Chapter 25 Outline
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1. The clear exposition of the root mantra
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.1. The way in which the root mantra is made unclear
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. The way in which the root mantra is clarified in this chapter
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 1. Explaining in terms of the interpretable meaning
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 2. Explaining in terms of the definitive meaning
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 2.1. The definitive meaning of the first set of eight
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 2.2. The definitive meaning of the latter set of eight
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.3. Showing the name of the chapter
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4. Showing the root mantra and the detailed explanation of the commitments to be protected
The fourth part, showing the root mantra and the detailed explanation of the commitments to be protected, has two sections: (1) the clear exposition of the root mantra, and (2) showing the eight commitments.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1. The clear exposition of the root mantra
The first part has three sections: (1) the way in which the root mantra is made unclear, (2) the way in which the root mantra is clarified in this chapter, and (3) showing the name of the chapter.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.1. The way in which the root mantra is made unclear
Now, after the twenty-fourth [chapter], that to which one should aspire, which accomplishes the aims of all sentient beings, is supreme bliss. The root mantra is clarified for the yogin who has the yoga of that. What is the mantra like? It is that which should be hidden from those who are not suitable vessels. The end of the eight is the eighth [letter] counting from y, i.e., h. As for that which is joined to h, it is the u [vowel] together with the anusvāra, [yielding] huṁ; this is Kambala’s assertion.11 The application of oṁ to the beginning of the root mantra and huṁ huṁ phaṭ to its end was previously explained in chapter seven. Here, huṁ is shown because huṁ huṁ phaṭ is joined to the end of both the eight-lined [root mantra] as well as the [mantras of the] twenty-four [deity couples].12 One should also know that [such is the case] also with respect to oṁ at the beginning.
Why must that be hidden? It is hidden in order to protect it from slander by deluded heretics who have minds ignorant of the profound meaning, and those of little faith (25.1) in the secret mantra Mahāyāna, such as the disciples and so forth.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. The way in which the root mantra is clarified in this chapter
The second part has two sections: (1) explaining in terms of the interpretable meaning, and (2) explaining in terms of the definitive meaning.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 1. Explaining in terms of the interpretable meaning
The translation reads,13 “With respect to that, the mantra clearly stated by the heroes and yoginīs is as follows (25.2),” [meaning that] “it was stated by the Blessed Lord in the appearance of the heroes and yoginīs.” Lochen’s translation has “not clearly stated by the heroes and yoginīs.” In Durjayachandra’s commentary it is explained that “the ends of the mantra were not stated by the heroes and yoginīs.”14
Oṁ15 gathers into one the three, a, u, and m. That is, it gathers the three vajras into one, taking hold of merit.16 Namo is the salutation. Bhagavate refers to the “Blessed Lord.” Vīreshyāya means the “lord of heroes.” Mahākalpā means “great eon.” Agni, which is joined to the [terminal] a of [kal]pa, means “fire.” Sannibhāya means “like.” Jaṭā means “dreadlock.” Makuṭa means “crest,” [the terminal a of which] combines with [the u of u]tkaṭāya — which means “tied up,” “tucked up,” or “unbearable” — yielding [the sandhi] o.17 Daṁṣhṭra means “fang,” and karāla “to bare.” Ugra means “awful,” bhīṣhaṇa “terrible,” and mukhāya “to the mouth.” Sahasra means “a thousand,” bhuja “arm,” bhāsurāya “possessed of blazing light.” Parashu means “axe,” pāsha “lasso,” udyata “upraised,” shūla “spear,” and khaṭvāṅgadhāriṇe “wielding a skull staff.”18 Vyāghra means “tiger,” ajina “hide,” ambara “garment,” and dharāya “wearing.” Mahā means “great,” and dhūmra19 “smoke.” Andhakāra is explained by some as “causing death” (antakara, mthar byed), by others as a type of “darkness.”20 Vapuṣhāya means “to the body.”
