Toh 761The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]

Summary

The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the
“five beak dhāraṇīs” (mchu sde lnga, Toh
759–763) and among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather
control practices. In Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain, Śakra requests the
Buddha for the wrathful means with which to protect the Buddhist teachings. The
Buddha then recites the dhāraṇī of the iron beak along with a short discourse on
its efficacy, ritual instructions for weather control, and an exhortation for
secrecy.

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.
Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Torsten Gerloff
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 of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the
“five beak dhāraṇīs” (mchu sde lnga, Toh
759–763), a cycle of texts related to the garuḍas, a race of eagle-like
birds in Indian mythology. The word tuṇḍa or “beak” in the titles is a reference to the garuḍas’
sharp, owl-like beaks which they use for hunting nāgas, a class of
snake-like beings associated with, among other things, weather patterns and
rainfall. The dhāraṇī of the iron beak is thus a threatening spell used to
coerce the nāgas into providing rainfall for favorable agriculture. The
cycle of the five beak dhāraṇīs is, along with the Great Cloud sūtras (Mahāmegha, Toh 232-235),
among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control
practices.

The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] takes place in
Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. There, Śakra requests the Buddha for the
wrathful means with which to subdue asuras—the famed adversaries of the
devas—and other beings who harm the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha instructs
Śakra to employ the dhāraṇī of the iron beak which has the dual purpose of
averting harm to the Buddhist teachings and controlling weather. This dual
interest in agrarian concerns and protecting Buddhism might suggest that the
dhāraṇī was originally a pan-Indian agricultural ritual spell that was later
brought into the Buddhist fold, especially when we consider how rain rituals
for good harvests have been a widespread concern of Indian religions since
time immemorial. Among those who harm the Buddhist teachings, the
text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,”
possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of
physical and mental afflictions, as well as various kinds of misfortune.
After the Buddha recites the dhāraṇī, he provides short ritual instructions
on how to use it to incant ritual substances and create rainfall or
hailstorms. The Buddha’s discourse comes to a close with him advocating for
the utmost secrecy of this esoteric formula.

The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] shares an identical
title with another translation in the Degé Kangyur, Toh 762, which
immediately follows it. These two texts furthermore share a great deal of
intertextuality with The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom
From Dangers (Toh 609/925). These three works share an identical
narrative structure, are set in Indra’s Rock Cave, and feature Śakra as their
interlocutor. While the dhāraṇī formulas in Toh 761 and Toh 609/925 are, in
most places, nearly in agreement, the much shorter formulas found in Toh 762
are altogether different. Many sections of the dhāraṇī formula were
challenging to comprehend. We did not attempt to venture any conjectural
emendations and, instead, presented it largely as it appears in the
Tibetan.

Hidas (2019) dates The Nāga Vow of the Vajra
Beak (Vajratuṇḍanāgasamaya, Toh
759/964)—the longest and most central of the five beak dhāraṇīs—to the fifth
century ce. Though the relationships between the
five beak dhāraṇīs are still unclear, we may assume that The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] also emerged around a
similar time and amidst a similar Indian cultural and religious milieu. The text is bereft of a
colophon that would provide information as to when and by whom it was
translated into Tibetan. It is not listed in either of the two extant
catalogs from the imperial period. As such, we are left with little basis on
which to determine under what circumstances it was translated into Tibetan.
The colophon to The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From
Dangers, however, describes how it was translated by the
prolific Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé in collaboration with the Indian
masters Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Though it may certainly be possible that the
present text was translated during a similar time, given the degree of
intertextuality between them, we cannot be sure. Like much of dhāraṇī
literature, this work’s importance lies not in its study but in its ritual
performance. As such, most of the references to the five beak dhāraṇīs we
find in later Tibetan literature are not as scriptural citations but rather
as a part of larger liturgies, alongside ritual elements such as nāga
oblations (klu gtor), or as
prescribed by astrological divinations.

