Toh 425 — The Mahāmāyā Tantra

Mahāmāyātantra

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

The King of Tantras, the Glorious Mahāmāyā

Chapter 1 The First Instruction

F.167.a Homage to the Glorious Vajraḍākinī!

I pay homage to the protector of beings, Glorious Vajraḍākinī,

Universal sovereign of the ḍākinīs, the very essence of the five wisdoms and three bodies.

I pay homage to all the vajraḍākinīs

Who cut the bonds of conceptual thought and descend to act in the world.

Now, following that, I will explain the tantra called The Supreme Secret of the Secret Goddesses, the Vajraḍākinīs. F.167.b

She pervades the entire Egg of Brahmā, the animate and inanimate.

She is the source of all goddesses and rules over Brahmā and the rest.

She is their great secret, the great Queen Mahāmāyā.

She is the great illusion, intensely fierce, who destroys all that exists.^[1] [507]

She pervades all of this: the animate and inanimate, the three worlds.

Time after time she gathers in and again emanates the triple world.

This mother of the guhyakas is celebrated as the essence of illusion.

She is the knowledge that perfects the three worlds and fulfills all desires.

Through the mere thought of the queen of the accomplished, knowledge itself,

The devas, dānavas, gandharvas, yakṣas, āsuras, and humans,

The vidyādharas, the kinnaras, and mahodaras,

The rākṣasas and piśācas—all are mastered for practitioners.

All creatures are subdued: those born in the water and on land.

Phenomena are naturally luminous; they are primordially pure and without stain.

The methods of those possessing the self-arisen five wisdoms are to be praised;^[2]

These are the yoginīs, the mother of yoga, and the entirety of the three worlds.^[3]

The entire play of illusion is accomplished without exclusion or remainder.^[4]

Abducted from the buddhas, the maidens of the highest gods are enjoyed.

The yogī has knowledge, masters yoga, and weaves Indra’s Web.^[5]

He beguiles and paralyzes, slays, dissuades, and more.

He tames, magnetizes, and so forth; he flies through the sky.

He enters the citadel of another, is invisible, and so on.

He causes hostility, renders mute, and moves under the earth;

Becomes the universal sovereign of vidyādharas, does not age, and is deathless.

One with knowledge of yogic illusion is likewise free from disease—

Yogīs revel in the form of the mantra’s syllables. F.168.a

Through recitation and contemplation, meditation and absorption, [508]

The vidyā created through recitation brings about the accomplishment of knowledge.^[6]

Without discipline or austerities, without hardship, fasting, or vows,

Bliss and Joy bring accomplishment through constancy in knowledge and method.^[7]

The Virile One stands in the center of the navel, in the hidden space of the blossom;

He is mind, the absence of mind, and mental form—the nature of knowledge and what can be known.

I will now describe him—this is the profound instruction of the Buddha:

A chain equal to that of the āli kāli is coiled there.

The upper chain ignites and is made to flow downward,

A drop of nectar flowing in the form of semen.

Whatever comes on the path of the senses is naturally just that.

Through the practice of supreme benefit all becomes the nature of the Buddha.^[8]

The spiritual attainment of the great commitment is the perfection of the great pill.^[9]

In the embrace of Mahāmāyā you should practice yogic union.^[10]

Endowed with the five offerings together with the five objects of desire,

The power of accomplishment will be known and spiritual attainment made permanent.

I will explain this spiritual attainment of wisdom,

By which the state of a god is swiftly attained—Goddess, I speak truthfully!

To you, Mahāmāyā, I will explain the accomplishment of the three worlds,

The garland of syllables of the most excellent among the great yoginīs.^[11]

The great yogī who masters the animate and inanimate with thought alone

Is constantly offered desirable things and served according to his pleasure.

He is always at play and accomplishes the vajra yoginīs. [509]

In a variety of forms the essential practice is revealed. F.168.b

The great attainment, the splendor of the tathāgatas, is granted;^[12]

Through extracting various essences the yogī constantly benefits beings.^[13]

With the collected semen, liquor, and extracted large pill,

He mixes in the great flesh and unites with the yoginī.

He gains long life, great virility,^[14] great splendor, and becomes exceedingly powerful;

He possesses divine sight, magical ability, and drinks the moon day after day;

He becomes long-lived so that he lives for a great age;

He manifests an alluring form and conjures miracles;

With merely a thought his appearance is transformed—

The queen of vidyās, the great enchantress, is unfailingly accomplished through recitation.

Vidyā! In the three worlds there is nothing equal to my knowledge.^[15]

This transmission of all tantras has been explained to you, Magnificent One!