The two kara both mean “do!”21 The two kuru both mean “do!” The two bandha both mean “bind!” The two trāsaya both mean “terrify!” The two kṣhobhaya both mean “incite!” The two daha both mean “burn!” The two pacha both mean “cook!” The two bhakṣha both mean “eat!” Vasa means “grease,” rudhira “blood,” antra “entrail,” mālāva “garland,” and lambine “hanging.”22 The two gṛihṇa both mean “take!” Sapta means “seven,” pātāla “underworld,” gata “to reside in,” bhujaṅgāṁ23 “snake,”24 and sarpaṁvā “serpents.”25 The two tarjaya both mean “threaten!” The two ākaḍḍha both mean “summon!”
With regard to the root mantra, in the Discourse Appendix there are two [augments called for, namely] an affix at the beginning of the eight-line [mantra] as was stated in this [tantra],26 and it does not add augments in the kara kara mantra.27 There are a few differences, such as, in the Vajraḍāka and the Origin of Heruka, the lack of an affix at the beginning of the eight-line [mantra], and the addition [of augments] in kara kara mantra.28
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 2. Explaining in terms of the definitive meaning
The second part has two sections: (1) the definitive meaning of the first set of eight, and (2) the definitive meaning of the latter set of eight.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 2.1. The definitive meaning of the first set of eight
An explanation of the definitive meaning of the root mantra from kara kara onward is stated in the explanatory tantra.29 As is stated previously in chapter nine, one who longs for power without knowing the reality (tattva) of the root mantra is like one who, desiring grain, threshes chaff. The effort of one who desires yoga without knowing the reality of mantra is in vain.30 Therefore, knowledge of the reality of mantra is very important. Moreover, the Vajraḍāka states that:31
Karma past acquired is the end-maker,
Endowed with fire, it is recited twice.
Kuru kuru is free of intention.
As for its interpretable meaning, “past acquired” refers to the former member of the class of consonants as ka, and at its end as fire, so possessed of ra [yields] two kara. With regard to its definitive meaning, “past” refers to the obscurations of karma such as the five inexorable sins32 etc. that were previously accumulated. They are “endowed with fire,” meaning that one suffers as they ripen, like fire. The pair of kara signifies “making,” making the end or exhausting those obscurations. “Twice” is an illustration, signifying that the exhaustion of the obscurations is done over and over again. Moreover, the absence of non-assembly of the two, ka and ra,33 points to the cause of that which is to be exhausted. So, if one wonders how one eliminates the obscurations of karma, [the answer is] “Make oneself ‘free of the mind’ which is attached, i.e., the mentality of attachment, to the true existence of subjectivity and objectivity, which is the root of all evil karma.” This is the significance of kuru. Its statement twice is as was previously [explained]. Moreover [the Vajraḍāka] also [states]:
Bind is known as flashing dreadlocks;
That should be repeated once more.
Being without a worldly form,
To terrify is a falsehood.34
Repeat that excellent one twice.
Kṣha is endowed with the o sound,
And bhaya exists at its side
That should be repeated once more.35
Having called out “bind the copious dreadlocks,” the definitive meaning of this is “bind the hatreds.” The “dreadlocks” are the assembly of the tathāgata clan. “Flashing” means that ultimately [things] lack intrinsic reality, although they appear to exist as conventionally real. Their binding means that through the wheel of selflessness they should be taken to be one, i.e., should be taken as inseparably, experientially unified. This should be repeated twice as previously [explained].
If one thinks that since one visualizes the tathāgatas through the method of endowing them with characteristics such as faces, hands, etc., they are of cyclic existence, since it is shown that they lack any worldly forms, i.e., essential natures, “terrify” means “produce the terror of suffering [resulting from] habitual attachments to things. Repeated it twice is as was previously [explained.] Thus, although one visualizes the deities as having characteristics such as faces and hands, and so forth, it is not the case that they do not liberate [beings] from cyclic existence.
