RigVeda Sanhita, 1st Ashtaka, Translated by H.H. Wilson
Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2023 5:44 am
RigVeda Sanhita. A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns, Constituting the First Ashtaka, or Book of the Rig-Veda: The Oldest Authority for the Religious and Social Institutions of the Hindus.
Translated from the Original Sanskrita by H.H. Wilson, M.A., F.R.S., Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, of the Asiatic Societies of Calcutta and Paris, and of the Oriental Society of Germany; Foreign Member of the National Institute of France; Member of the Imperial Academies of Petersburgh and Vienna, and of the Royal Academies of Munich and Berlin; Ph.D., Breslau; M.D. Marburg, &c., and Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford.
Published under the patronage of the Court of Directors of the East-India Company.
1866.
Contents:
• Introduction
• First Ashtaka.
o First Adhyaya.
Anuvaka I.
Translated from the Original Sanskrita by H.H. Wilson, M.A., F.R.S., Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, of the Asiatic Societies of Calcutta and Paris, and of the Oriental Society of Germany; Foreign Member of the National Institute of France; Member of the Imperial Academies of Petersburgh and Vienna, and of the Royal Academies of Munich and Berlin; Ph.D., Breslau; M.D. Marburg, &c., and Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford.
Published under the patronage of the Court of Directors of the East-India Company.
1866.
Indra and Savitri ...have their respective satellites, dependent upon, and identifiable with, their principals. Agni does not seem to have any subordinate multiples, except in the rather anomalous deifications called Apris, which, although including certain female divinities and insensible objects, such as the doors of the sacrificial hall, are considered to be impersonations [emanations?] of Agni....
Female divinities make their appearance: but they are merely named, without anything being related of them; and we have, as yet, no sufficient materials on which to construct any theory of their attributes and character. The only exception is that of Ila, who is called the daughter of Manus, and his instructress in the performance of sacrifice; but what is meant by this requires further elucidation.
-- RigVeda Sanhita. A Collection of Ancient Hindu Hymns, Constituting the First Ashtaka, or Book of the Rig-Veda: The Oldest Authority for the Religious and Social Institutions of the Hindus. Translated from the Original Sanskrita by H.H. Wilson, M.A., F.R.S., Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, of the Asiatic Societies of Calcutta and Paris, and of the Oriental Society of Germany; Foreign Member of the National Institute of France; Member of the Imperial Academies of Petersburgh and Vienna, and of the Royal Academies of Munich and Berlin; Ph.D., Breslau; M.D. Marburg, &c., and Boden Professor of Sanskrit in the University of Oxford. Published under the patronage of the Court of Directors of the East-India Company. 1866.
HYMN II.
AT DAWN.
1. Daughter of Heaven, Aurora, arise, and bring us your riches and your opulent abundance. Brilliant and generous Goddess, (come) with your treasures.
2. Holy prayer has often contributed to the happy establishment (of man); it has brought him horses, cows, goods of all kinds. Aurora, may your presence inspire my prayers, and send me the happiness of the rich.
3. She is already born, she is going to shine, this divine Aurora; it sets in motion the chariots, which, on its arrival, move (on the earth), as on the sea the (vessels) greedy for wealth.
4. Among these fathers of families whose piety greets your appearance to obtain your largesse, there is no child of Canwa more devoted than the one who, at this moment, invokes your name.
5. Aurora, like a good mother, comes to protect (the world). She arrives, stopping the flight of the evil (genius) of the night (3), and exciting the flight of birds.
6. The Dawn excites equally the diligent and the poor. She is the enemy of laziness. To your clarity, (o goddess) rich in gifts, it is no longer the winged being who forgets himself in rest.
7. Here she is, in the distant region where the sun rises, harnessing her horses. The happy Aurora comes to find the sons of Manu with hundreds of chariots (all laden with wealth).
8. The whole world, in its aspect, bows down. Wise and opulent, it sheds light. Aurora, daughter of Heaven, by her rays chases away our enemies and confounds their hatred.
9. Daughter of Heaven, Aurora, shine with your sweet radiance! Bring us happiness and abundance, enlighten our sacrifices.
