In Search of the Origins of Dharani Literature and a South Asian Canon of Buddhist Incantations

This paper first treats a passage from the Brhajjativiveka of Ramacandra Bapat (16th c.) with a reference that protection from all sorts of Graha demons should be provided by a Matangi outcaste and explores whether this can in any way be connected to the social background of dharani spells. The second part of the presentation examines how much it is possible to put together an inventory of Buddhist incantations in South Asia.