Once when young Rāhulabhadra had gone to Rājagṛha to receive alms, he went to the Veṇuvana grove, and there descended into a long pond to wash his alms bowl. While there, he, the son of Yaśodharā, was mistaken for a white ascetic and so was pulled into the pond. At that time the young Rāhulabhadra recited this spell. No sooner had he recited the mantra than—just like someone emerging from his house—he arrived in the presence of the Blessed One.

Having approached the Lord, he said, “Father, I have seen the power of the secret mantra which you have granted.”

The Blessed One asked, “Where have you seen that?”

“In the presence of the nāgas. Therefore, I request that the Blessed One teach this mantra, so that other beings too may be protected by it.”

So then, at that very time and on that occasion, the Lord dispatched Vajrapāṇi, and benevolently granted this mantra and this manual of instruction to the listeners and the bodhisattvas, to the monks and nuns, and to the male and female lay practitioners. Therefore, children of noble family, one who creates a sandalwood maṇḍala and reads this mantra and this manual of instructions will not be harmed by poison, will not die from poison, and will have no fear of boils, eczema, leprosy, disease, nāgas, snakes, tigers and other beasts of prey, weapons, enemies, poverty, or untimely death. None of these will occur.

In order to protect the Teachings, the Lord granted Mahākāla the demoness Hārītī, whom he had nourished from his own alms bowl. She, however, was lacking in fortune because of her former bad deeds. She was not agreeable to Mahākāla, and so he did not stay with her, did not love her, and did not protect the Teachings either. She therefore became depressed, and in order to enthrall Mahākāla this Kurukullā compendium was taught. From then on, her fortune became vast and excellent. For that reason, children of noble family, if you wish to enthrall sentient beings you should familiarize yourselves with this mantra and this manual of instructions.

It also came to pass that Sunanda’s son was born handsome and good looking, athletic and in possession of auspicious marks, and yet nevertheless dull-witted.

Sunanda therefore said to the Blessed One, “O Lord, my son was born handsome and good looking, athletic and in possession of auspicious marks, and yet nevertheless dull-witted. How, O Lord, may he develop insight? Lord, if this child becomes literate he shall become a protector of your doctrine.”

Upon hearing this, the Blessed One, with words preceded by mindfulness, spoke this manual of practice and gave this mantra. As soon as he had done so, Sunanda’s son, Rohiṇīkumāra by name, acquired insight. By the twelfth year he was free from being intimidated by any of the treatises, as he was thoroughly acquainted with all of the crafts and arts. Therefore, children of noble family, in order to accumulate great insight, you should study this very mantra and its manual of practice.

Then the Blessed One spoke of the magical power of sky travel:

“Mercury free from the mountain defect One should properly obtain, Place in a vajra hollow, And grind with the world-protector.

“Again, one should grind with dharmarasa, With yavatiktikā, And the juice of ākhukarṇī For a period of three days.

“The sap of vandhyā and kākolī, The sap of bhāskara and vajra, The juice of aviddhaśravaṇa, And breast milk—with these it should be blended.

“Having washed this mercury Seven times with acidulated rice water, One should grind it, put it in an iron pot, And cook it in a lump of vṛddhadāraka dough.

“A lump of kanaka flowers One should certainly spin on the top and the bottom. When the root mantra has been recited one hundred thousand times, The mercury will revolve clockwise.

“Upon that which is infused with the sun of sulfur One should recite the mantra, And in an iron pot placed over fire Pour a little through the method of pulverization.

“When the sulphur has melted slightly, Sky-leaf is infused and smelted; Thereafter, subsequently gold And mākṣika is infused.

“Then, silver and copper should be infused, And, similarly, iron five times. Everything else should be infused six times. It will then become equal to the light of the sun.

“With one guñja of this, An experienced person will transform a great quantity. If a pala can be transformed with māṣā, It should be known that the mercury has been perfected.

