The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]; The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]
Translation of འཕགས་པ་ལྕགས་མཆ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས (འཕགས་པ་ལྕགས་མཆུ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་གཟུངས)
- Language
- English
- Translator
- Lowell Cook
- Extent
- 31 passages, 3,390 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- 84000 · Published by 84000 (v 1.0.2 2025); Published by 84000 (v 1.0.1 2025). 84000: Translating the Words of the… · 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 — 12 parts
- 1
- 2
- 3
- notes Notes — 2 parts
Text
84000's introduction
intro.1
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the “five beak dhāraṇīs” (mchu sde lnga, Toh 759–763) and among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control practices. In Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain, Śakra requests the Buddha for the wrathful means with which to protect the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha then recites the dhāraṇī of the iron beak along with a short discourse on its efficacy, ritual instructions for weather control, and an exhortation for secrecy.
intro.2
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the “five beak dhāraṇīs” (mchu sde lnga, Toh 759–763), a cycle of texts related to the garuḍas, a race of eagle-like birds in Indian mythology. The word tuṇḍa or “beak” in the titles is a reference to the garuḍas’ sharp, owl-like beaks which they use for hunting nāgas, a class of snake-like beings associated with, among other things, weather patterns and rainfall. The dhāraṇī of the iron beak is thus a threatening spell used to coerce the nāgas into providing rainfall for favorable agriculture. The cycle of the five beak dhāraṇīs is, along with the Great Cloud sūtras (Mahāmegha, Toh 232-235), among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control practices.
intro.3
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] takes place in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. There, Śakra requests the Buddha for the wrathful means with which to subdue asuras—the famed adversaries of the devas—and other beings who harm the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the dhāraṇī of the iron beak which has the dual purpose of averting harm to the Buddhist teachings and controlling weather. This dual interest in agrarian concerns and protecting Buddhism might suggest that the dhāraṇī was originally a pan-Indian agricultural ritual spell that was later brought into the Buddhist fold, especially when we consider how rain rituals for good harvests have been a widespread concern of Indian religions since time immemorial.¹ Among those who harm the Buddhist teachings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various kinds of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the dhāraṇī, he provides short ritual instructions on how to use it to incant ritual substances and create rainfall or hailstorms. The Buddha’s discourse comes to a close with him advocating for the utmost secrecy of this esoteric formula.
intro.4
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] shares an identical title with another translation in the Degé Kangyur, Toh 762,² which immediately follows it. These two texts furthermore share a great deal of intertextuality with The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From Dangers (Toh 609/925).³ These three works share an identical narrative structure, are set in Indra’s Rock Cave, and feature Śakra as their interlocutor. While the dhāraṇī formulas in Toh 761 and Toh 609/925 are, in most places, nearly in agreement, the much shorter formulas found in Toh 762 are altogether different. Many sections of the dhāraṇī formula were challenging to comprehend. We did not attempt to venture any conjectural emendations and, instead, presented it largely as it appears in the Tibetan.
intro.5
Hidas (2019) dates The Nāga Vow of the Vajra Beak (Vajratuṇḍanāgasamaya, Toh 759/964)—the longest and most central of the five beak dhāraṇīs—to the fifth century ce. Though the relationships between the five beak dhāraṇīs are still unclear, we may assume that The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] also emerged around a similar time and amidst a similar Indian cultural and religious milieu. The text is bereft of a colophon that would provide information as to when and by whom it was translated into Tibetan. It is not listed in either of the two extant catalogs from the imperial period. As such, we are left with little basis on which to determine under what circumstances it was translated into Tibetan. The colophon to The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From Dangers, however, describes how it was translated by the prolific Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé in collaboration with the Indian masters Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Though it may certainly be possible that the present text was translated during a similar time, given the degree of intertextuality between them, we cannot be sure. Like much of dhāraṇī literature, this work’s importance lies not in its study but in its ritual performance. As such, most of the references to the five beak dhāraṇīs we find in later Tibetan literature are not as scriptural citations but rather as a part of larger liturgies, alongside ritual elements such as nāga oblations (klu gtor), or as prescribed by astrological divinations.
intro.6
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] no longer survives in Sanskrit. The dhāraṇī was never translated into Chinese and, beyond its translation as a part of the Mongolian canon, it does not appear to have been translated into any other languages as far as we are aware. The text has also not been the subject of any sustained scholarly research. Our translation was based on the textual witness in the Degé Kangyur. We also consulted variant readings as attested in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur as well as the Stok Palace Manuscript (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur.
intro.7
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the “five beak dhāraṇīs” (mchu sde lnga, Toh 759–763) and among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control practices. In Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain, Śakra requests the Buddha for the wrathful means with which to protect the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha then recites the dhāraṇī of the iron beak along with a short discourse on its efficacy, ritual instructions for weather control, and an exhortation for secrecy.
