[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Buddhist Sanskrit literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit) › [Protective spells and dhāraṇī-sūtras](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani) › [Dhvajāgrakeyūrā Dhāraṇī](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura) › [འཕགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གྱི་རྩེ་མོའི་དཔུང་རྒྱན་ཅེས་བྱ་བའི་གཟུངས](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo) › The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā # The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā Translation of [འཕགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གྱ་རྩ་མའ་དཔང་རྒྱན་ཅས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས (འཕགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གྱི་རྩེ་མོའི་དཔུང་རྒྱན་ཅེས་བྱ་བའི་གཟུངས)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo) - **Language:** English - **Translator:** [Gyurmé Avertin](https://indike.org/pramana/person/gyurme-avertin) - **Extent:** 22 passages, 1,875 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** 84000 · Published by 84000 (v 1.0.1 2024). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha,… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a… ## Contents - [intro 84000's introduction](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.intro) — 5 parts - [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.1) - [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.2) - [3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.3) - [notes Notes](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes) — 14 parts ## Text ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.intro.1) The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā takes place in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The gods have just been defeated by the asuras, and Śakra, lord of the gods, rushes to the Buddha for help. The Buddha instructs Śakra to retain the dhāraṇī known as The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā. After transmitting the dhāraṇī, the Buddha explains that people who recite and retain it become victorious in conflicts. He also states that people who attach it atop standards or tie it around the neck will be protected and that the dhāraṇī will manifest in the form of the female deity Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, who will always be with them, eliminating fear, affording protection, and granting all good things such as good reputation and abundance. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.intro.2) The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā takes place in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, where Śakra requests help from the Buddha after the gods have been defeated by the asura king Vemacitri. The Buddha tells Śakra to retain the dhāraṇī known as The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, which he received from the Tathāgata Unsurpassed Standard in a previous life. The Buddha transmits the dhāraṇī and explains that those who recite it and retain it become victorious in battles and conflicts, and that those who attach it to the top of standards or tie it around their neck will be protected by the buddhas. He explains that the dhāraṇī will also manifest in the form of a female deity who will always be in front of them eliminating fear, affording protection, and granting all positive things such as good reputation and abundance. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.intro.3) The goddess Dhvajāgrakeyūrā has several different forms with varying colors, numbers of heads and arms, hand implements, and so on.¹ However, traditionally she is portrayed as predominantly yellow, with four heads and holding the hand implements mentioned here. Dhvajāgrakeyūrā’s appearance is also mentioned in two sādhanas devoted to her in the Tengyur (Toh 3592 and 3600), with some differences between them. The term dhvajāgra or “crest insignia” refers to a symbol or insignia that was mounted at the end of a long pole, which was employed as a martial ensign on the battlefield in ancient India. In two early Dhvajāgra Mahāsūtras (Toh 292 and Toh 293), the dhvajāgra itself, as an object, is a metaphor for refuge. At that early stage in the history of Buddhist literature, the dhvajāgra does not seem to have been associated with a goddess, as protection came from the revival of courage expressed in the analogy (parallel to this work) of the devas being on the point of defeat by the asuras. However, protective texts and dhāraṇīs became, over time, embodied in goddesses who gained iconically detailed forms, as we find with Dhvajāgrakeyūrā featured here. There are numerous Dhvajāgrakeyūrā sādhanas in the Tibetan tradition, and this deity and her dhāraṇī have also become associated with the Tibetan windhorse (Tib. rlung rta), as their functions are similar: to eliminate obstacles and adversity and to bring victory and good circumstances. Tibetan writers such as Mipham Gyatso (1846–1912) composed prayers to Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, asking her to remove obstacles. ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.intro.4) In the Degé Kangyur, The Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā is included among the tantras belonging to the kriyā class and is also reproduced in the Dhāraṇī (gzungs ’dus) section. The two versions are identical apart from a few minor spelling differences. The attribution in the colophon to the paṇḍitas Jinamitra and Dānaśīla and the translator Yeshé Dé suggests that the translation was completed during the late eighth or early ninth century, which is supported by this text’s inclusion in the Phangthangma² and Denkarma³ imperial catalogs, both of which date to the early ninth century. The text is also extant in Sanskrit in at least two versions in GRETIL’s Sanskrit corpus.⁴ The famous pilgrim and translator Xuanzang (602–64) also translated it into Chinese⁵ in the year 654. ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.intro.5) This English translation was produced based on both Toh 612⁶ and Toh 923 in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the two Sanskrit versions available to us, and Xuanzang’s Chinese translation. Following 84000’s convention, the dhāraṇī has been transliterated as it appears in the Degé version of the text. There is often wide variation in the Tibetan transcription of dhāraṇīs across recensions of the Kangyur, and only minor changes have been made to reconcile them or to emend the dhāraṇī based on Sanskrit conventions. ### [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.1) Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.⁷ Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, sitting on the Pāṇḍukambala rock, when Śakra, lord of the gods, who had just lost in war against the asuras and had been completely defeated, rushed in distress to the Blessed One. He bowed his head down at the feet of the Blessed One and said, “Blessed One, we fought with the asuras, and I have been vanquished by their king, Vemacitri, completely defeated, and all the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three were also routed. Blessed One, what should we do?” The Blessed One replied, “Listen, lord of the gods, retain the unsurpassed⁸ Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā. I received it from the Tathāgata Unsurpassed Standard when I was a bodhisattva, and then I explained it extensively to others. Recalling it, I have not experienced fear, anxiety, gooseflesh, or physical harm, even for an instant.” “Blessed One, what is the unsurpassed Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā?” The Blessed One replied: tadyathā | oṁ jaya jaya | vijaya vijaya | jayavāhini | śaṃkari śaṃkari | prabhaṃkari | I and all sentient beings⁹ sarvaśatrūñ | jambhaya jambhaya | stambhaya stambhaya | mohaya mohaya | bhagavati | jayavāhini | matha matha | pramatha pramatha | grasa grasa | hasa hasa | hūṁ hūṁ | la hūṁ la hūṁ¹⁰ | lambodari ### [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.2) | trinetre | caturvaktre | caturdaṃṣṭre¹¹ | asi-musala-cakra-trisula-vajra-kavaca-dhāraṇi | Protect us from all harm. Protect us. | oṁ bhagavati | hana hana | daha daha | paca paca | matha matha | pramatha pramatha | dhuna dhuna | vidhuna vidhuna | hūṁ hūṁ | phaṭ phaṭ | bhañja bhañja | parasainyaṃ vidhvaṃsaya | sarvaśatrūn nāśaya | dhva­jāgrakeyure | tiṣṭha tiṣṭha tiṣṭha¹² | bhriṭa bhriṭa | ulkāmukhi | ulkādhāraṇi | trailokyamathani vidhvaṃsaya parasainyām |Protect us from all harm. Protect us. | cala cala | cili cili | culu culu | kampa kampa | kala kala | kili kili | kulu kulu | muñca muñca | aṭṭahāsaṁ | vidhvaṃsaya parasainyam | Protect us from all harm. Protect us. | trāsaya trāsaya | bhrāmaya bhrāmaya | buddhasatyena | dharmasatyena | satyavādināṃ satyena | satyavādināṃ | satyena | buddha­satyenāti­krama | dharma­satyenātikrama | saṃ­ghasatyenāti­krama | satya­vādināṃ satyam atikrama | lambodari lambodari | kuṭṭa kuṭṭa kuttā | kuṭṭāpaya kuṭṭāpaya| rudram ānaya | viṣṇum ānaya | candra­sūrya­brahmam ānaya | trai­lokyādhi­patim ānaya | sarva­devādhi­patim ānaya | sarvayakṣa-rākṣasa-gandharva-kumbhāṇḍa-mahoragādhipatim ānaya | vidhvaṃsaya parasainyam | raṅgha raṅgha | raṅghāpaya raṅghāpaya | jvala jvala | puṣpamālini | rundha rundha | riti riti | citi citi | dhriti dhriti | bhṛīkuṭimukhapare | senākulotsādanakari | hala hala | hili hili | hulu hulu | he ha | riṇi riṇi | riṇāmate | jambhadhvaje | sarvabuddha-avalokite | Protect us from all fear. Protect us. | sarva­tathāgatāvalokite svāhā | guṇarājaprabhāsottame svāhā | suryārkavimale svāhā | candrārkavimale svāhā | sarvagrahanakṣatradhyāmīkaraṇe¹³ svāhā | Protect us from all fear, harm, illness, and conflict. Protect us. | svāhā! King of the gods, ### [3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.3) with the unsurpassed Dhāraṇī of Dhvajāgrakeyūrā, whether in war, in fights, in quarrels, in disagreements, or wherever you go, you will never be afraid and will always be victorious. If it is tied atop a standard or worn around the neck, kings of humans and courageous ones will be protected. The dhāraṇī will take the appearance of a woman who will stand in front of them. She will eliminate their fears and protect them; she will produce excellent circumstances, make opposing armies retreat; and she will constantly bring about auspiciousness, purity, good reputation, prosperity, and abundance.” After the Blessed One had spoken, Śakra, lord of the gods, and the bhikṣus and bodhisattvas¹⁴ rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One. Colophon This translation was produced by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla and the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé. It was revised according to the new lexicon and finalized. ### Notes ### [notes.