Mandarava (Skt., Mandāravā) (Tib., མནྡཱ་ར་བཱ་མེ་ཏོག; Wylie, man da ra ba me tog) (also known as Pandaravasini) was, along with Yeshe Tsogyal, one of the two principal consorts of great 8th-century Indian Vajrayana teacher Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche), a founder-figure of Tibetan Buddhism. Mandarava is considered to be a female guru-deity in Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana. According to her biographer Samten Lingpa, she was born a princess in Zahor, Bengal in eastern India. She renounced her royal birthright at an early age in order to practice the Dharma. Mandarava is known as being highly educated at a very young age, a rare accomplishment for a woman at that time. She was the primary student of Yeshe Tsogyal. Mandarava's devotion led her to bring at least 800 women, including her entire personal retinue, to the path of the Dharma, all before meeting her teacher, Padmasambhava. Mandarava is said to have attained full enlightenment in the company of Padmasambhava in the Maratika Cave in Nepal. She is considered to have been a fully realized spiritual adept, yogini, and spiritual teacher. Biography There is one published English translation of Mandarava's complete spiritual biography which includes several chapters detailing each of her previous incarnations. Portions of Mandarava's biography can be found in several other English language sources. Early life According to one tradition, Mandarava was born to Vihardhara, the King of Zahor, and his wife the Queen Mohauki (also known as Wangmo Ogema). Her birth was said to be accompanied by miraculous signs and her renunciation and spiritual inclination were apparent at an early age. Like many other accomplished yoginis, Mandarava was pressured to accept an arranged marriage instead of practicing the dharma. This theme is common to the lives of Yeshe Tsogyal and Ayu Khandro, among others. However Padmasambhava recognised her immediately as being ready for the dharma in the secret Dzogchen. As Mandarava was very beautiful and of high birth, news of her eligibility spread throughout India and China. As a result, many kings from these areas vied to marry her. Mandarava preferred to pursue her spiritual calling rather than marry. Her father would not hear of this and had Mandarava imprisoned in the palace dungeon. It was during this time, in two different episodes, that Mandarava led at least 800 women, including her entire personal retinue, to the path of the Dharma. In the first incident, Mandarava gave teachings to a group of