your name is like the horns of a rabbit,

Your mental continuum is like a circle,

And you are rare like an udumbara flower.

“You completely satisfy like amṛta,

Are the ruler of all beings,

Teach that there is no inherent nature,

And are like a storm of water and sky.

“You use any means to tame disciples in the three existences

And protect the teachings of the victors of the three times.

You are truly one with holy beings

And travel the path of the holy ones.

“You are a goddess, mātṛkā, yakṣiṇī,

Rākṣasī, nāgī, piśācī,

Vyāḍā, bhūtā, kumbhāṇḍā,

Rudrā, and ravenous vidyutā.

“You are a wind goddess, Kālī, Bhairavī,

A ḍākinī, Caṇḍālī, and Tārā.

You tame through rites of pacifying, enriching, enthralling, and assault,

And display the colors white, yellow, green, black, and red.

“You appear in eight different forms,

Teach in a way suitable for beings in the six realms,

Are able to explain the five aggregates,

Satisfy the senses, and teach the five sense objects.

“You understand the workings of dependent origination,

Are skilled in severing the sense organs,

Are similarly skilled in killing all enemies,

And strive to kill all embodied beings

While knowing well that the mind is not killed.

“You are far removed from saṃsāra,

With the attributes of a bodhisattva,

And have been prophesied by the thus-gone ones.

Glorious Lady who protects the world,

You are a friend to those who preserve the holy Dharma.

oṁ āḥ hūṁ śrīdevi kāli samayajaḍākinīḍāya
samaya svāhā

“Those who grasp these one hundred and eight names

Will also attain one hundred and eight qualities.

They will not experience the suffering of hell,

Will not take birth in the preta realm,

And will never be burdened with an animal birth.

“If they are born in the land of Videha,

They will not be struck by lightning and the like,

They will not be affected by wind in Uttarakuru,

And the rivers and floods in Godānīya

Will not be able to sweep them away.

“Those who are born in Jambudvīpa,

Will not be threatened by its many dangers.

When born among the gods of the desire realm,

They will delight in the Dharma.

“For those who are born in the four dhyāna states,

The four immeasurables will increase.

In the four formless realms

There are no referents and there is no birth,

But still they will not lack perception.

“In the abodes of the noble ones,

They will serve their own purpose in the manner of the three realms,

All without attachment to objects as permanent.

They will not grasp at thought

And will purify the six root afflictions,

The twenty derivative afflictions,

And even the five inexpiable acts.

“They will not be born in the eight unfavorable conditions

For many incalculable eons.

They will refute the critiques of non-Buddhists

And possess exceptional power.

“They will have a long life, good health, and good fortune,

And not experience hardship for many eons.

They will never fall in saṃsāra,

But in order to attain nirvāṇa

Will traverse the grounds of the śrāvakas

And understand the twelve links of dependent origination.

“They will traverse the bodhisattva grounds:

Joyful, Stainless, Illuminating, Radiant,

Difficult to Conquer, Manifest, Far Reaching,

Unwavering, Eminence, and Cloud of Dharma.

“They will complete the twelve unsurpassed great grounds of a buddha:

Universal Light, Light of Immortality,

Light of Space, Vajra Light,

Jeweled Light, Lotus Light,

Light of Karma, the Incomparable Ground,

The Glorious Ground, Light of Insight,

Omniscience, and Self-Reflexive Awareness.

The twelve buddha grounds

Will be quickly completed as they occur.

“Even when these levels are not yet attained,

They will benefit beings,

Come to possess insight and compassion,

And be protected by those who delight in the Dharma.

They will attain siddhi

And become thus-gone ones born from jewels.

“Those who bear in mind

The one hundred and eight names

Of the glorious bodhisattva, Śrīdevī Kālī,

Will attain one hundred and eight qualities.

They will perfect their body, speech, and mind,

And become dharma kings of the three realms.”

When this was said, Śrīdevī Mahākālī and those in the assembly of
bodhisattvas were amazed, and rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed
One.

This concludes “Śrīdevī Kālī’s One
Hundred and Eight Names and Her Qualities.”

Notes

Abbreviations

D
Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)

C
Choné (co ne)

H
Lhasa (lha sa / zhol)

J
Lithang (li thang)

K
Kangxi (kang shi)

N
Narthang (snar thang)

U
Urga (phyi sog khu re)

Y
Yongle (g.yong lo)

S
Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)

Bibliography