Imperatives In Buddhist Tantra Mantras

Author(s): Alex Wayman
Publisher: Alex Wayman
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/269486/1

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A. Wayman
IMPERATIVES IN THE BUDDHIST TANTRA MANTRAS
IMPERATIVES IN THE BUDDHIST TANTRA MANTRAS
Alex Wayman
The Buddhist tantric works contain an enormous amount of mantras, recognized by being kept intranscription when those works were translated into Tibetan and Chinese. Bu-ston, editor of the Tibetan canon, collected a great many of these mantras in a large volume. Also in the original Sanskrit works, mantras were recognizable by the context and their form. Here I shall not deal with the use of mantras in religious practice, or with the dispute over whether they do or do not have meaning in our usual sense of meaning. I am concerned with what is essentially a grammatical problem of the imperative forms; and this type of meaning must be admitted, otherwise how could they be labelled imperatives and their type of imperative discussed?
From time to time in my studies of the Buddhist Tantras I have noticed mantras in certain contexts which help to explain them. I shall restrict myself to these more enlightening contexts, rather than simply present a long list which could easily be done. Since the great majority of such imperatives are addressed to the deity in the singular number of the second person, these will be my examples, which in my observation regularly adopt the Parasma ipada option of the Present Tense. These forms are generally recognizable by doublets for emphasis, the form repeated, e.g. hana hana. We shall find that sometimes these mantras obey rules of classical Sanskrit, and sometimes they must be construed as Middle Indic. The imperatives are classifiable in four types, 1. those for appeasing (sāntika), 2. those for prosperity (paustika), 3. those for controlling (vas ikara), and 4. those for destruction (abhicāra). Besides, the Vairocanābhisambodhi-tantra, chap. II, k. 180, in the Tibetan Kanjur, and its commentary by Buddhaguhya in the Tibetan Tanjur, distinguishes between imperative mantras directed to the minor deities called 'attendants' and those directed to the furious deities (Krodha). Mantras to be translated "Remember!", "Congume!", and "Conquer!" are directed to the attendants, a group that also incudes the 'messengers'; and those translated "Stab!", "Kill!", and "Tear to pieces!" are directed to the Krodha deities."
The repetition of the root vowel in such forms as kiri is doubtless due to the injunction to repeat the mantra many times, since the repetition of the vowel apparently assists this multiplication of the mantra. Since the semantic value of kiri is not evidenced, this does suggest that the mantra was more intended to be repeated many times than to be understood. We shall observe that to be understood one must read this form as kira, the imperative. There are suggestions in this tantric literature that the 'meaning' (artha) is the 'goal' (artha) of the recitation.
1) The first example is from the mantra transcription in an Acala Tantra of the Tibetan canon:
vighnām māraya māraya duştām raksa rakşa satvām kuru kuru i kiri kiri
Here the first doublet of imperatives is in causative form, and I render the command "Kill the demons!" Next, there is, "Ward off the wicked!" Third, "Lead the strong!" (As for translating the imperative kuru by "Lead!" the Monier-Williams dictionary cites this meaning for the root kr- from Pāņini i,4,77). Finally, this kiri kiri represents an imperative of kir 'to
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scatter' (6th conjugation class inclassical Sanskrit), so we would expect kira; but here there is repetition of the root vowel --a frequent feature of these mantra imperatives; and it means, "Scatter (or disperse)!" namely, the evil forces.
