Toh 953The Dhāraṇī of Vajrapāṇi, the Yakṣa Lord

Summary

The Dhāraṇī of Vajrapāṇi, the Yakṣa Lord is a short work that teaches a vidyāmantra of Vajrakumāra, which is said to repel and avert illness, as well as other malevolent actions perpetrated by a variety of spirits and enemies, and to grant protection to the individual who recites or wears it.

Acknowledgements

This text was translated by Catherine Dalton and edited by members of the 84000 editorial team.

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

Introduction

The Dhāraṇī of Vajrapāṇi, the Yakṣa Lord is a short scripture that teaches a vidyāmantra of Vajrakumāra. The mantra is given to repel and avert illness, preempt malevolent actions perpetrated by a variety of spirits and enemies, and grant protection to the individual who recites or wears it. While the title of the text identifies the work as a dhāraṇī of Vajrapāṇi, the contents are entirely related to a protective vidyāmantra of Vajrakumāra (“The Youthful Vajra”), and aside from the homage at the beginning there is no further mention of Vajrapāṇi in the text itself.

Following the opening homage, the text begins with a brief statement announcing that the teaching of the vidyāmantra will be given by “the vajra holder.” It then proceeds directly to the mantra, with no further narrative content. The mantra consists of a mixture of sentences in Tibetan, such as requests for protection and statements about the effectiveness of the mantra, interspersed with Sanskrit words and syllables. The malevolent beings that this vidyāmantra offers protection from include grahas, spirits that cause illness, and malevolent female spirits.

The text does not appear to be extant in Sanskrit, nor does it exist in Chinese. The Tibetan text also lacks a translator’s colophon, and it does not appear in either of the surviving imperial catalogs, nor among the manuscripts discovered at Dunhuang. Little therefore can be surmised about its textual history in Tibet up until its inclusion in the Kangyur.

It is included in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section of the Degé Kangyur and other Tshalpa lineage Kangyurs that have a separate Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section, and in the equivalent part of the Tantra section in those that do not label it as such,

Notably, the dhāraṇī is one of only twelve works in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs section that is not duplicated in other sections of the Kangyur. It appears that these twelve texts found their way into the Tshalpa lineage Kangyurs specifically because of their inclusion in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs, which was likely compiled on the basis of earlier collections of dhāraṇīs and associated ritual texts.dhāraṇīsaṃgraha, circulated throughout South Asia and Tibet—including at Dunhuang—as extracanonical dhāraṇī collections.

The present English translation of The Dhāraṇī of Vajrapāṇi, the Yakṣa Lord was made from the Tibetan text as found in the Degé Kangyur, with reference to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). The Sanskrit words and syllables of the mantra are rendered in the translation exactly as they appear in the Degé recension of the work, while the Tibetan sentences that appear interspersed with them have been translated into English.

The Translation

The Dhāraṇī of Vajrapāṇi, the Yakṣa Lord

Homage to the Three Jewels.

Homage to Vajrapāṇi, the Great Lord of Yakṣas.

At that point, the vidyāmantra of Vajrakumāra was taught. The vajra holder taught this vidyāmantra that brings accomplishment, protects against any form of untimely death, tames all grahas, protects at all times, and averts.

tadyathā vajre vajre sara sara amoghavajre vajrakalakala ācitavajreni rakṣa rakṣara namaḥ sarvagrahosupatravebhyeḥ kata kata hana hana sarva duṣṭanān karamanitanāya prasara prasara damadara śama śama ghuma ghuma ghume ghume vajra maladari cchinda cchinda cakre hrīdaya niramite nīlavasene somakasāya vicindra sananti sakalarastri kriśanpaṃgali vikritravetali rakṣa rakṣa man sarvata sarvata bhyayebhyaḥ sarvapalāya bhyisasasya sarvādatra rakṣa kuru kuru varivaparigrāmalanaṃ śānting svasyayanaṃ danarapariharaṃ śastathariharaṃ viśatuśanan sarva amṛtaniparanan tadyathā vajre vajre mahāvajre vajre māladhari vajranidani

Protect me and all sentient beings! Protect us! Bring an end to all malevolent ones! hada ha ha hada. To all grahas! hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ dhaka dhaka kada ugkarupini paca paca. Drive away all malevolent female spirits! Avert them! apé apé Vajrakumāra, Vajrakumāra, expeller,bhaṃja bhaṃja tama tama. Whoever slanders me. tadyathā sara sara daraya daraya. Those who transgress this averting vidyāmantra of Vajrakumāra, which impedes all grahas, blazing Vajrakumāra will split their head into seven pieces! sphoṭaya sphoṭaya grasa cchinda cchinda.

Should anyone else use a vidyāmantra on me, or curse me, or make someone else do so, it will be returned upon their body, and they will be the ones who burn! gagate acale ripe ripe prahara stambhani prahara saṃkamani. Protect my lifeforce! Protect it! Whoever hinders me will be brought to suffer in all the hells by means of the words of this vidyāmantra.sara sara sureṇaḍe sureṇaḍe. Female vajra messengers, restrain all opposing factions, restrain them! tadyathā mohani jambhani stambhani. If anyone transgresses this vidyāmantra that banishes all illness, it will become a poisonous snake.

Whoever wears this vidyāmantra on their body, or recites it, will never be poisoned. Not even a single malevolent graha will transgress it. Not even a malevolent female spirit will transgress it. Merely by seeing it, they will be brought under control. All disputes and arguments will be won. The power of this vidyāmantra will liberate all! amṛte saṃbhava svāhā. Protect me! Protect me! Whether I am amidst all my enemies, or facing harm, or at a cemetery, or in a prison—may I never transgress this queen of vidyāmantras that banishes all dangers!

When even the gods, together with worldly beings, the armies of māras, and Brahmā do not transgress this, what need even to speak of the evil spirits and grahas!