This completes the first instruction on the signs of spiritual attainment of “The Great Vidyā, Queen of the Yoginīs.”

Chapter 2 The Second Instruction

Now, following that, I will explain the sublime secret syllable that bestows the result of the spiritual attainment for the practice of the great queens of yoga.

Merely visualizing her, the yoginī grants the best of things.

Apply the first syllable and sustain the upward breath.^[16]

Taking that which comes at the end of the eight together with ū and the bindu,

The yogī moves the downward breath, abandoning the real and unreal. [510]

The observances are not explained: the activities of the garland mantra,

Of retention, and of fire offerings are all omitted.^[17]

The threefold practice is said to be essentially mantra, appearance, and reality.

Through three aspects of wisdom he will not be stained by the faults of existence.

The yogī who constantly meditates on this without interruption

Is equal to Vajrasattva and gains accomplishment in a single month. F.169.a

Meditate upon the first syllable which is the color of Indra.

Merged fully with one’s own awareness it is summoned in an instant.

The one possessing the second syllable is imagined and cultivated.

One gains power over everything within the whole of the three worlds.

Brahmā, and lord Viṣṇu, so too Indra and the Lord of Desire—

Invoked with the wisdom syllable, they are summoned along with their wives.^[18]

Endowed with the syllable ā, settled in awakened body, speech, and mind,^[19]

Perform the threefold union—this is the supreme extraction of the pill.

Possessing the syllable khe is the four-faced one with a red body.^[20]

Skull cup in hand he is passion itself—this is the supreme extraction of semen.

Possessing the syllable ci is one yellow in color who shines brightly,

With the form of a horse’s face—engaging him is the supreme extraction of the liquor.

The one possessing the syllable ra is red in color and exceedingly bright,

Has four arms and four faces, and appears in the form of a jackal.

Cultivating this wrathful mind is the supreme extraction of blood.

Endowed with the six syllables, they are fixed in the six places.

The practice, the host of ḍākinīs, and the vajra yoginīs are accomplished, [511]

The two eyes, the ears, and so too the nose and the mind.

Yogīs take the posture of a sporting lion;^[21]

While meditating with the movement of breath controlled, it blazes in an instant

Throughout Akaniṣṭha, the summit of existence, and in the seven worlds of the animate and inanimate.

All meditate upon it, but they don’t realize it.

If everyone realized it, the manifestations of beings would utterly collapse.

Therefore this wisdom is secret, obscure, and unwritten.

Because the awakened ones know, they who are immersed in yogic sleep,^[22]

They concentrate upon the pill and meditate on the singular nature of forms. F.169.b

They meditate on the essence of the substances arisen from the nine doors,^[23]

And consume them with a mind free of concepts and devoid of intrinsic nature.

With the thumb and ring finger, place the wish-granting jewel in the mouth,

And attain the everlasting spiritual attainment arisen from the nature of the nectar.

This completes the second instruction on the practice of “The Great Vidyā, Queen of the Yoginīs.”

Chapter 3 The Third Instruction

Now comes a thorough explanation of the supreme accomplishment of the samaya:

The ingestion of the other gathered substances that bestow the result of omniscience.

By their mere consumption the mothers of the spirits are accomplished:^[24]

Elephant and horse, and so too cow and dog.

Mixed with the great one and also the five wisdom nectars,

From the fourteenth to the eighth they are combined and mingled together.^[25]

Left inside a jackal for seven days, remove them. [512]

Roll the five into pellets the size of mustard seeds.

Indeed this tantra teaches that from the eighth to the fourteenth

Cultivate them individually for seven days, mix them, and place them in a jackal.^[26]

Take them out—from the five make pellets the size of the fruit of spiritual attainment.

Because the great fruition is perfectly realized, it is taught in this tantra but fully concealed;

The buddhas have concealed the great fruition in every instance.

Next follows the method of practice: visualize a mind lotus

Glowing red in color and endowed with the four goddesses.

It is adorned with the figure of the Buddha.

In the east he shines like a blue lotus, to the south he is yellow,

To the west whitish red, and in the north he glows emerald.^[27]

Shrouded in a garland of flames, he is beautiful with three eyes, four faces, and four arms.

Imagine that the goddess in the east has three eyes and holds a khaṭvāṅga and bell in her left hands and a vajra and skull cup in her right hands. The goddess in the south wields a trident, a jewel, a banner, and a jackal. The goddess in the west holds a bow, an arrow, a multicolored lotus, and a skull cup. F.170.a The goddess in the north wields a sword, a noose, a hand drum, and a skull cup.

