It is said that in the time we live in right now, the activity of Tara is very effective. Tara, the female embodiment of enlightenment; Compassion and Wisdom, responds particularly swift when we pray to her, and one of her particular qualities is that she heals our fear.

The Buddha Shakyamuni sang these verses of praise to all her 21 manifestations, and this powerful prayer has been chanted since in Sanskrit and Tibetan.

The translation presented here is made by the team of the Tara Triple Excellence program. In this unique online course the Tara practice of the complete path based on a terma revealed by Chogyur Lingpa, is presented in an accessible, step by step way. (www.dharmasun.org).

 

OM

Noble Lady Tara we bow to you

 

Praise to Tara, swift and galant,

your glance that flashes like flares of lightning,

Born from the face of the triple world’s lord,

you rose on the heart of a blossoming lotus.

 

Praise to you whose face resembles

a hundred autumn full moons together,

Your radiance like the clearest of stars,

blazing with hundreds of brilliant light rays.

 

Praise to you whose hand is graced with

a lotus flower blue-gold in color,

You show generosity, diligence, fortitude,

patience, serenity, meditation.

 

Praise to you whose acts are boundless,

the jewel on the great Tathagata’s crown.

You are served by all bodhisattvas,

those who have reached complete perfection.

 

Praise to you, with HUM and TUTTARA

fulfilling all wishes to the bounds of space.

YOu trample underfoot all seven worlds;

you have the strength to summon all.

 

Praise! Lady, greatly adored by Anala, Brahma, Maruts, and Shiva.

All the hosts of vetalas and spirits,

ghandarvas and yaksas to you pay honor.

 

praise to you, who with TRAD and the PHAT quickly

overthrow schemes and wicked practice.

With rightleg bent and left leg extended,

stamping, you shine amid flames wildly blazing.

 

Praise to you  fleet footed, ferocious,

destroying even the most powerful demons,

your lotus-face and brow deep furrowed

-every foe, how swiftly you slay them!

 

Praise! Your fingers gracing your heart,

displaying the mudra of the three jewels,

Your wheel, adorning every direction,

a fierce whirling mass of your own self-radiance.

 

Praise! Blessed with a splendorous crown,

bright, majestic, supremely joyous.

Laughing and smiling, thrum of TUTTARA,

you overcome the realm of demons.

 

Praise to you! You summon whole legions

of earthly guardians from all directions.

With HUM rumbling deep in your frown,

you free us all from every misfortune.

 

Praise, Lady, brightly adorned,

the crest on your crown a sliver of moon,

Your locks always graced by Amithaba,

his gleaming light rays endlessly streaming.

 

Praise to you in a blazing halo

of flames all consuming, apocalyptic,

With right leg stretched out and left leg bent inward,

the whirl of enemies blissfully crushing.

 

Praise to you, on the ground of earth

striking your palms and thund’ring your feet.

The HUM that streams from your furrowing brow

smashes to dust the netherworlds seven.

 

Praise, Lady, gracious and blissful,

you who encompass the peace of nirvana.

With OM and SVAHA, in perfect union,

you lay to waste every terrible evil.

 

Praise to you immersed in bliss,

you shatter the bodies of all your foes.

you shine with the wisdom-syllable HUM,

stamping out your ten-syllable mantra.

 

Praise Swift One, your foot stomping boldly

sowing the seed of the syllable HUM,

While Meru, Mandara, the Vindva Mountains,

and all the three worlds quiver and tremble.

 

Praise, Goddess! In your hand is a

deer-marked moon, a lake -like pool.

With TARA twice and then with PHAT,

you neutralize every plague and poison.

 

Praise! Queen of hosts divine!

Gods and kinnaras willingly serve you,

At play immersed in sheerest joy, you

clear away nightmares, soothe away strife.

 

Praise to you, clear-eyed, all-seeing,.

like the bright sun, and the full moon.

With twice uttered HARA and then with TUTTARA,

you pacify even the fiercest diseases.

 

Praise to you of the three-fold nature,

filled with power and boundless grace,

Profoundly swift, your devastation

of hosts of graha, vetala, and yaksha

 

Root. mantra supreme and joyful praises-

– these are the twenty-one verses of homage.

 

 

 

Translation: TTE team: Heidi Koppl, Libby Hogg. Vocal and production: Rodrigo Reijers. mixed by Flin van Hemmen.