འཕགས་པ་ལྕགས་ཀྱ་མཆ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས intro.5

intro.5

Hidas (2019) dates The Nāga Vow of the Vajra Beak (Vajra­tuṇḍa­nāga­samaya, Toh 759/964)—the longest and more 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 [2] 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 in Tibet.