Of Corpses and Gold- Materials for the Study of the Vetala and the Ro Langs Michael Walter

Of Corpses and Gold: Materials for the Study of theVetaaaaala and the Ro langs

Michael Walter

One of the most prominent spiritual beings in the magical and alchemical prac-tices of both Hindu and Buddhist yogis is the Vetala. And, thanks to the fame of theVetalapa-cavimsati [hereafter: V.] and its later versions, the Vetala has occupied aposition of visibility out of all proportion to its importance as one among manyminor spiritual beings in Indian culture.

There is, as well, a figure of true importance to Tibetan culture, the Ro langs,which seems to be both the same as, and yet different from, the Vetala, depending onwhat data one uses from “religious” or “popular” environments.

The present effort seeks to supplement our knowledge of both these spiritualbeings, and what the relationships between them might be, as well as to detail someof the alchemical procedures involving the Vetala.

How we understand its function also relates to the placement of the Vetala/Rolangs, as a “lesser” spiritual being, in the cosmogony and cosmology of Buddhismand Hinduism. The materials offered will allow us to make some observations aboutwhat place the Vetala in particular has in the normative cosmological schemes ofboth religions.

PART I. THE NATURE OF THE VETALA

i. The picture of the Vetala in the V. is consistent with that in some materials below.To summarize this famous set of stories: To fulfill a contract with a yogi, wherebythat yogi will enjoy success in his practice, King Vikramaditya must bring him aVetala-inhabited corpse from a tree in a samsana. By a ruse, the Vetala escapes fromthe king and returns to the charnel ground. Thus unravels a series of tales told bythe Vetala which, throughout, functions as a sly, mostly self-serving riddler. Eventu-ally, however, he serves well the occasionally silly King Vikramaditya. In this way,they both conform to prescribed roles, since the king is, ultimately, a hero, and this“tamed” Vetala his contracted helper. Unfortunately, the V. is not strong in culturalcontext, and we learn almost nothing of the origin and nature of the Vetala. Also, thecharacter of the Vetala here seems a true product of literary creation, not meant toconvey a description probably otherwise well-known to the readers and listeners ofthe V.

We also don’t learn much from etymological considerations of vetala,1 so wemay as well begin with some lexicographical data, which cite literary sources, textsreflecting both tantric and “popular” views, and general knowledge. In these, theVetala is presented as an immortal among the kinds of corpses controlled by Bhutas;a door-watcher; a kind of athlete; and, a leader among the attendants of Siva.2

The latter three definitions come from other dictionaries or specialized refer-ences.3 The first, which is unattributed, conveys something of the significance ofthe term at hand, but cannot be considered accurate, especially in the face of datafrom Tantric sources. Further, we really don’t get very far with the assertion that

14 THE TIBET JOURNAL

the Vetala is a kind of Bhuta, because the latter is a general category, subsumingmany spirits of nonhuman (amanurya) origin.4 Kinds of spirits which are also men-tioned as Bhutas include Pisacas, although neither the Vetala/Vetali nor Pisaca/Pisaci(-ini) are among the categories of spirits specifically dealt with in the Bhuta-damara tantras of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions.5 As a matter of fact, there aremany lists of sorts of Bhutas which do not include Vetala. Also, while “Bhuta” as acategory is prominent in the Epics, and Pretas are found there, the Vetala is conspi-cuously absent.6 (One may say the same for the Puranas, save for the Kalika andBrahmakaivarta.)

Significant differences emerge between Bhutas and Vetalas, both in Tantric andpopular lore. Vetalas are not always noxious (they may even be helpful); they com-mune with yogis, and they have very specialized functions, centering on alchemyand magic. Bhuta, on the other hand, are almost always described to be dangerous,enpecially as causes of illness, and do not enter into constructive relationship withhuman beings. (The dangerous reputation of the Vetala, as we shall see, is not somuch a function of its nature as of its relationship with human beings.)

For all the above reasons, as well as what the data below shows, we should saythat Vetala are not really closely related at all to Bhuta. The situation has becomeconfused over time, however, partly through the creation of academic lists of minorspiritual beings in both Hindu (especially Saivite) and Buddhist sources. However,the principal reason will become clear in the variety of sources we may consult: NoIndic tradition arose which consistently related minor spiritual beings with eachother or in a broader cosmology.

The close association of Vetala with Bhuta depends upon one special conditiononly: References to samsanas and the rites that take place there.

ii. In both Hindu and Buddhist contexts, Bhuta are occasionally associated withburning grounds, but Vetala are nearly always so. This is presented anecdotally, insourcen such as V., and is renorted even in very recent times. This latter data rati-fies the former; hanging corpses from trees in the samsanas (which the Vetala in-habits and is the mise en scene of the V.) is a charnel ground custom still reportedin the time of Crooke (1896) and Sarkar (1917). Crooke also noted that (at least inthe samsanas) the Vetala are considered the “leaders” of the Bhutas, and associateas well with such as Yakras and Rakrasas.7

iii. Data on the nature, powers, etc., of the Vetala are found in Buddhist sutras, Bud-dhist and Hindu tantras, dramas, and other literatures, especially when samsanas orthe secret work of powerful yogis is presented. Sometimes they are dramatic de-vices, sometimes instructions. There seem, however, to exist few descriptive worksdevoted to Vetala. One of these is the *[Arya] Saptavetalakanamadharani/[’Phagspa] Ro langs bdun pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs, found twice in both the Peking andsDe dge bKa’ ’gyur.IVa In this work the Buddha, in residence and teaching onGpdhrakuta Mountain, helps the Venerable Ananda, who remains separate from theassembly of listeners. Its opening, partially paraphrased, is as follows:

A group of wandering mendicants with heretical (Mu stegs) views lets loose sevengreat Vetala to do harm to the Bhagavan. But, although they make straight for him, theyhave no chance to get to him; they can’t even see him. Since they couldn’t even see

OF CORPSES AND GOLD 15

him, they went to where Ananda had gone at that time at his leisure, and when theyreached him they touched him. As soon as they had, Ananda experienced insufferablepain. The intense burning caused him to feel that he was on the brink of dying. Under-going all this, Ananda thought, “The Bhagavan can’t intend for this to happen to me;the Tathagata doesn’t mean for me to suffer in this way.”Sariputra and Maudgalyayana were sitting not far from Ananda. They heard the sort

of intense suffering [nye ba’i nyon mongs pa] he was experiencing, and went to sitwith him. They said, “Oh, Ananda! What is that you are saying about the Tathagata notintending the insufferable pain and extreme burning you are feeling?” Ananda said,“Oh, Venerable Ones! The feeling I have is as if my head is being sawed into pieceswhen someone just touches Ananda!” And they answered, “Have no fear, Ananda!Just climb into your chair, and we’ll take you before the Tathagata. The Bhagavan willdo something to protect you thoroughly from this suffering!” ... (They take him before the Bhagavan, who has come there at his pleasure, and whoasks him what suffering he has. Ananda explains, and Buddha says:) “Oh, Ananda!Those very powerful *Mahavetala8 who have touched you are very difficult to tame,and even if they just see you, they have seven injuries (to inflict upon you). If you askwho these are, they are called ‘Holding a Garland’, ‘Holding a Jewel’, ‘Fierce’, ‘Ter-rible’, ‘Peacock’s Heart’, ‘Life Consumed’, and ‘La Bcan’.9 These seven Mahavetalaare great in strength, difficult to tame, difficult to propitiate; and, their powers of de-ception and magic are great. Ananda, each of these Vetala could, if he wished, castdown even Mount Meru, King of Mountains, with the toe of his left foot; it would becompletely reduced, until it was about the size of a mustard seed. If each looked up-wards, he could make the earth split open; if each looked in the cardinal directions,there would be death in them; if each looked in the intermediate directions, they wouldbe burned by fire. It is they that have touched you!”

(The Tathagata now tells Ananda that he will be cured by the Tathagata’s power,by respectfully listening to the Dharma—i.e., learning the dharani which follow—and by the Tathagata’s blessing. Ananda now requests the means to deflect theirpower, to bind them with mudras, and to bind them with threads [skud pa]. The textnow becomes a recitation of dharani for the Vetala, referred to as both Bhuta andMahabhuta. The number of magic knots [mdud] which must be cast [’bor/ ’dor] tobind each Vetala differ, as do the number of recitations of the dharani which mustaccompany the binding. The combination of these actions results in the “stiffen-ing” or “paralyzing” [rengs pa = stabdha or stambhana] of the Vetala, which is oneway threatening spirits are dealt with.10)

The Vetala presented here may have a different nature, and categorically differ-ent powers than the Vetala discussed below, but we learn something from this textabout their supposed effects on human beings, and on the magical means that mustbe employed to control them. (We may compare this with data in the Suvarna[pra]-bhasasutra, where, in Chapter Eight, baths in waters empowered by medicines andmantras—which are given—are prescribed to get rid of all Vetala, other nefariousspiritual beings, and even bad dreams, etc.11 Surely, these Vetala are not those de-scribed above!)

Anecdotal sources supply us with a variety of other powers and abilities attributedto Vetalas; among these are that Bhuta and Vetala can lengthen themselves andassume enormous size.12 Of course, the best-known and most important power ofthe Vetala—as in V.— is that it can adventitiously inhabit corpses. Dwelling insamsanas, it specializes in “taking over” the newly dead. In doing so, it may cause


the corpse to “become alive” in a way thought analogous to the Golem, or a zom-bie,13 and perhaps increase it in length. Because of this, measuring corpses has be-come one way to look for the presence of a Vetala spirit.14 (The size of Vetala spir-its—and Pretas—in some sources distinguishes them from Bhutas in general.15)

It is interesting that, neither in Indic textual sources (Tantras, Puranas, etc.), norin anecdotal sources, is much said specifically about what Vetala can do to a personwho accidentally stumbles upon them, or whom they attack, or what their proclivi-ties are (other than that they are constantly hungry and have a taste for human flesh,as is the case with several other supernatural denizens of the samsana, as we shallsee). Indian lore even presents cases of good behavior by Vetalas; we learn that thebehavior of a Vetala is largely dependent on the motives of the supplicant or yogi.16

This is clear even in the Saptavetalaka text above, where the Buddha is really at-tacked by Tirthikas, who are only using the Vetalas as their tools.

Therefore, we can really say that the Vetala is an amoral being, whose function iscontrolled by a powerful person who can create a contractural relationship withhim. Just as the gods themselves, when properly propitiated, Vetalas wish to servehumans, rather than to be merely floating in the void of samsara.

iv. The pivotal nexus is the relationship between the yogi/magician (who may becalled a savaradhaka, ro sgrub byed17), his powers, and the Vetala. The ambiguityand narrowness in the function of the Vetala are resolved in this relationship.

The broader context here is savasadhana, a cover term for cultivation of spiritualpowers and meditational states through the use of a corpse. Yogis of all traditionsin India have utilized this method to achieve insight and power. The modern, nor-mative Hindu description:

“Shava Sadhana comes in the practice of Tantra Sadhana. This is practiced by some ViraSadhakas in the cremation ground. Only the fearless can practice this sort of Sadhana.

“A human corpse is laid with its face to the ground. The Sadhaka sits on the back ofthe body of the dead man. He draws a Yantra on the back and then worships.

“If the rite is successful, the head of the corpse turns around and asks the Sadhakathe boon he wants; be it Salvation or some material benefit.

“The Devi speaks through the mouth of the dead man.”18

Although this ritual doesn’t depend on the presence of Vetala spirits—in thepresent article, for example, there are cited examples of Pretas and Pisacas occupy-ing corpses—it is implicit that Vetalas are attracted to yogis in the samsana, andthat they have ganas which are analogous to those of the yogis.19 They are attractedinitially, it seems, by the desire for flesh, especially human flesh (mahamamsa/shachen), which the yogi (or practitioner) uses to create a contractural relationship withthe Vetala. By offering him flesh, he will grant the yogi or petitioner a labor or wish,or enter the corpse so the yogi can uses him in bodily form.20 It is for such reasonsthat Vetala are sometimes praised to be cintamani, etc. On the other hand, the yogimay choose a corpse with the intent to call a Vetala to inhabit it. This dangerouspractice, Vetalasadhana, is exampled in some of the texts studied in Part II. Thismethod depends upon the yogi “coercing” the Vetala. The successful conclusion ofthis effort brings about Vetalasiddhi/Ro langs kyi dngos grub, which is usuallyachieved for alchemical ends (also see Part II).21


Vetalasadhana, which is perhaps a special form of savasadhana, does not coverall references to enlivening corpses. Yogis may do this to achieve their own ends—frequently, power over life—with the Vetala not explicitly mentioned, and probablynot involved. Thus, the early reference in the Malatimadhava (cf. fn.19) may ormay not be to Vetalasadhana. In any event, we should speak of sets of rites andyogic practices which may, depending on their emphasis, be either savasadhana orVetalasadhana.

All these processes are based on a manipulation of prana, which is concentratedand directed by recitation of mantra, service to spiritual beings, etc.22 In additionto some details in the texts cited in Part II, we give here the opening of the Bhuta-damaratantraIVb of the Buddhist tradition. It may serve as an overview for dealingwith such spiritual beings, including Vetala (which are not explicitly mentionedamong the groups of spirits in this text):

A very expanded ritual which will realize [i.e., is a sadhana for] all Bhutas and Bhutinis.The Lord of the Three Worlds, the Great Vajradhara, spoke these words:“One ought to practice this sadhana on riverbanks, in samsanas, under isolated

trees [i.e., trees whose shadows touch no others], in temples, in the house of SriVajradhara, and in those places of the families (of beings represented here). This mustbe done right away; if it isn’t, the Bhuta and Bhutini with their kind [rigs dang rgnuddu bcas pa] will be entirely lost.”

Then, the Great Lha of Mahesvara made prostration to the Bhagavan, with the top ofhis head touching his feet, and he made the following request to the Bhagavan:

“Oh, Great Lord of Bhairavas! Please explain how to bring about the deaths ofpoisonous and ill-behaved ones.” (The Bhagavan then gives him a dharani—om vajradvali hana hana sarva bhutana hum phat—to kill all Bhuta.)

Then, just as soon as he had recited this dharani, many flaming vajras appearedfrom the pores of Vajradhara and the bodies of all Bhutas and Bhutinis were desic-cated;23 Indra, Brahma, Virnu, etc.—all the Devas—were killed. Following this, allthe Tathagatas, astonished, spoke the following:

“It is good, Sri Vajradhara, Great Lord of Bhairavas, that in a future time Bhuta andBhutini are annihilated!”

After that, he spoke the dharani which summons back [slar ’gugs] consciousness totheir corpses: om vajra ayure sara sarasmin. As soon as this was spoken, a great windemerged from Vajradhara’s nostrils, making their corpses [ro/sava] come back to life.As soon as that took place, (prana, and then consciousness) entered the bodies of theBhuta and Bhutini, who rose [langs/uttirthate] and were greatly fearful. Because thisfear grew in them, they requested that the Bhagavan protect them; they requested thatthe Tathagana protect them.

“Do as the Bhagavan has ordered!”, he said.

The text continues, detailing the procedures outlined here, so that we have afuture means by which yogis may conquer and convert Bhuta, Vetala, Preta, Pisaca,etc., to Buddhism, and thus change them from chaotic to constructive elements intheir cosmology, make these beings their servants, and enjoy other benefits. Forour current topic, this text is a mythological and practical template for a BuddhistVetalasadhana, showing the injection of the life-force (prana) of spiritual beingsinto a corpse, its fear upon achieving consciousness again (the struggling of thecorpse; see Part II), and its conquest by the yogi (request for protection; boons latergranted). The Buddhist yogi has confidence in this process because of the superior-


ity of his spiritual beings, and sadhana, evnn to the point of being able to destroyand re-create the greatest Hindu deities.

The encrypted reference to Ro langs, above, which is repeated throughout thetext, dates the use of this term in India to at least the seventh century,24 and makesit certain that the term and concept “Ro langs” derived from Indic traditions; the “Rolangs” is thus not a “native” Tibetan spiritual being. This will be discussed furtherin Parts III and IV.

