Dakini

right|thumb|upright=1.15|Tibetan board carving of the ḍākinī [[Vajrayogini]]

A dakini is a type of goddess in Hinduism and Buddhism.

The concept of the dakini somewhat differs depending on the context and the tradition. For example, in earlier Hindu texts and East Asian esoteric Buddhism, the term denotes a race of demonesses who ate the flesh and vital essence of humans. In Hindu Tantric literature, Ḍākinī is the name of a goddess often associated with one of the six chakras or the seven fundamental elements (dhātu) of the human body. Meanwhile, in Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhism, dakini (or wisdom dakini) can refer to both what can be best described as fierce-looking female embodiments of enlightened energy, and to human women with a certain amount of spiritual development, both of whom can help Tantric initiates in attaining enlightenment.

In Japan, the ḍākinīs – held in the East Asian Buddhist tradition to have been subjugated and converted to Buddhism by the buddha Vairocana under the guise of the god Mahākāla (Daikokuten in Japanese) – were eventually coalesced into a single deity called Dakiniten, who, after becoming syncretized with the native agricultural deity Inari, became linked to the fox (kitsune) iconography associated with the latter.

Etymology

The Sanskrit term ' is related to ' 'to fly', as in ' 'flight'. The Tibetan khandroma (), meaning 'sky-goer', may have originated from the Sanskrit ' (of the same meaning), a term from the Cakrasaṃvara Tantra. The masculine form of the word is ', which is usually translated into Tibetan as pawo 'hero' ().

In Chinese, ' is transcribed mainly as (), (), or (); other less common alternative transcriptions include (), (), (), and (). It is also translated as (), a calque of the Tibetan term. In Japanese, these transcriptions are all read as dakini () or dākinī ().

Other texts meanwhile assign the taming of the ḍākinīs to other figures such as Vajrapāṇi or the Wisdom King Acala (Fudō Myōō in Japanese). Indeed, in Japanese esoteric Buddhism Acala is believed to have the power to extend the lifespan of his devotees and was thus invoked in certain life-prolonging rituals against soul-stealing demons such as ḍākinīs. Like Mahākāla, Acala is interpreted in the Japanese tradition as a wrathful avatar of Vairocana, with some texts even identifying Mahākāla as Acala's "trace" (suijaku) or manifestation.

A dictionary compiled by the Tang dynasty monk Huilin (慧琳) titled The Sound and Meaning of All Sūtras (, pinyin: Yīqièjīng yīnyì) defines ḍākinīs (荼抧尼) as demonesses who bewitch people and have sexual relationships with them.

thumb|left|The ḍākinīs in the Womb Realm Mandala

In Japanese Buddhism

Emergence and development of cult

The ḍākinī imagery arrived in Japan via Kūkai's introduction of Tangmi (East Asian esoteric Buddhism) to the country in the beginning of the 9th century (early Heian period) in the form of the Shingon school. The Womb Realm (Garbhakoṣadhātu) Mandala, one of the two main mandalas of Shingon Buddhism, depicts three ḍākinīs in the southern (right-hand side) part of the mandala's Outer Vajra section (外金剛部院, gekongōbu-in) in the court of Yama (Enmaten in Japanese), next to the Saptamātṛkās and other similar deities. The figures are half-naked and seated on circular mats next to a human corpse. One of the ḍākinīs is shown devouring a human arm and a leg; the other two hold skulls (kapāla) in their right hands, and one holds a chopper in her left hand. All in all, the ḍākinīs represented in this mandala are more akin to the demonesses of Hindu and early Buddhist texts and iconography than the female personifications of enlightenment found in Tibetan Buddhism.

thumb|[[Mandala of Enmaten (Yama), from the Besson Zakki (別尊雑記), a late Heian-early Kamakura period Japanese compendium of Buddhist iconography. A half-naked ḍākinī (荼吉尼) figure holding a sack or bag is depicted to the right of Enmaten and his two consorts.]]

The ḍākinīs were, as per their placement in the Womb Realm Mandala, originally revered as part of Yama's (Enmaten's) retinue, mainly figuring in rituals centered around the deity. A ḍākinī (not yet the medieval Dakiniten), depicted as a long-haired woman holding a bag, also appears in the Enmaten mandalas of the late Heian period as one of the god's attendants. It was after the Insei period of the late 11th to mid-12th century, during which Japan was effectively under the rule of retired ("cloistered") emperors, that a cult centered around the deified ḍākinī as a single goddess named 'Dakiniten' emerged independent of the Enmaten ritual. As the cult of Dakiniten flourished, its rite became famous for being particularly effective for obtaining worldly benefits and was thus especially attractive to the politically ambitious; at the same time, however, the ritual was viewed with suspicion within some circles as a dangerous, "heterodox" (外法, gehō) practice due to its supposed subversive, black magical aspects.

