Toh 671The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī”

Summary

The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī”
opens in the Pāruṣyaka grove on the summit of Mount Sumeru, where the
bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi has assembled with a large retinue of divine and demonic
beings. Vajrapāṇi introduces the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī and implores the members
of his retinue to make offerings to her and praise her. Twelve members of the
assembly then praise Śrīdevī Kālī in turn, with each praise providing a fresh
perspective on how the goddess’s physical features and virtuous qualities
reflect her status as a distinctively Buddhist deity.

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.

The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous
sponsorship of Dakki, with special dedication to the long life and good health
of Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and Orgyen Tobgyal Rinpoche, and for the benefit
of all beings.

Introduction

The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī
Kālī” (Śrīdevīkālīpraśaṃsārājatantra) opens in the Pāruṣyaka grove on the summit of Mount Sumeru, where
the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi has assembled with a large retinue of divine and
demonic beings. Vajrapāṇi introduces the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī and implores the members of his retinue to praise and
make offerings to her, prompting twelve members of the retinue to praise the
goddess in turn.

Each praise to the goddess provides a distinct perspective on how her
physical features and virtuous qualities reflect her status as a distinctly
Buddhist deity and protector of the Buddha Śākyamuni’s teachings. Śakra,
the lord of the gods, begins by praising Śrīdevī Kālī in terms of the ten
virtuous actions, noting how the goddess’s practice of the ten virtuous
actions led her to abandon all forms of nonvirtuous action. The yakṣa king
Vaiśravaṇa then praises Śrīdevī Kālī in terms of her progression on the
fivefold path, indicating that she is understood in this tantra to be a
highly advanced bodhisattva. We next hear from the kinnara king Druma, the
gandharva king Pañcaśikha, the nāga king Nanda, and so forth, representing
the various leaders of “eight classes of divine and demonic beings” in
Vajrapāṇi’s retinue. Each figure’s praise of Kālī draws out numerous
connections between the goddess’s various qualities and the Buddhist
teachings on nonduality, the performance of ritual actions, ultimate truth,
and the bodhisattva path, providing an entirely Buddhist interpretive
framework for understanding and visualizing the goddess. At times, the
beings praising Kālī explicitly acknowledge her association with other,
non-Buddhist traditions, offering their explanations of why that is the
case.

Among the numerous figures praising Mahākālī is Yama, the Lord of
Death. His praise is noteworthy for the fact that it also appears, in a
slightly modified standalone form, as Praising the Lady
Who Rules Disease, a text found in both the Kangyur (Toh 1090) and
the Tengyur (Toh 1777). Both versions are attributed to “the brahmin
Vararuci,” who, here in Praises to Śrīdevī
Kālī, speaks the praise immediately following the praise spoken by
Yama. Thus it would appear that Toh 1090/1777 is an extract from Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī, and the compilers of Toh
1090/1777 mistook the line introducing the praise of Vararuci in Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī as an attribution of
authorship for the preceding praise spoken by Yama. The fact that Toh
1090/1777 is attributed to the human Vararuci perhaps explains why the same
text was also included in the Tengyur.

There is currently no known Sanskrit witness to this text, and the
text does not include a translator’s colophon. It also does not appear in
either of the ninth-century royal Tibetan catalogs of translated works and
is not found in the Chinese canon. All of these factors make it difficult to
determine the provenance of the text, and it is perhaps partly for these reasons
that Butön Rinchen Drup and others have called into question the
authenticity of this work as an Indian text.

This English translation is based on the version of Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī in the Degé Kangyur in
consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur, Phukdrak Kangyur, and the
Comparative Edition of the Degé Kangyur (dpe bsdur
ma). The version of the text preserved in the Nyingma Gyübum
also informed this translation.

The Translation

The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī”

Homage to glorious Vajrapāṇi, lord of vidyās and mantras.

