Toh 741, Toh 1006 — The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī
The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī
F.235.aF.172.a Homage to the Three Jewels.
Homage to the noble Avalokiteśvara.
Homage to Vajrapāṇi.
Homage to the great goddess Śrī.[1]
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the realm of Sukhāvatī. Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva, the noble Avalokiteśvara, set out to where the Blessed One was residing. Having arrived, he bowed his head at the feet of the Blessed One, circumambulated the Blessed One thrice, and sat down on one side. Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva, the great goddess Śrī, also set out to where the Blessed One was residing. Having arrived, she bowed her head at the feet of the Blessed One and sat down on one side.
Then the Blessed One looked at Mahāśrī and said this to the noble Avalokiteśvara: F.235.b “Avalokiteśvara, whosoever, including monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, gets to know, upholds, recites, accomplishes, or speaks of the twelve names of Mahāśrī here will escape destitution and become very wealthy.”[2]
Then the entire host of spirits[3] said, “May it be so!”
“These are the twelve names of the great goddess Śrī: F.172.b “It is thus—Welfare, Splendor, She Who Is Wearing a Garland of Lotuses, Mistress of Wealth, White One,[4] She of Great Fame, Lotus-Eyed One, She of Great Radiance, She Who Accomplishes, Bestower of Nourishment, She of Jewel-Like Gleam,[5] Great Splendor. Homage to all buddhas! Homage to Avalokiteśvara! Homage to the great goddess Śrī! It is thus—jini ghriṇi, O Accomplisher of All Goals, simi simi nimi nimi,[6] remove my destitution completely,[7]svāhā.[8]
Thus spoke the Blessed One, and the bodhisattva, the noble Avalokiteśvara, was gladdened and praised the speech of the Blessed One.
Here ends “The Twelve Names of the Great Goddess Śrī.”Colophon
This was translated, checked, and redacted by the Indian preceptor Jinamitra and the great editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
Notes
Most if not all of these obeisance formulas are not part of the main text, but the so-called translators’ obeisance (’gyur phyag).
backThe Dunhuang version (lines 12–13) adds, “Such a person will become fortunate with many riches, much grain, much livestock, much treasure, many sons, and many retainers and servants” (nor mang ba dang ’bru mang po dang / phyugs mang po dang / bang mdzod mang po dang bu tsa mang po/ + +yog mang po phun sum tshogs par ’gyur ro//; illegible letters are marked with a + sign here; we expect that the lost part was something like ’khor g.yog).
backIt is not at all clear where these spirits came from, and it is still less clear why they are in Sukhāvatī.
backGaurī is given in the Sanskrit, but the Tibetan here has “Clad in White” (dkar sham ma).
backThe Tibetan of The Sūtra of Mahāśrī has rin po che rab tu sbyin ma, suggesting an underlying reading of *Ratnapradā.
backThe Sanskrit differs slightly: “Here the mantra-words are jini jini glini glini kāyaviśodhani vāgviśodhani manaḥsaṃśodhani (‘Purifier of Body, Speech, and Mind’), sisi sisi, nimi nimi.” The Sanskrit does not transmit the three obeisance formulas.
backHere we have adopted the Dunhuang reading (myi shis pa), mirroring the Sanskrit alakṣmīṃ more faithfully, instead of Degé and Stok, which, due to a scribal error, have “ignorance” (mi shes pa).
backThe names or epithets translated into Tibetan are (1) Lakṣmī, (2) Śrī, (3) Padmamālinī (4) Dhanādhipati, (5) Gaurī, (6) Mahāyaśāḥ, (7) Padmanetrī, (8) Mahādyuti, (9) Kartrī, (10) Annadāyinī, (11) Ratnaprabhā (cf. note 11), and (12) Mahāśrī.
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