Aparajita/Origin

Sitātapatrā is one of the most complex Vajrayana goddesses.[3] According to Miranda Shaw in the "Buddhist Goddesses of India", Sitatapatra emerged from Buddha's ushnisha when he was in Trayastrimsa heaven.[citation needed] The Buddha announced her role to "cut asunder completely all malignant demons, to cut asunder all the spells of others...to turn aside all enemies and dangers and hatred." Her benign and beautiful form belies her ferocity as she is a "fierce, terrifying goddess, garlanded by flames, a pulverizer of enemies and demons."[4]

In the Mahayana "Sitatapatra Sutra", she is called "Aparajita" or "undefeatable" and is also identified as a form of goddess Tara from the Vairocana family and is also called Mahamaya, which is also the name of the Buddha's mother.

In other sutras, she is regarded as a female counterpart to Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Like him, Sitātapatrā manifests in many elaborate forms: having a thousand faces, arms and legs, or simply as a feminine deity of great beauty. Known foremost for her "white parasol" she is most frequently attributed with the "golden wheel". The auspiciousness of the turning of the precious wheel is symbolic of the Buddha's doctrine, both in its teachings and realizations.