Thus did I hear at one time. In the vast Pāruṣyaka grove on the
summit of Mount Sumeru, the blessed and glorious great fierce one
Vajrapāṇi—whose body blazes like the fire that consumes the world at the end
of an eon,
who is victorious over the threefold world, and who burns with the fire of a
thousand suns—sat surrounded by a retinue including Śakra and a horde of
piśācas, rākṣasas, and mātṛkās numbering in the billions. Seated on a lotus,
glorious Vajrapāṇi proclaimed, “Eight classes of divine and demonic beings
in my retinue, listen to me! There is a great regent in this desire realm
known as the mother of the demon and Yama’s sister. She upholds the teachings of
all the buddhas, so you should make offerings to her and praise her. I give
you my blessing!”

Śakra, the lord of the gods, rose from his seat in the assembly and
spoke the following verses praising Śrīdevī Kālī in terms of the ten
virtuous actions:

“Long ago, before the first eon, you trained your mind extensively in the
ten virtuous actions.

Since then, though you have perfected the most exalted of paths,

You benefit beings in the higher realms through ten virtuous actions—

Homage and praise to you, Śrīdevī who converts outsiders.

“You gave up killing beings long ago,

Attained a long life and wondrous form,

And are free from karmic debt to others, the cause of harm.

Homage to you who has conquered the Lord of Death.

“Because you gave up taking what is not given,

The accumulation of merit has brought you abundant prosperity,

And you discovered an undiminishing, stable wealth of treasure.

Homage and praise to you who bears the treasure of generosity.

“You guard the teachings that warn against a lack of chastity,

Have risen above the lowly city of the womb,

And abandoned desire for existence long ago.

Homage and praise to you, great female renunciant.

“As the result of abandoning the affliction of false words,

You are a leader who tames the world with the accomplishment of speech,

And have the nature of one who has attained pure, supreme speech.

Homage and praise to you who speak the truth.

“You abandoned the fault of divisive speech and have an undivided
retinue.

A disciplined retinue surrounds you

And you tame gods and asuras with the truth.

Homage to you who have gathered a pure retinue.

“Gifted with the virtue of abandoning meaningless speech,

You gave up disruptions to undistracted, single-pointed samādhi.

You protect the teachings with your meaningful speech.

Homage and praise to you, tamer of childish beings.

“By virtue of abandoning pride and conceit, Goddess,

In a melodious voice, you speak gentle, peaceful words,

That are an antidote to abusive, harsh speech.

Homage and praise to you, tamer of harsh speech.

“As a sign that you abandoned concepts of an apprehending subject

And specifically abandoned covetousness in your own mind,

The lion that symbolizes no-self adorns your ear.

Homage and praise to you who have abandoned covetousness.

“You abandoned harmful intent toward apprehended objects

And view external objects as nondual phenomena.

Homage and praise to you whose snake earring

Is a sign of having fully abandoned such harmful intent.

“You abandoned religious doctrines based on the wrong view

And took a form aligned with the Buddha’s doctrine—

One that embodies the pure view.

Homage and praise to you who display the ultimate, free of
conceptuality.

“There are two types of action in this world: pure and impure.

The ten impure, nonvirtuous actions lead to the lower realms.

The pure, virtuous actions lead to higher birth.

Because you first trained in the virtuous actions,

“You reside on progressively higher grounds.

You teach the signs of the ten virtuous actions in this inferior
realm,

Adopting a malevolent guise to guide beings.

Homage and praise to you who are worthy of praise.”

Next, the yakṣa king Vaiśravaṇa praised Śrīdevī Mahākālī according
to the system of the fivefold path:

“After purifying the accumulations

On the unique path traveled by the holy ones

And gradually cultivating the antidote, wisdom that sees the ultimate,

Your supreme goal is to reach perfection.

“That is why, Goddess, such attributes,

That you specifically possess,

Show that you perfectly gathered the accumulations from the first

And attained the samādhi related to the application from the first
stage.

“You saw the ultimate on the ground of Utter Joy

As nonconceptual and unarisen.

Then, with the unique qualities of a glorious bodhisattva,

Relying on your own mind and the pure second ground,

“You likewise reached the end of the pure third ground.

You further cultivated your mind on the fourth ground

And perfected concentration on the fifth ground.

You further purified your mind on the sixth ground

“And perfected method on the seventh ground.

