[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) › [Other dhāraṇīs](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other) › [Gāthādvayadhāraṇī](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani) › [ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ་གཉིས་པའི་གཟུངས](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611) › The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī # The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī Translation of [ཚགས་ས་བཅད་པ་གཉས་པའ་གཟངས (ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ་གཉིས་པའི་གཟུངས)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611) - **Language:** English - **Translator:** [Giuliano Proença](https://indike.org/pramana/person/giuliano-proenca) - **Extent:** 43 passages, 1,940 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** 84000 · Published by 84000 (v 1.0.0 2025). 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.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro) — 9 parts - [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.1) - [notes Notes](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes) — 33 parts ## Text ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.1) The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī consists of two initial verses that enumerate eight obscurations and their antidote—the Mahāyāna teachings—followed by a dhāraṇī and three verses that list the ten beneficial results of reciting the text. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.2) The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī consists of two initial verses that enumerate eight obscurations and their antidote—the Mahāyāna teachings—followed by a dhāraṇī and three verses that list the ten beneficial results of its recitation. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.3) The Sanskrit text of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī is extant in several manuscripts from Nepal. Two of these manuscripts have been edited by Gergely Hidas in his editions of two dhāraṇī collections.¹ Kazuo Kano has also published a critical edition of the Sanskrit text of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī,² together with a translation into Japanese. According to Kano, The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī has its origin in verses XII.19–23 of the Mahāyāna­sūtrālaṃkāra­kārikā (Toh 4020) and originally consisted of these verses without the dhāraṇī,³ which corresponds to the translations found at Dunhuang. Its intermediate form with the dhāraṇī and five verses, as presented in the Kangyur, was likely formed between the eleventh and the early fifteenth century, at least before the publication of the Yongle Kangyur in 1410.⁴ According to Kano, its developed form, as now extant in the Nepalese collections, reached Nepal between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries. It integrated two verses from The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Toh 47)⁵ that are not found in any Tibetan version.⁶ ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.4) Kano concludes that The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī formed part of a set of five texts used for recitation in India.⁷ These also included The Dhāraṇī of the Six Gates (Toh 141, 526, 916),⁸ The Single Stanza (Toh 323),⁹ The Four Stanzas (Toh 324),¹⁰ and The Prayer of Good Conduct (Toh 1095).¹¹ Initially, these five texts circulated individually but became popular in India as a set by the time of Advayavajra or Ratnākaraśānti (eleventh century). Later, they were incorporated in the dhāraṇī collections in Nepal. ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.5) The Degé Kangyur contains three recensions of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī, one in the General Sūtra section, one in the Tantra section, and one in the Dhāraṇī section.¹² Likewise, all other Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line include three recensions of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī.¹³ The Thempangma Kangyurs classify The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī exclusively as a tantra, with only one recension. In the Lhasa and Narthang Kangyurs, we find two recensions of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī in the Sūtra and Tantra sections. The Phukdrak Kangyur contains three recensions, two in the Sūtra section and one in the Tantra section. The first version in the Sūtra section (Phukdrak 142) is noteworthy because it comprises only the first two verses and the dhāraṇī. It is then followed by another text, the Traigāthā (tshigs su bcad pa gsum pa, Phukdrak 143), which corresponds to the last three stanzas of the usual recensions of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī.¹⁴ ### [intro.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.6) The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī is also found among the Dunhuang manuscripts. There exists one fragment¹⁵ and two complete manuscripts with colophons.¹⁶ The two complete manuscripts are almost identical to the canonical Two Stanza Dhāraṇī, yet they omit the dhāraṇī and have a different title: The Presentation of The Two Stanzas together with Their Benefits.¹⁷ Though none of the versions in the Kangyur include a translator’s colophon, both complete Dunhuang manuscripts state that Paltsek Rakṣita was the translator and editor. If this attribution is correct, The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī must have been translated at some point in the late eighth or early ninth century when Paltsek Rakṣita was active as a translator. ### [intro.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.7) The Tengyur includes a commentary on this text: An Explanation of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī (Toh 4002) by Sundaravyūha.¹⁸ The Tibetan scholar Tāranātha (1575–1634) composed a commentary on The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī as well as sequential commentaries on three of the other five texts in the above-mentioned set,¹⁹ corroborating Kano’s view that these texts were seen as related.²⁰ ### [intro.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.8) The importance of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī and the other texts in the set for recitation is evident, for in Tibet they are included in extracts from sūtra and tantra (gces btus), collected liturgical texts (chos spyod), collections of mantras and dhāraṇīs for recitation, and collections of sādhanas. They are also sometimes mentioned as texts for recitation in preliminary practices. The first complete modern translation of The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī was published in 1883 by the French Orientalist Léon Feer in his Extraits du Kandjour.²¹ ### [intro.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.intro.9) The main source of the present translation is the Tibetan text as found in the Sūtra section of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 143) and Kano’s annotated Sanskrit edition. We also consulted the versions found in the Tantra and Dhāraṇī sections of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 611 and Toh 918, respectively), in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), and in the Stok Palace and Phukdrak Kangyurs, as well as the two complete Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang. The most significant variants are mentioned in the notes. The transcription of the dhāraṇī was based on Degé (Toh 143), with major variants from Kano’s Sanskrit edition and the two other versions from the Degé recorded in the notes. A tentative English translation of the dhāraṇī is provided in a note.²² On occasion, we consulted Sundaravyūha’s commentary and Vasubandhu’s Sūtrālaṃkāra­bhāṣya (Toh 4026) for clarification. ### [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.1) Homage to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.²³ Contempt toward the Buddha and the Dharma, Laziness, contentment with small amounts,²⁴ Acting with desire and pride, Regret, and parting due to being uncertain—²⁵ Such are beings’ obscurations. The antidote is the teaching of the supreme vehicle Through which all the faults That cause hindrances are abandoned. tadyathā | oṃ vajra­prakāra vajra­prakāra²⁶ | vajra­cakra daṃṣṭrābhayānake²⁷| amale vimale | nirmale²⁸ | culuke culuke²⁹| culu culu | sarva­buddhe svāhā³⁰ || Whoever practices The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī, With respect to either the words or the meaning,³¹ Is a wise sublime being Who will attain ten benefits— Complete development of the elements, Perfect joy at the moment of death, Rebirth according to one’s wish, Total recollection of former lives, Meeting with buddhas, Hearing the supreme vehicle from them, Interest, along with intellect, The two gates,³² and swift awakening.³³ ### Notes ### [notes.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.1) 1. Cambridge ms. add. 13.26 and ms. add. 1680.8. See Hidas 2021, pp. 29–30 and p. 95. ### [notes.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.2) 2. His sources are four manuscripts from Nepal, three on paper (one from 1792), and one palm leaf manuscript: Matsunami no. 419 (A.D.1792 = samvat 912), no. 202 (date unknown), NGMPP A131/9, and Asiatic Society of Bengal no. 9987. See Kano 2011, pp. 61–65. ### [notes.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.3) 3. Sundaravyūha’s (ca. second half of the eighth century) commentary (Toh 4002) does not discuss the dhāraṇī. ### [notes.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.4) 4. Advayavajra and Ratnākaraśānti, in the eleventh century, include the word “dhāraṇī” in the title, but the text appears in Butön’s fourteenth-century catalog without the Tibetan word for “dhāraṇī.” See Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub), folio 166.b. It is not included in the imperial catalogs, though its commentary is listed in the Denkarma (no. 559). See Yoshimura 1950, p. 168. ### [notes.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.5) 5. The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Tathāgataguhya, Toh 47), and . ### [notes.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.6) 6. A Commentary on the Difficult Points of the “Garland of Birth Stories” (Jātakamālā­pañjikā, Toh 4460) and The Compendium of Study Materials (Śikṣāsamuccaya, Toh 3940) quote the same verses as being from The Secrets of the Realized Ones. See Kano 2011, pp. 85–86, nn. 56–57. The last Sanskrit verse is also quoted in An Account of the Precious Teachings together with a Lineage of the Śākya Clan (gsung rab rin po che’i gtam rgyud dang shAkya’i rabs rgyud, Toh 4357) by Paltsek Rakṣita, as being from The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhi­rāja­sūtra, Toh 127). ### [notes.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.7) 7. Kano concludes this by studying the sūtras listed in Ratnākaraśānti’s Muktāvalī (Toh 1189), Kāṇha’s Yogaratnamālā (Toh 1183), and Advayavajra’s Kudṛṣṭinir­ghātana, and by analyzing the structure of the Tibetan canonical collections, the Nepali collections of dhāraṇīs, and several Tibetan commentaries. ### [notes.