At that time Vajrapāṇi, the lord of guhyakas, looked at the entire great assembly and addressed all the hosts of beings seated [in the space] above the realm of the Pure Abode:

“Listen, honorable friends! For a start I will teach the painting procedure of Lord of Wrath Yamāntaka—one of infinite power and courage, the tamer of those difficult to tame, one who terminates the life of Vaivasvata, a great bodhisattva devoted to restraining wicked beings—the procedure that was taught by Mañjuśrī.

“There are no restrictions regarding The lunar day, the asterism, or fasting injunctions. One should commission this painting Whenever one is afraid of enemies.

“One should obtain, on the fourteenth Or the eighth day of the dark fortnight, At night, in a charnel ground, A clothing item from a dead brahmin.

“One should take it at night, Dye it red with blood, Wash it in water again and again, And then dry it thoroughly.

“One should commission a cruel and angry painter To paint in a manner that is terrifying, In a charnel ground, during the dark fortnight, And have it completed within three nights.

“On the night of the eighth or the fourteenth lunar day, By the light of a lamp fed by human fat, The painter should stay put right there, Always facing the south.

“He should be sitting on a human skull, Have the protection ritual performed, and be focused. Alternatively, the mantra practitioner can do the painting himself, If he is tormented by the fear and suffering caused by enemies.

“In the course of the first night, The enemies will be seized with great fear. On the second night, they will be, in addition, Seized by a great fever and fall into a swoon.

“On the third night, they will breathe their last And proceed to the next world. How could they ever experience peace When the mantra practitioner is displeased?

“The enemies’ bodies will wither And their houses fall into ruin As the result of drawing a picture Of the terrifying Yamāntaka in this way:

“He should be drawn with six faces and six feet, Black in color, with a ‘wolf’s belly,’ Wearing a garland of skulls, angry, Wearing a tiger skin,

“Terrifying with his various weapons, With a staff in his hand, inspiring fear, With eyes red with rage, And distinguished by his three eyes.

“His blazing hair flows upward, With smoke-colored strands here and there. He is black as collyrium, terrifying, And dark as a monsoon cloud.

“One should draw him mounted on a buffalo And resembling, in form, the god of death, Vicious in his actions, extremely terrifying, And a fierce and vehement killer.

“He terminates the life of Yama And is ready to kill living beings. Exceedingly cruel in his actions, He is most terrible and terrifying.

“This bringer of death to all embodied beings Strikes fear and panic into fear itself. One should draw the supremely wrathful one Using paints made from one’s own blood.

“The paints should be of bright and varied [colors], Mixed with human fat and cow products. They should be in containers made of skulls, Secured with [pieces of] human bone.

“One should use brushes Skillfully made from the hair of a corpse. Whether the painting is done by oneself or a painter, It must be executed while fasting.

“One should [thus] make the best of paintings, Offering worship at the beginning, halfway through, and at the end [of the work], [Which should consists of] copious bali offerings of flowers and so forth, Red chaplets, and prime quality sandalwood. One should burn incense of human flesh and fat And adorn [the working place] with lamps [fed] with [human] fat.

“When the painting is finished, One should pay the artist— Always a big amount, Or whatever he will be happy with. Since his Dharma work is fraught with great danger, It should be made worthwhile for him.

“In short, one should pay a generous amount, Whatever the craftsman may desire. As the artist’s work will produce results, One should avoid underpayment.

“He should be employed on terms That he finds wholly satisfactory. A protection ritual must also be performed, Otherwise he will die.

“[As] the artisan would perish with his household, He too must protect himself. He must do the work after reciting the vidyā, And the procedure should not be disclosed to others.

“Once the painting is fully completed And one sees that it is as had been envisaged, One can perform all the cruel rites That destroy one’s enemies.