The equivalent term of “false” (mrdzun), alīka, has two meanings.36 If taken in reference to the falsity of beings, and if one analyzes by means of the valid means of knowledge for investigating reality, then, as they lack essential natures, one abandons worldly terrors. Thus, it should be shown that things “are false in the manner that they appear conventionally and exist as do illusions.” Furthermore, if alīka is taken as meaning “beast” (phyugs), [then it means] “terrify the beastly fools.”37
Stacking k and ṣh yields kṣh. Since it is endowed with an o, it is kṣho. The two, k and ṣh, sharpen; it is the conventional truth that is like a whetstone. Why is that? One should sharpen, i.e., analyze, the ultimate truth. And just as o consists of the pair, a and u, there is the pair of wisdom and art. The syllable is the experience of art and wisdom and the possession of that.
As for clearly indicating art and wisdom, bhaya is the vulva (bhaga), which is wisdom (prajñā). It is positioned at the side of kṣho, the conventional truth it is similar to, i.e., equipoised with. If one analyzes the conventional truth that is like a whet[stone] in the manner of the ultimate truth that is like gold, then the two truths become similar, i.e., inseparable, just like a golden image clings to stone. Furthermore, as kṣh sharpens, it is also a valid means of knowledge. If one analyzes and sharpens with a valid means of knowledge, then one exhausts and reaches the limit of the gold-like conventional truth and the image-like ultimate truth.38
However, it is said that this is not the case by some scriptural epistemic authorities.39 [These sources] state that [kṣh] possesses the sound o, which is engagement by means of faith. Possessing it means that one analyzes it by means of reason.40 While it is acceptable here to analyze by means of scripture and reason, it is not done by faith alone.
Bhaya can be taken to be bhava, the equivalent term for which is “existence” (gnas pa), and also, by extension, “exhaustion” (zad pa, kṣaya). This means that “if one analyzes and sharpens with reason, one exhausts the noose which is [wrong belief in] the existence of the object etc.”41 Also, [the Vajraḍāka] states:42
After sa is the solar seat,
Ten arrows on the moon, drop filled,
That too should be stated again.
After sa is the refined gold,
And “please approach” is at its side.
It should be repeated as well.
[This text] has shown the need for exhausting the obscurations of karma, and also the need for exhausting attachment to true existence that is the root of obscurations of karma. And, to exhaust that, [it shows] the necessity of realizing the illusory falsehood that terrifies those who cling to the true existence [of things] (bden ’dzin can, satyagrāhin), as well as inseparability of the two truths. [It also shows] the need for establishing well with reason the import of scriptures of definitive meaning.
Now, to show the need for integrating that with bliss, the definitive meaning of [the syllables] hrauṁ etc. [are explained] as follows. [The letter] h, its r affix serving as its “seat,” the vowel o on top, a half-moon and a drop, illuminate art and wisdom as previously explained. Since [the letter] r is the solar seed, it is said to be the sun. Furthermore, it is the vajra of art, because it gives rise to the luminance of natural gnosis. The “seat” of that sun is the consort’s vulva, because it serves as the vajra’s place. After [the letter] s, in [the sibilant series] sh, ṣh, s, h, is [the letter] h. Through the union of the sun and the seat is the lily-like seminal essence that is generated as a distinctive feature in all bodies. The crescent moon that exists on the crown of h trickles from the crown as the first spirit of awakening.
What does it do? The equivalent term to “arrow,” bāṇa, which can also designate “forest,”43 here refers to the five aggregates. The “ten” are the five sense powers and five sense objects. Regarding that, the tenth vowel, when the four hermaphrodites44 are excluded, is au, which is affixed to h, to which the meaning of o is also applicable. [The term] “piece” indicates that they appear to be numerous.45 “Drop” is an image of the realization of emptiness. That which is filled by them is the five sense powers, sense objects, and aggregates, and so forth. Having been drawn as an image of the realization of emptiness, they are taken to be experientially unified. These indicate that when the seminal essence abides within the jewel of the vajra due to the equal union of the sun and seat, all of the natures of conceptualization wane, and one realizes the natural nature (sahajaprakṛti, lhan cig skyes pa’i rang bzhin). When one discovers this sort of natural bliss, this means that one is united with emptiness, as I have previously established. These are the meanings of hrauṁ. “Stating it twice” means that one should be practiced in this again and again.
