Fó shuō Jīnsè Jiānàbōdǐ tuóluóní jīng 佛說金色迦那鉢底陀羅尼經
Sūtra of the Dhāraṇī of the Golden-Coloured Gaṇapati, Spoken by the Buddha by 金剛智 (Jīngāngzhì, Vajrabodhi, 譯)
About the work
A one-fascicle Esoteric dhāraṇī-sūtra translated by Vajrabodhi (金剛智), the first of the Three Great Tantric Masters of Tang Esoteric Buddhism. The deity is Gaṇapati 迦那鉢底 (Skt. Gaṇapati, “Lord of the Hosts” — that is, Gaṇeśa / Vināyaka, here in his benevolent golden-coloured wealth-bestowing aspect rather than the obstacle-causing or two-bodied erotic aspects). The text continues the Vināyaka cluster begun by Amoghavajra’s KR6j0497 (T1266) and extends it backward to Vajrabodhi’s earlier Chángān period.
Abstract
The text develops the cult of Golden-Coloured Gaṇapati (金色迦那鉢底) — Gaṇeśa in his auspicious wealth-and-success aspect, distinguished both from his obstacle-causing aspect (Vighnarāja 障礙王) and from his two-bodied conjugal Joyful aspect (KR6j0497). The Buddha expounds the deity’s dhāraṇī, his iconography (a golden elephant-headed deity holding bowl, modaka sweet, and aṅkuśa hook), the rite for invocation, and the anuśaṃsā catalogue: removal of obstacles to undertakings, accomplishment of business, conferment of wealth, success in scholarship and exam, and protection of the home. The text is the earliest of Vajrabodhi’s surviving Vināyaka-cycle translations, and was foundational for the subsequent elaboration of the Vināyaka cult by Amoghavajra and his successors.
The dating bracket follows Vajrabodhi’s Chángān activity (720–741).
Translations and research
- Sundberg, Jeffrey, with Rolf Giebel. “The Life of the Tang Court Monk Vajrabodhi.” Pacific World, 3rd ser., no. 13 (2011): 129–222.
- Faure, Bernard. The Fluid Pantheon: Gods of Medieval Japan. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2015 — on the Gaṇeśa cult in East Asia.