The Goddess Tara is worshipped in both Hinduism and Buddhism as the goddess of compassion and protection. In Hinduism, she is a form of the female primordial energy known as shakti. The name comes from the Sanskrit root tar, meaning “protection.” In other Indian languages, the name translates as “star.” Tara first appeared as a deity in Hinduism, but was later adopted by Buddhism. In fact, in some traditions, she is considered the female Buddha. In Tibetan Buddhism, she is the most popular deity worshipped today.
Tara is the second of the ten great wisdom goddesses (dasa mahavidyas). In tantric traditions, she may be considered an incarnation of Durga, Parvati or Mahadevi. Goddess Tara protects those on their journey to enlightenment, as well as earthly travelers. In some traditions, Tara appears in different forms; the two best known versions of her are White Tara, the embodiment of compassion and peace, and Green Tara, who is the great protectress and overcomer of obstacles.
Two of the yoga poses that honor the Goddess Tara are star pose (Tarasana) and seated Tara. In star pose, the yogi sits in butterfly pose, grasps the feet and folds forward. In seated Tara, one leg is bent, with the shin on the ground and close to the body while the other leg is bent, with the knee pointing to the sky and the sole of the foot on the ground. Bhumi sparsha mudra is recommended with the corresponding hand resting on the ground next to the soled foot and the other hand covering the heart center.
Sri Tara Shatanama Stotram Lyrics in English:
॥ sritarasatanamastotram ॥
srisiva uvaca ॥
tarini tarala tanvi tara tarunavallari ।
tirarupa tari syama tanuksinapayodhara ॥ 1 ॥
turiya tarala tivragamana nilavahini ।
ugratara jaya candi srimadekajaṭasirah ॥ 2 ॥
taruni sambhavichinnabhala ca bhadratarini ।
ugra cograprabha nila krsna nilasarasvati ॥ 3 ॥
dvitiya sobhana nitya navina nityanutana ।
candika vijayaradhya devi gaganavahini ॥ 4 ॥
aṭṭahasya karalasya carasya ditipujita ।
saguna sagunaradhya harindradevapujita ॥ 5 ॥
raktapriya ca raktaksi rudhirasyavibhusita ।
balipriya balirata durga balavati bala ॥ 6 ॥
balapriya balarata balaramaprapujita ।
ardhakesesvari kesa kesavasavibhusita ॥ 7 ॥
padmamala ca padmaksi kamakhya girinandini ।
daksina caiva daksa ca daksaja daksine rata ॥ 8 ॥
vajrapuspapriya raktapriya kusumabhusita ।
mahesvari mahadevapriya pancavibhusita ॥ 9 ॥
ida ca pingala caiva susumna pranarupini ।
gandhari pancami pancananadi paripujita ॥ 10 ॥
tathyavidya tathyarupa tathyamarganusarini ।
tattvapriya tattvarupa tattvajnanatmika’nagha ॥ 11 ॥
tandavacarasantusṭa tandavapriyakarini ।
taladanarata kruratapini taraniprabha ॥ 12 ॥
trapayukta trapamukta tarpita trptikarini ।
tarunyabhavasantusṭa saktirbhaktanuragini ॥ 13 ॥
sivasakta sivaratih sivabhaktiparayana ।
tamradyutistamraraga tamrapatraprabhojini ॥ 14 ॥
balabhadrapremarata balibhugbalikalpini ।
ramarupa ramasakti ramarupanukarini ॥ 15 ॥
ityetatkathitam devi rahasyam paramadbhutam ।
srutva moksamavapnoti taradevyah prasadatah ॥ 16 ॥
ya idam paṭhati stotram tarastutirahasyakam ।
sarvasiddhiyuto bhutva viharet ksitimandale ॥ 17 ॥
tasyaiva mantrasiddhih syanmamasiddhiranuttama ।
bhavatyeva mahamaye satyam satyam na samsayah ॥ 18 ॥
mande mangalavare ca yah paṭhennisi samyatah ।
tasyaiva mantrasiddhissyadganapatyam labheta sah ॥ 19 ॥
sraddhaya’sraddhaya vapi paṭhettararahasyakam ।
so’cirenaiva kalena jivanmuktah sivo bhavet ॥ 20 ॥
sahasravartanaddevi purascaryaphalam labhet ।
evam satatayukta ye dhyayantastvamupasate ।
te krtartha mahesani mrtyusamsaravartmanah ॥ 21 ॥
iti svarnamalatantre tarasatanamastotram samaptam ॥
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