10. Foresighted (goddess), the moment you shine, you become life, the breath of the universe. (Appear) on your broad chariot, rich and resplendent; hear our prayer.
11. Aurora, grant us those various foods that are suitable for mankind! Approach those innocent and pious men who have hymns and oblations for you.
12. Aurora, bring here from heaven all the gods to our libations! Grant us, Aurora, such abundance that we may be renowned for our cows, our horses, and our vigor.
13. May the Dawn, whose happy lights we see, give us the richness so beautiful, so desired; may this wealth come to us gently!
14. All the ancient sages who implored your help, O great (goddess), have been heard. Aurora, also welcome our prayer, and (answer us) with the gift of a brilliant and pure abundance
15. Divine Aurora, after having illumined the gates of heaven with your rays, grant us that our house may be powerful, that our enemies may move away from it, and that fertile cows maintain abundance there.
16. Noble and magnificent Aurora, spread over us a wide and beautiful opulence; that we obtain from you cows, wealth that assures triumph, and much food!
***
HYMN XIII.
AT LEARNED (54).
1. Agni, (nicknamed) Sousamiddha (55), bring the gods for us to him who offers the holocaust: priest and priest, consummates the sacrifice.
2. Sage (deity, called) Tanounapat (56), make our sacrifice acceptable to the gods today; May it be as sweet to them as honey!
3. I invoke here, in this assembly, (the one called) Narasansa, (the god) beloved and priest, whose tongue is so sweet.
4. Agni, on your blessed chariot bring the gods; O you, priest (called) llita (57), you whom Manu (58) constituted (to preside over our festivals)!
5. Enlightened mortals, spread the (sacred) turf; let it be sprinkled with butter at the place where (the gods) will come to take their ambrosia.
6. Let the divine gates open (of the sacred enclosure, these gates) which the sacrifice sanctifies! let them open today for the pious ceremony!
7. I call to this sacrifice the beautiful Night and the beautiful Aurora: that they both come and take their place on this cousa.
8. I also call on this pair of soft-spoken gods (59), wise and sacrificial: let them have their share of our sacrifice.
9. Let the three goddesses who bring joy, Ila, Saraswati and Mahi (60), deign without fear to sit on this cousa.
10. I call here on the great Twachtri (61), who knows how to assume all forms: let him be our friend!
11. Divine Vanaspati (62), give to the gods the burnt offering destined for them. May wisdom be the share of those who offer it to them!
12. In honor of Indra, use the swaha (63) in the house of the (father of the family) who offers the sacrifice: it is there that I invite the gods.
***
9. O Agni, brought hither, to partake of our libations, Twachtri and the beloved wives of the gods (9).
10. Agni ever young, brought to these places, for our good, these divine wives, Hotra (10), Bharati (11), Varoutri (12), Dhichana (13).
11. May these goddesses, friends of men, cover us with their high favor, and give us prosperity; let nothing hurt their (protective) wing.
***
HYMN VIII.
TO VARIOUS GODS.
1. Arise, Brahmanaspati (41); full of devotion, we come to you. Let the Marouts approach with their rich treasures; and you, Indra, be present, and take your share (of our libations).
2. O son of strength (42), the mortal honors you to obtain the riches he desires. O Marouts, may the man who celebrates you be rich in family and horses through you!
3. Vienna Brahmanaspati! come the goddess of the holy word (43)! May the Devas make our sacrifice powerful, useful to men, and perfect!
4. He possesses an imperishable wealth, (the god) who shows himself magnificent towards his panegyrist. It is for this god that we call to our sacrifice Ila (44), who is strong, victorious and invulnerable.
5. Brahmanaspati begins (45) a melodious prayer, in which have a place Indra, Varouna, Mitra, Aryaman, all the gods.
6. Let us pronounce it then, in our sacrifices, this prayer which gives happiness, and which is so powerful. And if you can delight in our wishes, mighty gods, may our whole hymn come to you!
7. What god would not come to the aid of the religious man, to the aid of the man who prepared a bed of cousa for him? (See this) father who presents himself with the priests; his house is rich, his interior is wealthy.