In its center visualize the vajra body, speech, and mind

Bearing a skull cup and khaṭvāṅga, and so too a bow and arrow.

Meditating on that which possesses the first mantra, it blazes for an instant.

Practicing like this, the yogī is granted the spiritual attainment of the substance. [513]

Through the accomplishment of the yoginī, confidence swiftly develops.^[28]

One can become entirely invisible and manifest a thousandfold at once.^[29]

Plunder from the buddhas and enjoy sublime celestial girls.^[30]

With vajra eyes one will see, like an āmalaka fruit in the palm of one’s hand.

Buddhas equal to grains of sand in the Gaṅgā residing in their vajra realms,^[31]

Pure realms numerous as sand in the Gaṅgā, the features of awakened body, speech, and mind,^[32]

The intrinsic condition of all objects—know them to arise from the mind’s dance.^[33]

Apply the syllables in reverse and meditate on the mantra.

Ingest each one of the pills infused with the vajra drink.

Take the last of the eight syllables together with the ū and bindu;

Fix it firmly at the end and clearly pronounce the mantra: guhya bhakṣa abhakṣe hūṁ. ^[34]

In perfect union with the yoginī take possession of the first syllable.

If desiring accomplishment through the vajra holder, a yogī consumes the manifest mantra seven times.

The last of the three syllables sits clearly at the end of the eight.

Endowed with the ū and bindu it remains as the supreme syllable.

The one linked to the first syllable is united with hrīḥ. F.170.b

Apply the last of the syllables and fix in place the five seeds.

Meditate upon the syllable and cause the lotus to fully bloom.

For those who seek the accomplishment of a vajra holder, this union should be fully known.

Then, the sublime vajra song which is the realization of the vajra yoginīs welcomes the one who thoroughly accomplishes existence:^[35]

“Hey, friend! The vajra makes the lotus swell and bloom.

A la la la la ho! You have been aroused by the dance of great bliss.

The rays of the sun fully open the face of the lotus. [514]

You have become aroused by the dance of great bliss.”^[36]

Then, simply through this song sung to the great vajra holder

The vajraḍākinīs dance and call out to Vajrasattva.

In this way one with consistent devotion gains the spiritual attainment of union.

Through perfect union in the four times, accomplishment is gained—this is the supreme meditation.

Adorned with all perfect ornaments and wreathed with flowers and perfume,

So the spiritual attainment that bestows the sublime three bodies is certainly attained,

Causing its perfect illumination within a hundred miles.

From the perfect application of the two powers arise the substances of the nine doors.

One will accomplish the unsurpassable essence, the peace of abiding in the awakening of buddhahood.

Now, in verse form:

The forms, the seals, and the attributes,

The substances, absorptions, and meditations—

These various ritual methods have been set forth,

Taught according to the desires of the goddess’s mind.

Whoever keeps this tantra at home, keeps it with him always, and chants and meditates upon it will no longer experience illness, aging, obstacles, or death. He will be forever protected from obstacles by the queens among yoginīs.

This completes the third instruction on the method of practice and ancillary activities, the supreme secret of secrets, that are the intent of the great vajraḍākinīs. F.171.a
This completes the “Mahāmāyātantra.”

Colophon

It was translated and edited by the Indian preceptor Jinavara and the great Tibetan translator Gö [515] Lhetsé.

