Toh 669The Noble Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All Diseases and Illnesses

Summary

The Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All
Diseases and Illnesses is a short work that
contains a Mahākāla dhāraṇī recitation practice for removing
illness from various parts of the body. The dhāraṇī
progresses through a list of body parts, invoking Mahākāla
to free each region from illness and disease.

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The
translation was produced by Adam Krug and then checked
against the Tibetan and edited by Andreas Doctor.

The translation was completed under the patronage and
supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the
Buddha.

Introduction

There is no known Sanskrit version of this text,
nor does it appear as an independent work in the
Chinese canon. It is, however, found in the early
ninth-century Denkarma royal Tibetan catalog of
translated works. The translators’ colophon tells us
that it was translated by the Indian preceptor
Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé,
both of whom were active in the late eighth century.

This English translation is based on the
recensions found in the Tantra Collection (Toh 669)
and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Toh 1086) in the
Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Comparative
Edition of the Kangyur (dpe
bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Mahākāla Dhāraṇī:

A Cure for All Diseases and

Illnesses

Homage to all
buddhas and bodhisattvas.

I will recite the dhāraṇī of Mahākāla, the great black being
with sharp yellow fangs, the great fanged one who
cures all diseases and illnesses. Wherever I direct
my gaze, may I be free of disease and illness.

oṃ
jvala mā aṅguli hūṁ sarvajvarānan phaṭ |

Colophon

Notes

Abbreviations

C
Choné (co ne)

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Reference Works