2) From the Trisamayarājasādhana, first work of the Sadhanamālā. This is the form in which it is edited:
arara asama sama samantatānanta dharma te khana khana mahāvīrācale sama sama asahamahābale kana kana mahāvarāgrike haha haha vajravajrahvaye dhara dhara Hum Hum mandalar samabalāgravikrame kurukuru turuturu sarvathā sarvam hijvala jvala agre agrini Hump Phat Svāhā -
The editor has erroneously separated the words asama and sama; they should be compounded as a tatpuruşa; "the equal to what is without equal". Now, I take the expression arara and asamasama, in the form of vocatives, to be in apposition to the term dharma: "Oh, the dharma universal without end -- the gate (arara) and the equal of what is without equal, of thee (te)," namely the deity Trisamayarāja. And the genitive te goes as well with the following locative absolutes. First, "when (of thee) there is the great unswerving heroism" KHANA KHANA, which has nothing to do with digging. This is a Middle Indic imperative, and the retroflex n is due to a presumed retroflex sibilant of an equivalent Sanskrit, namely ksana, "Woundi" (i.e. the opponent). Next, "when (of thee) there is the great strength which one cannot withgtand," SAMA SAMA. Again, Middle Indic for Sanskrit sama sama, "Be appeased!" (reminding of the fierce Vedic Rudra appeased with the name Siva). Next, "when (of thee) there is the chief of great boons," KHAŅA KHAŅA. And as I learned from Helmer Smith, this goes with Sanskrit kvan, thus KVAŅA KVAŅA, "Sound out!" (i.e. make it known). Next, "when (of thee) the name of a diamond is 'diamond'," HAHA HAHA. This form HAHA is another example of the repetition of root vowel, where in Middle Indic HAHI has the -hi, generalized Parasmaipada addition for the second person imperative, present tense; which is parallel with the imperative using the present stem in the manner of the first conjugational class of Classical Sanskrit. The meaning of the imperative HAHA HAHA depends on the associated locative absolute phrase, containing the hve- root, suggesting that the equivalent Sanskrit to this, HA- is HVA-, in the dictionary as hve-, although admittedly my reference works do not supply this Sanskrit equivalence to the Middle Indic ha- But the context does support this association of hve- root, whereby, "when the name of a diamond is 'diamond" the imperative is rendered, "Call it by name!" The passage continues: DHARA DHARA, "Be steadfast!" HUM HUM (untranslateable, but signifying the fierce side of the deity; in Tibetan transcription, always HOM). Then, "when there is the best forward step of strength equal to it! "Construct (make it work] the mandala!" Next, TURU TURU, for Sanskrit TURA, but, as previously, repeating the vowel; and to be rendered, "Be quickl". Then, JVALA JVALA, "Radiate!" -- everything in every way. Now correct the editor's agrini to agreni, vocative of agreni, the masculine; thus, "O, leader!" -- at the summit (agre). Finally, HUM PHAT SVAHA.
3) From the Guhyasamājatantra, chap. XIV, with the help of commentary:?
ru ru sphuru jvala tiştha.
ghutça ghutta ghuţtani.
The first imperative sequence has some features well worth mentioning. There is no doubt of the repetition RU RU as edited, and that the following terms are imperatives even though not re
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A. Wayman IMPERATIVES IN THE BUDDHIST TANTRA MANTRAS peated. According to the commentator Ratnakarafānti, the imperatives are to be rendered, "Speak!" "Fill up!" "Radiate" and "Remain!". The JVALA and TISTHA are obvious. SPHURU exhibits the repetition of root vowel as was shown with previous examples. As to the expression RU RU, the meaning "Speak!" (i.e. asking the silent to speak) appears to take ru as the present stem of the verb ru- 'to cry out', etc. in the 2nd class of conjugation might have as the equivalent imperative the form ruhi; and the present tense example is rauti or raviti). This example of RU as an imperative is therefore a further evidence of Middle Indic imperative forms in these mantras.
The next mantra, GHUTTA - in this Guhyasamājatantra, Chap. XIV, addressed, according to the commentary, to the goddess Māmakī, contains another instructive example, signifying according to Ratnākarabanti, "Protecti o, protectress!". This root GHUTT- is found neither in the Böhtlingk-Roth nor the MonierWilliams Sanskrit dictionaries. Of the twelve Dhātupātha sources in Palsule, A Concordance of Sanskrit Dhātupathas, 10 the root is entered in only one, the Kāsakrtsna. But the Guhyasamājatantra supplies both an imperative and a vocative form. Notice also in this example that there is no repetition of the root vowel, as in some of the previous examples, and that here the imperative agrees with Classical Sanskrit.
