Dakinis are a female form of energetic beings, with wrathful or volatile temperament, evocative of energy movement in space and with certain amount of spiritual development. They act as spiritual muses for practice in the spiritual world. In Vajrayana Buddhism they are a kind of sacred spirits in feminine form. The term Dakini is related to drumming, in Sanskrit.
In Yab-Yum presentations, Dakinis often acts as consorts in Tibetan terms. Daka is a masculine word form translated generally into ‘hero’ in Tibetan form. Dakini is also presented in Shingdon Buddhism in the Japanese culture as Deva. In Buddhist refuge formula (the Three Roots), the appearance of Dakinis is a Vajrayana formulation (as Dharmapala) alongside a yidam (meditational deity or wisdom dakini) and a guru. In Tibetan Buddhism, the Vajrayoginis or female deity yogas are common.
Appearance of Daka and Dakinis is seen in a number of Indian medieval legends like the Markandeya Purana, Bhagavata Purana, Kathasaritsagara and Brahma Purana represented as demon in the train of Kali who eats human flesh.
In here different guises, the Dakini serves as each of the Three Roots. She could be a vajra master or guru in human form and spreads Vajrayana teachings to here followers or studentsn and then join them in the samaya allegiances.
She can be the wisdom dakini having special responsibility and power to protect oral transmission integrity and she can be the protector as well. Dakinis are classified into outer, inner, secret and out-outer classes of Dakinis according to esoteric Buddhism in the twilight language tradition.