8. May he possess power (46)! Help of his royal protectors, (I see him) strike down his enemies, and in the midst of terror (of combat) keep his post worthily. It is like lightning weapon; and in no matter, whether great or small, he knows neither superior nor victor.
***
HYMN III.
TO INDRA.
1. He is rich in horses, he is the first for his herds of cows, the mortal whom you help with your help, o Indra! You come to him with your vast treasures, as the waters naturally go to the ocean.
2. Yes, as the waters (flow to the sea), so also the goddesses come to the place of sacrifice; they have seen on the earth dawn and spread the light of the hearth. The Devas, turned towards the east, honor the (god) friend of the holy ceremonies and servant of the other gods; they seek to please him, like lovers (to their beloved) (4).
3. To this double libation which the spoon of the sacrifice pours in your honor, you have added the homage of hymns. Pious and collected, (the priest) takes care of your worship; a happy force attaches itself to him who adores you and sacrifices you.
-- Rig-Veda Or Book Of Hymns. Translated from Sanskrit, by M. Langlois, Member of the Institut. 1848
Tārā is the Hindu goddess of felicity and sanguineness. She is also the consort of Hindu god Brihaspati, the god of planet Jupiter. According to some Puranas, Tara sired or mothered a child named Budha, the god of Mercury through Chandra and had a son named Kacha through Brihaspati.Brahmaṇaspati literally means ‘lord of brahman prayer or the Vedas’.
‘Brahmaṇaspati’ is one of the names that occurs in the Rgveda and also in the Śatapatha Brāhmana. He may be the deity of prayer and the text of the Veda itself. He is said to control the clouds and rain and help the world by protecting vegetation.
Scholars differ in regards to his exact identity. He is identified with several roles:
1. Agni (the fire-god)
2. The priest of god Indra
3. Deity of vegetation
4. A form of candra or the moon
There is reason to believe that Brahmaṇaspati is another name for Bṛhaspati, the preceptor of the gods.
-- Brahmaṇaspati, by Swami Harshananda, hindupedia.com
Tara was the wife of Brihaspati, the guru of Devas. According to historians, it is mentioned as her husband spent most of his time with the problems and matters of Devas, she felt being ignored by her husband. One day, Chandra, the moon god visited Brihaspati. There he saw Tara and was captivated by her beauty. Chandra used Hypnosis on Tara.
Brihaspati was infuriated and demanded Chandra to return his wife. Chandra told Brihaspati that Tara was happy and satisfied with him. He told that how can an old man be husband of a young woman. This made Brihaspati more annoyed and he warned Chandra for battle. Indra and other Devas gathered to fight a war. Chandra was not ready to give Tara back and he took help from the Asuras and their preceptor, Sukra. The Devas were assisted by Shiva and his companions. Devas and Asura were about to fight a war, but Brahma, the creator god, stopped them and convinced Chandra to return Tara. In some versions, Shiva stopped the war.
After some time, Brihaspati found out that Tara was pregnant and questioned her who the father of the child was. But Tara remained silent. After the boy was born, both Chandra and Brihaspati claimed to be his father. Tara revealed it was Chandra's son. The boy was named Budha.
-- Tara (Hindu goddess), by Wikipedia
About the end of the sixth century A.D., Tantrism or Sivaic mysticism, with its worship of female energies, spouses of the Hindu god Siva, began to tinge both Buddhism and Hinduism. Consorts were allotted to the several Celestial Bodhisats and most of the other gods and demons, and most of them were given forms wild and terrible, and often monstrous, according to the supposed moods of each divinity at different times. And as these goddesses and fiendesses were bestowers of supernatural power, and were especially malignant, they were especially worshipped.
-- The Buddhism of Tibet, or Lamaism With Its Mystic Cults, Symbolism and Mythology, and in its Relation to Indian Buddhism, by Laurence Austine Waddell, M.B., F.L.S., F.R.G.S., Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, Anthropological Institute, etc., Surgeon-Major H.M. Bengal Army, 1895
Praises to the Twenty-One Tārās ["Tara" "Ture" means "protectress"]
ཨོཾ་རྗེ་བཙུན་མ་འཕགས་མ་སྒྲོལ་མ་ལ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལོ། །
om jetsünma pakma drolma la chaktsal lo
Oṃ. Homage to the noble lady Tārā!