With regard to hraḥ, “after s,” has the previously explained meaning of h. The r affix is the “illuminator,” i.e., fire, which is the blood of the consort. When it is refined, it has the import taught in the root tantra, that is, the “illuminator” should be taken to be the “seat.” This refers to the mixture of the two seminal essences. The visarga46 [is coded by] “please come,” meaning that the semen and blood are brought down to the consort’s lotus. These two [visarga dots, or, seminal fluids] are “at its side,” that is, “eaten,” meaning one is satisfied by enjoying them. The hraḥ is stated twice, as previously [explained].
Also, [the Vajraḍāka] states:47
The young moon,48 the clear drop, is phe.
That should also be repeated.
Phe means that the subject ultimately does not exist. If it does not exist, what then apprehends entities? It [the subject] does, since [these] depend upon that. The “young moon” refers to the first day of the lunar month, and it is ornamented by a drop upon phe; this drop is a star. While with these two there is power of illumination with respect to oneself, this is not the case with respect to others. This is because one sees directly with eyes possessed of darkness even when these have arisen in this way. With these there is no power of illuminating darkness. By what then is [darkness illuminated]? It is only by the full moon that illuminates both self and other. In this way, there is no power to accomplish the aims of beings with only the selflessness that is an empty image, and that is like the [first] lunar day. Nor is there [such power] with just the body of the deity, which is the star-like conventional truth. However, it is shown that there is [such] power, but only by means of full moon-like body of non-dual integration of the two truths. As for the meaning of “should be repeated,” just as darkness is dispelled even by stars when they are accompanied by the full moon, likewise all actions follow after the body of non-dual integration.49
In this way, the clear light gnosis of emptiness is illustrated by the [first] lunar day, and the magic deity body is illustrated by the star-like drop. The non-distinct association of these two is their integration. [The syllable] phe, which completes and assembles these two, is the individual who integrates the empty self of clear light. These previous [points] have shown the need for the inseparability of bliss and emptiness, which, in turn, demonstrate the need for the inseparable integration of the two truths.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.2. 2.2. The definitive meaning of the latter set of eight
Phaṭ is the gnosis of clear light of selflessness. Daha means “Burn the wood of conceptualization that perceives things as having attributes!”50 Pacha means “Cook the defiled aggregates!” Bhakṣha means “Eat the devil[s] of conceptualization!” which means that they are destroyed by the previously [explained] gnosis of bliss and emptiness. [The text] from vasa to lambine51 is called out in praise of the deity. Grihṇa and tarjaya mean “seize!” and “threaten!” i.e., “destroy!” What is seized? [It is indicated by the text] from sapta to sarpaṁ vā,52 that is, the conceptualization that perceives things as having attributes that is like the poisonous serpents of the seven levels of the underworld. [One should] seize and destroy them.
Also, [with regard to the term ākaḍḍha,] ā [indicates] ākāra, “form,”53 and ka “throat” (kaṇṭha), meaning that one should gulp down in a one-tasted manner the various forms.54 What does that gullet gulp down? It is ḍḍha, i.e., the mind, that should be gulped down there. [Mind] is said to both have and lack form, and as both of these are faulty, one should ascertain it, i.e., meditate upon it, by means of both scriptural epistemic authority and reason in the natural clear light that is the nature of the three liberations55 — this is the meaning of ya.56 As for that, there is a commentary on the Vajraḍāka that selects the syllable ya in [the term] ākaḍḍha, but ya is not selected in the root tantra.57
The h of hrīṁ signifies Heruka who pervades all beings, namely art, while the r affix is the “sun,” namely wisdom.58 [The letter] ī is the fourth vowel, which is Heruka’s leftover fourth class.59 The anusvāra is as occurs below.60 Regarding stating it twice, this means that the portion of wisdom is joined to art. Regarding [the syllable] jñauṁ, it seems that it is not selected in the Vajraḍāka, but is selected in the root tantra. [The letter] jña, by means of the method of alliterative etymology, [designates] jñāna, gnosis, while au is the tenth vowel, designating the five sense powers and five sense objects. It is a lunar day, and a classification of aggregates, sense elements, and sense media. It is said that anusvāra designates that everything is experientially unified in the inseparability of emptiness and compassion.
