Introduction
i.1The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā opens with homages to the Three Jewels, the Buddha Vairocana, and the Goddess Cundā, followed by a short homage and dhāraṇī in transliterated Sanskrit that reads namaḥ saptānām saṃyaksaṃbuddhakoṭīnām | tadyathā | oṁ cale cule cunde svāhā. This combined homage and dhāraṇī also appears in the second section of The Basket’s Display (Toh 116) when Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin has returned to join Śākyamuni’s assembly at Jetavana Monastery at the conclusion of his search for the great vidyā mantra of Avalokiteśvara. Unlike The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā, this passage in The Basket’s Display does not provide any ritual instructions for reciting her dhāraṇī, any mention of the benefits of this recitation practice, or any description or mention of the goddess to whom this dhāraṇī is addressed.
i.1《準提女神陀羅尼》以對三寶、毘盧遮那佛和準提女神的禮敬開始，隨後是一段簡短的禮敬和用音譯梵文呈現的陀羅尼，內容為「namaḥ saptānām saṃyaksaṃbuddhakoṭīnām | tadyathā | oṁ cale cule cunde svāhā」。這個結合了禮敬和陀羅尼的內容也出現在《經藏陳列》（Toh 116）的第二部分中，當時除蓋障菩薩已經回到釋迦牟尼佛在祇樹給孤獨園的集會中，完成了他對觀音菩薩偉大明咒的尋求。不同於《準提女神陀羅尼》，《經藏陳列》中的這段內容沒有提供任何關於誦持其陀羅尼的儀軌指導、沒有提及此誦持修持的利益，也沒有對該陀羅尼所針對的女神的任何描述或提及。
i.2This opening homage and dhāraṇī is followed by an extensive section praising the goddess that describes Cundā’s qualities, hand implements, and appearance. Here she is described as having the face of the Goddess Anantā, a form of the Goddess Umā or Parvatī, as having been blessed by all the thus-gone ones, and as the recipient of offerings from all the gods. These verses describing the goddess and praising her qualities describe many of Cundā’s attributes as either composed of vajras or modified by the term vajra, as the dhāraṇī emphasizes her invulnerability and indestructible power to protect beings.
i.2這段開啟性的禮敬和陀羅尼之後，緊接著是讚頌女神的廣泛篇章，描述了準提女神的特質、手持法器和外觀。在這裡，她被描述為具有阿南妲女神的面容——烏摩天女或帕瓦蒂女神的一種形式，已受到所有如來的加持，以及接受所有諸神的供養。這些讚頌女神並歌頌她特質的詩句，將準提女神的許多特徵描述為由金剛組成或以金剛修飾，因為這部陀羅尼強調了她的無懈可擊以及保護眾生的不壞力量。
i.3The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā then introduces a second Sanskrit liturgy directed at “Blessed Cundā” (bhagavati cunde) requesting that Cundā protect the person reciting the dhāraṇī from a variety of hostile, demonic beings. The text concludes with a final benediction requesting Cundā to protect the person reciting the dhāraṇī and bring them good fortune.
i.3《準提女神陀羅尼》接著介紹了第二段梵文儀式文，對「福德準提女神」（bhagavati cunde）發出祈請，請求準提女神保護誦持陀羅尼的人免受各種敵對的魔鬼眾生的傷害。文本最後以最終的祝願結尾，祈請準提女神保護誦持陀羅尼的人並為他們帶來福報。
i.4We are not aware of any surviving Sanskrit witness of The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā at present, but there is strong textual and art historical evidence to suggest that Cundā enjoyed widespread popularity across the Indic Buddhist world from the eighth century onward. Cundā is mentioned in a number of tantras in the Kangyur and Nyingma Gyubum. In the Kangyur, she appears as a significant maṇḍala deity in the Guhyasamāja and Māyājāla traditions. Śāntideva refers to The Cundā Dhāraṇī in his Śikṣāsamuccaya, where he mentions reciting her dhāraṇī to purify misdeeds. She is featured in Abhayākaragupta’s Niṣpannayogāvali as a goddess in Vairocana Mañjuvajra’s maṇḍala, as one of twelve dhāraṇī goddesses in the Dharmadhātu Vagīśvara maṇḍala, and as Ṭakkirāja’s consort in the Kālacakra maṇḍala. Three short sādhanas to the Goddess Cundā appear in the Sādhanamāla, as well as a single Cundā sādhana in The “Hundred” Sādhanas translated by Patshab and a single sādhana in The “Hundred” Sādhanas translated by Bari. In Tāranātha’s History of Buddhism in India, Cundā appears as an important tutelary and protector deity who supports the ascension of Gopāla I (r.750–75 ᴄᴇ), the founder and first ruler of the Pāla Dynasty. Her close ties to the founding of the Pāla Empire undoubtedly played an important role in Cundā’s incorporation into the maṇḍala systems of several tantras, her rise in popularity during this period across the Indian sub-continent, and the promotion of the goddess throughout Asia.