To conclude this brief description of the Vetala, we note a particular propitiationritual mentioned in both Tantra and folklore materials which is an optional part ofVetalasadhana and savasadhana. This is holding the agnikarya, a fire rite, usuallyin the corpse’s mouth. It involves an offering of ghee, sesamum seed, etc., into thefire, and follows the preparation of the corpse.25 It certainly seems risky, as it oftenbackfires and an enraged spirit ends up killing the would-be sadhaka.26 A variation ofthis rite is found in the Subahuparippcchatantra; see Part II.

PART II. TEXTS ON CORPSES AND GOLD

Here follows a selection of documents on Vetalasadhana. Just glancing at the com-mentaries which are noted below, as well as others, will show how skeletal thesenarratives are. Note, also, that all involve alchemical transformations in some way.

The first document is the lengthiest description I have been able to find of a Vetala-sadhana. It is not a “coercive” rite; also, the text specifically says “Vetala, etc.”,showing other spiritual beings might be so used. It is from a rNying ma tantra, thesKu thams cad kyi snang bar ston pa dbang rdzogs pa rang byung chen po’irgyud.IVc This lengthy tantra, which contains much interesting material, deals withfuneral and samsana rites. Following is the ninth chapter, entitled Ro langs gsersgrub pa’i lung, “An instruction for transforming a Vetala into gold.”

I regret that I could not include more commentarial and interpretive material forsome of the obscure passages and references this work contains. My purpose hereis to isolate and detail a Vetala motif; to provide this material a complete context,either in terms of the work as a whole or the particular culture it is practiced within,would require time and space beyond the limits of this article, although this workcertainly deserves such effort.

(The author begs the indulgence of the reader for the large number of Sanskritterms in some of the following translations. The purpose is to show the thoroughlyIndian yogic nature of the texts. When studying the vast corpus of rNying ma ritualliterature, it is useful to distinguish materials which concord completely with, orcomplement, known Indian practices. For example, the following rituals were mostlypracticed in Bengal and Orissa. Thus, these texts illustrate one source of rNyingma ritual.)

Homage to the self-subsisting presence of the Bhagavan Padmamahendra!27

In the presence of that Bhagavan Padmamahendra, Buddha Heruka taught this (for)transforming a corpse into gold:

“E ma ho!“Listen, Devas and Nagas of the ten directions! Any yogi who possesses the power

will begin the realizing of gold when he has gone far into a deserted area.28 Further, inthat very deserted place he should create a square, one-cubit (wide) mandala. Then,


(the yogi should) sprinkle the area several times and measure off the boundaries of theouter, inner, and secret (mandalas).“To measure off the outer boundary, (construct) four elevations for the four Mahara-jas29 at each of the four cardinal directions; a bali is offered at the base of each eleva-tion. When the yogi has then written the mantras of each Maharaja on four-finger longpieces of paper, he will place them at their respective directions. This has been taughtfor the demarcation of the outer (boundary).

“The yogi determines the inner boundary as follows: He does it with the mantras ofthe Dasakrodha.30

“The secret mandala is measured off with weapons.“A three-part bali is then offered; if one doesn’t have (materials for) this three-part

bali, then several extensive gser skyems are to be offered. Offerings of water are to bemade to such a degree as to be effective (against evil spirits).

“In such a way the boundaries are determined; after that, one ought to complete therite of the five grains.31 Eight stupas then ought to be placed.

“This section is completed with a great confession.32

“Having now completed the preliminary rites in that way, one should proceed intothe mandala and cast strings on it; this is accomplished by the three great yogis.33 Thesecret vajracarya duly presents various marking-threads [thig skud] to that excellentson, the Vajraraja [the yogi], who holds them up in open space and, stretching (each ofthem) three times, (ought to wind them around/touch them to) the vajra. The yogi turnshis face from the west to the east, and casts one thread into the center (of the mandala).The other threads are also cast.34

“After that, the mandala is colored. One constructs the mandala for the peacefuldeities and gathers the ritual materials upon it. Arrows are put at the corners and knives[kartri] at the doors, and white silk curtains are arranged there. The gtor ma of Sri isplaced in the north, that of Matpka in the south, that of Bhuta in the east, and flesh[phud] and blood in the west.

“With this, the mandala has been taught.“Now, at the time one obtains the corpse, in order to tame [i.e., convert] a Vetala,

etc., strike the earth wherein Mptyupati Yama resides with a mantra-strengthened weapon.After that, the man who carried the corpse to the yogi should be maddened with thewater of madness.35

“After this, one will practice sadhana on that corpse. It will be stretched out in thecentral, pure palace36 of the mandala; its hair, bound, will be fixed in a plaited spiral.Both the yogi and the corpse are decked out in their own ornaments.

“First, wash the corpse with milk and scented water. In that state, place the corpseon the mandala.

“Three-fold is the means that will liberate (the consciousness—vijñana—of the dead):There will be liberating to benefit the deceased, liberating so that magical power willbe extracted, and liberating to compensate for damage done (by whatever transgres-sions of vows the yogi has committed). In order that there may be liberations such asthese, these sadhana-izings should be (considered to be) of the highest, middling, andlowest sorts (respectively).When the yogi liberates to benefit the deceased, he ought to make conferrals of power[abhireka] and bestow blessings [adhirthana], conducting the six sorts of beings andshowing them the way.37 He ought to offer bali continually to avert retribution forfaults of former lives, (and) accumulations of gifts and puja (for the deceased) shouldnot cease. One ought to offer varieties of collections of gifts representing the fourseasons.

“[When the yogi liberates to extract magical power, he will practice sadhana forthree days, but for two of those he will perform rites for the wrathful deities.


“[After that, the yogi will take up a magically powerful sword [khadga] to undo theseal [mudra, ornament] of the secret teacher [guhyacarya] on the mandala. He willdeck himself out with cemetary ornaments [human bones] as well as a flayed humanskin (worn around his waist), which will be that very vajradeha itself. The yogi willthen strike the neck of the corpse with the sword for the conferral of power “of theweapon in the hand”, and, when he has written the name of the support for meditation[alambana] for whatever (deity), he will concentrate intensively on it, reciting thelineages (of his teachers) faultlessly.

“[After this, the head having been cut off and (the yogi) calling out, ‘Ha ha!’, he(then) announces that by saying, “Slaying the undermining of the teaching is good!”And this is the dharani (accompanying) the amputation of the head: om padmantakrita kroda hulu hulu hum khahi. This spell will be repeated one hundred times.

“Wnile reciting that dharani, meditate on Mahendra. The collection of weapons[mantras] is completed with the clear presence (in meditation) of Mahendra, and theone named Vajrakiogara;38 and, with the force of haughty, fierce deities, complete intheir assembly of weapons, (the yogi and his teacher) will circle the mandala. Withthis, the rituals of libation will be completed; use the dharani given above. Recite thisspell while counting continuously: om padmantakrita vajra kroda hayagriva hum hrih;repeat it many times. Mahendra, then being present with his consort, (the yogi as)Vajrakiogara will then offer the head of the corpse to his acarya.

“Then, that same secret teacher will fulfill the spiritual wishes of the Sugata and theDakini. Following this, the dharani for removing the heart [citta] (is to be given); itshould be recited forcefully. The acarya instructs the yogi, saying, “Pull out the heart!”Then, that vajra-butcher, reciting this dharani, pulls out the heart: sa ma ya kha hi /tsitta hum ’dus kha dur ma ra ya hum. With that dharani, the yogi should draw theheart out toward him. If he is one possessed of the ascetic works [vrata] of a Kiogara,39

then, eating the heart, the yogi will offer some to his acarya.“Now, the yogi will recite the dharani that animates the dead one and obtains siddhi:

If the corpse rises during this recitation for obtaining siddhi, it is attained.“During the rising of the corpse, that one who possesses to a high degree the es-

sence of Mahendra (i.e., the yogi) should strike at that spot with his dagger [kila] andrecite one-hundred eight times this dharani: om hrih tha sarba siddhi badzra hum.With that recitation, success will be achieved. Through this spell, which ought to stimu-late the deceased, (the vijñana of the deceased) will be thrown into a womb preparedfor it: om dhram ka dza e sparana phat phat. There will be a conferral of power for thedeceased to become a son of the five families (of Tathagatas). That conferral of powerhas been taught with this spell: om svalam dutring hridaya stvam.

“The three bodies having become the vajrakaya, they are within rings of five lights.The yogi should consider these light-rays to be five blazing bodies.40 Then, the secretacarya will complete his conferral of power and blessing and will apportion the fleshappropriately. And, in order to magnify the enjoyment of the sons [i.e., attending spir-its] who reside in the mandala, and the Lord himself, this is the dharani the yogishould repeat while eating the meat: om ah hum hridaya siti hum phat. This is taughtto be the dharani for enjoyment of that flesh. Thus is taught liberating for the sake ofextracting the magical power (of the corpse).

“In liberating to benefit the deceased, on the very night of the last sadhana the yogiwill take the ornaments off the corpse, remove that stretched-out corpse, and lay itface-down on a mandala for peaceful deities. When he has cast strings on the corpse’sback in the correct manner, he should draw a mandala for wrathful deities on it. Thiswill complete the collection of materials for puja.

“With the vajracarya leading the ritual, they will circumambulate the outer edges ofthe corpse and the mandala. Giving themselves to singing padmanta kri ta, they per-


form the utpala dance vigorously. (When the vajracarya then) apportions the fleshfrom above the central thread of the back of the corpse, the conferral of power iscomplete. Consider that rays of light are streaming from this dharani, which is a spellfor the puja of the ru lu dance; here is that spell for the various offerings made then: omru lu ru lu hum bhyo hum. Because there is a great streaming forth of light rays fromthis spell, the obscurations (of the deceased) will be purified by those light-rays fromthe body, speech, and mind (of all Buddhas). When the yogi has accomplished whatwas to be visualized, he offers as puja five materials—these being the internal organsof the carcass41—along with the eyes. This is done for the benefit of the deceased.

“In liberating to compensate for damage done (by the yogi’s transgressions): Inaccordance with the above method of apportioning the flesh, at the end of two nightsof sadhana, the yogi should create a mandala for wrathful deities. He should gatherwhatever goods and materials (are needed for) puja and then circumambulate the out-side of the mandala. He should meditate on whoever is his irtadevata. He should thengather whatever material he has for the bskang gso.42 The yogi will then perform con-fessions and bskang gso in their extensive forms. Methods for proceeding, and thedharani for enjoyment, are just as those taught above. He should not cease the series ofofferings [gana] and bali until the Vighna (spirits of obstructions) are completely an-nihilated. Acting as the executioner and flaying the corpse, the yogi will show the way[cf. fn.36]. Preparing himself with the materials for compensatory offerings, the yogiperforms this rite and is blessed with having a samadhi connected with the seeds andthe materials of the gana and the puja. The yogi will then fulfill forever his vows to theMatpka. This is the customary practice for compensating for the damage done (by theyogi’s transgressions).

“Such is the way one accomplishes thoroughly savasadhana.“Through this spell everything is realized: om sarva karuna padma vajrapani

vajrasattva samaya ayuh amrita tira hum phat svaha. Repeating that spell, successwill be attained. Holding the heart between the thumb and the ring finger, the yogishould remain in meditative equipoise through two periods of fatigue. However greatare the collections of offerings to the four times [i.e., seasons], in achieving siddhi theyogi should consider them to have become gold.

“In such a way, when one possessed of such a samadhi practices this sadhana fortwo years, the tongue of that corpse will truly turn into gold. When that tongue hasbecome gold, the yogi should receive it while in the “samadhi of the ring-finger” and,after taking it, he should mix it with honey water, grind it finely, and recite over it thesecret spell. After this, it becomes (everything the yogi needs in terms of) food anddrink. After he has eaten it, he will become without rebirth and will attain bodhi. Allordinary siddhis will be achieved. The yogi will be satisfied by just thinking of it (ashis food). Without (need for) clothes, he settles into being naked. Without wrinkles, hebecomes youthful, and remains that way for one hundred yenrs. After that, when hechanges his existence from this life, he will not return. Such powers as these willappear.”

The second document is a set of passages from Chapter Six of the Krodhavajra-kalpaguhyatantra;IVd some few citations have also been included from an anony-mous tikaIVd which centers very much on kriya, i.e., details of ritual structure, butwhich don’t inform us very much about the nature of the spirit involved here, whichis a Preta. This tantra centers on Yamantaka rites, in which the yogi, by exercisingthe magical power and spell [mthu] of Yamantaka, gains control over certain spiri-tual beings to acquire powers. The sixth chapter, “The rite of the Vetali”,43 sketcheshow this control is brought about, as well as other magical powers. The seventhchapter, in part, details the powers the yogi will obtain. The selection below is only


part of the complete ritual centering on vetalamudra, but contains the relevent mate-rinl on the use of the corpse and creation of a “risen corpse”.

[The Vetala is controlled by use of the seventeen-syllable dharani, om ah kro dhi ka yaman ta ka ha na ma tha bhañja hum phat, taught by Yamantaka, and the vetalamudra,described in the text, below. This spell renders all Asuras confounded.]

Once possessed of these things, the yogi constructs the mandala which leads to haha.44 As has been explained for the generality of Pretas,45 this mandala should also bea square. The learned one ought to make the regions around the mandala especiallypure by building up fires. The mandala is to be drawn in accordance with the rite,neither more nor less than eightncubits square.

The yogi will assign bloody Pretas of desolate caves at each of the doors of the mandalawhen they appear clearly (in meditation). In the middle, he will place in a clear way (ina state of meditative clarity) the lower half of a human body, a human corpse without ahead. Finally, being a mandala of the general sort for Pretas, the yogi will arrange agarland of Pretas around its edge.

[Following numerous other works to complete the mandala—described in detail inthe commentary—the yogi, repeating the dharani given above, will climb onto theheadless corpse. He will then offer puja to the assembled Preta and place lamps aroundthe mandala ... After applying the vetalimudra to the heart of the corpse {while repeat-ing the vetaladharani above for 1008 nights), the yogi circumambulates it and—asYamantaka—washes the corpse, ornaments it, and offers puja. The yogi, called a Vidya-dhara and a powerful Vira, again acting as Yamantaka, takes up a sword [khadga] andsteps on the heart of the corpse “with the left foot of the Vira”, and then repeats theseventeen-syllable dharani.46]

Being compelled by Yamantaka’s fearful spell, the Preta (in the corpse) will begin toshake [kampate]; the yogi, having become (one who shouts) ha ha, will cause thePreta to panic. The yogi should then also make that sound, ha ha, just like that. Then,the corpse will rise, because of Yamantaka [lit., “the Lord”], after which (the yogi) shouldoffer to Yamantaka gifts which include the flesh and blood (of the corpse) cut with thatblazing, sharp weapon [i.e., the khadga]. Recognizing (through that offering) the warmthof that Vidyadhara’s citta, Yamantaka accepts the offering, and when the mandala (ofspirits also utters) ha ha, the Preta is made fearful. Then, when the Preta has seen theform (of Yamantaka), which is suitably fear-inspiring, there will be demonstrated tothe Preta the vetalimudra of Vira Yamantaka.

Then, because Yamantaka resides in that body of the Preta, (the yogi) sees that vetali-mudra itself. Recognizing the warm citta of that yogi, (which shows) the best of inten-tions (by the yogi), it is certain that Yamantaka will make (siddhi) to be given to (theyogi).

When the King of Wrath [Krodharaja, i.e., Yamantaka] has again withdrawn fromthe body, that corpse will collapse to the ground. Its body will then certainly turn intogold. The yogi will then distribute pieces of this corpse, as he wishes, to his friends andother sentient beings.

This being the explanation of the (process of) realization of Mahatmavira [Yamantaka]... when a sadhaka who has citta which is other than that (described here) has realizedthat Krodharaja, then, in just the time it takes for the corpse to rise, he and his friendswill all be killed. If he (also) doesn’t know the vetalimudra then, although (the sadhaka)may become a krodha in some way through that mudra, the siddha of that Krodharajawill be killed.

