context, see Azim Nanji’s The Niza ̄r ̄ı Isma ̄! ̄ıl ̄ı Tradition in
the Indo-Pakistan Subcontinent (Delmar, N. Y., 1978).
JAMES WINSTON MORRIS (1987)TA ̄RA ̄ (Tib., Sgrol ma) is a Buddhist deity who represents
the female counterpart of the bodhisattva Avalokite ́svara. She
appears as the savior of the world whenever people are in dis-
tress and thus is known in Tibet, where she has gained great
popularity, as the Great Savioress. By the time Maha ̄ya ̄na
and Vajraya ̄na Buddhism were firmly established in Tibet,
Ta ̄ra ̄ had become one of the most important female deities,
one whose influence was reflected back as the very source of
the Tibetan people. One tradition has it that Avalokite ́svara
and Ta ̄ra ̄, in the semblance of a monkey and a rock demon-
ess, had monkey offspring who gradually became humans,
thus accounting for the origin of the Tibetans. As the ́sakti
of the Buddha Amogasiddhi, Ta ̄ra ̄ also personifies “all-
accomplishing wisdom.”
Ta ̄ra ̄ is said to represent the very essence of loving devo-
tion, extending her loving care to the bad as well as the good.
She always accompanies the faithful in their religious prac-
tices; hence, it is customary in monastic communities to
meditate on the man:d:ala of Ta ̄ra ̄ (Sgrol ma Dkyil ’khor).
However, it is difficult to determine whether, during the
early spread of Buddhism, the influence of Ta ̄ra ̄ extended be-
yond the court or scholarly circles.
It is the opinion of some scholars that the cult of Ta ̄ra ̄
was brought to Tibet by At ̄ı ́sa (982–1054). As evidence of
this, they point to the tradition that holds that At ̄ı ́sa’s trip
to Tibet and his meeting with ’Brom ston pa were predicted
by a yogin ̄ı whom At ̄ı ́sa met under the tutelage of Ta ̄ra ̄, and
to Ta ̄ra ̄’s alleged appearance before At ̄ı ́sa at Mnga’ ris, where
he met ’Brom ston. However, tradition has it that when
Srong bstan sgam po (d. 649) received the Nepalese princess
Bhrikut ̄ı and the Chinese princess Wencheng as his brides,
they brought Buddhist images and other objects with them.
In later times, these two princesses were believed to have
been incarnations of the green, or prosperous, and white, or
helpful, Ta ̄ra ̄. If this latter tradition is accepted then the in-
troduction of Ta ̄ra ̄ into Tibet predates the arrival of At ̄ı ́sa.
However, it can scarcely be doubted that it was At ̄ı ́sa who
gave new emphasis to the cult of Ta ̄ra ̄, to whom he was espe-
cially devoted.
It is difficult to determine exactly when and how the
cult of Ta ̄ra ̄ emerged. Ta ̄ra ̄ shares many mythic parallels with
Brahmanic deities. For example, Durga ̄ and Ta ̄ra ̄ hold sever-
al names in common. Thus, although some scholars claim
the priority of one over the other, it seems impossible to de-
termine whether the cult of Ta ̄ra ̄ has a Brahmanical origin
or a Buddhist origin. The early sculptural representations of
Ta ̄ra ̄ seem to point to a sixth-century beginning for the
image of the Buddhist Ta ̄ra ̄. These early images, found in
caves such as Ellora, Aurangabad, and others, depict a placid
form in contrast to the fierce representation of her corre-
sponding Hindu goddess. Later, however, Ta ̄ra ̄ in her
Maha ̄ma ̄ya ̄vijayava ̄hin ̄ı, or fierce, aspect is conceived as a war
goddess in the manner similar to that of the Hindu Dev ̄ı.
The iconic representations seem to indicate that Ta ̄ra ̄ in her
early and simple form is seated and possesses two arms and
two hands. As time passes, her iconic representations became
more complex: not only is there an increase in the numbers
of heads, arms, and hands, but the number of accessory fig-
ures attending her gradually increases. Another feature of her
iconic representation is her appearance with four—
Amogasiddhi, Ratnasambhava, Amita ̄bha, and Aks:obhya
—of the Five Buddhas (the fifth being Vairocana). In these
representations, Ta ̄ra ̄ usually, but not always, appears in col-
ors corresponding to the colors of these Buddhas. The com-
plexity of her iconic representation can be appreciated
through a careful study of the Sa ̄dhanama ̄la ̄, the
Nis:pannayoga ̄val ̄ı, and other texts.
Ta ̄ra ̄ is said to manifest herself in five forms for the ben-
efit of her worshipers. She takes on the five forms of the pro-
tective goddesses—Maha ̄pratisara ̄, Maha ̄ma ̄yu ̄r ̄ı, Maha ̄sa ̄-
hasrapramardan ̄ı, Maha ̄s ̄ıtavat ̄ı, and Maha ̄mantra ̄nusa ̄-
rini—in order to protect beings from all sorts of earthy trou-
bles and miseries. Her protective power is categorized as de-
fense against the “eight great terrors” (as:t:amaha ̄bhaya), poeti-
cally expressed in verse by Candragomin. In time, the “eight
great terrors,” the perils of elephants, lions, fire, serpents,
robbers, fetters, sea monsters, and vampires, were each as-
signed their own Ta ̄ra ̄, and the depiction of eight Ta ̄ra ̄s be-
came a popular subject for artists.
Ta ̄ra ̄ has been propitiated and invoked in various ways,
for various reasons, by various people. Many of her devotees
hope for relief from a variety of worldly ills. For example,
Candragomin, feeling sorry for a beggar woman who had no
means to arrange for her daughter’s marriage, is said to have
prayed with tears in his eyes to a picture of Ta ̄ra ̄. The image
thereupon became a real Ta ̄ra ̄ who took off her ornaments
made of various jewels and gave them to Candragomin, who
in turn gave them to the beggar woman. Asvabha ̄va com-
posed a long eulogy to Bhat:t:a ̄rika ̄ A ̄rya Ta ̄ra ̄ when his disci-
ples were bitten by a poisonous snake, whereby the snake en-
countered great pain. He then sprinkled water charmed with
a Ta ̄ra ̄ mantra on his disciples and the poison came out of
their wounds.
The cult of Ta ̄ra ̄ that was reintroduced to Tibet during
the second diffusion of Buddhism did not become the exclu-
sive property of any one sect. Indeed, in the course of time
the cult of Ta ̄ra ̄ found its way into most of the countries
where Maha ̄ya ̄na Buddhism spread.SEE ALSO Avalokite ́svara; Buddhism, article on Buddhism
in Tibet.BIBLIOGRAPHY
Beyer, Stephan, The Cult of Ta ̄ra ̄: Magic and Ritual in Tibet.
Berkeley, 1973. An extremely comprehensive study on the9000 TA ̄RA ̄