Toh 740, Toh 1005 — The Sūtra of Mahāśrī
Mahāśrīsūtra
The Noble
Sūtra of Mahāśrī
F.234.bF.171.a Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.[1]
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Sukhāvatī. Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva, the noble Avalokiteśvara, set out to where the Blessed One was residing. Having arrived, he bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One, circumambulated the Blessed One thrice, and sat down on one side.
Then the Blessed One looked at Mahāśrī and said this to the noble Avalokiteśvara: “Whosoever, including monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, gets to know, upholds, recites, writes down, or commissions to have written down these twelve names of Mahāśrī will escape destitution and become wealthy.”
Then the entire host of spirits[2] said, “May it be so!”
Then the Blessed One spoke the twelve names of Mahāśrī: “It is thus—Splendor, Welfare, She Who Is Wearing a Garland of Lotuses, Mistress of Wealth, White One, She of Great Fame, Lotus-Eyed One, She of Great Radiance, She Who Accomplishes, Bestower of Nourishment, She of Jewel-Like Gleam,[3] Great Splendor.
syād yathedam—jini ghriṇi[4] sarvārthasādhani śaśini | alakṣmīṃ me nāśaya | sidhyantu me mantrapadāḥ svāhā | oṁ bhṛkuṭi paramasubhage svāhā |[5]
“One should recite this three times. Whosoever recites it at the three junctures of the day will have all their adversities destroyed and will become fortunate and of inexhaustible wealth. F.235.a If one recites this before going out to meet other people, those people will think of one as their son, they will be pleased, and they will do whatever one instructs. If one recites continuously, Brahmā and brahmins may perform aggressive rituals, but one will not be harmed; rather, it will be as if one had performed service to many buddhas.”[6]F.171.b
Thus spoke the Blessed One, and the bodhisattva, the noble Avalokiteśvara, was gladdened and praised the speech of the Blessed One.
Here ends the noble “Sūtra of Mahāśrī.”Colophon
This was translated, checked, and redacted by the Indian preceptor Jinamitra and the great editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
Notes
This obeisance formula is not part of the main text, but the so-called translators’ obeisance (’gyur phyag).
backIt is not at all clear where these spirits came from, and it is still less clear why they are in Sukhāvatī.
backHere we have translated according to the Sanskrit (Hidas 2021, p. 33, item no. 3; and p. 52, item no. 40) and the Tibetan of the sibling text, The Twelve Names.http://read.84000.co/translation/toh741.html The Tibetan here, rin po che rab tu sbyin ma, suggests an underlying reading of *Ratnapradā.
backThis is the reading of Stok Palace and the Sanskrit of the sibling text. Both Degé versions transmit ghrini.
backThe names or epithets translated into Tibetan are (1) Śrī, (2) Lakṣmī, (3) Padmamālinī, (4) Dhanādhipati, (5) Gaurī, (6) Mahāyaśāḥ, (7) Padmanetrī, (8) Mahādyuti, (9) Kartrī, (10) Annadāyinī, (11) Ratnaprabhā (#UT22084-094-017-67), and (12) Mahāśrī. The rest of the spell may be translated as follows: “May it be so! jini ghriṇi, O Accomplisher of All Goals, O Hare-Marked One (an epithet of the moon)! Destroy my destitution! May these mantra-words be accomplished for me! Oṁ One Furling Her Eyebrows, O Supremely Fortunate One svāhā.” Note that “One Furling Her Eyebrows” is also the name of a goddess, Bhṛkuṭī, sometimes appearing as an ectype of Tārā.
backWe observe the following differences in the Sanskrit version of the sibling text: (a) recitation at the three junctures of the day is not mentioned; (b) inexhaustible wealth is not among the promises; (c) it is not other people who are being met with but the king; (d) Brahmā and brahmins do not perform harmful rituals, but the god Great Brahmā (Mahābrahmā) appears and bestows a desired boon.
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