The third and fourth documents are from two similar, but by no means identical,texts. Both seem to be known, in their short titles, as rDo rje bkod pa, but they differ


in size and the format of their contents. The following translation is from the Debzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi thugs gsang ba’i ye shes don gyi snying po rdo rjebkod pa’i rgyud rnal ’byor grub pa’i lung kun ’dus rig pa’i mdo theg pa chen pomngon par rtogs pa chos kyi rnam grangs rnam par bkod pa mdo,IVe which is over600 pages long in the 1982 rNying ma rgyud ’bum edition, and was translated fromBurushaski. The second version, given only in Tibetan in PART V below, is fromthe De bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi thugs gsang ba’i ye shes donngyi snying pokhro bo rdo rje’i rigs kun ’dus rig pa’i mdo rnal ’byor grub pa’i rgyud ces bya batheg pa chen po’i mdo. It is 275 pages long in the 1973 rNying ma rgyud ’bumedition, and has no colophon.IVe

The narratives of these two texts concerning savasadhana are very similar, soonly the first has been translated, but a few variant readings or added data are in-cluded, in round brackets, from the second.

The following analysis of raising the dead (is for) obtaining the great dead body [bamchen] of ignorance [moha], a corpse, from the island of the dead [i.e., a samsana], (torealize) an end to the conceptions of eternal existence or complete annihilation (afterneath, which exist among) the ill ones in the samsara of the three realms.47 In order for(the dead) to achieve birth in an unobstructed way, supply the corpse with a dharaniwhich is a wish-fulfilling gem [cintamani] (for this purpose), and (all such obstruc-tions) will be suppressed.

{In a mahasamsana, having already sought out materials for decking out the corpse,}the yogi should then become a companion of that corpse, repeating ceaselessly thatdharani. When the corpse’s {complexion and} luster have returned, {these are signsthat he is succeeding, and} the yogi should show great industry (in applying that dharani)without interruption.

Just when that corpse has begun to shake [kampate], it should then be rubbed withone’s juice of transformation {the juice of transformation into gold}.48 Now the yogimust bind the limbs of the corpse while forceful repetitions of the spell continue unin-terruptedly. Whenever that corpse begins to rise, it will manifest miraculous displaysin a dreadful way. (Nevertheless,) the yogi [purura] who possesses the correct prac-tices [vrata] will then cut out the corpse’s tongue. When he casts (that spell) on thecorpse, it will become gold. Likewise, if one transforms that corpse on the basis of anykind of wish made, that wish will come true. And, inasmuch as the tongue, the sword[khadga] which cut it out, and the cut-off head of the corpse are “realized” materialswhich can fulfill the yogi’s wishes,49 when a yogi seizes the corpse’s skull as his armorand holds up the sword which has cut off the tongue, even an army50 of Asuras will berepulsed.

As for the “quick-foot” siddhi:51

Exceeding a measurement in miles, a skillful yogi [purura] can, while looking in alldirections, simultaneously launch an arrow, circle the world, and catch that arrow be-fore it falls to the ground, all in an instant. The purura whose hand-reach has notdiminished52 can arrive at a place immediately; he achieves (whatever he wishes) veryquickly—as in an instant.

All wishes make themselves visible on the corpse. {This has been explained by theJinas of the three times. This is the samadhi of the Vetalasadhana. This is the end of thesecond narrative.} While practicing savasadhana on a corpse, if the corpse is pre-pared, but the qualities of the corpse (described above) haven’t yet appeared, onepractices sadhana in whatever way one usually does (until the yogi has) a completediscrimination (of the illusory nature of phenomena) on the corpse for the purpose of(those qualities) appearing there.


By practicing according to the certain knowing that there is no intrinsic nature of thecorpse in the corpse, then when one practices (according to) an equanimity of view justlike that, (one is following the dictum), “View and practice are the same”. This hasbeen explained by the Sacred One (to be the correct approach to this practice).

This is the practice of the excellent ampta which raises the dead.

The fifth and last document is a selection from the sixth chapter of the Subahupari-ppcchatantra, with supplemental material in round brackets and in the footnotes,from two commentaries.IVf

This material has been included both for its own value and because a sketch offit, published in 1857 by Vasilii Vasil’ev in his Buddhizm, ego dogmati, istoriia iliteratura, probably represents the first description of vetalasadhana in Westernscholarship. In addition to the translation of the passage, the French translation ofVasil’ev’s precis follows the Tibetan text in PART V (the Russian edition is notavailable to me).53

A commentary (PINIVf, 50r) divides acquiring vetalasiddhi into eight parts, towit: The characteristics of the vetalasadhaka; the characteristics [of the dharaniand the rite] which will raise the Vetala; the location and placing for the Vetala tobe realized; facing the mandalas which will realize vetalasadhana; how one oughtto wash the corpse; the rite of the materials for the five sorts of puja; the rite forhow one should recite the dharanis; and, that the yogi ought to completely pacifythe Vighnas which appear when the Vetala is rising.54 The commentary then goeson to discuss some of these points, beginning with the characteristics of the sadhaka,which form the conclusion of the narrative below.

If a yogi sees a human corpse which has no scars on it, {a friend of the yogi} ought toprotect it throughout the day by holding a sword and club in his hands.55 Then, just assoon as possible [i.e., that night], the Vetala should be realized in an empty mausoleumin a samsana; under a solitary tree [see above]; at a stream, a lake, or an ocean; or, ona mountain.

Having examined such a place and found it totally appropriate, the yogi shouldanoint it {a hundred times} with soil with cow dung, etc. In that pure place, the yogishould draw a samaya56 using various paints, either black, white, or red. Having con-sidered from among the mandalas already discussed, whichever one the yogi desires isperfectly acceptable. Invoking (by dharani) with great faith the most excellent of theMothers of his (Tathagata) family57 and concentrating carefully on it, he should write it(on that mandala).

A fearless servant will then accept (the corpse from the bearer) and will carry it in,placing it on kusa grass. He will shave its scalp, as well as the finer hair on the body,and then immediately rub (mustard) oil on it. The yogi will then fill four ... pots (kalasa)with pure water [i.e., water over which mantras have been recited], mix it with mate-rials for ablutions, and then wash the body with it.After this, the yogi will dress the corpse in a white garment of fine material. Then,placing the corpse on a grass seat, strewn with whole flowers and in the middle of themandala, he will place its head to the east or north. It should then be rubbedwithnaromatic materials and incensed, with a garland of flowers put on it, and sprayedwith pieces of flowers.

The yogi should then make piles from flesh {human, elephant, or buffalo}, fish, theliquid from melted butter, and sesame seeds—whatever is available—mix them to-gether, and put them on the corpse’s cheeks, etc. These should be offered above andbelow the corpse to the Bhutas, Nagas, Pisacas,58 Yakras, and ’dre. With the good friend


nf the yogi to protect him,59 he ought to repeat the secret spell (which enlivens thecorpse) with his thought in one-pointed concentration.

When the corpse begins to rise, various Vighnas nho have frightful appearances willmanifest themselves. When the yogi has empowered ground, or whole, white mustardseeds with the dharani of gTsug tor rgyal mo, these Vighnas, who have come fromeverywhere because of that bali, will take flight from the power of that secret spell.60

To pacify those (other) fierce beings (who manifest themselves), the yogi will make aunion with Amptakundalin, who possesses works which are terrible. When those Vighnaare (thus) subdued, the Vetala will rise quickly through the power of the secret dharani.Whatever {siddhi} the yogi sees from this detailed dharani-rite is achieved now, inreality and without limitation.

If, however, after that corpse has arisen, the yogi doesn’t know the dharani-rite forthat corpse, then (he may use) a dharani-rite according to another teacher. Going totreasures; into caves;61 {riding on a} sword; añja (?); having a servant; (having) thejuice which transforms things into gold, and rasayanas; and, flying through the sky:These siddhis will be given the yogi. (However,) a yogi with a feeble mind, beingwithout the power of this dharani, is (also) without the power of its protection, and themind also does not have power because it is without the force of (the experience of)ascetic practices [tapas] (that accompany these teachings). Searching for vetalasiddhi,that yogi will be killed by those who wander about at night.

PART III. THE RO LANGS

[Some observations in this section follow on, or react to, views and materials inarticles by Turrell Wylie and Per-Arne Berglie on the Ro langs.62 In addition, I havealso used material here collected recently by Keith Richmond (see fn.67). Thesesources are here cited as “Wylie”, “Berglie”, and “Richmond”.]

A great hindrance to studying the relationships between the Vetala and the Rolangs is the lack of even a relative chronology for them. We don’t know, e.g., howold belief in the Ro langs is in Tibet, and, thus, whether it might predate the intro-duction of the Vetala concept. Likewise, we don’t know how long vetalasadhanahas been practiced in Tibet, although its knowledge is attributed to numerous fig-ures in the sNga dar period, i.e., before the mid-tenth century,63 and there is at leastone text mentioning the Ro langs in the materials from Dunhuang, although it doesnot seem exceedingly old.

Notices about vetalasadhana practice in the sNga dar are probably truthful, be-cause in the early Phyi dar, Lha Lama Ye shes ’od (who died around 1030), the kingof Pu hrangs in Western Tibet and descendent of the last ruler of the Tibetan Impe-rium, composed an official statement in which he expressed that he was very dis-turbed that such practices were current among Tibetans in his day.64

The best-known story of vetalasadhana in Tibetan sources—found in many ofthe standard histories—has an Indian monk using the gold thus obtained to foundOdantapuri Monastery. This story may well have been carried into Tibet in thesNga dar, by Indians or Tibetans telling miraculous stories of India. In that story,the Vetala would have also become very dangerous if the yogi and his helper hadfailed in the rite: He would have eaten them.65

The principal characteristic of the Ro langs is its unremittingly evil nature. WhenI mentioned, at the beginning of this article, that the Ro langs is important in Tibetanculture, it was in reference to the awe, hatred, and terror that the Ro langs inspires.There is no other spiritual being that arouses such strong feelings in Tibetans. It has


no positive function at all; it is not an ambiguous figure in their lives, and offers nobenefits under any circumstances. It cannot be “controlled” or “tamed” by an ordi-nary person, and the only means of prenventing it from entering a corpse is bybinding the latter (see fn.1n). If it appears, it must be killed by someone, a sngagspa, a lha pa, or even a brave layman.66 Wylie, Berglie, and others67 consistentlysupport these data from their oral materials.

Written sources are also valuable, of course, because, when they are included, e.g.,in a rnam thar, we may see the Ro langs interpreted in a more “normative” TibetanBuddhist manner: How a lama understands such a phenomenon. As a common motifin Tibetan materials, we see many such vignettes in biographies avanlable to us.

Following is one example, a passage from the autobiography of Padma lhun grub,a.k.a. O rgyan bstan ’dzin, an 18th century lama from northern Nepal.IVg He recountsthe following, which happened when he was in the company of his Dharma-friend,Chos bstan ’dzin, on pilgrimage. The story most probably dates from the 1750s:

“Then, about three or four days after we arrived up at Manang, a lama told us, ‘Chosbstan ’dzin and U rgyan bstan ’dzin, go together to a cemetary and bring down a skullfor use in inner puja.’

“So, we entered Cool Grove, the great cemetary of Manang, that very night, and,coming across some headrests in a mausolnum [ro khang], we slept there.

“At a little past the middle of the night, we left that mausoleum and, there beinganother empty mausoleum with no skulls in it, (we left that also). Then, after we hadleft each of these, Chos bstan ’dzin found some pieces of one woman’s skull, and Icame across another empty mausoleum. Then, as my Dharma-friend is removing askull and I’ve gone to search behind the mausoleum he’s in, while I’m searching thereis suddenly, here and there, a shout Hang! I think to myself, “What kind of animal isthat?”, as I listen to it. The sound was coming from inside a mausoleum. I thought thismust be some magical action, so I sat, cross-legged, holding fast onto the top of aroofless mausoleum, and sang this short song from within a state of samadhi:

“‘What is happening now, and the Lha and the ’Dre, are the three magical cre-ations.68 When looking upon appearance and emptiness without the obstructions ofconceptual thoughts, I will not be deceived. Oh, assembly of Lha and ’dre! Let themagic of Ro langs, lha, ’dre, or whatever, appear!’“69

“But, before my view could be restrained [through this samadhi], the mausolea arelit in flames70 and shake. The very rocks are shouting, ‘Rog! Rog!’ My body began toshake, too! And, although I cast perhaps three phat while in the samadhi of Khros maNag mo (a fierce form of Tara, Kruddhatara), that force was not pacified.

“In an instant, as I was searching out whatever there was of somebody’s two arms inthe darkness, among the arms and legs in the mausoleum, I was seized by the long andthick hand of a dead person. He draws himself up in one effort and appears before mein just two instants ... As he appeared before me, he cried out with that effort. Just assoon as the Ro langs rose up, I seized his two arms and dragged him outside.

“It was the corpse of an old man, dead about one month, with somewhat white hair.Its body and face, which had not deteriorated, were bronzy in color. I was able torelease that Ro langs; then Chos bstan ’dzin came, calling out, ‘Where are you?’

“After that ... we extracted the thigh bone and took it back with us.“I offered this story to the lama. He said that, indeed, it was a real Ro langs, a lord of

the samsana and a magical creation of the Lha and ’Dre. He told people that I hadreleased a Ro langs!”

Its intrinsic interest aside, this story illustrates clearly the frightening supernatu-ral phenomena associated with Ro langs, but also establishes that overcoming a Ro


langs is a brave—but not superhuman—undertaking. It would also seem that theirlama didn’t associate the Ro langs with a Vetala, but, at the same time, it is interest-ing that Padma lhun grub doesn’t tell us how he “released” the Ro langs, whichmethod could have been a sort of vetalasadhana.

The remaining data about Ro langs from anecdotal sources—Wylie, Berglie,and Richmond—are sketchy. Berglie (p.41) says that the greatest power of a Rolangs is to make someone ill or mad by touching him or her on the head. This effectis seen to be contagious; a Ro langs may thus “infect” an entire region, or empty itin some way through fear or power.

Finally, we note these two observations from Wylie: He mentions (p.76) that asign of the entrance of a Ro langs is that the corpse begins to grow. Also, one of hisnarrators (p.76) notes that, “For some demonical reason, [Ro langs] find it difficultto rise up when there is too much light.”

The most outstanding physical ability Tibetans attribute to Ro langs in generalis that they are stiff, move awkwardly, and cannot bend. Thus, doorways in manyparts of Tibet are traditionally low, so that Ro langs cannot enter houses (e.g., datain fn.67).

I conclude this brief section with a widespread categorization of Ro langs. Asnoted by informants in all three of our sources here, and elsewhere, Tibetans be-lieve that there are five kinds of Ro langs: skin, blood, flesh, bone, and mole (lpagslangs, khrag langs, sha langs, rus langs, rme langs). These refer to where the Rolangs is most vulnerable to attack, through the skin, etc., up to the most difficult,finding the mole on the body which must be pierced.

PART IV. SOME CONCLUSIONS

Are we now in a position to say that this or that characteristic of a Ro langs issimilar to, and probably stems from, the Vetala, while others are of an indepen-dent—presumably “native” Tibetan—origin? Or, are these beings independent inorigin and development? Chronological data being absent, or insufficient, we mustlook to details of the character, actions, and powers of these beings to arrive at aninformed choice of alternatives.

