Tara: The Compassionate Saviour and Protector
Tara also known as the compassionate saviour and protector of humanity, who liberates the humans from the continuous cycle of birth and rebirth, is the second Mahavidya goddess in Shaktism and tantric traditions. She is believed to be the avatar of the great Mother Goddess Mahadevi. Her name means star in Sanskrit and symbolizes her attributes of guidance, protection, and the light in the darkness. This literal meaning of her name and its attributes finds its mention in the hymns of the Rigveda where Tara is referred to in relation to the stars and the guidance they offer. This early mention of the goddess Tara’s name aligns with her later association with navigation and guidance, both in the physical and spiritual sense for the devotees. During the Vedic period, the concept of the divine feminine began to gain more importance and took a concrete form. Tara, along with other Mahavidyas was included in the evolving pantheon of the Hindu gods and deities. As the tantric traditions developed, particularly during the later Gupta period, some 320-550 CE, the Mahavidyas emerged as significant deities, each representing different forms and attributes of the supreme goddess Shakti.
In her iconographies, Tara can be easily mistaken for goddess Kali, the first goddess among the Das Mahavidyas. This common mistake happens due to the fact that both these goddesses’ are strikingly similar in their appearance, as well as associated with death. Though Kali is often depicted as black skin, on the contrary Tara has blue skin, a protruding belly, tall, and wears a tiger pelts around her waist. In her depictions she is seen standing 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 underneath her, and has a bloody lolling tongue. It is believed her dark complexion symbolises her association with night, death, and the unknown, which relates with her role as the guiding force for devotees to overcome their fears and ignorance ultimately leading them towards spiritual enlightenment.
Tara in her iconographies is portrayed as a goddess with four hands. Each of these hand hold a particular emblem and have specific attributes attached to them. She is seen holding a knife, a sword, a skill cup and a lotus flower. The lotus flower is a common emblem in the depictions of goddess Tara. The flower represents purity, spiritual awakening, and the unfolding of the divine consciousness. Because the lotus grows in murky waters, retreating every night into these waters and emerging from it stainless at the break of the dawn, it symbolizes Tara’s attributes of acting as guidance, like a star for the devotees towards spiritual enlightenment and her role as the destroyer of ignorance, fear and other impurities of the world.
The sword also known as khadga can be seen in of her hand in her depictions in the religion. The sword represents the cutting through of ignorance, delusions and illusions of the world. It stands as an emblem of judgment of right amidst the wrongs and the ability to overcome obstacles on the path to spirituality. The sword adds to Tara’s fierceness and her role as the protector who destroys negativity and illusions preventing the devotees to form an understanding of the cosmos and spirituality. The Kapala or the skull cup is an important aspect of Tara’s depictions. The Kapala is usually portrayed filled with blood or nectar, symbolizing the consumption of ego and ignorance. The skull cup emphasizes Tara’s role in the cycle of death and rebirth, including her abilities to destroy all evils. In many of her iconographies Tara is depicted to have a third eye on her forehead. Often this third eye is vertical and is show open. It symbolizes her role in perceiving and protecting the world. In her fierce portrayals especially in images on the cremation grounds, this third eye symbolizes her power to see and destroy all forms of ignorance and negativity from the world.
Tara in her iconography is mostly depicted against the backdrop of cremation grounds. This backdrop represent the place where the physical body is reduced to its essential elements, the last abode of every human on this earth, symbolizing the short impermanent life we all live and the end of ego. The cremation ground in her iconography acts as a reminder of Tara’s role in guiding souls through the cycle of death and rebirth. The skull garland around her neck just like goddess Kali is another significant feature of her depictions in Hinduism. The skulls around her neck represent the conquered ego and the goddesses’ ability to free her devotees of the evils of the world. Another recurrent feature of Tara’s portrayals is the flames around her. The flames symbolize purification, destruction of the negative forces; on the other hand the halo stands for her enlightened nature and as a light that guides, like a star.
Though Tara is a prominent deity as the second Mahavidya in Hinduism, her significance also extends into Buddhism. Tara became the central deity in Tibetan Buddhism by 6th century CE, and became known for her compassionate nature. Tibetan texts and practices incorporated her worship through rituals, prayers and visualizations in order to invoke for her protection and compassion. The Buddhist Tara is believed to be bodhisattva, and the female Buddha or the mother of all Buddhas. According to Tibetan Buddhism there is a Green Tara and a White Tara. The White Tara stands for purity, long life and peace, whereas the Green Tara represents compassion and her helpful nature to help the devotees. However, in Tibetan Buddhism the stories of the birth of Green Tara are much loved. The legend speaks of Tara’s birth from the compassionate tears of Avalokiteshavra, the bodhisattva of compassion. Distressed by the suffering of sentient beings, he wept, and from his tears came the Green Tara, standing for compassion and swift action.
In another narration of Tibetan Buddhism speaks the tale of Tara and the merchant’s daughter. This daughter of a wealthy merchant was devoted to goddess Tara, and when the girl fell sick and reached on the brink of death, Tara appeared in a vision and guided her on rituals and mantras. Having performed these rituals and mantras the girl healed, adding to Taras’s compassionate nature and power of intervention to free her devotees of obstacles and act as their protector and healer.
In Tibetan Buddhism, particularly in Vajrayana sect, Tara is popular meditation deity or yidam. A yidam is a personal meditation deity chosen by a practitioner as a focal point for spiritual practice and as guidance towards enlightenment. Green and White Tara has qualities of compassion and protective energy and thus as a yidam the devotees invoke her to achieve these qualities within themselves. Visualization in Tibetan Buddhism is a central practice for meditating on a yidam. The practitioners of the religion visualize Tara in detail by focusing on her form, colours, symbols, and expressions. Thangkas—a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué depicting the Buddhist deities—of Tara are used as meditation aids. Practitioners meditate on the thangka and focus on the minute details of Tara to form deeper connections with the goddess Tara. This meditation practice helps in the enhancement of concentration, mindfulness, and an understanding of Tara’s divine attributes.
By meditating on Tara, it is believed that a devotee develops the same compassion as the goddess, alongside finding strength and courage to fight and navigate the fears, darkness and other evils of the world through their connection with the goddess. By meditating on her, an individual is able to uncover and meet with his own Buddha nature, as she guides the devotees towards enlightenment, transcending them beyond the worldly evils of ego and ignorance.
Tara as the second Mahavidya goddess and as bodhisattva in Tibetan Buddhism symbolizes the compassion that every human in this world needs to have for oneself and the other. Her swift action for those in need of help teaches her devotees to always be of helpful nature for those who are in dire need. Her fearless persona, and her role as a literal star fills the heart of her believers to develop strength and courage to go beyond the darkness, ego and ignorance acting as a wall in front of their spiritual enlightenment.
