Toh 774The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem

Summary

The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem
includes a short dhāraṇī and instructions to polish a
gemstone while reciting the dhāraṇī, and to imagine that
this results in a rain of offering substances, which the
reciter should then offer.

Acknowledgements

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. Catherine Dalton produced the translation
and wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor edited the
translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu
copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the
digital publication process.

Introduction

The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem includes a short dhāraṇī and
instructions to polish a gemstone while reciting the
dhāraṇī. This is said to result in a boundless rain
of offerings, which the reciter is then meant to
offer.

The text is found twice in the Kriya Tantra section (Toh
539e and Toh 774) as well as in the Compendium of
Dhāraṇīs section (Toh 1074) of the Degé Kangyur.

The work lacks a Sanskrit title and a translators’
colophon, and it is not listed in any of the
imperial catalogs, nor does it appear at Dunhuang,
so it is difficult to assess when it was translated
into Tibetan. We are unaware of any extant Sanskrit
text or Chinese translation of The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem.

This translation was made on the basis of the three Degé
Kangyur recensions of the text, with reference to
the Stok Palace edition as well as the notes to the
Comparative Edition (dpe
bsdur ma) of the Kangyur. There are no
major discrepancies among the recensions consulted.
The dhāraṇī itself is transcribed exactly as it
appears in Toh 539e.

The Translation

The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem

Homage to the Three Jewels.

oṃ smara smara|
vismanaskara mahājava hūṃ|

Say this as a gem is polished. Imagine that by doing
this a boundless rain of jeweled parasols, banners,
and the like fills the whole of the sky, and offer
this.

This completes “The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem.”

Notes

Bibliography