The mantra was, according to the opening chapter of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra,[1] historically transmitted by Gautama Buddha to Manjushri to protect Ananda before he had become an arhat.
The Śūraṅgama Mantra also extensively references Buddhist deities such as the bodhisattvas Manjushri, Mahākāla, Sitatapatra, Vajrapani and the Five Tathagatas, especially Bhaisajyaguru.
The currently popular version of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra and Śūraṅgama mantra were translated and transliterated from Sanskrit to Chinese characters during the Tang dynasty by the monk Paramiti from North India and reviewed by Meghashikara from Oddiyana after Empress Regnant Wu Zetian retired in the year 705.
The Śūraṅgama mantra was promoted and popularised by the Chan monk Hsuan Hua in North America and the Sinophone world, who valued it as fundamental to Buddhism's existence.
[3] According to the Chan Buddhist monk Venerable Hsuan Hua, the dhāraṇī contains five major divisions, which "control the vast demon armies of the five directions":[4]