Ten demon daughters
ten demon daughters
十羅刹女 (Jpn ju-rasetsu-nyo )
Also, ten rakshasa daughters, ten rakshasis, or ten demonesses. The Sanskrit word ra-kshasa means demon, and rakshasi, female demon. The ten demon daughters appear in the "Dharani" (twenty-sixth) chapter of the Lotus Sutra and are described as protectors of those who uphold the sutra. They are Lamba, Vilamba, Kutadanti(Crooked Teeth), Pushpadanti(Flowery Teeth), Makutadanti(Black Teeth), Keshini(Much Hair), Achala(Insatiable), Maladhari(Necklace Bearer), Kunti, and Sarvasattvojohari(Stealer of the Vital Spirit of All Living Beings). (Note: In his translation of the Lotus Sutra, Kumarajiva rendered into Chinese the meanings of the Sanskrit names of seven demon daughters, but transliterated the remaining three.) In the "Dharani" chapter, these ten demon daughters, along with the Mother of Demon Children, vow to shield and guard the sutra's votaries. They speak to the Buddha in unison, saying, "If there are those who fail to heed our spells and trouble and disrupt the preachers of the Law, their heads will split into seven pieces like the branches of the arjaka tree."
