“This is the supreme rite for the measuring cord:

oṁ akāro mukhaṃ sarva­dharmāṇām ādyanutpannatvāt oṁ āḥ hūṁ phaṭ svāhā |

“One should visualize themselves as glorious Yamāntaka And the disciple as Vairocana. Then, while meditatively composed, Set the supreme, preeminent wisdom cord.

“This is the supreme samaya of the great maṇḍala: oṁ āḥ hūṁ |

“The adept should prepare a cord That is smeared with the five cow products And is twice as long as the maṇḍala, With the doors being a twentieth of that.

“This is the rite for the great vajra request:

“O great master, a buddha, Lord of the Dharma assembly, Grant me the true samaya! Grant me the bodhicitta!

“This is the rite for the erecting the great site. Once the earth goddess has been summoned, one should say:

‘Devi, you bear witness To the unique conduct Of all the buddhas, the protectors, And to their perfections and levels.

“Supreme beings should know The doors to be an eighth of the maṇḍala, Excluding the great main hall, Which is pleasing and lavishly decorated.

“The crests should be known to be like the doors, As are the celestial moldings, Which are affixed with vajra apsarases Who are singing, playing instruments, and dancing.

“The altar is half the measure of the doors, As are the cheek moldings and the sides. It also has long and short pearl strands, Moons, suns, flower garlands, Cloth hangings, and ribbons.

“The colored ground is half of that And the base line is outside the grounds.

“Now, the great essence:

“One’s own circle should be set And one should embrace their mudrā. The wisdom enters the samaya— Thus should the maṇḍala be established.

“The east should be colored bright white, The south, yellow, The western portion, red, The north green in color, And the central space like the light of a sapphire.

“Then the implements should be placed In accordance with the prescribed rite. The implements are always sky-like And are always drawn in this way.

In the center one should draw a vajra, In the east, a wheel should be drawn, And so forth for the other directions. The implements should always resemble the main face.

Now, for the ladle:

“One should fashion a stick That it is one cubit in length. Its end should be rounded And measure four finger-widths around. The bottom should be two finger-widths deep And fashioned with a spout half a finger-width wide.

“A spoon, shaped like a lotus petal, With a bowl one thumb-width high And one finger-width deep, Is praised in this tantra.

“People who have not entered the maṇḍala, Who have committed the five acts with immediate retribution, Who have taken a life, Who eat fish and other meats,

“Who indulge in wine, Who uphold the ways of nihilists, Who have not been initiated, Who wander about begging,

“And who delight in country ways, And yet devote themselves to Yamāri’s tantra, Will doubtlessly become accomplished, According to words of the Dark One.”

Once all the buddhas and the bodhisattvas, headed by Maitreya, heard this vajra statement, they fell silent and remained seated.

This is the rite for vajra entry:

“The four circles should be formed From the great seed syllables of the four elements. By connecting them to the four places, One can move through the sky.

“The syllable yaṁ is on the bottom of the feet, the syllable raṃ is at the navel, the syllable laṃ is at the heart, and the syllable vaṃ is at the head.

“The wind maṇḍala is bow-shaped, pitch-black, The form of fierce and fearsome wind. The fire maṇḍala is triangular, blazes like fire, And appears as red as the sun.

“The earth maṇḍala is a bright yellow square, The imperishable base of the vajra ground. It should be imagined as the very earth Upon which stand Sumeru and its mountain range.

“The water maṇḍala is white, round, intensely cold, And carries water like a bank of clouds. It is like the ocean filled by a thousand streams And cool like snow-covered mountains.

“One should visualize the vajra-holding disciple, Using the method of these four places, And with Amitābha in their mouth, And then bring them quickly into the maṇḍala.

“This is the rite for the request:

“ ‘Vajradharma, Great Protector, Amitābha, Great Bliss! Please speak, you who have great desire for the Dharma. I ask about virtue and nonvirtue.’

“Great disciples rise up From just one cubit, Up to one thousand cubits. This is based on the rite of entering.

“Now I will explain The features of the plaster image. The vow holder should take wet clay And perform the mantra recitation.

“Beans, milk, meat, and molasses, Should be mixed with tamarind and the like, With oil, neem leaves, As well as nāḍīka seeds.

“One should first apply a white layer And then decorate it with other colors. Using chalk and red ocher Results in a color similar to lac.

“Turmeric and indigo Similarly yield dark green. Blue mixed with indigo, Or with eye black, yields black.

“Mixing pale yellow with realgar, Or vermillion, yields red. Add to that a drop of bilva, But just a little, not too much.

“If one adds too much it turns black, If too little, it becomes grey. The image can be either wrathful or peaceful. The characteristics of both will now be described.

“The peaceful is described as playful, The wrathful as rotund and short. Its nose should measure four finger-widths. Its forehead, chin, jaws, throat, and neck,

Should also be four finger-widths. The image should be twenty-four cubits and twenty finger-widths tall. Its hands, feet and mouth are all the same size. And its eyes are a single thumb width.

“Its ears are described as two finger-widths And its two testicles each four. Its lips together are two finger-widths And its navel one finger-width.

“Its face is one of third its body And has no neck. Its crown of matted hair is the length of its face And bears a crown that is six finger-widths.

“Now I will explain The practice of Ekajaṭā. One who seeks the siddhis of a yakṣiṇī Should train in Ekajaṭā.

“One should visualize her in the maṇḍala’s center, With one face and two arms, Holding a knife and a skull cup, Her body stout and blue.

“Jambhalā should be imagined in the east And Vasudhārā in the south. Jalendrā is to be placed in the west And Cibikuṇḍalī in the north.

“In the four corners, the southeast first, One should visualize the four yakṣiṇīs— Kuntalā, Dehinī, Gehā, and Vasundarī, And arrange them according to the rite.

“One should then visualize the doors, With Mudgara and the rest all around. One should use the same colors As in the previous maṇḍala.

“Seeing themselves as the maṇḍala deity, bearing emblems, The adept should then recite her mantra:

oṁ ekajaṭi vasudhāriṇi svāhā |

“Next, I will explain The practice of Pukkasī. By merely visualizing her One is able to harm the three worlds.

“One should imagine her As yellow, with four faces and arms, And riding on a donkey. She should be visualized holding a bow, Noose, hammer, and arrow.

“The mantra to recite is: oṁ pukkasī aṃ |

“Now I will explain The maṇḍala of Mañjuvajra. Once Mañjuvajra is accomplished, Invisibility instantly ensues.

“He has three faces and six arms, And is yellow, like the luster of gold. One should train in this protector with a youthful form In order to make oneself invisible.

“Sundarī should be placed in the east And Keśinī in the south. Vihvalā should be imagined in the west And Upakeśinī in the north.

“A sword should be placed in their right hands And a wheel and the rest in all the others. They all have three faces and six arms And are adorned with various ornaments.

“Arising from the seed syllable maṁ, They stand in the maṇḍala’s core, All standing on moon disks With their left legs extended.

“Mārīcī, Parṇaśabarī, Vasudhārā, and Cundrikā Are placed in the four corners, southeast first, As a gathering of the essence.

“They are visualized holding aśoka leaves and branches, As well as the stalks of clusters of grain. Their bodies are yellow and green, Yellow again, and white.

“They all have three faces and six arms, And are known as the maṇḍala deities. Mudga and the rest are visualized in the doors. Thus will one become invisible.

This was the fourteenth chapter, “The Practice of Mañjuvajra,” from The Tantra of Black Yamāri, the Body, Speech, and Mind of All Tathāgatas.