Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of All Tathāgatas

Translation of འཕགས་པ་ད་བཞན་གཤགས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱ་གཙག་ཏར་ནས་བྱང་བ་གདགས་དཀར་པ་ཅན་ཞས་བྱ་བ་གཞན་གྱས་མ་ཐབ་མ་ཕྱར་ཟླག་པའ་རག་སྔགས་ཀྱ་རྒྱལ་མ་ཆན་མའ (འཕགས་པ་དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་གཙུག་ཏོར་ནས་བྱུང་བ་གདུགས་དཀར་པོ་ཅན་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་གཞན་གྱིས་མི་ཐུབ་མ་ཕྱིར་ཟློག་པའི་རིག་སྔགས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མོ་ཆེན་མོའོ)

Language: English
Translators: Stefan Mang, Roger Espel Llima, Ryan Conlon, Paul Thomas
Extent: 135 passages, 11,429 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: 84000 · Translated by Samye Translationsunder the patronage and supervision of 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…

intro 84000's introduction — 24 parts
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notes Notes — 95 parts

Text

84000's introduction

intro.1

This text presents a spell (vidyā) featuring the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess), which issues from the uṣṇīṣa of the Buddha Śākyamuni as he rests in samādhi among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The text details a litany of dangers, illness, and threats and provides spell formulas that can be recited to avert them. Sitātapatrā and her spell have enjoyed a long history and sustained popularity as a source of security against illness and misfortune, and her spell is widely used in contemporary Buddhist communities to this day.

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The Noble Invincible Great Queen of Spells for Averting Called “Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of All Tathāgatas” (Toh 590) is one of four texts preserved in the Degé Kangyur (Toh 590–93) dedicated to the female deity Sitātapatrā (gdugs dkar po can), the White Umbrella Goddess. Though these four texts differ somewhat in length and arrangement, they all share the same core material and thus represent four unique variations of a single work. At the heart of each of these texts is a series of spell formulas that can be recited to avert a wide array of threats to health, well-being, and prosperity. The spell of Sitātapatrā has enjoyed sustained popularity as a source of security and protection in numerous Buddhist communities, as evidenced by its long and complex textual history and the numerous languages into which it has been translated. The four texts translated into Tibetan and preserved in Kangyur reflect distinct stages of the spell’s evolution, stages that mirror its development in the broader Buddhist community. Toh 590 is the longest of the four canonical translations and appears to represent a later stage in the spell’s evolution in the Indic Buddhist tradition. The popularity of this version of the spell is particularly evident in the substantial number of extant Sanskrit manuscripts that reflect this stage of its development.

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Three of the four canonical translations of the Sitātapatrā texts, including Toh 590, include a scriptural introduction (nidāna; gleng gzhi) that sets the stage for Śākyamuni’s revelation of the deity and her spell.¹ The text begins in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, where Śākyamuni is resting in samādhi among an assembly of monks, bodhisattvas, and the gods of the realm. While he is deep in samādhi, the spell issues from his uṣṇīṣa, resounding in full throughout the assembly. It begins with a long series of homages to the Three Jewels, an array of buddhas and other realized beings, and a number of gods and other figures from the brahmanical pantheon, including Brahmā, Indra, Śiva, and Viṣṇu. This opening homage is followed by verses invoking Sitātapatrā in the form of various female deities, including Tārā, Bhṛkuṭī, and Pāṇḍaravāsinī, thereby equating her with many renowned female deities of the Buddhist tradition. Most of the text is dedicated to a series of spells and other recitation formulas that enjoin Sitātapatrā to intervene on the practitioner’s behalf to avert an exhaustive list of diseases, afflictions, rival spells, and the adverse influences of supernatural beings. The text concludes with a description of the effectiveness of the spell and the benefits of relying on Sitātapatrā.

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Sitātapatrā and Her Spell

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Sitātapatrā is at once the name of a spell and the deity it invokes. In the title of Toh 590 and throughout all four texts, Sitātapatrā is called a vidyā, a term that refers to both a class of deities and a type of magical formula, thus indicating their inseparability. To recite Sitātapatrā’s spell—or to wear it, inscribe it on a talisman, insert it into a caitya, and so forth—is to summon the powerful deity to intercede on one’s behalf. The primary name of the spell in Sanskrit is sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrā,² which is somewhat ambiguous given that the precise relationship between the compound sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣa (“uṣṇīṣa[s] of all tathāgatas”) and sitātapatrā can be read in a number of plausible ways. The Tibetan translators settled on a specific interpretation by inserting the phrase nas byung ba (“born from”) in all versions of the title so that it reads, in Tibetan translation, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas.³ As this aligns well with the setting of the sūtra, in which the spell emerges from Śākyamuni’s uṣṇīṣa, we have followed this interpretation here.

