Tara and Wrathful Deities Wrathful Deities

Tara (Sanskrit, "star") is a Buddhist savior-goddess especially popular in Tibet, Nepal and Mongolia. In Tibet, where Tara is the most important deity, her name is Sgrol-ma, meaning "she who saves." The mantra of Tara (om tare tuttare ture svaha) is the second most common mantra heard in Tibet, after the mantra of Chenrezi (om mani padme hum).  

The goddess of universal compassion, Tara represents virtuous and enlightened action. It is said that her compassion for living beings is stronger than a mother's love for her children. She also brings about longevity, protects earthly travel, and guards her followers on their spiritual journey to enlightenment.

Origins of Tara

Before she was adopted by Buddhism, Tara was worshipped in Hinduism as a manifestation of the goddess Parvati. The feminine principle was not venerated in Buddhism until the fourth century CE, and Tara probably entered Buddhism around the sixth century CE.

According to Buddhist tradition, Tara was born out of the tears of compassion of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. It is said that he wept as he looked upon the world of suffering beings, and his tears formed a lake in which a lotus sprung up. When the lotus opened, the goddess Tara was revealed.

A similar tradition has White Tara born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara's left eye and the Green Tara born from those of his right. In a third legend, Tara was born from a beam of blue light emanating from one of the eyes of Avalokiteshvara. Tara is also the consort of Avalokiteshvara.

Green Tara, with her half-open lotus, represents the night, and White Tara, with her lotus in full bloom, symbolizes the day. Green Tara embodies virtuous activity while White Tara displays serenity and grace. Together, the Green and White Taras symbolize the unending compassion of the goddess who labors day and night to relieve suffering.

In seventh-century Tibet, Tara was believed to be incarnated in every pious woman. She especially came to be associated with two historical wives of the first Buddhist king of Tibet, Srong-brtsan-sgam-po (d. 649). His wife from imperial China was said to be an incarnation of White Tara, while the king's Nepalese wife was an incarnation of Green Tara. It may be that the desire to regard both these pious women as incarnations of Tara led to the concept of the goddess's green and white forms.

Green Tara

Green Tara (Sanskrit: Syamatara; Tibetan: Sgrol-ljang), filled with youthful vigor, is a goddess of activity. She is the fiercer form of Tara, but is still a savior-goddess of compassion. She is the consort of Avalokiteshvara and considered by some to be the original Tara. Like Avalokiteshvara, the Green Tara is believed to be an emanation of the "self-born" Buddha Amitabha, and an image of Amitabha is sometimes depicted in Tara's headdress.

Green Tara is believed to have been incarnated as the Nepali wife of the Tibetan king Srong-brtsan-sgam-po. In Buddhism, the color green signifies activity and accomplishment. Thus Amoghasiddhi, the Lord of Action, is also associted with the color green.

Green Tara is iconographically depicted in a posture of ease and readiness for action. While her left leg is folded in the contemplative position, her right leg is outstretched, ready to spring into action. Green Tara's left hand is in the refuge-granting mudra (gesture); her right hand makes the boon-granting gesture. In her hands she also holds closed blue lotuses (utpalas), which symbolize purity and power. She is adorned with the rich jewels of a bodhisattva.

In Buddhist religious practice, Green Tara's primary role is savioress. She is believed to help her followers overcome dangers, fears and anxieties, and she is especially worshipped for her ability to overcome the most difficult of situations. Green Tara is intensely compassionate and acts quickly to help those who call upon her.

The iconography and role of Green Tara is illustrated in this medieval devotional hymn:

On a lotus seat, standing for realization of voidness,
(You are) the emerald-colored, one-faced, two-armed Lady
In youth's full bloom, right leg out, left drawn in,
Showing the union of wisdom and art - homage to you!

Like the outstretched branch of the heavenly turquoise tree,
Your supple right hand makes the boon- granting gesture,
Inviting the wise to a feast of supreme accomplishments,
As if to an entertainment-homage to you!

Your left hand gives us refuge, showing the Three Jewels;
It says, "You people who see a hundred dangers,
Don't be frightened-I shall swiftly save you!"
Homage to you!

Both hands signal with blue utpala flowers,
"Samsaric beings! Cling not to worldly pleasures.
Enter the great city of liberation!"
Flower-goads prodding us to effort-homage to you!