It is difficult to trace the exact origins of the Japanese Dakiniten cult. While a number of medieval texts claim the ritual's lineage started with eminent esoteric masters such as Amoghavajra or Vajrabodhi, the lineage may more plausibly be traced back to 10th century Shingon monks such as the Jingo-ji priest Kengyō (鑒教) or the Tō-ji abbot Kanshuku (観宿, ). Although one legend claims that Saichō, the founder of the Tendai school, brought with him Dakiniten ritual texts from China which he then buried at Mount Hiei, there is actually no historical proof that he or any of the other monks who went to China to study esoteric Buddhism – Kūkai, Jōgyō, Engyō, Ennin, Eun, Enchin and Shuei – brought home any such texts with them, suggesting that the Dakiniten rite developed in Japan well after their time.

thumb|upright=0.85|left|[[Taira no Kiyomori encounters the fox goddess Kiko Tennō (Dakiniten), by Utagawa Kuniyoshi]]

The rapid rise of certain notable figures to prominence, as well as their decline, have been popularly attributed to Dakiniten. A certain anecdote regarding the military leader Taira no Kiyomori found in the Genpei Jōsuiki (one of a number of variants of the Heike Monogatari) claims that Kiyomori once shot an arrow at a fox during a hunt. The fox then transformed into a woman who promised to grant Kiyomori whatever he wanted in exchange for her life. Kiyomori, realizing this woman is none other than the goddess Kiko Tennō (貴狐天王, lit. "Venerable Fox Deva-King", i.e. Dakiniten), spared her life. He subsequently became a devotee of the goddess, despite his awareness that the benefits obtained through the Dakiniten rite (吒天の法, Daten no hō) would not be passed on to his progeny. The story thus attributes both Kiyomori's rise in power and the subsequent fall of his clan to his performance of the Dakiniten ritual.

thumb|[[Nanboku-chō period painting of Dakiniten riding a white fox, carrying a sword and a wish-granting jewel (cintāmaṇi)]]

According to the Kamakura period work Kokon Chomonjū, the late Heian period nobleman Fujiwara no Tadazane commissioned the performance of the Dakiniten rite for seven days as he was about to be sent into exile. At the end of that period, a fox came to eat his offering, a rice cake. He then later had a dream in which he was visited by a beautiful young woman. When she was getting ready to leave, he grasped her hair to hold her back, at which he woke up finding himself holding a fox's tail in his hands. The next day, instead of being exiled, he was promoted to a high rank. Attributing this turn of events to Dakiniten, Tadazane in thanksgiving worshiped the fox tail as a symbol of the deity.

Other people claimed to have attained positions of authority due to their devotion to Dakiniten include the monk Ningai (951–1046), the founder of the Ono branch (小野流, Ono-ryū) of Shingon, and the Shingon Risshū monk Monkan (1278–1357), a close aide of Emperor Go-Daigo whose name became linked to the infamous Tachikawa branch (Tachikawa-ryū). Monkan's enemies in particular painted him in a negative light by emphasizing the dubious nature of the rites he performed; one notable rival, Yūkai, accused him of "making offerings to the ḍākinīs and conjuring dragons while he is reporting to the throne." The Tendai monk Kōshū (1276–1350), in his work Keiran Shūyōshū (渓嵐拾葉集, "Collected Leaves from Hazy Valleys"), wavers in his judgment of the Dakiniten rite: on the one hand, he comments that "he who worships animals is worthy of being a master. He who worships a fox is worthy of becoming a king." On the other hand, he warns his readers about the dangers of the Dakiniten cult.

Dakiniten and Inari

Dakiniten's cult flourished mainly via the network of Inari worship and vice versa; the former, because of her association with the fox (kitsune), became closely linked with the latter, as foxes were seen as the messengers of the Inari deity. Dakiniten came to be identified with the native agricultural kami Ukanomitama, Toyouke, and Ukemochi (all of whom were themselves conflated both with the god of Inari and with each other), with her iconography probably being informed by these goddesses. A late Kamakura period text called the Inari-ki (稲荷記, "Record of Inari") links the five peaks of Mount Inari with various divinities and Buddhist figures: the eastern peak corresponds with Dakiniten, who is associated with the Wisdom King Yamāntaka (Daiitoku) and the kami Amaterasu, the central peak to Shinkoō (辰狐王, lit. "Dragon-Fox / Astral Fox King"; a name also applied to Dakiniten's vulpine mount who was eventually conflated with the goddess herself) and the buddha Amitabha, the western peak to Benzaiten and Rāgarāja (Aizen), the southern peak to Trailokyavijaya (Gōzanze), Niu Myōjin and Hārītī (Kariteimo), and the northern peak to Acala (Fudō). When reckoned as a separate figure, the Inari deity (Inari Myōjin) may even be depicted among Dakiniten's retinue as an old man bearing on his shoulder a pole with sheaves of rice on each end.

