Page 421 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

T H E ENC YC LOPE DI A OF TAOISM A- L

Doumu
+-BJ:: (or: +~)

Mother of the Dipper

Doumu, the Mother of the Dipper, is a deity of Indian origin. She corresponds
in Brahmanic mythology to MarIci (Molizhi J~UU :~:), the chief of tempest
demons, and is also related to Prajapati. The deity was brought to China during
the Tang dynasty by Amoghavajra (Bukong :IF ~, 705- 74) who reportedly of-
fered an image of Marici to Tang Daizong (r. 762-79) on the emperor's birthday
together with the Da foding tuoluoni * 1Jli m ~£ *I JE (Mahapratyangira-dharattt;
T. 944). Amoghavajra on that occasion recommended that the emperor pay
official cult to Marici (Weinstein 1987, 77- 78).
In the Buddhist and Taoist canons, Doumu is generally venerated for grant-
ing prosperity and chasing away illnesses through her dharattt. Confused with
all sorts of mother deities, she is invoked to secure painless childbirth, protect
children, and overcome sterility. In Taoism specifically she plays this role as
the mother of the stars of the Northern Dipper (Doumu dashengyuanjun ben-
mingyanshengxinjing 4~*~5t;g*1fPg1: {J\ ~~ ; CT 621, 1b). As the wife
of a local king by the name of Zhou Yu Jj![J 1~, she was called Lady of Purple
Radiance (Ziguang furen ~%::KA) and gave birth to nine sons. The first
two of them are the Great Emperor Celestial Sovereign (Tianhuang dadi 7(
~**) and the Great Emperor of Purple Tenuity (Ziwei dadi ~V\&**),
who are the gods of the Southern and the Northern Dipper; the former is in
charge of fixing the date of birth of human beings, and the latter their date
of death. The other sons are the seven stars of the Northern Dipper (Beidou
bensheng zhenjing ~ t 4*1:~J~, CT 45, 29. 2a-b; Benming yansheng xinjing,
CT 621, 2b).
The stellar features of Doumu are associated with Marici since she is the
star that precedes the sunrise. In Tibet and Nepal, Marici is identified with
Vajravarilii, represented by the head of a sow. This iconography may be related
to early Indian representations of this deity of dawn whose chariot was drawn
by seven animals similar to bears or boars. This was probably the source of a
legend according to which these seven animals w~re the stars of the constel-
lation of the Small Dipper, whose eighth star is Marici-Varahi (Frederic 1992,
226).
Doumu, under the name of Marishiten 1'-fU 3t 7( , was also introduced in
Japan with the Shingon ~ j§j and Tendai 7(;g; doctrines. She is represented