6/1/24, 12:28 PM Tara (Mahavidya) - Wikipedia

Tara (Mahavidya)
(Redirected from Tara (Devi))

In the Shaivism and Shaktism tradition of Hinduism, the

Tara
goddess Tara (Sanskrit: तारा, Tārā) is the second of the ten
Member of The Ten Mahavidyas
Mahavidyas. She is considered a form of Adishakti, the tantric
manifestation of Parvati. Her three most famous forms are
Ekajaṭā, Ugratara, and Nīlasarasvatī (also spelled
Neelasaraswati, Neela Saraswati, or Neelsaraswati).[1] Her
most famous centre of worship is the temple and the
cremation ground of Tarapith in West Bengal, India.

Legends
The commonly known origin of Tara is from the 17th chapter
of the Rudrayāmala which describes the initial unsuccessful
attempts of the sage Vasiṣṭha in worshipping Tara, and the
subsequent meeting with the god Vishnu in the form of
Buddha in the region called Mahācīna (China) and his eventual
success by the means of kaula rites. She is also described as
the form of the Atharvaveda.[2] Her Bhairava is named
Akṣobhya.[3] According to the Svatantratantra, Tara protects
her devotees from difficult (ugra) dangers and so she is also Tara in a form of Ugra-Tara (Violent
known as Ugratārā.[4] The goddess is all-pervading and also Tara) in Newari style.
manifests on Earth.[4]
Devanagari तारा
Sanskrit Tārā
Historical origin transliteration
Tara-related beliefs are probably an amalgamation of the Affiliation Parvati,
beliefs linked to Bhīmā or Nīlā in the geographical region of Mahavidyas,
Oḍḍiyāna which has experienced Buddhist and possibly Taoist Devi, Kali
influence. The syncretism between Shaivist and Buddhist cults Planet Jupiter
created a congenial atmosphere for the formation of the
Weapon Khadaga, flaying
traditions of Tārā, both a Hindu and a Buddhist goddess. Her
knife, skull
pleasant forms were popular amongst the Buddhists, while the
cult of Bhīmā-Ekajaṭā was popular mainly amongst the Consort Akṣobhya
Bhairava, (Shiva)
Shaivas, from whom it merged into Vajrayana Buddhism until
it was reintroduced by Vasiṣtha from Mahācīna, which is
identified on the basis of the Śaktisaṅgamatantra as a small geographical entity between Kailasa,
South East of the lake Manasarovar and near Lake Rakshas Tal,[5] or alternatively located
somewhere in Central Asia.[6] Some of the forms of the deity like Mahācīnakrama Tara, also known
as Ugra-Tara, are worshipped in both Hindu and Buddhist systems. Her sādhanā described by
Śāśvatavajra, which was included in the Buddhist collection of sadhanas called the
Sādhanāśatapañcāśikā, which was incorporated in the Phetkarīyatantra and was quoted in tantric

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manuals like the Bṛhat-tantrasāra by Kṛṣṇānanda

Agamavāgīśa with some aspects of the iconography and the
subsequent interpretations differing between the Hindu and
Buddhist systems.[3][7]

Iconography
Tara is often described in these chapters as a fierce deity,
holding kartrī (knife), khaḍga (sword), chamara (Fly-whisk) or
indivara (lotus) and a single matted braid over her head. She is
dark in complexion, tall, with a bulging belly, wears tiger pelts,
with her left foot on the chest of a corpse and her right foot
placed on a lion or between the thighs of the corpse. She has a
terrifying laugh and is fearful. The goddess Tīkṣṇakāntā, who is
also considered a form of Tara in the Kalika Purana, has
Tara lithograph
similar iconography with dark-complexion and a single braid
(ekajaṭā), and is also pot-bellied.[5]

Hindu goddess Kali and Tara are similar in

appearance. They both are described as standing
upon a supine corpse sometimes identified with
Shiva. However, while Kali is described as black,
Tara is described as blue. Both wear minimal
clothing, however Tara wears a tiger-skin skirt,
while Kali wears only a girdle of severed human
arms. Both wear a garland of severed human heads.
Both have a lolling tongue, and blood oozes from
their mouths. Their appearances are so strikingly
similar that it is easy to mistake one for the other. Kali (left) and Tara (right) have similar
Kali is shown standing in the pratyalidha stance (in iconography
which the left foot is forward). Her Bhairava
(consort) is Akshobhya, a form of Shiva who is in
the form of a naga (serpent) coiled around her matted hair. She wears a crown made of 5 skulls
connected with plates of bone. Eight forms of Tara are attested in the Māyātantra quoted in the
tantric compendium Tantrasāra and the names are Ekajaṭa, Ugra-Tara, Mahogra, Kameshvari-
Tara, Chamunda, Nila-Sarasvati (Neelasaraswati or 'Blue Saraswati'), Vajra-Tara and
Bhadrakali.[8]