You further cultivated your mind on the eighth

And, as Śrīdevī Kālī, made aspirations

And attained the quality of power on the ninth.

“That power will propel you on to wisdom.

After you perfected these grounds,

You aspired to reach fruition on the ground of a buddha.

You have a youthful form because you traversed the eighth ground

“And appear in a fierce form to tame beings.

Homage and praise to you, tamer of wicked beings!

May I complete the path as quickly as you!”

Next, the horse-headed kinnara king Druma praised Śrīdevī Mahākālī
in terms of nonduality:

“Śrīdevī, you are nondual;

You are found within this ultimate, nonconceptual basic reality.

You are true because the ultimate and relative are not two.

You are profound because saṃsāra and nirvāṇa are not two.

“You are exalted because ordinary beings and buddhas are not two.

I praise you because action and result are not two.

You are the result because cause and effect are not two.

“You are the single state, the nonduality of subject and object,

The ultimate space that subsumes conceptuality and its absence.

You are the great accumulation of nondual merit and wisdom.

I praise you as the pure nonduality of the perceptible and the ultimate.

“You are the single expression of the phenomena of self and other,

The profound power of the nonduality of apprehended and apprehender,

And the purified field, free from both higher and lower rebirth.

I praise you as the single nondual nature of good and bad.

“You are supreme as unproduced, complete, spontaneously present
nonduality,

The mind itself in which mind and the aggregates are not separate,

The state in which one attains the nonduality of practice and its goal.

I praise you as the supreme
expression of the nonduality of self and other.

“You are bodhicitta, the nondual space of male and female,

The nondual object of method and wisdom,

And the peaceful state in which empty and not empty are inseparable.

Homage and praise to you, effortlessly changeable and unchanging.

“You are the ineffable state, the nonduality of word and sound,

The singular mode of the mind itself, inseparable from body and mind.

Because you are the single object, the nonduality of effort and its goal,

I praise you as the ultimate realm devoid of conceptuality.

“Since there is one system in which Buddhists and non-Buddhists are not
two,

You have realized that the phenomenal world and wisdom
are nondual.

Since existence and liberation are one true reality,

I praise and honor you as the nondual body of everything.

“You are the single state of nonduality in which internal and external do
not exist,

The pure peaceful mode of sentience and insentience,

And are seen as singular, the nonduality of the apparent and unapparent.

Homage and praise to you, the supreme nondual referent.

“All of this is the profound expression of the ultimate

And is concerned with a referent free of conceptuality.

All of this illuminates your mind, Goddess—

Through this praise, may I also become like you.”

At that point, the gandharva king Pañcaśikha praised Śrīdevī in
terms of her ritual activity:

“The mind itself is distinguished as the four ritual activities.

They are nothing other than mind itself but are devoid of mind.

Ultimately, the mind itself is free of conceptuality and lacks color and
form.

Conventionally, it is one’s own mind as mere illusion.

“Glorious pacifying goddess who is widely extolled,

You pacify, are pacifying, and have a pacifying nature.

You are a queen surrounded by a peaceful retinue

And have white physical marks that shine brightly.

“Homage and praise to you, all-pacifying goddess.

Please pacify my enemies and illnesses.

“Glorious enriching goddess who is widely extolled,

You enrich, are enriching, and have an enriching nature.

You are a queen surrounded by an enriching retinue

And have golden physical marks that are intensely majestic.

“Homage and praise to you, all-enriching goddess.

Please increase my merit and wisdom.

“Glorious enthralling goddess who is widely extolled,

You enthrall, are enthralling, and have an enthralling nature.

You are a queen surrounded by an enthralling retinue

And have red physical marks that are intensely majestic.

“Homage and praise to you, all-enthralling goddess.

Please bring my illnesses and enemies under your control.

“Glorious wrathful goddess who is widely extolled,

You bring wrath, are wrathful, and have a wrathful nature.

You are a queen surrounded by a wrathful retinue

And have dark physical marks that are intensely majestic.

“Homage and praise to you, all-wrathful goddess.

Please kill my illnesses and enemies with your wrath.

