Tara

In the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism, the goddess Tara is the second of the ten Mahavidyas. She is considered a form of Adishakti, the tantric manifestation of Parvati. Her three most famous forms are Ekajaṭā, Ugratara, and Nīlasarasvatī (also spelled Neelasaraswati, Neela Saraswati, or Neelsaraswati). Her most famous centre of worship is the temple and the cremation ground of Tarapith in West Bengal, India. Legends The commonly known origin of Tara is from the 17th chapter of the Rudrayāmala which describes the initial unsuccessful attempts of the sage Vasiṣṭha in worshipping Tara, and the subsequent meeting with the god Vishnu in the form of Buddha in the region called Mahācīna (China) and his eventual success by the means of kaula rites. She is also described as the form of the Atharvaveda. Her Bhairava is named Akṣobhya. According to the Svatantratantra, Tara protects her devotees from difficult (ugra) dangers and so she is also known as Ugratārā. The goddess is all-pervading and also manifests on Earth. Historical origin Tara-related beliefs are probably an amalgamation of the beliefs linked to Bhīmā or Nīlā in the geographical region of Oḍḍiyāna which has experienced Buddhist and possibly Taoist influence. The syncretism between Shaivist and Buddhist cults created a congenial atmosphere for the formation of the traditions of Tārā, both a Hindu and a Buddhist goddess. Her pleasant forms were popular amongst the Buddhists, while the cult of Bhīmā-Ekajaṭā was popular mainly amongst the Shaivas, from whom it merged into Vajrayana Buddhism until it was reintroduced by Vasiṣtha from Mahācīna, which is identified on the basis of the Śaktisaṅgamatantra as a small geographical entity between Kailasa, South East of the lake Manasarovar and near Lake Rakshas Tal, or alternatively located somewhere in Central Asia. Some of the forms of the deity like Mahācīnakrama Tara, also known as Ugra-Tara, are worshipped in both Hindu and Buddhist systems. Her sādhanā described by Śāśvatavajra, which was included in the Buddhist collection of sadhanas called the Sādhanāśatapañcāśikā, which was incorporated in the Phetkarīyatantra and was quoted in tantric manuals like the Bṛhat-tantrasāra by Kṛṣṇānanda Agamavāgīśa with some aspects of the iconography and the subsequent interpretations differing between the Hindu and Buddhist systems.