4) From the Vajra-vidārana-nama-dhārani, its long mantra. In the course of my investigations, long ago, of the Tanjur commentaries, I found one that explained the mantra, but only by bringing in magical rites and specifying which parts go with the chief deity (Vajrapāni) and which go with its four inner retinue deities, Vajrakila, etc., and with the ten directional deities.11 Here I shall treat the part specified for Vajrapāni's magical acts (karma) of appeasing (Säntika), etc.a2
he phullu luni ru phullu gfhna kullu mili cullu kuru kullu vajravijayāya svāhā kilikīlāya svāhā kata kata mata mata rata rata | motana-pramotanaya gvāhā | cara nicara hara hara | sara sara | māraya vajravidār'anāya gvāhā chinda chinda' bhinda bhinda mahākilikilāya svāhā|
bandha bandha krodhavajrakilikilāya svähā | Some of the imperatives are single, and some doublets. I have had to edit the apparently Middle-Indic selection, especially for word isolation; and in the first stretch one must read luni (the long ū). It starts He ("o!"), Phullu ("Expand!"), Ru "Express!") the sheaf (lūni), Phullu ("Expand it!"). This appears to represent the deity's appeasing magic (Santika). Then Gphna ("Take prisoner1") and Kullu ("Make smalli", Skt. kşull), apparently controlling magic (vas ikaraThen, Mili ("Encounter!"), Cullu ("Exhibit an expression of joy!"), Kuru (take it as though Skt. ksuru, "Make furrows!"), and Kullu (again "Make smalll"), which is prosperity magic (paustikal. Then, for these three kinds of magic, Vajra-vijayāya ("With the victorious thunderbolt"), Svāhā; and kilikilaya "With a loud noise"), Svāhā. Now, for the destructive magic, beginning Kata Kata (here, among the many possible meanings, take the 'rain'option, by authority of Ratnakarabānti's commentary on Guhyasamāja-tantra, chap. XIV); 13 in the drastic or destructive sense "Drop the delugel"; Mata Mata ("Send a hail storm!"); Rata Rata ("Roar!"); and Motana-pramotanaya ("With the destructive Pramotana"), Svāhā; where Pramotana appears to be an epithet of Vajrapāni's Vajra in its destructive feature. Then Cara Nicara ("Hunt!") and Hara Hara ("Seizel"); Sara Sara ("Pursuel") and Māraya ("Killl"), namely, "With the Vajravidārana", Svāhā. Here, Vajravidārana, occurring as it does BIS 1. 1985
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of in the title the work, indicates the prevalent character of the Vajra, i.e. its cleaving ability. Then Chinda Chinda ("Cut through!") and Bhinda Bhinda ("Rend asunder!"); Mahākilikilāya ("With the intense loud noise"), Svāhā. Finally, Bandha Bandha ("Tie up!"), with the loud noise of the fierce thunderbolt (krodha-vajra), Svāhā. The term Svāhā here, does not, as is frequently explained in the Buddhist Tantras, go with a femaletype mantra called vidyā, because the main deities here, Vajrapāni and entourage, are all male. Hence, Sváha as found in the foregoing must simply be the one employed in Vedic rituals, where it signifies the benediction "Hail!". And here the term vajra does mean "thunderbolt" rather than the "diamond" sense it usually has in later Buddhist Tantras. The Mantra distinction of fourmagical rites is somewhat clarified near the end of the long mantra by way of four mantras which the commentary associates with the four inner-retinue deities that surround Vajrapāni.
hulu hulu, tiştha tiştha vajra, bandha bandha, hana hana.
These mantras are called upahrdaya, meaning the next to shortest ones. First, Hulu Hulu appears to mean: "Shout with joy!" identified as the prosperity upahrdaya of Vajrakila. Then Tistha Tistha Vajra ("Stand up, o Vajral"), the appeasing upahrdaya of Vajracanda. Then Bandha Bandha ("Tie up!"), the controlling upahrdaya of Vajramudgara. Finally, Hana Hana ("Injure!"), the drastic upahrdaya of Vajradanda. The mantra Tiştha Tiştha Vajra therefore goes with the previous illustration of appeasing magic by the mantra translated "Express and expand the sheaf (lūni)," suggesting that the sheaf or bundle of grain stalks held by the goddess land preserved in the figure of the Virga sign) serves to appease inimical forces.
5) More from the Trisama yarājasādhana: The passage sometimes referred to as the '100 syllables'2d contains some imperative forms worth mentioning, i.e. Hara Hara ("Grasp!"); Smara Smarana ("Remember!"); Sara Sara ("Flow on!"); Hasa Hasa ("Laugh!"); Traya Traya ("Rescue!"); Jvala Jvalana ("Burn!"). These commands appear to agree with my introduction category from the Vairocanabhisambodhi-tantra as the kind directed to the minor deities called 'attendants', rather than to the Krodhas.
