Toh 313, Toh 617, Toh 974 — Auspicious Night
Bhadrakarātrī
Translated by Bruno Galasek-Hul under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Noble Sūtra
Auspicious Night
F.161.bF.56.aF.90.a Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas! F.56.b
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying in Rājagṛha’s Bamboo Grove, in the Habitat of Kalandaka Birds. At that time, a certain monk was residing on the banks of Rājagṛha’s hot springs. When night had fallen, a deity with a brilliant golden complexion appeared before the monk and[1] illuminated the entire bank of the hot springs with a vast radiance.
The deity asked, “Monk, do you know the teaching of Auspicious Night?”
The monk replied, “Deva, I am ignorant of the teaching of Auspicious Night. Now, are you, Deva, aware of the teaching of Auspicious Night, F.57.a or are you unaware of it?
“Monk, I too do not know the teaching of Auspicious Night.”
In turn, the monk asked, “Deva, who then exists who knows the teaching of Auspicious Night?”
The deity said, “The Bhagavān is staying nearby in Rājagṛha’s Bamboo Grove, in the Habitat of Kalandaka Birds. Go straight to the Bhagavān and ask him! Retain the Bhagavān’s instruction exactly as it is given to you, and apply yourself to it!” He then disappeared suddenly.
The next morning,[2]F.90.b the monk went to the Bhagavān. On arriving, he bowed his head to the Bhagavān’s feet and remained to one side. Sitting to the side of the Bhagavān, the monk asked the Bhagavān, “Venerable sir, last night, after dusk, a deity with a brilliant golden complexion F.162.a appeared before me and illuminated the entire bank of the hot springs with a vast radiance. The deity said to me, ‘Monk, do you know the teaching of Auspicious Night?’ I replied, ‘Deva, I am ignorant of the teaching of Auspicious Night. Now, are you, Deva,[3] aware of the teaching of Auspicious Night, or are you unaware of it?’ ‘Monk, I too do not know the teaching of Auspicious Night,’ the deity responded. ‘Deva, who then exists who knows the teaching of Auspicious Night?’ The deity then said, ‘The Bhagavān is staying in Rājagṛha’s Bamboo Grove, in the Habitat of Kalandaka Birds. Go straight to the Bhagavān and ask him! Retain the Bhagavān’s instruction exactly as it is given to you, and apply yourself to it!’ He then disappeared suddenly. Therefore, Venerable Bhagavān, I have come to ask you the meaning of this.”
The Bhagavān asked, “Monk, do you know that deity?”
“Sir, I do not know that deity,” the monk replied.
“This deity is a general[4] of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. His name is Candana.”[5]
“Sir, I wish to hear the teaching of Auspicious Night,” the monk entreated.
The Bhagavān replied, “Then, monk, listen well and carefully, and pay attention! I will teach you. Monk, when monks are endowed with three special qualities, they are called those who abide by the teaching of Auspicious Night. Which three? They are as follows: By possessing the three special qualities of (1) not following after the past,[6] (2) not hoping[7] for the future, and F.91.a (3) remaining uncaptivated by presently arisen states, a monk is known as someone who follows the teaching of Auspicious Night.”
This is what the Bhagavān said. F.162.b After the Sugata had thus spoken, he furthermore stated the following:
Then the Bhagavān, for the safeguarding of all sentient beings, offered this teaching of Auspicious Night[17] and taught the following Dravidian mantras:
tadyathā| bi nā bi ni| bi na pūraṇi| buddha-martaṇḍe| mānini mānini| ṇi ṇi ṇi ṇi| ṭi ṭi ṭi ṭi| vīrati| gauri| gāndhāri| caṇḍāli| mātaṃgi| pukkasi| brāhmaṇi| drāviḍi| drāmiḍi| śavari| sadālambha| hīnamadhyamadhāriṇi| maholani| dalabhani| dalābhadre| mahādalini| calini| muṣṭe| cakravarti| mahācakravarti| śavari śavari| mahāśavari| bhu tsing gi| bhu tsi ring gi ni| ni mi ni ming gi ni| nimiṃdhari bhu ta ni svāhā
tadyathā| e ṭu ṭu ṭu ṭu| na ṭu mi rṇi| ki rṇi| eṁ ku| sid da ta ri| tsa la lu| rni rtu| nirma llu| gallu| a ba tra no ne| śe ku nir ba ra da sa le| ta ra ke| ta re| ta rod tu| nod tu| ti la F.91.b la lu| bhūtapataye| ba ta yi ye svāhā
tadyathā| arakāte | narakāte| pāṃśuka| pāyiye| kapotaka pāyiye| tapodhane svāhā
“Monk, when, with the intention of safeguarding all sentient beings, sons of good family or daughters of good family F.163.a keep the meaning of Auspicious Night’s teachings,[18] together with its prose, its stanzas, and its Dravidian mantras, in their mind, or when they remember it, read it,[19] concentrate on it, master it, or correctly teach it in detail to others, their body will be indestructible by fire, indestructible by poison,[20] and unharmed by punishment inflicted by authorities[21] or assault from thieves; furthermore, they will not die prematurely and will certainly reach nirvāṇa.
