The name of a particular absorption.

Lit. “Not Disturbed” or “Immovable One.” The buddha in the eastern realm of Abhirati. A well-known buddha in Mahāyāna, regarded in the higher tantras as the head of one of the five buddha families, the vajra family in the east.

The name of an Indian preceptor and abbot of the Vajrāsana at Bodhgayā who lived sometime in the eleventh–twelfth century and was responsible for translating a large number of works found in the various recensions of the Tengyur.

A class of malevolent spirit beings.

The name of the great southeastern charnel ground.

An epithet for the deity Mahākāla.

A term for the Mahākāla practice (sgrub thabs, sādhana).

The exact identification of these substances is not explicitly stated in The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla. The Suśrutasaṁhitā refers to seven “bodily essences” (Skt. sāra). These are vital fluid (Skt. sattva, perhaps signifying the amniotic fluid), semen (Skt. śukra), marrow (Skt. majjan), bone (Skt. asthi), lymph (Skt. medas), flesh (Skt. māṃsa), and blood (Skt. rakta). It is entirely possible, however, that these “bodily essences” correspond to the various bodily fluids that often accompany offerings of the five types of meat in the performance and maintenance of samaya.

An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.

A term for the ritual that is performed at the conclusion of a rite, most often in the form of a fire offering (homa, sbyin sreg).

A command that appears in the Mahākāla mantra. The bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo notes that this is the equivalent of the syllable dzaH (Skt. jaḥ) and that it is a type of attracting mantra syllable (dzaH zer ba ste drag las skabs kyi dgug sngags gras shig).

A hand-held double-sided drum.

A term for the forehead mark worn by the protector deity Mahākāla.

This term refers to rites to enhance the performance of specific ritual action when the initial attempt has failed or when one has not received any clear sign that the ritual was successful.

A form of the deity Hayagrīva.

One of the four immeasurables.

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahā­rājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).

The meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra). In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa‍—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”‍—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).

The name of a vināyaka who is present in the charnel ground palace where this tantra begins.

An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.

A term for the imperative commands that appear in a mantra.

The name of a sandalwood grove in the charnel ground Aṭṭahāsa.

An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.

The name of a particular type of mantra.

An article of clothing that is commonly associated with the deity Mahākāla as well as a number of wrathful forms of Buddhist tantric deities.

Mahākāla is a wrathful Buddhist protector deity. In Tibetan, the name Mahākāla was mostly translated literally with nag po chen po (“Great Black One”) but on occasion it was rendered mgon po nag po (“Black Lord”). In Toh 440, for which the Sanskrit is extant, we have an attested example of this. Hence we have rendered both Tibetan terms in this text as Mahākāla. Outside the Buddhist tradition, Mahākāla is also a name for a wrathful form of Śiva.

An epithet for the deity Mahākāla.

In the eight-chapter of The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla (Toh 667), this ritual includes washing off the painting and other ritual implements one has used in the performance of a killing rite.

The name of a Tibetan translator who lived during the eleventh century.

A term for the substances that are used for casting mantras and performing a number of ritual actions directed at a particular target.

A ritual that is performed to bring hail down on an enemy’s lands or country.

A term for the substances that are offered to a deity as part of the propitiator’s fulfillment of the samaya vow.

gdug pa’i shing is an alternate spelling for the Tibetan bdug pa’i shing, which translates the Sanskrit dhūpavṛkṣa‍—one of many names for the sarala pine or Pinus roxburghii, but the literal meaning of this term (“a tree that gives off aromatic smoke”) might apply to a number of different trees such as juniper, which is commonly used in Tibetan smoke offering rites.

A term that appears in mantras to indicate where the practitioner should insert the name of the target of the rite. The term is often translated into Tibetan as che ge mo.

A stone that is said to be tied to the life essence and vitality of a particular being, and can thus act as an iconic representation of that being’s life essence and vitality in the performance of a rite.

The name of a work in the various recensions of the Kangyur detailing a number of rites for the deity Mahākāla.

The exact identity of these three is unclear and may in fact change from one ritual to the next.

The exact identity of these three is unclear and may in fact change from one ritual to the next.

The exact identity of these three is unclear and may in fact change from one ritual to the next.

The Sanskrit kirāta can refer to a specific tribe, but it can also signify any “tribal” people.

A term for a “leader” of any group of beings, such as a teacher or guru, or a term signifying any being who “removes” obstacles.

The name of the great king who presides over the western direction.

This likely refers to the world system of the Buddha Amitābha, Sukhāvatī. Hayagrīva, referred to here as the “King of Horses,” is a member of the lotus family and the wrathful emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.

An epithet for the deity Hayagrīva.

A command that appears in the Mahākāla mantra. Half of this command is in Sanskrit and half is in Tibetan. The Sanskrit term amuka (Tib. che ge mo) means “such and such a person or thing.”