Great Cool Grove
Toh 562
Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 138.b–150.b
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2023
Current version v 1.0.8 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. This sūtra promises protection for the Buddha’s “four communities”—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—against a range of illnesses and obstacles originating from the hosts of spirit entities who reside in remote wilderness retreats. The text centers specifically on threats of illness posed by the capricious spirit world of “nonhumans,” known collectively as grahas or bhūtas, who feed off the vitality, flesh, and blood of members of the Buddhist spiritual community engaging in spiritual practice at those remote hermitages. The sūtra is proclaimed by the Four Great Kings, each of whom reigns over a host of bhūtas, with the goal of quelling the hostile forces who assail those diligently practicing the Buddha’s teachings. Also included are ritual prescriptions for properly performing the sūtra and descriptions of the many benefits that ensue.
Acknowledgements
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by James Gentry, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Introduction
The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove is one in a series of five works that are widely popular in the Buddhist world for their power to bring about practical and liberative benefit. In addition to The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, this set of texts includes Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm (Mahāsāhasrapramardanīsūtra, Toh 558),1 The Great Peahen (Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñī, Toh 559),2 The Great Amulet (Mahāpratisārāvidyārājñī, Toh 561),3 and Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Mahāmantrānusāriṇīsūtra, Toh 563).4 Together these five texts have been apotheosized in the Mahāyāna tradition as five goddesses known collectively as the Pañcarakṣā, or the Five Protectresses. In the Tibetan tradition this collection is known as gzungs chen grwa lnga, the Five Great Dhāraṇīs.
Tibetan redactors of Kangyur collections have cataloged these five texts together within the Kriyātantra section of the Collected Tantras (rgyud ’bum) division of the canon. Indeed, these scriptures do contain elements that resonate with standard Kriyātantra practice as understood in Tibet: the use of powerful incantations, an emphasis on external ritual hygiene, the pragmatic application of ritual and mantra, and so forth. Yet, nearly absent from the five dhāraṇī texts are detailed descriptions of the contemplative visualization exercises, specialized ritual gestures (mudrā), elaborate maṇḍala diagrams, and initiation ceremonies typical of full-blown Buddhist tantra. A close perusal of these five texts might then lead the reader to construe them as Mahāyāna texts with a preponderance of elements—magical mantra formulas, ritual prescriptions, pragmatic aims, and so forth—that developed into a tantric practice tradition with its own unique view, meditation, and conduct. To complicate things further, core features of texts in this collection are rooted in Indian Buddhist traditions that are not specifically esoteric or even explicitly part of the Mahāyāna tradition. The great peahen incantation, for example, appears as a remedy for snakebites in the Mūlasarvāstivādavinayavastu.5 This accords with Gregory Schopen’s general observation, based on inscriptional evidence, that “Dhāraṇī texts were publically [sic] known much earlier and much more widely than the texts we think of as ‘classically’ Mahāyāna.”6
It is believed that all five of these texts, and specifically their incantations, provide special protection from a wide range of illnesses and misfortunes for those who memorize, recollect, read, copy, teach, wear, or otherwise come into contact with them. Each text promises protection from specific misfortunes, with considerable overlap witnessed between the texts. Despite the pragmatic thrust of these scriptures, each text also contains numerous allusions to doctrinal notions, the range of effects described therein sometimes, though rarely, extending beyond the pragmatic sphere to include the purification of negative karma, deliverance from the lower realms, and even the attainment of buddhahood.
While it seems certain that the five texts each developed independently and were only later combined into the well-known collection, their popularity as a set is attested by their eventual spread from India to Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, China, Mongolia, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia.7 Among the five texts, the status of The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove is perhaps the most ambiguous. The sūtra is listed as one of the “Five Great Dhāraṇīs” in the Denkarma (ldan kar ma), the imperial-period catalog of Tibetan translations, indicating that it was counted among the set as early as the ninth century.8 Similarly, it was also counted among the same set in a ninth-century Tibetan manuscript found at Tabo monastery in Ladakh.9 However, in later Sanskrit Pañcarakṣā collections it was replaced with the similarly titled but otherwise distinct dhāraṇī Great Cool Goddess (Mahāśītavatī).10 Thus, the collection of five dhāraṇīs preserved in the Tibetan canon and recorded in Denkarma catalog as the “Five Great Dhāraṇīs” may represent a “proto-Pañcarakṣā collection” that evolved into the collection that includes the dhāraṇī Great Cool Goddess rather than The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove.11 It is the later arrangement of the Five Great Dhāraṇīs, the set that does not include The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, that has achieved widespread popularity in the Buddhist world, particularly in Nepal, where numerous versions of the text have been preserved in Sanskrit and vernacular languages into modern times.12
The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove takes place in the Cool Grove cremation ground and unfolds as an exchange between the Buddha and the Four Great Kings: Kubera, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūḍhaka, and Virūpākṣa. The Four Great Kings deliver the sūtra and teach the incantations it contains, and the Buddha establishes their teaching as authoritative scripture by accepting and rejoicing in their proclamation. After doing so, the Buddha adds the final incantation of the sūtra. The Four Great Kings’ explicit purpose in delivering the sūtra is to protect the Buddha’s four communities and other human beings from the threatening influence of the kings’ own pantheon of capricious, nonhuman servants, known collectively as grahas or bhūtas. Each of the Four Great Kings holds spiritual sovereignty over a cardinal direction and the classes of supernatural beings who reside in them. According to the cosmology presented in the text, the great king Kubera, also called Vaiśravaṇa, dwells in the north, where he presides over primarily yakṣas, but also a host of other supernatural beings including nakṣatras, unmādas, apasmāras, kinnaras, and skandas. The great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra dwells in the east, where he reigns over gandharvas as well as rākṣasas, piśācas, and marutas. The great king Virūḍhaka rules in the south, where his entourage consists mostly of kumbhāṇḍas but also includes pretas and pūtanas. Finally, the great king Virūpākṣa reigns in the west, where his entourage is made up of nāgas as well as garuḍas and guhyakas.