The kaṁ of kṣhmāṁ means bliss. [The letter] sh or ṣh is the experience of that. The gnosis that is the self-awareness of great bliss is kṣha. The letter m, of the fifth palatal class, illustrates the five conceptual imputations of the subject and object. Existing at the end of the palatal class, it reaches the limit of the absence of conceptual imputation. Long ā has the form of bliss. The anusvāra is emptiness. The m serves as the seat of kṣh, which possesses bliss. Therefore, its seat is seminal essence. The kṣh abides on that seat in the manner of the arising of natural bliss. Regarding stating it twice, if beings have the nature of great bliss, but are obscured by taints, then one should recollect [this syllable] with just the thought “Ignorance of reality is exhausted!”
Since the h of haṁ has the nature of two nāda, i.e., sounds, it is joined with the long ā. The relevance of the [letter] h, the lunar day, and the anusvāra is as previously explained. The third vowel, i, of hiṁ, is the realization of discerning gnosis, the third gnosis. The fifth vowel, u, of huṁ, is the nature of the five gnoses. The rest should be known from what has been previously explained.61
Kaṁ, i.e., the k of kili to which an anusvāra has been given, means bliss. [The letters] s and c, [of the expressions sili and cili], are combined or bound together. That is, they are bliss and emptiness inseparably combined. The dhi [of dhili] is the extremely pure intelligence that enjoys non-dual bliss. In the Vajraḍāka there is no hili; it selects cili instead. While the root tantra selects hili, this is acceptable, since it is explained that s and h are combined.62 Since the application of [the vowel] i to the four [consonants], k etc. is explained as meaning “supreme,” and as it seems that the application of [the vowel] i to [the four] [consonants], k and so forth, is also like that, it appears to be appropriate to apply the explanation of the former letters to the [letter] l [that follows them].
The two hu are the portion of art, and the crescent moon and drop (candrabindu) are the portion of wisdom, so huṁ is the inseparability of art and wisdom that unite them. In the context of the explanation of the root [tantra’s] intention in the Vajraḍāka, two huṁ, two phaṭ, and svāhā are joined to the end [of the mantra].63 In the root tantra’s seventh chapter and in this chapter, two huṁ and one phaṭ are applied,64 while the Discourse Appendix applies two hūṁ and two phaṭ.65
Regarding the placement of the entire root mantra at the end of “the section on the messenger” (dūtīkalpa) in ten chapters,66 it is for the sake of knowing the union of bliss and emptiness in reliance upon the messenger. This is explained to be the definitive meaning of the root tantra, as very clearly explained in the explanatory tantras and commentaries. That is, it is seen as the essence of the path.
3.3.3. 2.2.2. 4.1.3. Showing the Name of the Chapter
In the Concise Shrī Herukābhidhāna Tantra, this is the twenty-fifth chapter on the procedure of the secret definitive meaning of the root mantra.67 This is the explanation of the twenty-fifth chapter in the Illumination of the Hidden Meaning, A Detailed Exegesis of the Concise Saṁvara Tantra Called “The Chakrasaṁvara.”
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11. See SN 39b.
12. Tsong Khapa is presumably referring here to the names of the twenty-four heroes and heroines, whose mantras are their names bracketed by oṁ and hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ.
13. This is the text preserved in both in the PM and SL translations; see Gray 2012, 330, 448.
14. Durjayachandra does not specifically say this, but he does state that the seed syllables that terminate the mantra are “that which is hidden” (RG 286b).
