Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya — Sanskrit with English

01

नमः सर्वज्ञाय

namaḥ sarvajñāya

Homage to the All-Knowing One.

Opening invocation of the Sanskrit recension; the Chinese translations omit it entirely.

02

आर्यावलोकितेश्वरो बोधिसत्त्वो गम्भीरायां प्रज्ञापारमितायां चर्यां चरमाणो व्यवलोकयति स्म। पञ्चस्कन्धाः। तांश्च स्वभावशून्यान्पश्यति स्म॥

āryāvalokiteśvaro bodhisattvo gaṃbhīrāyāṃ prajñāpāramitāyāṃ caryāṃ caramāṇo vyavalokayati sma | pañcaskandhāḥ | tāṃś ca svabhāvaśūnyān paśyati sma

The noble Avalokiteśvara, a bodhisattva, while practising the deep perfection of wisdom, looked down and saw the five aggregates — and saw that they were empty of own-being.

03

इह शारिपुत्र रूपं शून्यता शून्यतैव रूपम्। रूपान्न पृथक् शून्यता। शून्यताया न पृथग् रूपम्। यद् रूपं सा शून्यता या शून्यता तद् रूपम्॥

iha śāriputra rūpaṃ śūnyatā śūnyataiva rūpaṃ | rūpān na pṛthak śūnyatā | śūnyatāyā na pṛthag rūpaṃ | yad rūpaṃ sā śūnyatā yā śūnyatā tad rūpam

Here, Śāriputra: form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Form is not other than emptiness, emptiness is not other than form. Whatever is form is emptiness; whatever is emptiness is form.

04

एवमेव वेदनासंज्ञासंस्कारविज्ञानानि॥

evam eva vedanāsaṃjñāsaṃskāravijñānāni

So too are feeling, perception, formations and consciousness.

05

इह शारिपुत्र सर्वधर्माः शून्यतालक्षणा अनुत्पन्ना अनिरुद्धा अमला न विमला नोना न परिपूर्णाः॥

iha śāriputra sarvadharmāḥ śūnyatālakṣaṇā anutpannā aniruddhā amalā na vimalā nonā na paripūrṇāḥ

Here, Śāriputra, all dharmas are marked by emptiness: not born, not ceased, not defiled, not pure, not deficient, not complete.

The Sanskrit has nonā (not deficient) and na paripūrṇāḥ (not complete); Xuanzang renders the pair as 不增不减, “neither increasing nor decreasing” — close in sense, different in wording.

06

तस्माच्छारिपुत्र शून्यतायां न रूपं न वेदना न संज्ञा न संस्कारा न विज्ञानानि॥

tasmāc chāriputra śūnyatāyāṃ na rūpaṃ na vedanā na saṃjñā na saṃskārā na vijñānāni

Therefore, Śāriputra, in emptiness there is no form, no feeling, no perception, no formations, no consciousness.

07

न चक्षुःश्रोत्रघ्राणजिह्वाकायमनांसि। न रूपशब्दगन्धरसस्प्रष्टव्यधर्माः॥

na cakṣuḥśrotraghrāṇajihvākāyamanāṃsi | na rūpaśabdagandharasasparṣṭavyadharmāḥ

No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind; no forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles or dharmas.

The Devanagari reads kāyamanāṃsi (kāya + manāṃsi), as in the manuscript; a second family writes kāyamāṃsi. Sandhi spelling only, same sense. The IAST here is aligned character by character with the Devanagari rather than normalised to the common edition.

08

न चक्षुर्धातुर्यावन्न मनोविज्ञानधातुः॥

na cakṣurdhātur yāvan na manovijñānadhātuḥ

No eye-element, and so on up to no mind-consciousness element.

09

न विद्या नाविद्या न विद्याक्षयो नाविद्याक्षयो यावन्न जरामरणं न जरामरणक्षयो न दुःखसमुदयनिरोधमार्गा न ज्ञानं न प्राप्तिः॥

na vidyā nāvidyā na vidyākṣayo nāvidyākṣayo yāvan na jarāmaraṇaṃ na jarāmaraṇakṣayo na duḥkhasamudayanirodhamārgā na jñānaṃ na prāptiḥ

No ignorance and no ending of ignorance, and so on up to no ageing-and-death and no ending of ageing-and-death. No suffering, arising, cessation or path. No knowledge and no attainment.

10

तस्मादप्राप्तित्वाद्बोधिसत्त्वानां प्रज्ञापारमितामाश्रित्य विहरत्यचित्तावरणः। चित्तावरणनास्तित्वादत्रस्तो विपर्यासातिक्रान्तो निष्ठनिर्वाणः॥

tasmād aprāptitvād bodhisattvānāṃ prajñāpāramitām āśritya viharaty acittāvaraṇaḥ | cittāvaraṇanāstitvād atrasto viparyāsātikrānto niṣṭhanirvāṇaḥ

Because there is no attainment, bodhisattvas rely on the perfection of wisdom and dwell with minds unobstructed. With no obstruction in mind they are without fear, pass beyond inverted views, and reach final nirvāṇa.

11

त्र्यध्वव्यवस्थिताः सर्वबुद्धाः प्रज्ञापारमितामाश्रित्यानुत्तरां सम्यक्सम्बोधिमभिसंबुद्धाः॥

tryadhvavyavasthitāḥ sarvabuddhāḥ prajñāpāramitām āśrityānutarāṃ samyaksaṃbodhim abhisaṃbuddhāḥ

All buddhas of the three times, relying on the perfection of wisdom, fully awaken to unsurpassed perfect awakening.

12

तस्माज्ज्ञातव्यं प्रज्ञापारमिता महामन्त्रो महाविद्यामन्त्रो ऽनुत्तरमन्त्रो ऽसमसममन्त्रः सर्वदुःखप्रशमनः। सत्यममिथ्यत्वात्॥

tasmāj jñātavyaṃ prajñāpāramitā mahāmantro mahāvidyāmantro 'nutaramantro 'samasamamantraḥ sarvaduḥkhapraśamanaḥ | satyam amithyatvāt

Know therefore that the perfection of wisdom is the great mantra, the mantra of great knowledge, the unsurpassed mantra, the unequalled mantra, the pacifier of all suffering. It is true, not false.

13

प्रज्ञापारमितायामुक्तो मन्त्रः। तद्यथा।

prajñāpāramitāyām ukto mantraḥ | tadyathā

The mantra spoken in the perfection of wisdom is this:

15

इति प्रज्ञापारमिताहृदयं समाप्तम्

iti prajñāpāramitāhṛdayaṃ samāptam

Thus ends the Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom.