About Maa Tara

As A Maa MahaVidya Form Of
Maa Maha Kaali,
Maa Tara Embodies
The Fierce, Protectiveness
And Compassion,
Guiding deserving devotees
towards spiritual liberation

As A Maa MahaVidya Form Of
Maa Maha Kaali,
Maa Tara Embodies Fierceness,
Protectiveness, And Compassion.
Maa Tara Fiercely Protects
Her devotees from the darkness of
ignorance and the delusions of ego.
Maa Tara's Compassion Is Boundless,
Guiding deserving devotees to
navigate through life's tumultuous challenges
and cutting through obstacles
By Her Divine Blessings.
By embracing the sincere worship Of
Maa Tara,
devotees may
be able to embark
on a transformative journey
towards spiritual liberation,
where they can transcend
worldly attachments and
realize The True Self.

Origin Myth About
The Emergence Of
Maa Tara As
Maa MahaVidya,
Embodying Fierceness And
Imparting The Wisdom Of Transformation
Upon deserving devotees

The worship Of
Maa Tara
has roots that
are at least as ancient as the vedas.
A Myth that originates from
various puranas such as
"Devi Bhagavata Purana",
"Kalika Purana",
and various tantras
dedicated to the worship Of
Maa Das MahaVidyas,
narrate the story Of
The Divine Mother As
Maa Sati
And Her Transformation Into
Maa Das MahaVidyas,
First As Maa Kali
And Later As
Maa Tara.

As per The Origin Myth,
when lord shiva forbade
Maa Sati From Attending
Her father's sacred yajna (ritual offering),
Maa Sati Grew Furious And
Transformed Into The Formidable
And Fierce Divine Form Of
Maa Maha Kali.
This Sudden Transformation caused
lord shiva to flee in
a different direction. Subsequently,
Maa Sati Emerged In
The Divine Form Of
Maa Tara.

Maa Tara Is Depicted In
A Blue Complexion,
With Her Lovely Protruding Red Tongue
And A Divine Face That Instills fear.
Maa Tara Is Depicted With
Disheveled Hair, Resembling upright snakes.
Maa Tara Is Adorned With A Tiger's Skin,
The Divine Forehead With Five Crescent Moons,
And With Three Divine Eyes
And Four Divine Arms.
Maa Tara Stands Upon
a corpse And Carries A Lotus,
A Sword, A Drinking Bowl,
And A Bell In Her Divine Hands.
The Divine Mother As
Maa Tara Embodies Fierceness,
Imparting The Wisdom Of Transformation
Upon deserving devotees.
Devotees worship
Maa Tara with utmost sincerity,
seeking Her Blessings
for spiritual enlightenment.

The Legend recounted in
todala tantra that signifies
The Maternal Compassion Of
The Divine Mother
Maa Tara

According to the Legend
recounted in the todala tantra,
when the gods and the asuras (demons)
jointly churned the milky ocean
in search of the immortal nectar,
instead of the nectar,
a lethal poison called "halahala" emerged,
causing great agitation.
All were agitated except for
the mighty lord shiva,
who remained calm and composed.
In order to save the world,
lord shiva fearlessly consumed the poison,
thereby preventing its destructive effects.
However, the intensity of the poison
rendered him unconscious.

At this critical moment,
The Divine Mother Manifested As
Maa Tara
And Cradled lord shiva In Her Divine Lap.
Maa Tara Nursed him,
Which Acted As An Antidote To the poison,
Reviving lord shiva.
This Myth bears resemblance
to another Tale in which
lord shiva pacifies The Furious
Maa Maha Kaali
by taking the form of an infant.
Upon Seeing the child,
Maa Maha Kaali's Maternal Instincts Arise,
And She Becomes Tranquil,
Nursing the infant lord shiva.
In both narratives,
lord shiva takes a vulnerable position
as an infant In The Presence Of
The Divine Mother Of the universe.

The Divine Mother
Maa Tara As
The Compassionate Savior
And Fierce Protector
Is worshipped with
greatest sincerity
across cultures and traditions.

Maa Tara Is Revered across cultures.
In sanatana and buddhists traditions,
Maa Tara Is worshipped
seeking Guidance to face and
overcome life's challenges.
However, The Depiction Of
Maa Tara
Varies Greatly across traditions.
As A
Maa MahaVidya Form Of
Maa Maha Kaali,
Maa Tara Is Depicted As
Fierce And Formidable.
In other traditions,
such as the tibetan buddhism,
Maa Tara Is Depicted As
The Compassionate And Protective
Divine Mother.

The history of the worship Of
Maa Tara in tibetan buddhism

In tibetan buddhism,
Maa Tara Is Highly Venerated
And worshipped As A National Deity.
In this tradition,
Maa Tara Is Depicted To
Embody Compassion And
Protect Her devotees from harm.
As Per Origin Myth in tibetan buddhism,
Maa Tara Is Associated With Avalokitesvara,
The BodhiSattva Of Compassion.
One Legend states that
Maa Tara Emerged From
A Tear Shed By Avalokitesvara
Out Of Pity For all suffering beings.
This Legend Signifies
Maa Tara As
A Compassionate Savior Of Her devotees.

The significance of the worship Of
Maa Tara in tibetan buddhism
grew substantially around the 11th century,
largely due to the efforts of
the scholar atiśa,
who had numerous Visions Of
Maa Tara
and translated key texts About
Maa Tara into tibetan.
These texts highlight
Maa Tara's Blessings Of
protection and prolonged life
Upon deserving devotees.
Devotees also seek
Maa Tara's Blessings
For Miraculous Rescues In dire situations,
such as execution, imprisonment,
or natural disasters.

