112 henrik h. sørensen
Song (color plate 3), as well as in later Buddhist paintings and bronze
images from the Ming.^62
Sitātapatrā, the bodhisattva with the White Umbrella, is a semi-
wrathful goddess also known as Aparājitā.^63 The origin of this female
divinity goes back to Hinduism; however, within the context of Eso-
teric Buddhism, she is associated with the Tārā cult and by extension
with Avalokiteśvara. It is interesting to note that Aparājitā appears in
the earliest Chinese translation of the Mahā Cundī dhāraṇī sūtra as a
bodhisattva.^64 The primary source for this female divinity in Tang Zhe-
nyan Buddhism is the Yiqie rulai Baisangai da guanding tuoluoni jing
(Sitātapatrā, Great Buddhoṣṇīsa-
dhāraṇī Scripture),^65 translated by Amoghavajra toward the end of the
eighth century. After the introduction to China of later Indo-Tibetan
Tantric Buddhism, Sitātapatrā’s cult became very important and con-
tinued in vogue until the end of the Qing dynasty.
Mahāpratisarā is a many-armed female divinity that, like Tārā, is
iconographically related to Avalokiteśvara and his Esoteric Buddhist
imagery. The primary scripture on this divinity is the Mahāpratisarā-
dhāraṇī sūtra,^66 translated during the late seventh century. The cult of
Mahāpratisarā rose to prominence due to the influence of Amogha-
vajra and his followers during the second half of the eighth century, in
connection with rituals for the repentance of evil karma. In the early
Song period Mahāpratisarā’s cult became highly popular. A number of
votive prints on paper, made for devotees to carry as personal talismans,
date from this period.^67 In the Indo-Tibetan tradition, Mahāpratisarā
is among the group of Five Female Divinities (Pañcaraksa) that also ̣
include Mahāmayūrī, Mahāsahaśra-Pramardani, Mahāsitavati, and
Mahāmantranusarini. The goddess, in that form, was introduced to
China during the Yuan period.^68
(^62) See Sørensen 1991.
(^63) For detailed information on her cult in Indian Buddhism, see Shaw 2006, 289–290.
(^64) See T. 1077.20:186a.
(^65) Cf. Zhonghua dazang jing, vol. 68. It is based on the engraved text found in the
Fangshan Tripitaka. On the Fangshan finds see Sørensen, “Textual Material Relating ̣
to Esoteric Buddhism in China Outside the 66 Taishō, vols. 18–21,” in this volume.
For primary scriptures, cf. T. 1154–1156A.
(^67) For a fine example from Dunhuang, see Whitfield and Farrer 1990, 106–107.
See also Drège 1999–2000. For additional information on the iconography pertaining
to this divinity, cf. Sørensen 1991–1992b, 295–298. For a study of the Mahāpratisarā
dhāraṇī, see Copp, unpublished manuscript, Chapter Four.
(^68) Frédéric 1995, 230.