This paper sets out to explore the nature, application and evolution of dhāraṇī recitation in Mahāyāna sūtra literature. There is good evidence that dhāraṇī is little more than a generic term whose content and purpose differ often considerably, depending on the doctrinal environment in which it is embedded. At its most basic, the term dhāraṇī is used to characterise the ability of recall. Elsewhere dhāraṇīs become magic spells or mantrapādas. In the course of my presentation, I shall analyse the factors that contributed to this remarkable transition and explore how dhāraṇīs fit into the wider bodhisattva training. Most sources link dhāraṇīs with meditation, knowledge and confidence, yet they divulge few concrete details about the actual link between these practices. I shall also examine the status of dhāraṇī / mantra reciters within the Saṃgha and describe the narrative environment in which mantra recitation is typically employed. This investigation aims to broaden our understanding of the function of dhāraṇīs / mantrapādas in Buddhist practice and to bring us a little closer to a typology of their application.