6) From a commentary on the Buddhist dhārani of Vimaloşnişa: In a published article15 I pointed out that this commentary cited these 'charms' (vidyā), namely, kşana kşana kşini kşini kşunu kşunul, transcribed into Tibetan and the commentarial explanations were translated into Tibetan, as I rendered respectively, "Guardi", "Rescue!" and "Nourish!". Now, from my previous observations, in order to look up the Sanskrit as root one should disregard the vowel repetitions; and so the roots should be: kşap-, kşin-, and ksun-. However, as Sanskritists know, if the finals of these roots were the dental n, they would have to appear in this retroflex n anyway, due to the preceding retroflex S. Palsule, A Concordance of Sanskrit Dhātupāthas, mentions, p. 26, that "some authorities regard p in kşan, kşin etc. as original, others it as a cerebralisation of a dental n." Kale, A Higher Sanskrit Grammar, in his chapter kşan and kşin in the 8th verb class, each defined as himsāyām, i.e. to hurt, to kill; and does not recognize a verb root kşun. Palsule recognizes two roots kşap, and two roots kşin and kşin; and likewise has no entry for kşun or kşun. Hence, the imperative kşunu kşunu should be referred to the verb kşud, which Kale puts in the 7th verb class, with meaning sampeşape, to strike against. Clearly, all three root definitions in present lexicons and dictionaries when in imperative form in these Tantras are directed to the Krodha deities for fierce action against demons, whether internal or external. And all three of them are in dig BIS 1. 1985
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agreement with the explanations I found and translated from the Tibetan, namely, imperatives directed to the deity attendants to help out sentient beings. The discrepancy can only be resolved if one allows in each case two verb roots. By the suggestion of Palsule's compendium, the two in the first instance are kşan, two such roots; in the second instance are kşin (the retroflex p) and ksin (the dental n); and in the third instance ksud and either a second root ksud or a theoretical root ksun which is presently not recognized in the lexicons. In support of this contention, notice in the Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, under ksupna such meanings as "shattered" but also "exercised" (in body) and "multiplied". These latter meanings are rather consistent with the imperative I rendered from the Tibetan, "Nourish!". And notice this dictionary's entry kşuda, with the meaning from a lexicon 'flour, meal'. While flour is the result of pulverization in magic, the drastic type) it is in a state appropriate for nourishing (in magic, the prosperity type).
7) From the text Balimālikā:17 An unusual entry in the Tibetan Tanjur is this text Balimalik, which is completely transcribed into Tibetan script from which the original Sanskrit could be readily restored, and accompanied by interlinear Tibetan partially translating it. I originally consulted it in the Derge edition. Here I noticed the mantra Hana Hana (as above "Injure!"), but the Tibetan rendition snun snun ("Prick!" or "Stab!") seems to preserve a Vedic meaning of han- "to hurl a dart upon". Therefore, Hana Hana in this case should be counted as Middle Indic, which is recognized to preserve some Vedic words or meanings rare or lost in classical Sanskrit.
Conclusion
The foregoing examples could be multiplied without end by the abundance of mantras in the Buddhist Tantra texts. Still, the examples already presented enable me to make some conclusions. Notice that in a citation from the Trisamayarājasādhana, I took KHANA as a Middle Indic imperative with equivalent Sanskrit of ksana. Later I cited the mantra kşana kşana from a commentary on the Vimalosnīşa dharani. But the verb root kşan in the 8th class of verbs should have in Classical Sanskrit the form kşapu for the second person single imperative, parasmaipada. The form ksana is the generalized imperative using the present stem like the first conjugational class. But ksana is not Middle Indic as was the form KHANA. Thus, these texts can present three kinds of verb forms. The text, when not giving a mantra, may be written in reasonably good Sanskrit, obeying the grammatical rules. Then in the case of a mantra, the imperatives may be Sanskrit in appearance, but not respecting the differentiated endings for the imperatives according to the ten classes of verbs. Or again, the imperative might be Middle Indic in form. The verb roots found in the Buddhist mantras also have the noteworthy feature of frequently being rare, perhaps the kind of root which modern Sanskrit dictionaries list only as lexical. Editorial note: The editors deeply regret the following corrections: 'Page 38, line 1 "in the title the work" to "in the title of the work", and line 51 "others it" to "others regard it".
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NOTES
1.
