འཕགས་པ་ལྷ་མ་སྐལ་བྱད་མ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་གཟངས intro.5

intro.5

We are not aware of any surviving Sanskrit witness of The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā at present, but there is strong textual and art historical evidence to suggest that Cundā enjoyed widespread popularity across the Indic Buddhist world from the eighth century onward.³ Cundā is mentioned in a number of tantras in the Kangyur and Nyingma Gyubum. In the Kangyur, she appears as a significant maṇḍala deity in the Guhyasamāja and Māyājāla traditions.⁴ Śāntideva refers to The Cundā Dhāraṇī in his Śikṣāsamuccaya, where he mentions reciting her dhāraṇī to purify misdeeds.⁵ She is featured in Abhayākaragupta’s Niṣpanna­yogāvali as a goddess in Vairocana Mañjuvajra’s maṇḍala,⁶ as one of twelve dhāraṇī goddesses in the Dharmadhātu Vagīśvara maṇḍala,⁷ and as Ṭakkirāja’s consort in the Kālacakra maṇḍala.⁸ Three short sādhanas to the Goddess Cundā appear in the Sādhanamāla,⁹ as well as a single Cundā sādhana in The “Hundred” Sādhanas translated by Patshab ¹⁰ and a single sādhana in The “Hundred” Sādhanas translated by Bari.¹¹ In Tāranātha’s History of Buddhism in India, Cundā appears as an important tutelary and protector deity who supports the ascension of Gopāla I (r.750–75 ce), the founder and first ruler of the Pāla Dynasty. Her close ties to the founding of the Pāla Empire undoubtedly played an important role in Cundā’s incorporation into the maṇḍala systems of several tantras, her rise in popularity during this period across the Indian sub-continent, and the promotion of the goddess throughout Asia.¹²