The sūtra promises protection specifically for the Buddha’s “four communities”—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—against a range of illnesses and obstacles originating from the animosity and ill will of these hosts of supernatural beings. In this text, these beings are said to reside in the vicinity of remote wilderness retreats, where they can feed off the vitality, flesh, and blood of members of the Buddhist spiritual community engaged in spiritual practice there. The negative impact of these supernatural beings is framed in terms of their intrusion upon the human body in the form of illness, danger, and misfortune. Concordantly, the text claims to work precisely by means of “repelling” harmful entities from the bodies of patients, “drawing a boundary” around them, and thereby restoring health and well-being. It is through “receiving, holding, reciting, mastering, and using” the scripture itself that such healing exorcisms are effected. This can be done by patients themselves or by other members of the community on their behalf.
The narrative introduction (nidāna; gleng gzhi) traditionally found at the very beginning of a sūtra is here preceded by a series of supplications to the buddhas of the past, prominent monks in the Buddha’s entourage, and the Four Great Kings. This is followed by an entreaty to malevolent and benevolent supernatural beings and an initial incantation formula. This material, which was likely appended to the sūtra by a later compiler, has the effect of transforming the core scripture into a liturgy to be recited in a ritual setting. One such ritual framework is found at the end of the sūtra, following the traditional formula for ending a scripture. This concise ritual instruction was also likely added by a later compiler in order to provide practical instructions for using the sūtra as part of a healing or protective rite.
The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove was translated into Tibetan under Tibetan imperial patronage sometime during the first half of the ninth century by a team that included the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé (ca. eighth–ninth centuries) and the Indian scholars Śīlendrabodhi, Jñānasiddhi, and Śākyaprabha. The translation was edited several centuries later by Gö Lotsāwa Shönu Pal (’gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal, 1392–1481), who based his work on a Sanskrit manuscript that had been in the possession of Chak Lotsāwa Chöjé Pal (chag lo tsA ba chos rje dpal, 1197–1263/64). The Stok Palace Kangyur contains yet another recension of Yeshé Dé’s translation in which the mantras were revised by Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) based on two Sanskrit manuscripts from India.13
There are no extant Sanskrit versions of The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, nor are there any known Chinese translations of the sūtra. This English translation is based solely on Tibetan sources, with the Degé version taken as the primary witness. The Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur was also consulted, as was the version of the translation recorded in the Stok Palace Kangyur. Additionally, this translation draws upon an early version of the Tibetan translation preserved in the Dunhuang manuscript collection (IOL Tib J 397). This version is generally consistent with the canonical versions, but it does contain variants that clarify some readings. The incantation formulas have been preserved as given in the Degé text, with no attempt made to edit them based on versions of the mantras found in other canonical sources. Some minor orthographic emendations have been made without notation.
Text Body
Great Cool Grove
The Translation
Homage to the Three Jewels.
This Great Sūtra of Cool Grove, the great protection of the Four Great Kings, covers all four communities.
All you yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, nāgas, garuḍas, guhyakas, bhūtas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, piśācas, asuras, marutas, skandas, mischief makers,15 unmādas, kinnaras, upward movers, wandering beings, covetous ones, evildoers, stealers of vitality, and apasmāras; all intense fevers, one-day fevers, two-day fevers, three-day fevers, and four-day fevers; all humans and nonhumans who are hostile, search for weakness, have malicious intent, and perpetrate violence; all who do not like the teaching of the blessed Buddha, wish to harm it, do not want to benefit it, do not wish it well, and do not want it to succeed or be secure; all who do not like the four communities, [F.140.a] wish to harm them, do not want to benefit them, do not wish them well, and do not want them to succeed or be secure; all who do not like the person with such-and-such a name,16 want to harm them, do not want to benefit them, and do not want them to be well, succeed, or be secure—having heard this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove, depart. May you be scared. May you be frightened. May you be terrified. Do not remain here. May the heads of the evil and malicious split into seven pieces.