“Taking this best of paintings, One should go to a place of one’s liking. [One can target with the ritual] kings backed by powerful vassals, Or those who are arrogant on account of their great wealth,

“Proud in the extreme, Cruel and given to cruel pursuits, Or committing offenses against the Three Jewels. Also, the nihilists who reject the mantras, Those who do not worship the mantra [deities], Or those who censure the devotees who take refuge in these [deities].

“Particularly humiliated will be those Who insult mantra reciters. One can target them, Following the prescribed procedure.

“The rite that instantly arrests the life force Can likewise be employed Against those who always act contrarily to the Dharma And oppress each and every living creature.

“One should obtain the fruit, Leaves, bark, and root of soapberry And combine them with kāñjika, tamarind, And powdered human bone.

“[One should add] white mustard oil, some poison, Vinegar, fresh ginger, and brown mustard And blend [everything] with blood Of human origin.

“One should take this entire preparation, Set up the painting in a secluded place, And position oneself to face south, With the painting facing north.

“One should prepare the fire pit as one likes And make it blaze using bundles of straw And dry sticks that produce acrid [smoke]. Fully focused, one should offer The entire preparation into the fire pit Following the procedure prescribed for homa.

“One should summon the [god of] fire With the mantra of Lord of Wrath. For all the rites of this ritual, One should display the spear mudrā.

“One should angrily offer into the fire pit One thousand and eight oblations. At the first junction [of the night], The [target’s] son will die;

“At the second junction, the [target’s] wife Along with his retinue and the senior staff; And at the third, the person Against whom the rite was performed.

“If one recites at midnight, Close to the painting, With the intention to kill one’s enemies, This will happen just so.

“The [target’s] kingdom will be ruined— A plague will arise in his army, And there will be wildfires, hurricanes, Heavy rains, and floods.

“The [target’s] entire army will be Completely destroyed by another army. Various misfortunes will befall him, And he will be stricken with great illness.

“The entire body of that king Will wither, there is no doubt about this, And his whole household will be haunted And troubled by nonhuman beings.

“He will find no rest in bed And will pace in circles on the ground. His house will be overrun By rākṣasas, pretas, and kravyādas.

“He will always be troubled and afraid And tormented by acute suffering. Maheśvara and other earthly deities Will not be able to protect him,

“Nor will the world protectors—Brahmā and so forth; Or the thirty-three gods—Śakra and so forth; Or any mantras or deities In the whole world.

“The life of a person who is evil, cruel, and haughty Will be brought to an end. If the mantra is recited At midnight or at midday, The angry Vaivasvata will appear As Yamarāja before [such a person].

“During the dark fortnight, whenever convenient, One should prop up the painting on the ground And perform a big pūjā along with bali offerings. This should be in a charnel ground, in a forest,

“By a solitary tree or a śivaliṅga, On top of a mountain, or in a cave. One should always perform [this rite] Alone, without a companion,

“While staying in a lonely place in a great forest, A vacant temple or shrine, At a river, Or on the shore of an ocean.

“One should always do the ritual Staying in or near such places, Or anywhere one wants within the radius Of one hundred leagues [from the target].

“One should always perform these rites Following the rules and staying pure. There are countless locations where one may stay And infinite number of pure places.

“Within the inconceivable domain of mantras, The range of mantra [activity] is inconceivable. The power of mantras is inconceivable, The accomplishment of reciters is inconceivable, The activity appears to be inconceivable, And the result is also inconceivable.

“Inconceivable is the activity Of Lord of Wrath Yamāntaka, the great being. Inconceivable, too, is the range of his power And his great display of miracles. Inconceivable is the accomplishment of reciters Of his mantra observed here on earth.

“All the bodhisattvas, with their great powers, Would not be able to protect the target; How then would worldly mantra deities, Along with the grahas and mātṛs, protect him?

“Neither Īśāna nor Viṣṇu; Nor Skanda or Purandara; Nor those who are bound by samaya, Including the victorious ones and their sons;

“Nor the eminent bodhisattvas Who abide on the ten levels; Nor the pratyeka­buddhas and arhats, Free from passion and possessed of great powers Would be able to protect [the target], Even though they formerly took the samaya.