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཏཱ་རེ་མྱུར་མ་དཔའ་མོ། །
chaktsal taré nyurma pamo
Homage to Tārā, swift and gallant,
ཏུཏྟཱ་ར་ཡིས་འཇིགས་པ་སེལ་མ། །
tuttara yi jikpa selma
Homage to Tuttārā, who banishes fear,
ཏུ་རེས་དོན་ཀུན་སྦྱིན་པས་སྒྲོལ་མ། །
turé dön kün jinpé drolma
Homage to Turā, who fulfils every need,
སྭཱ་ཧཱའི་ཡི་གེ་ཁྱོད་ལ་འདུད་དོ། །
sa hé yigé khyö la dü do
With svāhā we offer you honor and praise!1
ཕྱག་འཚལ་སྒྲོལ་མ་མྱུར་མ་དཔའ་མོ། །
chaktsal drolma nyurma pamo
Homage to Tārā, swift and gallant,
སྤྱན་ནི་སྐད་ཅིག་གློག་དང་འདྲ་མ། །
chen ni kechik lok dang dra ma
Whose glance flashes like flares of lightning;
འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ་མགོན་ཆུ་སྐྱེས་ཞལ་གྱི། །
jikten sum gön chukyé zhal gyi
Born on the heart of a blossoming lotus
གེ་སར་བྱེ་བ་ལས་ནི་བྱུང་མ། །
gesar jewa lé ni jung ma
That rose from the tears of the Triple-World’s Lord. (1)
...
མ་ལུས་ཕ་རོལ་ཕྱིན་པ་ཐོབ་པའི། །
malü parol chinpa tobpé
You are well served by the heirs of the Victors,
རྒྱལ་བའི་སྲས་ཀྱིས་ཤིན་ཏུ་བསྟེན་མ། །
gyalwé sé kyi shintu ten ma
Those who’ve accomplished all the perfections. (4)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཏུཏྟཱ་ར་ཧཱུྂ་ཡི་གེ །
chaktsal tuttara hung yigé
Homage to you, who with tuttāra and hūṃ
འདོད་དང་ཕྱོགས་དང་ནམ་མཁའ་གང་མ། །
dö dang chok dang namkha gang ma
Fill desire realms unto the ends of space.
འཇིག་རྟེན་བདུན་པོ་ཞབས་ཀྱིས་མནན་ཏེ། །
jikten dünpo zhab kyi nen té
You trample underfoot the seven worlds,
ལུས་པ་མེད་པར་འགུགས་པར་ནུས་མ། །
lüpa mepar gukpar nü ma
And have the strength to summon all. (5)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་བརྒྱ་བྱིན་མེ་ལྷ་ཚངས་པ། །
chaktsal gyajin melha tsangpa
Homage to you, praised by Indra,
རླུང་ལྷ་སྣ་ཚོགས་དབང་ཕྱུག་མཆོད་མ། །
lunglha natsok wangchuk chö ma
Agni, Brahmā, Maruts,2 and Śiva.
འབྱུང་པོ་རོ་ལངས་དྲི་ཟ་རྣམས་དང་། །
jungpo rolang driza nam dang
All the hosts of bhūtas, vetālas,
གནོད་སྦྱིན་ཚོགས་ཀྱིས་མདུན་ནས་བསྟོད་མ། །
nöjin tsok kyi dün né tö ma
Gandharvas and yakṣas pay tribute to you. (6)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཏྲཊ་ཅེས་བྱ་དང་ཕཊ་ཀྱིས། །
chaktsal tré cheja dang pé kyi
Homage to you, who with traṭ and phaṭ
ཕ་རོལ་འཕྲུལ་འཁོར་རབ་ཏུ་འཇོམས་མ། །
parol trulkhor rabtu jom ma
Crush the enemies’ yantras3 to dust.
