འཕགས་མ་གཟའ་རྣམས་ཀྱ་ཡམ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས intro.2
The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas” intro.2
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intro.2
The Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas” ¹ records a teaching by Śākyamuni Buddha on a dhāraṇī recitation practice and maṇḍala instruction for making offerings to the nine celestial grahas. The aim of this practice is to win the grahas’ favor and be protected from harmful influences and beings. The introduction tells us that the Buddha taught this dhāraṇī in the city of the yakṣa lord Aṭavika, where he was surrounded by a host of bodhisattvas and a large gathering of supernatural beings. Seated among them are the nine celestial grahas—Sūrya, Candra, Aṅgāraka, Budha, Bṛhaspati, Śukra, Śani, Rāhu, and Ketu—who have joined this assembly to praise the Buddha and listen to his teaching.