Introduction
i.1This scripture is a praise to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Each of the eight maidens indicated by the title may be inferred as each speaking a different verse, together providing a range of perspectives. These figures do not themselves appear in the body of the text, which lacks an introductory narrative. The first two verses are praises of Mañjuśrī’s radiance. The third verse praises the glittering jewels of his uṣṇīṣa, the fourth his ambrosial voice, the fifth his purifying agency, the sixth his fearsome appearance and manner, the seventh his beatific visage, and the eighth verse concludes the encomium with a presentation of immense offerings. While the text is relatively straightforward in its description of Mañjuśrī’s physical and metaphysical attributes, it has several striking turns of phrase that present his features as indicative of the teachings themselves, which serve to inform devotional practice.
i.1這部經文是對菩薩文殊菩薩的讚頌。標題中所指的八位少女可推斷為各自誦說一首詩偈，共同呈現多角度的視點。這些人物本身並未出現在正文中，而正文也缺乏介紹性的敘事。前兩首詩偈讚美文殊菩薩的光輝。第三首詩偈讚頌他肉髻上閃耀的寶珠，第四首讚其甘露般的聲音，第五首讚其淨化的作用，第六首讚其威猛的形象和舉止，第七首讚其慈祥的容顏，第八首詩偈以呈現廣大供品來總結讚文。雖然這部經文在描述文殊菩薩的物質和超越性特質時相對直接，但它具有多個引人注目的措辭轉折，將他的特徵呈現為教法本身的標誌，這些內容用以指導虔敬的修習。
i.2This popular praise appears twice in the Tengyur in the works of Saṃvarabhadra. The opening verse appears in his A Ritual for Offering a Maṇḍala (Maṇḍalavidhi, Toh 2121), and the scripture in its entirety is found in his A Sādhana of “Reciting the Names of Mañjuśrī” (Āryamañjuśrīnāmasaṅgītisādhana, Toh 2108). The opening verse has also been cited by prominent masters from all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and continues to be found in prayer liturgies memorized and recited by monastics to this day.
i.2這部受歡迎的讚文在《丹珠爾》中出現了兩次，都在三昧跋陀羅的著作中。開頭的偈頌出現在他的《曼荼羅儀軌》（Toh 2121）中，整部經文則見於他的《文殊菩薩名號念誦成就法》（Toh 2108）。開頭偈頌也曾被藏傳佛教各大派系的傑出上師引用，時至今日仍然出現在僧人們背誦和念誦的祈禱儀軌中。
i.3The text’s absence from the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial catalogs suggests that it was translated into Tibetan later than the beginning of the ninth century ᴄᴇ, but before the flourishing of the scholar Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364), who listed its title in his History of Buddhism. The Tibetan translation lacks both a Sanskrit title and a colophon, so we have no information regarding its origin, transmission history, or translation into Tibetan. It also appears that the text was never translated into Chinese.
i.3該文獻未出現在頓加目錄和帕唐瑪目錄中，這表明它被翻譯成藏文的時間晚於九世紀初，但早於學者布敦仁欽珠（1290–1364年）的興盛時期。布敦仁欽珠在他的《佛教史》中列出了該經的標題。藏文譯本既缺乏梵文標題，也沒有翻譯後記，因此我們沒有任何關於其來源、傳承歷史或藏文翻譯的資訊。該文獻似乎也從未被翻譯成中文。
i.4This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur version (Toh 552) in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), with all major divergences recorded in the notes.
i.4本英文譯本以德格甘珠爾版本（Toh 552）為基礎，參考《對勘版》（dpe bsdur ma）中記錄的異讀本，所有主要差異均詳見註釋。