Dhāraṇī of the Eleven Faced Avalokiteśvara

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Eleven-Headed Avalokiteśvara.

Dhāraṇī of the Eleven Faced Avalokiteśvara (Skt. Ekādaśamukha Avalokiteśvara dhāraṇī; T. spyan ras gzigs zhal bcu gcig pa'i gzungs).[1] A dhāraṇī of the Eleven-Headed Avalokiteśvara.

In the source text (the sutra that presents this dhāraṇī), the Buddha explains how to practice the dhāraṇī and talks about the benefits and the incredible power of this dhāraṇī.

The source text is included in the Tibetan and Chinese cannons.

Title variations

The title variations of this text include:

Chinese language
  • Fó shuō shí yī miàn Guānshìyīn shén zhòu jīng 佛說十一面觀世音神咒經[2]
  • Shí yī miàn guânshìyīn shénzhòu jīng 十一面觀世音神呪經[3]
Tibetan language
  • spyan ras gzigs zhal bcu gcig pa'i gzungs སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་ཞལ་བཅུ་གཅིག་པའི་གཟུངས།
Sanskrit language
  • Ekadaśamukham (title from Sanskrit text prepared by Nalinaksha Dutt)
  • Ekādaśamukha Avalokiteśvara dhāraṇī
  • Avalokiteśvara ekadaśamukha dhāraṇī (title recovered from the Tibetan translation)

Source text and translations

The source text (the sutra of the same name which presents the dhāraṇī) is extant in Sanskrit as well as Chinese and Tibetan translations.

Sanskrit source text

A Sanskrit version of the source text is availalbe at DSBC:

This version was reconstructed by Nalinaksha Dutt, based on a Gilgit manuscript, with reference to the Tibetan and Chinese translations.[4]

Chinese translations

The Chinese canon includes the following translations of the source text:[3]

  • Shíyīmiàn guânshìyīn shénzhòu jīng 十一面觀世音神呪經; "Incantation of the Eleven-Faced Avalokiteśvara"; 1 fasc. (T 1070.20.149–152); trans. Yaśogupta.
    • Yaśogupta translation, NTI reader
    • aka: Fó shuō shí yī miàn Guānshìyīn shén zhòu jīng 佛說十一面觀世音神咒經; "Sutra of the Divine Spell of the Eleven-Faced Avalokiteśvara"[5]
  • 十一面神呪心經; "Essential Incantation of the Eleven-Faced One"; 1 fasc. (T 1071.20.152–155); trans. Xuanzang.
  • in the 4th fasc. of the Dhāraṇī Collection 陀羅尼集經 (T 901) (佛說作數珠法相品).
  • 十一面觀自在菩薩念誦儀軌經; "Ritual Procedure of Recitation based on Spontaneous Contemplation, the Eleven-Faced Bodhisattva"; 3 fasc. (T 1069.20.139–152); abbrev. 十一面觀音軌經, trans. Amoghavajra.

Tibetan translation

A translation of the source text by Nanam Yeshe De is included in the Kriya tantra section of the Tibetan Kangyur.[1]

Narthang Kangyur version:

Alternate version:

The dhāraṇī

There are different versions of the dhāraṇī based on different translations. The following is a common version:[6]

Namo Ratna Trayāya
Namaḥ Ārya Jñāna Sāgara
Vairocana Vyūha Rājāya
Tathāgatāya Arhate
Samyaksam Buddhāya
Namo Sarva Tathāgatevyah
Arahatevyah
Samyaksam Buddhevyaḥ
Namo Arya Avalokiteśvarāya
Bodhisattvāya Mahasattvāya
Mahakarunikāya
Tadyathā. Ōṃ
Dhara Dhara, Dhiri Dhiri, Dhuru Dhuru
Iṭṭe Vatti Jvale Jvale
Prajvale Prajvala
Kusumē, Kusuma Dhare
Ili Mili Chitre Chite Jvalamapanaya.
Parama Suddha Sattva
Mahakarunikāya Svaha

English translation:[6]

Namo Ratna Trayāya (Homage to the Triple Gem)
Namaḥ Ārya Jñāna Sāgara (Homage to the ocean of noble wisdom)
Vairocana (The Luminous One or The Illuminator)
Vyūha Rājāya (To the King of the Manifestations.)
Tathāgatāya (To the Tathāgata)
Arhate (To the Arhat)
Samyaksam Buddhāya (To the perfectly awakened one)
Namo Sarva Tathāgatevyah (Homage to all Tathāgatas)
Arahatevyah (To the Arhats)
Samyaksam Buddhevyaḥ (To the fully and perfectly awakened ones )
Namo Arya Avalokiteśvarāya (Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara )
Bodhisattvāya (To the Bodhisattva)
Mahasattvāya (To the Great)
Mahakarunikāya (To the Greatly Compassionate one)
Tadyathā. Ōṃ (Thus. Om)
Dhara Dhara, Dhiri Dhiri, Dhuru Dhuru (Sustain us , Sustain us, Sustain us )
Iṭṭe vatti ( May we have the strength )
Jvale Jvale (or some transliterate cale cale or Itte cale) ( To move forward, to move
forward)
Prajvale Prajvala (some transliterate Prachale) ( To move forward further, to move
further along the path )
Kusumē, Kusuma Dhare ( Where to pick the fruits)
Ili Mili Chitre Chite Jvalamapanaya. (Who bring the blazing understanding).
Parama Suddha Sattva (Pure Wholesome Perfection
Mahakarunikāya Svaha (To the Greatly Compassionate one I prostrate. Well said.)

Popular recordings

Popular recordings of the dharani are available from the following artists:

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Dhāraṇī of the Eleven Faced Avalokiteśvara, 84000 Collection
  2. ↑ Avalokiteśvaraikādaśamukhadhāraṇīsūtra, NTI reader
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 十一面觀世音神呪經, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (to sign in, see DDB sign-in)
  4. ↑ Nalinaksha Dutt. "Gilgit manuscripts, Volume 1, 1939 p. 59". Retrieved 22 March 2026. 
  5. ↑ Avalokiteśvaraikādaśamukhadhāraṇīsūtra, NTI reader
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Great Compassionate Heart Dharani of Avalokiteśvara, Buddha Weekly

Further reading

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