First of all, in dealing with the term Ro langs, we have seen that the term and,presumably, original model for a “risen corpse” is explained from Indic yogictraditions which go back (probably) at least to the early seventh century there. Theterm and some concepts entered Tibet in sNga dar times. It was also during thisperiod that the term Ro langs must have been applied by Tibetans as a specificequivalent for the Vetala as used in savasadhana. The concept of the Ro langs as arisen corpse under the control of a spiritual being is snecifically exampled, as Ihave shown, already in the Bhutadamaratantra, although this text was appar-ently not rendered into Tibetan until some time later.71 (Thus, the appearance of amotif may not always be dependent on the translation of documents about it.) It isinteresting that no Tibetan scholiast has—to my knowledge—felt the need to noteeither contrasts or similarities between the Ro langs and the Vetala. None of theinformants in the anecdotal data cited by the above authors, and others, seem awareof the two categories, either. Such a distinction appears to exist in the Tibetanattribution of lha ’dre (above) or of gdon as causing Ro langs (Wylie, 72; ThuptenSangay, op.cit., fn.14, p.12), but it is clear, upon examination, that such an explana-


tion falls far short of convincing us that the ‘Ro langs caused by gDon’ representsa “native” Tibetan concept.72

Inconsistency also exists in both the Indic and Tibetan traditions as to whichsort of spirit may create a Vetala or a Ro langs, or which may be used in savasadhana.As we have seen in Parts I and II, Preta or Pisaca occasionally also occupy corpsesor are invoked; Wylie (73) notes that bgegs may occupy corpses, along with gdon,and ’dre are cited as well by Berglie (p.41). These variations might seem to con-fuse the issues of origin and influence, but in fact are irrelevant. In many cultures,the functions and powers of “minor spiritual beings” overlap or are only vaguelydefined; such spirits are, by definition, “out there”, anywhere in the darkness ordeserted places where human beings aren’t, or shouldn’t be. Thus, we aren’t ex-pected to know much about them, and we depend on our “greater spiritual beings”to protect us from them. (The difficulty in categorizing Bhuta discussed above isdirectly related to its vague descriptions.n When we remain focused on comparingthe Vetala and the Ro langs we can see a definite and consistent set of characteris-tics which match the two.

Nothing excludes that Tibetans may have attached some other, truly “native”significance to Ro langs. However, its origin in Buddhist Tantric culture would helpexplain the tremendous popularity of such lore in Tibet, and its absence elsewherein Asia (except in Mongolia, which also argues for a Buddhist origin, since thedependence on Tibetan lore is clear). Because we lack any evidence that it is a “na-tive” spiritual being (contra Wylie, 72), this is an argumentum ex silencio. The Rolangs is not found as part of “pre-” or “non-” Buddhist Tibetan religiosity, folkbeliefs, or rituals, as presented in either the earliest materials or in later compila-tions which document (as least some of) them, such as the Lha ’dre bka’ thang(which does make several explicit references to the contents of the Saptavetalaka-namadharani, and seems to derive its knowledge of the Ro langs exclusively fromthe Vetala as presented there), the Rin chen gtnr mdzod, or the texts studied by Renéde Nebesky-Wojkowitz in The Oracles and Demons of Tibet.

Are the characteristics of the Ro langs and the Vetala sufficiently different as tosupport a hypothesis of separate origin and nature? No. For example, as citedabove, according to Berglie and Wylie (p.75), the most dangerous thing a Ro langscan do is make people mad or ill by touching them on the head. This power of aRo langs originates in the Saptavetalakanamadharani, as we have seen, with Anandaas a model, and probably is the origin of the “water of madness” motif in the firstdocument studied in PART II.

Different interpretations of the actions of Ro langs naturally arose over the centu-ries. This caused Wylie to put forward the “epidemic” type (p.76), which is reallyonly a variant on the notion of the Ro langs illness here, with the Ro langs touch-ing many heads, rather than just one or two, and overcoming many people. “Empty-ing a country” or “laying waste to a land”, or some similar effect, is also sometimesascribed to Ro langs.73 This power can also be seen to derive from the Odantapuriepisode mentioned in PART III, and the hyperbolized power described in theSaptavetalakanamadharani.

More specialized characteristics also show an Indian derivation. Wylie’s noticethat corpses increase in size with the entrance of a Ro langs corresponds to the length-ening of a corpse noted in materials in PART I. (This will not obviate, for some, the


naturalistic explanation on p.78 of Wylie on the condition known a anasarca; com-ments here apply to the probable cultural origin of the motif.) Likewise, their aver-sion to light, and the reason for it—shared by many spiritual beings “of the night”in India, Tibet, and around the world—is already detailednin the Bhutadamaratantraand the Snptavetalakanamadharani.74 Even the notice by O rgyan bstan ’dzin thatthenRo langs which threatened him had a face and body free of scars, etc., accordswith the requirements at the opening of the Subahuparippcchatantra passage quotedabove, and probably speaks to the predilection of the Vetala spirit to find an un-damaged host by which to more closely recapitulate a living human being.75

The problems that lengthened, Ro langs-inhanited corpses have bending overand entering doorways may, of course, be explained as due to rigor mortis. How-ever, that condition does not last long, and, there being no explanation forthcomingfrom the Tibetans (to my knowledge), I would like to present a complementaryrationale which may have brought about this belief. Charles Ramble and Claes Corlin76

inform us that the backs of corpses are often—in some areas, usually—broken toprevent Ro langs from entering. This could be seen as preventing spirits from re-entering the body by the same venue that the rnam shes/vijñana exited it: Thesubtle channel leading to and through the brahmarandhra. The awkward gait ofthe Ro langs would be a consequence of such an ‘unnatural’ revivification.

Materials cited here show that nearly the entirety of Tibetan belief about Rolangs has been generated from assorted Indic descriptions of the Vetala and its usein vetalasadhana. Aside from beliefs about the skin Ro langs, etc.—which may belocal developments, of recent date—Tibetan notions of “risen corpses” are bestexplained as teachings and lore spread by Tibetan yogis and others. Long ago theyhad heard or read the above texts, or learned about Vetalas, and/or practiced vetala-sadhana, and Ro langs was a literal rendering for what a Vetala is—a risen corpse.And, since the Indic tradition knows of both “rogue” and “tamed” Vetala, in both“Tantric” and “popular” contexts, it is not necessary to postulate “tantric” and“demonic” Ro langs, as Wylie (71f) had. Both Vetala and Ro langs are dangerous,unless powerful yogis or other brave souls can deal with them. What Wylie referredto as a “demonic” Ro langs is the Tibetan version of an “untamed” Vetala loose ina village or samsana.

What is left to consider is the obvious point: Why is the Ro langs such an impor-tant figure in Tibet (and, through Tibet, Mongolia)? I leave this to those who havestudied Tibetan attitudes toward death and corpses, for I believe a particular fearof the dead—a suspicion that they really aren’t—combined at an early period inTibet with this interesting Vetala lore coming from India to provide another ratio-nalization for a mortal fear of corpses and the dead. (On the other hand, it also mayhave simply been the novel and macabre nature of the stories which gripped theTibetans and made the tradition so popular.)

Finally, we come to the cosmological and cosmogonic implications of this com-plex. First, and most importantly, it shows that both Hindus and Buddhists be-lieved that there were places in their universe which escaped the benevolent con-trol of their spiritual beings. These areas—dark places, deserted areas, and thosewhere the dead dwelled—represented a chaos dwelling within their cosmos. Godswere apparently helpless against them; only specially-trained religious heroes couldventure there to practice their craft, and apparently even their efforts were useless


if the creature successfully entered the world of the living. Darkness, of course,represents chaos in the Indo-Iranian world and elsewhere, and it may be an excusefor the vague positions Vetala and Bhuta have in Hindu and Buddhist cosmologies:Where there is darkness, nothing can be perceived, recognized, known, and thusclassified. Nothing is said of how these beings were created; little is said about howthe Devas and great Buddhas and Bodhisattvas relate to them, or may control them,outside of the Saptavetalakanamadharani. And, in the “organic” cosmology ofBuddhism, which finds places for all orders of sentient beings, even Bhuta andPreta,77 no place has been assigned for the Vetala.

It is an irony also met with in the cosmologies, e.g., of the Mediterranean Gnos-tic groups, that higher and more powerful spiritual beings are helpless to protect usfrom the evil spirits which dwell, enmeshed, in a world beyond their power, theworld of creation, where humanity also dwells. This world is sometimes also eternal,and was created at the same time as, but is opposed to, the cosmos. Like their evilspirits, the Vetala comes as close as anything to providing an Indian and Tibetananswer to, “Why bad things happen to good people”. It is totally irrational, and by itsneediness exists only to bring human beings misery.

As the subject of alchemical practice, the Vetala is that agent of chaos as raw,untamed nature, inimical to life and spirit, which the yogi must overcome and thenbring into the cosmos in a positive state as a sign that he has mastered all the forcesof evil he may encounter. Indeed, an enlivened corpse possessed by an evil spiritseems the perfect figure of an intrusion of a blindly destructive element into ourcosmos.

PART V. TEXTS FOR PARTS I, II, & IIIN.B.: References to Canons are to The Tibetan Tripitaka: Peking edition, Tokyo,1955, and The sDe dge mTshal pa bKa’ ’gyur (and the accompanying bsTan ’gyurseries, Delhi, 1976-1978. “Best-reading” texts given below represent my compari-son of the cited editions, with occasional, preferred readings not found in eitheredition.

IVa A best-reading selection based on one of the sDe dge (Vol.91, pp.104-106)and both Peking (Vol.7 & 11, pp.296f and 279, respectively) canon editions.

phyi bzhin ’brang ba’i dge sbyong tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo dang yang thabs ciggo /

de’i tshe na mu stegs can kun tu rgyu ba rnams kyis bcom ldan ’das la gnod par byaba’i phyir / ro langs chen po bdun btang bar gyur to / de dag bcom ldan ’das kyi thad dusong ba las de dag gis glags ma rnyed / dmigs pa ma rnyed do / de dag gis glags marnyed / dmigs pa ma rnyed nas de dag tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo ga la ba der songste phyin nas / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo’i lus la reg go / reg ma thag tu kun dga’bo de sdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha ba shi la thug pa’i tshe re ba rnams dangldan par gyur to / de nas tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo ’di snyam du sems te / bdag nisdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha ba / shi la thug pa’i tshor ba rnams dang ldan nabcom ldan ’das des ma dgongs so / bdag ’di ltar nyam nga bar gyur na de bzhin gshegspa ma dgongs so snyam mo /

de’i tshe na tshe dang ldan pa sha ri’i bu dang / tshe dang ldan pa maud gal gyi buchen po dang / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo dang thag mi ring ba zhig na ’dug pargyur to / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo’i nye ba’i nyon mongs pa de lta bu de tshe dang


ldan pa sha ri’i bu dang / tshe dang ldan pa maud gal gyi bu chen pos thos so / de nasde gnyis tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo ga la bder song ste phyin nas ’di skad ces smrasso / tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo sdug bsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha ba’i tshor bamyong nas bdag la de bzhin gshegs pas ma dgongs so zhes ci de skad ces smra’am / deskad ces smras pa dang / tshe dang ldan pa dag bdag gi lus la tshor ba dang ldan pa nidper na sog les mgo bo gshags pa ltar kun dga’ bo la reg pa yang de dang ’dra’o / kundga’ bo ma ’jigs shig / bdag cag gis khyod khri’i steng du bzhag ste / de bzhin gshegspa’i drung du bskur ro / bcom ldan ’das de khyod la yongs su skyob par mdzad par’gyur ro /

de nas tshe dang ldan pa sha ri’i bu dang / tshe dang ldan pa maud gal gyi bu chenpos tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo nyal khri’i steng du bzhag nas / bcom ldan ’das gala bder song ste phyin nas bcom ldan ’das kyi drung du bzhag go / de nas bcom ldan’das kyis tshe dang ldan pa kun dga’ bo la bka’ stsal pa / kun dga’ bo khyod ci sdugbsngal mi bzad pa / drag pa tsha ba’i tshor bas thebs sam / btsun pa bcom ldan ’das delta lags so / kun dga’ bo khyod de’i phyir legs par rab tu nyon la yid la zung shag dangbshad do / kun dga’ bo khyod la reg pa’i ro langs chen po stobs che ba / gdul dka’ ba /mthong na gnod pa bdun yod de / bdun gang zhe na / ’di lta ste / phreng ba ’dzin cesbya ba dang / nor bu ’dzin dang / gtum po dang / gdol pa dang / rma bya’i snying dang /tshe zad dang / la gcan te / ro langs chen po bdun po de dag ni stobs che ba / gdul dka’ba / bsnyen par dka’ ba / rdzu ’phrul che ba / mthu che ba’o / kun dga’ bo ro langs reres kyang ’dod na rkang pa g.yon pa’i mthe bos ri’i rgyal po ri rab kyang ’phen te / ri’irgyal po ri rab yungs ’bru tsam du rnam par ’jig go / steng du bltas na sa ’gas par byeddo / phyogs su bltas na ’chi bar ’gyur ro / phyogs mtshams su bltas na mes sreg parbyed do / de dag gis khyod la reg go.

IVb A best-reading selection based on the versions of the Peking (Vol.8, p.175) andsDe dge (Vol.95, pp.475f) Canon editions.

’byung po ’byung mo kun bsgrub pa’i cho ga rab tu rgyas pa’o /rdo rje ’chang chen po ’jig rten gsum gyi bdag pos ’di skad ces gsungs so /

chu bo’i gram dang / dur khrod dang / shing gcig pa dang / lha gnas pa’i khang padang / dpal rdo rje ’chang gi khyim dang / rigs kyi gnas rnams su bsgrub par bya ste /skad cig nyid kyis ’grub par ’gyur ro / gal te ma grub na ’byung po dang ’byung morigs dang rgyud du bcas ma lus la phyung par ’gyur ro /

de nas dbang phyug chen po’i lha chen pos bcom ldan ’das kyi zhabs la spyi bosphyag ’tshal te / bcom ldan ’das la ’di skad ces gsol to /

khro bo’i bdag po chen po gdug pa dang ma rungs pa rnams gsod par byed pa bshaddu gsol /

de na ’di gsungs pa tsam gyis dpal rdo rje ’chang gi ba spu’i bu ga rnams nas rdo rje’bar ba du ma byung bar gyur te / ’byung po dang ’byung mo thams cad kyi lus bskamsshing brgya byin dang / tshangs pa dang / khyab ’jug la sogs pa lha thams cad bsad pargyur to /

de nas de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyis ngo mtshar dang bcas pas ’di skad cesgsungs so /

legs so dpal ldan rdo rje ’chang khro bo’i bdag po chen po ma ’ongs pa’i dus na’byung po dang ’byung mo tshar gcod par byed pa ni legs so /

de nas yang slar ro’i rnam par shes pa ’gugs pa’i sngags gsungs pa / om vajra ayusesara sarasmin /

de nas gsungs pa tsam gyis dpal rdo rje ’chang gi shangs kyi bu ga nas rlung chen poro ’tsho bar byed pa byung bar gyur te / de bzung ba tsam gyis ’byung po dang ’byungmo rnams kyi lus la zhugs so / zhugs pa tsam gyis ’byung po dang ’byung mo rnamslangs te cher ’jigs shing rab tu ’dar bar gyur pas bcom ldan ’das bskyab tu gsol /

bcom ldan ’das kyi bka’ bzhin bgyid do zhes smras so..


