Notes

n.1Hidas (2019), pp. 11–18. The fact that the mantras and vidyāmantras contained in these texts comprise, as far as this can be judged on the basis of the transliterations preserved in the Tibetan translations, forms of Middle Indic dialect, further supports the hypothesis that these spells originated in a pan-Indian cultural milieu.

n.2The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] (Lohatuṇḍa­dhāraṇī, Toh 761).

n.3Sarvābhaya­pradā­dhāraṇī (Toh 609/925).

n.4It is possible that dran pa (“recollection”) should be emended to drag pa (“wrathful”), which would accord with the latter half of the text and with Toh 761. Nevertheless, we did not find such a variant attested in any of the consulted editions which would support this reading and, thus, we have translated as it appears in the text. Alternatively to the above translation, one may also translate this passage as “Blessed One, please bestow a teaching to keep in mind.”

n.5The translation of smad lnga is tentative. This line would appear to be the only place where the term appears in the Kangyur. The term smad lnga also appears in the Pawo Tsuklak Trengwa’s A Feast for Scholars (mkhas pa’i dga’ ston) in a similar context of making thunderbolts shower down upon one’s enemies.

n.6The meaning of ’bar li ti is uncertain. We have rendered it as “black mustard seeds,” given the parallels with Toh 761.

n.7Reading the addition of sa ya (“million”) from H, N, and S.