Marici (Buddhism)
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Mārīcī (
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
: मारीची, lit. "Ray of Light"; Chinese: 摩利支天;
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''Mólìzhītiān''; Japanese: ''Marishiten''), is a
Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
god (
devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...
) or goddess, as well as a
bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
associated with light and the
Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
. By most historical accounts, Marici is a goddess. However, in some regions, she is depicted as a male god, revered among the warrior class in East Asia. She is typically depicted with multiple arms, riding a charging boar or sow, or on a fiery
chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
pulled by seven horses or seven boars. She has either one head or between three to six, with one shaped like a boar. In parts of East Asia, in her fiercest forms, she may wear a necklace of skulls. In some representations, she sits upon a lotus. Some of the earliest iconographies of Marici are found in India and
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, particularly near the ancient port city and Buddhist site
Salihundam Salihundam, is a village and panchayat in Gara Mandal of Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh. It is a historically important Buddhist monument of ancient Kalinga and a major tourist attraction It is a village lying on top of the hill on the s ...
of
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
, where Marici is depicted as riding on a chariot pulled by seven horses in a manner similar to
Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
(sun deity with goddesses Usha and Chaya). In Mahayana Buddhist texts, Marici is the goddess of dawn, one introduced by the Buddha at
Shravasti Shravasti ( sa, श्रावस्ती, translit=Śrāvastī; pi, 𑀲𑀸𑀯𑀢𑁆𑀣𑀻, translit=Sāvatthī) is a city and district headquarter of Shravasti district in Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the an ...
. In some aspects, she is comparable to, and likely a fusion deity derived from the feminine version of
Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
and, in other ways, to Usha,
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...
, and
Vajravārāhī In Tibetan Buddhism, Vajravārāhī ("The Diamond Sow", Dorje Pakmo) is a wrathful form of Vajrayogini associated particularly with the '' Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'', where she is paired in yab-yum with the Heruka Cakrasaṃvara. Judith Simmer-Br ...
. She is one of the goddesses (or gods) invoked in Buddhist
dharani Dharanis (IAST: ), also known as ''Parittas'', are Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Bud ...
s. In Tibetan Buddhism, she is depicted as the goddess of dawn or light, a healer, or the one who seeks enlightenment of all beings. In Japanese Buddhism, she is depicted as a warrior goddess – the protector of the ''bushi'' or
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
and their passion for justice. Alternatively, she is also a healer from the wrong state to the right state of existence. In
Chinese Buddhism Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
, she is among the lists as one of the guardian devas, specifically the '' Sixteen Devas'' (Chinese: 十六諸天;
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''Shíliù Zhūtiān''), the '' Twenty Devas'' (Chinese: 二十諸天;
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''Èrshí Zhūtiān'') and the '' Twenty-Four Devas'' (Chinese: 二十四諸天;
Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
: ''Èrshísì Zhūtiān''). In
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of Philosophy, philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of China, Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmo ...
and
Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
,
Doumu Dǒumǔ (), also known as Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn ( "Lady Mother of the Chariot"), Dòulǎo Yuánjūn ( "Lady Ancestress of the Chariot") and Tàiyī Yuánjūn ( "Lady of the Great One"), is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. She is also named ...
() is considered to be synonymous with Mārīcī within
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayā ...
. Upon her discovery by the western world, colonial-era writers such as Giorgi conjectured on phonetic grounds that she might have been copied from or inspired by the Christian concept of the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
after the earliest Spanish travelers reached the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. However, this conjecture was rejected following the discoveries of numerous older artworks and texts.


Origins

The origins of Mārīcī are obscure. She appears to be, however, an amalgamation of
Indic Indic may refer to: * Indic languages (disambiguation) * Various scripts: ** Brahmic scripts, a family of scripts used to write Indian and other Asian languages ** Kharosthi (extinct) * Indian numerals * Indian religions, also known as the Dharm ...
,
Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...
, and non- Indo-Iranian solar goddesses. She is also thought to have originated from the Vedic goddess Uṣas, the Vedic goddess of the dawn who appears in the ''
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
''. She also shares some similarities with
Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...
, the solar God. In her martial or warrior depictions, she shares some similarities with
Durga Durga ( sa, दुर्गा, ) is a major Hindu goddess, worshipped as a principal aspect of the mother goddess Mahadevi. She is associated with protection, strength, motherhood, destruction, and wars. Durga's legend centres around co ...
, as both appear with multiple arms carrying various weapons while riding an animal or chariot.


