Toh 670Đà-la-ni của Devī Mahākālī

Summary

The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī opens at the Bodhi tree
in Bodhgayā shortly after the Buddha Śākyamuni has attained perfect awakening. As
Śākyamuni sits at the base of the Bodhi tree, Devī Mahākālī circumambulates him three
times and offers a vidyā, or “spell,” in
homage at the Blessed One’s feet. Śākyamuni then expresses his wish that Mahākālī’s
vidyā be used to bind all beings from
the highest heaven down through the lowest hell of the desire realms.

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of
Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug and then checked against
the Tibetan and edited by Andreas Doctor.

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

Introduction

The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī is a short text that
presents how the goddess Śrīdevī Mahākālī first encountered the Buddha Śākyamuni,
converted to his teaching, and offered a mantra in homage to the Buddha. In the Degé
Kangyur the text is included both in the Tantra Collection (Toh 670) and the
Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Toh 1087).

The text presents a scene that also appears in The Tantra
of the Flaming Ḍākinī (mkha’ ’gro ma me lce ’bar
ba’i rgyud, Toh 842), which is a longer tantra
that recounts the complete origin story of Śrīdevī Mahākālī and her attendant
Rematī. According to this tantra, following her meeting with the Buddha,
Śrīdevī Mahākālī became a protector of the Dharma who guards the followers of the
Buddha’s teaching. Within the Kangyur, the text is part of a small group of texts
concerned with Śrīdevī Mahākālī and Rematī.
The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī also bears some similarity
to The Dhāraṇī of Glorious Mahākāla (Toh 668) in terms of the setting in which the dhāraṇī is
delivered and the various medical ailments for which it is prescribed.

The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī opens at the Bodhi
tree in Bodhgayā shortly after the Buddha Śākyamuni has fully awakened. As the Buddha
sits at the base of the Bodhi tree, Devī Mahākālī (as Śrīdevī Mahākālī is called in
this text) circumambulates the Buddha three times and offers a vidyā, or “spell,” in homage. Śākyamuni
then expresses his wish that Devī Mahākālī may bind all beings from the highest heaven
down through the lowest hell of the desire realms. Devī Mahākālī then recites her
mantra and proclaims that it can be used to prevent various illnesses, to bind beings
that cause plagues and misfortune, and to cure diseases such as leprosy, sores, and
rashes.

Although the Tibetan text does not have a translators’ colophon, it appears in
both the Denkarma and Phangthangma Tibetan
catalogs, indicating that the text existed in Tibetan by the early ninth century.
There is currently no known Sanskrit version of the text, and the text does not appear
as an independent work in the Chinese canon. This English translation is based on the
recensions found in the Tantra Collection (Toh 670) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs
(Toh 1087) in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Comparative Edition of the Kangyur (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.

The Translation

The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was sitting at the base of the
Bodhi tree shortly after becoming a perfect buddha. At that point Devī
Mahākālī—Sovereign Goddess of the Desire Realm, Wife of the Demon, Yama’s
Sister—circumambulated the Blessed One three times and sat to one side.

Devī Mahākālī then addressed the Blessed One, saying, “Honorable One, were I
to offer this vidyā in homage at the Blessed One’s feet, would the Blessed One please
accept my vidyā?”

The Blessed One replied, “Devī Mahākālī—the Wife of the Demon and Yama’s
Sister—will bind beings up
through the Heaven of Controlling the Emanations of Others. She will bind beings down
through the hell realms. She will bind beings out to the surrounding mountains. Her
mantra should be recited as follows:

tadyathā | oṃ ruru vitiṣṭha vadhotsi
ruru roru vitiṣṭha vadhotsi svāhā |

By pronouncing this vidyā, may all fevers, illnesses, plagues, and humoral
disorders, as well as all illnesses such as leprosy, boils, skin rashes, and the like,
be cured! Svāhā.”

This concludes “The Dhāraṇī of Devī
Mahākālī.”

Notes

Abbreviations

D
Degé (sde dge bka’ ’gyur)

C
Choné (co ne)

H
Lhasa (lha sa/zhol)

J
Lithang (li thang)

K
Kangxi (kang shi)

N
Narthang (snar thang)

U
Urga (phyi sog khu re)

Y
Yongle (g.yong lo)

S
Stok Palace (stog pho ’brang)

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Other Reference Works