intro.8
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the “five beak dhāraṇīs” (mchu sde lnga, Toh 759–763), a cycle of texts related to the garuḍas, a race of eagle-like birds in Indian mythology. The word tuṇḍa or “beak” in the titles is a reference to the garuḍas’ sharp, owl-like beaks which they use for hunting nāgas, a class of snake-like beings associated with, among other things, weather patterns and rainfall. The dhāraṇī of the iron beak is thus a threatening spell used to coerce the nāgas into providing rainfall for favorable agriculture. The cycle of the five beak dhāraṇīs is, along with the Great Cloud sūtras (Mahāmegha, Toh 232-235), among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control practices.
intro.9
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] takes place in Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. There, Śakra requests the Buddha for the wrathful means with which to subdue asuras—the famed adversaries of the devas—and other beings who harm the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha instructs Śakra to employ the dhāraṇī of the iron beak which has the dual purpose of averting harm to the Buddhist teachings and controlling weather. This dual interest in agrarian concerns and protecting Buddhism might suggest that the dhāraṇī was originally a pan-Indian agricultural ritual spell that was later brought into the Buddhist fold, especially when we consider how rain rituals for good harvests have been a widespread concern of Indian religions since time immemorial.¹ Among those who harm the Buddhist teachings, the text places a particular emphasis on grahas, a class of beings who “seize,” possess, or otherwise adversely influence other beings by causing a range of physical and mental afflictions, as well as various kinds of misfortune. After the Buddha recites the dhāraṇī, he provides short ritual instructions on how to use it to incant ritual substances and create rainfall or hailstorms. The Buddha’s discourse comes to a close with him advocating for the utmost secrecy of this esoteric formula.
intro.10
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] shares an identical title with another translation in the Degé Kangyur, Toh 762,² which immediately follows it. These two texts furthermore share a great deal of intertextuality with The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From Dangers (Toh 609/925).³ These three works share an identical narrative structure, are set in Indra’s Rock Cave, and feature Śakra as their interlocutor. While the dhāraṇī formulas in Toh 761 and Toh 609/925 are, in most places, nearly in agreement, the much shorter formulas found in Toh 762 are altogether different. Many sections of the dhāraṇī formula were challenging to comprehend. We did not attempt to venture any conjectural emendations and, instead, presented it largely as it appears in the Tibetan.
intro.11
Hidas (2019) dates The Nāga Vow of the Vajra Beak (Vajratuṇḍanāgasamaya, Toh 759/964)—the longest and most central of the five beak dhāraṇīs—to the fifth century ce. Though the relationships between the five beak dhāraṇīs are still unclear, we may assume that The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] also emerged around a similar time and amidst a similar Indian cultural and religious milieu. The text is bereft of a colophon that would provide information as to when and by whom it was translated into Tibetan. It is not listed in either of the two extant catalogs from the imperial period. As such, we are left with little basis on which to determine under what circumstances it was translated into Tibetan. The colophon to The Dhāraṇī That Fully Confers Freedom From Dangers, however, describes how it was translated by the prolific Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé in collaboration with the Indian masters Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. Though it may certainly be possible that the present text was translated during a similar time, given the degree of intertextuality between them, we cannot be sure. Like much of dhāraṇī literature, this work’s importance lies not in its study but in its ritual performance. As such, most of the references to the five beak dhāraṇīs we find in later Tibetan literature are not as scriptural citations but rather as a part of larger liturgies, alongside ritual elements such as nāga oblations (klu gtor), or as prescribed by astrological divinations.
intro.12
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] no longer survives in Sanskrit. The dhāraṇī was never translated into Chinese and, beyond its translation as a part of the Mongolian canon, it does not appear to have been translated into any other languages as far as we are aware. The text has also not been the subject of any sustained scholarly research. Our translation was based on the textual witness in the Degé Kangyur. We also consulted variant readings as attested in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur as well as the Stok Palace Manuscript (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur.
1
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was traveling through the land of Magadha when he arrived at a mango grove. At that mango grove, he took up residence in the Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. Śakra the lord of the devas then appeared before the Blessed One. He bowed his head at the Blessed One’s feet and sat to one side.
Having sat to one side, Śakra the lord of the devas told the Blessed One, “Blessed One, there are asuras and humans who harm the Dharma. Blessed One, they are the asuras and other adversaries not included in the assembly who seek to bring the Dharma long-term harm. Since the Blessed One has not subdued them with peaceful means, I request a teaching on how to tame them with wrathful means. Please allow me to protect the vehicle’s teachings against these enemies.”
