Tharashtakam, a Hymn to Goddess Thara

Nila Saraswathi

Aum Sri Mathre Namah

Index Page

The Matsyasūkta, Tārārṇava, and Nīla Tantras deal with particulars or Tārā or Tāriṇī, one of the Mahāvidyā, whose bīja is Hrīm Strīm, Hūm (Kurccha), Phat . She is called Nīlasarasvatī, because She playfully gives the power of speech. She is called Tārā on account of her being deliverer or savior (tārakatvāt). She gives both pleasure (sukha) and liberation (mokṣa). She is called also Ugratārā, because She saves from formidable and horrible calamities. Ṛṣi Vaśiṣṭha is said to have cursed this vidyā, and then raised the curse so that siddhi might be gained from Her by japa of the bīja Hrīm, Strīm, Hūm, Phat, after which She again became glorious. Her Mantra is also given as Śrīm, Hrīm, Strīm, Hūm, Phat (giver of wealth and beauty); another is Hrīm, Hrīm, Strīm, Hūm,Phat (giver of all desires); another is Aim, Hrīm, Strīm, Hūm, Phat (giver of speech), and Hrīm, Strīm, Hūm, Phat (giver of liberation). Her Yantra is an eight-petalled lotus surrounded by a circle, with inverted triangle in the center with Hūm. On the petals are Hrīm, Strīm, Śrīm, Hūm. There is also a Tantra (Tārāṣatkoṇa) of two superimposed triangles, making a star.


Tārāsṭakam From The Nīla Tantra

1. O MOTHER, Devī Nīlasarasvatī Tārā,
Refuge with Thee I crave.
Giver of prosperity and wealth art Thou
To those who worship Thee. Standing on Śiva,
Thy right foot upon His breast and left upon His thigh.
Ever art Thou, with smiling lotus-like face.
Thy three eyes are, as it were, full-blown lotuses.
In Thy hands Thou holdest a knife, a skull, a lotus, and a sword.

2. Thou art the presiding Devī of speech.
Thou art the creeper which grants all desires.
Thou art the giver of all siddhi,
And the power to write both verse and prose.
Three are Thine eyes, as it were blue lotuses.
Ocean of kindness and compassion art Thou.
I pray Thee of Thy mercy shower upon me the nectar of prosperity.

3. O Sharbhā, I pray Thee remove my fears.
Proud Lady, brilliant are Thy garments,
Bright with coiling serpents.
Thou art clad in tiger skin.
Thy waist is adorned with tiny tinkling bells.
Thou holdest the heads of two demons
Dripping with blood, just severed by the sword.
Thy waist is girdled with heads of demons,
As it were with a garland.
Thus art Thou beautiful, O formidable One.

4. O Devī Tārā, attained with difficulty,
I take refuge with Thee.
Thou art beautiful with form both amorous and charmful.
Thou art Bindu and the half-moon,
Whose substance is Hrīm and Phat.
Thou art mantra and the shelter of all.
Thy forms are threefold
Gross, Subtle, and Supreme.
Thou art beyond the reach of Veda.

5. By the service of Thy lotus feet,
Men of good deed attain sāyujya liberation.
O Parameśvarī, Thou art the Spouse of Him 2
Who is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, and the three-eyed One.
O Mother! he who neglects to serve Thy lotus feet,
But serves instead the Devas, Indra, and others,
Who are themselves plunged in the ocean of samsāra,
Is indeed and most truly ignorant.

6. O Mother! those Devas who receive on their crowns
The pollen which comes from Thy lotus-like feet,
Are able to keep their promise of conquest,
And to gain victory over their enemies in battle--
Such, without a doubt, are sheltered in Thy lap.
But their enemies who send forth the defiant challenge,
"I am a Deva, and none is equal to me in the whole world,"
Perish and meet such death as befits them.

7. Bhūta, Preta, Piśācha, Rākṣasa,
Daitya, foremost of Dānava, Yakṣa, Lords of Naga,
Wrathful Dākinī, great birds, tigers, and other dreadful creatures
Forthwith take flight at but the remembrance of Thy name,
And are powerless to do aught of evil.

8. Who serves Thy lotus feet, to him siddhi is given.
He surpasses the Lord of speech,
And obtains the beauty of Kāma.
He can charm and paralyze multitudes of elephants upon the field of battle,
And has power to stay the flow of water.
The Siddha and prosperity are under his control.

Phalaśloka.

Whoever, being pure and self-controlled,
Reads this eight-versed hymn to Tārā,
At morn, at noon, at evening,
To him is given
The power to write beautifully in prose or verse,
Knowledge in all Śāstra,
Imperishable fortune,
The enjoyment of whatsoever he may desire,
Fame, beauty, and wealth,
The love of all men,
And at the end liberation.


Suggestions for Further Reading

Source: From the Hymns to the Goddess by John Woodroffe (Arthur Avalon),1913. Readers please note that this is not an exact reproduction of the original text. We have made some changes to it and also added Sanskrit text in some cases. While we have taken every care to reproduce the original text in parts, we cannot guarantee its accuracy orauthenticity. Please check original copy for accuracy, study and research.

Translate the Page