By most historical accounts Mārīcī is considered a goddess, but in some regions she is depicted as a male god revered among the warrior class in East Asia.

[1][2][3] Some of the earliest iconographies of Marici are found in India and Tibet, particularly near the ancient port city and Buddhist site Salihundam of Andhra Pradesh, where Māricī is depicted as riding on a chariot pulled by seven horses in a manner similar to Surya (sun deity with goddesses Usha and Chaya).

In some aspects, she is comparable to, and likely a fusion deity derived from the feminine version of, Surya and, in other ways, to Usha, Durga, and Vajravārāhī.

[3] In Tibetan Buddhism, she is depicted as the goddess of dawn or light, a healer, or the one who seeks enlightenment of all beings.

Upon her discovery by the western world, colonial-era writers such as Giorgi conjectured on phonetic grounds that she might have been copied from or inspired by the Christian concept of the Virgin Mary after the earliest Spanish travelers reached the Philippines.

In her martial or warrior depictions, she shares some similarities with Durga, as both appear with multiple arms carrying various weapons while riding an animal or chariot.

A key mantra for her is:Sanskrit: Oṃ mārīcyai svāhā Tibetan: om ma ri tsyai soha (ཨོཾ་མཱ་རི་ཙྱཻ་སྭཱ་ཧཱ།)Ozer Chenma is particularly important in Nyingma schools Dzogchen tradition.

She is also identified with Cundi and with Mahēśvarī, the wife of Maheśvara, and therefore also has the title Mātrikā (佛母 Fo mǔ), Mother of the Myriad Buddhas.

They are Dz 45: 'Yùqīng Wúshàng Língbǎo Zìrán Běidǒu Běnshēng Jīng' 玉清無上靈寶自然北斗本生經, True and Unsurpassed Lingbao Scripture from the Yuqing Heaven on the Spontaneous Origin of the Northern Dipper; Dz 621: Tàishàng Xuánlíng Dǒumǔ Dàshèng Yuánjūn Běnmìng Yánshēng Xīnjīng 太上玄靈斗姆大聖元君本命延生心經, Heart Scripture of Original Destiny and Extending Life of the Great Sagely Goddess Dipper Mother; and Dz 1452: Xiāntiān Dǒumǔ Qíngào Xuánkē 先天斗姆秦告玄科, Mysterious Rite for Petitioning the Dipper Mother of Former Heavens.

[citation needed] Mārīcī, an important deity in the Shingon and Tendai schools, was adopted by the Samurai in the 8th century CE as a protector and patron.

[12] Mārīcī was also worshiped in the later Edo period as a goddess of wealth and prosperity by the merchant class, alongside Daikokuten (大黒天) and Benzaiten (弁財天) as part of a trio of "three deities" (三天 Santen).

Her cult peaked in the Edo era but declined after that due to the dismantling of the feudal system, the abolishment of the samurai class, and the rising popularity of Benzaiten, who, in modernity, has largely replaced her as an object of veneration.