གཡས་བསྐུམ་གཡོན་བརྐྱང་ཞབས་ཀྱིས་མནན་ཏེ། །
yé kum yön kyang zhab kyi nen té
With right leg bent in and left leg extended,
མེ་འབར་འཁྲུག་པ་ཤིན་ཏུ་འབར་མ། །
mebar trukpa shintu bar ma
Shining you tread amidst flames wildly blazing. (7)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཏུ་རེ་འཇིགས་པ་ཆེན་པོས། །
chaktsal turé jikpa chenpö
Homage to Ture, the fearsome lady,
བདུད་ཀྱི་དཔའ་བོ་རྣམ་པར་འཇོམས་མ། །
dü kyi pawo nampar jom ma
Destroyer of the most powerful demons.
ཆུ་སྐྱེས་ཞལ་ནི་ཁྲོ་གཉེར་ལྡན་མཛད། །
chukyé zhal ni tronyer den dzé
With a lotus-face and a deep-furrowed brow,
དགྲ་བོ་ཐམས་ཅད་མ་ལུས་གསོད་མ། །
drawo tamché malü sö ma
You are the slayer of each and every foe. (8)
...
བཞད་པ་རབ་བཞད་ཏུཏྟཱ་ར་ཡིས། །
zhepa rab zhé tuttara yi
Smiling and laughing, with tuttāre
བདུད་དང་འཇིག་རྟེན་དབང་དུ་མཛད་མ། །
dü dang jikten wang du dzé ma
You bring demons and worlds under control. (10)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ས་གཞི་སྐྱོང་བའི་ཚོགས་རྣམས། །
chaktsal sa zhi kyongwé tsok nam
Homage to you, who can summon
ཐམས་ཅད་འགུགས་པར་ནུས་པ་ཉིད་མ། །
tamché gukpar nüpa nyi ma
The hosts of earthly guardians.
ཁྲོ་གཉེར་གཡོ་བའི་ཡི་གེ་ཧཱུྂ་གིས། །
tronyer yowé yigé hung gi
Your frown it quivers, and the syllable hūṃ
ཕོངས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་རྣམ་པར་སྒྲོལ་མ། །
pongpa tamché nampar drolma
Delivers us all from every misfortune. (11)
...
ཕྱག་འཚལ་བསྐལ་པ་ཐ་མའི་མེ་ལྟར། །
chaktsal kalpa tamé mé tar
Homage to you, seated in a halo
འབར་བའི་ཕྲེང་བའི་དབུས་ན་གནས་མ། །
barwé trengwé ü na né ma
Blazing with apocalyptic flames.
གཡས་བརྐྱང་གཡོན་བསྐུམ་ཀུན་ནས་བསྐོར་དགའི། །
yé kyang yön kum künné kor gé
Your right leg stretched out and left bent inward,
དགྲ་ཡི་དཔུང་ནི་རྣམ་པར་འཇོམས་མ། །
dra yi pung ni nampar jom ma
Immersed in joy, you crush legions of foes. (13)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ས་གཞིའི་ངོས་ལ་ཕྱག་གི །
chaktsal sa zhi ngö la chak gi
Homage to you, who on the earth’s surface
མཐིལ་གྱིས་བསྣུན་ཅིང་ཞབས་ཀྱིས་བརྡུང་མ། །
til gyi nün ching zhab kyi dung ma
Strike your palms and stamp your feet;
ཁྲོ་གཉེར་ཅན་མཛད་ཡི་གེ་ཧཱུྂ་གིས། །
tronyer chen dzé yigé hung gi
Your brow deeply furrowed, with hūṃ you smash
རིམ་པ་བདུན་པོ་རྣམས་ནི་འགེམས་མ། །
rimpa dünpo nam ni gem ma
The seven netherworlds to nothing but dust. (14)
...
སྭཱ་ཧཱ་ཨོཾ་དང་ཡང་དག་ལྡན་པས། །
soha om dang yangdak denpé
With oṃ and svāhā in perfect union,
སྡིག་པ་ཆེན་པོ་འཇོམས་པ་ཉིད་མ། །
dikpa chenpo jompa nyi ma
You lay to waste every terrible evil. (15)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཀུན་ནས་བསྐོར་རབ་དགའ་བའི། །
chaktsal künné kor rabga bé
Homage to you, who, immersed in rapture,
དགྲ་ཡི་ལུས་ནི་རབ་ཏུ་འགེམས་མ། །
dra yi lü ni rabtu gem ma
Shatters the bodies of all your foes.