---First Dalai Lama (1391-1474)

White Tara

White Tara (Sanskrit: Sitatara; Tibetan: Sgrol-dkar) is sometimes called the Mother of all Buddhas and she represents the motherly aspect of compassion. Her white color signifies purity, wisdom and truth.

In iconography, White Tara often has seven eyes – in addition to the usual two, she has a third eye on her forehead and one on each of her hands and feet. This symbolizes her vigilance and ability to see all the suffering in the world. The "Tara of Seven Eyes" is the form of the goddess especially popular in Mongolia.

White Tara wears silk robes and scarves that leave her slender torso and rounded breasts uncovered in the manner of ancient India. Like Green Tara, she is richly adorned with jewels.

White Tara is seated in the diamond lotus position, with the soles of her feet pointed upward. Her posture is one of grace and calm. Her right hand makes the boon-granting gesture and her left hand is in the protective mudra. In her left hand, White Tara holds an elaborate lotus flower that contains three blooms. The first is in seed and represents the past Buddha Kashyapa; the second is in full bloom and symbolizes the present Buddha Shakyamuni; the third is ready to bloom and signifies the future Buddha Maitreya. These three blooms symbolize that Tara is the essence of the three Buddhas.

In religious practice, White Tara is believed to help her followers overcome obstacles, espeically those that inhibit the practice of religion. She is also associated with longevity.

Other Taras

Tara is sometimes depicted in colors and forms other than green and white. Tibetan temple banners frequently show 21 different Taras, colored white, red, and yellow, and grouped around a central Green Tara. In her ferocious, blue form, invoked to destroy enemies, she is known as Ugra-Tara, or Ekajata; as a red goddess of love, Kurukulla; and as a protectress against snake bite, Janguli. The yellow Bhrkuti is an angry Tara.

In Japan, Tara is a bodhisattva called Tarani Bosatsu. The Japanese Tara embodies both the white and green forms of the Tibetan Tara, and is usually only found on mandalas and temple banners. She is pale green and holds a pomegranate (a symbol of prosperity) and a lotus. Tara is not often to be found in China.

Related Books

In Praise of Tara: Songs to the Saviouress



Tara the Feminine Divine



The Tara Box: Rituals for Protection and Healing



The Cult of Tara in Tibet

Wrathful Deities

An enigmatic aspect of Tibetan Buddhist iconography is the presence of ferocious, terrifying forms known as thewrathful deities. Though these hideous, hair-raising images seem contradictory to Buddhist ideals, they are not personifications of evil or demonic forces.
Rather, the wrathful deities are benevolent gods who symbolize the tremendous effort it takes to vanquish evil, the violence that is a fundamental reality of the cosmos and the human mind and protect the faithful by instilling terror in evil spirits.

In Sanskrit, the wrathful deities are known as dharmapalas, which means "defender of the dharma." In Tibetan, they are drag-gshed, meaning "cruel, wrathful hangman."

The Eight Wrathful Deities

The most important category of wrathful deities is the group of eight dharampalas. The dharampalas, or defenders of Buddhism, are divinities with the rank of Bodhisattva who wage war without any mercy against the demons and enemies of Buddhism. These eight wrathful deities, which can be worshipped as a group of "Eight Terrible Ones" or individually, are:

1. Lha-mo (Tibetan: “Goddess”; Sanskrit: Sri-devi, or Kala-devi) - fierce goddess of the city of Lhasa and the only feminine wrathful deity
2. Tshangs-pa Dkar-po (Tibetan: “White Brahma”; Sanskrit: Sita-Brahma)
3. Beg-tse (Tibetan: “Hidden Sheet of Mail”)
4. Yama (Sanskrit; Tibetan: Gshin-rje) - the god of death, often shown gripping the Tibetan wheel of life
5. Kubera, or Vaisravana (Sanskrit; Tibetan: Rnam-thos-sras) - the god of wealth and the only wrathful deity who is never represented in a fierce form
6. Mahakala (Sanskrit: “Great Black One”; Tibetan: Mgon-po)
7. Hayagriva (Sanskrit: “Horse Neck”; Tibetan: Rta-mgrin)
8. Yamantaka (Sanskrit: “Conqueror of Yama, or Death”; Tibetan: Gshin-rje-gshed)