Iconography

Mārīcī is depicted i
several ways
Some examples included: *As a man or woman on an open lotus, the lotus occasionally is perched on the back of seven sows. *As a male deity, often with two or six arms, riding a boar. *Riding a fiery
chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
pulled by seven savage boars or sows. *As a multi-armed woman with a different weapon in each hand, standing or sitting on the back of a boar. *As having three faces and six or eight arms. In Tibetan literature, the Bari Gyatsa contains five different descriptions of Mārīcī: *Oḍḍiyāna Mārīcī *Kalpa Ukta Mārīcī *Kalpa Ukta Vidhinā Sita Mārīcī *Aśokakāntā Mārīcī *Oḍḍiyāna Krama Mārīcī The Drub Tab Gyatso has six descriptions: *White with five faces and ten hands *Yellow with three faces and eight hands *Yellow with three faces and eight hands *Dharmadhātu Īśvarī, red with six faces and twelve hands *Picumī, yellow with three faces and eight hands *Red with three faces and twelve hands The Nartang Gyatsa and Rinjung of Taranata describe one form. The Vajravali and
Mitra Gyatsa ''Mitra'' ( Proto-Indo-Iranian: ''*mitrás'') is the name of an Indo-Iranian divinity from which the names and some characteristics of Rigvedic Mitrá and Avestan Mithra derive. The names (and occasionally also some characteristics) of these ...
describe a mandala of Mārīcī that includes twenty-five surrounding figures. This is not an exhaustive list, and many more depictions of Mārīcī exist throughout the Buddhist world.


In Tibetan Buddhism

Three texts are preserved in the Kriya Tantra of the Tibetan
Kangyur The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined collection of sacred texts recognized by various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, comprising the Kangyur or Kanjur ('Translation of the Word') and the Tengyur or Tanjur (Tengyur) ('Translation of Treat ...
in which Mārīcī (Tibetan: Ozer Chenma) is the primary subject: *''The Incantation of Mārīcī'' (Skt. ''ārya mārīcī nāma dhāraṇī'', Wyl. '' 'phags ma 'od zer can zhes bya ba'i gzungs'', D 564) *''The Sovereign Practices Extracted from the Tantra of Māyāmārīcī'' (Skt. ''Māyāmārīcījāta tantrād uddhitaṃ kalparājā'', Wyl. ''sgyu ma'i 'od zer can 'byung ba'i rgyud las phyung ba'i rtog pa'i rgyal po’’, D 565)'' *''The Seven Hundred Practices of Mārīcī from the Tantras'' (Skt. ''ārya mārīcī maṇḍalavidhi mārīcījāta dvādaśasahasra uddhitaṃ kalpa hṛdaya saptaśata'', Wyl. ''‘phags ma 'od zer can gyi dkyil 'khor gyi cho ga 'od zer can 'byung ba'i rgyud stong phrag bcu gnyis pa las phyung ba'i rtog pa'i snying po bdun brgya pa’’, D 566)'' Several more texts may be found in the Dergé
Tengyur The Tengyur or Tanjur or Bstan-’gyur (Tibetan: "Translation of Teachings") is the Tibetan collection of commentaries to the Buddhist teachings, or "Translated Treatises". The Buddhist Canon To the Tengyur were assigned commentaries to b ...
commentaries. Ozer Chenma is also sometimes seen as a form of Tara. In the Nyingma tradition of the 21 Taras, she is the 21st Tara.


Dzogchen

Ozer Chenma is particularly important in
Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...
schools
Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...
tradition. Her importance is due to the symbolism of the sun and its rays for Dzogchen thought, as well as the use of the sun as an aid in the Dzogchen practice of thogal. The '' Self-Arisen Vidya Tantra'' states: "In order to demonstrate the source of light rays, there is the tantra known as the ''Marici Tantra."'' In this tradition, her main seed syllable is MUM, and her mantra is OM MARI ZEYE MUM SVAHA.


