[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) › [Hymns, epistles and poetry](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra) › [Praises of Mañjuśrī](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri) › [\*Mañjuśrīvāgīśvarāṣṭakanyāstotra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra) › [འཇམ་དཔལ་ངག་གི་དབང་ཕྱུག་ལ་བུ་མོ་བརྒྱད་ཀྱིས་བསྟོད་པ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo) › The Eight Maidens’ Praise of Mañjuśrī, Lord of Speech # The Eight Maidens’ Praise of Mañjuśrī, Lord of Speech Translation of [འཇམ་དཔལ་ངག་ག་དབང་ཕྱག་ལ་བ་མ་བརྒྱད་ཀྱས་བསྟད་པ (འཇམ་དཔལ་ངག་གི་དབང་ཕྱུག་ལ་བུ་མོ་བརྒྱད་ཀྱིས་བསྟོད་པ)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo) - **Language:** English - **Translators:** [David Mellins](https://indike.org/pramana/person/david-mellins), [Kaia Fischer](https://indike.org/pramana/person/kaia-fischer) - **Extent:** 14 passages, 758 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** 84000 · Translated by the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New Yorkunder the patronage and supervision of 84000:… · 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.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.intro) — 5 parts - [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.1) - [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.2) - [notes Notes](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes) — 7 parts ## Text ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.intro.1) This scripture is a praise to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. The eight maidens indicated by the title may be inferred as each speaking a different verse, together providing a range of perspectives. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.intro.2) This scripture is a praise to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Each of the eight maidens indicated by the title may be inferred as each speaking a different verse, together providing a range of perspectives. These figures do not themselves appear in the body of the text, which lacks an introductory narrative. The first two verses are praises of Mañjuśrī’s radiance. The third verse praises the glittering jewels of his uṣṇīṣa, the fourth his ambrosial voice, the fifth his purifying agency, the sixth his fearsome appearance and manner, the seventh his beatific visage, and the eighth verse concludes the encomium with a presentation of immense offerings. While the text is relatively straightforward in its description of Mañjuśrī’s physical and metaphysical attributes, it has several striking turns of phrase that present his features as indicative of the teachings themselves, which serve to inform devotional practice. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.intro.3) This popular praise appears twice in the Tengyur in the works of Saṃvarabhadra. The opening verse appears in his A Ritual for Offering a Maṇḍala (Maṇḍalavidhi, Toh 2121), and the scripture in its entirety is found in his A Sādhana of “Reciting the Names of Mañjuśrī” (Āryamañjuśrī­nāma­saṅgīti­sādhana, Toh 2108). The opening verse has also been cited by prominent masters from all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and continues to be found in prayer liturgies memorized and recited by monastics to this day. ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.intro.4) The text’s absence from the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial catalogs suggests that it was translated into Tibetan later than the beginning of the ninth century ce,¹ but before the flourishing of the scholar Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364), who listed its title in his History of Buddhism.² The Tibetan translation lacks both a Sanskrit title and a colophon, so we have no information regarding its origin, transmission history, or translation into Tibetan. It also appears that the text was never translated into Chinese. ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.intro.5) This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur version (Toh 552) in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), with all major divergences recorded in the notes.³ ### [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.1) Possessor of youthful body, Adorned by the lamp of wisdom That removes the darkness of delusion from the world— Homage to Mañjughoṣa. Your flood of radiance Outshines the full moon And banishes ignorance— Homage to Mañjuśrī. Upon whose topknot, uncreated and vivid, Rests a form glittering with gems,⁴ ### [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.2) Whose body is a delight to all— Homage to you, Mañjuśrī. Like ambrosia, soft and deep, The pleasing sound of your voice, O holy one, trove of Dharma jewels⁵— Homage and praise to you, Mañjuśrī. Countless as drops of water in the Ganges Are the stains of affliction You dispel in every world— Homage and praise to you, Mañjuśrī. Terrifying is your body’s manner When, fangs bared in fearsome pose, You shatter the Lord of Death’s arrogance— Homage and praise to you, Mañjuśrī. You are beautified by a blue utpala That is like your eyes in luster, As you bear an alms bowl⁶ in your hand⁷— Homage to you, Mañjuśrī. With immense offerings and praise To the buddhas dwelling in the ten directions We pay homage to you, Mañjuśrī, Teacher of the path to liberation. ### Notes ### [notes.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.1) 1. The Denkarma catalog is usually dated to ca. 812 ce. ### [notes.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.2) 2. Butön Rinchen Drup, chos ’byung, folio 172.a/p. 975. ### [notes.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.3) 3. The text is not included in the Kangyur collections of the Thempangma line. ### [notes.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.4) 4. Perhaps a reference to a buddha upon his crown. ### [notes.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.5) 5. According to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), here the Yongle, Peking, Narthang, and Lhasa Kangyur versions read dam pa’i chos kyi rin chen mdzod (“O precious treasury of the holy Dharma”). ### [notes.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.6) 6. The possession of a begging bowl may indicate Mañjuśrī’s emanation as a buddha, which is attested in scriptures such as The Array of Virtues of Mañjuśrī’s Buddha Realm (Mañjuśrī­buddha­kṣetra­guṇa­vyūha, Toh 59), The Sūtra for the Benefit of Aṅgulimāla (Aṅgulimālīyasūtra, Toh 213), and The Sūtra of the Great Parinirvāṇa (Toh 119). ### [notes.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000.notes.7) 7. In Saṃvarabhadra’s A Sādhana of “Reciting the Names of Mañjuśrī,” where the present scripture is presented in its entirety, this line reads instead shes rab ral gri mnga’ gzhu ’dzin, which might be glossed as, “We pay homage to you, O Mañjuśrī / Who has the sword of wisdom and bears a bow,” an apparent reference to forms of Mañjuśrī bearing these hand implements, such as the figure identified as Tīkṣṇa-Mañjuśrī in Clark 1937, p. 264. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.stotra.manjusri.manjusrivagisvarastakanyastotra*bo~en-84000) · Pramāṇa