Tara (Devi)

This article is about the Hindu goddess. For the Buddhist pearances are so strikingly similar that it is easy to misbodhisattva, see Tara (Buddhism).
take one for the other. Indeed, they are often said to
be manifestations of each other; for example, in their
In Hinduism, the goddess Tara (Bengali: thousand-name hymns they share many epithets as well as
having each others names. Tara, for example, is called
)(Sanskrit: Tr, Devanagari: ) meaning star, is
the second of the Dasa (ten) Mahavidyas or Great Wis- Kalika, Ugra-kali, Mahakali, and Bhadra-kali. Tara is
said to be more approachable to the devotee (Bhakta)
dom [goddesses]", is a form of Durga. Tantric manifestations of Durga or Mahadevi, Kali, or Parvati. As the or Tantrika because of her maternal instincts; however a
star is seen as a beautiful but perpetually self-combusting large population of Bengali Hindus approach Kali herself
thing, so Tara is perceived at core as the absolute, un- as Ma or mother.
quenchable hunger that propels all life.

Like Kali, furthermore, Tara in her Hindu context enjoys blood. In her hymn of a hundred names from the
Mundamala-tantra, she is called She Who Likes Blood,
She Who Is Smeared with Blood and She Who Enjoys Blood Sacrice. The Tara-tantra describes Taras
delight in both animal and human blood but says that the
latter is more pleasing to her. The blood of devotees is
to be taken from specied parts of the body, such as the
forehead, hands, breasts, head, or area between the eyebrows; some of these areas may correspond to the dierent chakras, spiritual centers within the body.

Origin

The oral tradition gives an origin to the goddess Tara.

The legend begins with the churning of the ocean between the Devas and Asuras. Lord Shiva drank the poison (Halahala) that was created from the churning of the
ocean (in the process turning his throat blue and earning
him the epithet Nilakantha), thus saving the world from
destruction, but fell unconscious under its powerful effect. Mahadevi Durga appeared as Maa Tara and took
Shiva on her lap. She suckled him, the milk from her
breasts counteracting the poison, and he recovered. This
story is reminiscent of the one in which Shiva stops the
rampaging Kali by becoming an infant. Seeing the child,
Kalis maternal instinct comes to the fore and when she
was feeding him her breast milk Shiva sucked her rage
out while sucking the milk. In both cases, Shiva assumes
the position of an infant vis--vis the Goddess. Mainly
Tara is a form of Durga . As Per Shakti Mahabhagwat,
She is the one who created 1st Seed from which the entire universe took birth in the form of Lord Narayana.
Since he was Non manifested divinity so next Mahavidya
expanded him so that manifested divinity Lord Vishnu
took birth from him.[1]

Tara can be distinguished visually from Kali primarily

via her implements. Four armed, she carries a sacricial
sword, a severed head or skull cup, a lotus and scissors.
The scissor symbolizes Taras ability to cut through unwanted habits thus freeing the individual for spiritual
transcendence. Kali never holds a lotus or a pair of scissors.

3 Tarapith temple
Main article: Tarapith
The murti at the Tara Ma mandir in the village of
Tarapith, a highly important Tantric site for Bengali
Shaktas (and highly contested as to whether or not it is
truly a Shakti Pitha; scholarly evidence points towards
yes), is mostly covered by Garlands of owers. There
are two Tara images in the sanctum. The stone image of
Tara depicted as a mother suckling Shiva the primordial image (seen in the inset of the erce form of the
image of Tara) is camouaged by a three feet metal image, that the devotee normally sees. It represents Tara in
her ery form with four arms, wearing a garland of skulls
and a protruding tongue. Crowned with a silver crown
and with owing hair, the outer image wrapped in a sari
and decked in marigold garlands with a silver umbrella

Iconography

Kali and Tara are similar in appearance. They both are

described as standing upon a supine Shiva in an inert
or corpse-like form. 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 ap1

over its head. The forehead of the metal image is adorned

with red Sindur (vermilion). Most devotees will not have
a chance to see the actual stone image, as there are only
15 or so minutes of Darshan or viewing of the stone at
4:30AM when the temple opens and only the rst lucky
few will be admitted into the adytum (the Garbhagriha)
to see the stone.
Unlike most Indian villages and towns, the smashan or
cremation ground is not situated on the periphery of the
village. As cremation grounds are seen to be polluting,
most Indian smashans are located far from the center of
town. Both the Tarapith mandir and smashan are very
close (within 100 yards or so) to the center of the town.
It is said that Tara Mas footprints are preserved in the
smashan; this is a common theme in Hinduism, where
deities or their especially holy followers are said to leave
their footprints in rocks. Many Sadhus and Tantrikas live
in the smashan, some with permanent huts as residences.
The smashan is lled with dogs, traditionally polluting animals who were said to share food with the Vamamarga
saint Bamakhepa, whose samdhi or tomb is located next
door to the main Tarapith temple.

Other name & in other religion

Some researchers believe Paranasabari is another name

for Hindu Goddess Tara,[2][3] and Tara is the only female
goddess not only worshiped in India but also Mongolia
and Tsarist Russia.[2] Again in Buddhist religion incidentally, Paranasabari is depicted as attendant of Buddhist
deity of same name, Tara.[2]

See also
Tarapith
Shaktism
Tara in Buddhism
Maa Taratarini Temple
Maa Tarini
Maa Ugra Tara

References

[1] Shakti MahaBhagwat Purana | Edition: 1| Sanskrit - Hindi

Translation| GeetaPress Gorakhpur
[2] Reections on the Tantras. Sudhakar Chattopadhyaya. p.
76.
[3] The social function of art by Radhakamal Mukerjee.
Philosophical Library. 1954. p. 151.

EXTERNAL LINKS

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 Reigious Tradition. University of California Press. ISBN 0-52006339-2.
Kinsley, David R. (1997). Tantric Visions of the Divine Feminine: The Ten Mahvidys. New Delhi:
Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-0-520-20499-7.
MacDaniel, June (2004). 1-4237-5659-2 Oering
Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship
in West Bengal. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019-516790-2.
MacDaniel, June (1989). The Madness of the Saints:
Ecstatic Religion in Bengal. University of Chicago
Press. ISBN 0-226-55723-5.
Shankaranarayanan, Sri (1972). The Ten Great Cosmic Powers. Dipti Publications. ISBN 81-8520838-7.
Svoboda, Robert E. Aghora: at the Left Hand of
God. ISBN 0-914732-21-8.
Svoboda, Robert E. Aghora II: Kundalini. ISBN 0914732-31-5.
Svoboda, Robert E. Aghora III: The Law of Karma.
ISBN 0-914732-37-4.
A Short Biography of Vamaksepa

7 External links
Tara Mantra Evam Tantra Sadhana

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