Dakiniten
A deified ḍākinī worshipped as a single goddess who emerged as an independent cult after the Insei period of the late 11th to mid-12th century. The cult became famous for being particularly effective for obtaining worldly benefits and was especially attractive to the politically ambitious. However, the ritual was viewed with suspicion in some circles as a dangerous, heterodox practice due to its supposed subversive, black magical aspects.
↻ synthesized from 2 sources
When
- First attested
- 1050 CE
- Attested period
- 1050 – 2020
- Historical notes
- Emerged as an independent cult after the Insei period (late 11th to mid-12th century) in Japan, separate from earlier Enmaten rituals.
Relationships
- co occurs with
- Saptamātṛkās, Shinra Myōjin, Matarajin, Ina Tenjin, Izuna Gongen, Yashajin, Fuku daijin, Sekizan Myōjin, Taizan Fukun, Shoten, Chōreita Dōji, Nishita Dōji, Vairocana, Mahākāla, Benzaiten
- aspect of
- Dakini
- syncretized with
- Inari
- served by
- Yama
Mentioned by
Sources
Source passages
“Kiyomori, realizing this woman is none other than the goddess Kiko Tennō (貴狐天王, lit. "Venerable Fox Deva-King", i.e. Dakiniten), spared her life. He subsequently became a devotee of the goddess, despite his awareness that the benefits obtained through the Dakiniten rite”
#6180 · extracted by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5
“white face of Dakiniten on the left, golden face of Shoten in the center, and red face of Benzaiten on the left. The three faces might have represented the concept of three poisons (hatred, concupiscence and anger). However, it is not clear why the images of these three specific deities were combined”
#39674 · extracted by google/gemini-2.0-flash-001