Sitatapatra

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Sitatapatra
Statue of 1000 arm Sitātapatrā in Leh, Ladakh
Chinese name
Chinese	白傘蓋佛頂
showTranscriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Bái Sǎngài Fúdǐng Wade–Giles Pai2 San3-kai4 Fu2-ting3
Tibetan name
Tibetan	གདུགས་དཀར་མོ།
showTranscriptions Wylie gdugs dkar mo
Korean name
Hangul	시타타파트라
showTranscriptions Revised Romanization sitatapateula
Mongolian name
Mongolian Cyrillic	Цагаан шүхэрт Tsagaan shühert
Japanese name
Kanji	白傘蓋仏頂
Kana	シタータパトロ
Tamil name
Tamil	சீதாதபத்திரை
Sanskrit name
Sanskrit	सितातपतत्रा (Sitātapatrā)
Pali name
Pali	Sitātapattā

Sitātapatrā (Sanskrit: "White Parasol"^[1]) is a protector against supernatural danger in Buddhism. She is venerated in both the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions. She is also known as Uṣṇīṣa Sitātapatrā. It is believed that Sitātapatrā is a powerful independent deity emanated by Gautama Buddha from his uṣṇīṣa. Whoever practices her mantra will be reborn in Amitābha's pure land of Sukhāvatī as well as gaining protection against supernatural danger and witchcraft.^{[citation needed]}

Name[]

Her name is composed of sita ("white") and ātapatrā ("parasol" or "umbrella").^[2]

Forms[]

There are several different forms of Sitatapatra including: with one face and two arms; with three faces and six arms; with three faces and eight arms; with three faces and ten arms; with five faces and ten arms; and, with 1000 faces, 1000 arms and 1000 legs.^[3]

Mantras[]

The Śūraṅgama Mantra of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra is the most commonly practiced mantra invoking her.^{[citation needed]} According to Thubten Zopa Rinpoche, the "Great White Umbrella" is a sādhanā for healing illness, dispelling interferences and spirit possession, quelling disasters, and bringing auspiciousness. To do practice in full requires a kriyātantra abhiṣeka of Sitātapatrā.^{[citation needed]}

Symbolism[]

Sitatapatra

Sitātapatrā is one of the most complex Vajrayana goddesses.^[4] According to in the Buddhist Goddesses of India, Sitātapatrā emerged from Buddha's uṣṇīṣa when he was in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven.^{[citation needed]} 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." Sitātapatrā's benign and beautiful form belies her ferocity as she is a "fierce, terrifying goddess, garlanded by flames, a pulverizer of enemies and demons."^[5]

In the Mahayana , she is called Aparājita "Undefeatable, Unconquerable" and is also identified as a form of goddess Tārā.^{[citation needed]}

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 dharma wheel is symbolic of Buddhism, both in its teachings and realizations.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

• List of bodhisattvas

References[]

External links[]

• Buddhist Deity: Sitatapatra - at Himalayan Art Resources