IVc A best-reading text based on three collections: Vol.9, pp.92-98 of the 1973 (Thimphu) edition of the rNying ma rgyud ’bum; Vol.3, columns 356-364 of the 1973 (NewDelhi) edition of the rNying ma rgyud bcu bdun; and, Vol.1, fol. 48r-51r, of the 1985(Bum thang) edition of the rNying ma rgyud bcu bdun.

bcom ldan ’das padma dbang chen rang gnas kyi sku la phyag ’tshal lo /de nas bcom ldan ’das dbang chen gyi sku’i spyan sngar / Buddha He ru kas ro langs

gser du bsgrub pa ’di smras so /e ma ho / phyogs bcu’i lha dang klu rnams nyon/ rnal ’byor gang zhig stobs ldan pas/

dben pa’i gnas su rab song la / ro langs gser gyi sgrub pa brtsam / shin tu dben pa’i gnasder yang / dkyil ’khor ’dom gang gru bzhi bya / de nas chag chag rab btab la / phyi nanggsang ba’i mtshams nyid bcad /

phyi mtshams gcad par bya ba ni / gna kyi phyogs bzhi dag tu yang / rgyal chen dagla mtho bzhi ste / gtor ma cha re mtho rtsar btang / shog bu sor bzhi pa re la / rgyal chenbzhi yi sngags bris la / rang rang phyogs phyogs dag tu dgod / de ni phyi’i mtshams substan /

nang mtshams bcad pa ’di lta ste / khro bo bcu yi sngags kyis bcad /gsang ba ’khor lo mtshon chas bcad /gtor ma cha gsum rab tu btang / gtor ma cha gsum med pa na / gser skyems dag ni

rgyas par btang / chab gtor nus tshad dag tu btang /de ltar mtshams bcad rdzogs pa dang / ’bru lnga’i cho ga rdzogs par bya / mchod

rten brgyad ni gdab bya zhing / bshags pa chen po rdzogs par bya /de ltar sngon ’gro rab rdzogs nas / de nas nang du ’ong ba dang / dkyil ’khor chen po

de nyid la / thig ni rab tu gdab par bya / rnal ’byor chen po gsum gyis bsgrub / rdo rjeslob dpon gsang ba des / rdo rje rgyal po bu mchig la / thig skud sna ni legs sbyin la /bar snang dag tu ’then nas ni / sring sring lan gsum rdo rje bya / nub nas shar du khabltas la / thig gcig dkyil du gdab par bya / de la sogs te thig rnams gdab /

de nas tshon nyid rab tu dgye / zhi ba’i dkyil ’khor rab tu bzhengs / de yi steng durdzas rnams bsag / sgo la gri dang gra bzhir mda’ / dar dkar yol ba dag kyang bya / dpalgyi gtor ma byang phyogs su / lho ru ma mo’i gtor ma gzhag / shar du ’byung po’i gtorma gzhag / nub tu phud dang rakta’o / de ni dkyil ’khor bstan pa’o /

de yang ro de len pa’i tshe / ro langs la sogs gdul ba’i phyir / ’chi bdag gshin rje gnaspa’i sar / sngags dang ldan pa’i mtshon cha brdeg / de nas ro khur mi de la / myos pa’ichu yis rab myos bya /

de nas ro de bsgrub par bya / dkyil ‘khor pho brang dbus dag tu / brgyang shing dagdang ldan pa ste / skra bcings thor tshugs rnam gdag go / rang rang rgyan cha dag gisbrgyan /

dang po spos chu ’o mas bkru / de ltar dkyil ’khor steng du bzhag /bsgral ba thabs ni rnam gsum ste / tshe ’das don phyir bsgral ba dang / mthu rtsal

dbyung phyir bsgral ba dang / nyams chag bskang phyir bsgral ba’o / de ltar bsgral barbya ba’i phyir / bsgrub pa rab ’bring gsum du bya /

tshe ’das don phyir bsgral ba na / dbang bskur byin brlab bya ba dang / rigs drugdrang dang lam bstan bya / lan chags gtor ma rgyun du btang / tshogs dang mchod pargyun mi gcad / dus bzhi’i tshogs ni sna tshogs btang / mthu rtsal dbyung phyir bsgralba na / bsgrub zhag gsum byed pa na / zhag gnyis khro bo’i phrin las bya /

de nas dkyil ’khor steng nyid du / slob dpon gsang ba’i rgya bkrol la / mthu dang ralgri mtshon cha bsnam / rdo rje’i lus po nyid la yang / g.yang gzhi dur khrod rgyan gyisbrgyan / lag tu mtshon cha’i dbang bskur la / ske la ral gri rab btab la / gang la dmigspa’i ming bris la / dmigs pa rab tu bsam par bya / ma nyes rabs rnams rab tu brjod /

de nas mgo nyid chod pa dang / ha ha zhes bya’i sgra brjod cing / bstan pa ’jig pa bsadpa yi / legs so zhes byar rab tu brjod / de nyid ’breg pa’i sngags ’di’o / om padmanta krita kro [d]ha hu lu hu lu hum kha hi / sngags de lan grangs brgya rtsa brjod /


sngags rnams brjod cing dbang chen bsgom / dbang chen sku nyid gsal ba dang / rdorje’i ging po mtshan ldan des / mtshon cha’i rdzas rnams rdzogs pa dang / khro bo’gying ba’i stobs kyis ni / dkyil ’khor rab tu bskor bya zhing / bsgral ba’i las rnamsrdzogs par bya / legs par brjod pa gong bzhin no / rgyun du bgrang ba’i sngags ’dibrjod / om padmanta kri ta badzra kro dha ha ya gri ba hum hri / gsang ba’i sngags ’dimang du brjod / dbang chen yum dang bcas pa te / de nas rdo rje ging po deds /

slob dpon dag la mgo nyid dbul slob dpon gsang ba de nyid kyis / bde gshegs mkha’’gro’i thugs dam bskang / de nas tsitta dbyung ba’i sngags / ’di skad drag tu brjod byazhing / slob dpon tsitta phyung shes bsgo / de nas rdo rje bshan pa des / sngags ’di brjodcing tsitta phyung / sa ma ya kha hi / tsitta hum ’dus kha dur ma ra ya hum / sngags destsitta drang bar bya / ging pa brtul zhugs ldan pa na / za zhing slob dpon de la dbul / denas tshe ’das spar ba dang / dngos grub blang ba’i sngags kyang bzlas / dngos grub lenpa’i ’dus nyid du / ro de longs na dngos grub ’thob / de tshe langs pa de nyid la / bdagnyis dbang chen rab ldan pas / mtshon cha phur pa dag gis kyang / gnas dag tu ni gdabbya zhing / sngags ’di brgya ni rtsa brgyad brjod / om hrih tha sarba siddhi badzra hum/ sngags des dngos grub ’thob pa’o / tshe ’das de nyid spar bya ba’i / sngags ’dis sbyorba’i lhums su ’phang / om dhram ka dza e spa ra na phat phat / rigs lnga’i sras su dbangbskur ro/ sngags ’dis dbang bskur bstan pa’o/ om swa lam du tring hri ta ya stwam /

sku gsum rdo rje’i skur gyur nas / ’od lnga’i mu khyud bar du’o / ’od zer sku lnga’bar bar bsam / de nas slob dpon gsang ba des / dbang bskur byin rlabs rdzogs pa dang /sha rnams legs par bsha’ bya zhing / ’khor na gnas pa’i bu rnams dang / bdag nyidlongs spyod spel bya’i phyir / mam sa za zhing sngags ’di’o / om ah hum hri da ya si tihum phat / de ni longs spyod sngags su bstan / mthu rtsal dbyung phyir bsgral ba’o /

tshe ’das don phyir bsgral ba na / sgrub pa tha ma’i nub nyid du / ro yi rgyan blangrgyang phog la / zhi ba’i dkyil ’khor steng dag tu / kha ’bub dag tu bsnyal byas la /rgyab tu thig rnams legs btab la / khro bo’i dkyil ’khor rab bris la / mchod pa’i tshogsrnams rab rdzogs bya / slob dpon nyid kyis sna drangs la / dkyil ’khor ro yi mtha’ mabskor / padmanta kri ta dbyangs blangs shing / dbang mchod bro ni rab tu brdung /rgyab kyi tshangs thig steng nas bya / rab tu bsha’ zhing dbang rdzogs bya / sngags’di’i ’od zer rab ‘phros bsam / ru lu gar gyi mchod pa’i sngags / sna tshogs mchodphyir sngags ’di’o / om ru lu ru lu hum bhyo hum / sngags ’di’i ’od zer rab ’phros pa/ sku dang gsung dang thugs nyid las / ’od ’phros sgrib pa sbyang bar bya / de nas byabyed zin pa dang / nang khrol snam lnga mchod pa’i rgyu / mig dang rnam lnga mchodpar ’bul / de ni tshe ’das don phyir ro /

nyams chag bskang phyir bsgral ba ni / bsha’ lugs gong dang mthun pa la / bsgrub panub ni gnyis ’das nas / khro bo’i dkyil ’khor bzhengs nas ni / mchod pa’i yo byad ci ’byorbsag / dkyil ’khor mtha’ ma rab tu bskor / rang gi yi dam gang yin bsgom / bskang gso’irdzas rnams gang yod sbyar /

bshags pa bskang gso rgyas par bya / longs spyod sngags dang bya thabs rnams /gong du smos pa kho na’o / tshogs dang gtor ma rgyun mi gcad / bar chad bgegs rnamstshar gcod bya / gshed byed dpral zhing lam bstan bya / bskang ba’i rgyud dang sbyarte bskang / tshogs dang mchod pa’i yo byad la / ’bru dang ting ’dzin ldan pas brlab / mamo’i thugs dam rtag tu bskang / de ni nyams chag bskang lugs so /

de ltar ro sgrub rab tu brtsam / sngags ’dis thams cad ’grub pa’o / om sarba ka ru na /padma badzra pa ni / badzra sa twa sa ma ya a yuh a mri ta ti ra hum phat swa ha /sngags de bzla zhing dngos grub blang / srin lag mthe bong bar dag tu / ngal gnyismnyam zhing tsitta bzung / dus bzhi’i tshogs kyi che na yang / dngos grub blangs shinggser du bsam /

de ltar ting ’dzin ldan pa yis / lo gnyis sgrub pa byas pa na / lce nyid gser du ’gyurbar nges / lce nyid gser du gyur pa na / srin lag ting ’dzin ldan pas blang / blangs lasbring rtsi’i chu dang sbyar / zhib par btags zhing gsang sngags bzlas / de nas kun gyisbgos la bza’ / zos nas skye med byang chub thob / thun mong dngos grub thams cad


thob / zas ni yid la dran pas tshim / lus la gos med gcer bur tshugs / gnyer ma med cinggzhon nur ’gyur / lo ni lnga brgyar gzhon nur gnas / de nas tshe ’phos phyir mi ldog /yon tan de ltar ’byung ba’o.

IVd A best-reading text based on the Peking (Vol.7, pp.208-211) and sDe dge (Vol.90,pp.550-565, passim) canon editions of the root text. Material in round brackets isfrom the Peking edition of the Krodhavijayakalpaguhyatantrasyatika (Vol.78, pp.20-65; the commentary on Chapter Six is on pp.31-33).

[ ... sngags dag gis gang dag tu / bcings ba der ni byin rlob pa / ro langs zhes bya’iphyag rgya ’di / khro bos gsungs pa bshad par bya / dur khrod dag gis thams cad ni /gang la rtag tu rag lus pa’o / de nas lag pa gnyis ka yi / sor mo phan tshun bsnol byaste / sor mo gung mo gzhibs te bsgrer / mdzub mo gnyis kyis srin lag gnyis / mthe bonggnyis kyis srin lag gnyis / legs par bzung nas dgug par bya / mthe’u chung gnyis kyangngan du dgug / de bzhin du ni mthe bong gnyis / phan tshun bsnol te rkyang bar bya /shes rab can gyis ro langs ’di rtag tu tshul bzhin khro bos bstan / {bcu bdun po zhes ...thos pa tsam gyi mod la yang / zhes pa lha ma yin rnams so / rmongs par ’gyur ba zhespa ’thom par ’gyur ro zhes so}]

ha har gyur ba’i dkyil ’khor ni / ... yi dags phal chen bshad pa bzhin / ’di yang grubzhi lham par bya / khyad par dag tu phyogs kun tu / mkhas pas me ni spar bar bya /khru brgyad lhag chad med par ni / cho ga bzhin du bri bar bya / sgo sgo dag tu gsalshing gis / phug pa’i yi dags khrag can bzhag / dbus su mgo dang bral ba yi / mi ro rosmad gsal bar bzhag / yi dags phal chen dkyil ’khor bzhin / tha mar yi dags phreng bardgod /

[khro bo yi ni gtso bo’i sngags / mtshog ma spyi gtsug la sogs med / yi ge bcu bdunblo ldan gyis / mgo med ro yi steng du gzhag / zhal drug pa la zhabs kyang drug / debzhin phyag ni bcu gnyis pa / rab tu ’bar ba drag po’i gzugs / snga ma bzhin du gzhagpar bya / yi dags mang po phreng la sogs / sngags des de la mchod par bya / ’dir ni gtorma sha chen du / gsungs pas gzhan gyis mi bya’o / khrag gi gtor ma’i cho ga dang / debzhin bdug pa kun sme ba’i / de nas dpal ldan rig ’dzin gyis / ro langs phyag rgyabcings nas ni / gtor ma me tog dbul la sogs / rnam pa kun tu khro bos bya / ... snying garro langs rgya gzhag la / {ro langs phyag rgya bcings la ro langs sngags kyang bzlas la /bskul ba’i tshig che ge mo zhig u tsad ya zhes bya ba dang ldan par mtshan mo stongrtsa brgyad du bzlas so} / de la rab tu bskor bar bya / de na khro bo chen po yis / shintu bkrus shing legs par brgyan / ... ral gri lag par blangs nas ni / dpa’ bo’i rkang pag.yon pa yis / de yi snying gar mnan pas ni / khro bo yi ni gtso bo yi / yi ge bcu bdunsngags bzlas so /]

de’i sngags drag pos bskul ba dang / yi dags de ni g.yo bar ’gyur / ha har gyur ba’khrugs pa dang / de bzhin ha ha’i sgra yang ’byin / de nas bdag gis langs pa la /mtshon cha snon po ’bar ba yis / bcad pa’i sha dang khrag bcas pa’i / mchod yon de la’bul bar bya / rig pa ’dzin pa de yi ni / sems kyi drod ni des shes nas / mchod yon blangste dkyil ’kho ni / ha har gyur ba ’jigs par byed / de nas bdag nyid chen po de / ’jigs surung ba’i gzugs mthong nas / gshin rje’i gshed po dga’ bo yi / ro langs phyag rgya bstanpar bya / de nas gshin rje’i gshed po ni / yi dwags lus la gnas pa des / ro langs nyid kyirgya mthong nas / rig pa ’dzin pa de yi ni / sems drod rig nas ’dod pa’i mchog / sbyinpar byed la gdon mi za / khro bo’i rgyal po slar gshegs nas / mi ro sa la ’gyel bar ’gyur/ de yi lus ni de nyid kyang / gsar du ’gyur ba gdon mi za / de tshe grogs po rnams dangyang / sems can rnams la ci bder sbyin /

bdag nyid chen po dpa’ bo yi / bsgrub pa bshad pa ’di yin te ... sems gzhan pa yibsgrub pa pos / khro bo’i rgyal po de bsgrub na / de nas langs nas myur bar ni / grogsdang bcas pa gsod par ’gyur / ro langs phyag rgya mi shes na / des ni ci ltar drag ’gyurkyang / khro bo’i rgyal po de yi ni / sgrub pa po ni gsad par ’gyur.


IVe In order, the selections in this portion of Part II are created from: Best-readingtexts from the two traditions, the Peking (Vol.9, p.195) and the rNying ma rgyud ’bum(Vol.16 of the 1982, Thim phu edition, published as: The mTshams brag manuscriptof the Rñio ma rgyud ’bum, pp.542-544) text traditions. And, the sDe dge (Vol.98,pp.136f) and rNying ma rgyud ’bum (1973, Thim phu edition, Vol.12, pp.172f) texttraditions.

shi ba slang ba’i rtog pa ’di / khams gsum ’khor ba’i nad pa rnams / rtag chad mtharshi ro gling nas / gti mug bam chen ro blangs te / skye ’gag med par blang ba’i phyir /ro la yid bzhin nor bu yi / sngags kyis bstab ste mnan par bya /

ro yi gnyen por bdag gyur nas / ro sngags rgyun mi ’chad par bzlas / ro yi gzi byinbyung ba na / bar chad med pa’i brtson ’grus bya /

ro de ’gul bar gyur pa dang / rang gi ’gyur tsis byug par bya / ro yi yan lag kun bcingsnas / bzlas pa drag po rgyun mi gcad / gang der langs par gyur pa dang / cho ’phrul ’jigstshul ston par byed / brtul zhugs ldan pa’i skyes bu yis / de tshe ro yi lce bcad nas / rola brdabs na gser du ’gyur / lce bcad ral gri mtshon cha dang / ro yi mgo bo gcad pa des/ ji ltar ’dod pa’i rdzas ’grub ste / mgo thod go char bzung nas ni / lce yi ral gri’i mtshonthogs nas / lha min g.yul yang bzlog par ’gyur /

ro langs grub pa’i rkang mgyogs ni /dpag pa’i tshad las ’das pa ste / skyes bu rtsal dang ldan pa yis / phyogs bzhir bltas

te dus gcig tu / mda’ ’phangs sa la ma babs bar / mda’ blangs skad cig ’jig rten bskor /skyes bu lag tshod ma yal bar / de ma thag tu gnas su sleb / yud ltar shin tu myur ba’thob /

ro la ’dod pa thams cad ’byung / ro la ro bsgrubs grub na / ro yi dngos po mi snangbar / gang ltar bsgrubs pa der snang phyir / ro la rnam rtog ga la yod / ro la ro yi rangbzhin dag / med par shes pa thag chod bzhin / spyod pas de ltar mnyam spyod na / ltaspyod mnyam zhes dam pas bshad /

’di ni shi ba slong ba yi / bdud rtsi dam pa’i spyod pa’o zhes.

