Toh 732The Noble Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī

Summary

The Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī is a collection of six dhāraṇīs
that can be recited to cure and protect oneself from various illnesses, avert the influence of
demonic beings, and, in one case, to revive the recently deceased.

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. 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

The Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī is a collection of six
dhāraṇīs that are recited to cure and protect oneself from various illnesses, avert the
influence of demonic beings, and, in one case, to revive the recently deceased. The
first five dhāraṇīs open with a verse of homage to the Three Jewels and the
bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the sixth begins with an homage to the Three Jewels,
Avalokiteśvara, and the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi. The text does not include any
introductory material concerning the occasion when it was first taught, the audience
present for the teaching, or the individual who gave the teaching. It also contains no
information on the identity of Yaśovatī (Tib. grags ldan ma), and it is not clear if this name refers to a goddess,
to the dhāraṇī itself, or to both.

There are numerous figures in the Kangyur and Tengyur with the name Yaśovatī
or with a name approximating or synonymous to Yaśovatī. A goddess (or goddesses) by the name
grags ldan ma appears in The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī,
The Tantra of the Complete Enlightenment of
Vairocana,
The Root Manual for the Rites of the Blessed Noble Tārā,
The Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra,
The Tantra of Subhāhu’s Questions,
and The Section on Propitiation Rituals [in The Great Tantra, Susiddhikara]. A
goddess (or goddesses) with the name grags ldan
ma also appears in the Tengyur among the maṇḍala retinues of the deities
Heruka and Cakrasaṃvara, as well as in Gayādhara’s Instructions
on the Arising of Gnosis. None of the passages in the Kangyur and Tengyur that mention a goddess named
grags ldan ma, however, provide
any description or broader information about this goddess, or any indication that she
is at all related to the Yaśovatī associated with this dhāraṇī. As a result, the
identity of Yaśovatī who appears in the title of this dhāraṇī remains uncertain.

There are no extant Sanskrit witnesses of The Yaśovatī
Dhāraṇī and the text does not appear to have been translated into Chinese.
It is not included in either of the imperial Tibetan catalogs of translated works, and
the text does not contain a translator’s colophon. Thus, there is also no clear data
on when and under what circumstances this dhāraṇī was translated into Tibetan.

This translation was prepared on the basis of The
Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī contained in the Degé Kangyur in both the Tantra
Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of
Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus) in consultation with the versions from the Stok Palace and the Comparative
Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī

Homage to
all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

namo ratnatrayāya | nama
āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya |

If one incants a cord or some water with this mantra three times, it will cure
fever.

namo ratnatrayāya | nama
āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya |

tadyathā | cili cili mili mili rakṣa
rakṣa māṃ āryāvalokiteśvara svāhā ||

For all manner of grahas, one should incant a red cord or a cord spun with
five-colored thread with this mantra three times while tying three knots in it, and it
will pacify obstacles.

namo ratnatrayāya | nama
āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya |

tadyathā | kili kili cili cili nigile
svāhā ||

If one incants sesame oil with this mantra three times and applies it as an
ointment, it will treat swelling.

namo ratnatrayāya | nama
āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya |

tadyathā | sare sare visare visare
saranāśani svāhā ||

If one recites this mantra in the ear of a dead being, they will be revived.

namo ratnatrayāya | nama
āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodisattvāya mahāsattvāya |

tadyathā |nisire nisire kalanimire
kalaricirī vacile svāhā ||

For goiters, any illness of the throat, illnesses of the tongue, and all manner of grahas, incant some clay
with this mantra three times, apply it as an ointment, and it will help.

namo ratnatrayāna | nama
āryāvalokiteśvarāya vajrapāṇidhyam oṁ oṁ krāraprabhave bhagavati buddhe
pratibuddhe śuddhe śāntikiri hana hana mama pāpam

daha daha mama pāpadaṃ paca paca mama pāpakaṃ |
oṁ oḍe grasa grasa riteḍe riteḍe śāntīṃ

karīya svāhā | śubhakarīya svāhā | kṣemakarīya
svāhā ||

When one has contracted a disease, the disease will be cured by reciting this
mantra while bathing. If one takes medicine that has been incanted with this mantra,
the illness will be cured. If one eats food that has been incanted with this mantra,
one will not be harmed by poison. For those who are possessed by any kind of
bhūtagraha, one should take a thread spun by a young girl, incant it with the mantra
twenty-one times, and tie it to them. They will then be released.

This concludes “The Yaśovatī
Dhāraṇī.”

Notes

Abbreviations

F
Phukdrak (phug brag bris ma)

C
Choné (co ne)

H
Lhasa (lha sa / zhol)

J
Lithang (li thang)

K
Kanxi (kang shi)

N
Narthang (snar thang)

U
Urga (phyi sog khu re)

Y
Yongle (g.yong lo)

S
Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources