འཕགས་པ་འཇམ་དཔལ་གྱ་རྩ་བའ་རྒྱད 366

366

Mañjuśrī remained silent.

The glorious great lord²⁴⁴²
With a voice as sweet as a cuckoo
Taught then everything that pertains
To the distribution of mudrās in the maṇḍala.

Staying above the realm of the Pure Abode,
The Lion of the Śākyas, the best of men,
The fully realized buddha, [also] taught, at that time,
The [relevant] mantra system.

“Listen, Mañjuśrī, divine youth,
About the mudrās with their procedures,
And about the mantras employed in tantric methods.
Hear the full account of the greatness of their qualities!

“First of all, there are signs that indicate
Whether something is a living being or not;
[They include] form, actions, behavior,
And all the gestures and speech.

“These gestures may involve both hands, both feet,
The head, or the fingers of each hand.
All of them were designated as mudrā
By the primordial buddhas of yore.

“They are the pitcher,
Parasol, lotus, banner, flag,
Fish, vajra, conch,
Jar, wheel,

“[And the mudrās named after] different weapons and implements²⁴⁴³—
As many as there are known in the world—
Including the mudrā shaped like a blue lotus,
All of them are arranged around the maṇḍala.

“They are arranged in sequence,
As specified in the instructions.
Each of them should always be drawn
With its own respective form.

“When talking about the mudrās in the maṇḍala,
They are each placed
In their own dedicated slot,
Where they are known to belong.

“In all the maṇḍalas,
One must use the right mudrā form;
Cakravartin ²⁴⁴⁴ is thus represented by the wheel.
If the uṣṇīṣa lord is Sitātapatra,

“One should draw a white parasol²⁴⁴⁵
In the most prominent place in the maṇḍala.
The Dharma wheel represents the buddhas,²⁴⁴⁶
And the lotus, the Lotus family.

“The vajra is said to represent the Vajra family;
The elephant, the Elephant family;
And the jar, the Jewel family.
These allocations apply to every maṇḍala.

“The two eminent families, the Celestial and the Noble,²⁴⁴⁷
Should be drawn as the endless knot and swastika respectively.
To represent the distinguished yakṣa family,
One should draw a fruit that is a source of phalaja.²⁴⁴⁸

“To represent Mahābrahmā, one should draw a swan;
For Śakra, one should draw his thunderbolt.
To represent Maheśvara, one should draw his trident,²⁴⁴⁹
And in addition, his bull.²⁴⁵⁰