The sDe dge (Vol.98, pp.136-7) and rNying ma rgyud ’bum (1973, Thim phu edition,Vol.12, pp.172f) textual traditions:

sems dpa’i rdo rje snying po des / shi ba yongs su slong ba zhes bya ba’i ting nge’dzin la snyoms par bzhugs so /

ro yi sgrub lugs chen po ni /dur khrod chen po’i gnas rnams su / ro yi rdzas rnams btsal nas kyang / ’dod pa

bsgyur ba’i sngags kyis btab / ro yi steng du gnas nas ni / ro yi gnyen por bdag bsamsnas / ro sngags rgyun mi ’chad par bzlas / ro la khrag dang mdangs byung na / ’grub par’gyur ba’i rtags yin te / rgyun mi ’chad par ting ’dzin bya /

ro yi ’gul bar gyur pa dang / gser ’gyur rtsis ni byug par bya / ro yi yan lag kun bcingsnas / sngags ni dag par bzlas par bya / ro nyid langs par gyur pa dang / ro yi cho ’phrulston par byed / brtul zhugs ldan pa’i skyes bu yis / de tshe ro yi lce bcad nas / ro labrdabs na gser du ’gyur / de bzhin ji ltar ’dod pa yi / rkyen gyis bsgyur na de ltar ’gyur/ lce bcad ral gri mtshon cha des / ro yi bhan dha bcad pa dang / ji ltar ’dod pa’i rdzas’grub ste / bhan dha mgo ru bzung nas ni / lce yi ral gri thogs nas ni / lha min g.yul yangbzlog par ’gyur /

ro langs ’grub pa’i rkang mgyogs ni /dpag pa’i tshad las ’das pa ste / skyes bu rtsal dang ldan pa bzhis / phyogs bzhi dag

tu kha bltas nas / dus gcig mda’ yi rgyang ’phangs nas / mda’ ni sa la ma ’babs par /bzhi ka bar snang las blangs nas / skad cig tsam gyis ’jig rten skor / skyes bu lag tshodma yal bar / de ma thag tu gnas su slebs / ro la ’dod pa kun ’byung zhes / dus gsumrgyal ba rnams kyis bshad / ces gsungs so / ro langs bsgrub pa’i ting nge ’dzin to.


IVf The following best-reading text is compiled from the Peking (Vol.9, p.38) andsDe dge (Vol.96, pp.257-259) versions. Some additional materials in the transla-tion and notes are provided from these commentaries, found in Vol.78 of the Pekingcanon: The Arya Subahuparippcchapadarthatippani (PAD) and the Arya Subahu-parippcchanamatantrapindartha (PIN).

lus la rma med skyes pa’i ro mthong na / ral gri be con lag na thogs pa yis / nyin parthog thag tu ni bsrung bar bya / dur khrod khang stong dang ni shing gcig dang / bzhimdo ’bab chu dag gam chu klung ngam / mtsho’am rgya mtsho’am ni ri bo la / skad ciggis kyang ro langs grub par bya /

gang yang rung ba’i gnas gcig brtags nas ni / sa dang lci ba la sogs byug par bya /gtsang ma der ni dkar nag dmar po’am / tshon rtsi sna tshogs rnams kyis dam tshigbri / gong du smos pa’i dkyil ’khor de rnams las / bsams nas ’dod pa gang yang rungba gcig / dad pa chen pos rigs kyi yum gyi mchog / zlos shing rab tu bsgrims te bri barbya /

’jigs pa med pa’i g.yog gis de blangs nas / khyer nas ’ongs te ku sha’i steng bzhagste / skra dang ba spu rnams kyang bregs nas su / de yi mod la ’bru mar dag gis bsku /de nas bum pa zhabs mi gnag pa bzhi / gtsang ma’i chus bkang khrus rtsis sbyar tebkru /

de nas gos dkar phrug cig bskon nas su / de nas dkyil ’khor dbus su rtswa stan dang /ma nyams me tog steng du ro bzhag cing pas sdug par bya / phreng bas gdags shing metog sil mas gtor /

sha dang nya sha mar khu til bsres pa’i / khur pa la sogs ci snyed bungs bskyed de /’byung po klu dang sha za gnod sbyin dang / ’dre la bla ’og phyogs su sbyin par bya /grogs po mchog ldan bdag nyid bsrung bya ste / rtse gcig sems kyis gsang sngags bzlasbrjod bya /

ro ni ldang du nye ba’i tshe na ni / ’jigs pa’i gzugs can bgegs ni sna tshogs ’byung /gtsug tor rgyal po’i sngags kyis thal ba’am / ma grugs yungs dkar sogs la bsngags nassu / gtor nas phyogs bzhi dag nas ’ong ba’i bgegs / gsang sngags mthu yis de dag ’byerbar ’gyur /

de dag zhi bar bya phyir khro bo ni / bdud rtsis thabs sbyor drag shul las can sbyar /bgegs rnams bcom pas de nas ro de yang / gsang sngags mthu yis myur du ldang bar’gyur / gang zhig gsang sngags cho ga zhib mo las / mthong ba de ni thogs med ngespar ’grub /

gal te ro de langs par gyur pa las / de yi gsang sngags cho ga mi shes na’ang / gsangsngags gzhan du bstan pa’i cho ga yis / langs pa de la rang gis dngos grub blang / gtergyi phyogs dang phug tu ’gro ba dang / ral gri andza bzhon pa mngag gzhug dang /’byung khung gser ’gyur rtsi dang bcud kyis len / mkha’ la ’gro ba’i dngos grub rab tuster / bsrung ba’i stobs med sngags kyi stobs med dang / dka’ thub stobs med semsstobs med pa yi / blo gzhan gang zhig ro lang dngos grub tshol / de ni mtshan mo rgyuba rnams kyis bsad.

Vasilev’s precis:

“Il y a un Ciddhi que l’on appelle Vetalaciddi (en chinois fou do-no), qui s’accomplitsur un corps mort qui doit être choisi d’après une description: il ne doit avoir aucuneimpefection, il doit être frais. Après avoir choisi un lieu convenable, on élève desmandala avec des vases; un aide y apporte le corps mort qui d’abord a été nettoyé, lavéet revêtu de ses meilleurs habits; on commence la lecture des conjurations dont quelques-unes fournissent le Ciddi, et d’autres chassent l’influence des quelques-unes fournissentle Ciddi, et d’autres chassent l’influence des dragons et des Preta. Si cependant il s’estmontré de mauvais signes, quoique le corps se soit soulevé, cela indique qu’il y aobstacle de la part des démons; alors, pendant la lecture de certains conjurations, on


jette sur la face du corps mort, des grains de moutarde mêlés avec de la cendre; aveccela on chasse l’influence et le corps se recouche; s’il ne se montre pas de mauvaissignes, cela indique que, par la force de la conjuration, le corps a vraiment trouvél’accomplissement de l’enchantement; c’est alors que l’on doit déclarer ce que l’ondésire, c’est-à-dire si l’on veut voir des trésors cachés, ou entrer dans la grotte d’Indrapour avoir des remèdes miraculeux, etc.; tout cela s’obtient.”

IVg This is from the rNal ’byor ras pa padma lhun grub bstan ’dzin rgya mtsho’igsung ba’i rnams thar kun gsal me long, the third work in Autobiographies of threespiritual masters of Kutang, Thim phu, 1979, columns 591-597; this passage isfrom columns 692-696. Non-standard spellings are preserved.

de nas yar sma snang du sleb dus / zhag gsum bzhi tsam nas bla ma’i zhal nas chosbstan ’dzin dang / u rgyan bstan ’dzin khyed gnyis dor gong du khros du song la nangmchod byas gyu thod pa gcig tshol shog gsung ’byung /

gsung ma thag tu gnyis sma snang gyi du khrod chen po bsil ba mtshal du mtshanmo phyin nas ro khang gcig la gnyis rngas sprad nas nyal / mtshan phyed lhag tsam lagnyis ro khang de shig pas thod pa med pa ro khang stong pa yin ’dug /

de nas yang ro khang re re shig pas / khong ni mo thod dum bu gcig pa gcig dang’phrad ’dug / yang bdag la ro khang stong pa gcig dang phrad / mched grogs khong nithod pa spog gin ’dug / nga ni du khrod gyi gyab phyogs la tshal du phyin nas / tsholgin yod pas skad cig la skad tang sgra cig ’dir ’dir sgrags ’dug /

gang gi gcan zan yin nam bsam nas snyan pas / ro khang gcig gi nang na sgrags’dug / de ni spyod gyi cho ’phrul yin ’dug bsam nas thog pa med par ro khang gi stengdu chong cing dkyil dkrung bcas nas sdod / ting ’dzin ngang nas glu chung ’di blangsso/

da dang lha ’dre cho ’phrul gsum / nga snang stong ’gags med lta ba la / khrul pamed do lha ’dre tshogs / ro langs lha ’dre’i cho ’phrul ci ’byung shog /

zer zhing lta ba’i ma thul par ro khang rnams kyang sber zhing ’gul / rdo rnamskyang skad rog sgrags ’dug / lus nyang dar chum cig ’byung / yang khros ma nag mo’iting nge ’dzin gyi ngang nas phat gsum tsam gyab na yang ma zhi /

de ni skad cig la rkang lag rnams kyi ro khang gi kha shig nas mun nag nang du lagpa gnyis kyi ci yod tshol pas / mi ro’i lag pa sbom zhing ring ba cig zin ’byung /

yar theng cig then pas kho yang skad gnyis tsam ’dir ’byung / slar yang bshed pyugnas theng gcig then pas / kho yang skad theng gcig sgrags ’byung / de ma thag tu rolangs de’i skyed pa la lag pa gnyis kyi gdam nas phyi ru kyur pas / zla ba gcig tsamsong ba’i rgan ro skra dkar cho le ba lus yang ma nyams gdong pa yang ma nyams paskya khro leb cig ’dug /

ro langs de bsgral thub nas chos bstan ’dzin gar yod ’bod du phyin / de nas gangyang ma gyab par thod pa ni dpral bar mig khung bdzub gcig rdal ’dug / rkang dungthon nas khyer yongs /

de nas bla ma la lo rgyud rnams zhus pas / bla ma’i zhal na ro langs dngos ma rangyin ’dug / du khrod bdag mo dang lha ’dre’i chos ’phrul yin gsung / mi gzhan marnams la ni nga yi ro langs bsgral ba yin gsung ’dug.

* I wish to thank Geoff Childs, Dan Martin, and Johan Elverskog for suggestions and othercontributions to this paper.

Notes 1. Mayrhofer’s Kurzgefasstes etymologisches Wörterbuch, Vol.3; only Charpentier’s re-

constructed vi-tada seems to point in a useful direction. 2. bhutadhirthitasavabhede amarah; dvarapalakah; mallavisera; sivaganadhipavise rah—

these from the 1967 ed. of the Sabdakalpadruma and the 1970 Vacaspatyam.


3. For example, the “doorkeeper” reference is most likely to Agnivetala, guardian of thewestern gate of Kamakhya in the Kalikapurana (p.95, Vol.1, of B. Shastri’s Kalika-purana, Delhi, 1991). Likewise, the reference to Siva’s gana comes from a probablylate Saivite tradition, which places nearly all the denizens of charnel grounds (samsana)and many other classes of spirits under Siva’s rule; see, e.g., A. Danielou, Hindu poly-theism, New York, 1964, p.213.

4. Brahmanic tradition holds that Bhutas proceed from Brahman, and that they should beconsidered as a class of Asura, which makes sense from the functional point of view, asthe latter also represent the forces of chaos (see F.B.J. Kuiper, “The basic concept ofVedic religion”, Ancient Indian Cosmogony, New Delhi, 1983, pp.9-22). By the timeof the Harivamsa, however, Bhutas, Pisacas, Yakras, etc., are considered the offspringof Krodha. However, from beliefs present in the Epics to modern anthropological studiesof the spiritual beings associated with burial and death, it is clear that Bhutas also areregarded as the spirits of departed human beings, and thus are rightly referred to as“ghosts”. (See on this, e.g., Ruth and Stanley Freed, Ghosts: Life and death in NorthIndia, Seattle, 1993, p.80, and Jonathan Parry, A death in Banaras, Cambridge, 1994,passim.)

It would seem that popular belief in India has long maintained that Bhutas are, bytheir association with Pretas, similar to them in nature, as in the compound bhutpret.However, other traditions have also developed; Vetalas are sometimes even consid-ered the spirits of dead human beings; they can move from one corpse to another, ifthey dislike the body they are in, as in W. Crooke, The popular religion and folklore ofNorthern India, London, 1896, Vol.I, p.241.

The situation is no clearer in Buddhism, despite the fact that its cosmology placesmoreemphasis on aid to spiritual beings. Thus, the early Indic-Tibetan word list,theMahavyutpatti (Suzuki ed., #4753-4767), also places Bhutas—and many spirits tradi-tionally put under them—in the same category with Pretas, while excluding the Vetalas.Other studies of non-Tantric Buddhist literature don’t find a relationship between Pretasand Bhutas at all (cf. B.C. Law, The Buddhist conception of spirits, London, 1936,pp.1-20 especially).

The Mahavyutpatti is based on a small number of Vinaya and main-line Mahayanatexts. Most other overviews, as A.G.S. Kariyawasam’s entry on Bhuta in the Encyclo-paedia of Buddhism, are also not concerned with broader cultural and cosmologicalissues. However, in Tantric and magical texts the nature and functions of spirits are oftenimportant elements. Since many of these ritual texts predate the Mahavyutpatti, theyare important sources for this neglected dimension of Buddhist religious culture inIndia and Tibet.

5. I have consulted the Bhutadamaratantraraja/’Byung po ’dul ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal pochen po from the sDe dge bKa’ ’gyur (Vol.95 [rGyud ’bum], Delhi, 1979, pp.475-525and one of the many versions of the Bhutadamaratantra from the Hindu Tantric tradi-tion (Bhutadamaratantram, mula evam Hindi anuvada sahita, Varanasi, 1993). (Itmay be that the Hindu versions derive from the Buddhist, as Bhattacharya, below, main-tains.) Both texts deal with enjoying the results of the conquest by Vajradhara, etc., overa set of spiritual beings. In neither text does the Vetala play much role, being men-tioned only in passing in each, once in a mantra and once in a list of beings. However,it is possible that they are implicitly considered to be within one of the the categories;see the sketch from this tantra given below.) On the Bhutadamara traditions see T.Goudriaan and S. Gupta, Hindu Tantric and Sakta literature, Wiesbaden, 1981, pp.118f.B. Bhattacharya, “The cult of Bhuta-damara”, Man in India. 11.1931.83-115, com-pares the two texts in general terms.

6. So says E. Washburn Hopkins, Epic mythology, 1974 Delhi reprint, pp.36-38 and 46n.However, the Harivamsa, an adjunct to the Mahabharata, does contain a little usefuldata.


