Kangyur Translations

Toh 438 — Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage

Namastāraikaviṃśatistotra

Translated by Samye Translations under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

Praise to Tārā with Twenty-One Verses of Homage

and Their Benefits

F.42.b Homage to the honored, noble lady Tārā!

Homage to Tārā, swift and gallant,

Whose glance is instantaneous like lightning.

You arose from the heart of the blossoming lotus

That is the face of the lord of the three worlds.

Homage to you whose face resembles

One hundred autumn full moons gathered;

Your brilliant radiance blazes,^[1]

Like a thousand clusters of stars.

Homage to you, whose hand is graced

By a golden-blue lotus flower.^[2]

You embody generosity, diligence, endurance,

Serenity, patience, and concentration.

Homage to you, whose triumphs are endless,

Jewel on the Tathāgata’s crown.

You are well attended to by the heirs of the victors,

Who have mastered all the perfections.

Homage to Tuttārā,^[3] who with hūṁ

Fulfills all wishes to the bounds of space.^[4]

You trample the seven worlds underfoot,^[5]

And possess the strength to summon all.

Homage to you, praised by Śakra,

Agni, Brahmā, maruts, and Śiva.

The hosts^[6] of bhūtas, vetālas, gandharvas,

And yakṣas pay tribute to you.

Homage to you, who with traṭ^[7] and phaṭF.43.a

Crush the magical devices of other traditions.

With your right leg bent and your left leg extended,

You shine amid flames blazing wildly.

Homage to Turā, the fearsome lady,

Destroyer of the most powerful demons.^[8]

With your lotus face and stern frown,

You are the slayer of each and every foe!

Homage to you, whose fingers grace your heart,

Displaying the mudrā of the Three Jewels.

Graced by wheels in all directions,

Your natural radiance overwhelms all.^[9]

Homage to you, supremely joyous,

Your splendorous crown spreading garlands of light.

Tuttārā, smiling and laughing,

You bring demons and worlds within your control.^[10]

Homage to you, who can summon

The hosts of earthly guardians.

Knitting your quivering brows, with the syllable hūṁ

You deliver from every misfortune.

Homage to you, so brightly adorned,

With a sliver of moon as your crown,^[11]

Your locks always graced by Amitābha,

Whose bright light streams forever forth.

Homage to you, seated amid blazing flames

That resemble the fire that ends an eon.

Immersed in joy, your right leg extends, and the left is bent.

Thus, you crush legions of foes.

Homage to you, who on the earth’s surface

Strike your palms and stamp your feet;

The hūṁ that is formed by your frown

Smashes the seven netherworlds to nothing but dust.

Homage to you, blissful, gracious, and tranquil,

Whose domain is the peace of nirvāṇa.

In perfect union with svāhā and oṁ,

You lay to waste every terrible evil.

Homage to you, who, immersed in rapture,

Shatter the bodies of all foes.

You shine with the knowledge-syllable hūṁ,

As your mantra’s ten syllables are set forth.^[12]

Homage to Turā, your feet stomping,

Formed from the seed of the syllable hūṁ.

The mountains of Meru, Mandara, and Vindhya,^[13]

And all the three worlds—you cause them to quake.

Homage to you, who hold in your hand

A deer-marked moon like a divine lake.

With tāra uttered twice and then with phaṭ, F.43.b

You eliminate all poisons.

Homage to you, sovereign of divine hosts,

Served by gods and kinnaras.

Your resplendence, an armor of joy,

Pacifies strife and clears away nightmares.

Homage to you, whose two eyes shine brightly

Like the sun and the moon when it’s full.

Tuttārā, with twice-uttered hara,

You pacify the most intractable ills.

Homage to you, who have the power to pacify,^[14]

You display the three true natures.^[15]

Turā, supreme lady, you destroy

The hordes of grahas, vetālas, and yakṣas.

This praise by means of the root mantra—

The twenty-one verses of homage

Should be recited in earnest by the wise,^[16]

Who are filled with devotion for the goddess.

Recalling it at dusk and also when rising at dawn

Will grant them freedom from every fear.

It will pacify all misdeeds,

And destroy all evil destinies.

Soon they will receive empowerment

From seventy million conquerors.

Beyond this, they shall attain greatness,

And proceed to the ultimate state of buddhahood.

If they recall this praise all dreadful poisons,

Whether natural or manufactured,

Whether eaten or imbibed,

Will be utterly neutralized.

This will dispel the heap of suffering

Inflicted by grahas, infectious diseases, and poisons,

Even in other beings.

If chanted twice, thrice, or seven times,

Those who want children will come to have them,

Those who seek wealth will come to have that,

Each and every wish will be fulfilled,

And obstacles, entirely vanquished, will be no more.

This completes the praise to the Blessed Tārā as spoken by the completely perfect Buddha.

