སྟང་ཆན་མ་རབ་ཏ་འཇམས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་མད intro.2

intro.2

Destroyer of the Great Trichiliocosm is the first scripture in a series of five; the other four texts are The Great Peahen, Queen of Incantations (Mahā­māyūrī­vidyā­rājñī, Toh 559),¹ The Noble Great Amulet, Queen of Incantations (Mahā­pratisarā­vidyā­rājñī, Toh 561), The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, (Mahāśītavana, Toh 562),² and Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Mahā­mantrānudhāraṇi, Toh 563).³ Together these scriptures have been apotheosized in the Mahāyāna tradition as five goddesses known collectively as the Pañcarakṣā, or the “Five Protectresses.” In the Tibetan tradition this collection is known by the moniker gzungs chen grwa lnga, “The Fivefold Great Dhāraṇī.” In the Degé Kangyur collection these texts constitute 49, 60, 43, 25, and 12 folios respectively, making a total of 189 folios.