“Kept together with meṣaśṛṅgī, The vajra should be killed with the sap of snuhī. The bodily products of a female musk shrew Are to be infused into the perfected mercury.

“When this has mingled with the mercury, Emeralds and so forth are also to be infused. The Kurukullā yogin Should dissolve a pearl on account of the eye;

“Taking always just a small amount He will take pleasure with a hundred women. With just seven nights of practice The adept will be flying through the sky.

“This is the tantra on the use of mercury for journeying in the sky.

“Taking a ball of lead, One places it in a vessel with bakula seeds. Having placed it in a vessel with the blood-dripping kañcu, One places it in a red earthen vessel.

“Together with mercury The lead will undoubtedly die. It is mixed with one pala-measure And afterward with sixty palas.

“As one practices, correspondingly, A lump of silver will be produced. As Tārā grants the accomplishment of silver One is able to benefit sentient beings. With the welfare of sentient beings comes the accumulation of merit, And from that accumulation, complete enlightenment.

“This is the tantra on silver practices.

“Nīlakroṇṇa flower, as has been explained, Is known as the blue citraka. For a month, the yogin should drink this with milk; His life will extend for one thousand years.

“Having obtained the black through the speech of the mantra, The yogin should place it in a bamboo vessel. If he practices on the eighth day of the lunar month, He will live for as long as the sun, moon, and stars.

“Having obtained honey and turmeric, One should mix it with milk, and drink it. One’s lifespan will without doubt Be equal to that of the priests of Brahmā.

“Likewise, having obtained the banana-like Fruit of the banyan tree, Wherever that may be, If on a day of fasting One mixes this with milk and drinks it, One will be free from white hair and wrinkles.

“This is the tantra on essence extraction.

“While observing the practices, the one who desires a son Should drink milk with the flowers of the baka tree. If his spouse drinks this while fasting, They will receive a fortunate son.

“With this mantra, the vacā fruit should be mashed And mixed with milk. When a fasting lady drinks this, She will gain a son with the characteristics of a king.

“She who, having washed with milk, drinks the root of lakṣaṇākṣa Will obtain a fine son. Resembling Siddhārtha, with perfect physique, He will be undaunted by weapons and treatises.

“Having uprooted the jalaśītalā plant, Or having obtained its root, One consecrates it seven times with the mantra and binds it to the hair. For one year this will prevent infectious disease.

“When, having obtained the root of kanaka, The yogin places it in the hair of someone Who suffers from the quartan fever, That person will be relieved from his plagues.

“Brick, smoke, wine, acidulated rice water, Along with the essence of the double-ra-king, Should be placed on a copper plate and blended with the milk of a woman. When applied to the eye it will cure diseases of the eye.

“Having pulled out the root of a white uccaṭa plant, One consecrates it with fifty recitations of the mantra. Drinking it with milk, as much as one likes, Will render the fine mark of a powerful man fit.

“That which is well known as nagasala Generates, when mixed with milk, The male organ’s power to produce plentiful offspring Subsequent to fifty recitations of the mantra.

“Orpiment of bovine origin, tongue of a toothless man, And the roots of nṛparāja—when the moon is in the Śubha asterism, A tilaka should be drawn on the forehead with it. Upon sight, the tilaka will enthrall the triple world.

“Having obtained a dead body’s eyes, heart, and tongue, Forehead, and likewise nose, When the moon is in the eighth lunar mansion, Frying these in sesame oil will make one the enthraller of people.

“The eye unguent of the king of snakes, The remedy of bad eyes, the blood known as “the flower”— If such medicine is applied to one’s eyes It will seduce the king’s queen.

“If, having recited the mantra fifty times, one places one’s foot on the ground In pursuit of treasure within it, And the foot thus put down then vibrates, It should be understood that a treasure is present there.

“If the upper part of the foot twitches, it is nearby; If it is the sole that twitches, it is far away. Relying first on hearsay, The knowledge holder should look downward every day.

