Dà wēilì Wūshūsèmó míngwáng jīng 大威力烏樞瑟摩明王經
Sūtra of the Greatly-Powerful Ucchuṣma Vidyārāja (Skt. Mahābala-vajrakrodha-sūtra) by 阿質達霰 (Āzhìdáxiàn, Ajitasena, 譯)
About the work
The principal scriptural exposition of the Ucchuṣma cult in Chinese, translated in three fascicles by the obscure North-Indian monk Ajitasena (阿質達霰, “Invincible General” 無能勝將), who worked at Ānxī 安西 (Kucha, the Tang military protectorate in the Western Regions) during the Kāiyuán 開元 reign. The Sanskrit affiliation is recorded in canwww as Mahābala-vajrakrodha-sūtra (the alternate title 烏芻澀摩經 also appears). Korean Tripiṭaka K1266; Nanjio 1048.
Abstract
The three fascicles develop, at length, the cult of Ucchuṣma Vidyārāja 烏樞瑟摩明王 — the wrathful “Burner-of-Impurity” who consumes all polluting matter and is therefore invoked in rites of purification, exorcism, snake- and demon-subduing, and protection from pollution-related illness. The text contains: (1) frame-narrative on Mount Sumeru, in which Ucchuṣma is taught by Vajrapāṇi; (2) the deity’s iconography (multi-armed, blue-black, surrounded by flame); (3) the maṇḍala-construction with its parivāra-deities; (4) the mantra, mudrā, visualisation, abhiṣeka, and homa programmes; (5) extensive applied-rite catalogues (rain-making, illness-curing, demon-expulsion, snake-bite cure, etc.). The text is the principal scriptural authority for the Ucchuṣma cult that flourished in Tang Esoteric Buddhism and was transmitted to Japan as the Ususama Myōō 烏枢沙摩明王 cult of Mikkyō — where Ucchuṣma is especially associated with the protection of monastic privies and the consumption of pollution.
The dating bracket follows Ajitasena’s documented translation activity at Ānxī during Kāiyuán (713–741).
Translations and research
- Strickmann, Michel. Mantras et mandarins: le bouddhisme tantrique en Chine. Paris: Gallimard, 1996 — extensive treatment of Ucchuṣma rites.
- Sanford, James H. “Literary Aspects of Japan’s Dual-Genitalia Iconography.” In Buddhism in the Sung, edited by Peter N. Gregory and Daniel A. Getz, 147–82. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 1999. (For the Japanese reception.)