“Homage to the completely perfect buddhas, the tathāgatas, the arhats of the past, present, and future!
“Having thus paid homage, F.92.a one should recite the following incantations:
“Through this incantation, may I become prosperous!
tadyathā| nimi nimiṃdhare| timi timiṅgali| trailokya-avalokini| F.163.b triśūladharaṇi| a ku phi ni| kṛmīkṛti | ki li ki li| kud to kud to| kud to kud si| kurti ku pi ti
“May I and all sentient beings, accompanied by Vajrapāṇi,[29] be protected everywhere from all dangers, illnesses, poisons, fevers, evil spirits, bites from venomous creatures, thieves, all humans and nonhumans, all dangers, injuries, infectious disease, fighting, troubles, wrongdoing, discord, quarrels, and disputes, as well as from all evil deeds committed with body, speech, and mind, and from all fears! Protect!
tadyathā| hi li mi li| tsi li| i li| mi li| piśācini parṇaśavari F.58.b tsi li tsi li svāhā
When the Bhagavān had spoken these words, the monks and all the assemblies,[30] together with the world and its deities, humans, asuras, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, great yakṣas, rākṣasas, pretas, and piśācas, delighted and rejoiced in the Bhagavān’s words.
This completes the noble sūtra “Auspicious Night.”[31]Notes
Syntax according to D phyin nas. Y and K read phyi nas (“later on”). The reading in D seems preferable since it faithfully reproduces the syntax of a well-known stock phrase in Sanskrit and Pali expressing that someone approaches another person (yena … tena).
backAccording to A, D, D617, D974 de nas dge slong de nang par langs nas; S just reads de nas dge slong de nas langs nas (“Then, the monk, having departed/left from there”) without specifying the time.
backC, H repeat lha (“Deva”) here; A, D add lta; D974 omitted; D617, S do not add lta or lha. Translated according to D974 and S.
backTranslating A, D sde dpon. D617, D974, S read ded dpon. Although the semantic range of the two terms partly overlaps—both designate a leader of some kind—a sde dpon is typically a military leader, such as a general, whereas ded dpon can refer to a civic leader, such as the head of a merchant caravan or ship captain.
backThe reason for the appearance of the general Candana can be explained by referring to MN 134, the initial portions of which bear a considerable resemblance to the beginning of Auspicious Night: in the Pali version, the deity Candana recalls the stanzas of the discourse of Auspicious Night in his meeting with the monk Lomasakaṅgiya. To the monk’s question about how and why he remembers it, the deity replies, “Bhikkhu, once the Blessed One was living among the gods of the heaven of the Thirty-three, on the Red Marble Stone at the root of the Pāricchattaka tree. There the Blessed One recited the summary and exposition of ‘One Who Has Had a Single Excellent Night’ to the gods of the heaven of the Thirty-three” (translation taken from Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi 2005, 1050).
backThe Tibetan of A, D313, D617, D974 here reads rjes su phrad, which is very unusual (as far as we were able to ascertain, this is the only occurrence in the Kangyur) and poses text-critical difficulties. S is unclear, and reads either rjes su phrad or phrod. The Sanskrit of SI 2044 reads anvāgamayed, meaning “to follow,” “walk,” or “go along,” a term often rendered in Tibetan as rjes su ’brang. Therefore, and specifically in the light of the extant Sanskrit parallel, we read rjes su ’brang for rjes su phrad and have translated it accordingly with the English verb “to follow.” It should be pointed out, however, that a survey of all available scans of Kangyurs on the University of Vienna’s Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies site shows that the reading rjes su phrad (and the variants rjes su ’phrad and rjes su phrang) is found in all the recensions and editions. Thus, the curious reading rjes su phrad may either have its origin in a textual corruption or is just a graphically unusual form. It may furthermore be worth noting that Taishō 1362 reads, in the first half-pada of the first verse, 過去不應念 – 過去(“What is past one should not remember”). The reading nian念 (“mindfulness,” “memory”) here suggests that we should expect a form of Sanskrit anu+smṛ in the Sanskrit/Prakrit original. Similarly, Taishō 77 reads 過去當不憶, with yi憶 likewise meaning “to recollect,” “to remember.” The obvious candidate in the Tibetan would be rjes su dran.
backTranslation according to A, D, D617, D974, S re ba; N, K, Y read reg pa (“to touch” or “contact”).
backThe Pali MN 131 explains the meaning of this as follows: Remembering a past state of any one of one’s five constituents (Sanskrit skandha), e.g., “in the past my form was thus,” one wishes oneself or the past state of affairs to return. The explanation is similar with regard to the future: one wishes one’s body/form etc. to be a certain way in the future.