The Blessed One told Śakra the lord of the devas, “Lord of devas, uphold the dhāraṇī of the iron beak which confers freedom from all dangers. It vanquishes evildoers and accomplishes all aims. It protects the sacred Dharma and quells all dangers. It alleviates all diseases and neutralizes all poisons. It stops all weapons and protects against the enemies of the vehicle’s teachings.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was traveling through the land of Magadha when he arrived at a mango grove. At that mango grove, he took up residence in the Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain. Śakra the lord of the devas then appeared before the Blessed One. He bowed his head at the Blessed One’s feet and sat to one side.
Having sat to one side, Śakra the lord of the devas told the Blessed One, “Blessed One, there are asuras and humans who harm the Dharma. Blessed One, they are the asuras and other adversaries not included in the assembly who seek to bring the Dharma long-term harm. Since the Blessed One has not subdued them with peaceful means, I request a teaching on how to tame them with wrathful means. Please allow me to protect the vehicle’s teachings against these enemies.”
The Blessed One told Śakra the lord of the devas, “Lord of devas, uphold the dhāraṇī of the iron beak which confers freedom from all dangers. It vanquishes evildoers and accomplishes all aims. It protects the sacred Dharma and quells all dangers. It alleviates all diseases and neutralizes all poisons. It stops all weapons and protects against the enemies of the vehicle’s teachings.
2
It paralyzes all legless, two-legged, and four-legged beings. It instills terror in all two-legged beings and defeats all adversaries. It defeats asuras, garuḍas, daityas, piśācas, apasmāras, unmādas, brahmanical rākṣasas,⁴ bhūtas, vetālas, śakuni grahas, pūtanas, revatīs, ostāraka grahas, ostārakas, apasmāra grahas, deva grahas, nāga grahas, yakṣa grahas, gandharva grahas, kinnara grahas, vināyaka grahas, and mātṛ grahas. It overcomes any disagreeable foods that have been consumed. It overcomes all infectious diseases, vātikas, paittikas, śleṣmikas, sānnipātikas, and malevolent beings. It brings peace from all conflicts, disputes, and scandals. This is the dhāraṇī of the iron beak, the wrathful dhāraṇī of the garuḍas. I will recite this dhāraṇī that instills fear in those who harm the teachings and creates fierce storms of rain and hail:
tadyathā | ete mete prametritra gole vole levosse motte padate khāratte khāraṇe gānāgāne nāgāmugane mone pratīmone kāli prakāli caṇḍe mahācaṇḍe praticaṇḍe vegosona gonāmohā pramohā mahāmoṭā pramoṭā nāśani pranāśanādhipati valgāṇi pravalgāṇi nidyaṇi pāniṭhāni krodhāni pratikrodhāni hana hana vihana vihana sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭān nāśaya sarvābhayaprade⁵ hūṃ phaṭ
“Simply reciting this mantra will make everything throughout the ten directions shake, shake violently, quake, and quake violently. All harm doers will collapse face down, unconscious.
“Mix yellow and black mustard seeds⁶ and scatter them over rivers,
It paralyzes all legless, two-legged, and four-legged beings. It instills terror in all two-legged beings and defeats all adversaries. It defeats asuras, garuḍas, daityas, piśācas, apasmāras, unmādas, brahmanical rākṣasas,⁴ bhūtas, vetālas, śakuni grahas, pūtanas, revatīs, ostāraka grahas, ostārakas, apasmāra grahas, deva grahas, nāga grahas, yakṣa grahas, gandharva grahas, kinnara grahas, vināyaka grahas, and mātṛ grahas. It overcomes any disagreeable foods that have been consumed. It overcomes all infectious diseases, vātikas, paittikas, śleṣmikas, sānnipātikas, and malevolent beings. It brings peace from all conflicts, disputes, and scandals. This is the dhāraṇī of the iron beak, the wrathful dhāraṇī of the garuḍas. I will recite this dhāraṇī that instills fear in those who harm the teachings and creates fierce storms of rain and hail:
tadyathā | ete mete prametritra gole vole levosse motte padate khāratte khāraṇe gānāgāne nāgāmugane mone pratīmone kāli prakāli caṇḍe mahācaṇḍe praticaṇḍe vegosona gonāmohā pramohā mahāmoṭā pramoṭā nāśani pranāśanādhipati valgāṇi pravalgāṇi nidyaṇi pāniṭhāni krodhāni pratikrodhāni hana hana vihana vihana sarvaduṣṭapraduṣṭān nāśaya sarvābhayaprade⁵ hūṃ phaṭ
“Simply reciting this mantra will make everything throughout the ten directions shake, shake violently, quake, and quake violently. All harm doers will collapse face down, unconscious.