All you yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, nāgas, garuḍas, guhyakas, bhūtas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, piśācas, asuras, marutas, skandas, mischief makers, unmādas, kinnaras, upward movers, wandering beings, covetous ones, evildoers, stealers of vitality, and apasmāras; all intense fevers, one-day fevers, two-day fevers, three-day fevers, and four-day fevers; all humans and nonhumans who are not hostile, do not search for weakness, do not have malicious intent, and do not perpetrate violence; all who like the teaching of the blessed Buddha, want to benefit and assist it, wish it well, and want it to be successful and secure; all who like the person with such-and-such a name, want to benefit and assist them, wish them well, and want them to be successful and secure—having heard this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove, remain here. Do not be scared. Do not be frightened. Do not be terrified. Be nothing but fearless. For the benefit, assistance, happiness, and security of the person with such-and-such a name, I will teach and explain this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. [F.140.b] The Great Sūtra of Cool Grove that protects oneself is as follows:
Syād yathedam
khaṭe khaṭe khattyasi palakavaṭe rogabhadrigaṇe hili hili dumate gṛttati ajaṭi kathari masārakalpe samantena caturdiśi yojanaśata ātmarakṣa anatikramaṇi sarvaviheṭhakebhyaḥ namo bhagavate buddhasya siddhyantu mantrapadā daraduvidyā brahmaṇo manadu svāhā
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagṛha at the horrific and hair-raising great charnel ground Cool Grove, together with a large monastic assembly of 1,250 monks. The Four Great Kings—Kubera, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūpākṣa, and Virūḍhaka—with their sons, ministers, entourages, retainers, messengers, and servants, appeared at midnight in their majestic glory, arriving in the great charnel ground of Cool Grove with a single intent. Through their natural radiance and power they flooded the place with bright light. They then approached the Blessed One, bowed their heads to his feet, and circumambulated him three times. Then, with palms joined they prostrated only to him and stood to one side. Thus standing to one side, the Four Great Kings praised the Blessed One in verse:
The Four Great Kings then praised the Blessed One with this verse a second and third time:
The Four Great Kings then said to the Blessed One, [F.141.a] “Venerable Blessed One, does this place agree with you? Do you have sustenance? Venerable Blessed One, are you healthy? Are you free of illness? Are you without discomfort? Does nothing harm the Blessed One’s body?
“Are there no yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, nāgas, garuḍas, guhyakas, bhūtas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, piśācas, asuras, marutas, skandas, mischief makers, unmādas, kinnaras, upward movers, wandering beings, covetous ones, evildoers, stealers of vitality, or apasmāras, intense fevers, one-day fevers, two-day fevers, three-day fevers, or four-day fevers, or humans or nonhumans who hate the Blessed One, search for weakness, have malicious intent, are harmful toward him, or even have the intention of being harmful?”
The Blessed One responded to the Four Great Kings, “I have everything, Great Kings. The place agrees with me, I have sustenance, my health is good, I am free of illness, and I am without discomfort. Great Kings, there is no one harming my body.
“Great Kings, I have not seen anyone at all in the world, including gods, māras, and Brahmā; anyone among humans, including mendicants and brahmins; or anyone else among gods and humans who intends to harm the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha. Great Kings, it is rather your communities that intend to harm my community.”
The Four Great Kings said to the Blessed One, [F.141.b] “Venerable Blessed One, we have been informed of this, thus we have come before the Blessed One to honor you, pay homage, pay respect, and petition the Blessed One in person. Why? Venerable Blessed One, at remote wilderness retreats there are extremely malicious yakṣas, rākṣasas, gandharvas, nāgas, garuḍas, guhyakas, bhūtas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, piśācas, asuras, marutas, skandas, mischief makers, unmādas, kinnaras, upward movers, wandering beings, covetous ones, evildoers, stealers of vitality, and apasmāras, intense fevers, one-day fevers, two-day fevers, three-day fevers, and four-day fevers, and humans and nonhumans who are hateful, search for weakness, have malicious intent, and perpetrate violence. The śrāvakas of the venerable Blessed One also dwell at those places, exerting themselves in practice without resting at dawn or dusk. Venerable Blessed One, from the yakṣas and rākṣasas up to those perpetrating violence, there are very few with trust in the Blessed One’s teaching, and there are a great many who lack trust in the Blessed One’s teaching and intend to harm the śrāvakas of the Blessed One who stay in these places, exerting themselves in practice without resting at dawn or dusk. In order to stop them, so that the pernicious yakṣas without trust can gain trust, so that those with trust can increase their trust, and so that the four communities can have well-being, [F.142.a] dwell at ease, and meditate well without exception, was ask you to expound The Great Sūtra of Cool Grove.
Syād yathedam
vakahumule haśiṇa śaśiṇa vanamuhale samuhāle uduhāle samahāle praśamamī rākṣasa amanuṣyā vāremi yakṣaṇi vārāmi pretamabhithai dumanuṣyā masapata hadhamuranan sutiṣyati
Syād yathedam
uhaham uhahaṃ mahāham uhamahāhaṃ salamuji ilīmili ilīmili kilīmili ciriṭi ubhi utubhi pitiliye maṭamali manandaye svāhā
May the great king Vaiśravaṇa, Kubera, lord of Aḍakavatī, guard this direction.
