National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

1474   TIBETAN INSCRIPTIONS OF BUDDHIST PAINTINGS   [App.K

peyogs teams cad bci[n] * [da]fi I rdo rjei ags pas bcin bas I bdag °jigs pa ceen po brgyacl las bsgral du gsol It badzra dzvala bisuddha I [karra kara I b[h]it[r]i bhfiri i bhagabati I garbhabati garbhabati I garbha-bïs`odhani I kuksï-sampurani '° I dzvala dzvala I tsala tsala I dzvalani it lhaï c`u sa kun to ear dbab to gsol it amrita-bargani" I debata I abatarani a bde bar ggegs pai gsun rab bdud rtsi nit's() ** sku dan ldan ba a lha skyes la dban bskur du gsol I °t`ab pa dan I teab mo 72 dan I rtsod pa dan I °gyed [pa da]n I rmyi lam nan pa dan I ltas han pa dan I bkra myï Ms pa dan I sdig pa teams cad rnam par sbyoit ba I gnod sbyin dan I srin po dan I kin teams cad °jom ba t . . . bs 13 °jigs skrag pa lha skyes °jigs pa teams cad dan I gnod pa teams cad dan I nad °go ba t`a[tn]s cad daft t nad teams cad las teams cad to rtag par bsrun du gsol I bsrun du gso114 it [ba]la bala I balabati dzaya dzaya it om amrïte 15 1 amrïta*ne bara prabara 16 [b]iluddhe huum 17 phat phat svâhâ n amrita-bilokïni I garba-sat rakk§ani 18

akargani'° huum huum phat svâhl II om 20 bïmale dzaya bare t amrïte huum huum L1 phat phat svâltd II om

bhara bhara I sambhara sambhara I indrïya-biiodhani huum huum phat phat runt tsala   it om manïdharï ..
hum phat svâhit u

This may be approximately translated as follows :-

` Reverence to the Bhagavati Ârya-Avalokitesvari ! 22 reverence to the Bhagavati Mahâ-pratisarâ ! By means of the blessing of the Honourable One's grace, I pray that she may bestow blessing in protection of gods and then. I pray that the Bhagavati who gazes in the manner (?) of the great elephant god, completely confining all regions of space everywhere and binding them with the fetter of the thunderbolt, may give protection from her own eight great terrors.23 Vajra jvala viiuddha, kara Mara, bhùri blzfiri, bhagavati, g arblzavati garbhabati, garbha-viiodhani, kuksi-sampizrani, jvala jvala, cala cala jvalani. I pray that she may cause to rain the god's water-soil (?) everywhere. Amrta-varsini, devata, avatarani. I pray that she who has the form of a ... lake of the nectar of the Sugata's holy teaching may give power to gods and men. I pray that she who completely removes strife and battle and war and discord and evil dreams and evil omens and misfortune and practice of all sins, who overcomes all Yaksas, Râksasas, and Nâgas, who fears . , may always wholly guard gods and men from all terror and all harm and all pestilence and all disease. Bala bala, balabati jaya jaya. Om anzrte, amrta**ne bhara prablzara, viiuddhe huum phat phat svàhà, amrta-vilokini, garbha-sanzraksini, àkarsinz huum huum phat svàhà. Om vimale jaya vare, amrte huum lzuum ghat phat svàhà. Om bhara bhara, sambhara sambhara, indriya-viiodhani huum huum phat plat ruru cala svàhà. Om manidlzari ... hum phat svàhà.'

It is noteworthy that the above prayer is addressed to the goddess Avalokites`vari, the Chinese Kuan-yin, who is the female counterpart of the Bodhisattva Avalokitegvara,24 whereas it is the latter who is depicted in the central medallion. This drawing with its inscription is a document of some importance in the history of the cult of these two deities.

Silk banner, Ch. lvi. 002

(See above, p. 1074, Plate LXxxvli)

Above the head is written in Tibetan characters the word gcen. In Tibetan this word generally means ` elder brother' ; but it is not clear how this sense applies to the present case. Down the left side of the painting (the right proper) is written in a rude Tibetan hand, apparently different from that of the other inscription, ba-ca-ra-ban-ne, which seems to be a barbarous attempt to reproduce the name Vajrapâni. The sound-shifting here is interesting, and suggests Mongol influence.

10 Read kuksz-sampûrani.

" For the Sanskrit amrla-varsini.

12 The dictionaries give °fab mo.   13 Very uncertain.
14 Possibly the repetition of bsrun du gsol is due to error.

l' The spelling of this word here and elsewhere should be amr/e, etc.

16 The ne and prabara are somewhat uncertain.

17 Written here and elsewhere (except in the last clause)

1° Read garbha-samraksini.   19 Read àkarsinz.

40 Written here and in the following two cases with long vowel, the length being denoted by a subscript R.

21 The Q here is written without a tick on the right side.

92 Literally, ' the Mistress, the Honourable One who • has the power of glances of the eye '.

23 The Dharma-saizgraha lxxi enumerates five terrors. It seems, however, more likely that the terrors ' (°jigs) here mentioned signify the Eight Bhairavas or something corresponding to them in Buddhist myth, though the proper Tibetan term for Bhairava is jigs byed. If this is so, it helps to make more clear the derivation of the cult of Avalokites`vara and his female counterpart from that of Siva (cf. Grünwedel, Myth. d. Buddhismus, p. i 32 f.), for the eight Bhairavas belong to the circle of Siva and are forms of him.

24 See, inter alia, Das Panllzeozz des Tse/zang/scha Huluklu, PP. 75 fl: