The Indian Buddhist Iconography, Mainly Based on the Sadhanamala and Other Cognate Tantric Texts of Rituals c17.s2.4

c17.s2.4

Sixteen Sādhanas in the Sādhanamālā describe six distinct forms of Mārīcī. She may have one, three, five or six faces and two, eight, ten or twelve arms. She is generally accompanied by her four attendants, Varttālī, Vadālī, Varālī and Varāhamukhī. She is recognized generally by the sow face and the seven pigs that run her chariot. The needle and the string are her characteristic symbols, to sew up the mouths and eyes of the wicked. Images of Mārīcī are rather common in India. In her two-armed form of Aśokakāntā she accompanies Khadiravaṇī Tārā; amongst other varieties of Mārīcī, the form with three faces and eight arms, is extensively met with in sculptures ¹. Images of Mārīcī are found in Tibet ² and China ³.