The Noble Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī

Translation of འཕགས་པ་ནར་གྱ་རྒྱན་ཅས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས (འཕགས་པ་ནོར་གྱི་རྒྱུན་ཅེས་བྱ་བའི་གཟུངས)

Language: English
Date: 2019 CE
Translator: samye-translations
Extent: 59 passages, 1,717 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: lotsawahouse · Samye Translations (tr.), The Noble Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī, Lotsawa House (version 1.3-20250422) · CC BY-NC 4.0 (Lotsawa House); shown with attribution on a non-commercial site

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In the language of India: Ārya Vasudhārā-nāma-dhāraṇī

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In the language of Tibet: Pakpa nor gyi gyün chejawé zung (‘phags pa nor gyi rgyun ces bya ba’i gzungs)

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In the English language: The ‘Stream of Wealth’ Incantation

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Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus I have heard: At one time the Blessed One was dwelling near Kauśāmbī in the great forest called Kaṇṭaka, together with a great assembly of about five hundred monks and a vast assembly of bodhisattva mahāsattvas who had all the qualities of the buddhas.

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At that time there lived in the great city of Kauśāmbī a householder by the name of Sucandra whose senses were composed and whose mind was at ease. He had many faithful and devoted sons and daughters as well as dependents.

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Sucandra approached the Blessed One, paid his respect by touching his head to the feet of the Blessed One, and circumambulated the Blessed One many hundred thousands of times.

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Finally, he sat down to one side. While seated there, Sucandra the householder said the following to the Blessed One:

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“I would like to ask the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the complete and perfect Buddha a question, in case the Blessed One could afford the time to answer it.”

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The Blessed One then replied to Sucandra the householder as follows:

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“Householder, please ask whatever you wish. I shall answer your question and so put your concerns to rest.”

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To these words of the Blessed One Sucandra the householder responded, “Very well, Blessed One,” and asked the Blessed One the following:

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“Blessed One, how can a son or daughter of noble family who suffers from poverty free themselves from their poverty? Likewise, if they suffer from disease, how can they free themselves from their disease?”

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The Blessed One then understood, and he said to Sucandra the householder:

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“Householder, why do you ask me about poverty?”

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Sucandra the householder replied to the Blessed One:

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“Blessed One, although I am very poor, I have to take care of many sons, daughters and dependents. Therefore, I would like to request the Blessed One for a Dharma teaching that makes the poor wealthy and restores the ill to good health, that grants us wealth and grain and treasures and vaults of treasure, that makes us pleasant, charming, beautiful and lordly, that attracts patrons without needing to ask, and that grants jewels, gold, riches, stores of grain, and vaults of treasure, as well as gems, pearls, diamonds, lapis lazuli, conch shells, crystals, coral, gold and silver without needing to search or beg, and that renders one’s partner and dependents stable and secure.”

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This being said, the Blessed One replied then to the householder Sucandra:

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“Householder, once upon a time, incalculable eons ago, the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the complete and perfect Buddha, dwelled in the world with perfect knowledge and with virtuous conduct. This sugata, the knower of worlds, the leader for those to be tamed, the unsurpassed teacher of gods and men, the Blessed Buddha, was named Vajradhara-sāgaranirghoṣa.

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O noble son, it is from this tathāgata that I heard and retained the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī. I kept it, recited it, comprehended it, rejoiced in it, and taught it extensively to others.

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O noble son, I shall now share it with you.

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O noble son, through the power of this dhāraṇī no human will ever harm you. No yakṣa will ever harm you. No rākṣasa will ever harm you. No preta will ever harm you. No piśāca will ever harm you. No bhūta will ever harm you. No kumbhāṇḍa will ever harm you. No apasmāra will ever harm you. No ostāraka will ever harm you. No kaṭapūtana will ever harm you. No deva will ever harm you. No asura will ever harm you. No demons, whether they feed on feces, urine, blood, flesh, pus, grease, marrow, snot, effluent, or breath, nor spirits who are able to possess you, will ever harm you!

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O noble son, the son or daughter of noble family who takes the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī and places it in their home, takes it to heart, holds it in their hands, renders it in text, listens to it, comprehends it, reads it, memorizes it, rejoices in it, and extensively teaches it to others, will enjoy lasting benefits, welfare, goodness, advantages, pleasures, and good harvests.

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Whoever worships the tathāgatas and then at midnight recites the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī two, three or four times will cause the deities to rejoice. They will bring delight through the teachings of the Tathāgata, and through contributing to the promulgation of the Dharma and development of the Saṅgha, and bring delight to those who teach the Dharma. Noble thoughts will come to them and a rain of grains will shower down upon them.

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Noble son, this is the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī. Famine, diseases, and untimely death will be averted through the power of this dhāraṇī-mantra.

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Noble son, whoever worships the tathāgatas, the arhats, the complete and perfect buddhas, and recites the words of this secret mantra, the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī, for one night will reach accomplishment.

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To explain this in more detail: Arrange a maṇḍala in a suitable place—such as your own house, another person’s house, a clean place, or a storehouse—using sandalwood for the Tathāgata, Lord Avalokiteśvara, and all the buddhas and bodhisattvas and secret mantra deities, and recite the dhāraṇī. Doing this for one night, noble son, will ensure that the person’s house will soon be completely filled with a stream of jewels, grain, gold, silver, and all necessities, and all danger and harm will be brought to an end.

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Noble son, therefore, hold the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī dear. Retain it! Memorize it! Recite it! Teach it! Explain it to others as well! This will lead to your lasting benefit, welfare and happiness.”

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“Very well, Blessed One!” said the householder Sucandra upon receiving the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī from the Blessed One.

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Pleased, glad, joyful, delighted, happy, satisfied and joyous was Sucandra as he paid homage by touching the feet of the Blessed One to his head. He then said to the Blessed One:

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“Blessed One, now that I have received the ritual for Vasudhārā, I will keep this dhāraṇī in mind; I will memorize it; I will recite it; I will master it; I will delight in it; and I will explain it in detail to others as well!”

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At that very moment, Sucandra the householder’s storehouses became completely full.

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Sucandra the householder circumambulated the Blessed One many hundreds of thousands of times, and after touching his head to the feet of Blessed One, he left his presence.

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The Blessed One then spoke to venerable Ānanda:

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“Ānanda, go to Sucandra the householder, the one whose home is abundantly filled with all kinds of riches and grains and whose massive treasury and storehouses are replete with all one could require.”

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At these words of the Blessed One, venerable Ānanda went to the great city of Kauśāmbī where Sucandra’s house was located. Upon reaching the house he entered, and he saw that it was filled with an abundance of riches and grains. Precious gems were abundant, and there was a massive storehouse of all kinds of goods. The treasuries likewise were completely full! Pleased, glad, joyful, delighted, happy, satisfied and joyous upon seeing this, he returned to the Blessed One.

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Venerable Ānanda approached the Blessed One, and, in his amazement, happiness and joy, he said this to the Blessed One:

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“Blessed One, why does Sucandra the householder have so much wealth? What is the cause and what are the circumstances for his treasury and storehouses to be replete with riches and grains?”

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The Blessed One replied:

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“Ānanda, it is because the noble son Sucandra the householder has received and chanted the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī with devotion, great faith, and pure motivation. He kept it, recited it, mastered it, delighted in it, and expounded it in detail to others as well.

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Ānanda, therefore, you too should receive the Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī, keep it in mind, recite it, teach it, memorize it, master it, and explain it to others in detail. This will benefit many individuals. It will bring them happiness. It will bring love and compassion to the world, and it will bring benefit and happiness to hosts of beings, gods and humans alike.

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Ānanda, I do not see anyone in worlds of gods, māras, brahmas, humans, or asuras, who would say otherwise about this vidyā-mantra. It is impossible not to receive the mantra’s benefits having recited it two or three times.

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Ānanda, the secret mantra words of this dhāraṇī are indestructible.

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Ānanda, it is clear that these words, when heard, will benefit even those whose roots of virtue have been exhausted. Thus, there is no need to mention the benefits of writing them down in a book or memorizing them.

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Why is this the case? It is because this dhāraṇī has been taught by all the tathāgatas. This dhāraṇī-mantra has been spoken, explained, honored, revealed, praised, unraveled, clarified, expounded, blessed, validated by the dharma seal, commended, sung, declared, and told by all the tathāgatas for the welfare of all sentient beings who live in poverty, suffer from diseases, live in fear, or are harmed by the wicked.

The Noble Vasudhārā Dhāraṇī

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