Maa Tara Is Also worshipped
In Fierce Forms In buddhism, such as
In The Divine Form Of
"Maa Tara Kurukulla",
Who Is invoked To Subdue
And Destroy evil forces.
The worship Of
Maa Tara In Her Fierce Forms
show that devotees Revered
Maa Tara As The Compassionate
Yet Fierce Protector.

Maa Tara Is Revered In
Eight Divine Forms Signifying
The Divine Mother's
Fierceness And Compassion

In ancient indian texts,
Maa Tara Is Associated With destruction,
And Is Often Depicted
Dwelling In cremation grounds,
With skulls, severed heads,
and blood around.
This Iconography Of The Depiction Of
Maa Tara Signifies Her
As The Fearsome
Divine Mother.
However,
Maa Tara Is Also Depicted With
A Round Belly And Full Breasts
To Signify Her Nurturing
And Maternal Compassion.
Maa Tara Is Also Revered As
The Divine Savior Who Guides
deserving devotees To cross
the ocean of samsara,
transcend the cycle of rebirth,
and attain spiritual liberation.

Maa Tara Is Revered In
Eight Divine Forms Signifying
Her As The Fierce and Compassionate
Divine Mother.
The Eight Divine Forms Of
Maa Tara Are mentioned
in the "Mayatantra",
as cited in the tantric collection tantrasara.
The Eight Divine Forms Are:

Maa Mahogra,
Maa UgraTara,
Maa Kameswari Tara,
Maa Neela Swaraswati,
Maa Ekajata,
Maa Chamunda,
Maa BhadraKaali,
Maa VajraTara

Maa Tara worshipped In
Her Eight Divine Forms
Blesses deserving devotees With
Protection And Guidance to
overcome ignorance and
achieve spiritual growth

The "Maa TaraPith Temple"
for the worship Of
Maa Tara,
Is A Revered "Shakti Pith"
And Is Known for tantric rituals
and practices for the worship Of
Maa Tara

The "Maa TaraPith Temple"
is dedicated to the worship Of
Maa Tara.
According to Legends,
The "Maa TaraPith Temple"
Is A "Shakti Pith"
In Reverence Of
Maa Sati's Divine Eyeball.
‍
"Shakti Piths",
Divine Seats Of
The Divine Mother
Maa Aadi ParaShakti,
Are Revered As The Holy Sites
On earth Where
The Various Divine Parts Of
Maa Sati's Divine Form
Are Said To Have Fallen During
lord shiva's rudra tandava in grief Of
Maa Sati's Self-Immolation.
As the bengali word
for eyeball is tara,
The Temple Was Dedicated
to the worship Of
Maa Tara.
‍
"Maa TaraPith Temple"
is also renowned for being
one of the few temples where
tantric rituals are practiced.
The adjacent cremation ground At
"Maa TaraPith Temple"
is an important site for tantric practices
and sadhana (spiritual practice).
It is believed that the cremation ground
is a favored place for worshipping
Maa Tara,
The Divine Mother Of death and transformation.

The history of worship Of
Maa Tara At
The "Maa TaraPith Temple"

The worship Of Maa Tara At
"Maa TaraPith Temple"
can be traced back to
sage vashishta's quest to master the tantric arts.
Despite his prolonged efforts,
he failed to achieve success.
Seeking guidance,
he approached buddha,
who had a vision that
The "Maa TaraPith Temple"
was the ideal place to worship
Maa Tara.
Following buddha's advice,
sage vashishtha came to
The "Maa TaraPith Temple" and
performed a left-handed tantric ritual,
incorporating the use of
the 5 forbidden elements (panchamakara).
Accepting his devotion,
The Divine Mother Manifested As
Maa Tara Nursing lord shiva At Her Breast
And Then Transformed Into A Stone.
Since then, The Depiction Of
Maa Tara In Her Maternal Form,
Nursing lord shiva,
Has Been Venerated At
The "Maa TaraPith Temple".
This Depiction Of
Maa Tara Connects to the Myth Where
Maa Tara revived lord shiva
after he consumed poison
during the churning of the ocean.

The Two Idols
for the worship Of
Maa Tara At
"Maa TaraPith Temple"

Inside the sanctum,
There Are Two Idols for the worship Of
Maa Tara.
The First Is A Stone Image Portraying
Maa Tara As A Mother Nursing lord shiva,
but It Is Concealed By
A Three-Foot-Tall Metal Image
That Is Typically Visible To the worshippers.
The Stone Statue Depicts
Maa Tara In Her Fierce Divine Form,
With Four Divine Arms,
Flowing Divine Hair,
An Extended Divine Tongue,
And Adorned With A Garland Of skulls.
The Outer Metal Image Is
Adorned With a silk sari, marigold garlands,
and sheltered by a silver umbrella above.

Only after the evening aarti ceremony
do the devotees have the opportunity
to catch a glimpse Of
The Original Stone Idol.

Conclusion

Maa Tara, As A
Maa MahaVidya Form Of
Maa Maha Kaali,
Embodies Fierce Protectiveness
And Boundless Compassion.
Maa Tara Guides deserving devotees
through life's challenges,
Leading them towards spiritual liberation.
The Ancient Myths Surrounding
Maa Tara Signify
Maa Tara As The Compassionate Savior
And Fierce Protector,
Emanating In Many Divine Forms
Across cultures and traditions.
Innumerable devotees across
time and traditions worship
Maa Tara,
seeking Blessings
to transcend the worldly ocean
and attain spiritual liberation.