Scriptures
Tantric scriptures that describe the worship of Tara include Tārātantra, Brahmayāmala,
Rudrayāmala, Nīlatantra/Bṛhannīlatantra, Tārātantra, Nīlasarasvatītantra as well as various
tantric compendia like Tantrasara by Agamavagisha, Prāṇatoṣiṇī, Tārābhaktisudhārṇava by
Narasiṃha Thakkura, or Tārārahasya by Brahmānanda Giri.[9]

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Tara is mentioned in the Devi Bhagavata Purana, where it is said that her favourite place is
Cīna[10] (China) and also that Svarocisha Manu worshipped the deity on the banks of the Kalindi
(Yamuna).[11] She is also attested in the Kalika Purana's 61st, 79th and 80th chapter.

Modern traditions
In Bengal, the literary works of Ramprasad Sen gave a new phase to the classical secretive worship
of Tara, and his devotionalism influenced the image of the deity. He addresses Tara as a daughter
in his songs. Sadhak Bamakhepa also was a famous siddha of Tara in the modern era. These
devotees introduced a public devotional dimension to the secretive tantric worship of this deity and
emphasised her motherliness.[12]

References
1. Shastri, Hirananda (1998). The Origin and Cult of Tara.
2. Avalon, Arthur. "Shakti and Shakta" (https://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas08.htm).
Sacred Texts.
3. Bühnemann, Gudrun. "The Goddess Mahācīnakrama-Tārā (Ugra-Tārā) in Buddhist and Hindu
Tantrism". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.
4. Pravrajika Vedantaprana, Saptahik Bartaman, Volume 28, Issue 23, Bartaman Private Ltd., 6,
JBS Haldane Avenue, 700 105 (ed. 10 October 2015) p.18
5. Bhattacharya, Bikas Kumar (2003). Tara in Hinduism:Study with Textual and Iconographical
Documentation. Eastern Book Linkers. ISBN 8178540215.
6. "Locating Mahāchīna" (https://www.kamakotimandali.com/2021/03/31/locating-mahachina/). Sri
Kamakoti Mandali. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
7. "Tara (Buddhist Deity) (Himalayan Art)" (https://www.himalayanart.org/items/59743).
www.himalayanart.org. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
8. Bhattacharyya, N. N. (1996). History of the Śākta religion (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35741
883) (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 81-215-0713-8.
OCLC 35741883 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35741883).
9. Bhattacharya, Bikas Kumar (2003). Tara in Hinduism, Study with Textual and Iconographical
Identification. Eastern Book Linkers. ISBN 8178540215.
10. "The Devi Bhagavatam: The Seventh Book: Chapter 38" (https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/db/
bk07ch38.htm). www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
11. "The Devi Bhagavatam: The Tenth Book: Chapter 8" (https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/db/bk1
0ch08.htm). www.sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
12. Bhattacharya, Bikas Kumar (2003). Tara in Hinduism:Study with Tetual and Iconographic
Documentation. Eastern Book Linkers. ISBN 8178540215.

Further reading
Banerjee, Sumanta (2002). Logic in a Popular Form: Essays on Popular Religion in Bengal.
Seagull Books. ISBN 81-7046-162-6.
Kinsley, David R. (1988). Hindu Goddesses:Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu
Religious Tradition (https://books.google.com/books?id=HzldwMHeS6IC&q=%22hindu+goddes
ses%22+kinsley). University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-06339-2.
Kinsley, David R. (1997). Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahāvidyās (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=oMW8WTrotKsC&q=Tantric+Visions+of+the+Divine+Feminine&pg
=PP1). New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-0-520-20499-7.

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MacDaniel, June (2004). Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West
Bengal (https://books.google.com/books?id=caeJpIj9SdkC&q=editions). Oxford University
Press. ISBN 0-19-516790-2.
MacDaniel, June (1989). The Madness of the Saints: Ecstatic Religion in Bengal (https://books.
google.com/books?id=EZxE__t1rlEC). University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-55723-5.
Shankaranarayanan, Sri (1972). The Ten Great Cosmic Powers. Dipti Publications. ISBN 81-
85208-38-7.

External links
Hinduism portal

Official Tarapith Website (http://tarapith.com/)

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