ཡི་གེ་བཅུ་པའི་ངག་ནི་བཀོད་པའི། །
yigé chupé ngak ni köpé
You manifest from the wisdom-syllable hūṃ,6
རིག་པ་ཧཱུྂ་ལས་སྒྲོལ་མ་ཉིད་མ། །
rigpa hung lé drölma nyi ma
And display each of your mantra’s ten syllables. (16)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཏུ་རེའི་ཞབས་ནི་བརྡབས་པས། །
chaktsal turé zhab ni dabpé
Homage to Ture, your feet stomping boldly,
ཧཱུྂ་གི་རྣམ་པའི་ས་བོན་ཉིད་མ། །
hung gi nampé sabön nyi ma
Formed from the seed of the syllable hūṃ.
རི་རབ་མནྡ་ར་དང་འབིགས་བྱེད། །
rirab mendara dang bikjé
The mountains of Meru, Mandara and Vindhya,
འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ་རྣམས་གཡོ་བ་ཉིད་མ། །
jikten sum nam yowa nyi ma
And all the three worlds, you cause them to quake. (17)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལྷ་ཡི་མཚོ་ཡི་རྣམ་པའི། །
chaktsal lha yi tso yi nampé
Homage to you, who hold in your hand
རི་དྭགས་རྟགས་ཅན་ཕྱག་ན་བསྣམས་མ། །
ridak takchen chak na nam ma
A deer-marked moon like a divine lake.
ཏཱ་ར་གཉིས་བརྗོད་ཕཊ་ཀྱི་ཡི་གེས། །
tara nyi jö pé kyi yigé
With tāra twice and then with phaṭ,
དུག་རྣམས་མ་ལུས་པར་ནི་སེལ་མ། །
duk nam malüpar ni selma
You totally cleanse all of the poisons. (18)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ལྷ་ཡི་ཚོགས་རྣམས་རྒྱལ་པོ། །
chaktsal lha yi tsok nam gyalpo
Homage to you, who is served by kings
ལྷ་དང་མིའམ་ཅི་ཡིས་བསྟེན་མ། །
lha dang mi'amchi yi ten ma
Of hosts divine, and of gods and kiṃnaras.7
ཀུན་ནས་གོ་ཆ་དགའ་བ་བརྗིད་ཀྱིས། །
künné gocha gawa ji kyi
Suited in armour of joy and splendour,
རྩོད་དང་རྨི་ལམ་ངན་པ་སེལ་མ། །
tsö dang milam ngenpa selma
You clear away nightmares, soothe away strife. (19)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཉི་མ་ཟླ་བ་རྒྱས་པའི། །
chaktsal nyima dawa gyepé
Homage to you, whose eyes shine with lustre,
སྤྱན་གཉིས་པོ་ལ་འོད་རབ་གསལ་མ། །
chen nyipo la ö rabsal ma
Bright with the fullness of sun and moon.
ཧ་ར་གཉིས་བརྗོད་ཏུཏྟཱ་ར་ཡིས། །
hara nyi jö tuttara yi
With twice-uttered hara and tuttāre
ཤིན་ཏུ་དྲག་པོའི་རིམས་ནད་སེལ་མ། །
shintu drakpö rimné selma
You pacify the most intractable diseases. (20)
ཕྱག་འཚལ་དེ་ཉིད་གསུམ་རྣམས་བཀོད་པས། །
chaktsal denyi sum nam köpé
Homage to you, who have the power to free,
ཞི་བའི་མཐུ་དང་ཡང་དག་ལྡན་མ། །
zhiwé tu dang yangdak den ma
You put forth the realities as a set of three.
