Āzhāpóhǒu guǐshén dàjiàng shàngfó tuóluóní jīng 阿吒婆𤘽鬼神大將上佛陀羅尼經
Dhāraṇī Sūtra Presented to the Buddha by the Demon-Spirit Great General Āṭavaka (parallel recension) by 失譯 (anonymous translator)
About the work
A one-fascicle anonymous (失譯) parallel recension of KR6j0465 (T1237). The variant character in the title — 𤘽 instead of 拘 — is a graphic variant for the same syllable in the transliterated name Āṭavaka; both texts treat the same demon-spirit general (the yakṣa-protector converted by the Buddha) and their content overlaps substantially. CANWWW (T21N1238) explicitly records the related-text link to T21N1237 (KR6j0465).
Abstract
The text gives a parallel rendering of the Āṭavaka-dhāraṇī material treated in KR6j0465 — the yakṣa general’s self-pronounced protective mantra, presented to the Buddha and confirmed by him as efficacious for the protection of the Dharma and its practitioners. Comparison with T1237 shows: (1) a different transliteration of the deity’s name; (2) some divergences in the mantra-form (different Sanskrit-syllable transcriptions); (3) a slightly different framing-narrative. The two are best read as independent renderings of related Indian textual material, both retained in the canon because the variations were not perfectly reducible. As with T1237, the dating bracket is conservative (Six Dynasties to early Tang).
Translations and research
- See KR6j0465.