thumb|left|upright=1.35|Due to her association with foxes, the cult of Dakiniten was assimilated into that of the agricultural deity Inari. (pictured: [[Fushimi Inari Taisha|Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto)]]

The assimilation of Dakiniten and Inari (or rather, Ukanomitama) can also be observed in the origin story of the Dakiniten Hall at Shinnyo-dō in Kyoto. The story relates that a monk who was a worshiper of Dakiniten had just finished reciting the 600-fascicle Mahāprajñāpāramitā Sūtra when a white fox holding a jewel (cintāmaṇi) in its mouth appeared on the altar. The fox then transformed into a youth, who declared that he was the deity Ukanomitama and that his jewel grants all wishes.

In popular religion, Dakiniten was also identified with a fox goddess worshiped at Mount Inari known variously as Akomachi (阿小町), Tōme (専女), or Myōbu (命婦). This deity (commonly regarded as an attendant of the god of Inari) was revered as a patron of love and matchmaking; a short liturgical text to Akomachi preserved at Kōzan-ji is titled Dakini no saimon (荼枳尼祭文). In its section on the Inari deity, the Nanboku-chō period anthology Shintōshū recounts a tradition found in "a certain person's diary" which identifies the deity of the Upper Shrine (上社, kami no yashiro) of Inari as the "Dragon / Astral Fox" (辰狐, Shinko) Myōbu, who is said to be a manifestation of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. The work then further identifies this Shinko(ō) Bosatsu (辰狐(王)菩薩, "Dragon / Astral Fox (King) Bodhisattva", i.e. Dakiniten) as the incarnation of Vairocana, Mañjuśrī, Vaiśravaṇa and Cintāmaṇicakra (Nyoirin Kannon).

thumb|upright=1.35|[[Toyokawa Inari|Myōgon-ji, a Sōtō Zen temple in Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture famous as a center of Dakiniten worship under the name 'Toyokawa Inari' (豊川稲荷)]]The cult of Dakiniten and that of Inari became inextricably fused that the name 'Inari' was even applied to places of Dakiniten worship, such as Toyokawa Inari (Myōgon-ji), a Sōtō Zen temple in Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, where the goddess known as Toyokawa Dakini Shinten (豊川吒枳尼真天) is venerated as the guardian deity (chinju) of the temple. Legend claims that the Dakiniten of Toyokawa originally appeared to Kangan Giin (1217–1300), a disciple of Dōgen (the founder of the Japanese Sōtō school), during his return from China in 1267. In the vision, he was given a mantra by Dakiniten, who vowed to become his protector. An image based on this apparition attributed to Giin, showing the goddess on a white fox and carrying rice sheaves on a pole on her right shoulder while holding a cintāmaṇi in her left hand, was eventually transmitted to Giin's sixth generation disciple, Tōkai Gieki (1412–1497), who enshrined it at the temple he founded.

Another notable 'Inari' sanctuary is the Nichiren-shū temple Myōkyō-ji – popularly known as Saijō Inari (最上稲荷) – in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture, notable for its goddess Saijōikyōō Daibosatsu (最上位経王大菩薩, lit. "Great Bodhisattva of the Supreme King of Sūtras" – a reference to the Lotus Sūtra), who is portrayed as riding a white fox while bearing a pole laden with rice sheaves on her left shoulder and wielding a scythe on her right hand. This image reflects the two currents constituting the Inari tradition: the agricultural deity of Mount Inari and the esoteric Buddhist deity Dakiniten.

Imperial enthronement ceremony

thumb|upright=0.85|The buddha [[Vairocana of the Diamond Realm (Vajradhātu) making the 'wisdom fist' mudra (智拳印, chiken-in)]]

From the Middle Ages up until the Meiji period, the enthronement ceremony of the Japanese emperor featured Buddhist elements. One such ritual performed during the emperor's accession was the sokui kanjō (即位灌頂, "Abhiṣeka of Enthronement"), in which various mudras and mantras were ritually transmitted to and performed by the new emperor. The central deity (honzon) in this rite was Dakiniten, who is considered to be both the incarnation of the buddha Vairocana (Dainichi Nyorai) and the 'origin' (honji) of the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythical ancestor of the imperial line; indeed, the emperor, upon ascending the throne, was said to have formed the 'wisdom fist' mudra associated with Vairocana in the Diamond Realm while reciting Dakiniten's mantra. A text from 1324, the Bikisho (鼻帰書, "Record of Returning to Origins"), also reports that when the ritual was performed in the imperial palace, two fox figurines – one gold and one silver – were placed to the left and right of the altar, and the new ruler was consecrated through an aspersion with water from "the four oceans". A medieval text stresses the rite's importance thus: "If he does not receive this ritual, the ruler's power is light and it cannot hold the four oceans. This is why this ritual is not limited to the king; monks of the various temples and profanes, too, when they perform it, can obtain a high rank and be perfectly free."

