Tara
In the
beginning there was void. All pervading darkness and endless nothingness. Yet
she was there. She was the void and once awakened she created the entire
universe out of her non being. Created life and death, and everything in
between. The ‘Samsara’ she manifested out of ‘Maya’ is like a vast sea of the
unknown and she was the only guide who could help us to traverse that sea
without getting lost and drowning. She is the peril and she is the saviour. She
is the void and she is the ‘Tara’ (Star) of light in that void; the duality
which is intrinsic to nature.
In Sanskrit, ‘Star’ and ‘crossing’ are the most obvious
meanings of the name ‘Tara’. By extension, the name Tara signifies she who
guides or carries others across, who navigates others across, and she who
protects, rescues, and liberates. Hence Tara’s role as a Devi imbues her
with powers of compassion, protection from danger and providing enlightenment. In
Tibet, Tara is referred to as ‘Dolma’ meaning saviour.
Tara’s connection to the sea is more strengthened through
her inclusion in Hindu theology as a patron of the seas. The Puranas describe
her as related to water bodies. This ‘Sea’ may be a very literal interpretation
of the much deeper spiritual symbolism of Tara. If this ‘Samsara’ is the
endless unknown sea and if each one of us are vessels embarking on a voyage to
traverse that sea from our birth to death, we need a compass or a pole star to
guide us on that journey. Tara is that pole star who keeps us on track if we
trust her wisdom and learn the lessons we need to learn. She slashes through
our thick cloud of ignorance and ego with her light of wisdom and saves us from
ourselves. The lotus she holds
(mostly a blue lotus as seen in her popular iconography) is a symbol of purity,
remaining unsoiled in even the most polluting of environments and acts as a
constant reminder to us that enlightenment can exist in the world even if the
environment is corrupt and polluted.
Tara is glorified as the 2nd fierce manifestation
of Sati, just after Kali, as a Dasa Mahavidya (Ten cosmic wisdoms) in Hindu
mythology but Tara’s origins can be traced to ancient Goddesses like Ishtar, Astarte,
Isis and Aphrodite, due to the derived similarities in attributed powers,
symbolism and ritual practices. All these goddesses were linked with water
bodies in some ways and the symbolism of stars or planets. The same connections
are easily traceable to the Christian attributes of Mother Mary also known as ‘Stella Maris’ (Star of the Sea).
Though such connections may be vehemently opposed and denied by religious zealots
who enforce complete separation between Pagan religions and Christianity.
In Hindu Shaiva and Shakta (mostly Tantric) mythology, Tara
is seen as a Mother Goddess. Known as another manifestation of Kali, the
master of Time, Tara symbolizes the eternal and unfulfilled hunger that fuels
life; the hunger to placate all desires and attain spiritual oneness with the Supreme
Being. Like a star that perpetually consumes its own energy, Tara represents
the never-ending desires that fuel all life. Hindu oral mythology states that other than appearing with the Dasa Mahavidyas, Tara appeared singularly during the pivotal churning of the ocean ‘Kshira Samudra’ (Ocean
of Milk), details of which are related in Vishnu Purana. In this legend, Shiva drank
the powerful destructive poison ‘Halaahala’ that surfaced from the churning of
the ocean by Devas and Asuras without allowing it to go below his neck, thus saving the world from destruction and earning the appellation of 'Neelakanttha'. As a result,
Shiva was incapacitated from the effect of the poison and lost consciousness. The
Mahadevi took the form of Tara and came to Mahadeva’s aid. She took the supine
body of Shiva on her lap and just like a mother breast fed him, her milk acted
as an antidote to the poison, and he recovered. This myth also alludes to the
myth in which Shiva stops the rampaging Kali by becoming an infant and crying
loudly in the blood soaked battlefield. Seeing the baby, Kali's maternal
instincts were roused and her rage and blood thirst subsided and she nursed the
infant Shiva. In both cases, Shiva assumes the position of an infant in
relation to the goddess.
In the 6 sixth century C.E., during the era of the Pala
Empire, Tara was adopted into the Buddhist pantheon as an important Bodhisattva
figure. Not coincidentally, this was just a few centuries after the
Prajnaparamita Sutra had been introduced into what was becoming the Mahayana
Buddhism of India.
Tara in the form of the Great Mother Goddess shares strong links with many Hindu goddesses, such as Druga and Kali. The similarities in iconography between Kali and Tara can’t be missed and they are often worshipped as one and the same. They both stand upon a recumbent Shiva, or a corpse. While Kali’s body is depicted in black, Tara is mostly depicted in blue. Both are either naked or wear animal skin (mostly tiger) or a skirt of severed human limbs. Both wear a garland of severed human heads or skulls. Both have a lolling tongue oozing blood from their mouths. Furthermore, like the Goddess Kali, Tara in her Hindu context enjoys drinking blood, whether Deva, Asura, human or animal is of little consequence. The only distinctive feature of Tara is her pot belly and sometimes she is depicted holding a pair of scissors instead of a ‘Kharga’! No doubt her appearance is fearsome and through this fierceness she subdues the ego and commands complete surrender. Her three most famous forms are Ekajata, Ugratara, and Neelasarsvati.
In Buddhist narrative Tara is introduced through the legend of Princess Jnanacandra (moon of wisdom), daughter of Tathagata Dundubhisvara (sound of drum). She performed ritualistic practices for attaining enlightenment for such a long time that the celestial monks advised her to obtain a male body in order to become a bodhisattva. The princess rejected the monk’s advice and vowed to pursue the bodhisattva path in female form stating that "There is neither man nor woman nor self nor personhood nor notion of such. Attachment to [the designations] ‘male and female’ is meaningless, and deludes worldly people with poor understanding… men have always desired enlightenment but not a single woman strives for the benefit of sentient beings. Therefore, I shall follow this path as a woman as long as samsara exists.” In due process she was elevated to the form of Tara.
Both the Hindu and Buddhist legends have one thing in common: Shakti, the strength of the feminine energy and how it defies patriarchal misogyny. Tara as the mother suckles an incapacitated Shiva and nourishes him back to full power. Shiva in the male god tradition is the all-powerful and often destructive force which causes ‘pralay’ if enraged. Such a masculine force needing to be revived by the feminine force from the brink of destruction is quite a difficult concept to digest and acknowledge for many who uphold patriarchy. Patriarchy does not acknowledge that masculinity can be weak and vulnerable to begin with, so drawing strength from femininity at such a vulnerable moment seems to be even more dishonourable. Princess Jnanacandra rejecting the need for a male body to become a bodhisattva also challenges the almighty masculinity driven religious practices and successfully creates a place of reverence for female bodied bodhisattvas. The sad truth though: the fight for femininity to prove its power, again and again, in comparison and in competition with masculinity is still as much a reality as it was in those ancient times! The need for these narratives to resurface has never lost its importance.
References:
Books:
Beyer, Stephen (1978). Cult of Tārā. University of California Press.
Kinsley, David. Hindu Goddesses: Vision of the Divine Feminine in the Hindu Religious Tradition. India: Motilal Banarsidass.
Online sources:
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Tara
https://kashgar.com.au/blogs/gods-goddesses/tara-a-beautiful-goddess-for-a-not-so-beautiful-world
