Sitatapatra
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Sitātapatrā (pronounced: see TAH tah pah TRAH, sita: white; atapatrā: parasol (umbrella)[1]; tib.: Dukkar, gdugs dkar) is the 'Goddess of the White Parasol'[2] - protector against supernatural danger.
[edit] Symbolism
Sitātapatrā, one of the most complex Vajrayana goddesses[3]. According to Miranda Shaw in the "Buddhist Goddesses of India", Sitatapatra emerged from the crown of Shakyamuni Buddha's head when he was in Trayastrimsa heaven. The Buddha announced her role to "cut asunder completely all malignant demons, to cut asunder all the spells of others...to turn aside all enemies and dangers and hatred." Her benign and beautiful form belies her ferocity as she is a "fierce, terrifying goddess, garlanded by flames, a pulverizer of enemies and demons."
In the Mahayana "Sitatapatra Sutra", she is called "Aparajita" or "undefeatable" and is also identified as a form of goddess Tara from the "Vairochana" Buddha family and is also called "Mahamaya", which is also the name of Sakyamuni's mother before he becomes the Buddha.
In other sutras, she is regarded as a female counterpart to Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Like him, Sitātapatrā manifests in many elaborate forms: having a thousand faces, arms and legs, or simply as a feminine deity of great beauty. Known foremost for her "white parasol" she is most frequently attributed with the "golden wheel". The auspiciousness of the turning of the precious wheel is symbolic of the Buddha's doctrine, both in its teachings and realizations.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ The Wheel of Great Compassion by Lorne Ladner and Lama Zopa Rinpoche (Wisdom Publications, 2001) p.28
- ^ The Cult of Tara: Magic and Ritual in Tibet (Hermeneutics: Studies in the History of Religions) by Stephan Beyer (1978) p.154
- ^ The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs by Robert Beer (1999) p.23
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