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As a magical formula, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathagatas is alternatively referred to as a vidyā (“spell”), a mahāvidyārajñī (“great queen of spells”), a dhāraṇī, and a mantra. These terms are used interchangeably to refer to the magical formulas that are used to avert the threats of disease, misfortune, aggression, and the influence of supernatural beings. Because the spell is held to be specifically effective for averting these threats before they strike, the spell is designated a pratyaṅgirā, an “averting” or “counter” spell. And, because it is regarded as highly potent for this purpose, it is further referred to as aparājitā (“invincible”).⁴

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The dangers Sitātapatrā can capably avert are enumerated in great detail and include a litany of physical illness and mental disorders, a vast demonology of supernatural forces that cause illness and distress, threats from kings, poisons, and animals, and even a detailed list of rival magical traditions whose spells pose a potential threat. Given this exhaustive treatment of the benefits of the spell, it is noteworthy that the path to liberation and the attainment of buddhahood are never mentioned. While it can be implicitly understood that averting disease, calamity, and supernatural dangers are requisites for the pursuit of awakening, spiritual goals are clearly subordinated in these texts to the goal of alleviating the worldly anxieties shared by all beings, Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike.

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The texts on Sitātapatrā preserved in the Kangyur do not provide a detailed iconography of the goddess, saying only that she has a thousand heads, a thousand arms, a thousand legs, and a trillion eyes. This form of Sitātapatrā is still popular in the contemporary Buddhist tradition, but she is also depicted in a number of other forms in the various practice manuals associated with the canonical texts. This includes forms of the goddess with one face and two arms (), three faces and six arms (), and five faces and eight arms ().⁵

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The circulation of texts on Sitātapatrā can be traced back to at least the eighth century, which is the proposed date of the earliest textual witnesses available.⁶ Given that the earliest versions of the spell were discovered in Central Asia, it is clear the spell was popular well before this time.⁷ Sitātapatrā continues to be relevant in the contemporary Vajrayāna traditions of Buddhism, especially in Nepal and Tibet, as demonstrated by the numerous copies of her spell that circulate. In Tibet, the Sitātapatrā spell was widely popular from an early period, as indicated by the large number of Sitātapatrā texts discovered at Dunhuang.⁸ A version of the Sitātapatrā spell is also said to have been specifically translated for Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde’u btsan, r. 756–800), as we find it included among the “ten royal sūtras” (rgyal po’i mdo bcu) translated for the king at Padmasambhava’s recommendation.⁹ Numerous practice manuals and ritual texts for Sitātapatrā have been composed in Tibet into recent times, many of which draw explicitly from the canonical sources.¹⁰

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The Canonical Texts

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The four Sitātapatrā texts preserved in the Degé Kangyur are classified as kriyātantras, and they are further categorized among texts associated with the tathāgata family and listed alongside texts associated with other uṣṇīṣa deities such as Uṣṇīṣavijayā.¹¹ As is often the case with spells and dhāraṇīs, the Sitātapatrā spell is also included in the Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs ’dus) of the Degé Kangyur as Toh 985 and 986, which correspond to Toh 590 and 592.¹² The four canonical texts (Toh 590–593) represent four distinct versions of the same spell that are largely equivalent in terms of content, translation style, and terminology. Two of the four lack a colophon describing the context of their translation, but it is nonetheless apparent that the later versions of the text are in fact revisions of earlier Tibetan translations based on newly-available Sanskrit sources rather than distinct translations. Though many ambiguities remain, the four works offer us an important view into the long textual history of both the Indic source material and its Tibetan translations.

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Since the Tibetan translation of Toh 590 lacks a translator’s colophon, it is impossible to determine its date, but its length and its similarity to the later Sanskrit manuscripts suggests that it is the most recent of the versions in the Kangyur. A unique, alternative translation of the text corresponding to Toh 590 is preserved in the Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur. This translation, which was made by the eleventh-century Indian paṇḍita Vibhūticandra and the Tibetan translator Sherap Rinchen (shes rab rin chen), is a revision of Toh 590 based on additional Sanskrit manuscripts not available to the anonymous translator of Toh 590.¹³ Toh 590 was also revised or retranslated in the fifteenth century by Sönam Nampar Gyalwa (bsod nams rnam par rgyal ba, 1401–75) of Jampa Ling monastery (byams pa gling) in Central Tibet. His translation, which is available only in his collected writings, was based on his own study of Indic manuscripts and consultation with the Burmese Buddhist paṇḍita Alaṅkāraśrī of Haṃsāvati (Pegu).

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, titled The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Supreme Accomplishment of Invincible Averting, Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata” (Āryatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrāparājitamahāpratyaṅgiraparamasiddhanāmadhāraṇī; ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa phyir zlog pa chen mo mchog tu grub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs), is shorter than Toh 590 and in this regard is perhaps closer in content to Toh 592 and 593 in lacking many of the lines in the opening homage found in Toh 590. It nonetheless represents a distinct arrangement of the material in dividing the verse section listing the names and epithets of the goddess into two sections interspersed with one of the spell formulas. It is also unique for designating two of the spell formulas as “essence mantra” (snying po) and “subsidiary essence mantra” (nye ba’i snying po), designations that are not found in any of the Sanskrit sources consulted. Toh 591 identifies itself not as a translation but as a revision of a prior Tibetan translation. The colophon does not use the verb “translated” (bsgyur), but instead tells us that this version, prepared by the Kashmiri master Parahitabhadra (ca. eleventh century) and the Tibetan translator Zu Gawé Dorjé (gzu dga’ ba’i rdo rje), is based on a comparison of a prior translation with an “old” manuscript discovered at the Amṛtabhavana monastery in Kashmir.¹⁴ Though the prior translation that served as the basis for the revisions of Toh 591 cannot be definitively identified, it seems probable that the version was either Toh 592, Toh 593, or a version similar to those translations.