May he repel yakṣas, nakṣatras, unmādas, apasmāras, kinnaras, upward movers, wandering beings, covetous ones, evildoers, and those who steal vitality.
Vāsava, the king of all gods, has come. I pay homage to him. He, too, pays homage to the Blessed One:
Syād yathedam
atimiṭī khuraṭe phuraṭe mati vimaṭi umaņi akke makke nakke aṭumi vaṭumi mabhe eriṭi piriti svāhā
May the great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra guard this direction. May he repel all rākṣasas, pretas, gandharvas, marutas, kinnaras, and those who steal vitality.
Vāsava, the king of all gods, has come. I pay homage to him. He, too, pays homage to the Blessed One:
Syād yathedam
ale ilele kile kilele kupa kupasa sile silele sililili lilililili hihisile mati samuti susumati susususu susumati hiliṣa hiliṣa svāhā
May he repel all kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, pūtanas, bhūtas, wandering beings, and stealers of vitality.
Vāsava, the king of all gods, has come. I pay homage to him. He, too, pays homage to the Blessed One:
Syād yathedam
dage dage suvatiye paṭe aṭa kamaṭṭe vima vidama vidadama bhidadamani abhiname gaccha bhūte dala phiye varasura rātra cicile cilililililili svāhā
May the great king Virūpākṣa guard this direction. May he repel all nāgas, garuḍas, guhyakas, [F.146.a] asuras, and stealers of vitality.
Vāsava, the king of all gods, has come. I pay homage to him. He, too, pays homage to the Blessed One:
The Four Great Kings then draped their upper robes over one shoulder and knelt on their right knee. Bowing solely to the Blessed One with palms joined, they said the following, unified in sense, phrasing, and tone: “Venerable Blessed One, this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove, the protection of the Four Great Kings, covers all four communities. It repels everything from yakṣas and rākṣasas all the way up to harm doers. It protects, guards, and shields the four communities, ensuring their happiness and well-being so they can dwell at ease.”
The Blessed One replied to the Four Great Kings, “Great Kings, you have upheld the great king of vidyā-mantras. I have accepted The Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. Great Kings, to rejoice in The Great Sūtra of Cool Grove, I will, moreover, utter the great king of vidyā-mantras.26 Listen carefully and retain it. I will disclose it now.”
“May the Blessed One please do so,” replied the Four Great Kings, and they listened to what the Blessed One said.
The Blessed One then opened his robe with his precious right hand and said to the assemblies of bhūtas, “I will reveal it. I will disclose it to the great king Vaiśravaṇa. I will make it comprehensible to everyone.”
The blessed, completely perfect Buddha then [F.146.b] spoke the following vidyā-mantra:
Syād yathedam
hilī hilī bhisini vakke aharaye tamati tamati tila vakke valītake daritina dadhinada phuṭyi phuphuṭyi guṭyi guguṭyi hijakānti nāmā kāntī svāhā
The whole earth shook when the Blessed One uttered this great king of vidyā-mantras.27 All the bhūtas trembled and let out loud gasps of “Alas! Oh no! What misery!”
Syād yathedam
hirimakha tirikhakha kaṭamaṭā siddhamahāhatari uṭatani daṭa daṭa datili damatte damatte dhūdhūri dadari daramira kirikīye katavareṇi susumāle svāhā
Do not transgress this great mantra, this great vidyā-mantra. Understand perfectly and precisely the Dharma spoken by the Blessed One, or all your bodies will collapse. After you die you will all be born among hell beings who have fallen into lower realms, and you will continue to roam there.
When the Four Great Kings heard the Blessed One’s great king of vidyā-mantras,28 [F.147.a] which had never before been heard, they were frightened and anxious. Bristling with uneasiness, they joined their palms and paid homage to the Blessed One. Unified in sense, phrasing, and tone, they said:
Syād yathedam
uhuhala kulijiva abhuya masuravela addyā vaddyā addyā vate nadda vaddye marudya marudya vade maruddya phala svāhā
Syād yathedam
ili ili mili mili kili kili vanara nilapaya bhubhubhura thirū phuphuphura gaśalī raukhadayamala khuli khulivaya svāhā
“This king of vidyā-mantras29 establishes a boundary, repels all bhūtas, and accomplishes all aims for one year.”