“Whoever applies the excrement of the musk shrew Together with bdellium will, merely by doing so, Stay clear of mad elephants And emerge delightfully.

“If the milk of an entirely black bitch, Having been churned, yielding fresh butter, Is applied to shoes made of camel hide, Then wearing those will make one walk on water.

“When the thorns of yellow saṃkuca are gathered And hidden in the wilderness home, If the wine is broken, and then it is taken out, That one will become truly excellent.

“If the fire that burns a potter’s wares Is fed with a log struck by lightning It will not burn, Yet if sprinkled with alcohol it blazes again.

“Reciting the mantra, taught before, upon the stock, And so teaching the consecration through mantra to merchants, The yogin accomplishes the sales And the merchants win great profit.

“If in a vessel for wine Monkey feces have entered, The wine and the vessel are ruined. Washing with bakula will render it usable.

“If washed with bakula water, The baby will be cared for by the nanny. So too, through bhūtakeśa incense, The saffron-robed will be healed.

“If a child vomits breast-milk The ashes of burnt peacock feathers Should be bound to its neck; Through this supreme method it will be healed again.

“When the ritual of yadakabaka Is inscribed on a piece of lead And kept inside the mouth One will escape weapons, bondage, and enmity.

“Possessing the letters kṣa, ma, ra, and ya, All the letters are adorned with e. At the end of the authentic kabaka, The four eggs and the three measures are each given two.

“Daṇḍotpala, śarapuṅkha, Nicula, and girikarṇikā— Having washed it seven times with the juice of these, The wise should write on a tablet of lead.

“Yokes, shackles, prisons, The rain of weapons on the battlefield, And also anger—these are definitively crushed Through the perfection of this great tantra.

“The one who writes this king of mantras, Makes a spell of it, and wears it on the upper arm Will become the equal of lord Kubera, And attain treasures that cannot be taken away by others.

“Oṁ kurukulle svāhā— When this is attached to the alms bowl During a time of famine, The mendicant will receive donations.

“When the outer skin of an utpala stalk Is washed with milk and drunk by a woman She will, by her own actions, Certainly maintain her pregnant womb.

“The five products of the māgadha, When a woman grinds them and drinks them with milk, The great power of this mantra Will bring her ease in childbirth.

“Having ground a nimbavāruṇa leaf And mixed it with the juice of vajra, If a woman rubs this on her vagina at the time of birth She will give birth with ease.

“Elephant-māgadhikā with sweet flag, Horse-smell, and fresh buffalo butter— The method involving vālā Promotes the vitality of the breasts.

“A person who enjoys every type of food And who drinks water through his nose Prevents premature graying of the hair By the application of the mantra.

“The root of avasanikā, Kākamācī, and kanaka fruits Ground with the sap of the camphor tree— Applying this to the best part of the body will make tight women drip.

“If at the time of intercourse a woman does not drip She will not respect her husband, but want to leave. So there is a wish for the gift of binding. For the sake of dripping this ointment is applied.

“If at the time of sexual union A lamp with lard is lit, A man’s desire comes quickly And he will remain in the vagina for long.

“When a house is set ablaze by lightning, If a man sprinkles wine by means of the mantra The fire will die out. This method was taught by the Protector of the World.”

Thus spoke the protector of sentient beings confined within saṃsāra, The Protector of the World. Upon Mount Potala, the king of mountains, The Blessed One was pained by the pain of others.

“There is nothing at all that is not buddhahood. For the sake of accomplishing the benefit of beings There is nothing that has not been done before. That which has degenerated, I intend to restore.”

When the Blessed One, noble Avalokiteśvara, had spoken these words, the entire retinue, and the whole world with its gods, humans, demigods, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

The translation was prepared, edited, and established by the Indian preceptor, Kṛṣnapaṇḍita, and the lotsāwa monk, Tsültrim Gyalwa.