“I will briefly explain. Listen, those of you who desire prosperity! When the reciter is not pleased, No being can escape him; How could such a being find peace, If the reciter of this supreme mantra is not happy?

“If, on the other hand, the reciter Of the great Lord of Wrath Yamāntaka Is kindly disposed in his mind Or tender with compassion, Then such being will obtain peace and stability And will remain alive.

“[One should combine] neem, White mustard, kāñjika, the five poisons, Human blood, flesh, Salt, the three pungent substances,

“Brown mustard, powdered conch, Vinegar, fresh ginger, The root of devil’s trumpet, The root of ribbed gourd,

“The root of the castor-oil plant, barley potash, Safflower, devil’s thorn, The root of madana, Garlic, gṛñjanaka,

“Dhak tree, śākhoṭaka tree, Onion, and grain beer. Having blended all these [ingredients], one should offer [The mixture] into the fire, near to the painting.

“When one has offered one thousand and eight homas, The enemies will be destroyed, root and branch— One will destroy all of them Along with their sons, daughters, and retinues.

“If one performs the homa at the second junction, They will be completely uprooted. If the reciter performs the homa When the third junction has arrived,

“A famine will strike the target And his townsfolk. There will be droughts and many deaths, With rākṣasas pullulating everywhere.

“There will be wildfires, hailstorms, Thunder, and lightning In the countries and domains Of such a king.

“Many disasters will occur, Including an invasion by a foreign army. There will be many misfortunes In his country— They will manifest in various ways, As the goddess of fortune departs.

“If one offers as homa the root of devil’s trumpet, The target will lose his mind. If one offers kaṭuka as homa, The target will definitely be caught in a great fire. If one offers a citron into the fire, A great fever with chills will arise in the [target’s] body.

“Whether he is a wicked king Intoxicated by his own might, Backed by powerful and cruel vassals And his own great army, He will die after two Or seven nights.

“Whichever [king is targeted], one should write The name of his personal deity or his nakṣatra And draw his form on the ground in front of the painting Using charcoal from a cremation ground. Then, one should step upon the [king’s] head with one’s foot And recite the mantra angrily.

“All of a sudden the king will be seized By various acute pains. Overcome by a terrible disease, He will die that very moment.

“He also may be struck with an axe And, moreover, lose his limbs. He may be eaten by nonhuman beings Such as the cruel rākṣasas, kaśmalas,

“Kravyādas, pūtanas, Piśācas, pretas, or mātṛs. He may suddenly be attacked by them, And even by his own servants.”

The glorious Vajradhara, Having thus spoken to the assembly, Bowed to all the buddhas And then waited in silence.

For the sake of those who want to benefit the world, He furthermore pronounced The mantra of all the hosts of yakṣas And yakṣiṇīs everywhere.

Continuing with his talk, The bodhisattva, the general of the yakṣas, Then taught the section on the yakṣiṇīs That contains all the [relevant] rites: The summoning of anyone, the enthrallment, And the removing of all physical afflictions.

When a mantra practitioner is looking for sex And is blinded by passion or otherwise confused in his mind, The Sugata’s prohibitive ordinances Cannot possibly stop him.

Such people have already experienced intense suffering In the cycle of births without beginning. The tathāgatas taught that their [future] rebirth Will take them from suffering to greater suffering.

A celibate person who has tamed his senses Will obtain a pleasant rebirth, Which is said to be good and auspicious. Eventually, he will obtain peace. Riding the three vehicles with equanimity, He will obtain nirvāṇa.

Those among the ascetics who, blinded by passion, Do the opposite under the sway of bad inclinations, Will wander in the terrible abyss of saṃsāra, Following the five destinies.

It is for the sake of those who suffer [like this] That the sensual enjoyments will be described. They will then have all their negativity extinguished, Will turn away from the three faults, and, Following the injunctions of the Teacher, Will be released from all fetters.