གདོན་དང་རོ་ལངས་གནོད་སྦྱིན་ཚོགས་རྣམས། །
dön dang rolang nöjin tsok nam
Supreme Ture, you completely destroy
འཇོམས་པ་ཏུ་རེ་རབ་མཆོག་ཉིད་མ། །
jompa turé rab chok nyi ma
The hordes of grahas,8 vetālas,9 and yakṣas.10 (21)
རྩ་བའི་སྔགས་ཀྱི་བསྟོད་པ་འདི་དང་། །
tsawé ngak kyi töpa di dang
This Praise with the twenty-one verses of homage
ཕྱག་འཚལ་བ་ནི་ཉི་ཤུ་རྩ་གཅིག །
chaktsalwa ni nyishu tsa chik
Is itself the root mantra.
The Excellent Benefits of the Praise
ལྷ་མོ་ལ་གུས་ཡང་དག་ལྡན་པའི། །
lhamo la gü yangdak denpé
The wise who recite these words in earnest,
བློ་ལྡན་གང་གིས་རབ་དང་བརྗོད་དེ། །
loden gang gi rab dang jö dé
Filled with genuine devotion for this goddess, (22)
སྲོད་དང་ཐོ་རངས་ལངས་པར་བྱས་ནས། །
sö dang torang langpar jé né
At dusk, and also having risen at dawn,
དྲན་པས་མི་འཇིགས་ཐམས་ཅད་རབ་སྟེར། །
drenpé mi jik tamché rab ter
With recollection, will be granted fearlessness;
སྡིག་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་རབ་ཏུ་ཞི་བྱེད། །
dikpa tamché rabtu zhijé
They will utterly eliminate all misdeeds,
ངན་འགྲོ་ཐམས་ཅད་འཇོམས་པ་ཉིད་དོ། །
ngendro tamché jompa nyi do
And surmount all evil destinies. (23)
...
དེ་ཡི་དུག་ནི་དྲག་པོ་ཆེན་པོ། །
dé yi duk ni drakpo chenpo
Even the most powerful and toxic poisons,
བརྟན་གནས་པའམ་གཞན་ཡང་འགྲོ་བ། །
ten nepa am zhenyang drowa
Which derive from plants or living beings,
ཟོས་པ་དང་ནི་འཐུངས་པ་ཉིད་ཀྱང༌། །
zöpa dang ni tungpa nyi kyang
Whether eaten or taken as a draught,
དྲན་པས་རབ་ཏུ་སེལ་བ་ཉིད་ཐོབ། །
drenpé rabtu selwa nyi tob
Will be purged entirely by recalling this praise. (25)
གདོན་དང་རིམས་དང་དུག་གིས་གཟིར་བའི། །
dön dang rim dang duk gi zirwé
Reciting this two or three or seven times11
སྡུག་བསྔལ་ཚོགས་ནི་རྣམ་པར་སྤངས་ཏེ། །
dukngal tsok ni nampar pang té
Will eliminate multitudes of suffering
སེམས་ཅན་གཞན་པ་རྣམས་ལ་ཡང་ངོ༌། །
semchen zhenpa nam la yang ngo
Brought about by spirits, pestilence, and poison—
གཉིས་གསུམ་བདུན་དུ་མངོན་པར་བརྗོད་ན། །
nyi sum dün du ngönpar jö na
And this applies even to other beings as well. (26)
བུ་འདོད་པས་ནི་བུ་ཐོབ་འགྱུར་ཞིང༌། །
bu döpé ni bu tob gyur zhing
Those who wish for progeny will bear them;
ནོར་འདོད་པས་ནི་ནོར་རྣམས་ཉིད་ཐོབ། །
nor döpé ni nor nam nyi tob
Those who wish for riches will acquire them;
འདོད་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཐོབ་པར་འགྱུར་ལ། །
döpa tamché tobpar gyur la
Each and every wish will hereby be fulfilled,
བགེགས་རྣམས་མེད་ཅིང་སོ་སོར་འཇོམས་འགྱུར། །
gek nam mé ching sosor jom gyur
And obstacles, entirely vanquished, will be no more. (27)
བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ་སྒྲོལ་མ་ལ་ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱིས་བསྟོད་པ་གསུངས་པ་རྫོགས་སོ། །
Translated by Samye Translations (trans. Stefan Mang, Peter Woods, and Ryan Conlon, ed. Libby Hogg) with the kind assistance of Adam Pearcey, 2019.
