Tara (Devi)

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Tara

Devanagari: तार
Sanskrit Transliteration: Tāra
Affiliation: Devi, Mahavidyas
Weapon: Vary, but always at least a sword
Consort: Shiva
Mount: Shiva in inert or corpselike form
This article is about the Hindu goddess. For the Buddhist bodhisattva, see Tara (Buddhism).

In Hinduism, the Goddess Tara (Sanskrit: Tāra, Devanagari: तार) meaning "star" is the second of the Dasa (ten) Mahavidyas or "Great Wisdom(Goddesse)s", Tantric manifestations of Mahadevi, Kali or Parvati. As the star is seen as a beautiful but perpetually self-combusting thing, so Tara is perceived at core as the absolute, unquenchable hunger that propels all life.

In the Hindu epic The Ramayana, Tara is the name of Vali's queen. Vali is the monkey king who is killed by Rama, at the behest of his brother Sugriva.

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[edit] Origin

The oral tradition gives an intriguing origin to the goddess Tara. The legend begins with the churning of the ocean between the Devas (Hindu Gods) and Asuras (Hindu Demons). The Deva Shiva drank the poison 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. Tara Ma appeared 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, Kali's maternal instinct comes to the fore, and she becomes quiet and nurses the infant Shiva. In both cases, Shiva assumes the position of an infant vis-à-vis the Goddess.

[edit] Iconography

The similarities in appearances between Kali and Tara are striking and unmistakable. They both are described as standing upon a supine Shiva in inert or corpselike 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 necklace of severed human heads and the previously mentioned girdle of arms. 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. Indeed, they are often said to be manifestations of each other; for example, in their thousand-name hymns they share many epithets as well as having each others names. Tara, for example, is called Kalika, Ugra-kali, Mahakali, and Bhadra-kali. Tara is said to be more approachable to the devotee (Bhakta) or Tantrika because of her maternal instincts; however a large population of Bengali Hindus approach Kali herself as "Ma" or "mother".

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 Sacrifice". The Tara-tantra describes Tara's 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 specified parts of the body, such as the forehead, hands, breasts, head, or area between the eyebrows; some of these areas may correspond to the different chakras, spiritual centers within the body.

Tara can be distinguished visually from Kali primarily via her implements. Four armed, she carries a sacrificial sword, a severed head or skull cup, a lotus and scissors. Kali never holds a lotus or a pair of scissors.

Image:Tarapith2.jpg
Murti of Tara at Tarapith Temple

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 no), is mostly covered by Garlands of flowers. This image has several unusual features. It is made of a silver metal, depicts Tara with the lower half of her face covered in blood, and Her feet are in front of Her image in a severed fashion as if they had been cut off; there is a red circle with a white one in the middle of it suggesting a leg bone.

This is less mysterious when the truth of the matter is revealed; the murti is in fact a composite one which covers the actual Deity: a stone said to be worshipped for 5,000 years by the Pujaris at the temple. This is an example of a "self formed" Deity in that it was discovered and worshipped as a protector of the village, which was in former times known as Chandipur. The stone is vaguely in the shape of a mother suckling a child - this is said to be the infant Shiva at the breast of Tara. Most devotees will not have a chance to see the actual deity, 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 first lucky few will be admitted into the sanctum sanctorum 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 Ma's 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. Such is the case in various parts of India with Vishnu's Avataras and the Yogi/Guru/Deva Dattatreya at the banks of the Ganges river in Varanasi. Many Sadhus and Tantrikas live in the smashan, some with permanent huts as residences. The smashan is filled with dogs, traditionally polluting animals who were said to share food with the Vamamarga saint Bamakhepa, whose Samadhi or tomb is located next door to the main Tarapith temple.

[edit] Mantra

OM TĀRE TUTTĀRE TURE SVĀHĀ

The dhyana mantra of Tara in her form as Nila-saraswati in the Tantrasara is as follows.

I bow to you mother Nilasarasvati. You give well-being and auspiciousness. You are situated on the heart of a corpse and are advancing aggressively. You have three fearful, bright eyes. You carry a skull bowl, scissors and a sword. Your form shines like a blazing fire. Give me refuge. Give me golden speech. Please let your gracious nectar drench my heart, remover of pride. You wear a tiger skin as a skirt and a garland of chopped off heads. You are frightening and remove fear.

[edit] See also

Portal Hinduism portal

[edit] References

  • Logic in a Popular Form: Essays on Popular Religion in Bengal (ISBN 8-170-46162-6) by Sumanta Banerjee
  • Hindu Goddesses:Visions of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Reigious Tradition (ISBN 81-208-0379-5) by David Kinsley
  • Offering Flowers, Feeding Skulls: Popular Goddess Worship in West Bengal (ISBN 0-195-16791-0) by June McDaniel
  • The Madness of the Saints: Ecstatic Religion in Bengal (ISBN 0-226-55723-5) by June McDaniel

[edit] External links


Hinduism | Hindu mythology | Indian epic poetry
Female Deities: Saraswati | Mariamman | Lakshmi | Dakshayani | Gayatri | Parvati | Durga | Shakti | Kali | Sita | Devi | Radha | Mahavidya | more...
Male Deities: Brahma | Vishnu | Shiva | Rama | Krishna | Ganesha | Murugan | Hanuman | Ayyanar | Indra | Surya | more...
Texts: Vedas | Upanishads | Puranas | Ramayana | Mahabharata | Rigveda
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