“Your true nature is not established in any way,

But you can appear with any of these characteristics.

This is what allows the four ritual activities to benefit beings.

May I spontaneously accomplish the nature of the four ritual
activities

And strive to benefit others just as you do.”

Next, the nāga king Nanda praised Śrīdevī Kālī in terms of her
physical features:

“You are identical with the accomplishment of mantra-yoga.

The colors and forms of your physical attributes

Are insubstantial but, in order to tame beings,

Are taught using these symbolic features:

“You ride a donkey because you tame the three realms

And wear shackles to symbolize that you will not pass into nirvāṇa.

You are draped with an elephant hide to show you spontaneously accomplish
your own benefit

And are wrapped with a pelt to show that you fulfill the benefit of
others.

“A full moon illuminates your crown because you possess bodhicitta.

A sun adorns your stomach because you have realized insight.

You hold a sword that cuts the stalk of the three poisons

And a mongoose symbolizes your treasure of merit.

“Your disheveled, deep yellow locks indicate your perfection of
enthralling and wrathful rites.

You bare your sharp fangs, symbolizing the removal of afflictions.

You click your palate because the blood of saṃsāra is on your tongue

And you have a wide, angry glare because you harm hateful, wicked beings.

“Your eyes are bloodshot because you enthrall everything.

You have a dark complexion to show your supreme, unwavering store of
equanimity.

You wear charnel ground ornaments because you
tame the mātṛkās

And you brandish a khaṭvāṅga, symbolizing body, speech, and mind.

“You wear a garland of skulls because you have perfected the three
bodies.

You are adorned with a whirlwind to indicate your swift wrath.

You stand within a blazing fire because you have burned up the
afflictions

And you lean against the pāriyātraka tree because you protect the desire
realm.

“You are the impenetrable goddess of the fortress because you tamed the asuras.

You wear a tiger skin skirt to show your steadfast courage

And the complete set of wrathful attire because you protect the
teachings.

“Since the roar of no-self shows a mastery of pride,

A lion adorns your right earring, symbolizing method.

Since you have tempered the power of anger and tamed the great
poison,

A snake adorns your left earring, symbolizing insight.

“You ring a bell, symbolizing the impermanence of compounded phenomena.

Because you stoke rage toward attachment, you drink waves of blood.

You wear tree bark as adornment because you guard your samaya

And a peacock crown ornament since you govern the different ritual
actions.

“Because you purified the collection of afflictive obscurations

And your wisdom manifests as the body of vidyās,

You stand firm in the northeast, the supreme natural abode.

You ride a donkey because you abide in the middle way

And you take the guise of a mother because you tame the wicked
afflictions.

Homage and praise to you, mother of ḍākinīs!”

Next, the kumbhāṇḍa king Nine-Headed Snake praised Śrīdevī in terms of
body, speech, and mind:

“Though bodhicitta is ultimately nondual,

Her symbolic attributes are the three existences.

Her pure mind is the wrathful palace,

Which emerges from the ocean of blood that surrounds it

And is adorned with skeletons, skull garlands, and flayed skin.

“The wrathful queen is utterly terrifying in her dark body,

Sending forth emanations of female beings with shaggy blue locks.

“Glorious Remaju is her body emanation.

She arises within a triangular, dark yellow expanse.

She enhances good qualities, is yellow, and laughs at the sky.

May she perfectly carry out all enriching rites!

“Glorious Remati is her speech emanation.

She arises within a triangular, red expanse.

She is the great red one, the great red Caṇḍālī.

May she render all enthralling rites effective!

“Samudrā is her emanation of body, speech, and mind.

She destroys Rudra and subdues the army of māras.

She liberates the six realms and is the mother of beings.

Homage and praise to the goddess who spreads the teachings.

Please bless my body, speech, and mind.”

Next, the asura king Vemacitra praised Śrīdevī in terms of the
ultimate:

“You are the state of perfect quiescence, luminous and free of
conceptuality.

You are the true mother, the pure, supreme heart essence,

And the essence of primordially nondual space.

Glorious one, your nature is exceedingly clear.

