Shèlìfú tuóluóní jīng 舍利弗陀羅尼經
Śāriputra Dhāraṇī Sūtra (= Anantamukha-sādhaka-dhāraṇī) by 僧伽婆羅 (Saṃghapāla, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Liáng-period translation of the Anantamukha-sādhaka-dhāraṇī by Saṃghapāla (僧伽婆羅, 460?–524, also Saṃghavarman in some sources). The Chinese title 舍利弗陀羅尼經 (“Śāriputra Dhāraṇī Sūtra”) reflects the narrative-frame of the sūtra: the Buddha addresses Śāriputra (舍利弗) on the dhāraṇī’s efficacy. CANWWW lists the alt-title Wúliàngmén tuóluóní jīng 無量門陀羅尼經, confirming it as another rendering of the Anantamukha tradition.
Abstract
Saṃghapāla, a Funan (扶南, present-day Cambodia) monk, was the leading translator at the Liáng court of Wǔdì (502–549) — Wǔdì himself was the imperial patron and is recorded as having personally attended Saṃghapāla’s translation sessions. Saṃghapāla’s most celebrated work is the Vimuttimagga (Jiětuō dào lùn 解脫道論, T1648), the Theravāda-affiliated meditation treatise; his Anantamukha version, in contrast, sits squarely in the Mahāyāna dhāraṇī corpus. The translation was made at the Liáng capital Jiànkāng during 506–520 (the conventional bracket for Saṃghapāla’s recorded translations). The novel naming of the text under Śāriputra’s name (rather than as a “boundless-gate” sūtra) reflects either a Funan recension distinct from the orthodox Indic transmission, or a deliberate reframing for Liáng audiences. Listed at Nanjio 358. For the full Anantamukha translation cycle, see KR6j0202.
Translations and research
- Inagaki, Hisao. The Anantamukha-nirhāra-dhāraṇī Sūtra and Jñānagarbha’s Commentary. Kyoto: Nagata Bunshōdō, 1987.
- Hidas, Gergely. Powers of Protection. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2021.
Links
- CBETA T19n1016
- Kanseki DB
- 僧伽婆羅 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (515) — T = CBETA [Chinese Buddhist Electronic Text Association]. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. Edited by Takakusu Junjirō 高楠順次郎 and Watanabe Kaigyoku 渡邊海旭. Tokyo: Taishō shinshū daizōkyō kankōkai/Daizō shuppan, 1924-1932. CBReader v 5.0, 2014.