“Mix yellow and black mustard seeds⁶ and scatter them over rivers,
3
oceans, and mountains. From then on, there will be rainfall. Incant molasses, honey, licorice, sugar cane, and various nāga medicines in milk and sprinkle that on the rivers, oceans, springs, pools, ponds, waterfalls, and waterways.⁷ Doing so will create great hailstorms. If you recite it by performing mental recitation, gazing at a cloud, and saluting the devas, great hailstorms will fall as you wish.
“The wise should uphold, memorize, and recite the noble dhāraṇī of the iron beak. They should not share it with others. They must keep it hidden. It is not for everyone. It should be kept out of sight like a pebble in the ocean. This indomitable wrathful dhāraṇī allows one to be victorious in all situations, no matter whenever one enters a conflict, dispute, or war. Inscriptions of it should be affixed to the tips of banners. Sons and daughters of good families who follow mantra should practice it with single-pointed minds. Whether one is a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇerī, or an upāsaka or upāsikā, one should uphold and memorize it in order to avert⁸ harm to the teachings.”
After the Blessed One had spoken, Śakra the lord of the devas and the world with its asuras and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
oceans, and mountains. From then on, there will be rainfall. Incant molasses, honey, licorice, sugar cane, and various nāga medicines in milk and sprinkle that on the rivers, oceans, springs, pools, ponds, waterfalls, and waterways.⁷ Doing so will create great hailstorms. If you recite it by performing mental recitation, gazing at a cloud, and saluting the devas, great hailstorms will fall as you wish.
“The wise should uphold, memorize, and recite the noble dhāraṇī of the iron beak. They should not share it with others. They must keep it hidden. It is not for everyone. It should be kept out of sight like a pebble in the ocean. This indomitable wrathful dhāraṇī allows one to be victorious in all situations, no matter whenever one enters a conflict, dispute, or war. Inscriptions of it should be affixed to the tips of banners. Sons and daughters of good families who follow mantra should practice it with single-pointed minds. Whether one is a bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, a śrāmaṇera or śrāmaṇerī, or an upāsaka or upāsikā, one should uphold and memorize it in order to avert⁸ harm to the teachings.”
After the Blessed One had spoken, Śakra the lord of the devas and the world with its asuras and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
Notes
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]
notes.1.1
1. Hidas (2019), pp. 11–18. The fact that the mantras and vidyāmantras contained in these texts comprise, as far as this can be judged on the basis of the transliterations preserved in the Tibetan translations, forms of Middle Indic dialect, further supports the hypothesis that these spells originated in a pan-Indian cultural milieu.
notes.1.2
2. The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2] (Lohatuṇḍadhāraṇī, Toh 762).
notes.1.3
3. Sarvābhayapradādhāraṇī (Toh 609/925).
notes.1.4
4. Reading bram ze’i srin po (“brahmanical rākṣasas”) from H, N, and S instead of bram ze dang srin po (“brahmins and rākṣasas”). This accords with Toh 609 and 925.
notes.1.5
5. The phrase sarva abhaya pradai has been emended here to sarvābhayaprade.
notes.1.6
6. Given that ske tshe and yungs nag both tend to mean “black mustard seeds” in Tibetan, we have rendered this as “yellow and black mustard seeds,” based on the assumption that the text would not be unncessarily redundant.
notes.1.7
7. The translation of gnyan dgu is uncertain. The context makes clear that it should be a body of water and we have thus rendered it in a generic way.
notes.1.8
8. Reading bzlog (“avert”) from H, N, and S instead of bsnyung (“to be ill”).
The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]
notes.2.1
1. Hidas (2019), pp. 11–18. The fact that the mantras and vidyāmantras contained in these texts comprise, as far as this can be judged on the basis of the transliterations preserved in the Tibetan translations, forms of Middle Indic dialect, further supports the hypothesis that these spells originated in a pan-Indian cultural milieu.
notes.2.2
2. The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2] (Lohatuṇḍadhāraṇī, Toh 762).
notes.2.3
3. Sarvābhayapradādhāraṇī (Toh 609/925).
notes.2.4
4. Reading bram ze’i srin po (“brahmanical rākṣasas”) from H, N, and S instead of bram ze dang srin po (“brahmins and rākṣasas”). This accords with Toh 609 and 925.
notes.2.5
5. The phrase sarva abhaya pradai has been emended here to sarvābhayaprade.
notes.2.6
6. Given that ske tshe and yungs nag both tend to mean “black mustard seeds” in Tibetan, we have rendered this as “yellow and black mustard seeds,” based on the assumption that the text would not be unncessarily redundant.
notes.2.7
7. The translation of gnyan dgu is uncertain. The context makes clear that it should be a body of water and we have thus rendered it in a generic way.
notes.2.8
8. Reading bzlog (“avert”) from H, N, and S instead of bsnyung (“to be ill”).