Kāraṇḍavyūha

Folio from a Kāraṇḍavyūha Manuscript, ca 14th Century CE

Kāraṇḍavyūha (T. za ma tog bkod pa; mdo; C. Dasheng zhuangyan baowang jing 大乘莊嚴寶王經), or "The Basket’s Display," is a Mahayana sutra that is the source of the mantra om mani padme hum. The Kāraṇḍavyūha displays characteristics of both sūtra and tantra, and is also described as a "Mantrayana" sutra.

Overview

Peter Alan Roberts states:

The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha) is the source of the most prevalent mantra of Tibetan Buddhism: oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. It marks a significant stage in the growing importance of Avalokiteśvara within Indian Buddhism in the early centuries of the first millennium. In a series of narratives within narratives, the sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara’s activities in various realms and the realms contained within the pores of his skin. It culminates in a description of the extreme rarity of his mantra, which, on the Buddha’s instructions, Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin obtains from someone in Vārāṇasī who has broken his monastic vows. This sūtra provided a basis and source of quotations for the teachings and practices of the eleventh-century Maṇi Kabum, which itself served as a foundation for the rich tradition of Tibetan Avalokiteśvara practice.

And also:

The Kāraṇḍavyūha is an early Mantrayāna sūtra that is the source of the mantra oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. The sūtra is thus of particular importance, as this mantra now holds a central role in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, especially throughout the lay population. This sūtra also records Avalokiteśvara’s transformation into the principal figure of the Buddhist pantheon, greater than all other buddhas, let alone bodhisattvas. In this sūtra, Avalokiteśvara is a resident of Sukhāvatī and acts as a messenger and gift bearer for Amitābha, even though he is also described as superior to all buddhas and therefore paradoxically has both a subservient and dominant status.

The Princeton Dictionary states:

The Kāraṇḍavyūha displays characteristics of both sūtra and tantra literature in its emphasis on the doctrine of rebirth in Amitābha Buddha’s pure land (Sukhāvatī), as well as such tantric elements as the mantra “oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ” and the use of maṇḍalas; it is thought to represent a transitional stage between the two categories of texts.

Origin

Peter Alan Roberts states:

The appearance in writing of the Kāraṇḍavyūha probably dates to around the fifth century ᴄᴇ. In terms of place, the text indicates familiarity with the cesspits of Vārāṇasī, and assumes the reader’s knowledge of Candradvīpa, the southern part of Bengal where the Ganges Delta is situated. In the Tibetan version, the merchants who wish to sail to Laṅka ask whether the winds are blowing toward the land of the Greeks. This appears to locate their port of departure on the northwest coast of India. In terms of time, the text is located within a culture where the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas had a dominant place in Indian culture, particularly the Skandha Pūraṇa, probably during the Gupta period of the third to fifth century.

Studholme (2002) dates this text from around the late 4th century CE to the early 5th century CE.

Translations

Tibetan translation

Peter Roberts states:

The earliest and only translation of the sūtra appears to be the one presently in the Tibetan canon. All of the versions of the Kangyur except one have a colophon ascribing the translation of the Kāraṇḍavyūha to Yeshé Dé and the Indian upādhyāyas Dānaśīla and Jinamitra, who collaborated with each other on the majority of their translations. The Narthang Kangyur (snar thang bka’ ’gyur) is alone in attributing the translation to Śākyaprabha and Ratnarakṣita.

Roberts estimates that "the translation was certainly made during the decade between 815 and 824 ᴄᴇ, and presumably in the earlier part of that decade, around 820 ᴄᴇ or earlier."

Roberts also states:

A later translation or revision of the Tibetan version was never made. However, the Kāraṇḍavyūha served as the basis for the eleventh-century Maṇi Kabum (A Hundred Thousand Teachings on the Maṇi Mantra; Tib. ma Ni bka’ ’bum), which was attributed to Songtsen Gampo, although the extracts from the sūtra that it includes are clearly derived from the early ninth-century translation. The Maṇi Kabum was a highly influential work in propagating the practice of Avalokiteśvara, known in Tibetan as Chenrezi (spyan ras gzigs), the repetition of the maṇi mantra, and the identification of Songtsen Gampo as an emanation of Avalokiteśvara; it has had a much greater impact on Tibetan culture than the sūtra upon which it is based.

Chinese translation

The Kāraṇḍavyūha was translated into Chinese in 983 ᴄᴇ by Tianxizai.

English translations

• Roberts, Peter Alan (2025), The Basket’s Display, 84000 Collection
• Buddha Spoken Mahayana Sublime Treasure King Sutra. From Chinese; unknown translator, 2006.

Cundi dharani

This text includes a recitation of the Cundi dharani:

oṁ cale cule cunde svāhā

However, no explanation for this dhāraṇī is given; according to Peter Roberts, it is likely that the reader is assumed to be already familiar with this dharani.

Sources

• Buswell, Robert E.; Lopez, Donald S. (2014), The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, Princeton University 
• Roberts, Peter Alan (2023), The Basket’s Display, 84000 Collection
• Studholme, Alexander (2002), The Origins of Om Manipadme Hum, Albany NY: State University of New York Press