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and , both of which are titled The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Invincible Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata” (Āryatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrānāmaparājitānāmadhāraṇī; ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar po can gzhan gyis mi thub pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs), are nearly identical versions of the Sitātapatrā spell. Toh 592 lacks the scriptural introduction and conclusion found in Toh 593 but otherwise varies only slightly and in a manner more consistent with scribal errors and editorial interventions than differences in the source material. Toh 592 lacks a translator’s colophon, making it difficult to determine its origin, but a text with nearly the same title is recorded in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) imperial-period register of Tibetan translations.¹⁵ Toh 593, which does include the introductory and concluding passages absent in Toh 592, has a colophon reporting it to be a translation by the eleventh-century Kashmiri master Mahājana made without the assistance of a Tibetan translator. It is therefore possible that Mahājana’s contribution to the collection was to add the introductory and concluding material known from other Sitātapatrā sources. Mahājana’s colophon identifies the text as a “version of the Uṣṇīṣa” that is “the shorter of those of the heavenly realm.”¹⁶ This ambiguous statement is made somewhat clearer in the catalog of the Urga Kangyur, which says that Toh 593 (Urga no. 594) “is renowned as the shorter Uṣṇīṣa of the heavenly realm” (lha yul ma chung bar grags pa).¹⁷ Sönam Nampar Gyalwa (see above) also refers to this translation as the “condensed version” (bsdus pa) of the Sitātapatrā spell.¹⁸

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A comparison of the four canonical translations of Sitātapatrā’s spell suggests that they represent three distinct branch recensions of the same source material and thus reflect the evolution of the text in the Indic tradition. Toh 590 and 591 constitute two of those branches, while Toh 592 and 593 together represent the third. This was the view of Sönam Nampar Gyalwa, who offered this statement about the relationship between the texts in the colophon to his own revision of Toh 590:

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There are three versions of this dhāraṇī rite. The most extensive is this text, The Great Queen of Vidyās [Toh 590], for which the previous translator is unidentified. The middle-length version is the one known as The Supreme Accomplishment [Toh 591], which was translated by Zu Gawé Dorjé. The concise version is [called] “the one known as the lesser of the heavenly realm” [Toh 593] and was translated by the Kashmiri paṇḍita Mahājana. There is another, shorter version of “the one known as the lesser of the heavenly realm” (Toh 592) that is distinct only for lacking the scriptural introduction. It need not be counted [separately].¹⁹

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This brief survey of the four canonical translations allows for a tentative argument to be made about the translation and propagation of this series of Sitātapatrā spells in Tibet. The spell was likely first translated during Tibet’s imperial period, as indicated by the two imperial-period catalogs, the Denkarma and Phangthangma (phang thang ma). Whereas the title of the text in the Denkarma, ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar mo can gzhan gyis mi thub pa, aligns closely with that of Toh 592/3, the title in the Phangthangma, ’phags pa gtsug tor gdugs dkar po,²⁰ is generic and thus could refer to any of the four canonical texts, or to a different, unknown version. It is possible that the earliest version of the four canonical texts is Toh 592,²¹ which lacks a colophon indicating its provenance. If this is the text recorded in the Denkarma it would have been translated no later than 843, the year the Tibetan empire collapsed and record of its translation efforts ceased. Toh 593, which does include a colophon dating it to the eleventh century, represents the same branch recension but, as noted above, differs in its inclusion of the introductory and concluding statements—perhaps Mahājana’s specific contribution to the corpus. Toh 591, which is described in its colophon as a revision rather than a new translation, was also prepared in the eleventh century. It differs only slightly from Toh 592/3, primarily in its unique arrangement of the material. Thus it appears that Toh 591 and 593 comprise a second period of translation of the Sitātapatrā spell in the eleventh century, one in which the earlier translation represented by Toh 592 served as a primary point of reference. It is especially noteworthy that this second wave primarily involved Indian masters and manuscript witnesses from Kashmir.²² Thus, Toh 590 is likely the last of the translations to be produced, and then was revised two additional times as described above.²³

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Other Sources

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As noted above, the widespread popularity of Sitātapatrā is attested by the broad circulation of the Sitātapatrā spell. Numerous versions are preserved in Sanskrit, Khotanese, Chinese, Old Uyghur, and Tibetan, thus demarcating its circulation throughout South Asia, the Himalayan region, Central Asia, and China. What is perhaps the oldest documented Sanskrit witness of the spell, tentatively dated to the eight century, was discovered at Dunhuang and written in a Gupta script unique to Central Asia.²⁴ This version, published in 1963 by H. W. Bailey, was consulted for this translation. The popularity of Sitātapatrā in the Newar Buddhist tradition is evident in the large number of extant Sanskrit manuscript witnesses of the spell scribed in Nepal. Many of these versions are found in the numerous dhāraṇī collections (dhāraṇīsaṅgraha) popular in the Newar tradition. Most of the available manuscripts are relatively recent, dating no earlier than the eighteenth century. A representative collection of Nepalese manuscripts was consulted for this translation, the most noteworthy version of the spell being found in Cambridge Ms. Add 1326, a dhāraṇīsaṅgraha compiled in 1719.²⁵ This version, like most Nepalese versions consulted, most closely aligns with Toh 590.²⁶

