The Heart Dhāraṇī of Gaṇapati

Translated into English by Shaku Shingan
(3rd April, 2024)

Homage to the Bhagavān, the Noble Heart of Mahāgaṇapati! 

Homage to the Triple Gem! 

Thus have I heard at one time: the Bhagavān was dwelling in Rājagṛha on Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of one thousand two hundred and fifty monks and a great many bodhisattva mahāsattvas. 

At that time, the Bhagavān said to the venerable Ānanda:

O Ānanda! Whichever son of good family bears, recites, masters, and propagates these Heart [Mantras] of Gaṇapati will accomplish all their tasks:

oṃ namo 'stu te mahāgaṇapataye svāhā!

oṃ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ!

oṃ namo gaṇapataye svāhā!

oṃ gaṇādhipataye svāhā!

oṃ gaṇeśvarāya svāhā!

oṃ gaṇapatipūjitāya svāhā!

oṃ kaṭa kaṭa maṭa maṭa dara dara vidara vidara hana hana gṛhṇa gṛhṇa dhāva dhāva bhañja bhañja jambha jambha tambha tambha stambha stambha moha moha deha deha dadāpaya dadāpaya dhanasiddhi me prayaccha!

oṃ rudrāvatārāya svāhā!

oṃ adbhutavindukṣubhitacittamahāhāsam āgacchati!

mahābhayamahābalaparākramāya mahāhastidakṣiṇāya dadāpaya svāhā!

oṃ namo 'stu te mahāgaṇapataye svāhā!

oṃ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ gaḥ!

oṃ namo gaṇapataye svāhā!

oṃ gaṇeśvarāya svāhā!

oṃ gaṇādhipataye svāhā!

oṃ gaṇapatipūjitāya svāha!

oṃ suru suru svāhā!

oṃ turu turu svāhā! 

oṃ muru muru svāhā!

[These], O Ānanda, are the Heart [Mantras] of Gaṇapati.*

If any son of good family or daughter of good family, bhikṣu or bhikṣuṇī, upāsaka or upāsikā, who is unable to accomplish any of their tasks, such as accomplishing a mantra, worshiping the Triple Gem, traveling to another country, going to the royal palace, or going into hiding, should worship the bhagavān buddhas and recite the Heart [Mantra] of the noble Gaṇapati seven times, all their tasks will be accomplished without a doubt. They will always pacify all quarrels, fights, disagreements, and disputes over property, and everything will be pacified. If they rise every day for an kalpa and recite the mantra seven times, they will obtain great fortune.

Whenever they go to the royal palace, they will have great grace. They will retain what they have heard. They will not have any serious illnesses in their body. No one who surrounds them will be able to harm them. Not even a bee will be able to hurt them because they have aroused bodhicitta. In each life, they will remember their previous lives.

When the Bhagavān had spoken, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas, the entire assembly, and the world with its devas, humans, asuras, garuḍas, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Bhagavān had said.

Translator's note: This text often makes up a part of what traditionally is considered the Saptavāra, i.e. the "Seven Day" Dhāraṇī practice. It is a generally available practice in Nepal, and is practised by many regularly each morning for protection and benefit. The core of this practice involves the recitation of the dhāraṇī (*which here appears to be refered to in the plural as "hearts" (hṛdayāni), which could be interpreted to mean that multiple "heart mantras" make up the singular dhāraṇī). Therefore, the dhāraṇī has not been translated (in any case, as an incantatory formula, it does not have regular syntactic meaning).

As for the opening invocation, "The Noble Heart of Mahāgaṇapati" signifies both the name of the text and the deity with which it is concerned. Thus, Gaṇapati is also referred to as "Āryamahāgaṇapatihṛdaya."

In terms of the identity of Gaṇapati, he is popularly known in English as Ganesh. While this corresponds both to the popular Hindu deity Ganesh, and the Buddhist Dharmapāla Vināyaka. The function of the deity in this, Newar Buddhist, context, is unique.

Bibliography

• Buhnemann, Gudrun. (2014). "A dhāraṇī for each day of the week: The saptavāra tradition of the Newar Buddhists." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 77. 119-136. 

• Iwamoto, Yutaka. Kleinere Dhāraṇī Texte (Kyoto, 1937 (Beiträge zur Indologie, 2)). 10-12.