backAccording to the Tibetan in D617, D974, S de dag mkhas pas; A, D, N read de dag thams cad (“those all”).
backAccording to S shi’am sus shes kyis. A, D, N, S read shi yang; A, D shi yang su shes kyis; D617 ’chi’am su shes kyis; D974 ’chi’am sus shes kyis.
backWe interpret Tibetan sde here to be short for dmag sde (“army,” “platoon”). Cf. the Pali mahāsenena maccunā (“death, whose army is mighty”).
backWe have translated according to A, D, S bdag tu [S rtag tu] bshes pa ma yin no. D617, D974 read bdag tu shes pa ma yin no.
backAccording to A, D, S bzang po; D617, D974 read thams cad bzang por mthong gyur te (“having come to see that all is good”).
backAccording to A, D gang yang; D617, D974, S gang dag.
backThis stanza, which is longer than the other stanzas (six padas instead of four), is absent in the Pali version and its Madhyamāgama parallel (MĀ 165; see Anālyo 2008, 12). Only SI 2044 preserves a similar passage.
backIn the Pali version of this verse, the person who thus maintains this mindfully day and night is called bhaddekaratto, “one who has had an auspicious night” The whole fourth, and last, stanza in the Pali Bhaddekarattasuttas in Bhikkhu Anālayo’s (2012, 758n15) translation reads, “dwelling diligently like this, day and night without laziness, to him, indeed, the night is auspicious, so the peaceful sage has explained” (evaṃ vihārim ātapiṃ, ahorattam atanditaṃ, taṃ ve bhaddekaratto ti, santo ācikkhate munī ti).
backAccording to D617, D974, S mtshan mo bzang po’i mdo sde ’di; A, D mdo ’di.
backAccording to A, D mtshan mo bzang po’i mdo sde ’di’i don. S instead reads mtshan mo bzang po’i don (“the meaning of (an?) auspicious night” [or simply “the meaning/contents of Auspicious Night”]); D617, D974 read mtshan mo bzang po’i mdo (“the sūtra Auspicious Night”).
backThe Tibetan verb klog (“read”) most likely means to recite the text out loud.
backAccording to A, D dug gis mi tshugs pa yin; D617, D974, S dug gis ma yin (“not by poison”). D617, D974, and S also add “not [vulnerable] by the blade; not by water” (mtshon gyis ma yin| chus ma yin).
backTibetan rgyal po’i chad pa literally means “punishment inflicted by the king.”
backTibetan dbang phyug tu yang nges par ’gyur; dbang phyug is polysemous, and the exact sense of the word here is unclear. According to Mvy it usually renders the Sanskrit īśvara (“lord, master; king, ruler”). The Sanskrit word itself can also mean “almighty god” or refer to the supreme god (parameśvara) or the Supreme Being. The Tibetan dbang phyug can also be used as a synonym of the Sanskrit tathāgata and bodhisattva, or for the god Śiva. In the Buddhist doctrinal context, it often renders the Sanskrit aiśvarya, which designates the “sovereignty,” “self-mastery,” “supremacy,” or “superhuman powers” of a buddha.
backWe have supplied the word “recitation” here. An alternative interpretation of the Tibetan lan cig gis may be “at once,” “immediately,” or “directly.” H lan gcig.
backAccording to A, D, S mya ngan; Ymang; K phan; H, N ngam.
backAccording to A, D, D617, D974 dus ma yin par ’chi las skyob; S dus ma yin ltas ’chi las skyob (“protects from omens of premature death”).
backTibetan bzang po dran na. We have interpreted bzang po to be short for mtshan mo bzang po’i mdo, “the sūtra Auspicious Night,” but it may simply mean “remembering it well.” It is also possible that the wording here is deliberately ambiguous.
backThis translates Tibetan rig pa bzang po ’di dang ni. As in the instance above, we have interpreted bzang po to be short for mtshan mo bzang po’i mdo (“the sūtra Auspicious Night”). Alternatively, it may be translated literally as “this auspicious incantation (Sanskrit vidyā)” or “this good incantation.” However, in light of what has been stated in the previous verses and their frequent reference to Auspicious Night, we interpret rig pa (vidyā) here to refer to the whole sūtra Auspicious Night itself.
backAccording to A, D dus kun tu; D617, D974, S gnas kun tu (“in all places” or “in all circumstances”).
backTibetan bdag dang sems can thams cad lag na rdo rje dang lhan cig tu … The syntax in this sentence is not entirely clear.
backHere, the “four assemblies” (’khor bzhi) consisting of monks, nuns, and male and female lay followers are intended.
backThe editions of D617, D974, S, and K preserve the following colophon: “The Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, and the editor-translator, the venerable monk Yeshé Dé (ye shes sde), translated and edited [this text]. It was subsequently modified and then finalized in accordance with the reformed lexicon.”
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