Toh 660The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas”

Summary

The Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the
Grahas” contains instructions for a maṇḍala
offering and dhāraṇī recitation practice for appeasing and
pacifying the nine celestial grahas as well as a variety of
harmful beings. These dhāraṇī instructions are part of the
broader popular tradition for performing offerings to
appease and gain the favor of the celestial grahas that
remain widespread across South Asia and the South Asian
diaspora to the present day.

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. Adam C. Krug produced the
translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited
the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins
copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the
digital publication process.

Introduction

The Dhāraṇī “The Mother of
the Grahas”
records a teaching by
Śākyamuni Buddha on a dhāraṇī recitation practice
and maṇḍala instruction for making offerings to the
nine celestial grahas. The aim of this practice is
to win the grahas’ favor and be protected from
harmful influences and beings. The introduction
tells us that the Buddha taught this dhāraṇī in the
city of the yakṣa lord Aṭavika, where he was
surrounded by a host of bodhisattvas and a large
gathering of supernatural beings. Seated among them
are the nine celestial grahas—Sūrya, Candra,
Aṅgāraka, Budha, Bṛhaspati, Śukra, Śani, Rāhu, and
Ketu—who have joined this assembly to praise the
Buddha and listen to his teaching.

As the Buddha concludes his teaching, the
bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi approaches the Buddha to ask
him to teach a Dharma discourse that will pacify
both the celestial and harmful grahas. The Buddha then begins
teaching on The Dhāraṇī “The
Mother of the Grahas” with a description
of the maṇḍala for the rite, followed by the various
bali offerings that one should prepare for each of
the maṇḍala deities. The Buddha then recites The Dhāraṇī “The Mother of
Grahas” itself, followed by a set of
ritual instructions to accompany the recitation of
this dhāraṇī.

There are two Chinese translations of this text
preserved in the Taishō canon. One version, Taishō
1302, was translated
by Facheng, alias Gö Chödrup (ca. 755–849), who was
a prolific Sino-Tibetan translator active in the
Dunhuang region during the ninth century. This
Chinese version is related to the present text (Toh
660/997), though it more closely matches another
Tibetan version, The Dhāraṇī
“The Mother of the Grahas” (Toh 661/998).
Indeed, many lines in Taishō 1302 and Toh 661/998
match each other word-for-word, and the overall
structure of these two texts is identical. It is
possible, then, that Toh 661/998 was the source for
Taishō 1302, or that Gö Chödrup produced both Toh
661/998 and Taishō 1302 based on a third source.
Furthermore, given the parallels between Toh 660/997
and Toh 661/998, and given that the colophon of Toh
660/997 indicates that Drakpa Gyaltsen edited it
based on an Indian manuscript, it is possible that
the differences and additional material we find in
Toh 660/997 are the result of Drakpa Gyaltsen’s
editorial interventions. In other words, he may have
been working from Toh 661/998 to begin with but
later made changes based on a Sanskrit source text.
A closer examination of these texts with reference
to the Dunhuang manuscripts will shed further light
on the connections between these sources. The other
canonical Chinese translation, Taishō 1303, was translated by Fatian in
the thirteenth century. This text noticeably differs
from Toh 660/997 and Toh 661/998 in its structure
and contents.

The Translation

The Noble Dhāraṇī

The Mother of the Grahas

Homage to the blessed noble Mother of the
Grahas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was
dwelling in Aṭavika’s great city, where he was being
praised by a multitude of devas, nāgas, yakṣas,
rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas kinnaras, and
mahoragas as well as Māra, Yama, Sūrya, Candra,
Aṅgāraka, Budha, Bṛhaspati, Śukra, Śani, Rāhu, Ketu,
the twenty-eight nakṣatras, and so forth while
seated on a lion throne graced with the ornaments of
the great vajra samaya.

He was accompanied by a multitude of
bodhisattvas and surrounded by
many hundreds of members of the saṅgha of
bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva great being
Vajrapāṇi, the bodhisattva great being Vajracaṇḍa,
the bodhisattva great being Vajrasena, the
bodhisattva great being Vajra Bow, the bodhisattva
great being Vajra Master, the bodhisattva great
being Vajra Ornament, the bodhisattva great being
Vajra Light, the bodhisattva great being Noble
Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva great being
Samantadarśin, the bodhisattva great being Lokaśrī,
the bodhisattva great being Lotus Flag, the
bodhisattva great being Broad Face, the bodhisattva
great being Padmagarbha, the bodhisattva great being
Lotus Eyes, the bodhisattva great being Mañjuśrī,
the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and more.

He sat before them teaching the Dharma. He was
delivering a Dharma teaching called “A
Wish-Fulfilling Jewel Adorning the Great Array” that
was good at the beginning, good in the middle, good
at the end, excellent in meaning, beautiful in its
expression, unadulterated, perfectly pure, and
thoroughly erudite.

