Toh 1001 intro.5

intro.5

As cataloged in the Degé Kangyur,⁶ this dhāraṇī is part of a cycle of eight Kriyātantra (bya rgyud) texts (Toh 724–731) dedicated to Tārā. The same formula recorded in The Dhāraṇī of Tārā is also included in Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers,⁷ a number of Tengyur texts dedicated to Tārā,⁸ and Butön Rinchen Drup’s (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs bsdus) from his Collected Works (gsung ’bum).⁹ The dhāraṇī appears to be the main dhāraṇī of the form of Tārā known as Vajratārā, as confirmed by its use in sādhanas dedicated to Vajratārā preserved in the Tengyur¹⁰ and the Sādhanamālā.¹¹ It is not known if the dhāraṇī circulated independently, or if it was extracted and preserved separately as The Dhāraṇī of Tārā because of its prestige and widespread incorporation into other texts and practice manuals.