15. Tsong Khapa here gives a word by word explanation of the root mantra, which is: oṁ namo bhagavate vīreśāya / mahākalpāgnisannibhāya / jaṭāmakuṭotkaṭāya / daṁṣṭrākarā-lograbhīṣaṇamukhāya / sahasrabhujābhāsurāya / paraśupāśodyataśūlakhaṭvāṅgadhāriṇe / vyāgrājināmbaradharāya / mahādhūmrāndhakāravapuṣāya /. Note that he, in some but not all instances, takes into account the dative terminations of the final terms in the compounds.
16. This presumably refers to the creation stage meditation involving the visualization of vajras marked by the syllables oṁ, āḥ, and hūṁ, described in GT ch. 11; see Matsunaga 1978, 36–37.
17. The term utkaṭa usually means “endowed with” or “abounding in.” However, it could be interpreted as Tsong Khapa does when in compound with jaṭāmakuṭa.
18. Tsong Khapa seems to understand dhāriṇe in reference to khaṭvāṅga only, but clearly the term extends to all of the other implements in the compound as well.
19. Tsong Khapa here reads dhūmbra/dhūmvra, but this is clearly a misreading of dhūmra. This reading seems to derive from the SM translation that Tsong Khapa favors (Gray 2012, 525) as well as Butön (NS 154a). The different editions of the PM translation vary here, with some containing the correct reading while others have various incorrect readings (Gray 2012, 331, n. 1952).
20. The latter interpretation is the correct one. Tsong Khapa here again follows Butön (NS 154a).
21. Tsong Khapa here comments upon the translatable portions of the kara kara mantra. The mantra occurs in the Sanskrit root text as follows: kara kara kuru kuru bandha bandha trāsaya trāsaya kṣobhaya kṣobhaya hrauṁ hrauṁ hraḥ hraḥ pheṁ pheṁ phaṭ phaṭ daha daha paca paca bhakṣa bhakṣa vasarudhirāntramālāvalambine gṛhṇa gṛhṇa sapta-pātālagatabhujaṅgaṁ sarpam vā tarjaya tarjaya ākaḍḍha ākaḍḍha hrīṁ hrīṁ jñauṁ jñauṁ kṣmāṁ kṣmāṁ hāṁ hāṁ hīṁ hīṁ hūṁ hūṁ kili kili sili sili cili cili dhili dhili hūṁ hūṁ.
The transliterations in the Tibetan translation differ from this at several points that will be noted.
22. Tsong Khapa here incorrectly analyzes the compound mālāvalambine as mālāva+lambine, rather than mālā+avalambine, which is the correct analysis, as Butön notes (NS 155a).
23. Tsong Khapa’s reading bhujaṅgāṁ, with its feminine termination, is unattested elsewhere. The Sanskrit sources here read bhujaṅga.
24. Tsong Khapa, following Butön (NS 155b), gives the literal but inaccurate translation lag ’gro. This is inaccurate because here bhujaṁ does not mean “hand,” but rather “bend,” i.e., a snake is an animal that moves by bending its body.
25. Unfortunately, here Tsong Khapa does not follow Butön, who correctly analyzes sarpaṁ as “serpent” and vā as a grammatical particle (NS 155b).
26. Tsong Khapa here refers to the syllable oṁ, which is not coded for in the mantra selection process, but which is called for at the end of CT ch. 7, as well as in the parallel passage in AU (AU 354b).
27. The kara kara mantra occurs twice in AU, and it does not add such augments as Tsong Khapa noted (AU 299b, 352a).
28. HA ch. 3a omits any reference to the augmented syllables at the beginning and end of the mantra. HA and VD both add seed syllables between some of the pairs of reduplicated words (HA 3a, VD 71b–72a).
29. As will become obvious below, Tsong Khapa’s commentary relies on the explanation of the kara kara mantra that occurs in VD ch. 2, which he quotes below. He also relies on Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary on this text, which he widely paraphrases. See VV 25a–29b.
30. Tsong Khapa here paraphrases a passage that occurs at the end of CT ch. 9, commented upon above.
31. Tsong Khapa quotes this passage as: sngon bsags las ni mthar byed pa / me dang bcas te lan gnyis bzlas / ku ru ku ru sems pa bral. This quote occurs as follows in VD ch. 2: sngon bsags las ni mthar byed pa / me dang bcas te lan gnyis bzla / ku ru ku ru sems dpa’ bral (VD 5b.5). I follow Tsong Khapa’s reading of sems pa bral rather than sems dpa’ bral.
32. The pañcānantarīya, which are (1) pitṛghāta, killing one’s father; (2) mātṛghāta, killing one’s mother; (3) arhatghāta, killing an arhat; (4) tathāgatasyāntike duṣṭicittarūdhirotpā-danam, drawing the blood of a tathāgata with an ill intention; (5) saṁghabheda, causing a schism in the saṁgha (Rigzin 1986, 343).
33. That is, the fact that they are combined in a single word rather than appearing as disjointed syllables.
34. This translates Tsong Khapa’s text ’jig rten gzugs dang bral ba yi. The Derge text is corrupt here, reading ’jig rten gzugs rang bral ba yi (VD 5b).
35. Tsong Khapa relates this text as follows: ral pa gya gyu bandha gsal / de ni slar yang bzlas par bya / ’jig rten gzugs dang bral ba yi / trā sa ya zhes bya ba brdzun / dam pa de ni lan gnyis bzla / ka ṣa zhes bya o sgrar ldan / glo na bha ya yang dag gnas / de yang slar ni bzlas par bya.
It occurs as follows in VD ch. 2: ral pa gya gyu ban dha gsal / de ni slar yang bzlas par bya / ’jig rten gzugs rang bral ba yi / trā sa ya zhes bya ste brdzun / dam pa de ni lan gnyis bzla / kṣa zhes bya ba o sgrar ldan / glo na bha ya yang dag gnas / de yang slar ni bzlas par bya (VD 5b.5–6).
36. These are (1) unpleasant, disagreeable, and (2) false. Tsong Khapa transliterates the term incorrectly, as alika.
37. The term alīka does not mean “beast.” Tsong Khapa seems to have gotten this idea from Bhavabhaṭṭa’s VV commentary, which reads, “False refers to the vowels and consonants (ālikāli). If taken in terms of ‘beast,’ then trāsaya means ‘terrify the beastly, foolish men.’” (VV 26a.4: brdzun pa ni ā li kā li ste / phyugs la bya la phyugs dang ’dra ba’i skye bo blun po rnams tra say a ste skrag par gyis shig pa’) It seems likely that Bhavabhaṭṭa’s text is mistranslated or corrupt here; alīka may have been misconstrued as ālikāli.
38. I am not sure why the metaphors switch here. Tsong Khapa closely follows Bhavabhaṭṭa’s text at VV 26b.
39. Tsong Khapa is here directly drawing from Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary (VV 26b). Neither author identifies which scriptural sources are being referred to here.
40. Here I read rigs pa, following Bhavabhaṭṭa’s text quoted below, rather than the rig pa of Tsong Khapa’s text. The correct reading rigs pa occurs later in Tsong Khapa’s text as well.
41. The quotation occurs in Bhavabhaṭṭa’s text. The source is not indicated. It occurs as follows: rigs pas rnam par dpyad cing bdar na bzung ba la sogs pa’i srid pa’i zhags pa zad par ’gyur zhes bya ba’i don to (VV 26b.5).
42. This quotation occurs in VD ch. 2 as follows: sa yi mtha’ ni nyi stan gnas / mda’ bcu zla dum thig les dgang / de yang slar ni brjod par bya / ’od byed sbyangs pa sa yi mtha’ / gshegs su gsol ba glo na gnas / nyis ’gyur du ni bya ba yin (VD 5b.6–7).
43. Tsong Khapa here writes bāna, although the Sanskrit for “arrow” is actually bāṇa. The term vāna can mean forest, but the Tibetan script does not distinguish between the Sanskrit letters b and v.