Notes

Following the Sanskrit (prahasatkiraṇojjvale) this line could also be read as “Smiling and blazing with brilliant light.”
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The Sanskrit pāṇipadma metaphorically describes Tārā’s hands as resembling lotus flowers. The Tibetan rendering padmas phyag is understood to refer to the lotus that Tārā holds in her hand (Drakpa Gyaltsen 2007c, p. 638).
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Wayman (2002, p. 444) and Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 639) read tuttāre. Following the Sanskrit, Tuttāre in the vocative could also be understood as an epithet of Tārā, that is, Tuttārā. Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 639) explains tuttāre as a mantra syllable.
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“Fulfills all wishes” has been translated based on the Sanskrit pūritāśā. Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 639) reads the Tibetan ’dod (“desire”), which translates the Sanskrit āśā (“wish”), as a reference to the desire realm (kāmadhātu, ’dod khams). See also Willson 1996, p. 131.
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According to various purāṇas and the Atharvaveda, our world system is divided into fourteen worlds: the seven (higher) worlds (saptaloka or saptavyāhṛti) consist of the earth and the heavenly realms above, and the seven netherworlds (saptapātāla) are subterranean paradises. Here, in verse 1.6, Tārā is praised as ruling the seven higher worlds, while in verse #UT22084-081-007-41 she is praised as ruling the seven netherworlds.
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The Sanskrit term gaṇa (tshogs) can either express the plurality of the aforementioned spirits, or it can refer to a class of spirits, the gaṇas, who are the attendants of Śiva. The Tibetan suggests the former. Given the position that the word gaṇa takes in the Sanskrit it appears the Sanskrit suggests the latter. We have here translated according to the Tibetan.
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The syllable traṭ differs (traḍ, trad, trat, and traṭ) in the Sanskrit and Tibetan manuscripts and editions. Here our translation uses traṭ as suggested also by Wayman (2002, p. 447) and Willson (1996, p. 134).
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“The most powerful demons” is a translation of māravīra (bdud kyi dpa’ bo). Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 64) explains the term to refer to the “demon of afflictions” (kleśamāra, nyon mongs kyi bdud) of the four demons (caturmāra, bdud bzhi), which, when destroyed, makes the other three demons crumble.
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The last two lines of this verse could be understood as (1) Tārā graces all points and bearings of the compass, and (2) Tārā bears the marks of thousand-spoked wheels on her hands and feet. See also Willson’s discussion of this point (1996, pp. 139–40).
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The Sanskrit compound māraloka (’dud dang ’jig rten) could be read as “the realm of demons” instead of “the world and demons.” De Blonay (1895) reads bhayaṃkari (’jigs pa mdzad ma) instead of vaśaṃkari (dbang du mdzad ma). Accordingly, the line could also be read as “you strike fear in the world and demons” or “realm of demons.”
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The Sanskrit editions read khaṇḍendu (zla ba’i dum bu), a sliver of moon. The Comparative Edition notes that the Degé, Lithang, and Choné editions read zla ba’i rtse mo, lit. “lunar peak” (p. 140 and p. 143).
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According to Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 643) this refers to Tārā’s root mantra oṁ tā-re tu-ttā-re tu-re svā-hā.
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The Sanskrit editions vary and read either meru-mandara (Willson 1996, p. 153; Wayman 2002, p. 444) or meru-maṇḍala (de Blonay 1895, Pandey 1994). The Tibetan editions agree with the former, according to which the first two mountains in question are Mount Meru and Mandara. Regarding the third mountain, the Sanskrit editions read Kailāsa, which refers to Mount Kailash. However, the Tibetan editions seem to disagree and read ’bigs byed, which suggests that the mountain in question is Vindhya (see also Willson 1996, p. 153). Here we are following the Tibetan editions. Interestingly, Drakpa Gyaltsen (2007c, p. 643) reads ’bigs byed as the verb “to pierce.” According to Drakpa Gyaltsen’s explanation, it is the light radiating from Tārā’s seed syllable hūṁ that pierces Meru and Mandara.
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According to Drakpa Gyaltsen’s (2007c, p. 644) explanation, Tārā has the power to pacify (zhi ba) the afflictions. The Sanskrit editions employ the Śaiva term śivaśakti (“Śiva’s power”), which is rendered into Tibetan as zhi ba’i mthus (“the power to pacify”).
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Tibetan commentators understand “the three true natures” (tritattvā, de nyid gsum) to be these: the awakened body, speech, and mind; deity, mantra, and samādhi; and the syllables oṃ, āḥ, and hūṁ (Drakpa Gyaltsen 2007c, p. 644; Khenchen Palden Sherab 2004, p. 161).
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We have translated rab tu brjod pas (paṭhet prayata) as “recited in earnest.” The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle and Lhasa versions read rab dad brjod pa, the Kangxi version reads rab dung brjod pas, and the Narthang reads rab pa tu rjod (Comparative Edition, p. 143). Like the Yongle and Lhasa versions, the Stok Palace reads rab dad brjod pa (fol. 436.b.2).
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