_______________
Notes:
1. In some traditions this four-line verse is added after the translator’s homage and before the actual start of the Praise. The verse conjures Tārā by drawing upon the three epithets that also form the core of her root mantra (oṃ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā): Tārā (Deliverer), Tuttārā (Savior) and Turā (Swift One). The verse is an explanation of Tārā’s root mantra (oṁ tāre tuttāre ture svāhā) and may represent a synopsis of the Praise that follows. Some masters explain that this verse is dedicated to Green Tārā, who is considered Tārā’s principal form yet is not included in the Praise. The origin of the verse remains unclear. It may be traced back to a translation of Pang Lotsawa Lodrö Tenpa (dpang lo tsā ba blo gros brtan pa, 1276–1342).
2. Maruts are the Vedic gods of wind.
3. The word yantra (’khrul ’khor) designates an instrument or other type of mechanical device (esp. one used in warfare), or a magic diagram. It is derived from the Sanskrit root √yam, “to control.” (For more information on yantras, see Gudrun Bühnemann, “Maṇḍalas and Yantras,” in Knut A. Jacobsen (eds.), Brill’s Encyclopedia of Hinduism, vol. ii, (Leiden: Brill, 2010): 566–572.)
4. The last two lines of this verse could be understood as: a) Tārā graces all points and bearings of the compass, and b) Tārā bears the mark(s) of (a) thousand spoked wheel(s) on her hand(s and feet), the first of the 32 major marks of a buddha.
5. Some editions read zla ba’i rtse mo, lit. “lunar peak,” instead of zla ba’i dum bu, “a sliver of moon”.
6. The various Tibetan editions read either sgrol ma or sgron ma. Based on this variant, Tibetan authors variously interpret this line as “you manifest from” (sgrol ma) or “you shine with” (sgron ma) the wisdom syllable hūṃ.
7. Kiṃnaras (mi’am ci) are a class of semi-divine beings known for their musical skills, depicted as half-horse and half-human, or half-bird and half-human.
8. Grahas (gdon) are a type of evil spirit known to exert a harmful influence on the human body and mind. Grahas are closely associated with the planets and other astronomical bodies.
9. Vetālas (ro langs) are harmful spirit who haunts charnel grounds and can take possession of corpses and reanimate them.
10. Yakṣas (gnod sbyin) are a class of semi-divine beings that haunt or protect natural places and cities. They can be malevolent or benevolent, and are known for bestowing wealth and worldly boons.
11. This instruction led to the tradition of reciting the Praise first twice, then thrice, and finally seven times. We find this, for example, in the Zabtik Drolchok (zab tig sgrol chog).
12. Please note that this colophon varies across the various Tibetan versions. Here we are following the Degé Kangyur edition of the Praise (T 438).
-- Praises to the Twenty-One Tārās, by Lotsawa House
Calmette described how he had confirmed the authenticity of the texts he had purchased by having young Brahmins who were learning the Vedas recite them to him (1732: 35v). In his letter he describes how both Gargam, his close colleague in the northern reaches of the Carnatic mission, and Jean-François Pons, a Jesuit collecting Sanskrit texts in Bengal, had been deceived into buying texts purporting to be Vedas (1732: 35r). Nevertheless, while Calmette did obtain the Ṛg, Yajur, and Sāma Veda saṃhitās, his “Adarvana Vedam” is in fact an assortment of tantric and magical texts connected with goddess worship called Ātharvaṇatantrarāja and Ātharvaṇamantraśāstra.92 [Filliozat, Catalogue du fonds sanscrit, I, 25.]….
[Calmette] adds that it was remarkable how few Brahmins understood Vedic Sanskrit… Some of these works, like others sent by the Jesuits, were not so much copies of actual Indian texts as verbal abstracts of the texts recited by scholars and recorded, on paper not palm-leaves, by converts who adorned them with Christian symbols…
--The Absent Vedas, by Will Sweetman
Contents:
• Introduction
• First Ashtaka.
o First Adhyaya.
Anuvaka I.