Mahadibbamanta

Mahādibbamanta (Pali: Mahādibbamanta, Thai: พระมหาทิพพมนต์) is an esoteric Theravāda paritta text preserved in palm-leaf manuscripts across mainland Southeast Asia, especially Cambodia. A well-known Cambodian exemplar consists of a short prose introduction followed by 108 verses, functioning as a protective chant that blends Pali invocations, auspicious number symbolism, and references to powerful guardians.^[1]

History and context

Although outside the Pali Canon, the text belongs to the wider mainland Southeast Asian rakkhā/paritta literature—protective compositions transmitted alongside canonical suttas and widely used in ritual life.^[2] Surveys of protective manuals and their manuscript cultures show how such texts proliferated in Theravāda communities and were arranged into regional cycles and anthologies.^[3]

Within Buddhist studies, the text is read as part of Southern Esoteric Buddhism (borān kammatthāna), a ritual–meditative current combining Pali liturgy, mantras, yantric diagrams, deity frameworks, and initiatory transmission.^[4][5][6]

Manuscripts and editions

A Cambodian palm-leaf manuscript has circulated among scholars; Padmanabh S. Jaini introduced and commented on this exemplar, highlighting its structure and protective aims. The title also appears in library and book-trade listings associated with the Fragile Palm Leaves research milieu.^[1] Broader proceedings on protective texts provide catalog-style overviews and case studies of related manuscripts and printed recensions.^[7]

Contents and structure

The Cambodian exemplar contains an opening prose section followed by 108 verses—an auspicious total in Buddhist ritual—featuring salutations, truth-act formulas, protective epithets, and invocations arranged in a mandala-like ordering of Buddhas and disciples.^[1] Within Southeast Asian paritta culture, such layering aligns with what Skilling terms the Śrāvakayāna rakṣā tradition—protective compositions paralleling, but not limited to, the canonical paritta set.^[2]

• Verses 1–4 – Salutation to the Three Maṅgalas.
• Verses 5–9 – Jaya-Gāthās proclaiming victory to the Three Maṅgalas.
• Verses 10–13 – Praise of the 108 auspicious marks on the Buddha’s feet.
• Verses 18–20 – Description of a maṇḍala composed of Eight Disciples.
• Verses 21–26 – Maṇḍala of the Ten Buddhas of the Past.
• Verses 27–33 – Canda-paritta (Protective Moon Chant).
• Verses 34–37 – Sūriya-paritta (Protective Sun Chant).
• Verses 38–39 – Mantra with the formula hulu hulu hulu svāhaya.
• Verses 40–52 – Enumeration of: the Navagraha (nine planets), the twelve Indian māsas (months), the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac (here called nakṣatras), the 27 constellations (nakṣatras), the twelve signs of the zodiac (rāśis), followed by a prayer for universal protection.
• Verses 53–55 – Invocation of eight goddesses who guard the eight directions.
• Verses 56–62 – Prayer for a “rain of wealth,” invoking legendary figures renowned for merit and prosperity: Jotika, Meṇḍaka, Dhanañjaya, Uggata, Jaṭila, Cittaka, and Mandhātu.
• Verses 63–77 – Enumeration of various auspicious items.
• Verses 78–89 – Siddhi-gāthās: invocation of numerous deities, including Hara, Harihara, and Rāma.
• Verses 90–98 – Description of the efficacy of the Dibbamantra, especially for success in battle and countering enemy magic.
• Verses 99–108 – Concluding valedictory verses.^[1]

Ritual use

Like other paritta, the Mahādibbamanta is recited for protection, blessing, and averting harm. Comparative studies highlight all-night recitations, lay sponsorship, and the embedding of such chants in life-cycle and crisis rites.^[3] For Cambodia specifically, related liturgical curricula such as the Pali Uṇhissavijaya are documented in protective contexts and manuscript transmission.^[8]

Relation to esoteric Theravāda

The Mahādibbamanta displays a framework of ritualized Pali, mantra-like formulas, yantric or mandalic ordering, and initiatory transmission—situating it within a long Southeast Asian tradition that interacted with Brahmanical deities, local spirits, and protective technologies while remaining embedded in Theravāda monastic and doctrinal settings.^[4][5][6]

Comparisons

Scholars compare the Mahādibbamanta to other extra-canonical protective cycles such as the Jinapañjara Gāthā, which likewise promise comprehensive protection through structured invocations and truth-act formulas.^[9] Overviews of rakkhā literature place these texts within a large family of protective compositions used across Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.^[2]

Reception in modern scholarship

Modern studies of Thai and Cambodian Buddhism treat texts like the Mahādibbamanta as evidence for the enduring role of protective ritual and magical efficacy in Theravāda practice and material culture.^[10] Recent cataloguing initiatives continue to document manuscripts, local printings, and performance practices of paritta and rakkhā texts.^[3]

See also

• Paritta
• Southern Esoteric Buddhism