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TARA,
THE COMPASSIONATE GODDESS
the similarities in appearance between Kali and Tara are
striking and unmistakable. They both stand upon a supine
male figure often recognizable as Shiva but which may
also be an anonymous corpse
Both wear minimal clothing or are naked. Both wear a
necklace of freshly severed heads and a girdle of human
hands. Both have a lolling tongue, red with the blood of
their victims. Their appearances are so strikingly
similar that it is easy to mistake one for the other
The oral tradition gives an intriguing story behind the
Goddess Tara. The legend begins with the churning of the
ocean. Shiva has drunk the poison that was created from
the churning of the ocean, thus saving the world from
destruction, but has fallen unconscious under its
powerful effect. Tara appears and takes Shiva on her
lap. She suckles him, the milk from her breasts
counteracting the poison, and he recovers. This myth is
reminiscent of the one in which Shiva stops the
rampaging Kali by becoming an infant. Seeing the child,
Kali's maternal instinct comes to the fore, and she
becomes quiet and nurses the infant Shiva. In both
cases, Shiva assumes the position of an infant vis-à-vis
the goddess. In other words the Goddess is Mother even
to the Great Lord himself.
The distinguishing feature in Tara's iconography is the
scissors she holds in one of her four hands. The
scissors relate to her ability to cut off all
attachments.
Literally the word 'Tara' means a star. Thus Tara is
said to be the star of our aspiration, the muse who
guides us along the creative path. These qualities are
but a manifestation of her compassion. The Buddhist
tradition stresses these qualities of this Goddess, and
she is worshipped in Tibet as an important embodiment of
compassion.
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