Then, through the power of the Buddha, Vajrapāṇi
rose from his seat in the assembly, and, through his
own magical power, circled the Blessed One many
thousands of times, bowed, and sat before him. With
pride, he sat in a perfect cross-legged position
gazing at the assembly with his vajra
palms placed together at his heart, and addressed
the Blessed One.

“Blessed One the grahas are vicious
and have a vicious nature. They are fierce and have
a fierce nature. They are wrathful, and, because of
their wrathful intention, they hurt, harm, and steal
the life force of beings. Some take wealth, some
take life, and some shorten the length of a being’s
lifespan. Will the Blessed One please teach a Dharma
discourse that will protect beings from these beings
who are harmful and bring misfortune?”

“Well done, Vajrapāṇi,” the Blessed One replied,
“it is good that the compassion you have generated
for being of benefit to beings has led you to ask
the Thus-Gone One about the most secret of secret
teachings. Please listen, pay attention, and focus
as I explain them. I will explain the most secret of
secret excellent offerings and the excellent
recitation for incanting offering water for the
grahas who have a vicious nature and are so very
wrathful and terrifying.

“I will give a systematic explanation

Of worshiping them with the offering
rite,

Identifying the perpetrator when harm
has occurred,

The colors of the celestial grahas,

“How they can be appeased,

And the offerings
and mantras

That will pacify wrathful

Devas, asuras,

“Kinnaras, nāgas,

Yakṣas, rākṣasas,

Pūtanas, and humans

Brimming with fierce, fiery energy.”

“There should be kheer for Sūrya, yogurt for
Candra, a meal of chickpeas and maṣa beans for
Aṅgāraka, ghee for Budha, milk for Bṛhaspati, cake
for Śukra, a mixture of chickpeas, maṣa, and mung
beans for Śani, sesame kheer for Rāhu, and a soup of
sesame kheer and molasses for Ketu.

“Vajrapāṇi, the following things should be done
while reciting the celestial grahas’ heart mantra.
One should perform the offering in the middle of a
maṇḍala that is twelve fingers in diameter and in
which the appropriate type of incense is burning.
Present the water offering in vessels made of silver
and gold or of clay, copper, and so forth,
and incant each one of them with the
mantra one hundred and eight times.

“After that, Vajrapāṇi, one should recite the
mantra verses of The Dhāraṇī
“The Mother of the Grahas” seven times.
All the celestial grahas beginning with Sūrya and so
forth will offer their protection and one will be
free from the grahas who cause poverty. Those whose
lifespan has been shortened will have a long life.

“Vajrapāṇi, any monk, nun, male lay
practitioner, female lay practitioner, or any other
being known to take birth in the realm of beings who
hears it will not suffer an unnatural death.
Vajrapāṇi, all the celestial grahas will fulfill
everything that might be wished for in every way by
the Dharma reciter who makes offerings in the center
of the celestial grahas’ maṇḍala and recites this
dhāraṇī every day. The impoverished state of their
family lineage will be brought to an end.”

namo
buddhāya namo vajradharāya namo padmadharāya namo
kumārāya namo grahānāṃ sarvāśaparipūrakānāṃ namo
nakṣatrāṇāṃ namo dvādaśarāśinām |

tadyathā | oṁ buddhe buddhe vajre vajre padme padme sara
sara prasara prasara smara smara krīḍaya krīḍaya
māraya māraya mārdhaya mārdhaya ghāṭaya ghāṭaya
sarvavighnān kuru kuru mama kāryāṃ cchindha
cchindha sarvaduṣṭān kṣāpaya kṣāpaya śānte śānte
dānte dānte dāmaya dāmaya svāhā |

oṁ svāhā | hūṁ svāhā | hṛ svāhā | dhruṁ svāhā | dhriṁ svāhā |

“Vajrapāṇi, the recitation of these mantra
verses of The Dhāraṇī “The
Mother of the Grahas” should begin on the
seventh day during the waxing moon in the autumnal
month of Kārtika. One should take temporary vows,
perform the offering rite, and recite the dhāraṇī
every day until the fourteenth day of the month. If
one recites it day and night during the full moon,
one will not have to fear death for ninety-nine
years. One will not fear distress caused by meteors,
grahas, and nakṣatras. One will remember one’s past
lives, be worshipped by all the grahas, and the
grahas will provide whatever one desires most.”

This concludes The
Noble Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas.”

Colophon

This was translated during the lifetimes of the
king, the minister, and the bodhisattva. Then, at a later date, the lay
practitioner Drakpa Gyaltsen corrected it based on
an Indian manuscript that was housed at the glorious
hermitage of Sakya.

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.yung lo)

S
Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)

Bibliography