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Also noteworthy are the versions of the spell composed in Old Uyghur, which were translated from an unknown source language in likely the thirteenth or fourteenth century.²⁷ The manuscripts were discovered in Turfan in the early twentieth century and are now dispersed among various European and Russian manuscript archives.²⁸

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There are two Chinese translations of works that are similar in title and content to Toh 590, but a close comparison of the Tibetan and Chinese translations is needed to determine precisely how the two Chinese translations and four Tibetan translations align. Taishō 976, Fo ding dabai sangai tuoluoni jing (佛頂大白傘蓋陀羅尼經), was translated by the Tangut monk Shaluoba (1279–1314), and Taishō 977, Fo shuo dabai sangai zong chi tuoluoni jing (佛說大白傘蓋總持陀羅尼經), was translated by Zhen Zhi sometime during the Yuan period (1271–1368). Based on these dates it would appear that both Chinese translations significantly postdate the Tibetan translations preserved in the Kangyur.

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Finally, there were a number of Tibetan versions of the Sitātapatrā spell discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts.²⁹ These versions are revealing in that they are shorter and otherwise distinct from the canonical versions, indicating one or more additional branch recensions. Some of the Dunhuang manuscripts do align with Toh 592, the canonical version proposed as the earliest, but none appear to correlate directly with Toh 590 and 591, which are believed to have been translated in or after the eleventh century, long after the Dunhuang caves had been sealed.

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The Translation

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The present translation is based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace and Phukdrak versions as well as the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur. Extensive use was made of Sanskrit witnesses, including the Khotanese version and four representatives from the numerous Nepalese manuscript witnesses. Among those, Cambridge Ms. Add. 1326 and its edition prepared by Gergely Hidas proved especially useful for resolving ambiguities in the Tibetan translation and correcting minor but consequential orthographic errors in the Tibetan transliterations of Sanskrit spell formulas. Apart from those necessary corrections, the spell formulas follow the transliterations presented in the Degé version. Even with the wealth of resources available, a number of enigmatic passages remain imperfectly resolved, particularly in the verse section recounting the names and epithets of the deity. Tentative translations of these difficult passages have been offered, but they are not intended to represent a definitive interpretation.

1

Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Excellent Dharma, the assembly hall of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, together with a great assembly of monks, a great assembly of bodhisattvas, and Śakra, the lord of the gods. The Blessed One sat down on a seat arranged for him and entered the samādhi called uṣṇīṣa gaze. As soon as he entered this samādhi, the words of this mantra formula issued from the center of the Blessed One’s uṣṇīṣa:

“namo bhagavate uṣṇīṣāya śuddhe viraje vimale svāhā.³⁰

“Homage to the blessed, unimpeded Uṣṇīṣa.
Homage to the Buddha.
Homage to the Dharma.
Homage to the Saṅgha.
Homage to the seventy million completely perfect buddhas.
Homage to the buddhas and bodhisattvas, headed by Maitreya, and the assembly of śrāvakas.

“Homage to the arhats of this world.
Homage to the stream enterers.
Homage to the once-returners.
Homage to the non-returners.
Homage to those who have gone rightly in this world.
Homage to those who have acted rightly.

“Homage to the divine ṛṣis.
Homage to the ṛṣis who have become vidyādharas.
Homage to the ṛṣis who have attained the state of a vidyādhara, wield the weapon of curses,³¹ and have the ability to benefit through curses.³²

2

“Homage to the divine Brahmā.
Homage to Indra.
Homage to the blessed³³ Rudra together with Umāpati.
Homage to Varuṇa.
Homage to the blessed Nārāyaṇa, worshiped by the five great mudrās.³⁴
Homage to the blessed Nandikeśvara Mahākāla, destroyer of Tripura, who prefers to reside in the great charnel ground of Kashmir³⁵ and is worshiped by hordes of mātṛs.³⁶

“Homage to the Blessed One of the tathāgata family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the lotus family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the vajra family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the jewel family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the kingly family.³⁷
Homage to the Blessed One of the action family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the gem family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the youthful family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the elephant family.
Homage to the Blessed One of the ignorance family.³⁸
Homage to the Blessed One of the desire family.

“Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Dṛḍhaśūraraṇasenapraharaṇarāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Amitābha.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Akṣobhya.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Vajradharasāgaragarjin.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja.

3

Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy completely perfect Buddha Amoghasiddhi.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Supuṣpitaśālendrarāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Padmottararāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Vipaśyin.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Śikhin.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Viśvabhū.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Krakucchanda.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Kanakamuni.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Kāśyapa.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Śākyamuni.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Ratnacandra.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Ratnaketurāja.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Samantabhadra.
Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Vairocana.

