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Among all these, the personal names of a few species of demons
stand out from the foregoing laundry list for their savagery, which
is ultimately transformed by the power of the Buddha to protect
the Buddhist devout and faithful. These include the child-devouring
demoness Hārītī, “The Thief,” who was converted into a Buddhist
protector of children (Peri 1917; Murray 1981–1982); and the child-
seizing graha (masculine form of grahī) Skanda, who now protects
against the symptoms (trembling shoulders) that he once induced (Fil-
liozat 1937, 218–24, 255–256). From the mid-sixth century onward
various dhāraṇī scriptures translated into Buddhist Chinese describe
the powerful spells and accompanying procedures for impressing seals
taught by formerly demonic entities that may now be used to protect
against infectious fiends. These include the seals of Ātavaka, mighty ̣
General of Demons (T. 1238), Jāṅgulī, the Jungle Woman (T. 1265),
and Ucchuṣma, Lord of Impurities (T. 1227).
In the case of Jāṅgulī, for instance, the gradual development of rituals
associated with this wild woman of the forest may be seen as follows.
The first major text associated with her, the Book of Dhāraṇī and Spells
of the Jāṅgulī Woman (Changjuli dunü tuoluoni zhou jing
, T. 1265) is said to have been translated in the 650s
by a monk named Gupta. The text describes various spells that are
useful against a variety of illnesses. It describes talismans for internal
consumption (seals, yin ) that are combined with various pressure
points on the hands to cure the oppressed. A later ritual text trans-
lated or compiled by Amoghavajra in the eighth century, the Sūtra on
the Maiden Jāṅgulī (Changjuli tongnü jing , T. 1264B),
describes the use of seals made by the priestly adept’s fingers, which
are more like standard Buddhist mudrās. The adept visualizes himself
as the Jāṅgulī woman in front of the victim, enchants a bowl of water
with the goddess’s spell, and throws water at the victim’s heart, which
is supposed to cause the noxious influence to disappear (Strickmann
1995; 2002, 143–170).
As new ritual techniques described in dhāraṇī scriptures continued
to arrive in China, these met with circumstances already prepared by
the broad sweep of Buddhist demonology. Some of the new deities,
scriptures, and techniques were probably understood as related to what
came before. More important, however, was the shift in the use of seals
and other healing procedures to effect enlightenment. For instance,
although extant only in fragments, a text discovered at Dunhuang at the
beginning of the twentieth century describes the existence of a spirit-