When all the beings from yakṣas, rākṣasas, and gandharvas all the way up to harm doers heard the Blessed One’s great king of vidyā-mantras,30 which had never before been heard, and when they heard the Four Kings’ protection, which had never before been heard, they were frightened and anxious. Bristling with uneasiness, they burrowed deep into the earth. They were compelled to burrow deep. The Blessed One then transformed the ground into vajra,31 so they scurried in the four directions. The Four Great Kings then manifested massive heaps of flames in the four directions, so the beings fled into the sky. Next, the Blessed One transformed the sky into gold. The great king Vaiśravaṇa, guardian of the world, surrounded and attended to by gods and gandharvas, rose up into the sky. To vanquish everyone from yakṣas and rākṣasas up to harm doers, to care for all sentient beings, [F.147.b] to repel all bhūtas, and to guard, protect, and shield the four communities and ensure their happiness and well-being so that they could dwell at ease, he uttered the following vidyā-mantra:
Syād yathedam
gimi gimi gimi gimi gini gini gini gini nakhi minakhi niṣa niṣa niṣa uva u diśva diśva vidiśa sarvadiśva adhivati gira visa jani bhumipati ililī ililī kililī kili kililī kili kililī kili kililī kili kililī kili kilili kilili lililili kilili lililililili addhyi naddyi kunaddhyi mahākunaddyi kuladdyi khuladdyi khukhuladdyi mahākhuladdyi hulu hulu lu hulululu hululululu hululululu lu hulululululululululu lu hala hala hili hili laha halu hule iha hule hule uladdyi hile uhahile hila hile hulu hi hulu hulu hulu hulu hule hahahahahaha svāhā
May the great king Vaiśravaṇa guard this direction.
Vāsava, the king of all gods, has come. I pay homage to him. He, too, pays homage to the Blessed One:
May everyone from yakṣas, rākṣasas, and gandharvas all the way up to harm doers depart from the body of so-and-so,32 which they have inhabited. If they do not quickly depart from so-and-so’s body, they will soon be in grave peril and afflicted with severe illness, which will cause their heads and hearts to split into a hundred pieces, immediately bringing them [F.148.a] many kinds of misery and total ruin.
May the grahas of pox, grahas of the dawn, and grahas of shadow quickly depart so-and-so’s body upon hearing this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. If they do not quickly depart, they will soon be in grave peril and afflicted with severe illness, which will cause their heads and hearts to split into a hundred pieces, immediately bringing them many kinds of misery and total ruin.
The Four Great Kings then descended from the sky and approached the Blessed One. They bowed their heads to the Blessed One‘s feet, joined their palms, and spoke with unified sentiment and phrasing: “Venerable [F.148.b] Blessed One, this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove that is revered by the Four Great Kings guards and protects the four communities and vanquishes all beings from yakṣas and rākṣasas all the way up to harm doers. Venerable Blessed One, since it protects any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman, everyone should receive this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. They should hold on to it, recite it, and master it. Venerable Blessed One, if no being, from yakṣas and rākṣasas all the way up to harm doers, will so much as dwell near monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen who receive, hold, recite, and master this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove in order to protect and shield themselves or others, then what harm could they possibly do? If no being, from yakṣas and rākṣasas all the way up to harm doers, can dwell for so much as a night in their vicinity, what need is there to mention remaining there permanently? Venerable Blessed One, when this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove is recited in front of someone harmed by a nonhuman, the person quickly gains happiness and well-being and is free of pain, comfortable, and released from their affliction. The nonhuman cannot return but will immediately depart. Venerable Blessed One, such is the great benefit of this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove.
“Venerable Blessed One, devout yakṣa laymen will travel to the abodes of the Four Great Kings and speak the name of any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman who receives, holds, recites, masters, and uses this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. [F.149.a] They will announce, ‘Four Great Kings, the monk, nun, layman, or laywoman so-and-so is receiving, holding, reciting, mastering, and using this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove in order to protect and shield themself and others.’
“Venerable Blessed One, devout yakṣa laymen will travel to the royal palace in Aḍakavatī, where they will also announce this amid all the yakṣas and bhūtas assembled and gathered before the great king Vaiśravaṇa. It will bring joy to those present. Venerable Blessed One, such is the great benefit of this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove.
“Venerable Blessed One, any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman who receives, holds, recites, masters, and uses this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove to protect and shield themself and others will practice abstinence. They will not drink alcohol but will observe mindfulness and introspection. They will give up five kinds of food—molasses, honey, sesame, meat, and fish. Why? It is only under those circumstances,33 Venerable Blessed One, that beings from yakṣas and rākṣasas all the way up to harm doers can destroy or ceaselessly affect one who receives, holds, recites, masters, and uses this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. In order to destroy them, this vow must be observed.
“Venerable Blessed One, devout yakṣa laymen will please with clothing, food, bedding, cushions, healing medicines, and necessities any monk, nun, layman, or laywoman who receives, holds, recites, masters, and uses this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. [F.149.b] Venerable Blessed One, such is the great benefit of this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove.
“Venerable Blessed One, a non-Buddhist who lacks devotion to the Blessed One’s doctrine and who dislikes it, wants to impair it, does not want to help it, and does not want it to be successful or thrive cannot prevent the success of one who receives, holds, recites, masters, and uses this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove. Rather, nonhuman beings will kill them, cause them various kinds of misery, destroy them, and affect them endlessly. Why? Because they want to harm, do not want to help, and do not want success or well-being for the practitioner. Whoever has such erroneous views is destroyed.
“Venerable Blessed One, among all of the protections in the world by which the Four Great Kings protect sentient beings in order to guard, protect, and shield them, this sūtra is supreme, primary, and exalted.”