In East Asian Buddhism

In China, Mārīcī is worshiped as both a Buddhist and
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
deity. She is highly revered in
Esoteric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...
. She is often depicted with three eyes on each of her three faces and four arms on each side of her body. Two of her hands are held together, and the other six hold a sun, moon, bell, golden seal, bow, and halberd. She is either standing or sitting on a lotus or pig, or on a lotus on top of seven pigs. She is celebrated on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month. As one of the Twenty-Four Devas'','' she is usually enshrined along with the other devas in the
Mahavira Hall A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encountered throughout ...
of most Chinese Buddhist temples, flanking the central altar. Mārīcī is sometimes considered an incarnation of the Bodhisattva Cundī, with whom she shares similar iconography. She is also worshiped as the goddess of light and the guardian of all nations, whom she protects from the fury of war. In Taoism,
Doumu Dǒumǔ (), also known as Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn ( "Lady Mother of the Chariot"), Dòulǎo Yuánjūn ( "Lady Ancestress of the Chariot") and Tàiyī Yuánjūn ( "Lady of the Great One"), is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. She is also named ...
remains a popular deity and is often referred to as the ''Queen of Heaven'' () and is widely worshiped as the Goddess of
Beidou The BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS; ) is a Chinese satellite navigation system. It consists of two separate satellite constellations. The first BeiDou system, officially called the BeiDou Satellite Navigation Experimental System and ...
(the Chinese equivalent of
Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...
except that it also includes 2 "attendant" stars). She is also revered as the mother of the
Nine Emperor Gods The Nine Emperor Gods Festival ( zh, 九皇爺誕; ms, Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; th, เทศกาลกินเจ) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month ...
who are represented by the nine stars in the Beidou constellation. Legend has it that a queen bathed in a pond one spring day. Upon entering the bath, she suddenly felt "moved," and nine lotus buds rose from the pond. Each of these lotus buds opened to reveal a star, which became the Beidou constellation. She is also identified with Cundi and with Mahēśvarī, the wife of Maheśvara, and therefore also has the title Mātrikā (佛母 Fo mǔ), Mother of the Myriad Buddhas. She is worshiped today in Taoist temples like the
White Cloud Temple The White Cloud Temple, also known as Baiyun Temple or the Abbey or Monastery of the White Clouds, is a Taoist temple and monastery located in Beijing, China. It is one of "The Three Great Ancestral Courts" of the Quanzhen School of Taoism and i ...
and the
Tou Mu Kung Temple The Tou Mu Kung Temple () is a Taoist temple situated on Upper Serangoon Road, Singapore. Worshipping the Empress Registrar of Birth or Doumu (斗母) and Nine Emperor Gods (九皇大帝), the temple has both Taoist and Buddhist influences. The ...
which have both Taoist and Buddhist influences. Doumu is chronicled in three canonical
Daozang Daozang (), meaning 'Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the ''Daodejing'' and ''Zhuangzi'' and Liezi which are the core Taoist texts). They were collected by Taoist monks of the period in an attempt to brin ...
texts, from which the above stories have been extracted. These three texts were compiled during the Song-Yuan, according to each entry’s preface in the Zhengtong daozang (Numbered according to Schipper, 1975). They are Dz 45: 'Yùqīng Wúshàng Língbǎo Zìrán Běidǒu Běnshēng Jīng' 玉清無上靈寶自然北斗本生經, True and Unsurpassed Lingbao Scripture from the Yuqing Heaven on the Spontaneous Origin of the Northern Dipper; Dz 621: Tàishàng Xuánlíng Dǒumǔ Dàshèng Yuánjūn Běnmìng Yánshēng Xīnjīng 太上玄靈斗姆大聖元君本命延生心經, Heart Scripture of Original Destiny and Extending Life of the Great Sagely Goddess Dipper Mother; and Dz 1452: Xiāntiān Dǒumǔ Qíngào Xuánkē 先天斗姆秦告玄科, Mysterious Rite for Petitioning the Dipper Mother of Former Heavens.


