The Kāraṇḍa Vyūha: Its Metrical Version

The Kāraṇḍa‑Vyūha is a Mahāyāna sūtra compiled around the 4th or 5th century CE and renowned for extolling the cosmic bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The present paper introduces and critically edits a metrical (versified) Sanskrit version of this text. It opens with an outline of the prose Kāraṇḍa‑Vyūha, which portrays Avalokiteśvara as a primordial cosmic overlord from whom countless Buddhas and bodhisattvas emanate. The sūtra is particularly famous for introducing the mantra “Om maṇi padme hum” and for its vision of Avalokiteśvara as embodying infinite compassion. It describes how numerous deities—including Māheśvara, Brahmā and Nārāyaṇa—emerged from Avalokiteśvara’s body and acknowledges him as an emanation of the primordial Buddha Amitābha. The metrical version published here retells these doctrines in verse. The author discusses the manuscript’s provenance, explains its metres and prosody, and compares its readings with those of the prose sūtra and the Tibetan translation. Attention is given to how the metrical version adapts doctrinal passages into poetic imagery and to its use of alliteration, simile and rhetorical repetition. By analysing the doctrinal emphasis of the verses, the paper shows that the metrical version magnifies Avalokiteśvara’s cosmic stature, elaborates on his manifestations as multiple gods and integrates the mantra as a refrain. The study also discusses the spread of the Kāraṇḍa‑Vyūha in Nepal and Tibet and its role in the development of the Avalokiteśvara cult. In conclusion, the author argues that this poetic adaptation demonstrates the importance of verse in the transmission of Mahāyāna doctrine and that the Kāraṇḍa‑Vyūha’s emphasis on compassion and mantra recitation paved the way for later devotional practices.

Summary reviewed by a volunteer editor.