“This essential nature is utterly pure and ineffable.

Praises to it composed by the naïve fall short.

Fools imagine you to be substantial

And speak words of praise as if you have a physical form.

“But any praise based on words and letters,

Directed to you, who is fixed upon the Victor’s truth,

Is never the true reality of liberation.

When primordial nondual great bliss has not been realized,

Praise inspired by you will always fall short,

When it takes you to be a symbolic emanation of your aspirations.

“A person who understands nonarising

And can meditate on the essence of primordial nonduality

Is someone who truly praises you.

“Those who grasp at your form and color

Might gaze upon you for countless eons

And still not be able to see your form and color,

While those who do not grasp at form will see.

“They will use all manner of sounds, words, and expressions,

To call out to you for an eon, but you will not hear.

However, you will hear the call of those yogins,

Who have abandoned such things.

“A fool who has accomplished your practice

Through the virtues of body and speech will always forsake you,

While one who worships you with a mind that rejects body and speech

Will attain the treasure of accomplishment when they worship.

“You epitomize the qualities of the multitudes of victors

And commune with the victors in the dharmadhātu.

Because you display the nature of the profound middle way,

You take on a non-Buddhist form to guide all beings

In this exceedingly harsh Sahā world.

“Your body, imagined in this way,

Has reached the state of being empty of the manifold obscurations.

You, supreme emptiness and truly empty,

Are praised by those who understand the empty and nondual.

“To praise you in this way counts as a form of praise,

And though you are not an object of praise,

I praise you like this to guide naive people.”

Next, the king of garuḍas Vajra Golden Eyes praised Śrīdevī:

“Śrīdevī, your import is difficult to fathom.

Your skillful emanations move through the sky.

I revere and praise you as an emanation of a bodhisattva,

With melodies, numerous as grains of dust, from my three doors.

“Though you are untainted by the offerings I make,

May objects pleasing to the senses fall from the sky like rain,

Glorious One, so that the sublime accomplishment may be attained—

And may these abundant offerings conquer the senses.

“Glorious One, you have dominion over good and evil.

I regretfully confess before you

All of my wicked bodily, verbal, and mental acts.

Out of compassion, please purify my obscurations.

“You are particularly exalted for the benefit you bring beings

And the abundant prosperity benefits you bring yourself.

I rejoice and offer harmonious joy free of envy,

To the continuity of your being.

“Beautiful Kālī, whose supreme body has

Such wonderful qualities, I implore you—

Use your terrifying power as the web of illusion

To benefit beings throughout the three times and ten directions.

“I request that your supreme body with its unique qualities

Remain without passing into nirvāṇa

As long as beings endure,

To tame wicked beings and protect the teachings.

“May the virtue from this homage, confession,

Rejoicing, encouragement, and requesting

Empty the lower realms—I dedicate it so that all

Will perfect the accumulations and reach great awakening.”

Next, the attendants of the sky god praised Śrīdevī:

“From a palace in the middle of a swirling expanse of nine dark
winds,

At the center of a vast blaze like the fire at the end of an eon,

You emerge as the sole mother, sovereign goddess of the desire realm,

The mother of the demon, and Yama’s only sister.

“You are Śrīdevī, the black Remati,

The black devourer with awesome fangs,

Dark black, naked, and with bloody locks.

“Your appearance with a black body

Symbolizes not being agitated by ultimate space.

The leftward curl of your hair

Symbolizes sending emanations into a mother’s womb.

“The locks on your head are braided as one,

Symbolizing that you combine recognition of the ultimate with action.

The sparks that fly from your locks

Symbolize sending mind emanations throughout the ten directions.

“The garland of fresh skulls tied around your head

Symbolizes your compassionate benefit to beings with your emanation
body.

The pouncing lion on your right earring

Symbolizes your subjugation of all menmos.

“The serpent with a flared hood on your left earring

Symbolizes purity within the expanse where anger is not abandoned.

The ringing golden bells on your earrings

Symbolize your worship and accomplishment of all the buddhas.

“The wide-eyed glare of your bloodshot eyes

Symbolizes that you observe the samayas of yogins in the three
existences.