The origins of sokui kanjō are shrouded in mystery; one tradition claims that a disciple of Ningai, Seison (成尊, 1012–1074), first conducted it during the accession of Emperor Go-Sanjō in 1068. Performance of the rite, however, eventually became the prerogative of Fujiwara regents, who transmitted the mantras to the new emperor during the ceremony. Indeed, a medieval legend justifies this custom by claiming that it started with the founding ancestor of the Fujiwara clan, Nakatomi (Fujiwara) no Kamatari, who was abducted in his youth by a she-fox (an avatar of Amaterasu). The fox taught Kamatari the enthronement rites and gave him a sickle (kama) with which he defeated his enemy Soga no Iruka. One text even identifies Kamatari and Daten (Dakiniten) as manifestations of Amaterasu.

thumb|upright=1.35|[[Amaterasu emerges from the Heavenly Rock Cave (Shunsai Toshimasa, 1889)]]

The connection between the fox, Dakiniten, and Amaterasu can also be seen in the Keiran Shūyōshū, which features the following retelling of the myth of Amaterasu's hiding:

Commenting on the sokui kanjō, Bernard Faure writes:<blockquote>under the name "Fox King," Dakiniten became a manifestation of the sun goddess Amaterasu, with whom the new emperor united during the enthronement ritual. [...] The Buddhist ritual allowed the ruler to symbolically cross over the limits separating the human and animal realms to harness the wild and properly superhuman energy of the "infrahuman" world, so as to gain full control of the human sphere.</blockquote>Another type of secret enthronement ritual centered on Dakiniten took place on the Outer Shrine of Ise (Gekū) and was performed every morning and evening by the shrine's young female attendants or kora (子良 or 狐良 – 狐 being the character for 'fox') when they presented their daily offerings to the deity. There are two traditions related to its origins, one claiming that it goes back to Amaterasu herself through her priestess Yamatohime, the other that it originated with Kūkai. In this way, the kora, and through them Amaterasu, came to be identified with Dakiniten. According to the Bikisho: "Based on this [ancient practice of worshiping animals with special powers] at these [Ise] shrines, the shrine maidens (kora) perform the Ritual of the Astral Fox after presenting divine food. Its meaning is to show that the promise made in ancient times has not been forgotten. Therefore, the emperors, who are the descendants of the great deity [of Ise], are initiated in this method as part of their enthronement."

Connection with foxes

Although Dakini-ten was said to be a powerful Buddhist deity, the images and stories surrounding it in Japan in both medieval and modern times are drawn from local kitsune mythology. The modern folk belief, often printed in Japanese books about religion, is that the fox image was a substitute for the Indian jackal, but the black jackal and other black animals are associated with Kali.

In the early modern period, the ḍākinī rite devolved into various spells called Dakini-ten, Atago Gongen. Those who felt wronged in their village could go to a corrupt yamabushi who practiced black magic, and get him to trap a kitsune and cause it to possess a third party. Reports of possession became especially common in the Edo and Meiji periods. For details, see kitsunetsuki.

Mantra

thumb|Toyokawa Dakini Shinten (豊川吒枳尼真天)

The Mahāvairocana Tantra assigns the following mantra to the ḍākinīs:

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Sanskrit

!Chinese characters

|-

|Namaḥ samanta-buddhānāṃ hrīḥ haḥ

|南麼 三曼多 勃馱喃_(一) 訶_(去)唎_(二合)訶_(上)

|}

The following mantra meanwhile is associated with Toyokawa Inari and is said to have been revealed by Dakiniten to Kangan Giin:

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Chinese characters

!Japanese (romanized)

|-

|唵尸羅婆陀尼黎吽娑婆訶

|On shira batta niri un sowaka

|}

This mantra is traditionally interpreted as meaning: "When this spell is chanted, the faith in me reaches everywhere, and by the true power of the Buddhist precepts, evil and misfortune will be abolished and luck and wisdom attained; suffering removed and comfort achieved, and pain transformed into delight."