Toh 741The Twelve Names of Śrī Mahādevī

Summary

The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī is a
short text revealed to Avalokiteśvara in the pure land of Sukhāvatī. In essence,
it is a dhāraṇī centered on twelve epithets of the goddess of wealth. The spell
is said to provide prosperity.

Acknowledgements

The text was translated from Tibetan by the Buddhapīṭha Translation Group
(Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó).

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Andreas Doctor edited the
translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina
Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.

Introduction

The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī is a
short text revealed to Avalokiteśvara in the pure land of Sukhāvatī. In
essence, it is a dhāraṇī centered on twelve epithets of the goddess of
wealth and a short ritual instruction concerning its recitation. Lists of
the epithets of a deity are a common type of dhāraṇī, and such texts can
sometimes be extremely long (for example, Reciting the Names of
Mañjuśrī). An alternative version of this text is The Sūtra of Mahāśrī, from
which it differs in only minor details.

Mahāśrī, or simply Śrī, or commonly Lakṣmī, is a goddess who is
perhaps more prevalent in the brahmanical tradition, where she is said to be
the great god Viṣṇu’s consort. She is associated with well-being and
prosperity. Here her names constitute the inner core of the dhāraṇī, which
is promised to provide prosperity. This text styles her a bodhisattva.

The text is extant in Sanskrit in the old palm-leaf Nepalese
Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha). Two such witnesses have been published by
Hidas. The first is
unfortunately fragmentary, and we cannot determine what the end of the text
looked like. The second witness concludes the text with the application of
the dhāraṇī, which is not mirrored in the Tibetan but is paralleled by the
penultimate section of The Sūtra of Mahāśrī. Another difference is that in
the Sanskrit, the name-dhāraṇī is revealed not only to Avalokiteśvara, but
also to Mañjuśrī.

The Tibetan translation dates from the imperial period, sometime in
the early ninth century. It is listed in both imperial catalogs, and the colophon attributes it to the
famous translator-duo Jinamitra and Yeshé Dé. We know of at least one
Dunhuang copy of the Tibetan translation;
this was copied on the back of a Chinese scroll in a somewhat unusual
way, in columns.

The Chinese translation dates to the Tang dynasty and holds the
distinction of being the earliest attestation of the text, which thus must
have been in circulation before the middle of the eighth century. Although
some catalogs list this translation as one item (Taishō 1252), in fact, what we have here is not one, but two
translations of the same text. Both are attributed to Amoghavajra, arguably
the most influential master to propagate esoteric Buddhist lore at the Tang
court. A part of the dhāraṇī portion is also included here in the siddham script. There are some
differences when compared to the Sanskrit and the Tibetan: the male
bodhisattva to whom the name-dhāraṇī is revealed is Samantabhadra, and this
version also transmits some passages on the application of the spell, as
well as another dhāraṇī, which is quite similar to the famous dhāraṇī of the
Heart Sūtra, (gate gate,
etc.)

This translation was made principally on the basis of the Tibetan
translations of the text found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs
(gzungs ’dus) in the Degé Kangyur, in
consultation with the editions of two Sanskrit witnesses, the Dunhuang
version, the Stok Palace Kangyur, and The Sūtra of
Mahāśrī.

The Translation

The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī

Homage to the Three Jewels.

Homage to the noble Avalokiteśvara.

Homage to Vajrapāṇi.

Homage to the great goddess Śrī.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the
realm of Sukhāvatī. Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva, the noble
Avalokiteśvara, set out to where the Blessed One was residing. Having
arrived, he bowed his head at the feet of the Blessed One, circumambulated
the Blessed One thrice, and sat down on one side. Then the bodhisattva
mahāsattva, the great goddess Śrī, also set out to where the Blessed One was
residing. Having arrived, she bowed her head at the feet of the Blessed One
and sat down on one side.

Then the Blessed One looked at Mahāśrī and said this to the noble
Avalokiteśvara: “Avalokiteśvara, whosoever, including monks and
nuns, laymen and laywomen, gets to know, upholds, recites, accomplishes, or
speaks of the twelve names of Mahāśrī here will escape destitution and
become very wealthy.”

Then the entire host of spirits
said, “May it be so!”

“These are the twelve names of the great goddess Śrī:
“It is thus—Welfare, Splendor, She Who Is Wearing a Garland of Lotuses, Mistress
of Wealth, White One, She of Great Fame, Lotus-Eyed One, She of Great
Radiance, She Who Accomplishes, Bestower of Nourishment, She of Jewel-Like
Gleam, Great Splendor.
Homage to all buddhas! Homage to Avalokiteśvara! Homage to the great goddess
Śrī! It is thus—jini ghriṇi, O Accomplisher
of All Goals, simi simi nimi nimi, remove my destitution completely,
svāhā.

Thus spoke the Blessed One, and the bodhisattva, the noble
Avalokiteśvara, was gladdened and praised the speech of the Blessed One.

Here ends “The Twelve Names of the Great
Goddess Śrī.”

Colophon

This was translated, checked, and redacted by the Indian preceptor
Jinamitra and the great editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.

Notes

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Other Sources

laymen

laywomen