Shèng Duōluó púsà yībǎibā míng tuóluóní jīng 聖多羅菩薩一百八名陀羅尼經
Dhāraṇī Sūtra of the One-Hundred-and-Eight Names of the Holy Bodhisattva Tārā (Ārya-Tārā-aṣṭaśata-nāma-dhāraṇī-sūtra) by 法天 (Fǎtiān, Dharmadeva, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Northern Sòng aṣṭaśata-nāma (one-hundred-and-eight names) hymn-dhāraṇī to Tārā translated by Dharmadeva (法天, d. 1001 — later renamed Fǎxián 法賢; not to be confused with the other Fǎxián 法賢 = Dānapāla’s disciple). The colophon: 西天譯經三藏朝散大夫試鴻臚少卿傳教大師臣法天奉詔譯. The Taishō head-note: No. 1105 [cf. Nos. 1106, 1107] — i.e., the text is to be read in conjunction with KR6j0315 (T1106, Tiānxīzāi) and KR6j0316 (T1107, Shīhù), all three of which are parallel Sòng-period Tārā aṣṭaśata-nāma-praises representing different Indic recensions.
Abstract
The text opens with a namaskāra (歸命) praise of Tārā in gāthā form: 歸命種種摩尼瓔珞殊妙莊嚴繒蓋最勝大世界多羅大菩薩 — “I take refuge in the Mahā-Bodhisattva Tārā, of the various jewelled garlands, of marvellous adornment, of the supreme silken canopy, of the great-world.” The text then unfolds in the form of dhāraṇī-syllables transliterating the Sanskrit Ārya-Tāra-aṣṭottara-śata-nāma-stotra: each of Tārā’s one-hundred-and-eight names is given as a Sanskrit epithet rendered phonetically — beginning with oṃ tāre lokāya vijaya (唵怛賴路吉野尾惹野) and unfolding through the catalogue of her epithets (lokeśvarī, jagad-mātṛ, prajñā-pāramitā, mahāmāyā, etc.). The dhāraṇī is followed by the praise-results (the merits of recitation) and the closing dedication.
The “one-hundred-and-eight names” hymn is one of the most popular Tantric devotional forms — paralleling the Aṣṭottara-śata-nāma hymns to Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī, and the various yidam-deities of the yoga-tantra cycle. As a witness to the Sòng-period reception of Indian Tantric devotional literature, the text complements the contemporary Sòng-period aṣṭottaraśata-nāma translations of Tiānxīzāi (KR6j0315) and Shīhù (KR6j0316).
Translations and research
- Beyer, Stephan. The Cult of Tārā. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973.
- Willson, Martin. In Praise of Tārā. London: Wisdom, 1986.
- Sen, Tansen. Buddhism, Diplomacy, and Trade. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2003.
Links
- CBETA T20n1105
- Kanseki DB
- 法天 DILA
- Dazangthings date evidence (980) — 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.