Notes

n.1See for example the story of Suvarṇāvabhāsa told in The Chapter on Medicines (Toh 1–6), the chapter of the Vinayavastu dealing with medicines, and the longer version given in the Mahā­māyūrīvidyā­rājñī (Toh 559), a text that presents an incantation to be used in the case of poisoning.

n.2Denkarma, folio 298.b.4-5. The Denkarma catalog is dated to c. 812 ᴄᴇ. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, 87, no. 160.

n.3“Brahmins” is listed twice in all the Tibetan versions that were consulted.

n.4This paragraph preserves a stock passage found in many sūtras and which can thus be compared with extant Pali and Sanskrit sources. The precise syntax of the passage was lost in the Tibetan translation, and thus the English translation here is influenced by consultation with Pali sources, and it deviates slightly from the syntax preserved in the Tibetan text.

n.5Based on the context, it is likely that the term mantra is meant to refer to Vedic hymns or formulas, not the mantras of esoteric Buddhism or other tantric traditions.

n.6It is not clear from this passage who precisely the “deceitful brahmin maiden” is. As with the rest of the correlations, this is meant to be a figure from other tales of the Buddha’s life, but she has not been definitively identified.

n.7The meaning of this line is unclear; thus the translation is tentative.

n.8As above, the term mantra most likely refers to Vedic verses or formulas, not the mantras of esoteric traditions.