4

Homage to the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha Vikasitakamalotpalagandhaketurāja.³⁹

“Having paid homage to these blessed ones, I will teach the invincible queen of vidyās for averting, Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas. It pacifies strife, discord, quarrels, and disputes; repels all bhūtas and grahas; disrupts all opposing spells; protects from untimely death; frees beings from all bondage; ends all malice and nightmares; destroys grahas who are yakṣas and rākṣasas; destroys the eighty-four thousand types of grahas; appeases⁴⁰ the twenty-eight lunar mansions; repels all enemies; destroys the eight great celestial bodies; ends all violence, malice, and nightmares; protects from poisons, weapons, fire, and water; liberates from all fear of the bad rebirths; and protects from the eight types of untimely death.⁴¹

“She is invincible and greatly terrifying,⁴²
Immensely powerful and rich in splendor.
Intensely fierce and bright white,
Powerfully bright and immensely powerful,
Possessing a great garland and blazing intensely,
She is the great Pāṇḍaravāsinī.⁴³

“She is noble Tārā and Bhṛkuṭī.
Renowned as the victorious Vajramālā,⁴⁴
She appears as a lotus and is marked with a vajra.⁴⁵
She is Aparājitā and Mālā.⁴⁶

“She is the alluring⁴⁷ Vajratuṇḍī.
Worshiped by the peaceful gods,⁴⁸
Of gentle appearance and bright white,⁴⁹
She is the blazing Pāṇḍaravāsinī.⁵⁰

“She is noble Tārā, greatly powerful.
Deathless,⁵¹ she is Vajraśṛṅkhalā.
She is Vajrakaumārī, scion of her family,⁵²
And the vajra-vidyā Kāñcanamālikā with vajra in hand.⁵³

“She is Kusumbharatnā,⁵⁴

5

The light of Vairocana’s family.
She is the uṣṇīṣa of the tathāgata family,
Vijṛmbhamānikā, and Vajrā.

“She is Locanā, who shines like gold.⁵⁵
She is Vajratuṇḍī,
Śvetā and Kamalākṣī,
And the glorious Buddhalocanā.

“Likewise she is Vajraprabhā and Candrā,⁵⁶
And so too is she Vajradharā,
Vajramālā, the goddess Mahāmāyā,
And Kanakaprabhā.

“She is Sulocanā, Śvetā,
And The One with Lotus Eyes.⁵⁷
She is tamed, her mind at peace.
She knows the innate qualities and shines like the moon.

“May this host of great mudrās with their hordes of mātṛs⁵⁸ please protect me, my community, and all beings!

oṁ ṛṣigaṇapraśaste sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatre hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | jambhani hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | stambhani hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | mohanakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | parividyāsambhakṣaṇakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | sarvavidyācchedanakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | sarvaduṣṭānāṃ stambhanakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | sarvayakṣarākṣasagrahāṇām vidhvaṃsanakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | caturāśītīnāṃ grahasahasrāṇām vidhvaṃsanakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | aṣṭāviṃsatīnāṃ nakṣatrāṇāṃ prasādanakarī⁵⁹ hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | aṣṭānāṃ mahāgrahāṇāṃ vidhvaṃsanakarī hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ | rakṣa rakṣa māṃ sarvasattvāṃś ca |⁶⁰

“Blessed Sitātapatrā, born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, Vajroṣṇīṣā, great averting goddess, great goddess with a thousand arms, great goddess with a thousand heads, great goddess with a trillion eyes and indestructible blazing features,⁶¹ great exalted vajra goddess⁶² who rules over the maṇḍala of the three realms of existence!

“Oṁ! Grant auspiciousness to me and all beings in the face of danger from rulers,⁶³ thieves, fire, water, poison, weapons, enemies, opposing armies, famines, foes, thunderbolts,

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untimely death, earthquakes, falling meteors, legal punishments, ferocious beasts, nāgas, lightning, scorching sand, suparṇas, and all epidemics, calamities, infectious diseases, and mental disturbances.

“Grant auspiciousness in the face of danger from grahas⁶⁴ and from grahas who are devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, maruts, kinnaras, mahoragas, human and nonhuman beings, bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, kumbhāṇḍas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas, skandas, unmādas, chāyās, apasmāras, ostārakas, ḍākinīs, kaṭavāsinīs,⁶⁵ revatīs, kaṇṭakamālinīs, kaṭakamālinīs,⁶⁶ śakunis, mātṛnandīs, samikās, lambikās, ḍākinīs, kaṭaḍākinīs, and kaṭaṅkaṭamālinīs, as well as all kinds of grahas.

“Grant auspiciousness in the face of danger from grahas who steal vitality, consume fetuses, drink blood, and consume fat, flesh, grease, and marrow; who consume newborns and steal life; who consume oblations, garlands, fragrances, flowers, incense, fruits, grains, and burnt offerings; who consume pus, feces, urine, saliva, snot,

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mucus, vomit, chewed food, and filth; who drink sewage; and who steal possessions and capture people’s minds.

“I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra all these dangers and all the spells of grahas!⁶⁷
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of mendicants!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of ḍākas and ḍākinīs!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Brahmā!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Śakra!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Nārāyaṇa!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Mahāpaśupati and Rudra!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Mahākāla!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the hordes of mātṛs!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of kāpālikas!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the śabaras!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the pukkasas!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the ulkāmukhas!⁶⁸
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Vajrakaumārī!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Yamāri!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Yama’s henchmen!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of cruel nāgas!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of fire rites!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of vināyakas!