44. These are, presumably, the four long vowels, ā, ī, ū, and long ṛ, but they may be the four retroflex and dental vowels, even though long ḷ does not actually occur in Sanskrit.
45. Tsong Khapa here is not following the text of VD as is preserved in the Kangyur and as he quoted it above, which reads zla du, “on the moon,” here. Instead, he follows Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary, which reflects a textual variant here, dum bu or khaṇḍa (VV 26b, 27a).
46. These are the tsheg drag gnyis, the two “dots” that graphically represent the visarga in Sanskrit. For Tsong Khapa, these symbolize the male and female seminal essences.
47. The canonical version of the VD ch. 2 reads: zla zhon thig gsal phe zhes bya / de yang slar ni bzlas par bya (VD 5b.7).
48. VD here reads zla zhon, but this is corrected to zla gzhon by Tsong Khapa and Bhavabhaṭṭa (VV 27a).
49. This concludes a long paraphrase from Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary. See VV 27ab.
50. This is an expansion of the text at VD 5b.7: rnam par rtog pa kun gyi shing / da ha da ha mkha’ ’gro’i sdom.
51. That is, vasarudhirāntramālāvalambine.
52. That is, saptapātālagatabhujaṅgaṁ sarpam vā.
53. Tsong Khapa’s text follows Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary (VV 28a) in giving the (presumably) incorrect transliteration akara, followed by the translation, rnam pa.
54. Tsong Khapa here expands upon Bhavabhaṭṭa’s gloss of a as akara and ka as mid pa (VV 28a.3). His comment involves a pun on the Tibetan word mid pa, which as a noun means “throat,” and as a verb “gulp down, swallow.”
55. These are the three vimokṣamukha, namely emptiness (śūnyatā), signlessness (animittatā), and wishlessness (apraṇihitatā). See Thurman 1976, 148.
56. Tsong Khapa here very concisely summarizes Bhavabhaṭṭa’s longer commentary at VV 28a.
57. Tsong Khapa is correct that CT reads here ākaḍḍha. VD is cryptic here (6b), but Bhavabhaṭṭa does interpret it as coding ākaḍḍhya rather than ākaḍḍha (VV 28a).
58. The h is coded in VD as “the end of s,” while the r is coded as “sun” (VD 6a). Tsong Khapa here follows Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary (VV 28b).
59. This, presumably, is a reference to Kambala’s association of Heruka with the fourth or shūdra social class, discussed above in the context of chapter 16. See SN 35a.
60. That is, as Tsong Khapa explains with respect to the syllable kṣhmāṁ below.
61. That is, the meaning of the letter h etc.
62. The Sanskrit text of CT, like VD, reads cili cili (Gray 2012, 149), and this is supported by Bhavabhaṭṭa’s commentary (Pandey 2002, 58), which reads cili cili. The Tibetan translation reads hili hili, following the AU reading.
63. CT reads only hūṁ hūṁ (not huṁ huṁ) and omits phaṭ phaṭ svāhā. VD does code huṁ and adds phaṭ as well (VD 6a). Bhavabhaṭṭa reads hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā here (VV 29b).
64. Both Tibetan translations read hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ here (PM 230b and SL 118b).
65. AU reads hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ in the context of chapter 57 (AU 352a).
66. This refers to the ten chapters from chapter 14 through chapter 24, all of which deal with the classes of female practitioners and the methods for identifying them and communicating with them.
67. The Sanskrit title for this chapter of the root tantra, preserved by Bhavabhaṭṭa, reads, “The Procedure of Completely Hiding the Root Mantra,” mūlamantrasarvagopyavidhi (Pandey 2002, 131). This corresponds exactly to the SL title, rtsa ba’i sngags thams cad sbas pa’i cho ga (Gray 2012, 449), but the PM and SM translations’ title, which Tsong Khapa follows, is a bit different, reading “The Procedure of the Secret of the Root Mantra,” rtsa ba’i sngags kyi gsang ba’i cho ga (Gray 2012, 332, 526).