Notes

“Who destroys all that exists”: this translates the Sanskrit bhūtasaṃhārakāriṇī (Tib. ’byung ba yang dag sdud mdzad ma). We have pushed the translation toward the more extreme end of the term’s semantic range in a nod to Ratnākaraśānti, who glosses the term with pralayakartī, “she who causes annihilation.” [G, p 5] This refers to the dissolution of the universe that comes at the end of the cosmogonic stages of emanation, absorption, and dissolution of the universe that are standard in Brahmanical cosmology.
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“Are to be praised”: here we have followed the Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti, which is quite different from the Tibetan translation: the methods (Skt. upāyāḥ) of those who are endowed with the five wisdoms (Skt. pañcajñānināṃ) are to be praised (Skt. pragīyante) [G, pp. 9–10]. This is an interesting verse as it seems thematically disjuntive with the preceding and subsequent lines and may have been inserted here by a later redactor. Krṣṇavajra, who is otherwise attentive to every verse, does not acknowledge it at all. Ratnākaraśānti, on the other hand, uses this verse as the basis for an extensive discourse linking into Yogācāra philsophy.
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Ratnākaraśānti identifies the yoginī, mother of yoga (Skt: yogamātā), and the entirety of the three worlds (Skt: traidhātukaṃ aśeṣataḥ) as the praiseworthy methods of the previous verse [G, p. 10].
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The second line of this verse begins a new sequence of verses that indentify the accomplishments that will come to the yogī who successfully accomplishes the practices of the Mahāmāyā Tantra. It concludes in verse 1.15.
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“Weaves Indra’s Web”: this translates the Sanskrit indravjālaṃ karoti, which is rendered as mig ’phrul byed in the Tibetan.
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The Sanskrit term vidyā (Tib. rig pa) appears twice in this verse with different connotations. According to Ratnākaraśānti, the first instance is as the techinical term for the central female deity of the maṇḍala, Mahāmāyā, and has therefore been left untranslated. The second instance is in specific reference to the knowledge (Skt. prajñā) that arises from meditation and has here been translated as “knowledge” [G, p. 13].
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The Tibetan translation adds an additional rtag tu, meaning “constant,” which is not attested in any of the commentaries. Because it appears to be largely redundant, it has been omitted here.
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This verse is complicated by two substantial variants. Where the Tibetan translation reads “practice of supreme benefit” (mchog tu phan pa), Ratnākaraśānti reads “practice of supreme settling” (Skt. paramāhita/Tib. mchog tu bzhag pa) [G, p. 19]. The similarity of the Sanskrit terms for “supreme benefit” (parama hita) and for “supreme settling” (parama āhita) probably led to a scribal error resulting in different versions of the verse. Because the version found in the Tibetan translation is attested in Kṛṣṇavajra’s commentary, it was followed here, though Ratnākaraśānti’s reading seems clearer. Where the Tibetan translation reads sangs rgyas kun gyi rang bzhin ’bab (“become the nature of all buddhas”), Kṛṣṇavajra reads sangs rgyas rang bzhin thams cad ’gyur (“everything becomes the nature of the Buddha”) [S, F.206.b] which is in agreement with the Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti and which is followed here.
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Ratnākaraśānti and Kṛṣṇavajra are unanimous in identifying the spiritual attainment of the great commitment with the perfection of the great pill. This relationship is not clear in the Tibetan translation.
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“Mahāmāyā”: though the Tibetan verse reads rgyu ’phrul chen po here, Ratnākaraśānti attests to Mahāmāyā [G, p. 20].
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This verse appears to be slightly different in the recension of the tantra used by Ratnākaraśānti. A tentative prose reconstruction would read: “To you (Skt. tvām), the vidyā Mahāmāyā who is the means for accomplishing the three worlds (mahāmāyāṃ vidyāṃ trailokyasādhanīṃ) I will explain (tad ahaṃ vakṣyāmi) the Vīra, the most excellent among the great yogīs (mahāyoginām divyam) along with the garland of syllables (akṣarapaṅktibhiḥ).” [G, p. 21].
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Tathāgatas, or “thus-gone ones” here: where the Tibetan translation reads de bzhin gshegs pa kun, Ratnākaraśānti attests to the Sanskrit tāthāgātī, a feminine derivative adjective formed from tathāgata [G, p. 22]. In his reading the term is in the singular. Thus in at least one recension of the text the line would read “the splendor of the thus-gone lady.”
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Kṛṣṇavajra reads a different line here. In the recension of the root text available to him, the final line of the text as translated in Tibetan is gar ni thugs rjes bsams bzhin mdzad (“He dances with compassion according to his whim”) [S, F.208.a].
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“Virility” translates the Sanskrit vīrya and the Tibetan brtson ’grus.