The Four Great Kings then spoke these verses to the Blessed One:
When the night had passed, the Blessed One rose at dawn, took his seat at the front of the monastic assembly, and said to them, “Monks, late last night the Four Great Kings, together with their sons, ministers, entourages, retainers, messengers, and servants, appeared at dusk34 in their majestic glory, arriving at the great charnel ground of Cool Grove with a single intent. Flooding it with their luminosity, Kubera, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūpākṣa, and Virūḍhaka approached me, bowed their heads to my feet, and stood to one side. Standing there, the Four Great Kings spoke The Great Sūtra of Cool Grove to me and then departed. You should listen well and keep it in mind. I will explain it.”
“Venerable one, please do so,” the monks replied, and they listened as the Blessed One spoke. The Blessed One then explained this Great Sūtra of Cool Grove in detail to the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
Once the Blessed One finished speaking on this, the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen rejoiced, and they praised what he had said.
The ritual procedure for this is as follows: A person who eats the three white foods, has bathed well, fasts, observes discipline, and holds vast intention should draw images of the Four Great Kings using realgar or red ocher. [F.150.b] They should make a four-cornered maṇḍala that is replete with all incenses and recite the sūtra before the Buddha throughout the three periods of the day.
This concludes “The Great Sūtra of Cool Grove.”
Colophon
This was translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Śīlendrabodhi, Jñānasiddhi, and Śākyaprabha and the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé. It was then finalized after revising it based on the new lexicon. Later, Gö Shönu Pal revised it based on a Sanskrit manuscript belonging to Chak Lotsāwa.
Notes
Bibliography
Tibetan Texts
bsil ba’i tshal gyi mdo chen po (Mahāśītavanīsūtra). Toh 562, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 138.b–150.b.
bsil ba’i tshal gyi mdo chen po. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 90, pp. 421–56.
bsil ba’i tshal gyi mdo chen po. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 103 (rgyud, na), folios 546.a–561.a.
IOL Tib J 397. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Secondary Sources
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Queen of Incantations: The Great Peahen (Toh 559). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Hidas, Gergely (2007). “Remarks on the Use of the Dhāraṇīs and Mantras of the Mahāpratisarā-Mahāvidyārājñī.” In Indian Languages and Texts through the Ages: Essays of Hungarian Indologists in Honour of Prof. Csaba Töttössy, edited by Csaba Dezső, 187–208. New Delhi: Manohar, 2007.
———(2012). Mahāpratisarā-Mahāvidyārājñī: The Great Amulet, Great Queen of Spells; Introduction, Critical Editions and Annotated Translation. Śata-piṭaka Series: Indo-Asian Literatures 636. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 2012.
Lewis, Todd. Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal: Narratives and Rituals of Newar Buddhism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000.
Orzech, Charles D. “Metaphor, Translation, and the Construction of Kingship in The Scripture for Humane Kings and the Mahāmāyūrī Vidyārājñī Sūtra.” Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 13 (2002): 55–83.
Pathak, Suniti K. “A Dharani-Mantra in the Vinaya-vastu.” Bulletin of Tibetology 25, no. 2 (1989): 31–39.
