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DUNCANWILLIAMS
PARITTA AND RAKSA TEXTS
Paritta(protection) or raksa(Pali, rakka; protection)
are protective texts that keep a person who chants them
safe from evil spells, menacing other-worldly creatures,
and the dangers of knives, guns, disease, betrayal, fire,
and poison. Parittaslike the Ratana, Man ̇gala, Mora,
Dibbamanta, Khandha, Dhajagga,and Atanatiya suttas
are some of the most common texts used in Southeast
Asian Buddhism. Raksaslike the Pañcaraksaand sec-
tions of the Candragarbha-sutraalso fall under this
protective invocational genre and are well known by
practitioners in India, Tibet, and East Asia. They are
important in daily monastic and lay Buddhist life, and
collections of these texts, such as the Pirit Potain Sri
Lanka or the Jet Tamnanin Laos, are found in most
homes and monasteries. Any Buddhist who regularly
attends monastic ceremonies, or requests monks to
bless his or her property or endeavors is familiar with
these Pali and Sanskrit texts, which often serve as sub-
jects for sermons. Parittaand raksaliterature has long
been associated with ritual action and protective im-
plements, such as sacred string, holy water, candles,
AMULETS AND TALISMANS, incense, knives, engraved
metal manta(Sanskrit, MANTRA) texts—rolled and
worn around the neck (Thai, takrut)—and the like.
Parittaand raksaliterature is also the subject of deco-
rative and ritual art in Tibet and East Asia.
Primary textual sources abound for those inter-
ested in Buddhist protective texts. There are several
places in the earliest Pali suttas,chronicles, and com-
mentaries from the third century B.C.E. to the sixth
century C.E. that mention how parittaswere employed
during protective ceremonies. For example, the com-
mentary on Ratana-sutta mentions that ANANDA
sprinkled water from the Buddha’s alms bowl as he
went through Vesali reciting the sutta.Older canoni-
cal texts from the third century B.C.E. to the third cen-
tury C.E. that also describe parittasbeing used in cer-
emonies are mentioned in the Mahavamsa(VII 14)
when the Buddha is said to have permitted the use of
a protective chant to cure a snakebite in the Vinaya-
pitaka(II 109–110). As Peter Skilling points out, the
Atanatiya-suttaof the Dlghanikayais a protective
paritta.The MILINDAPAN
HA(150, 27) states that the
Buddha himself sanctioned the use of these protective
texts. The Dhammapadatthakatha (III 6) includes
a story in which the Buddha recommends the use
of a protective mantafor monks who are afraid of
tree spirits.Although the differences between the uses of
parittatexts of South and Southeast Asia and their
counterparts—the raksatexts of India, Tibet, and East
Asia—have not been adequately explored, certain
MAHAYANAsutras contain sections that could be called
protective texts. Some texts that fall under this rubric
are sections of the Siksasamuccayaand Astasahasrika-
prajñaparamita,as well as tantric (Tibetan, rgyud)
texts in the Tibetan Kanjur, such as the Mahasitavana-
sutraand Bhadrakara-sutra.In East Asia, chapter 21
of the LOTUSSUTRA(SADDHARMAPUNDARIKA-SUTRA),
on the supernatural powers of the tathagata, is also
considered a protective text.The five goddesses of Tibetan and East Asian Bud-
dhism also are the focus of protective texts known
loosely as the Pañcaraksa.These texts are hymns that
praise and request the protective power of the five
goddesses (Mahapratisara, Mahasasrapramardin,
Mahamantranudharin, Mahamantranusarin, and
Mahamayur). The last, Mahamayur, became the fo-
cus of her own cult, and popular protective texts, such
as the fourth-century Mahamayurl-Vidyarajñl,were
used to invoke her in ritual. These five deities are es-
pecially popular among Newar Buddhists in the Kath-
mandu Valley of Nepal, but they are also depicted on
murals in the AJANTAcave complex in India and are
the subject of elaborate MANDALAs in Tibet and China.
In the various mikkyo(esoteric) schools of Japan, Ma-
hamayur, in particular, is a myoo (radiant wisdom
ruler) and she is depicted riding on the back of a pea-
cock (who has the ability to kill snakes) and holding
two fruits that ward off evil spirits and protect against
illness.In Southeast Asia parittasare part of everyday Bud-
dhist monastic and secular life. In modern Thailand
parittasare chanted at a number of ceremonies and es-
pecially at house, water buffalo, and even motorcyclePARITTA ANDRAKSATEXTS