Dakini

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Dakini (Skt. ḍākinī; Tib. མཁའ་འགྲོ་མ་, khandroma; Wyl. mkha' 'gro ma) — a female embodiment of enlightened energy. The Sarvabuddhasamayoga Tantra is one of the earliest sources to provide the etymology 'sky-goer' for the word ḍākinī: 'Here the root is understood to be ḍai, which expresses going in the sky; a 'ḍākinī' is known as the power (siddhi) of moving everywhere through space.'[1] Female lamas and the spiritual wives of male lamas often have the epithet 'khandro'.

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  1. Sarvabuddhasamāyogatantra, i.9. See also Ratnakāraśānti, Guṇavatī, NGMCP C 25-7, 1v.7; Sampuṭatantra, I.iii.9cd-10ab. There are many variant readings of this verse; the above is based on the following text: ḍai vihāyagamane dhātur atra vikalpitaḥ | sarvākāśacarā siddhir ḍākinīti prasidhyati |