Schopen, Gregory. “A Verse from the Bhadracaripranidhana in a 10th Century Inscription Found at Nalanda.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 12, no. 1 (1989): 149–57.
Skilling, Peter. “The Rakṣā Literature of the Śrāvakayāna.” Journal of the Pali Text Society 26 (1992): 109–82.
Sørensen, Henrik H. “The Spell of the Great, Golden Peacock Queen: The Origin, Practices, and Lore of an Early Esoteric Buddhist Tradition in China.” Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies, n.s., 8 (Fall 2006): 89–123.
Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.
Aḍakavatī
- lcang lo can
- ལྕང་ལོ་ཅན།
- aḍakavatī
Airāvaṇa
- sa srung bu
- ས་སྲུང་བུ།
- airāvaṇa
All Seeing
- thams cad mthong
- ཐམས་ཅད་མཐོང་།
- —
Always Victorious
- kun tu rgyal
- ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱལ།
- —
Ānanda
- kun dga’ bo
- ཀུན་དགའ་བོ།
- ānanda
apasmāra
- brjed byed
- བརྗེད་བྱེད།
- apasmāra
Arthadarśin
- don gzigs
- དོན་གཟིགས།
- arthadarśin
asura
- lha ma yin
- ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
- asura
Attractive
- bzhin bzang
- བཞིན་བཟང་།
- —
Atyuccagāmin
- rab ’thor gshegs
- རབ་འཐོར་གཤེགས།
- atyuccagāmin
bhūta
- ’byung po
- འབྱུང་པོ།
- bhūta
Black Lady
- nag mo
- ནག་མོ།
- —
Brahmā
- tshangs pa
- ཚངས་པ།
- brahmā
Candana
- tsan+dana
- ཙནྡན།
- —
Candra
- zla ba
- ཟླ་བ།
- candra
Chariot
- shing rta
- ཤིང་རྟ།
- —
Cool Grove
- bsil ba’i tshal
- བསིལ་བའི་ཚལ།
- śītavana
covetous one
- ’dun pa
- འདུན་པ།
- —
Delightful Reed
- ’dam bu dga’
- འདམ་བུ་དགའ།
- —
Dhṛtarāṣṭra
- yul ’khor srung
- ཡུལ་འཁོར་སྲུང་།
- dhṛtarāṣṭra
dhutaguṇa
- spyangs pa’i yon tan
- སྤྱངས་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན།
- dhutaguṇa
- dhūtaguṇa
Dīpaṅkara
- mar me mdzad
- མར་མེ་མཛད།
- dīpaṅkara
Exceedingly Dark
- shin tu gnag pa
- ཤིན་ཏུ་གནག་པ།
- —
Exceedingly Victorious
- shin tu rgyal
- ཤིན་ཏུ་རྒྱལ།
- —
Fierce
- drag po
- དྲག་པོ།
- —
Fierce Diligence
- brtson drag po
- བརྩོན་དྲག་པོ།
- —
four communities
- ’khor bzhi
- འཁོར་བཞི།
- —
gandharva
- dri za
- དྲི་ཟ།
- gandharva
garuḍa
- nam mkha’ lding
- ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
- garuḍa
Gautama
- gau tam
- གཽ་ཏམ།
- gautama
Gem
- nor bu
- ནོར་བུ།
- —
graha
- gdon
- གདོན།
- graha
guhyaka
- gsang ba pa
- གསང་བ་པ།
- guhyaka
Hārītī
- ’phrog ma
- འཕྲོག་མ།
- hārītī
Jambu continent
- ’dzam bu’i gling
- འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།
- jambudvīpa
Kambala
- la ba can
- ལ་བ་ཅན།
- kambala
Kanakamuni
- gser thub
- གསེར་ཐུབ།
- kanakamuni
Kapilavastu
- ser skya’i gnas
- སེར་སྐྱའི་གནས།
- kapilavastu
Kāśi
- ka shi ka
- ཀ་ཤི་ཀ
- kāśi
Kāśyapa
- ’od srung
- འོད་སྲུང་།
- kāśyapa
Kāśyapa
- ’od srung
- འོད་སྲུང་།
- kāśyapa
Kātyāyana
- kA t+yA’i bu
- ཀཱ་ཏྱཱའི་བུ།
- kātyāyana
Kauṇḍinya
- kauN+Di n+ya
- ཀཽཎྜི་ནྱ།
- kauṇḍinya
kinnara
- mi ’am ci
- མི་འམ་ཅི།
- kinnara
Krakucchanda
- log dad sel
- ལོག་དད་སེལ།
- krakucchanda
kṛtya
- gshed byed
- གཤེད་བྱེད།
- kṛtya
Kṣemaṅkara
- bde mdzad
- བདེ་མཛད།
- kṣemaṅkara
Kubera
- lus ngan
- ལུས་ངན།
- kubera
kumbhāṇḍa
- grul bum
- གྲུལ་བུམ།
- kumbhāṇḍa
Kumbhīrā
- —
- —
- kumbhīrā
Lion Army
- seng ge sde
- སེང་གེ་སྡེ།
- —
Long Neck
- mgrin rings
- མགྲིན་རིངས།
- —
Long Spear
- mdung ring
- མདུང་རིང་།
- —
Lord Conqueror
- dbang po rgyal ba
- དབང་པོ་རྒྱལ་བ།
- —
Lotus Bearer
- pad+ma ’chang
- པདྨ་འཆང་།
- —
Magadha
- ma ga d+hA
- མ་ག་དྷཱ།
- magadha
Mahākāla
- nag po chen po
- ནག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahākāla
Maitreya
- byams pa
- བྱམས་པ།
- maitreya
Malla
- gyad yul
- གྱད་ཡུལ།
- malla
Māra
- bdud
