Series Four Volume 3

Gifts of the Goddess: Offerings of Dhāraṇī (Memory Enhancement), Mantras, and Tantric Invocation Rituals by Sarasvatī and Śrī in the Sutra of Golden Light

The present study proposes that the goddesses Sarasvatī and Śrī appear in the Sutra of Golden Light (Suvarṇaprabhāsottama sūtra, 金光 明經, ca. early fifth century CE) as exemplars of the relationship of female deities to bodhisattvahood, dhāraṇī bestowal, and developments in deity invocation via mantra-based rituals. The goddesses demonstrate agency as Mahāyāna practitioners (i.e., bodhisattvas) who work on behalf of…

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