The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] no longer survives in Sanskrit. The dhāraṇī was never translated into Chinese and, beyond its translation as
a part of the Mongolian canon, it does not appear to have been translated
into any other languages as far as we are aware. The text has also not been the subject of any
sustained scholarly research. Our translation was
based on the textual witness in the Degé Kangyur. We also consulted variant
readings as attested in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur as well as the Stok Palace Manuscript
(stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was traveling through the land
of Magadha when he arrived at a mango grove. At that mango grove, he took up
residence in the Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. Śakra the lord of the
devas then appeared before the Blessed One. He bowed his head at the Blessed
One’s feet and sat to one side.

Having sat to one side, Śakra the lord of the devas told the Blessed One,
“Blessed One, there are asuras and humans who harm the Dharma. Blessed One,
they are the asuras and other adversaries not included in the assembly who
seek to bring the Dharma long-term harm. Since the Blessed One has not
subdued them with peaceful means, I request a teaching on how to tame them
with wrathful means. Please allow me to protect the vehicle’s teachings
against these enemies.”

The Blessed One told Śakra the lord of the devas, “Lord of devas, uphold the
dhāraṇī of the iron beak which confers freedom from all dangers. It
vanquishes evildoers and accomplishes all aims. It protects the sacred
Dharma and quells all dangers. It alleviates all diseases and neutralizes
all poisons. It stops all weapons and protects against the enemies of the
vehicle’s teachings. It paralyzes all legless, two-legged, and
four-legged beings. It instills terror in all two-legged beings and defeats
all adversaries. It defeats asuras, garuḍas, daityas, piśācas, apasmāras,
unmādas, brahmanical rākṣasas,
bhūtas, vetālas, śakuni grahas, pūtanas, revatīs, ostāraka grahas,
ostārakas, apasmāra grahas, deva grahas, nāga grahas, yakṣa grahas,
gandharva grahas, kinnara grahas, vināyaka grahas, and mātṛ grahas. It
overcomes any disagreeable foods that have been consumed. It overcomes all
infectious diseases, vātikas, paittikas, śleṣmikas, sānnipātikas, and
malevolent beings. It brings peace from all conflicts, disputes, and
scandals. This is the dhāraṇī of the iron beak, the wrathful dhāraṇī of the
garuḍas. I will recite this dhāraṇī that instills fear in those who harm the
teachings and creates fierce storms of rain and hail:

tadyathā | ete mete prametritra gole
vole levosse motte padate khāratte khāraṇe gānāgāne nāgāmugane mone
pratīmone kāli prakāli caṇḍe mahācaṇḍe praticaṇḍe vegosona gonāmohā
pramohā mahāmoṭā pramoṭā nāśani pranāśanādhipati valgāṇi pravalgāṇi
nidyaṇi pāniṭhāni krodhāni pratikrodhāni hana hana vihana vihana
sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭān nāśaya sarvābhayaprade hūṃ phaṭ

“Simply reciting this mantra will make everything throughout the ten
directions shake, shake violently, quake, and quake violently. All harm
doers will collapse face down, unconscious.

“Mix yellow and black mustard seeds and scatter them over rivers,
oceans, and mountains. From then on, there will be rainfall. Incant
molasses, honey, licorice, sugar cane, and various nāga medicines in milk
and sprinkle that on the rivers, oceans, springs, pools, ponds, waterfalls,
and waterways. Doing so will create great
hailstorms. If you recite it by performing mental recitation, gazing at a
cloud, and saluting the devas, great hailstorms will fall as you wish.

“The wise should uphold, memorize, and recite the noble dhāraṇī of the iron
beak. They should not share it with others. They must keep it hidden. It is
not for everyone. It should be kept out of sight like a pebble in the ocean.
This indomitable wrathful dhāraṇī allows one to be victorious in all
situations, no matter whenever one enters a conflict, dispute, or war.
Inscriptions of it should be affixed to the tips of banners. Sons and
daughters of good families who follow mantra should practice it with
single-pointed minds. Whether one is a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, a śrāmaṇera or
śrāmaṇerī, or an upāsaka or upāsikā, one should uphold and memorize it in
order to avert harm to the teachings.”

After the Blessed One had spoken, Śakra the lord of the devas and the world
with its asuras and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had
taught.

This concludes “The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron
Beak [1].”

Notes

Bibliography