The fierce open fire pit of your mouth

Symbolizes the liberation of Rudra, destroyer of the teachings.

“Bearing your sharp and poisonous triangular fangs

Symbolizes liberating the ten targets for liberation onto the bodhisattva
levels.

Dressing in human skin and an antelope hide

Symbolizes that you possess the true Dharma and its meaning.

“Being wrapped in a fresh elephant hide

Symbolizes that you possess the meaning of the supreme vehicle.

That you wear black felt

Symbolizes your majesty in this world.

“The sun shining from your navel

Symbolizes drying the ocean of suffering to its depths.

The moon shining from the crown of your head

Symbolizes clearing away the three poisons’ dark ignorance.

“The restraining shackles clasping your feet

Symbolize the unification of method and insight.

That you wield a black sword in your right hand

Symbolizes the eradication of suffering, birth, and death.

“That you drink human blood from a fresh skull in your left hand

Symbolizes drinking the suffering of saṃsāra like blood.

That you ride sideways on a white-faced donkey

Symbolizes liberating beings who hold wrong views.

“The front of your saddle is made from a rākṣasa’s throat,

Symbolizing the taming of Laṅkapura in the realm of the rākṣasas.

The upper and lower bridle, made of a large black snake,

Symbolizes your anger that conquers the classes of obstructing
beings.

“Swinging your riding crop made out of black
tortoiseshell

Symbolizes binding the black nāgas and māras under oath.

The cross of the māras on the right saddle strap

Symbolizes pinning those who violate the samayas to a cross.

“The satchel of diseases that hangs on the rear saddle straps

Symbolizes averting misfortune and bringing disease down

On those who would harm this teaching.

“You exude drops of fat that symbolize the nectar of the ultimate,

Are ornamented with drops of blood symbolizing your fondness for
compassion,

And are imprinted with an ash mark symbolizing your activities to tame
beings.

“The myriad mātṛkās bound to you in service

Symbolize the activities you perform, which pervade the three realms.

The fire blazing from your mouth, sole mother, dries up the oceans,

And by raising your vajra you hurl the Sumeru mountain range.

I fervently praise you, Goddess!”

Next, Black Yama praised the great goddess in terms of her superior
qualities:

“Goddess,
glorious black ḍākinī,
your single braid is perpetually saturated with sesame oil. You are poised
seductively wearing lead earrings and you bear many ornaments. A single iron
shackle beautifully adorns your feet as anklets. You are known as Kālī, the
one who rides around at night on a donkey. Beautifully adorned with locks as
you are, who can fathom the import of the great ocean of your behavior? When
saṃsāra is destroyed, when smoke billows from the blood and fat dripping
from human bones, then, Kālī, all beings will instantly fall into your
mouth—into your unbearable fangs.

“Goddess, you hold a human skull in your hand, reveling in the
charnel ground while immersed in the
accomplishment of yoga. You and your attendants have no sorrow and ring your
bells with no fear of death. You hold a garland of heads—the severed heads
of heroes cut down by swords in battle—as you dance in a circle, arms
extending and retracting mightily. A belt made of woven nāga lords is tied
around your broad hips and you brandish a spear and standard in your hand.
Your eyes are bloodshot from being intoxicated with the liquor of blood and
you are watched by the host of bhūtas who wander cremation grounds at night. Your leggings are made from fresh
hides and you
are wrapped in a felt shawl. Your moon-like face is graced with a hood of
fresh human intestines and your forehead mark is made of a clump of blood
and fat. You
gnash noisily on bits of human flesh and wear a crown of human corpses on
your head.

“Wrathful protector of mine, with human flesh in hand, the eyes of
māras, rākṣasīs, and mātṛkās who see you now for the first time quiver and
bulge as they bow to you. Beautiful Goddess, your body is black and you are
so overwhelming even I, Yamarāja, praised by Śakra and the rest, always bow
to you. Because you bring an end to all gods and beings, an uraga with a thousand
hooded heads adorns one of your ears from behind and an incomparable lion is
fastened to the other ear. You are surrounded by an ocean, trample the
earth, and the sun and moon that course over the earth rise from your navel.
Goddess, you conquer the three existences.