- བདུད།
- māra
maruta
- rlung lha
- རླུང་ལྷ།
- maruta
mātṛkā
- ma mo
- མ་མོ།
- mātṛkā
Maudgalyāyana
- maud gal bu
- མཽད་གལ་བུ།
- maudgalyāyana
mendicants and brahmins
- dge sbyong dang bram ze
- དགེ་སྦྱོང་དང་བྲམ་ཟེ།
- śramaṇabrāhmaṇa
Mithilā
- mi ti la
- མི་ཏི་ལ།
- mithilā
Mother’s Gift
- ma la sbyin
- མ་ལ་སྦྱིན།
- —
Motley Army
- sna tshogs sde
- སྣ་ཚོགས་སྡེ།
- citrasena
Mule
- dre’u
- དྲེའུ།
- —
nāga
- klu
- ཀླུ།
- nāga
nakṣatra
- rgyu skar
- རྒྱུ་སྐར།
- nakṣatra
Oppressor
- rab gnon
- རབ་གནོན།
- —
Pack Leader
- khyu mchog
- ཁྱུ་མཆོག
- —
Padmottara
- pad+ma’i bla
- པདྨའི་བླ།
- padmottara
Pāñcika
- lngas rtsen
- ལྔས་རྩེན།
- pāñcika
piśāca
- sha za
- ཤ་ཟ།
- piśāca
Pitch Dark
- rab gnag
- རབ་གནག
- —
Powerful Knowledge
- rig pa stobs can
- རིག་པ་སྟོབས་ཅན།
- —
Prajāpati
- skye dgu’i bdag po
- སྐྱེ་དགུའི་བདག་པོ།
- prajāpati
preta
- yi dags
- ཡི་དགས།
- preta
Pūrṇa
- gang po
- གང་པོ།
- pūrṇa
Puṣya
- rgyal
- རྒྱལ།
- puṣya
pūtana
- srul po
- སྲུལ་པོ།
- pūtana
Rājagṛha
- rgyal po’i khab
- རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
- rājagṛha
rākṣasa
- srin po
- སྲིན་པོ།
- rākṣasa
rākṣasī
- srin mo
- སྲིན་མོ།
- rākṣasī
realgar
- ldong ros
- ལྡོང་རོས།
- manaḥśilā
red ocher
- btsag
- བཙག
- gairika
Reed Holder
- ’dam bu can
- འདམ་བུ་ཅན།
- —
Reed Thread
- ’dam bu’i rgyud
- འདམ་བུའི་རྒྱུད།
- —
Rich with All Wishes
- ’dod pa thams cad ’byor pa
- འདོད་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་འབྱོར་པ།
- —
Śākya
- shAkya
- ཤཱཀྱ།
- śākya
Śāriputra
- shA ri’i bu
- ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
- śāriputra
Sarvābhibhū
- thams cad gnon
- ཐམས་ཅད་གནོན།
- sarvābhibhū
siddha
- grub pa
- གྲུབ་པ།
- siddha
Śikhin
- gtsug tor can
- གཙུག་ཏོར་ཅན།
- śikhin
skanda
- skem byed
- སྐེམ་བྱེད།
- skanda
Son of Fine Gem
- nor bu bzang sras
- ནོར་བུ་བཟང་སྲས།
- —
śrāvaka
- nyan thos
- ཉན་ཐོས།
- śrāvaka
Sublimely Long
- ring bzang
- རིང་བཟང་།
- —
Sublimely Perfect
- rdzogs bzang
- རྫོགས་བཟང་།
- —
Sūciloman
- khab kyi spu can
- ཁབ་ཀྱི་སྤུ་ཅན།
- sūciloman
Supreme Desire
- ’dod mchog
- འདོད་མཆོག
- —
Supreme Hand
- lag mchog
- ལག་མཆོག
- —
Supreme Reed of the Earth
- ’dam bu sa mchog
- འདམ་བུ་ས་མཆོག
- —
Supreme Victor
- rgyal mchog
- རྒྱལ་མཆོག
- —
Taker of Oblations
- gtor ma len
- གཏོར་མ་ལེན།
- —
Takṣaka
- ’jog po
- འཇོག་པོ།
- takṣaka
Tamala
- ta ma la
- ཏ་མ་ལ།
- tamala
thirty-two supreme marks
- mtshan mchog sum cu rtsa gnyis
- མཚན་མཆོག་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས།
- —
three white foods
- zas dkar gsum
- ཟས་དཀར་གསུམ།
- triśuklabhukta
Tiṣya
- skar rgyal
- སྐར་རྒྱལ།
- tiṣya
unmāda
- smyo byed
- སྨྱོ་བྱེད།
- unmāda
upward mover
- gyen du rgyu
- གྱེན་དུ་རྒྱུ།
- —
Vaiśālī
- yangs pa can
- ཡངས་པ་ཅན།
- vaiśālī
Vaiśravaṇa
- rnam thos bu
- རྣམ་ཐོས་བུ།
- vaiśravaṇa
Vāsava
- nor lha’i bu
- ནོར་ལྷའི་བུ།
- vāsava
vetāla
- ro langs
- རོ་ལངས།
- vetāla
- vetāḍa
vidyā-mantra
- rig sngags
- རིག་སྔགས།
- vidyāmantra
Vipaśyin
- rnam par gzigs
- རྣམ་པར་གཟིགས།
- vipaśyin
Virūḍhaka
- ’phags skyes po
- འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ།
- virūḍhaka
Virūpākṣa
- mig mi bzang
- མིག་མི་བཟང་།
- virūpākṣa
Viśākha
- sa ga
- ས་ག
- viśākha
Viśvabhū
- thams cad skyob
- ཐམས་ཅད་སྐྱོབ།
- viśvabhū
wandering being
- rgyu ba
- རྒྱུ་བ།
- —
Wealth
- ’byor pa
- འབྱོར་པ།
- —
Wealth Bearer
- nor ’dzin
- ནོར་འཛིན།
- vasudhara
Wish-Fulfilling Fortune
- yid bzhin rab ’byor
- ཡིད་བཞིན་རབ་འབྱོར།
- —
yakṣa
- gnod sbyin
- གནོད་སྦྱིན།
- yakṣa
yakṣiṇī
- gnod sbyin mo
- གནོད་སྦྱིན་མོ།
- yakṣiṇī
Yaśodharā
- grags ’dzin
- གྲགས་འཛིན།
- yaśodharā
Yaśottara
- grags pa’i bla
- གྲགས་པའི་བླ།
- yaśottara