Japan

Mārīcī, an important deity in the
Shingon file:Koyasan (Mount Koya) monks.jpg, Shingon monks at Mount Koya is one of the major schools of Buddhism in Japan and one of the few surviving Vajrayana lineages in East Asia, originally spread from India to China through traveling monks suc ...
and
Tendai , also known as the Tendai Lotus School (天台法華宗 ''Tendai hokke shū,'' sometimes just "''hokke shū''") is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition (with significant esoteric elements) officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese m ...
schools, was adopted by the Bujin or
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
in the 8th century CE as a protector and
patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
. While devotions to Mārīcī predate
Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
, they appear to use a similar meditative model. It was thought that in that state, warriors would lose interest in issues of victory or defeat (or life and death), transcending conventional understandings of mortality and leading them to become better warriors. Devotion to Mārīcī was expected to provide a way to achieve selflessness and compassion through mastery of the self. Some martial arts schools also worshiped Mārīcī as a guardian deity of their lineage. For example, the school of
Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū Written as 天眞正傳香取神道流 before adoption (1946) of Tōyō kanji. is one of the oldest extant Japanese martial arts, and an exemplar of '' bujutsu''. The Tenshin Shōden Katori Shintō-ryū was founded by Iizasa Ienao, born in 13 ...
's blood pledge chart (Keppan) ordered the disciples to submit to Futsunushi-no-Mikoto and accept Mārīcī's punishment if they acted against school rules.
Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...
would invoke Mārīcī at sunrise to achieve victory. Mārīcī, meaning "light" or
mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
, was invoked to escape the notice of one's enemies. But, as the goddess of illusion and invisibility, Marishiten was also particularly revered by the ninja, who recited her mantra to acquire her power of invisibility. Mārīcī also later worshiped in the
Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
as a goddess of wealth and prosperity by the merchant class, alongside
Daikokuten Daikokuten ( 大黒天) is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth. Daikokuten originated from Mahākāla, the buddhist version of the Hindu deity Shiva, conflated with the native Shinto god Ōkuninushi. Overview Mahākāla in East Asia ...
(大黒天) and
Benzaiten Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...
(弁財天) as part of a trio of "three deities" (三天 ''Santen''). Her cult peaked in the Edo era but declined after that owing to the dismantling of the feudal system, the abolishment of the samurai class, and the rising popularity of
Benzaiten Benzaiten (''shinjitai'': 弁才天 or 弁財天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯才天, 辨才天, or 辨財天, lit. "goddess of eloquence"), also simply known as Benten (''shinjitai'': 弁天; ''kyūjitai'': 辯天 / 辨天), is a Japanese Buddhist god ...
, who, in modernity, has primarily supplanted her as an object of veneration.


Gallery

File:Chinese shrine to a statue of Marici (摩利支天 Molizhitian) in Zhongtianzhu Fajing Temple ( 中天竺法淨寺) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.jpg, Marici (摩利支天 Molizhitian) in Zhongtianzhu Fajing Temple, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China File:Ding Guanpeng - Marici (Qing Dynasty).jpg, Marici by 丁觀鵬 Ding Guanpeng (Qing Dynasty), 1767. File:Twenty-Four Devas Part 8 - Jade Buddha Temple (Shanghai, China).jpg, Statue of Mārīcī (right) as one of the
Twenty-Four Protective Deities The Twenty-Four Protective Deities or the Twenty-Four Devas (Chinese language, Chinese: 二十四諸天; pinyin: ''Èrshísì Zhūtiān''), sometimes reduced to the Twenty Protective Deities or the Twenty Devas (Chinese language, Chinese: 二十 ...
in
Jade Buddha Temple The Jade Buddha Temple (, literally ''Jade Buddha Chan Temple'') is a Buddhist temple in Shanghai. It was founded in 1882 with two jade Buddha statues imported to Shanghai from Myanmar by sea. These were a sitting Buddha (1.95 meters tall, 3 to ...
,
Shanghai, China Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
File:Dinastia qing, marichi, dea buddista dell'alba, XVIII sec.JPG, Marichi statue, Qing Dynasty,
Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...


See also

*
List of solar deities A solar deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it, usually by its perceived power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The following is a list of solar de ...
*
Lunar deity A lunar deity or moon deity is a deity who represents the Moon, or an aspect of it. These deities can have a variety of functions and traditions depending upon the culture, but they are often related. Lunar deities and Moon worship can be found ...
* Marichi Thakurani *
Vajravārāhī In Tibetan Buddhism, Vajravārāhī ("The Diamond Sow", Dorje Pakmo) is a wrathful form of Vajrayogini associated particularly with the '' Cakrasaṃvara Tantra'', where she is paired in yab-yum with the Heruka Cakrasaṃvara. Judith Simmer-Br ...


References


Further reading

* Hall, David Avalon. (2013). ''The Buddhist Goddess Marishiten: A Study of the Evolution and Impact of Her Cult on the Japanese Warrior.'' Global International. * Hall, David Avalon. (1997). "Marishiten: Buddhist Influences on Combative Behavior" in ''Koryu Bujutsu: Classical Warrior Traditions of Japan.'' Koryu Books, pp. 87–119. *


External links


The Taoist Renaissance – Art Institute of Chicago
{{Authority control Buddhist goddesses Buddhism in China Chinese goddesses Japanese goddesses Shingon Buddhism Sky and weather goddesses Solar goddesses Buddhism in the Muromachi period Tendai Twenty-Four Protective Deities