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There are a couple of noteworthy variants of this verse found in commentarial works. The version from the Degé edition translated here, which is supported in Kṛṣṇavajra’s commentary, reads: “Vidyā! In the three worlds (Tib. ’jig rten gsum po na) there is nothing equal to my knowledge (Tib. nga yi rig dang mnyam pa med).” The recension of the tantra used by Ratnākaraśānti appears to have, instead, “there is nothing (Skt. nāsti) like you (Skt. te sadṛśī) in the triple worlds (Skt. triṣu lokeṣu)” [G, p 21]. Taranātha attests to yet another variation. In his Lamp of Suchness [F.2.b] he cites the same line as “Vidyā! In the three worlds there is nothing like you apart from me” (Tib. rig pa ’jig rten gsum po na / khyod dang mnyams pa nga las med).
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“Sustain the upward breath”: this translates the Sanskrit ucvāsasam kurute, which is rendered in the Tibetan translation as dbug gtang bar bya.
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Ratnākaraśānti reads “restriction” (Skt. yantraṇa) in place of “garland” (Skt. mālā) [G, p. 27]. In his commentary he connects both restriction and retention with the movements of the breath (yantraṇā dhāraṇā ca prāṇavāyoḥ). A variant of the first line of this verse is attested, in Sanskrit, in a sādhana associated with the Mahāmāyātantra found in the Sādhanamālā (#221 in SM vol. 2, pp. 434–36): na japaṃ na vrataṃ tasya nopavāso vidhīyate. Kṛṣṇavajra confirms this variant in his commentary.
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“Wisdom syllable”: according to Ratnākaraśānti, this term only appears in some recensions of the text [G, p. 27]. As he does not gloss it in his commentary it seems it did not appear in his recension of choice.
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Ratnākaraśānti attests to the syllable ā [G, p 27], which has been used here instead of the syllable a as given in the Tibetan translation.
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Kṛṣṇavajra reads kṣa in place of khe [S, F.211.a]; Ratnākaraśānti reads “white” in place of “red” [G, p. 30].
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The Tibetan syntax differs significantly from the Sanskrit, which has been translated here. In the Sanskrit the subject, the yogīs, is in the plural, not the instrumental as in the Tibetan. The object, the posture (mudrā), is in the accusative singular, not the genitive as in the Tibetan, which construes with the term “sporting lion” (siṃhavikrīḍitā). The Sanskrit attested by Ratnākaraśānti could read as follows: siṃhavikrīḍitāṃ mudrāṃ bandhayanti yoginaḥ [G, p. 32].
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“Awakened ones”: the Sanskrit word here is saṃbuddhāḥ, which conveys a slightly different sense than the Tibetan term used, sangs rgyas rnams. Whereas the latter could easily be translated as “buddhas,” the former is best rendered as “awakened ones.”
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“Essence of the substances”: Ratnākaraśānti reads “the essence of buddhahood” (Skt. buddhātman) in place of “the essence of the substances” (Tib. rdzas kyi bdag nyid). [G, p. 34].
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“Mothers of the spirits”: we have here followed Ratnākaraśānti in reading the Sanskrit term gūḍhamātaraḥ [G, p. 36], which appears as ’byung po mi rnams in Tibetan translation. In South Asian mythology, the gūḍhas are a class of beings that attend upon Kubera, the lord of wealth.
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Kṛṣṇavajra identifies this line as corrupt [S, F.213.b]. He notes that it should read “from the eighth until the fourteenth,” which is the span of seven days mentioned in the next verse.
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Ratnākaraśānti cites a different line of verse here, which collapses this line and the first line of the next verse: “On the night of the spirits (Skt. bhūtarau) these fruits of accomplishment (Skt. siddhārthaphalāni) are to be placed inside a jackal (Skt. śivāṅgamadhye sthāpyānti).” [G, p. 37].
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According to Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary, the deity has a purely white face in the west [G, p. 39].
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“Yoginī”: Ratnākaraśānti reads “yogas” (Skt. yogāḥ) [G, p. 41] where the Tibetan has “yoginī” (Tib. rnal ’byor ma).
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This line corresponds closely with verse 12.52, line 2 of the Guhyasamājatantra.
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Ratnākaraśānti reads siddhānāṃ kanyām, “the maidens of the siddhas” [G, p. 41]. This line corresponds closely with verse 12.52, line 3 of the Guhyasamājatantra.
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This line corresponds closely with verse 12.53, line 2 of the Guhyasamājatantra.
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This line corresponds closely with verse 12.55, line 1 of the Guhyasamājatantra.
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This line corresponds closely with verse 12.55, line 2 of the Guhyasamājatantra.
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In his commentary on verse 3.18 Kṛṣṇavajra gives the mantra as oṁ a guhya aguhya bhakṣa abhakṣe hūṁ [S, F.216.a].
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Both Ratnākaraśānti [G, p. 160] confirms a genitive relationship between the terms “vajra yoginīs” and “realization,” which has been followed here. The Tibetan editions all contain the agentive kyis.
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This song has been translated from the Prākrit as it appears in Ratnākaraśānti’s sādhana [SM #239, p. 460]: hale sai viasia kamalu pabohiu vajjeṁ | a la la la la ho mahāsuheṇa ārohiu ṇacceṁ | ravikiraṇeṇa paphulliu kamalu mahāsuheṇa | a la la la la ho mahāsuheṇa ārohiu ṇacceṁ.
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