Māyā and Mahāmāyā: Ratnākaraśānti’s Interpretations of Buddhist Goddesses

Abstract

In the present paper, the author examines Māyā and Mahāmāyā mainly on the basis of two works of Ratnākaraśānti, namely, the Khasamā, a commentary on the *Yathālabdhakhasama-tantra, and the Guṇavatī, a commentary on the Mahāmāyā-tantra (abbr. MMT).

In the Khasamā and the Guṇavatī, Mahāmāyā is interpreted as a Super-goddess who integrates other goddesses, and this interpretation of Ratnākaraśānti serves as one piece of evidence to support the author’s hypothesis regarding the relationship of Mahāmāyā described in the Devīmāhātmya and in the MMT (especially, chap. 1).