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I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Kumāra!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the Four Great Kings!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the Four Bhaginīs!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the true garuḍa!⁶⁹
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Jayakara, Madhukara, and Siddhikarasarvārthasādhana!⁷⁰
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Bhṛṅgiriṭi, Nandikeśvara, Kārttikeya, Candra, and Sūrya, along with Gaṇapati!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of naked ascetics!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of arhats!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Avalokiteśvara!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of those devoid of passion!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of Vajrapāṇi, lord of the guhyakas!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells used in various contexts!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells used by the one who made it!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of shaven-headed ascetics!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of dūtas, dūtīs, ceṭas, and ceṭīs!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of all sublime ṛṣis!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of the hosts of devas!
I split with the sword and pin down with the vajra the spells of those who wish to do harm!

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10

11

and who are aggressive or harbor aggressive intentions! May we live a hundred years! May we see a hundred autumns!

“For me, my community, and all beings please dispel all grahas and those who would cause harm,⁷⁶ including grahas who are yakṣas and those who steal vitality, consume fetuses, and drink blood; who consume fat, flesh, grease, marrow, and newborns; who steal life; who consume oblations, garlands, fragrances, flowers, incense, fruits, grains, and burnt offerings; who steal possessions and capture people’s minds; who consume pus, feces, urine, saliva, snot, mucus, vomit, chewed food, and filth and drink sewage; and who harbor evil minds, hostile minds, and vicious intentions!

“Dispel grahas who are devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, nonhumans, maruts, pretas, piśācas, bhūtas, kumbhāṇḍas, pūtanas,

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kaṭapūtanas, skandas, unmādas, chāyās, apasmāras, ostārakas, ḍākinīs, revatīs, samikās, kaṇṭakamālinīs, śakunis, mātṛnandīs, pot-like beings,⁷⁷ lambikās, kaṭaḍākinīs, and kaṭaṅkaṭamālinīs, as well as all kinds of grahas!

“For me, my community, and all sentient beings please dispel all fevers that last one day, two days, three days, four days, seven days, half a month, or a month; those that occur daily or twice daily⁷⁸ or that are momentary, chronic, or irregular;⁷⁹ those that are caused by bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, humans, or nonhuman beings; and those that are continuous or that arise from disturbances of wind, bile, phlegm, or their combination. Dispel all illnesses of the brain!

“For me, my community, and all sentient beings please dispel splitting headaches;⁸⁰ loss of appetite; illnesses of the eyes, nose, mouth, throat, or heart; laryngitis; and pain in the ears, teeth, chest, heart, joints, sides, back, stomach, hips, pelvis, anus,

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vagina, vulva, thigh, calves, hands, feet, and all the major and minor appendages!⁸¹

“For me, my community, and all sentient beings please dispel all bhūtas, pretas, vetālas, ḍākinīs; fevers, skin disease, jaundice, itching, pruritus, leprosy, boils, skin irritations,⁸² spleen diseases, fistulas, cutaneous infections, scabies, erysipelas, blood boils, emaciation, labored breathing, anxiety, coughs, and fainting; poisonous brews, mineral poisons, poisonous compounds, venoms, and kākhordas; fire, water, pestilence, māras, quarrels, disputes, adversities, and untimely death; and tryambuka flies, tralāṭa flies, scorpions, snakes, mongooses, lions, tigers, bears, jackals, wild yaks, makaras, wolves, thieves, and all other dangers to life!

“With the power of the great averting spell of the vajra uṣṇīṣa Sitātapatrā I bind spells within twelve yojanas or within five hundred yojanas.⁸³ I bind their energy. I bind all spells. I bind all opposing spells. I demarcate the boundary. I bind the earth. I bind the ten directions. I bind the sky. I paralyze opposing armies.

tadyathā | oṁ anale anale | acale acale | khakhame khakhame⁸⁴ | viṣade viṣade⁸⁵ | vīre vīre | vaira vaira | saumye saumye | śānte śānte | dānte dānte | vajradhara bandha bandhani vajrapāṇi phaṭ | oṁ hūṁ drūṃ hrīḥ ṣṭoṃ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā |

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oṁ vajrapāṇi⁸⁶ bandha bandhe vajrapāśena sarvaduṣṭavighnavināyakān hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ | hūṁ drūṃ bandha phaṭ | rakṣa rakṣa māṃ sarvasatvāṃśca svāhā |⁸⁷

“Whoever writes this invincible queen of spells for averting named Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas on birch bark, cloth, or tree bark and wears it on their body or around their neck or reads it will not be harmed by poison, weapons, fevers, disease, punishments, fire, water, kṛtyā rites, poisonous brews, poisonous compounds, or kākhordas for as long as they live, nor will they meet an untimely death. They will become dear to and delight all grahas, vighnas, and vināyakas. They will recall their rebirths of the past eight trillion four hundred million eons. Eighty-four billion vidyā deities of the vajra family will always and perpetually guard, protect, and defend them. The eighty-four vajra dūtīs and kiṅkaras will always defend them, hold them to be dear, and delight in them. They will never become yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, pretas, piśācas, pūtanas, or kaṭapūtanas, nor will they ever be poor. They will gain a quantity of merit equal to that of the blessed buddhas, who are as innumerable and limitless as grains of sand in the river Ganges.