i.4目前我們尚未發現《準提女神陀羅尼》現存的梵文版本，但有強有力的文獻和藝術史證據表明，從八世紀起，準提女神在印度佛教世界各地享有廣泛的流行。準提女神在甘珠爾和寧瑪派續部的多部密教經典中被提及。在甘珠爾中，她在密集金剛和幻網傳統中出現為重要的曼荼羅本尊。寂天菩薩在其《學集論》中提到《準提女神陀羅尼》，其中他提到誦持她的陀羅尼來淨化惡業。她在無畏友的《成就法集》中被描述為毘盧遮那文殊金剛曼荼羅中的女神，為法界音聲自在曼荼羅中十二位陀羅尼女神之一，以及時輪金剛曼荼羅中塔其剛的明妃。《成就法集》中收錄了三部獻給準提女神的簡短修法，此外還有由帕卓翻譯的《百尊修法》中的一部準提修法和由巴里翻譯的《百尊修法》中的一部修法。在多羅那他的《印度佛教史》中，準提女神作為重要的本尊和護法神出現，她扶持護法王一世（公元750-75年在位）建立笈多王朝。她與笈多帝國建立的密切關係無疑在準提女神納入多部密教經典的曼荼羅體系、她在這一時期在印度次大陸各地流行度的上升，以及這位女神在整個亞洲的弘揚中發揮了重要作用。
i.5The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā does not appear in either of the Imperial Tibetan catalogs of translated works, which suggests that the Tibetan translation was likely produced after the ninth century. The Kangyur witnesses for this text do not contain a translators’ colophon, so they do not provide any data on the translators who worked on this text or the time when The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā was translated into Tibetan. The text appears twice in the Degé Kangyur—once in the tantra section (rgyud ’bum) and once in the compendium of dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus).
i.5《準提女神陀羅尼》未出現在任何一部皇帝時期的藏文譯作目錄中，這表明該藏文譯本可能是在九世紀之後製作的。該文本的甘珠爾抄本未包含譯者的跋文，因此無法提供進行翻譯工作的譯者或《準提女神陀羅尼》被譯為藏文的時間等相關資訊。該文本在德格甘珠爾中出現了兩次——一次在密教部分（rgyud 'bum），另一次在陀羅尼彙編中（gzungs 'dus）。
i.6The Taishō contains three Chinese translations of a single work devoted to the Goddess Cundā that differs in both length and content from The Dhāraṇī of the Goddess Cundā in the Tibetan Kangyurs. The earliest Chinese translation of a textual tradition for the Goddess Cundā in the Taishō was produced in 685 ᴄᴇ by the translator Divākara (Taishō 1077). A second Chinese translation in the Taishō was then completed in 723 ᴄᴇ by Vajrabodhi (Taishō 1075), and the third Chinese translation in the Taishō was completed in 1246 ᴄᴇ by Amoghavajra (Taishō 1076). These translations supported Cundā’s widespread popularity across East Asian Buddhist traditions, which continues to this day.
i.6《大正藏》中收錄了三部關於準提女神的漢文譯本，這些譯本在長度和內容上都與藏文甘珠爾中的《準提女神陀羅尼》有所不同。《大正藏》中最早的準提女神文獻傳統漢文譯本是日照三藏在685年翻譯的（《大正藏》1077）。第二部漢文譯本是金剛智在723年完成的（《大正藏》1075），第三部漢文譯本則是不空金剛在1246年完成的（《大正藏》1076）。這些譯本支持了準提女神在東亞佛教傳統中的廣泛流行，這種影響延續至今。
i.7This English translation was prepared using both Tibetan witnesses that are preserved in the Degé Kangyur, the Tibetan translation in the Stok Palace Kangyur, and the Comparative Edition of the Kangyur.
i.7本英文翻譯是根據德格甘珠爾中保存的兩份藏文本、斯托克宮甘珠爾中的藏文譯本，以及甘珠爾對照版本編譯而成。