Notes

n.1Although the Tibetan title literally translates into English as “The Verses of Nāga King Drumbeat,” we have decided to translate the title as The Verses of Nāga King Drum for the following reasons: First, the nāga Drumbeat (Tib. rnga sgra) is not the main protagonist of the sūtra, nor is he said to be a king. Second, the verses of advice that make up the bulk of the sūtra are spoken by Drum, not Drumbeat. Third, the transliterated Sanskrit title that is included in the Tibetan translation names the king Bherī, which in Sanskrit means “kettledrum.”

n.2ldan dkar ma, Degé Tengyur, vol. 206, folio 301.a. See also Herrmann-Pfandt (2008), 159.

n.3dkar chag ’phang thang ma (2003), 22.

n.4Translated according to the reading in the Stok Palace and Shey Kangyurs, rnyed pa dka’, which seems to make most sense. The Degé, Lithang, and other Kangyurs have rnyed pa dga’, while the Peking (Qianlong) has rnyed pa dkar.

n.5This verse only has three lines.