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.1) 1. See, for example, https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=731 (last accessed 4 March 4, 2024). ### [notes.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.2) 2. Phangthangma, p. 27. ### [notes.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.3) 3. Denkarma, 302.b. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 215, no. 376. ### [notes.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.4) 4. Paolo Giunta, “The Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā nāma dhāriṇī,” https://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa\_dhvajAgrakeyUrAdhAriNI-alt.htm. See also the version published on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL) by the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Input Project based on a text of unknown origin provided by the Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods, Kathmandu, Nepal, http://gretil.sub.uni-goettingen.de/gretil/corpustei/transformations/html/sa\_dhvajAgrakeyUrAdhAriNI.htm. ### [notes.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.5) 5. Sheng chuang bi yin tuoluoni jing 勝幢臂印陀羅尼經 (Dhva­jāgrakeyūrā­dhāraṇī), Taishō 1363 (CBETA; SAT). ### [notes.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.6) 6. This text, Toh 612, and all those contained in this same volume (rgyud, ba), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 101. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimala­prabhā­nāma­kālacakra­tantra­ṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation. Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 612 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 612, , for details. ### [notes.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.7) 7. The longer Sanskrit version translates as “I prostrate to the Bhagavatī Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā.” See Giunta, “The Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā nāma dhāriṇī.” ### [notes.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.8) 8. Here following the longer Sanskrit version, which has aparājita. See Giunta, “The Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā nāma dhāriṇī.” ### [notes.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.9) 9. The italicized phrases in English are translations of Tibetan words that either were added to the dhāraṇī or replaced some Sanskrit words. Giunta’s edition is based on a Tucci manuscript that probably belonged originally to an individual named Āvadhūta Śrī Ālakhavajra, as it asks the reader to pray for this individual, his family, and all beings. See Giunta, “The Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā nāma dhāriṇī.” In India, it is not unusual to insert one’s name or someone else’s name in a mantra. We can assume that the Tibetan translators have instead inserted “I and all sentient beings,” “protect us from all harm…,” and so on, which are the non-italicized phrases in our translation. ### [notes.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.10) 10. The longer Sanskrit version here reads lambha lambha. See Giunta, “The Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā nāma dhāriṇī.” ### [notes.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.11) 11. The Tibetan appears to read catudadaṁthṭe, which is an error. caturdaṃṣṭre means “four fangs.” ### [notes.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.12) 12. The Tibetan has trita trita trita (“third, third, third”). The longer Sanskrit version duplicates tiṣṭha (“stay”), which makes better sense in this context. We have opted to replace trita with tiṣṭha. ### [notes.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.13) 13. While the Tibetan has d+he mI ka ra Ne, we have followed the longer Sanskrit version, which reads dhyāmīkaraṇe (“to burn,” “to consume”), which refers to the negative influence of the planets and lunar mansions. ### [notes.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000.notes.14) 14. Here we have followed the longer Sanskrit version. See Giunta, “The Āryadhvajāgrakeyūrā nāma dhāriṇī.” The Tibetan, in place of “the bhikṣus and bodhisattvas,” has “gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas,” which begs the question as to why the asuras would rejoice at instructions on how to defeat themselves. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.dhvajagrakeyura*bo~en-84000) · Pramāṇa