From the Great Goddess in India and Tibet by Bennett Blumenberg “The Great Goddess of Fertility and Vegetation in India, Durga:
” The Durga is served by a vast troop of yoginis who dwell in kula trees. They are both nymphs and sorceresses, yet may also be epiphanies. Her cult was particularly adept at incorporating aboriginal and pre-Hindu religion which was strongly shamanistic.
Three classes of yoginis evolved, Kulaja, Brahmi and Rudra – white fairies with pink eyes who adore Sugata and favors white and perfumes. Closely related dakinis are red skinned, exude lotus fragrance, are gentle of face with red eyes and nails and decorate their dwellings with lotus. All of these companions and epiphanies of Durga represent minor deities of vegetation and destiny, death, and wealth while also incarnating forces of Yoga and shamanistic magic. At Udyana, yoginis were tiger women, feeding on human flesh and able to transform into birds when crossing a river. Tibetan paintings show dakinis with a ‘terrible’ third eye in the forehead, virtually naked except for a green scarf or red loin cloth and carrying a corpse on their backs. Lamas [lhamo “she-devil” in Tibetan – Mircea Iliade p. 344] are similar and indigenous to Tibet.3 All of these demi-goddesses were utilized in Tantrism.”
Source: Yoga: Immortality and Freedom by Mircea Eliade p. 344 ~
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