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.8) 8. Ṣaṇmukhī­dhāraṇī , Toh 141, 526, 916. ### [notes.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.9) 9. Ekagāthā , Toh 323. ### [notes.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.10) 10. Caturgāthā , Toh 324. ### [notes.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.11) 11. Bhadra­caryāpraṇi­dhāna , Toh 1095, 4377. ### [notes.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.12) 12. This text, Toh 918, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs, e), 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 918 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 918, , for details. Note that there is a discrepancy among various databases for cataloging the Toh 918 version of this text within vol. 100 or 101 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 918, , for details. ### [notes.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.13) 13. Within the Tshalpa lineage Kangyurs that do not contain a Dhāraṇī section, two recensions are found in the Tantra section. ### [notes.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.14) 14. As a result, the Phukdrak includes in sequence: The Single Stanza, The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī, The Three Stanzas, and The Four Stanzas. ### [notes.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.15) 15. Pelliot tibétain 412. ### [notes.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.16) 16. IOL Tib J 63 and IOL Tib J 64. ### [notes.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.17) 17. In Tibetan: tshigs su bcad pa gnyis pa phan yon dang bcas par bstan pa. Compare Vasubandhu’s Sūtrālaṃkāra­bhāṣya’s (Toh 4026) reference to the five verses that comprise The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī: mahāyāna­sūtrāntasānu­śaṃsaṃ gāthādvayam upādāya. ### [notes.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.18) 18. Gāthādvaya­vyākhyāna , Toh 4002. ### [notes.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.19) 19. The Dhāraṇī of the Six Gates (Toh 141, 526, 916), The Single Stanza (Toh 323), and The Four Stanzas (Toh 324). See Jonang Jetsün Tāranātha (jo nang rje btsun tA ra nA tha), pp. 709–54. ### [notes.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.20) 20. In the Phukdrak Kangyur, and in the Bardan, Stagrimo, and Stongde collections, The Single Stanza, The Four Stanzas, and The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī also appear in sequence. In the Bardan collection, The Prayer of Good Conduct comes before The Single Stanza, so that the four texts are grouped together. ### [notes.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.21) 21. Feer 1883, pp. 467–68. ### [notes.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.22) 22. Sanskrit words that were edited to produce a more plausible reading are indicated with a “\*” in the translation of the dhāraṇī. ### [notes.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.23) 23. In IOL Tib J 63 and IOL Tib J 64, the homage is directed toward the buddhas and bodhisattvas instead of Mañjuśrī: sangs rgyas dang byang cub sems dpa’ thams chad la phyag ’tsal lo. ### [notes.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.24) 24. According to the commentary by Sundaravyūha (Toh 4002), this refers to being content with small amounts of virtue. ### [notes.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.25) 25. According to the commentary by Sundaravyūha (Toh 4002), this refers to leaving the Mahāyāna in favor of the Śrāvakayāna because one’s spiritual potential is uncertain. The Sūtrālaṃkāra­bhāṣya glosses this as “parting from the Mahāyāna by uncertain bodhisattvas.” (tatrāniyatabhedo bodhi­satvānām aniyatānāṃ mahāyānād bhedaḥ). ### [notes.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.26) 26. Kano’s Sanskrit edition (2011): oṃ vajra­prakārā vajra­prakārā. ### [notes.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.27) 27. Kano’s Sanskrit edition (2011): vajra­cakra­daṃṣṭrā bhayānake. ### [notes.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.28) 28. Degé Kangyur (Toh 611, Toh 918): nirmale; Kano’s Sanskrit edition (2011): nirmale cale culu. ### [notes.29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.29) 29. Degé Kangyur (Toh 611, Toh 918): omits one culuke. ### [notes.30](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.30) 30. IOL Tib J 63 and IOL Tib J 64 omit the dhāraṇī. Tentative English translation: It is thus—oṃ vajra fence, vajra fence (\*vajraprākāra), vajra wheel! O fearful fang! Stainless, spotless, and unsullied one (\*nirmale)! culuke culuke culu culu. Hail to every buddha! ### [notes.31](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.31) 31. IOL Tib J 63 and IOL Tib J 64: tshIg gI don (“meaning of the words”). ### [notes.32](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.32) 32. Sundaravyūha’s commentary and the Sūtrālaṃkāra­bhāṣya both explain that the two gates are the gates of samādhi and dhāraṇī. ### [notes.33](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000.notes.33) 33. The Sanskrit manuscripts add two verses; see Kano 2011, pp. 65–66. Their translation can be found in The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Toh 47), and . --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.dharani.other.gathadvayadharani*bo-d611~en-84000) · Pramāṇa