Dakini in the context of "Muktinath"

Vajrayāna (Sanskrit: वज्रयान, lit. 'Diamond Vehicle or Thunderbolt Vehicle'), otherwise known as Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle"), Guhyamantrayāna ("Secret Mantra Vehicle"), Tantrayāna ("Tantra Vehicle"), Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition that emphasizes esoteric practices and rituals aimed at rapid spiritual awakening. Emerging between the 5th and 7th centuries CE in medieval India, Vajrayāna Buddhism incorporates a range of techniques, including the use of mantras (sacred sounds), dhāraṇīs (mnemonic codes), mudrās (symbolic hand gestures), mandalās (spiritual diagrams), and the visualization of deities and Buddhas. These practices are designed to transform ordinary experiences into spiritual paths toward enlightenment and liberation, often by engaging with aspects of desire and aversion in a ritualized context.

A distinctive feature of Vajrayāna Buddhism is its emphasis on esoteric transmission, where teachings are passed directly from teacher (guru or vajrācārya) to student through initiation ceremonies. Tradition asserts that these teachings have been passed down through an unbroken lineage going back to the historical Buddha (c. the 5th century BCE), sometimes via other Buddhas or bodhisattvas (e.g., Vajrapani). This lineage-based transmission ensures the preservation of the purity and effectiveness of the teachings. Practitioners often engage in deity yoga, a meditative practice where one visualizes oneself as a deity embodying enlightened qualities to transform one's perception of reality. The tradition also acknowledges the role of feminine energy, venerating female Buddhas and ḍākiṇīs (spiritual beings), and sometimes incorporates practices that challenge conventional norms to transcend dualistic thinking.

Bogd Khan (13 October 1869 – 20 May 1924) was the khan of the Bogd Khanate of Mongolia from 1911 to 1924, following the state's de facto independence from the Qing dynasty of China after the Xinhai Revolution. Born in Tibet, he was the third most important person in the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy as the 8th Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, below only the Dalai Lama and Panchen Lama, and therefore also known as the "Bogdo Lama". He was the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism in the Bogd Khaganate. His wife Tsendiin Dondogdulam, the Ekh Dagina ('Dakini Mother'), was believed to be a manifestation of White Tara.
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Udiana (also: Uḍḍiyāna, Uḍḍāyāna, Udyāna or 'Oḍḍiyāna'), a small region in early medieval India, is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayāna Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhist traditions view it as a Beyul (Tibetan: སྦས་ཡུལ, Wylie: sbas-yul), a legendary heavenly place inaccessible to ordinary mortals. Padmasambhava, the eighth-century Buddhist master who was instrumental in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, was believed to have been born in Oddiyana. The Dzogchen Siddha Garab Dorje is likewise attributed to this region.

It is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayāna Buddhism. The region was also an important place for the practice of Śaivite Hinduism. It is seen as the homeland of the Mahārtha (aka Krama Kalikula) lineage of Śaiva Tantra. The first Mahārtha Siddha, Jñānanetra Nātha, is said to have awakened and taught in this country. It was also called as “the paradise of the Ḍākinīs”.

Samantabhadri (Sanskrit; Devanagari: समन्तभद्री ; IAST: samantabhadrī, Tibetan: ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་མོ, Wylie: kun tu bzang mo) is a dakini and female Buddha from the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition. She is the consort and female counterpart of Samantabhadra, known amongst some Tibetan Buddhists as the Primordial Buddha. Samantabhadri herself is known as the primordial Mother Buddha. Samantabhadri is the dharmakaya dakini aspect of the Trikaya, or three bodies of a Buddha. As such, Samantabhadri represents the aspect of Buddhahood in whom delusion and conceptual thought have never arisen. As font or wellspring of the aspects of the divine feminine she may be understood as the Great Mother or as an aspect of Prajnaparamita.

Samantabhadri is a figure found primarily in the Nyingma or Old Translation school of Tibetan Buddhism. A figure that is nearly equivalent to Samantabhadri in the New Translation or Sarma schools is Vajradhatu-ishvari; she is dark blue and her consort is Vajradhara.