“If one keeps this invincible queen of spells for averting named Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, one will become chaste if one was not chaste.

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Those who did not observe silence will observe silence.⁸⁸ The impure will become pure. Those who did not practice abstinence will practice abstinence. Even those who committed the five acts with immediate retribution will see their evil entirely purified. All the obscurations resulting from their past actions will be exhausted without exception.

“If a woman who wishes to have a child keeps this invincible queen of spells for averting named Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas, she will gain a child. The child will have a long life and possess merit and strength. After they pass away, they will take birth in Sukhāvatī, where they will be free of desire, aversion, delusion, pride, and vanity.

“Those who are threatened by diseases⁸⁹ that affect humans, cattle, or livestock or by epidemics, calamities, infectious diseases, mental disturbances, and the approach of opposing armies should affix this invincible queen of spells for averting named the blessed, undefeated, perfectly awakened Sitātapatrā born from the uṣṇīṣa of all tathāgatas ⁹⁰ to the top of a banner and worship it extensively with great offerings. The banner should then be planted at the gateway to any city or at a monastery, village, city,⁹¹ realm, market town, charnel ground, mountain, or wilderness residence. As soon as this invincible queen of spells for averting has been worshiped and planted, war will be pacified, as will calamities, violence, harm, epidemics, mental disturbances, and the approach of opposing armies. Ananta, Śaṅkhapāla,

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Mahākṛṣṇa, Nanda and Upananda, and all the other nāga kings will send timely rain, lightning, and peals of thunder. All illness and calamities will be completely pacified.

oṁ hūṁ ṣṭoṃ bandha bandha sarvaduṣṭān rakṣa mama saparivārasya sarvasattvāṃśca svāhā | oṁ hūṁ ṣṭoṃ bandha bandha sarvaduṣṭān rakṣa rakṣa mama saparivārasya sarvasattvāṃśca vajrapāṇe⁹² hūṁ phaṭ svāhā | oṁ sarvatathāgatoṣṇiṣa avalokite mūrdhani tejorāśi | oṁ jvala jvala | khāda khāda | dhaka dhaka | dara dara | vidara vidara | chinda chinda | bhindi bhinda | hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ rakṣa rakṣa mama saparivārasya sarvasattvāṃśca svāhā | oṁ sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatre hūṁ phaṭ svāhā | hūṁ hūṁ rakṣa rakṣa mama saparivārasya sarvasattvāṃśca hūṁ phaṭ svāhā || tadyathā | oṁ anale anale | acale acale | khasame khasame | vīre vīre | vaira vaira | saumye saumye | sarvabuddhādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatre sarvaduṣṭacittān hūṁ phaṭ svāhā ||⁹³

“When facing any calamity⁹⁴ this should be recited three times in connection with the Buddha.”⁹⁵

After the Blessed One spoke these words, all buddhas and the bodhisattvas, together with the world of devas humans, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

Notes

notes.1

1. Among the four Tibetan translations included in the Degé Kangyur, only Toh 592 lacks the introductory narrative. It shares this feature with the earliest extant Sanskrit version reported in the Khotanese manuscript and with a number of Tibetan translations preserved among the Dunhuang manuscripts.

notes.2

2. In most but not all citations of the spell’s name—either as the title of a text or as a reference to the spell within a text—the term “name” (nāman; zhes bya ba) immediately follows the compound sarvatathāgatoṣṇīṣasitātapatrā, thereby marking it as the primary title of the deity/spell/text. In a small number of instances the word nāman is omitted altogether, and in rare cases it is shifted to a different point in the title. The instability of the title both across and within the texts contributes to the challenge of interpreting it properly.

notes.3

3. Though all Tibetan translations of the title consistently insert “born from,” they are anything but consistent in their use of “all tathāgatas” (sarvatathāgataº; de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad). Many of the Tibetan translations of the title omit “all,” thus reading “the uṣṇīṣa of the Tathāgata,” even when the Sanskrit title provided reads sarvatathāgataº. All Sanskrit sources consulted are unanimous in reading sarvatathāgataº.

notes.4

4. A challenge in accurately translating the title of the texts and the spell they contain is the fact that the terms pratyaṅgirā and aparājitā are used in other contexts as names of female deities and their spells. Here the terms aparājitā and pratyaṅgirā are taken as adjectives of māhāvidyārajñī or dhāraṇī, depending on the version of title used in a specific text. The decision to render it in this way is not meant to be definitive.

notes.5

5. For a synopsis of these forms, see Porció 2000, pp. 14–16.

notes.6

6. The manuscript containing the Sitātapatrā spell discovered by Aurel Stein at Dunhuang is written in a “cursive Gupta script” that Hoernle (1911, pp. 448–49 and 472–77) argues was in use beginning in the sixth century in Central Asia. He has also identified loan words used in the manuscript that would suggest it dates to the eight century. Additionally, a male deity named Sitātapatra is mentioned in The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Toh 543, Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa), where he is counted among the eight uṣṇīṣa kings (uṣṇīṣarāja; gtsug tor kyi rgyal po). See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020), g.1525. The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī can be dated to at least the eight century (see ibid., i.2).

