Tara (Hindu goddess)

Tara
Goddess of Felicity and Sanguineness
Taraka
Brihaspati with Tara, from Navagraha temple at Surendrapuri
AffiliationDevi
Genealogy
ConsortBrihaspati
ChildrenKacha and Budha[1]

Tārā is the Hindu goddess of felicity and sanguineness. She is also known as the "Wisdom Goddess" in Nepal and Tibet. Tara is the consort of Hindu god Brihaspati, the god of planet Jupiter. According to some Puranas, Tara sired or mothered a child named Budha, the god of Mercury through Chandra and had a son named Kacha through Brihaspati.

Story

Tara was the wife of Brihaspati, the guru of Devas. According to historians, it is mentioned as her husband spent most of his time with the problems and matters of Devas, she felt being ignored by her husband. One day, Chandra, the moon god visited Brihaspati. There he saw Tara and was captivated by her beauty. Chandra used Hypnosis on Tara.[2]

Brihaspati was infuriated and demanded Chandra to return his wife. Chandra told Brihaspati that Tara was happy and satisfied with him. He enquired as to how an old man could be the husband of a young woman. This made Brihaspati more annoyed and he warned Chandra for battle. Indra and other Devas gathered to fight a war. Chandra was not ready to give Tara back and he took help from the Asuras and their preceptor, Sukra. The Devas were assisted by Shiva and his companions. Devas and Asura were about to fight a war, but Brahma, the creator god, stopped them and convinced Chandra to return Tara. In some versions, Shiva stopped the war.[3]

After some time, Brihaspati found out that Tara was pregnant and questioned her who the father of the child was. But Tara remained silent. After the boy was born, both Chandra and Brihaspati claimed to be his father. Tara revealed it was Chandra's son.[4] The boy was named Budha.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. ISBN 9788184752779.
  2. ^ Patel, Utkarsh (5 June 2020). "Tara and Chandradev: If a Dissatisfied Partner Has An Affair, Who Is To Be Blamed?". Bonobology.com. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  3. ^ Mittal, J. P. (2006). History Of Ancient India (a New Version) : From 7300 Bb To 4250 Bc. Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 978-81-269-0615-4.
  4. ^ "Budha". 17 February 2016.
  5. ^ Agarwal, Himanshu (26 July 2016). Mahabharata Retold: Part - 1. Notion Press. ISBN 978-93-86073-87-7.
  • Dowson's Classical Dictionary of Hindu Mythology