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Tara2 Buddhist goddess. The word Tara
is derived from the word tarana, meaning salvation, because she
is the saviour of people. There are numerous goddesses called Tara in
the Vajrayana Devisangha. The goddesses named Tara described in
the Buddhist treatises such as Sadhanamala, Nispannayogavali,
Advayavraja, etc, are supposed to save people from danger when invoked;
that is why they have this appellation. But each of the goddesses called
Tara has her own complexion, representing the lineage she is from. The
complexion of the chief Buddhists of the clans determines the complexions
of each of the goddesses called Tara.
The idol of Tara usually has two arms: she holds a green
lotus in her left hand and a varadamudra (a benedictory sign or
coin) in the right at night. Some idols of Tara have miniature images
of the contemplative Buddha in their headdress. This makes it difficult
for someone to identify the lineage of the Taras. It is even more difficult
to distinguish the lineage of the Taras from the stone statues, because
stones cannot be coloured.
Tara started to be considered a goddess in buddhism
from around 6th century AD. The famous Chinese traveller Hsuen
Tsang, while touring Bangladesh in 7th century AD, found many
idols of Tara on altars. From the 8th to the 12th century, Tara
was worshipped like other popular goddesses of the mahayana
community and grew steadily in popularity. At this time, many
temples, schools and colleges had her idol. The tradition of offering
prayers to Tara extended to Java and in 779 AD, a Buddhist temple
for her worship was also established there.
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Tara |
The Tibetans call the goddess Taradevi, Sgrol-ma,
which means saviour. The Mongolians call her Dara Eke, which means
Mother Tara. Moreover, she is respected as the mother of Buddha and bodhisattva
(the incarnation of Gautama immediately preceding his birth as Buddha).
Taradevi remains in a sitting posture except when she
is seen as an associate of Avalokiteshvara, or gods of the same
rank. Like other gods and goddesses, she is also depicted as touring with
her entourage. The thirteen gems adorning the Bodhisattvas also adorn
Tara when she is in a form not in accordance with the tantras
(religious order). With her hair curled and bulged out, she keeps
smiling at this time. Her form in accordance with the religious order
was always adorned with ornaments and held aloof symbols like priests
were wont to do. With unkempt hair, she kept watching the world with her
third eye on such occasions.
[Bhikkhu Sunithananda] |
