臨りん兵ぴょう闘とう者しゃ皆かい陣じん列れつ在ざい前ぜん

Meanings

may the presiders over warriors be my vanguard

A nine-character Buddhist charm chanted to ward off evil; used in esoteric Buddhist rituals and martial arts contexts. The phrase is a fixed incantation, not productive modern Japanese.

Kanji

臨look to, face, meet
兵soldier, private, troops
闘fight, war
者someone, person
皆all, everything
陣camp, battle array, ranks
列file, row, rank
在exist, outskirts, suburbs
前in front, before
裂split, rend, tear
烈ardent, violent, vehement

Related words

九く字じ
九字 refers to the nine-syllable mantra itself, while 臨兵闘者皆陣列在前 is the specific phrase chanted.

Written forms

臨りん兵ぴょう闘とう者しゃ皆かい陣じん列れつ在ざい前ぜん
Standard kanji form of the nine-character Buddhist charm.
臨りん兵ぴょう闘とう者しゃ皆かい陣じん裂れつ在ざい前ぜん
Variant with 裂 (split/tear) instead of 列 (row/line).
臨りん兵ぴょう闘とう者しゃ皆かい陣じん烈れつ在ざい前ぜん
Variant with 烈 (fierce) instead of 列 (row/line).

Etymology

This protective formula is the Japanese nine-character incantation 九字, based on a passage in the Chinese Daoist text 『抱朴子』 whose wording begins 臨兵闘者皆陣列前行. The Japanese form ends 在前.