7. Crooke, op.cit., Vol.I, p.242, reports, inter alia, that Bhuta usually live in trees insamsana. Sarkar (B. Sarkar, The folk-element in Hindu culture, London & New York,1917, pp.90f) tells of a “corpse dance” in Bengal and Orissa—the Siva Gambhira—which is a savasadhana rite (see PART I, iv, infra) involving getting a corpse andawakening it, then placing it in a tank or hanging it from a tree. Certain rituals werethen performed on the corpse, or using the corpse, which, according to the author, areno longer practiced.

On the association of Vetala with Yakras and Rakrasas, see Tawney’s translation ofthe Kathasaritsagara, Calcutta, 1880, Vol.II, p.565.

8. The term *Mahavetala was almost certainly created on analogy with Mahabhuta, aless-frequently used term equivalent to Bhuta as “spirit”; it is found in theBhutadamaratantra, for example. The term is used here also to distinguish these “cos-mic” spirits from those with more modest powers.

9. = gaulmika, a soldier in a troop, or its leader; or, a superintendent of forests. Lesslikely it is = la gcan pa, guardian of a pass, which is not a translation term.

10. As evidenced also in the Buddhist Bhutadamaratantra and in other Indian and Tibetanworks on controlling spiritual beings; cf. the brief description of vasya/subduing,stambhana/paralyzing, etc., in The Hevajra Tantra: A critical study, Part I, Oxford,1959, pp.84f.

11. For the texts, see S. Bagchi’s edition, the Suvarnaprabhasasutram, Darbhanga, 1967,pp.55f, and J. Nobel, Suvarnaprabhasottamasutra: Das Goldglanz-Sutra, Leiden &Stuttgart, 1944, Vol. I, pp.80-83.

12. Crooke, op.cit., Vol. I, p.250; Vol. II, pp.75f; cf. also the quote from the Samvarodaya-tantra, below, and fn.52.

13. The Vetala figures several times in similes in the Laokavatarasutra: vicitradeharupadharimayavetalayantrapratima ; mayavetalayantra/sgyu ma Ro langs ’khrul ’khor;vetalayantra. Such mechanistic formulations tell us about the zombie-like qualities ofa Vetala-inhabited corpse. In the philosophical exposition of this work: An illusion—a Vetala—a machine, or, the machine of illusions of a Vetala’s operation. Things arenot what they seem, and are not in control of themselves. (Suzuki thought a vetalayantrato be a wooden image; I think it is only a metaphor created in this text.)

Although this might lend credence to the view that Vetala-inhabited corpses are“zombies”, which some say also fits Tibetan ideas of Ro langs, most of the uses ofsuch corpses by yogis, as we shall see, don’t correspond to this idea. Therefore, I don’tbelieve that vetalayantra here is particularly helpful in discussing the relationship ofthe Vetala spirit to the corpse, in either Indian culture or with the Tibetan Ro langs.This is perhaps another example of the distance between the viewpoints of Tantric andnon-Tantric materials.

The issue of the “zombie”-like nature of the Vetala-inhabited body has resultedfrom the ambiguous phrasing of passages discussing “tamed” Vetalas. For example,the Tantrarajatantra (ed. L. Shastri, Delhi, 1981), ch. 17, Vol.31: nidhaya sadhanam-skandhe careyurvañchaya ’sya te, “directing one’s sadhana (on the spell, vidya, dis-cussed above) onto the body (of the deceased), they (the Vetalas) should act accordingto the wishes of (the sadhaka).” Of course, with zombies the consciousness of theperson—who is not dead—is controlled by magicians. Also, zombies can’t providethe siddhis described in PART II; they are only capable of menial labor. The limita-tions of powers, and the moral dimensions of such control, are also important in dis-cussing the relationship between the Vetala and the Ro langs; cf. fn.16 and PART III.

14. There are many anecdotes about the body of the newly dead falling prey to a Vetala.This is supposed to have caused the custom of not leaving corpses unattended inNorthern India. (See the example of the young girl in W. Crooke’s An introduction tothe popular religion and folklore of Northern India, Allahabad, 1894, p.232.)


That same source (p.232) mentions that measuring a corpse actually prevents a Vetalafrom entering it. This motif, together with others mentioned here, explains the Tibetancustom of binding a corpse with rope made from grass. This prevents a Ro langs fromentering it and being able to “stretch” it. (T. Sangay, Bod mi’i ’das mchod = Tibetanceremonies of the dead, Dharamsala, 1974, p.11.)

15. V. Rama Rao notes (Elements of Hindu iconography, Delhi, 1985, Vol. I, Pt. 2, p.7)that Bhutas should be pictured as less than half the size (three to seven tolas) of Vetalasor Pretas.

16. A few examples of positive Vetala: In the Kathasaritsagara, the Vetala of the V. turnsinto a protector of King Vikramaditya against various evils (Tawney, op.cit., fn.7, Vol.II, passim). This theme is also found in the Manasollasa, Book Five, verses 945-955,where Vetala, Preta, etc., are among the spirits a virtuous king can control for goodpurposes. In Jambhaladatta’s version of V., a Vetala warns the king about a false as-cetic (see D. Lorenzen’s The Kapalikas and Kalamukhas, New Delhi, 1972, p.65). ATamil medical text related to the Ravanatantra tradition, studied by Filliozat, invokesVetali to protect infants against illness, when she has been propitiated properly (Filliozat,op.cit., pp.105ff).

Even a tamed Vetala can kill, but this is due to completely different motives: He isfollowing the command of his master/yogi: “Furthermore, all tamed (Vetala) consumethe enemies of the yogi at his command.” (sarve’pi vasaga vakyadasya satruo grasantiin the Tantrarajatantra, op.cit., fn.13, Chap.17, verse 33.) And, we have already seenwhat happens to faux yogis who try to call upon them!

17. So identified by R. Meisezahl, “L’Ètude iconographique des huit cimetières d’après letraité Smasanavidhi de Luyi”, Geist und Ikonographie des Vajrayana-Buddhismus,Sankt Augustin, 1980, p.38 and 49. This term may, rather, apply to a kind of spiritualbeing, in which case it would be a helping spirit for the yogi.

18. Swami Sivananda, Sadhana, Delhi, 1978 reprint ed., pp.228f. On the vira sadhaka andhis virasadhana, see the texts here, Sivananda’s comments, p.228, and Sanjukta Gupta’snotes on savasadhana in Hindu Tantrism, Leiden & Koln, 1979, pp.161f. The latterprovides a more detailed description than does Sivananda; many details from bothagree with materials in PART II.

Of course, Sivananda and Gupta present more normative descriptions. On the otherhand, about 1914 a man was brought to trial for, on the advice of a yogi, going to asamsana with his wife, cutting off her head, and practicing savasadhana on her corpse.The purpose of the rite was to render the woman fertile (!), since she was thought tohave been the reason for their childlessness. See the note in Indian antiquary, July,1924, p.149.

19. See the Samvarodayatantra (p.294 of Shinichi Tsuda’s The Samvarodaya-tantra, To-kyo, 1974) and Aghora: At the left hand of God, by the pseudonymous Vimalanandaas told to Robert Swoboda, New Delhi, 1993, Chapter Seven in particular.

20. There are several examples in the Kathasaritsagara (op.cit., fn.7) alone: Sometimes aheroic figure offers his own flesh; the Vetala, pleased, restores it to the hero and helpshim. However, when the hero passes the corpse on to another, who tries to evoke theVetala by pouring ghee in the mouth of the corpse—but then doesn’t offer him flesh—the Vetala attacks and eats him! (Vol. II, pp.205ff; cf. also 248; 358ff.) The motif ofnon-yogis resorting to selling human flesh (mahamamsa) to gain supernatural helpfrom beings such as Vetalas dates back at least to the eighth century, where it is animportant dramatic device in Act IV of the Malatimadhava.

21. Several other siddhis are associated with a successful vetalasadhana, however. For aparticularly interesting recital of these, see pp.128-130 of The Kulacudamani Tantraand the Vamakesvara Tantra, translated by Louise M. Finn, Wiesbaden, 1986. On“quick-foot” siddhi, see documents three and four in PART II, and fn.51, below.


In an old, local Tibetan adaptation of the V., a siddhi-bestowing (dngos grub can) corpsewill, if it can be held, reveal the secret of revivifying beings. (A.H. Francke, “DieGeschichten des toten No-rub-can”, Zeitschrift der Deutschen MorgenländischenGesellschaft.75.1921.79.)

22. It is proverbial that mantra recitation, combined with correct worship of a spiritualbeing and use of pranayama, etc., can even bring the dead back to life; cf. W. Crooke,The popular religion ..., op.cit., Vol. II, p.150. Beings to worship vary according totradition, of course; in the Tantrarajatantra there is a set of sixteen goddesses on theouter petals of the Shri Yantra which, when worshipped properly, bestow siddhis suchas revivification. (John Woodroffe, Tantraraja Tantra: a short analysis, Madras, 1971,p.9f.)

23. The significance of this process of desiccation becomes clear later in the text, whenofferings of water, etc., represent the opposite: A rite of renewal and satisfaction, anda way to establish a partnership with a spiritual being. For example, through a magicalmarriage, the yogi realizes, in an alchemical process, great benefits: “Then, after mak-ing appropriate puja offerings on a full-moon night, if the yogi fires up his butterlamps and repeats the given mantras all night long, in the morning the goddess (anApsaras) will reveal herself. At her arrival, when the yogi has made a gift (mchod yon)of sandalwood-scented water, he should say pleasing things to her. Then, when thesadhaka says, “Be my wife!”, she will give him the materials for siddhi, mercury,rasayana, etc. Through the latter obtained from her, the yogi will live a thousand years.”(sDe dge version of the Bhutadamara—see fn.5—p.506: de nas zla ba nya la ci ltar’byor ba’i mchod pa bya nas mar gyi mar me rab tu spar na mtshan thog thag bzlas natho rangs Lha mo rang nyid ’ong ngo / ’ongs pa la tsandan gyi chu’i mchod yon byinna dga’ tshig smra bar byed do / sgrub pa pos bdag gi chung ma gyis shig ces smrasna dngos grub kyi rdzad dang / dngul chu dang bcud kyis len la sogs pa ster ro / de’ibcud kyis len gyis ni lo stong ‘tsho’o.)

The process of desiccation and re-moisturization plays both into broader Buddhistcosmological processes and post-Vedic Hindu cosmogony. According to the Harivamsa,after the sun’s rays dry up all sentients at the end of this Kalpa, they will be reconsti-tuted at the beginning of the next Kalpa. (Harivamsa, tr. by M.N. Dutt, Calcutta, 1897,p.39.) A related motif is that beings such as Bhuta, Vetala, etc., can’t stand sunlight perse, as that will also desiccate and destroy them. This is also specified for Yakras andVetalas in the Saptavetalakanamadharani, cf. fn.74 as well and comments here on theVetalas as creatures of “the dark”.

24. Unfortunately, I cannot find dates for the Pandit Buddhakaravarman/Sraddhakara-varman or the Lo tsa ba Chos kyi shes rab, the translators.

25. B. Bhattacharya (op.cit., fn.5), p.95.26. Cf. here Lorenzen (op.cit., fn.16), 21f., quoting the Vamanapurana and instances in

the Kathasaritsagara (op.cit., fn.7, Vol. I, p.133; Vol. II, pp.205ff.). Sometimes anoffering of human flesh, etc., into the mouth of the corpse suffices by itself to drawforth a spirit which will grant a boon; in the Vinasikhatantra, it’s a Preta that answersthe call of the yogi. (The Vinasikhatantra, ed. & tr. by Teun Goudriaan, Delhi, 1985,pp.75 and 118.)

27. Mahendra is the form found in one version; Padmamahendra in the other two; Pad-mendra is also found.

28. dben pa’i gnas su rab song la recalls, and may be a play on, Rab Song Gnas, i.e.,Pretalaya, the name of a samsana which occurs in the Hevajratantra, op.cit., fn.10,Vol. II, pp.58f.

29. i.e., Dhptarartra, Virudhaka, Virupakra, and Vaisravana.30. i.e., Yamantaka, Aparajita, Hayagriva, Amptakundalin, Acala, Takkiraja, Niladanda,

Mahabala, Urnisacakravartin, and Sumbharaja.


31. They are: coarse or “fodder” barley (’bras kyi so ba), peas (mon sran gre’u), barley(nas), sesame (til) and wheat (gro)—cf. PADIVf, folio 80Vol.Compare this groupingwith those in Alex Wayman’s “Offering materials and their meanings” in his The Bud-dhist Tantras, New York, 1973, pp.71-81.

32. The “Great Confession” is, I assume, a rite generally similar to the recitation in Deityyoga, q.v., combined with related rites.

33. I.e., the yogi himself, the Vajraraja here; the Vajracarya (here, the Guhyavajracarya),his human teacher; and, Heruka.

34. A perhaps identical rite for placing the threads is described in detail in the Krodhavijaya-kalpaguhyasyatika, folia 285a-287a, p.23 of the Peking edition.IVd

35. Or, the corpse-carrier should get drunk. In either case, it would seem that there is aneed for the consciousness (vijñana) of the carrier to be disturbed, perhaps to avoidpollution by, or the interest of, the Vetala, who otherwise might be attracted to it.Ritualized drunkenness or madness is also found in Tibetan communities in northernNepal; e.g., Geoff Childs informs me that, in a village he was acquainted with, a partyof young men who had helped in preparing the corpse then smeared their faces withblood and ran amok through the village “crazed”, frightening the residents.

36. See Wayman (op.cit., fn.31), pp.82f, for some context for this brief description.37. “Showing the way”, lam ston pa, is the subject of Chapter Six of this tantra. It is a set

of rites to show the deceased’s vijñana the way from being reborn among transmigrat-ing sentients to a rebirth in Sukhavati.

38. Vajrakiogara, or Mahavajrakiogara, is one of the twenty-one bshan pa or “butchers” whospecialize in consuming flesh, etc. (See, e.g., R. de Nebesky-Wojkowitz, Oracles andDemons of Tibet, Graz, 1975, edition, pp.92f and 279.

brTul zhugs, or vrata, is a special vow with its own ascetic regimen which, whenfulfilled, brings the yogi into greater harmony with a spiritual being in meditation, andthus renders him a vira/dpa’ bo, or “hero”. The yogi who is a “hero” cultivates espe-cially the overcoming of aversion or repulsion, which is one goal of rites such as sava-sadhana or sexual practices (it is becauses of this that both practices may be subsumedunder virasadhana). When a king controls a Vetala and indulges in other, similar rites,this called “hero’s play”, virakrida, which allows a higher degree of siddhi. See Wayman,op.cit., fn.31, pp.117f, especially with regard to the ritual dancing and singing, orna-ments, etc., by which the yogi becomes Vajrakiogara.

39. i.e, the Ging-pa, on which see fn.37 and the work of Nebesky-Wojkowitz there, pp.278-280.

40. i.e., the chos sku, longs sku, sprul sku, mi ’gyur rdo rje’i sku, and mngon par byangchub pa’i sku.

41. These organs are the intestines, the lungs, the spleen, the liver, and the kidneys.42. As is well exampled here, bskang gso are rites of offerings given to satisfy, or replen-

ish, the spiritual contact between an irtadevata and a yogi.43. Vetali/Ro langs ma, also known as Vetaladevi/Ro langs Lha mo, is a Yogini. Her ap-

pearance, and place in the Hevajra system, are given in Snellgrove’s edition and trans-lation (op.cit., fn.10). In this text and the commentary, Vetali may also be short forVetalimudra/Ro langs ma’i phyag rgya.

44. i.e., a place from which the dreadful call of a yogi, ha ha, emanates—as taught in thetext here—to frighten and impel the spirits.

45. This and similar phrases I have left in this selection refer to details of the ornamenta-tion, etc., of the mandala and other points on the construction and realization of themandala for “Pretas in general” in other chapters of this work.

46. This process is explained to be “The middle stage of the Sole Hero yoga”—virayoga—in the Hevajra yoga system. See the Yogaratnamala commentary studied by G. W.Farrow and I. Menon (The concealed essence of the Hevajra Tantra, Delhi, 19-92,pp.39f) and fn.38, above.


47. These are the kamadhatu, rupadhatu, and arupadhatu, the desire, form, and formlessrealms. The best discussion of these and some other points raised here is W. Kloetzli,Buddhist cosmology, Delhi, 1989 reprint, pp.26ff.

48. The second reading is probably to be preferred here.49. Because of this, the Vetala can be considered a cintamani, as has been said. The

Kathasaritsagara (op.cit., fn.7, Vol. II, pp.138f) also has the Vetala becoming a “boon-giver” after having its tongue cut off.

The tongue, the heart, and the skull are the most significant parts of the corpse inthese narratives. Each is removed, in separate rites, and by that each, in different nar-ratives, manifests great power. This is because each is the physical correlate of thecakra located in the corresponding area of the subtle body.

In the nineteenth chapter of the Tantrasara, Abhinavagupta outlines a savasadhanawherein, at the end of the process, the corpse will shake when the prana has, in stages,risen through the heart, the throat, and the forehead (pranasamcarakramenahpdi kanthelalate ca ityevam savasariram kampate) on its way to Paramasiva. At the end of thisprocess of revival, the heart, tongue and skull will be long-time reservoirs of this “pranic”power, which permeates them by life practice, and is then sealed in through mantrarepetiton and rites by the yogi.

The process begins with sealing prana in the heart, because it is the reservoir ofprana which, in turn, nourishes the heart from which it causes respiration, in the foetusas well as the adult. In this way, the resuscitation of a corpse is, indeed—and has tobe—its “rebirth”. A good discussion of prana may be found in the chapter of that titlein Rama Prasad’s Nature’s finer forces, Madras, 1933.

The tongue is a vaguer subject; I haven’t found much on it in commentaries to thispoint. The tongue seems to stand for the power of the whole body, because, althoughit is removed, it still contains the ability to transmute. As the means by which sacredwords and syllables are articulated, it would contain pranic power as actually con-tained in, and projected from, the body of the deceased. This is augmented by theyogi’s efforts and the ritual structure to become an effective instrument. As a token ofthis power, it is referred to as the “navel of the lotus in bloom”, through which a yogican become a Vidyadhara, in a savasadhana in the Acalamahakrodharaja-kalpa (ed.by J. Oshika, Tokyo, 1978), p.323: ... de nas ro de’i lus ’gul bar ’gyur te, ’jigs par mibya’o. de nas kha’i nan du padma kha phye ba’i lte ba mthon bar ’gyur te blans nasbzun nas rig pa ’dsin par ’gyur shin lha’i gzugs kyis tshans pa’i ’jig rten du spyod do.

The symbolic power of the skull is more complex, resting on several levels of un-derstanding. In addition to pranic power, there must be considered to be some residuein the skull—at least in popular belief—of the vijñana of the deceased.

Aside from vetalasadhana and savasadhana, the skull is well-known to be impor-tant in gcod rituals and funeral rites. The latter is well supported in anecdotal materialsfrom Indic traditions and those of their Tibetan and Tamang neighbors: J. Parry’s Adeath in Banaras (op.cit., fn.4), pp.179 and 183: The dead rides his skull, from whichhe—that is, his prana—has escaped through a crack in the skull made during theburning of the corpse (kapalakriya). The same author: The skulls of those who haven’thad a kapalakriya are best, because the pranic power of the dead still resides in theskull. Claes Corlin, in “The journey through the Bardo” (On the meaning of death,Uppsala, 1988, p.73) notes that bones from the sinciput of the deceased are powderedand used in tsha tsha, perhaps ensuring that merit will flow to the surviving familythrough that offering of the bones of the deceased, who still somehow “resides” there.One also may consult here B. Steinmann, “La ceremonie funeraire chez les Tamang del’est”, BEFEO.76.1987.229: Fragments of the skull are accorded special status afterfuneral rites, as representing the continued presence of the dead, now an ancestor.

Another connection with Buddhist funeral rites is that, if the rnam shes/vijñanaexits the body through the brahmarandhra, it will pass to a better realm. (Thupten


Sangay, op.cit., fn.14, p.4.) The passage from heart to throat to skull is this travel“upwards”. Thus, in keeping with descriptions here, the vetalasadhana benefits boththe deceased and the yogi, and can be seen, as taught by the rNying ma, to be a specialpart of a funeral ritual complex.

50. Reading g.yul kha, or g.yul ngo, for g.yul, metri causa.51. i.e., padalepa- or paduka- siddhi; this “minor” siddhi is often associated with

vetalasiddhi, as in the sixth chapter of the Kulacudamanitantra, op.cit., fn. 21, and issometimes even confused with it (Goudriaan & Gupta, op.cit., fn.5, p.93). The formerterm illustrates that this siddhi may also be acquired by application of a magic salve tothe foot; again, see the Kathasaritsagara, op.cit., fn.7, Vol. II, p.594.

52. I venture an interpretation of this phrase, which I find obscure. Vetala are well knownfor their large size and thin waists (dirghadeha; kpsodara, in the Manassolasa, BookThree, verse 811), as well as for the long reach (vetalahbahuvigrahah) of their deformed(vikpta) limbs (Tantrarajatantra, op.cit., fn.13, Chap.17, verse 32). The Vetala seems,then, to provide the yogi with the same reach he enjoys, at least for some time.

53. The French translation, by G.A. La Comme, was published in Paris in 1865 as LeBouddisme, ses dogmas, son histoire et sa litterature; the section on vetalasadhana ison pages 195-6. Anton Schiefner helped Vasil’ev with the Tibetan terms in his work,but the precis of the text itself is from the canonical Chinese version of the Subahu-parppcchatantra, which explains some differences in the narratives.

54. Ro langs sgrub pa po’i mtshan nyid; Ro langs slang ba’i mtshan nyid; Ro langs ’grubpa’i gnas bstan pa; Ro langs pa’i dngos grub pa’i dkyil ‘khor rnams kha bstan pa; ro’ilus byi dor bya ba; mchod pa rnams lnga’i yo byad kyi cho ga; gsang sngags bzlasbrjod bya ba’i cho ga; Ro langs pa na bgegs byung bar rab tu zhi bar bya ba.

55. The club (be con/danda) is the sign (mudra) of Yama, and the sword (ral gri / khadga)that of Nairptya; by this pose any bgegs/Vighna are kept away from the corpse (PADIVf,79v; 90r). That it is held by a friend of the yogi is given in PAD, 90r.

56. Here, the samaya dam tshig is a diagram of mantras—very much like a yantra—whichactually encapsules spiritual beings. For example, in the Bhutadamaratantra (sDe dgeed., p.479), the source of siddhis for all rites involving mudras and dharanis for worldlypowers resides in the samaya of Siva, i.e., Mahadeva.

57. It is only with such “great faith” that siddhi will be attained. This state is only possibleafter purification of the yogi’s “sins” (sdig pa/papa). For a discussion of this stage, seePINIVf, 48v and PAD, 88v.

58. PADIVf, 90v, says that the sha za (Pisaca) are all creatures who have control over thesamsana. Again, it is interesting that the Bhuta are listed separately here, althoughPisaca would thus presumably include Preta and Vetala, or they would be in some wayinterchangeable.

59. Again, the role of the good friend is to safeguard the yogi from Vighna (PADIVf, 90r).60. According to PADIVf, 90r, the mantra of gTsug tor rgyal po is used because of its great,

special power (mthu) and blessing (rlabs). The Vighna retire because they cannot standto be close to the majesty (gzi brjid) of that spell. Once again, we see the light/darknessopposition; the spell is effective because it literally “glows” with power.

61. This is probably a reference to the ability to find Indra’s cave, an important siddhi inthe Subahuparippcchatantra.

62. Wylie, “Ro-langs: The Tibetan zombie”, History of religions.4.1964.69-80; Berglie,“When the corpses rise: Some Tibetan Ro langs stories”, Indologica taurinensia. 10.1982.pp.37-44.

63. Not only are well-known, eighth-century figures such as Padmasambhava and Vairocanarenowned for attaining vetalasiddhi, but even minor figures, such as ’Bre rGyal ba’iblo gros are credited with it—of course, having learned the magic (rdzu ’phrul) fromPadma himself. (In a recent rNying ma history, Thub bstan ’od gsal bstan pa’i nyi ma,


bsTan pa’i snying po gsang chen snga’ ’gyur nges don zab mo’i chos kyi byung ba ...,Vol. I, Beijing, 1992, p.270.)

64. See S. Karmay, “The ordinance of Lha Bla-ma Ye-shes-’od”, in Tibetan Studies in Honorof Hugh Richardson, Warminster, 1980, p.154 and 156.

Actually, the term Ye shes ’od uses is bam sgrub, a term first found in early-Phyi darBon funeral texts rediscovered by gShen chen Klu dga’, who, living 996-1035, was anear-contemporary of the king.

I have examined two bam sgrub texts from this cycle. While generally similar, thereare also significant differences in detail from Chos pa ro sgrub materials, probablymaking them another example of the unique developments of Buddhism in the farnorth-west of India and Afghanistan and eastern Iran which resulted in Bon. (This is inexception to Sog Zlog pa’s refutation of Ye shes ’od’s charges, wherein he maintainsthat bam sgrub and ro sgrub rites are identical.)

In any case, the important point here is that neither betrays any obvious evidence of“native” Tibetan ideas about the revivification of a corpse.

65. Also sketched in Berglie, pp.37f. Note in this narrative that the Tirthika yogi warnsthat, if the tongue of the Vetala is not taken in three tries, the Vetala will first eat the yogiand his helper, and then lay waste to the whole land. This is consistent with the “badyogi, bad Vetala” theme we see consistently in these materials; the Vetala becomesvengeful because the yogi is not heroic, so he actually makes that yogi his de facto fleshoffering. However, not being controlled then by a powerful yogi, and with no contractto control his behavior, he goes on a rampage.

66. Ro langs can be killed in various ways and with various instruments, e.g., handmadevajras; decapitation; blows from book covers or robe flaps; rigs lnga crowns, etc.These are most often, if not always, accompanied by an attack (phat) mantra, etc. Allthese are found in Wylie, Berglie, and Richmond (on the latter, see the following foot-note).

67. I refer here to the unpublished, draft version of an article kindly supplied to me byKeith Richmond of Windsor, Australia, entitled, “Reluctant Rolangs of Dolpo”. Theauthor collected Ro langs stories from Bon pos and those who know Bon traditions.The data collected by him is very interesting, and I hope that it will appear soon. Someof these materials can be traced to Indian beliefs and practices concerning the dead, aspresented here. Along with the materials presented by Wylie and Berglie, these are, notunexpectedly, ultimately uninformative about the origin of the Ro langs and its rela-tionship with the Vetala.I was also kindly supplied with information gathered incidentally by Geoff Childswhile in Nepal, among the Shar pa and other peoples. Quite widespread was the beliefin the fatal breath of a Ro langs, and of doorways kept low to prevent them fromentering.

68. i.e., they are really manifestations of the power of the Buddha. The cho ’phrul gsumare miracles of the body, speech, and mind of enlightened beings.

69. This coupling of Lha, ’Dre, and Ro langs is reminiscent of a passage in the Lha ’drebka’ thang, the first book of the bKa’ thang sde lnga, which also makes reference tothe “Seven Vetala” and their afflictions, as per the Saptavetalakanamadharani: Pad’byung khyer dwogs lha ’dres bdag bzung nas / Ro langs bdun pas las kyi pho nya’gyed / rlung ’tshub rdzu ’phrul mang po ’gyed la brtson ... (Bkah-than-sde-lna: Dgah-ldan-phun-tshogs-glin edition, New Delhi, 1982, column 40).

70. Reading sbor for sber, which is not entirely satisfactory.71. Of course, the very popularity of such rites in India probably called this text into exist-

ence; thus, we gave *sava uttirthate, embodied in the text above, as an equivalent.Corresponding to this is an explanation of the elements of the phrase in the anonymousKrodhavijayakalpaguhya commentaryIVd connecting it to the “risen corpse” concept


of the Tibetan Ro langs, although through the entrance of a “deity”: Ro langs shes byaba’i sgra ni lha nyid ro’i nang du gshegs pa la Ro langs par gyur bas na / Ro langsshes bya’o / (Peking ed., column 311v). Thus, this description of the Vetala has beenknown for some long time in Buddhist exegesis in Tibet, and the description of theVetala doesn’t differ from that of the Ro langs.

72. Note that the list of gDon containing the Ro langs on p.311 of Oracles and Demons ofTibet (op.cit., fn.38) is at least half made up of spiritual beings of Indic origin, includ-ing Preta, Rakrasa, Yakra, Pisaca, and Kumbhanda. It is very doubtful that this scho-lastic enumeration, by the recent dGe lugs pa, Klong rdol bla ma, would refer to the“Tibetan” Ro langs as opposed to the “Indic” Vetala. Much work remains to distin-guish “native” Tibetan spiritual beings from imports—an important effort in the studyof the history of religions. Many old spiritual beings were, over time, merged or equatedwith Indic spiritual beings (e.g., gDon with Graha) for purposes of harmonizing Tantricritual texts, and one result of this was such scholastic, aggregational lists as that above.

73. Berglie, p.41, and Wylie, 76; cf. also Thupten Sangay (op.cit., fn.14), p.12, who notesthat, in the old days, following the custom of leaving the dead in a “house of the corpse”for many days, when a Ro langs emerged from it, the populace as a whole would fleethe area: snga mo phung po khang pa’i nang nyin mang po ’jog srol ltar bzhag passkabs re Ro langs byung ste yul grong stong pa red ces.

74. In addition to the solar reference (meant both micro- and macro-cosmically) to the“shining vajras” of Vajradhara, above, we have the following in the Saptavetalaka-namadharani (sDe dge ed., p.110; cf. Peking ed., Vol.7, p.297): “Oh, Ananda! Whenthe sun rises, there is one *Mahavetala, called Harm-Doing, who, pursued by the sun’srays in the autumn season, wherever he has been touched by any such rays—caught bythe net of those rays—he will become ill and will also be cut off (i.e., destroyed).”(Kun dga’ bo nyi ma’i ’char ba’i tshe / ro langs chen po gnod byed ces bya ba zhig yodde / de ston gyi dus kyi tshe nyi ma’i ’od zer gyis rjes su zhugs nas/ gang ’od zer de daggis gang la reg pa ’od zer gyi dra bas reg nas rims su ’gyur te de yang gcad do.)The implication here is that gNod byed, an especially nasty, powerful Vetala—perhapseven more powerful that the seven above—nonetheless will also succumb to the sun.(The “sun” here meaning both the physical sun and the Buddha’s dharanis, which“shine” when invoked. This is another example of light in Buddhism battling and remov-ing chaos and, thus, restoring order and cosmos.)

75. This plays on a universal theme that spirits—even those of non-human origin—areessentially needy for, or envious of, what most human beings have: A healthy, function-ing body. (This theme is eventually compromised, perhaps for simply ghoulish rea-sons; in the biography of gTsang smyon He ru ka there are headless and limbless Rolangs, and even Ro langs with half of their bodies missing! See The life of the Saint ofgTsan by rGod tshang pa sNa tshogs rang grol (ca.1503-1547), New Delhi, 1969, p.48.)

That Vetala need or wish a corpse free of blemishes or injury, and then deform itwhen they inhabit it, represents the futility of the non-human invading the humanworld; the bent and elongated limbs, etc., and the facial expression of rictus Tibetansoften describe Ro langs as having are noticed immediately, of course.

76. C. Ramble, “Status and death: Mortuary rites and attitudes to the body in a Tibetanvillage”, Kailash.9.1982.333-359; cf. p.355 esp.; C. Corlin, op.cit., fn.49, p.64.

77. In normative Buddhist cosmogologies, most lower spiritual beings are located underthe earth. All such beings are of a morally ambiguous nature. (See the overviews ofAkira Sadakata, Buddhist cosmology, Tokyo, 1997, and B.C. Law, The Buddhist con-ception of spirits, op.cit.).

Documents

Of Corpses and Gold- Materials for the Study of the Vetala and the Ro Langs Michael Walter