Sutra of Golden Light

The Golden Light Sutra or Suvarṇaprabhā Sūtra (Sanskrit: सुवर्णप्रभासोत्तमसूत्रेन्द्रराज, IAST: Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājaḥ), also known by the Old Uygur title Altun Yaruq, is a Buddhist text of the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. In Sanskrit, the full title is The Sovereign King of Sutras, the Sublime Golden Light.

The sutra was originally written in India in Sanskrit and was translated several times into Chinese by Dharmakṣema and others, and later translated into Tibetan and other languages. Johannes Nobel published Sanskrit and Tibetan editions of the text. The sutra is influential in East Asia.

The name of the sutra derives from the chapter called "The Confession of the Golden Drum", where the bodhisattva Ruchiraketu dreams of a great drum that radiates a sublime golden light, symbolizing the dharma or teachings of Gautama Buddha.

The Golden Light Sutra became one of the most important sutras in Japan because of its fundamental message, which teaches that the Four Heavenly Kings (Chinese: 四大天王; pinyin: Sì Dàtiānwáng) protect the ruler who governs his country in the proper manner.

The sutra also expounds the vows of the goddesses Sarasvatī (Chinese: 大辨才天; pinyin: dà biàn cái tiān), Lakṣmī (Chinese: 大功德天; pinyin: dà gōng dé tiān) and Dṛḍhā to protect any bhikṣu who will uphold and teach the sutra.

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