History of the Wrathful Deities

Worship of the wrathful deities was initiated in the 8th century by the magician-saint Padmasambhava, who is said to have conquered the malevolent deities in Tibet and forced them to vow to protect Buddhists and the Buddhist faith. Many of the wrathful deities can be linked to Hinduism, Bon (the indigenous religion of Tibet), or folk deities. {2}

Wrathful Deities in Buddhist Worship and Devotion

Images of the wrathful deities are kept in the homes and temples of Tibetan Buddhists to protect them against evil influences and remind them to destroy passion and evil in themselves. In general Buddhist practice, sculptures and thangkas are intended as temporary dwellings for the spiritual beings into which Buddhism projects its analysis of the nature of the world. They are thus not just aesthetic objects but actual dwellings for the energies projected into them with the aid of mantras. The power of those energies can then be directed towards the Buddhist goal. The wrathful deities, though benevolent, are represented in visual arts as hideous and ferocious in order to instill terror in evil spirits which threaten the dharma.
The wrathful deities can also be a focus of Buddhist devotion and worship. "The dharmapalas are worshiped in the mgon khang, a subterranean room, the entrance to which is often guarded by stuffed wild yaks or leopards. Priests wear special vestments and use ritual instruments often made of human bone or skin. Worship includes the performance of masked dances ('cham)." {2}
"External offerings" made to the wrathful deities differ from those provided to tranquil deities and are traditionally six in number: a cemetary flower, incense of singed flesh, lamp burning human fat (or a substitute), scent of bile, blood (usually symbolized by red water) and human flesh (usually symbolized by parched barley flour and butter realistically colored and modeled). {3} Similarly, the "internal offering" or Offering of the Five Senses given to wrathful deities is a skull cup containing a heart, tongue, nose, pair of eyes, and pair of ears. In Tibetan texts, these are human organs, but in actual ceremonies barley-flour-and-butter replicas are used instead. {4}

Iconography of Wrathful Deities

The wrathful protective deities are depicted in sculptures, paintings and masks as figures with stout bodies, short but thick limbs, several heads and a great number of hands and feet. They have scowling faces, a third eye and disheveled hair, and they wear crowns of skulls or severed heads. They are often depicted treading on animals and in the company of a female consort.
The color of their faces and bodies is frequently compared with the characteristic hue of clouds, precious stones, or other natural objects. Thus we often read in the Sadhanas (canonical texts) that one or the other wrathful deity is black "like the cloud which appears at the end of a kalpa (aeon)", blue "like an emerald" or white "like a mountain of crystal". The yellow color is compared to that of pure gold, and the red color of some of them is supposed to be "like the hue produced when the sun rises and its rays strike a huge mountain of coral."
Their faces possess a typical wrathful expression: the mouth is contorted to an angry smile, from its corners protrude long fangs - often said to be of copper or iron - or the upper teeth gnaw the lower lip. A "mist of illnesses" comes forth from the mouth and a terrific storm is supposed to be blowing from the nostrils of the flat nose. The protruding, bloodshot eyes have an angry and staring expression and usually a third eye is visible in the middle of the forehead.

References

1. Wrathful Guardians of Buddhism - Aesthetics and Mythology. Article of the Month - February 2001, Buddha Art. <http://www.buddhart.com/article/wrathful/>
2. "dharmapala." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9030217>
3. "phyi-mchod." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9059852>.
4. "nang-mchod." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. <http://www.britannica.com/eb/article?tocId=9054776>.

See Also

• Buddhist Objects: Mandalas

Related Shopping

• Buddha Art has about 30 thangka paintings of wrathful deities.
• Tibet Shop has 60 to 70 thangkas, sculptures, and ritual items featuring wrathful deities.

External Links on the Wrathful Deities

• Mirrors of the Heart-Mind: Protective Deities. Gallery of photos with explanatory captions. From Ohio State University.
• Robert A.F. Thurman, "Erotic and Terrific Images of Tibetan Buddhism." Article excerpted from Tibet, Its Buddhism, and Its Art, published 1996 by Harry N. Abraham.

Books on Wrathful Deities