OM TA-RE TU-TA-RE TU-RE SO-HA (Tara’s Mantra)

Tara is a completely enlightened buddha who had previously promised to appear, after enlightenment, in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit of all beings. Her primary activity is to protect from the eight fears. Practiced in all Schools of Tibetan Buddhism her various forms are found in all classes of tantra – Nyingma and Sarma.

Tara (Star) or simply Drol-ma in Tibetan, goddess of protection and compassion, worshipped by Vajrayanists worldwide. One of the widest worshipped deity in Tibet, Tara is the bodhisattva representing the miraculous activities of all buddhas. In myth she is born from Chenrezig’s (sanskrit: Avalokitesvara, the male counterpart similar to Tara) tears of compassion or from her own vow to be enlightened and stay a woman. There are innumerable manifestations of Tara, manifesting in so many ways as sentient beings may require, but her most famous are the peaceful WHITE TARA, who brings protection, long life and peace; and the dynamic GREEN TARA, who overcomes obstacles and saves beings in dangerous situations in the most immediate manner. Tara also manifests in the 21 forms of Taras.

Jeff Watt at himalayanart.org:
“From the tantra known as the ‘Twenty-One Praises of Tara’ spoken by the buddha Samantabhadra arises a system of practice with 21 emanations – 1 for each verse of praise. Each form of Tara has a specific color and accomplishes a special activity. Based on that, there are 3 well known and distinct lineages for the set of 21 Taras; Pandita Suryagupta, Lord Atisha and the lineage from the Nyingma Lama – Longchenpa. Aside from these 3 there are other less known sets of 21 Taras as well as numerous individual forms and lineages. The 3 main lineages do not share the same iconographic forms. In the Atisha system all the Taras appear in the same basic posture with equal faces and hands and only differ in the color of the body and vase held in the right hand of each. Some have a slightly fierce facial expression. Basically the colors are a code for the 4 activities:  pacifying (white), enriching (yellow), subjugating (red) and eliminating (black.) Mixed colors such as orange indicate a combination of qualities, tempered by strong associations.”

We are including Green Tara as the number one here, since she is considered by all systems to be the “originator” from which all other Taras emanate, although she is usually not included in the 21. With several lineages by which the 21 Taras are categorized, there is no universal agreement on their names, the order in which they appear, or even on all of their faculties and powers, so we will present them here in as complete fashion as we are able, recognizing that there will be mistakes of omission and probably of commission as well. (We beg forgiveness, and encourage more knowledgeable readers to send us their suggestions or corrections.)

However, for the purpose of the practice of the “Twenty-one Praises of Tara”, it is not necessary for all of the deities’ images and information to be in order. These are only presented so as to give the reader a good feel for all of the Taras and to illustrate their salient features.

But first, a bit of background and history:

Origin of the cult of Tara

The view that the divine bodhisattva known by the name Tara assimilates the various characteristics and qualities of several goddesses of the Himalayan regions, from tribal snake deities to the great Shakti of Hinduism, and of other goddesses from farther a-field, is not a novel one.

Whether this is due to the somewhat outmoded idea of the archetype, or due to cultural drift and diffusion, or to people’s general inability to keep specific details in mind is not really important.  What is significant and valuable is the profound devotion that people have for Tara and the genuine efficacy of her practice.  In times of great difficulty, millions of people call upon “Great Noble Tara.”

Not everyone agrees on how she should be depicted, however, and perhaps that in itself is significant. Stephen Beyer, in “The Cult of Tara“, reported that until some even very experienced Tibetan artists were shown the details of the 21 Taras as illustrated in foreign texts, they often did not know or could not recall which colors, gestures and symbolic items belonged together.  Also there seem to be waves of popularity for different lineage teachings of her practice, some claiming origin with one or another famous teacher of the past and others none at all. That is, some versions of her ritual worship [Sanskrit: sadhana] or practice are regarded as “termas” – tantric texts revealed or uncovered by gifted individuals under extraordinary circumstances.

When her cult developed exactly is unknown.  The Chinese pilgrim Hsuan Tsang, who visited northern India between 633 and 645, reports without describing, a “Tolo” image in a temple near Nalanda Buddhist University to which the general population was particularly devoted.

Her Name

The Sanskrit root târ-means “to traverse” or “cross over” as in using a bridge to ford a stream.  In the orthodox Indian sacred tradition, Târâ refers to the second of  Ten Means to Realization. And as Shri Tara Devi she is the deification of that Mahavidya, according to Hindu Tantra. As a  Târîni, she carries you across;  she serves as a bridge for you to get to immortality.  But the root tar-  can mean “tree,” and “particularly,” and it is also related to “star” and to “pupil of the eye.”

In Tibetan, she is called Dolma or Do’ma, though often we see Drolma because it follows the Tibetan spelling a little more; (if we transliterate, it is actually sgrolma.)