You are the all-pacifying woman who is able to dry up all waters
with the fire that blazes from the vast ocean. Black Durgā, whose form
resembles that of Mahādeva, you do not fear any human or animal
disease.

“I respectfully offer homage and praise to you, sole mother.”

Next, the brahmin Vararuci praised Śrīdevī Kālī in terms of the
relative truth:

“Homage and praise to you,

Sole mother, goddess, Śrīdevī,

Vajra goddess Kālī, great and powerful.

May my reverent praise to you

Bring supremely good fortune and desired riches.

“Your swift mind and great form are known far and wide,

You are a renowned mātṛkā, a world protector,

A fierce warrior with great perseverance,

Who is always victorious on the battlefield.

Praise to you, Yama’s sister.

“You are dressed in blue silk,

Wear adornments both beautiful and hideous,

Have eyes that are hideous and enraged,

Are faithful, and gather people in the assembly.

“Sometimes you dwell deep in the mountains,

Sometimes you dwell in forests and trees,

And sometimes you dwell in the middle of a charnel ground

Where shrines of the goddess have been built.

“When, people continually praise you, Goddess,

In those places, in remote mountains and forests,

You are compelled to fulfill their intentions.

When I continually praise you,

Please fulfill my wishes as well.

“Your banner is made of peacock feathers.

You protect those who continually serve you

And cause livestock to flourish.

“You are constantly surrounded on all sides

By lions, tigers, and wolves.

You ring the great vajra bell

And grant boons as the great bell rings.

“Sometimes you hold a trident in your hand.

Sometimes you raise a sun and moon standard.

“If someone worships you during the waning moon

On either the ninth or eleventh day,

You, goddess whom none surpass,

The tamer of māras, teacher of asuras and rākṣasīs,

Grant them victory over their enemies and in battle.

“You are supreme among women,

Like the world-protecting Vāgīśvarī.

You are like a lotus in a king’s palace.

Your beautiful face is like a full moon.

You are like a ferry to cross water

And like a beloved friend to the poor.

“When the gods and asuras battled,

You made a fortress for the gods

Within your own navel, Goddess.

You brought victory to the pure army of the gods

And defeated the asuras.

You rattle the bloody spear you wield

And your banner and standard blaze like fire.

“Praise to you who tames enemies and averts war!”

Next, the great ṛṣi Kauṇḍinya praised Śrīdevī in terms of her
physical attributes:

“I offer constant, respectful homage to the sovereign leader of the
world.

“You have always been supreme among mothers,

The entire triple world praises you,

And everyone longs to see your beautiful face.

Your body is adorned with various wonderful features.

“Your eyes are broad like the petals of a blue lotus,

You are adorned with the famous light of merit and wisdom,

And you are just like a priceless jewel.

Because I have praised you now, Lotus lady,

My mind’s every wish will be fulfilled.

“Your wisdom is perfect and your good fortune abundant.

You are perfectly pure like a lotus

And all long to see your body’s beautiful hue.

You are adorned with various marks and features.

“You are beautified by your stainless wisdom,

Are supreme among all objects of recollection,

And, like a lion, are supreme among predators.

“As a result of these verses of praise,

May all that is desired be attained.”

Then, glorious Vajrapāṇi addressed the gathering: “Your praises to
Śrīdevī are wonderful. I too will reflect on the meaning of these praises
and constantly recite them mentally. To praise this goddess is to praise me
and to praise all the buddhas. The goddess protects and defends such a
person and grants whatever accomplishments they desire.”

When he finished speaking, the assembly was delighted and a great
torrent of ornaments rained down on blessed Vajrapāṇi. They then returned to
their respective abodes.

This concludes “The Sovereign Tantra of
Praises.”

Notes

Abbreviations

D
Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)

C
Choné (co ne)

F
Phukdrak (phug brag)

H
Lhasa (lha sa / zhol)

J
Lithang (li thang)

K
Kangxi (kang shi)

N
Narthang (snar thang)

Y
Yongle (g.yong lo)

S
Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Reference Works