Delivered at the Sixth World Sanskrit Conference, University
of Pennsylvania, October 19, 1984, afternoon.
This is volume MA, or Tome 16, in the collected works of Bu-ston; cf. A Catalogue of the Tohoku University Collection of Tibetan Works on Buddhism (The Seminary of Indology, Tohoku University, 1953), where the contents of vol. MA are individually listed, pp. 31-65.
This information is from A. Wayman, Ms. Study of the Vairocanābhisambodhi-tantra.
From the Derge Kanjur, Rgyud 'bum, Vol. Thu, f. 291a-3, ff.
This Acala Tantra of the cāryatantra class has been edited in the Tibetan version by Jisshu Oshika, Acta Indologica, IV, Na ritasan Shinshoji, 1976/9, pp. 181-340, and the mantra I have cited is on p. 261.27-28.
Benoytosh Bhattacharya, ed., Sadhanamālā, Vol. I, (Baroda,
1968), text, p. 2.
Helmer Smith, Saddaniti (Lund, 1954), p. 1300. Benoytosh Bhattacharya, ed., Guhyasamāja Tantra (Baroda, 1967), p. 78.4 and.14.
cf. Alex Wayman, "The Sarvarahasyatantra," Studies of Mysticism in Honor of the 1150th Anniversary of Kobo Daishi's Nirvanam, Acta Indologica, VI, 1984, pp. 561-2. A. Wayman (n. 8, above), also pp. 561-2. Gajanan Balkrishna Palsule, A Concordance of Sanskrit Dhātupāthas (Poona, 1955).
11.
For the theory of these respective parts of the mantra, cf. F.D. Lessing and A. Wayman, Mkhas grub rje's Fundamen- tals of the Buddhist Tantras (The Hague, 1968), pp. 116-118.
.
12. Transcription of part of the mantra within the Vajra-vida
rapa-nāma-dhārapi (basic Vajrapāni Tantra of the Kriya
tantra) from the Derge Kanjur edition. 13. A. Wayman (n. 8, above), also pp. 561-2. 14. B. Bhattacharya, ed. (n. 5, above), also p. 2. 15. Cf. A. Wayman, "The Significance of Mantras, from the Veda
Down to Buddhist Tantric Practice", reprinted in Buddhist Insight; Essays by Alex Wayman, ed. by George R. Elder
(Delhi, 1984), p. 429. 16. Moreshwar Ramchandra Kale, A Higher Sanskrit Grammar
(Delhi, reprint of 1977), Dhătukosha, pp. 24-5. 17. A. Wayman (n. 15, above), p. 429.
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MITARBEITER DIESES BANDES / CONTRIBUTORS 10 THIS VOLUME Dr. Joachim Bautze Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freiea Universitat Berlin * Konigin-Luise-Str. 34a D-1000 Berlin 33 Claudine Bautze-Picron C.N.R.S. C.E.M.M.1. (Centre d'Etudes sur les Monuments du Monde Indien). Musee Guimet 6. piace d'Iena F-75116 Paris Dr. Gouriswar Bhattacharya Museum fur Indische Kunst Berlin. Takustr.40 D-1000 Berlin 33 Prof. Dr. Klaus Bruhn Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freien Universitat Berlin * Konigin-Luise-Str. 34a D-1000 Berlin 33 Dr. Helmut Einer Indologisches Seminar der Universitat Bonn Regina-Pacis-Weg 7 * D-5300 Bonn 1 Prof. Dr. Adalbert J. Gail Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freien Universitat Berlin * Konigin-Luise-Str. 348 D-1000 Derlin 33 Prof. Dr. Michael Hahn Indologisches Seminar der Universitat Bonn Regina-Pacis-Wes 7 * D-5300 Bonn 1 Dr. Leonard W. J. van der Kuijp Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freien Universitat Berlin * Konigin-Luise-Str. 34a D-1000 Berlin 33 Dr. Martin Pfeiffer Brunoustr. !9* D-100 Berlin 27 Brunourstein sheshitimo Prof. Dr. Chandrabhai Tripathi Institut fur Indische Philologie und Kunstgeschichte der Freien Universitat Berlin * Konigin-Luise-Str. 34a D-1000 Berlin 33 Prof. Dr. Alex Wayman 603 Kent Hali . Columbia University New York NY 10027 * USA BIS 1. 1995