notes.7

7. On the circulation of apotropaic Buddhist literature in Inner and Central Asia, see White 2021, pp. 45-84.

notes.8

8. About which see below.

notes.9

9. Orgyen Lingpa 2001, folio 207.b.

notes.10

10. See for example the relatively recent work by Dudjom Jikdral Yeshé Dorjé (bdud ’joms ’jigs bral ye shes rdo rje), the gtsug tor gdugs dkar mo’i rgyun khyer ’bar ba’i thog brtsegs (1997), in which the author incorporates phrases, words, and spell formulas from the canonical material into an otherwise distinctive practice manual.

notes.11

11. Chökyi Jungné, dkar chag , folio 149.b.

notes.12

12. This text, Toh 985, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs, waM), are listed as being located in volume 101 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 102. 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 985 version of this text within vol. 101 or 102 of the Degé Kangyur. See Toh 985, , for details.

notes.13

13. The colophon reads in full, “This was translated and finalized by the great scholar from Jagaddala [Monastery] in eastern Tibet, who is favored by the illustrious Cakrasaṃvara, by the paṇḍita Vibhūticandra, and by the monk-lotsāwa Sherap Rinchen. It surpasses the earlier versions for being translated in coordination with the commentarial literature and carefully edited by checking it against various manuscripts from Magadha in India.” (Folio 193.a: rgya gar shar phyogs ’dza’ gata ta la’i mkhas pa chen po/ dpal bde mchog gis rjes su bzung ba’i paN+Di ta b+hi b+hu ti tsan+tra dang / lo tsa+tsha ba dge slong shes rab rin chen gyis bsgyur cing zhus te gtan la phab pa’o/ ’di ni sngar gyi dpe rnams las khyad par du ’grel pa dang bstun zhing bsgyur ba dang / rgya gar yul dbus kyi dpe du ma dang gtugs te/ shin tu dag par byas pa yin no.)

notes.14

14. Toh 591, : paN+Di ta pa ra hi ta b+ha dra dang / lo ts+tsha ba gzu dga’ rdor gyis kha che’i bdud rtsi ’byung gnas kyi gtsug lag khang gi dpe rnying la gtugs nas gtan la phab pa.

notes.15

15. ’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa gtsug tor nas byung ba’i gdugs dkar mo can gzhan gyis mi thub pa. Denkarma F.302.a; see also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 197–98.

notes.16

16. Toh 593, : gtsug tor lha yul ma chung ba kha che’i paN+Di ta ma hA dz+nyA na nas rang ’gyur du mzad do. This colophon identifies the translator as Mahājñāna, but this is certainly a reference to the Kashmiri paṇḍita Mahājana, who was active in Tibet in the eleventh century and translated a number of other works. The colophon to the same translation in the Phukdrak Kangyur correctly identifies him as Mahājana. For a synopsis of the life of Mahājana, see Kano 2016, pp. 5–8.

notes.17

17. A Catalogue of the Urga Kanjur, p. 280, folio 54.a. The same source also identifies Toh 592 (Urga no. 593) as the version “known as the Uṣṇīṣa of the human realm, or the longer of those of the heavenly realm” (mi yul ma’am lha yul ma che bar grags pa), but the precise meaning of this statement is uncertain, as Toh 592/Urga 593 is slightly shorter than Toh 593/Urga 594. This way of referring to Toh 592 could not be confirmed in any other sources.

notes.18

18. See the full citation below.

notes.19

19. Sönam Nampar Gyalwa, gtsug gtor gdugs dkar rgyas pa rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen po, p. 736: gzungs kyi rtog pa ’di la/ rgyas pa rig sngags kyi rgyal mo chen mo zhes bya ba sngon ’gyur byang med pa ’di dang / ’bring po mchog grub mar grags pa zu dga’ ba’i rdo rjes bsgyur ba dang / bsdus pa lha yul ma chung bar grags pa kha che ma hA dza nas bsgyur ba dang gsum du zad kyi/ chung ba gzhan zhig snang ba ni lha yul ma chung bar grags pa’i gleng gzhi dor ba tsam du zad pas zur du bgrang mi ’tshal lo.

notes.20

20. Kawagoe 2005, p. 19.

notes.21

21. Herrmann-Pfandt (2008, p. 198) also considers it likely that the Sitātapatrā text recorded in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) is a version of Toh 592.

notes.22

22. Both Mahājana, the translator of Toh 593, and Parahitabhadra, the translator of Toh 591, were from Kashmir. The colophon to Toh 591 also indicates that it was prepared on the basis of a manuscript found in Amṛtabhavana monastery.

notes.23

23. Toh 590 may also be linked to Kashmir, as Kashmir is directly referenced in the body of the text. The deity Mahākāla is described as “residing in a great charnel ground in Kashmir” (kha che’i dur khrod chen po na gnas pa). Among the canonical translations, this reference is unique to Toh 590, but it is also attested in the more recent Sanskrit witnesses.

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Sitātapatrā Born from the Uṣṇīṣa of All Tathāgatas

Contents

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84000's introduction

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